DB Sommer wrote on 3/28/2004, 12:44 PM:

 > >  > Kachiko's jaw nearly dropped to the floor.
 > >
 > >     <snerk>  Go on, Kasumi, kill her with kindness!
 >
 > Irony. Isn't it ironic?

    I think that's a tautology.  Or circular reasoning.  Or something.

 > >     Kasumi-chan, Polite and Proper Party Animal.  I'd pay to see
 > that...
 >
 > She was mostly when she went out drinking.

    Well, aside from kneeing all those guys in the groin.  OTOH, that 
probably helped keep the entire experience from going sour on her...

 > >     ...but it works for Soun, too.  Always easy to forget that he's a
 > > world-class Martial Artist himself.
 >
 > He just kicked ass two chapters ago. Now how often does that happen?

    Hey, he has a LOT of history to overcome. (:)

 > >     I suppose *technically* one could link the blame that way, as a
 > second-
 > > or third-order effect.
 >
 > Yep, and she's being a protective mother.

    <shudder>  few things on Earth more unreasonable, or dangerous.  I 
mean, thank God for 'em, but talk about a double-edged sword!

 > >  > He rolled over for the fifth time in as many minutes. This was
 > >  > useless. Rest
 > >  > proved as elusive as Azusa Shiratori on roller skates. Ranma
 > threw off
 > >
 > >     What an image.
 >
 > She'd be quick.

    Was in the opening scenes of the "Big Trouble" movie, too.  That was my 
first experience with Ranma outside fan fiction, and I couldn't figure 
out who all those "cameo" people were...

 > >  > Kachiko Tendou sat cross-legged in the middle of the dojo floor. The
 > cool
 > >  > feel of wood caressing her bottom
 > >
 > >     Akane:  FLOOR NO HENTAI!   <WHAM!>
 > >     C'mon, you have to admit that's an *odd* turn of phrase.
 >
 > Was trying to be flowery.

    And instead you got perverted.  Happens all the time.

 > >  > stood in stark contrast to the heat she
 > >  > felt coming from her body. She absorbed her surroundings. The wooden
 > >
 > >     Didn't know she was "Crusher" Creel's daughter.
 >
 > Heh.

    Well, I would have suggested "studied" or something.

 > >     The worst part is, that's a promise he *can't* keep... and he may
 > never
 > > know that he broke it.
 >
 > We'll see.

    Oh, you TEASE!  (:)

 > >     No, I suspect that this wish, while not a Monkey's Paw, was
 > > deliberately designed to give the wisher something other than what they
 > > wanted.  Maybe... something they need?
 >
 > You hit the nail on the head on what the rest of the title is.
 > Congrats. :)

    Woo Hoo!  I get the No-Prize!

 > >  > "I hadn't thought of that," Akane admitted. It was Happosai who
 > had it
 > in
 > >  > his possession, not her. She had just accepted the opportunity
 > >  > presented to
 > >  > her, and screwed it up in the worst way possible.
 > >
 > >     I doubt Happi wrote it, though.
 >
 > She didnt' think that, just that he had the thing.

    Ahhh.

 > Heh. You know, just to be different, I did have an outline done up a long
 > time ago where the Tendou mother never died, and the girls, for the most
 > part, were worse off for it. Kasumi rebelled big time when she hit her
 > teenage years and became the opposite of her mother. Nabiki became guy
 > hungry instead of money hungry, and uses them worse than ever, and Akane
 > gave up martial arts to please her mother. But it didn't seem to be that
 > interesting an idea once it was fleshed out, Still, it was a way to go
 > against the grain.

    Oh, it could happen.  If there was a church for the Law Of Unintended 
Consequences, I'd be a founding member.  It just seems that canon 
implies (to my mind, at least) that *so* many of the Tendo family's 
emotional problems have their root with their missing member.
    Of course, you've arranged for Kachi to fix most of these problems 
*without* being around to watch her girls grow up... hmmm.

 > > nothing but make her life *worse* than it was before.  Akane's the only
 > > Tendo who hasn't learned a darn thing through this whole mess.
 > >     But she's got one chance left...
 >
 > You'll see. In the epilogue. :)

    Tease.

 > >  > arts, or even for the weather to be clear. Had any of those
 > happened,
 > she
 > >  > wouldn't have had to deal with this hell she had been thrown
 > into. She
 > >  > wouldn't have to consider such an unpleasant decision that would
 > haunt
 > >  > her
 > >  > for the rest of her life.
 > >
 > >     Yeah, sure.  I'd like a peek into one of *those* alt-unis.
 >
 > People have done most of them at one time or another, I think. Even this
 > basic idea was done before. But it was executed so horribly, my mind
 > considered what I'd do to make it 'better' and this was what I came up
 > with.

    Yeah.  But I'll bet that in *this* case, the Genie would have arranged 
for her to come up against a decision just as hard as this, whatever she 
wished for.

 > >  > Again Akane began grasping for another way out of the dilemma. "What
 > >  > happens
 > >  > if she goes back? Will it change the present or something?"
 > >  >
 > >  > "ALL WILL BE AS IT IS NOW."
 > >
 > >     Oracular, much?
 >
 > Simple answers. People can read so much into them. :)

    The principle by which all successful fortuntellers succeed.

 > >  >
 > >  > "ALL WILL BE AS IT IS NOW."
 > >
 > >     That's not an answer.  For one thing, define "NOW."  Now-now, or
 > > now-asit-would-have-been.
 > >     Call me paranoid, but I think Genie-boy's being very deliberately
 > vague
 > > here.
 >
 > It is the nature of such things.

    Feh.  If *I* ever design a Genie, it's going to be hard-programmed to 
provide clear, definitive, and accurate answers to all questions.
    What?  I'm an engineer -- I hate ambiguity.

 > >  > "WHAT HAS HAPPENED WAS REAL. WHETHER OR NOT YOU REMEMBER IS
 > >  > IRRELEVENT. IF
 > >  > YOU UNMAKE THE WISH, YOU UNMAKE IT. THAT IS REAL. IF YOU LEAVE THE
 > >  > WISH AS
 > >  > IT IS, THAT IS REAL, TOO."
 > >
 > >     Which *still* says nothing.  I smell a rat.
 >
 > Or it's just what it says. It doesn't matter if you remember the choices
 > you've made, since you've still made them.

    Yeah, but it says nothing about what things will be like *after* she 
makes whatever decision.   *That's* what Genie-boy ought to be telling her.
    Except, of course, that that would violate the entire raison d'etre of 
this little farce.

 > >     <blink>  AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!
 > >     DB, you cliffhanging sonnava--!   GAH!
 >
 > Yep. I like being evil.

    And you're soooo good at it.  (:)

 > >  > [END CHAPTER] Only the epilogue to go.
 > >
 > >     <grump>  Okay, fine, I'll wait.  <grump>
 >
 > Just need to hear from one more person, then it'll pop up.
 >
 > Thanks for all the help. It's really appreciated. It's been very
 > beneficial.

    Glad to be of service.

 > DB Sommer



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