<"For a Dying Friend" spoilers below -- beware>
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I'll try not to reiterate all the great C&C this fic has received already.
However, I do have to agree with the prevalent theme that the fic's plot is
highly original. The first half reminded me a bit of "The Iris Tales"
<http://www.thekeep.org/~nightelf/fanfic/index.html> by Nicholas Leifker,
with parallels between how it becomes increasingly difficult for Ranma to
change back to a male, going to the Amazons for help (Cologne in one story,
the Amazon council in the other), and having Akane and Ranma be together as
women following the change. However, the story diverges sharply from
Leifker's fic from there on out, providing the reader with an insightful
(and possibly more canonical) look into how Ranma would deal with becoming
permanently female.
Telling the story from Akane's perspective definitely has its merits. In
fact, I think Gary makes a good case as to why Akane's perspective is
preferrable in Ranma-permanently-becomes-a-girl fics. Akane recounting the
last time she saw Ranma as a male, Ranma's reaction after reading "there is
no known way to remove the curse" in one of Happousai's books, and even the
Akane's insights into her conversation with Nodoka. Akane strikes me as the
more ... introspective of the two, making her possibly a more logical person
to tell this story.
And just because I'm greedy, I would have liked to see more interaction
between Akane and Ryouga, post-permanent change for Ryouga, if only because
he was such a close confidant of Akane. It seemed like since Ranma wasn't
fighting with Ryouga as a pig anymore, Akane's attention shifted away from
Ryouga.
Hopefully I didn't just regurgitate too many other C&C's. As always, I look
forward to more contributions from you, Gary. Good luck!
Regards,
Dokushinsha
http://www.freeyellow.com/members5/dokushinsha/index.html