At 12:53 AM 12/8/99 -0600, Chris Moran wrote:

Well, I am slowly but surely catching up on the commentary from the release
of my latest chapter.  It is only the beginning...  :)

Well, recently I decided to read this whole story, and I've been quite
impressed.  This latest installment is no disappointment.

Thank you for the kind words.

Perhaps the most interesting thing to me is how you keep us guessing which
way in the romantic arena that Ranma will turn.  First, we have Nabiki.
Being an avid reader of Jim Bader's stories, this is a version I am quite
familiar with.  The big problem here seems to be her need for dominance, as
well as her overconfidence.  While she claims she doesn't want Ranma to
change, she also wants him to be submissive to her... two mutually exclusive
goals.  She seems to blind herself to the notion that he might resent her
need to be in charge, and that it may drive him away.  Fortunately for her,
it seems a relationship with Kuno is not out of the question.

You are correct in your assessment of this version of Nabiki.  On the one hand,
she likes the fact that this Ranma isn't as submissive as Bader's version for
'Nabiki 1/2', but she also is certain that she will eventually prove herself to be
his superior.  Things are going to really start taking some interesting turns
when the engagement is revealed and Nabiki starts acting a bit more possessive
of Ranma.  Kunou is a possibility for a relationship, but there are also a few
other male figures who have begun taking an interest in Nabiki.  The amusing
thing is that the two I am thinking of are looking to claim Nabiki as the same
sort of submissive partner that Nabiki si guilty of thinking of Ranma as.

Then we have Kodachi.  She's quite likeable here... apart from her bouts of
snootiness to her rivals.  I find myself rooting for her in spite of
everything.

I confess to liking how Kodachi is developing in my story.  She is actually
one of the front-runners on the relationship track.  My version is rather
strongly influenced by Ayeka from Tenchi Muyo.  I like giving new twists to
the characters that fanfiction tends to lock into certain molds, and Kodachi
is an example of that.

The White Lily, on the other hand, is more like 'Classic Kodachi.'

Ukyo, well, she's Ukyo.  She seems mostly like the mainstream version, which
is nice.  And this Ranma hasn't ruled her out because she's "one of the
guys."

True.  Ukyo is a lot like the mainstream version, but I have some tweaks in her
character and background in mind that haven't quite materialized.  She will start
letting herself act a little more girlish, but it will be in fits and spurts and she
will never be what you could call traditionally feminine.  Ukyo is an example of
a character that I write a certain way because I like writing them that way.  If
anything, this Ukyo might start to have a little bit of an identity crisis as things
go on.

Of course, there is also the matter of Ryoga looming on the horizon.

Finally, we have Akane.  Right now, she seems like a longshot... Amazonian in
her worship of combat skill.  She even seems to have an S&M thing going on at
times.  Still, she may surprise us.

Maybe.  The interesting thing about this Akane (to me, at least) is that she does
not have the self-esteem issues that MainAkane does.  This gives a slightly
different slant on the character that gives a lot of room to play with.

Well, I don't have much in the way of deep and articulate commentary to give,
so I'll keep it simple.  I like this a lot... keep it up.

I will.  Thanks for commenting.

Jurai Knight