Author's Notes

This fic was a sneak preview of the future of Ranma fan fiction. 

It is the logical consequence of the current trend among Ranma
fics to draw less and less of their characterization from actual
canon sources (Manga/Anime) while taking more and more of it from
*other* fanfics.  With the abundant wealth of Ranma fanfics having
long exceeded the amount of canon material, it is probably
unavoidable that certain notions taken from other authors' works
creep into a fanfic writer's perception of the characters. 
However, if this is not recognized and balanced by frequent
reality checks ("Have you ever seen them act that way in the
Anime/Manga - or was that just a fanfic?") then the inevitable
result will be an escalating spiral of fanfics feeding upon
fanfics, in which all subtleties are lost and all clichees are
exaggerated until the last resemblance to the source material is
lost.

	I agree with this totally -- this descent into "meta-fanfiction"
has been worrying me for some time.  What I worry about, though is the
following: there are only so many really different stories that can be
written using the same set of characters and situations.  Therefore, as
more and more fanfics are written, new authors either A) write the same
story we've seen over and over again, B) resort to more and more bizarre
world changes, crossovers, etc. until the original series is barely
recognizable, ("It's Ranma in the 41st millennium!  And, um, he becomes
an Inquisitor and fights the forces of chaos!  And Akane is possessed by
Khorne!") or C) writes fanfic built on top of other fanfic and deviates
further from the canon in that way.
	Not that I'm knocking deviation from canon, but after a certain
point it becomes pointless -- you're not writing fanfic, you're writing
original fiction in which you refuse to define your own characters and
instead use parodies on someone elses.
	My real question is: what's the solution?  You can stick to the
canon, but then you're back into "it's all been done" territory.  You
can pursue wilder and wilder weirdness.  ("Ranma's a zombie!"  [It's
been done.]  "Okay...he's a MUTANT zombie!  And he fights the guys from
Resident Evil!")  The drawbacks to this should be self-explanatory.  Or
you could stop writing Ranma fanfic, which doesn't seem likely.
	Any good ideas?

Django Wexler (khaine)
khaine@mindless.com

Calvin: "I've noticed that comic book superheroes usually fight 
	evil maniacs with grandiose plans to destroy the world.  
	Why don't superheroes go after more subtle, realistic 
	bad guys?"
Hobbes: "Yeah, the superhero could attend council meetings and
	write letters to the editor and stuff."
Calvin: "Hmm...I think I see the problem."
Hobbes: "'Quick!  To the Bat-Fax!'"
	-Calvin and Hobbes




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