DEAD HORSES IN RANMA & SAILOR MOON FANFIC
			compiled by Scott K. Jamison
				Edition One

	"There is nothing new under the sun."--attributed to King Solomon

	While it's certainly not true that every possible plot twist or 
character twitch has already been used up, some have been more heavily 
mined than others in fanfiction.  Some of them have been done so often 
that the experienced reader, upon seeing someone attempting to "reinvent 
the wheel", can only sigh and think "here we go again."
	Thus this list, which hopes to cover the most commonly overused 
themes and scenes, not to forbid their reuse, but to let the beginning 
writer know what has already been done, and done well.
	Each person contibuting to this list, therefore, was asked to 
provide examples of "dead horses", and more importantly, an example of a 
story in which that scene, theme, or characterization was done best.  If 
nothing else, it should allow the reader to look up the more interesting 
specimens.
	Further suggestions for this list should be sent to me by private 
e-mail at majks@cyberx.com  .  On-topic discussions of the stories 
themselves need not be sent privately, of course.
	I've restricted this to Ranma 1/2 (Created by Rumiko Takahashi) 
and Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon (Created by Naoko Takeuchi) because those 
are the two series with the most fanfic traffic right now.

			RANMA/SAILOR MOON CROSSOVERS

Ranma Becomes A Sailor Senshi
	Best Treatment:  _Lines of Destiny_ by Louis-Phillipe Giroux.

	"Just the overall treatment."--Luigi Mattera
	"Instead of Ranma just blindly jumping in and accepting, with 
only a minor complaint about skirt length, we get to see Ranma really 
worrying about a potential to lose his masculinity, since his female side 
has become so much stronger than his male one."--Christian A. Rogers

			RANMA 1/2 STORIES

Nabiki/Kunou matchup
	Best Treatment: _Thy Inward Love_ by Richard Lawson
	
	[No quote provided.]

New Relative
	Best Treatment: _Saotome Squared_ (author not remembered, Lurker, 
is this one of yours?)
	
	"Ranma accidentally gets cured of the curse, then his daughter 
comes from the future, and she does not act totally like Ranma or Akane; 
she has a bit of Happosai in her, and given time, she could become quite 
the character that neither of her parents weren't."--Andrew

Akane's Hammer
	Best Treatment: _The Art_ by Gregg Sharp

	"Made good use of the hammer by connecting it up with Akane's 
relationship to Thor."--David Johnston

Overuse of Character Catchphrases ["Aiyah", "Oh my", etc.]
	Best Treatment:  _Hearts and Minds Prelude 3_ by Gary Kleppe

	"The pun on Nodoka's name, "Saotome Nobaka", is probably the best 
use of this cliche that I can think of."--David Johnston

Ranma Is Split Into Separate Male and Female Halves
	Best Treatment: _Two Sides of the Coin_ by Benares

	"I liked [it] enough to try to write an ending for it.  It was 
funny at points but captured the torment of being left out of Ranma's 
life for his female half."--David Johnston

Nodoka Finds Out About the Curse
	Best Treatment: _Ranma 1/2 Volume 36_ by Rumiko Takahashi

	"Just the right blend of suspense, silliness and plot 
twists."--Scott K. Jamison  
			
			BISHOUJO SENSHI SAILOR MOON

New Senshi
	Best Treatment: _Lines of Destiny_ by Louis-Phillipe Giroux

	"Oh sure, Sailor Dirt is inherently lame, but the conflict of 
Ranma having to accept his previous female incarnation is worth looking 
at."--David Johnston

Jadeite Returns
	Best Treatment: _Sailor Moon Expanded/Dark Kingdom Renegades_ by 
Mark Latus

	"Gave a reason why he survived, and it's one of the few times 
that Jadeite comes up with a scheme worth the effort."--David Johnston 

Lesbianism in Crystal Tokyo (Non-Lemon)
	Best Treatment: _Sailor Moon Expanded_ by Mark Latus

	"Makoto's relationship with Chrysolite.  It's the only time I've 
seen poor Makoto hooked up with anyone, and you know what Woody Allen 
said about bisexuality....[*1]"--David Johnston

Rei and Usagi Discovering They're In Love and, After Admitting it to 
Each Other, Go at it Like Rabbits in Heat [*2]
	Best Treatment: _Curiousities_ [no author named, anyone know?] 
	
	"It builds well, although the group orgy scene at the end is a 
bit excessive, but the moments where Usagi and Rei dicuss how to handle 
their new-found feelings are pretty darn touching at points."--Christian 
A. Rogers

Self-Insert Lemons
	Best Treatment: _Coming of Munihausen_ by the Great Red Serpent 

	"Not chosen because it's a good story (it's f***ing disgusting) 
but because it has not one...not two...but THREE people inserted to rut 
with their favorite Senshi...and respectively involving a cucumber, a 
bloody corpse, and racial slurs."--Christian A. Rogers

Naru Confronts Usagi About Their Distancing Relationship
	Best Treatment: _Suiseki_ by Robert Morrison
	
	"The moment they confront each other is powerful and, while the 
problems are over for the moment, the feeling that there's still a rift 
between them is expertly left behind."--Christian A. Rogers

Setsuna is Manipulative and Will Do *Anything* to Advance the Path
	Best Treatment: _Secrets_ by Ken Wolfe

	"While Setsuna's manipulations are horrifying in their results, 
she is not depicted as omnipotent or omniscient; the author manages to 
make her seem very human, despite everything."--Chris Davies

		*		*		*
	I'd like to thank everyone who contributed, and congratulations 
to those authors whose works were chosen as examples.

Comments?
SKJAM!
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/5990

*1:  "It doubles your chance of a date on Saturday night."

*2:  As one of my correspondents put it, "Usagi and *Rei*?  Only a 
*straight boy* would believe that one!"