Well, I know some other people are replying to this, but I won't
bother reading their stuff, just in case I'm merely repeating them....
I also want to get in on this before this thread gets banned....
Did I also mention that I'm about to sprout wings and fly to the moon? ^_^
	Now, remember folks, read the whole message, and the whole thread,
before you reply-- someone might have come up with a more eloquent way
to say what you want to say-- or someone might have already shot down
your argument: either way you come out looking like a git. Also, if you're
sure the thread's going to get banned, why bother contributing to it?
There, now that my little public service announcement has been made (my
good deed for the century year ^_^ ) I can get on with what I wish to
say, having fulfilled my requirements of having read previous replies,
fairly sure that the thread, as it stands now and being somewhat relevant
to a fic, and fanfics in general, is not going to be banned (until it
inevitably degenerates later on, but at which point I won't be part of
it and...), and actually having somethng meaningful and relevant to say
(okay, okay, you got me on that last one. Me? Meaningful or relevant?
Well, I could _almost_ say it with a straight face... ^_^ ). At any rate,
there are things which I wish to say that would most likely otherwise go
unheard, and since I believe they may potentially be of help in this, or
other situations, I shall say them.

At 04:13 PM 4/5/99 -0600, Edward Becerra wrote:
<Note stuff editted out here>

Hitomi's reply to the list.

********************************************************

<further ellisions ensue, as many parts are unneeded for this reply>

Now, I myself have a fairly thick skin.  I have to, given the number of 
comments I've received over the years, the insults from various people, and 
the way I end up hearing about it.  It's not too bad for me, but I would 
think that you would want to encourage a new writer, especially given that a 
lot of you are new writers yourselves.

	I have never suffered from this particular dilemma myself, possessing
as I do great writing talent and immense imagination, the likes of which
is beyond your comprehension-- i.e. my ego and total self-confidence makes
having a thick skin unnecessary.... ^_^
	While on one hand, it takes great courage to release what you have
written, an immensely personal endeavour in which you pour a great deal of
time and effort and care into (well, some of us-- I'm a lazy bastard a lot
of times, but it usually shows), to have it rejected is... not a nice thing,
to say the least.
	And yet (you knew there had to be an 'and yet,' didn't you?), I am
reminded of, perhaps it was the last time this argument came up on the
list. I believe it was Mr. Biles who mentioned that yes, you have to stand
up for what you believe in, regardless of whether people agree or disagree
with you, regardless of whether you get flamed or not, and cited a personal
example involving a newspaper article he wrote for the university newspaper,
somewhat controversial and definitely politically incorrect (being Catholic
and talking about abortion tends to get that type of response, of which I'm
also aware of), and having received some threats of a very physical nature for
doing so.
	I do not think I really need to go into the story of one of my favourite
authors, Salman Rushdie-- one of the more famous cases of an author being
threatened with death for his or her writings-- he's still alive, which is
more
than some are able to say.
	What am I saying? It isn't for the faint at heart, writing. You have to stand
up for yourself, and for your beliefs, and for your work. Callous, I
suppose, but
true (just like me, well... except for the true part-- I'm a profligate
liar ^_^ ).

First, Batman is a lot better than a lot of people think.  In the comic 
books, he spent several YEARS travelling the world in order to learn martial 
arts.  All types of exotic techniques that would beat out ANY that Ranma 
learned, even at the end of the series.  He started his crusade, in the 
comics when he was 35.

In the Animated Television Series, Batman started his crusade when he was 
28.  According to the story, he still spent many years learning exotic 
techniques from around the world.  Swordsmanship, Akido, Jujitsu, various 
styles of Kung-fu, etc.  He even received training in how to handle all 
types of weapons from Alfred, who was a former SAS officer and later an 
agent of MI6.  In the Ninja storyline, he learned to kill with just a touch, 
although he never used the technique himself.  Remember, among his skills is 
the ability to seemingly disappear in seconds.  That's something Ranma does 
NOT know.

In the first chapter of this story, Jessica had put down Bruce was a STUDENT 
of Cologne.  If he was a student, and for a longer time, of the same person 
who is training Ranma, who do YOU think would be better?  It would not be 
Ranma from where I sit.

This is true. I'm going to have to agree with Anand though on this one. While
we may not have seen Ranma do the disappearing trick (hrm, and even then, only
possible. Ryu Kumon story arc, perhaps, amongst others?), we also have not
seen
Batman produce the necessary arm/hand speed of the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken
speed training technique. We have not seen Batman utilise the Breaking
Point, nor
seem to have the benefits of that training as well. We have not seen Batman
use
the Hiryu Shoten Ha, nor any other ki based attacks. Even then, Ranma might
potentially not want to use such techniques against Bruce, for roughly the
same
reason he stated in X-change Students, against Wolverine.
	But on the other hand, even though Bruce may have trained longer, in
general and under certain teachers specifically, this does not necessarily
mean he will be better, either. Other factors must be taken into account.
One factor would be the intensity of his training. Ranma had round the
clock, one on one training, basically, for most of his (much younger)
life. Another, perhaps even more important factor, is the age when he started
learning. Did you know that, well, if you've not played the violin before the
age of twelve, you won't ever be a virtuoso, for instance? There are certain
times, specific ages, where it is optimal to learn certain things-- they are
usually in childhood/early adolescence. 
	Merely other possibilities as to why Ranma might be able to take out
Bruce. I'm not saying that he could, mind you, I'm not saying that he could
not, either-- just providing another view. Besides, Bruce would be much
trickier, and most likely tougher than given in the cartoon or the comics if
he's trained under Cologne (changed his history there a bit folks-- going to
have repercussions now, of course). Two very good, and likely reasons in my
mind why Bruce has the advantage. Besides, against an opponent of unknown
talent? The first time usually gives Ranma trouble, due to arrogance on his
part, if for no other reason.

