Graham,
My commentary is enclosed in square [ ] brackets.
Not a problem. The last quarter year has been bad for me too, so
I can empathise.
[Allow me then to offer my condolences as well as my gratitude for your
empathy.]
I'm looking forward to it. By the way, did I tell you how much I
enjoyed this part the last time you posted it?
[Yes, you did. And thank you again.]
Well, learn something new every day. This fic's educational
as well as entertainment. :)
[Well, making the point about the old system of measurement being used for
measuring the sizes of weapons is important to a couple of puns in this part
of the story. I don't know how many people caught them, though.]
I've seen it more commonly translated as 'jackass'.
[Ukyou uses "jackass" a lot in the videos. I have read very little of the
English language Manga translated by Viz, but assume that they translate it
as "jackass" in the Manga as well. All a matter of taste in the end, I think.
Such things are what makes translation a tricky job.]
Okay by me. I think it means something like 'kettle' anyway,
which doesn't really make sense in English unless you know the
origin of the coloquialism. I'm a bit hazy on it myself. But
the contextual meaning of "okama" is fairly clear.
[It's hard to say for certain. The term is not written in kanji or even
hirigana. As with many Japanese perjoratives, it is written in katakana.]
You know, I have this picture of a 'Herman's Head' scene whenever
you do this MPD dialogue.
[Would you relieve my ignorance on something? I don't know what "Herman's
Head" is. I watch very little television so I am frequently blindsided by
things everyone else takes for granted. I am here assuming you are referring
to a stand-up comic's routine or some such. Is it on cable?]
By the way, I'm still waiting for you to write the scene where Ranma
tries to use the Unisen-ken to hide in Akane's bedroom to ambush
Shampoo only to discover that Akane can sense his presence. Come on,
after all the effort you put into setting it up!
[Patience, my dear Graham, patience! All good things come to he who waits.]
.
Oh, he took her panty_hose_. I should have guessed. I really
should. I wondered why he would steal Nabiki's panties. Where
was my mind?
Beside the gutter, I mean. :6
[I started to mention that Nabs was not wearing any panties beneath her
hosiery, but decided that it would detract from the fight. All said and done,
it is perhaps a matter best left to the individual reader's imagination.]
And this is a bad thing because ....?
[He might be in control of his curse.]
Mmmm... so while onna-Ranma may have control of their female
body, Ranma still controls the ki-output?
[Oops! My mistake. I will re-word accordingly. It's not easy writing about a
guy that is a girl part time.]
Rising Dragon Chuan? I'm guessing that something to do with Tai
Chi Chuan, but I don't know what. The Rising Dragon Ascention already
uses the opponent's battle aura against them. It'd probably help if
I knew what 'Chuan' meant.
BTW, don't mix English and Japanese in the one name.
[Point well taken. The Chinese word "chuan" is basically the same as the
Japanese word "ken." Either can mean fist, techniqe. blow with a fist or, as
is very common when used in the name of a technique, it can mean "ki
technique." I will rename the attack accordingly.]
Ohhh! Physics and martial arts! And following in the tradition
of Colongue's explanation of the original Hyruu Shoten Ha, too!
[Another bit of daring-do on the author's part. No doubt I'll break my kneck
before this story is done. Mixing phyisics and fantasy is fraught with
danger.]
When did Tarou learn to speak in this form? Last I checked he could
only say 'Moo'.
[I have received several complaints on this point and almost changed the
story line because of them, but in the end decided to leave it in its
original form. In the Japanese language Manga, Chimera-Tarou never speaks.
OTOH, he never "moos." This appears to be license taken by Viz. What he does
is give out the same nasty laugh at appropriate places in the story, as when
he double-crossed Ranma during their fight with Rouge. His laugh as
Chimera-Tarou is exactly the same as his laugh in his human form, indicative,
in my view at least, of Tarou's inner state--nasty and treacherous. I here
decided to exercise a bit of license of my own, even though everyone could
safely argue that Takahashi never intended Chimera-Tarou capable of speech.
This is proabably true, but then she never had him moo like a cow, either.
This will be monster-boy's only appearance in the story.]
Have you ever noticed that Genma seems to have no trouble turning
panda even when there's no cold water handy?
[I had not until you mentioned it, and the point is well taken. Takahashi
always intended for there to be more to Genma that what met the eye. I will
be taking advantage of that fact as well as simlilar license with Soun and
Happosai.]
Has anyone ever told him that cold objects conduct electricity
better than hot? Especially gasses, which become much when cold.
I guess not.
[Very likely they tried, but then Ranma is notorious for his inattention
during class. In this case however, he is actually trying to absorb the
lightning strike with "cold ki." It worked, but we must remember that in this
version of the Ranma-verse, matter and energy are always conserved while ki
is not. Hmm, I had probably better re-phrase Ranma's line on this subject to
make the matter clear.]
And to think, when you started this whole Ranma-is-a-dragon thing, I
thought you were just being figuative. I really should have known
better, shouldn't I?
[I actually considered writing the story in just that vein, but it seemed to
be no great violation of verisimilitude in a Ranma-verse to have him become
an actual dragon. Having made this decision, I realized that I could
introduce our hero to an entirely new ration of problems to stumble through.
A very humorous one (I hope it proves humorous) presents itself in Part VII.]
This scene could use something else to distinguish between the three
voices. Those brackets and braces look awefully similar in certain
fonts. I didn't notice them until I looked close.
[Point well taken. I'll make changes accordingly.]
By the way, have you ever read Piers Anthony's _Dragon's Gold_ series?
Particularly _Chimaera's Copper_. I'm reminded somewhat of the
chimaera of that story - the body of a giant crab with heads of a man,
a woman and a dragon, each with their own personality.
[No, I haven't read that one. I'll add it to my list of things to read. Look
for things to become even more complicated in Part VIII. Dragons beget
dragons, you know.]
You know, 'Chimera-Tarou' isn't too bad a name for him. It certainly
beats 'Awesome-Tarou'.
[I'll pass the idea along to Happosai. Perhaps he will finally relent.]
Warning! Do not let cats near Tatsu-Ranma! Danger! Danger!
[Funny that you should mention this.]
Heh. A great fight with a nice end scene.
[Thank you for the sound criticism, and of course, the praise. I'll get Part
VII out to pre-readers as quickly as I can. ]