Subject: Re: [FFML][Ranma][fanfic]An Awakening of Demons Chapter 2
From: Phil
Date: 9/26/1999, 2:20 AM
To: David Johnston
CC: Sean Connor <sec@konatsu.dhs.org>, "FFML@fanfic.com" <FFML@fanfic.com>

David Johnston wrote:

Sean Connor wrote:

On Sun, Sep 26, 1999 at 10:26:25AM +1000, Phil wrote:
He's called her cute, seems to get along better with herthan Akane, but
refuses to take the next step despite
rather obvious hints from her and a formal engagement
between them. Perhaps 'undersexed' isn't quite the
right word here though. Any suggestions?

I'd suggest "indecisive"

A good alternative which I'll use. Thanks, David.

I'd tend to disagree.  'Undersexed' may not be the right word, but
I'd say that it's closer to being right than 'indecisive' is.

'Undersexed' would seem to me to indicate a lack of interest in sex,
meaning that he doesn't try to get it, but doesn't go out of his way
to avoid it, either.

'Indecisive' means that he can't decide between more than one
alternative.  That may well be the case, but it doesn't describe his
attitude towards sex very well.

The thing is, every time that Ranma gets put into a situation with a
sexual component, his reaction is always the same -- he's _afraid_ of
it.  Think of his reactions to the occasions when Shampoo shows up
naked, when Ukyou shows up and tries to scrub his back, when he's
forced to stare at Akane's panties in an attempt to convince his
mother that he's manly...  Well, you should get the idea.

So, I'm not exactly sure what the right word should be, but it should
capture this fear of his.  'Undersexed' captures it slightly, and
'indecisive' captures it not at all.

No.  It is unimportant whether the word used accurately captures Ranma's
fear of intimacy.  The only thing that is important in context is that
it gives a credible depiction of Ukyo's perception of Ranma's reaction,
since the paragraph is Ukyo's POV.

Hmm, I'd have to agree with this. While your comments are perfectly in
line with how I see Ranma, Sean, that isn't quite the issue - from Ukyo's
POV, 'undersexed' seems rather too harsh a judgement even for the
version of her that I'm using, so I'd go with 'indecisive' here.

Phil.