Also, as to Nabiki's intelligence, and her ability to make money.  I don't 
think ANY of you know the cost of living over here, so please refrain from 
doing a price comparison based upon what you have in America.  Also, 
considering that she is virtually the SOLE support of the Tendo Dojo, AND 
given how much the upkeep is on land, the cost of wood, and so on, I would 
suggest a number of you revise your estimates of how much she makes.  
Currently, it is about 122 yen to the dollar, which means that in the first 
story, she made about 24 dollars for five photos.  Ok, we know Kuno is an 
idiot, but Nabiki does have MANY contacts according to the manga.  She KNOWS 

	Many contacts from the manga? I suppose there is that one bit where
she temporarily becomes Ranma's fiancee-- it had that international mail
order business, if I recall --yet I've seen nothing from eith anime or
manga which states that any money she's been making goes into the dojo.
Nabiki seems (to me) to be summararily uninterested in supporting the
rest of the family in any way at all. A fanfic cliche, that. Of course,
there's nothing which explicitly says she _doesn't_ do that, I suppose,
although there are some indications as to her character (which is shown
all too seldom to make any real or concrete opinions one way or the
other, I must add), which would suggest that she is not interested in
financing the dojo, but rather herself.
	Other than that one bit though, I fail to see the many contacts.
I will, of course, admit that my knowledge is not perfect (damn reality,
not bending to my will!), and will, upon being given references, change
my tune. I am not unreasonable (augh! used the not un- formation! If
I'm not un-x, then I'm x, aren't I? ^_^ ), after all. I can be convinced,
through logic, reason and evidence.

<Some more which I have deemed unneeded for purposes of this response have
 been deleted>

To this, I've attached the character profile for Batman, Alfred, part of the 
one for Ranma, as well as Nabiki.  Now, sorry for the rant, but I personally 
think a LOT of you owe an apology to Jessica for claiming you know her 
story better than she does.  It seems funny to me that everyone considers 
the author is the LAST person to know what she is writing.

	Hrm. Some people think that there is only one right way to read a story.
I don't like that. After all, everytime you read something, don't you read it
a bit differently? Don't you find new things in it? Don't you get new things
out of it, or say to yourself, "I can't believe I thought that before?" Once
you've read something the right way, you can't read it anymore, because each
time you read something you read it differently and if you read it again
you'll
read it wrong.
	Conclusion? That there is more than one right way to read something. If
you can prove it, if you can find the evidence, then yes, your way is also
correct. And even then, there are some ways which tend to be more accepted
than others. --I've said this before.
	Also, yes, the author can be wrong about the story he or she has written.
Being the author of something does not give you any special insight into it,
I feel. Well, yes, I suppose it does, but it doesn't give you any special
authority into it. You're merely another critic, once you've written it.
Take Kate Chopin, for instance. Wrote The Awakening. Most call it a
feminist novel. Kate disagreed. Said it most definitely was not. Have you
read it? I'm going to have to go against Kate on this one folks (some nice
prose in it, btw ^_^ ). See? Authors sometimes can be wrong. Sometimes they
don't see everything they put in what they write, and sometimes they even
lie about what it's about, or supposed to be about! (why not? Personally,
I think a successful author should also be a good liar. A lie is a type of
fiction, after all, right? ^_- )
	Myself? I freely admit that some comments I've received on things
I've written have made me look at them in a different way. I've sat down and
said "Wow! I never noticed that!" and I'm not just talking about typos,
grammatical errors and the like. I've had my whole opinion on what somethings'
have been about totally changed by what people have said, because they 
presented another, better or at the least alternative view, of what I have
written than what I myself had conceived it to be. I cherish that. It tells
me that people are looking closely at it. It tells me that they are thinking
about it. It allows me to see it from a different view, and to me, that is a
very precious gift indeed. It is, in fact, why I wish C&C in the first place.
	Oh, but you see here, you see here that I said "once you've written it."
How observant. Matt, you say, Matt, but Ranma's Father isn't finished yet!
Ah, I say, smiling in my infuriatingly patronising way which I seem to be able
to get away with without suffering bodily harm but by all rights should be,
there's the rub! It isn't done, is it? Nope, no it is not. So perhaps we shall
wait and see. Perhaps some of what we are talking about will be addressed in
later parts-- perhaps they were even planned to come up later. If so, then no
problem, yes? Even if it is not so, still, perhaps no problem, yes? :)


As a semi-final note, if my citations, my proofs, my recountings are wrong,
please, do not hesitate to tell me so. If I remembered events incorrectly,
if you believe I have misinterpretted something, I am not adverse to being
corrected. Nay, I would welcome it it the spirit it is given: in the desire
to come to the truth, and to get things straight. 

As a final note, please forgive the somewhat jocular and perhaps flippant
asides.
Being serious just does not agree with me, and they are not in any way
meant to
lessen what is said, or be taken as insults or flames or anything of the sort.
Just a little something to lighten the mood, perhaps-- to ease the tension and
nothing more. It is my way.


Matthew Lewis is:
	Matt on IRC
	Sojiro_Seta on Kawaiimuck
	maybeso@ican.net
	a casualty of causality
__________________________________________________

Reality and I have this arrangement, see?
I ignore it, and it ignores me. we're quite happy
with the way it works, really.
__________________________________________________