From: Thomas Hackwood <thackwood@mindspring.com>
To: DaveCatt <catthouse@lweb.net>
Subject: Re: [FFML] [FIC][R.5][Alt.] The Bet: A Study In Scarlet
Date: December 23, 1999 11:19 PM
Dave,
Cool. An interesting approach to the story "Study in Scarlet".
I thought this was going to be a dark story, so far I've had a
few good chuckles.
Thanks! Personally, I think that just because a story has a
dark premise, doesn't mean that it has to be unrelentingly
gloomy. That's what SadFics are for.
I'm a sucker for alterniverse stories where it is
Ranma-and-some-Tendo-sister-other-than-Akane, so I'm going to
say I'm biased in the first place. In this case I'm rooting for
Akane simply because she has a 200 year old unrequited love for
Ranma.
You too, huh? I'm rooting for her myself, but that's not to
say she'll end up with the guy... Stories like these have a way
of getting out of the author's control, y'know? Here's hopin'...
What a twist! Ranma may have to deal with a super-charged
Akane, Ukyo, Shampoo, Kodachi (doubtful here, since Akane could
eat her for lunch), and for a twist, Nabiki as a "sister" to
pick on and get picked on by, and finally Kasumi as a fiance.
Don't forget poor lil' Hiroe, the "girl next door" with a
tragic secret...
Some comments on the characters/story:
Soun: crys a lot, just like he's supposed to, but I thought he
probably should have gone demon head when Akane told him off
As far as I can see, from reading the manga and watching all
the Anime released in North America so far, Soun NEVER pulls the
demon-head attack on one of his daughters. Everybody ELSE is fair
game, though.
Akane: Lots of changes, but given she's a few hundred years old,
and has been essentially a gladiator, she's one mean, nasty,
killing machine. She has a LOT of work a head of her to win
Ranma's heart. She has to learn how to be "human", and how to
teach Ranma how to be a better martial artist without
frightening him further.
Yep. Have to agree with you there.
Nabiki: She's almost too kind here, but I think it'll work for
this story. I'm almost predicting that she'll end up either
liking or hating Ranma a lot more in your story than in the
"normal universe", for Ranma (either deliberately or
accidentally) has thwarted her twice so far.
Nabiki CAN be nice, when she wants to be... Remember, in the
manga and anime, Nabiki didn't start out as a heartless
mercenary, (though she evolved into one pretty quickly) more like
a typical seventeen-year-old schoolgirl. It's a fanfic cliche
that she controls a vast network of informants, extortionists and
toadys from the get-go. Up until the point that she discovers
that Kunou (a guy she can't stand) is a willing mark for any old
scheme she can come up with, she behaves pretty much like a
typical teasing older sister. Anyway, it's important to remember
that Nabs has a sense of humour. Paybacks might be a bitch, but
she doesn't have to be one...
Kasumi: For someone that is central to the story, I'm not
reading much about her, her thoughts, or her actions other than
five paragraphs in the first chapter.
More to come, I promise. Actually, the reason she's not as
developed as the other cast members so far is that she's pretty
much a cipher in the original material. I'm trying to get inside
her head but Takahashi didn't build a whole lot of room in there.
I'm trying to renovate, but it's a slow process.
Ranma: A nice guy, a bit more polite that I remember him being
in the Manga or the videos. Being clobbered by Akane may have
been a *good* thing for him in the long run; he may learn some
humility. Relationship wise, Ranma certainly has stated that he
is terrified of Akane; likes Kasumi (a bit confused though); and
sees Nabiki as a friend.
Yep, Akane creeps him out, Kasumi is slowly giving him a
sort-of Oedipal complex, and Nabs may turn out to be a better
friend than anyone thought possible.
One final comment about Nabiki. You seem to be able to write
her with a comic flair, she has the most developed, non-hate
relationship with Ranma in the story so far. Is there a reason
for this?
Nabs is just a hoot and a half to write, that's all. Nabiki
and Ranma as a couple is a fun thought, but other authors have
done this so well in the past, i'd like to avoid that angle if I
can. I'm not ruling a Nabs-Ranma romance out, but Akane wouldn't
approve, that's for sure. (Not that she approves of Kasumi as
Ranma's fiancee, but even Warrior-Akane wouldn't beat up Kasumi.
She ain't THAT evil. Nabiki, however, has a knack for pissing
people off...) Right now, I like them as friends. Ranma NEVER has
female friends who don't want to marry him, so it's a twist the
story might benefit from.
Dave, how many chapters do you imagine this story to run?
As many as it takes to get through to Pantyhose, maybe
beyond. I'd like to go further than most alt/Ranma stories do,
because there are so many characters that get left out. Don't get
me wrong, I love stories like A Tale of Two Wallets and Switched
Heirs, but past a certain point, they diverge completely from the
canon and into uncharted territory. Not at all a bad thing, but
i'd like to see how close I can keep this to the original
timeline, but still fulfil the conditions of the Bet. My thoughts
on all this may change completely tomorrow, but that's how I feel
about it right now.
Tom
Tom, you've made my day. Thanks for writing, and keep me
abreast of what you think of the next chapters!
Ja Ne!
Akane The Vampire Slayer's Homepage:
http://matrix.crosswinds.net/~ksna