Subject: [FFML] Wierd... Re: [sort of spam] Help Request
From: "David A. Tatum" <desaix@sysnet.net>
Date: 5/6/1999, 12:52 PM
To:
CC: <desaix@sysnet.net>

Oddly, when I recieved the message back from the FFML, everything below the
spoiler space was cut off... here's the complete copy (I hope it works this
time)...

Private replies, please.

Recently (within the last week and a half) I purchased a tape set in
order
to learn Japanese... it's a basic survival-style course for how to speak
and understand the language (and there is nothing in it about how to
write
in the language).  Listening to it, I had an idea for an 'edutainment'
fanfic, and that's what I need help on.  (Well, I also need help because
I'm thinking about starting this despite working on seven other fanfics
simultaneously and prereading 5 other authors on a semi-regular basis,
but
that's a different kind of help I need)

I was thinking about, after completing the course, writing a fanfic in
which I would (more or less) teach what I had learned, following to some
degree the progression that my course gave.  I have a real basic plot in
mind, and a few ideas as to how I would integrate the lessons, but I have
no idea what subplots I could use to 'fill it out' so that I could
include
all the lessons from all the tapes.  I probably won't be able to start
this
for a while- for one thing, I'm way too busy with other stuff, and for
another I haven't finished the lessons myself yet!  But when I'm ready,
I'm
going to need some of you people to help me out...

What I want is two things... below (after some spoiler space) I will
explain my story idea (A Ranma\Oh My Goddess crossover- it will be pretty
simple and won't be very good, and I warn you it will be an SI, but
remember- this IS an Edutainment program, and when have those been any
good?).  I want anyone interested to read the story idea and help me out
with suggestions for what I can do to keep it 'fun' while I work in the
lessons.  The second thing I want is someone who is experienced with the
Japanese language to volunteer as a 'special' prereader for it (though it
will be going to my regular prereaders as well), to make sure I don't
totally goof up the lessons I'm trying to give.  Just as a note, I'm not
going to necessarily spell them with the correct Romanization, but will
instead try and spell the Japanese words in such a way that people SHOULD
be able to tell how to pronounce them, if I can.  

If anyone wants, I'd also allow them to continue the story with more
advanced lessons when I am finished (but I'd like them to let me know
before I get too far into writing it, so I can leave them room in the
story).  If anyone is willing to help, thank you!  If I get no responses
to
this message, though... well, I may still attempt it, but don't blame me
if
I make mistakes or fail to make it interesting enough.

Okay, below is the story idea, as it stands now...
S
P
O
I
L
E
R

S
P
A
C
E
..
..
..


S
T
O
R
Y

I
D
E
A

Begins...

Bah, I don't know why I decided to include spoiler space, but I did.

Basically, the idea is this.

An American man wakes up to find he's in a different country.  He doesn't
understand a word of what's being said around him, how he got there, or
what is going on.  Suddenly, a woman takes pity on him (Belldandy) and
introduces herself in English.  She takes him back to the temple, and
finds
out that he has no knowledge of the language.  She promises to teach him,
but says that, in return, he has to perform the service for which he was
called to Japan- and that is to help fulfill a wish (made by Nodoka, but
I'm not sure how I'm going to show that) that will make two people who
are
arranged to be married to one another realize that they love each other
(Ranma and Akane, of course).  With his increasing skills in Japanese, he
figures out how to communicate with the couple, finds out what there
problems are, and (of course, again) solves them all himself (I did say
this was a bad SI, didn't I?).  This story will be told in the first
person, so any adventures must be told from HIS perspective.

Now, while I have a few (okay, a VERY few) ideas as to how he would go
about doing this, I'm not entirely sure what misadventures he could get
into.  Try and remember that I might not be able to do certain
language-intensive things, since I -AM- just learning the language myself
and will, at best, have a basic vocabulary with a few extra words and
phrases not in the lessons I have placed in (most of which I've learned
from other references- sometimes other fanfics, sometimes my mother who
used to live in Japan, and possibly sometimes you people if I DESPERATELY
need a word or phrase badly enough)

Well, that's all I have to say on this for now... please, if you can
help,
do so...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sir Desaix, member # 116 of the Knights of the True Fiancee
                     desaix@sysnet.net
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