Alluring alliteration isn't it?  Now onto the show...

*_Raves_*

Theodore Sturgeon's  "90% of everything is crap" is too often an 
understatement in fanfiction. I have particularly noticed this with 
InuYasha and Gundam Wing fics.  However, I recently had the pleasure of 
reading a superbly written IY fic entitled "Rebound" by Kristine Batey. 
 Reading it, I knew immediately that this story was written by someone 
of maturity and experience.  Besides the general quality of the writing, 
she endows the story with an emotional depth rarely seen in fanfiction 
perhaps because most fanfiction writers (at least of IY fics) are too 
young to have experienced being faced with the absurdity of life and no 
longer have the strength to laugh.
  The fic can be found at: 
http://nexus.colum.edu/user/nierodzik/html/fanfic.htm

I finally saw Crest of the Stars/Banner of the Stars.  I wish all 
science fiction anime was that good.  Jinto and Lafiel truly complement 
each other, the supporting characters are presented with wit and humor 
(I adore Admiral Spoor) and the details of space warfare are well worked 
out.  

_*Rants*_

These rants are not in any particular order except by 
stream-of-consciousness.  

It would be nice if authors didn't start long multichapter or epic fics 
unless they truly commit themselves to finishing them (Hi Alan, Hi 
Daniel, Hi John).  I find it quite discouraging to spend the time on C&C 
and then see the story abandoned.  I think it would be better if the 
author either wrote a series of independent stories within the same 
universe, or sequential stories where each story provides completion, so 
that even if the writer chooses not to write any further stories in that 
series, there is never a sense of abandonment.  One of the best examples 
of the latter approach is Richard Lawson's Nuku Nuku stories.  

Why do so few fanfiction authors ever investigate the real Japan?  For 
example, Juuban is a real district in Tokyo.  In fact, Naoko Takeuchi 
lives there with her husband Yoshihiro Togashi, creator of Yu Yu 
Hakusho.  Information about Juuban is readily available online. 
 Similarly, Nerima is a real ward in Tokyo and contains the ultra 
prestigious Waseda University Senior High School.  Yet I don't ever 
recall reading a Ranma fic that used this fact (such as some sort of 
competition between Waseda and Furinkan).

I previously referred to the astonishingly low quality of InuYasha and 
Gundam Wing fics, especially when writing about romantic pairings.  In 
great part, I suspect that it is because most of those fanfiction 
authors want a certain pairing, no matter how much they have to distort 
the actual characters.  It is still a mystery to me why far more GW fics 
treat a Heero/Duo pairing as a given, practically canon, although the 
manga makes it quite clear that Heero and Relena do establish a romantic 
relationship.  Similarly, in IY fics, authors who want alternate 
pairings such as Sesshomaru/Kagome or Kouga/Kagome matchups require just 
about everyone to be OOC to bring these about.  

I find one aspect of many of these IY alternate pairing fics 
particularly repulsive and disturbing.  A suprising number have Kagome 
raped/engage in other not entirely consensual sex/seduced under false 
pretences/be subjected to mind games/and comparable actions which still 
end up in romance.  The fics seem more about Stockholm Syndrome than 
love.   Even if Kagome is not raped, how can a serious relationship 
develop based on lies and deception?

Some additional advice to authors -

Don't distort the characters so much that the reader can't understand 
why the character is used.  Just the other day I came across a Ranma/Van 
Hellsing fic where Ranma was sufficiently OOC that with some rewriting, 
the story could easily be a purely Van Hellsing fic with an OC..  
Distingush between fanfic cliche and the actual manga/anime.  Once again 
using Ranma as an example, too many authors brush off Shampoo as someone 
who only wants Ranma as a trophy husband and gene contributor, and where 
the too too common attitude is that Amazon laws have no standing in 
Japan and so Ranma has no obligations towards Shampoo.  Yet, in the 
Reversal Gem story, we see from the violence of her behavior that 
Shampoo harbors real feelings towards Ranma.  Also, by publicly 
challenging Shampoo under her laws, Ranma gives some recognition to her 
laws and culture, so that in fact Ranma has obligations of honor to all 
three fiancees.

In crossovers, consider carefully whether the different worlds are 
really compatible.  Something like a Slayers/Banner of the Stars 
crossover would make little sense.  Also, see if the specific characters 
make sense in the crossover world.  I've seen Harry Potter/Tenchi Muyo 
crossovers where Sasami enrolls in Hogwarts.  So how often does Hogwarts 
get a student who is the avatar of the patron goddess of a star empire, 
has the occasional pet who turns into an intelligent armed spacecraft, 
has an exceptionally powerful group of friends and relatives on Earth, 
and is linked to one of the most powerful ships in the galaxy? Compared 
to Kagato, Voldemort would be a minor annoyance.


Oh well, enough ranting.

_*Reviews*_

I found Psyckosama's "Circumstance and Consequence" quite refreshing. 
 Few Ranma fics show Ranma in an adult relationship or give Setsuna a 
believable life outside the Time Gates.  Although I'm not overly 
familiar with Sailor Moon, Setsuna's shushing of Haruka  seemed in 
character as well as being funny.  I just wonder what will happen when 
Setsuna looks up Ranma in the Time Gates and discovers the curse.  Even 
without using the cliche of Ranma as a chaos focus (although his life 
does seem to support this), I suspect Setsuna would be shocked by his 
life and may very well undertake remedial action to aid him.  I would 
like to see how Ranma's behavior changes as he not only relieves sexual 
frustration, but is treated as a responsible adult.

Another nice Psyckosama work is "Awkward Consequences," I like that 
Hotaru is shown as more than the nice sweet girl she is often portrayed 
as.  She has a temper and shows a strong will.  I do hope future 
chapters will include more of her expressed concerns that she is 
marrying someone she barely knows, much of her apparent happiness is a 
facade, and that she will be a teenage mother in a society that has 
little tolerance for her situation (Japan has the lowest rate of teen 
pregnancies among the developed nations).  Also, how will Ranma support 
them?  

In "Afterimage" Aishuu Shadoweaver writes with a delicate almost poetic 
quality. Her technique (I'm assuming the author is female) of having a 
different POV for each chapter is nicely done and effectively 
communicates to the reader the connections between the characters as 
well as heightening the mystery of Utena and displaying their own 
fragility.  

_*Requests*_

If a story consists entirely of dialogue, how would I indicate and 
distinguish between a pause in one person's speech, a pause on the part 
of both parties, a pause between the different parties speech, and a 
dialogue occurring sometime later such as several hours later?  I am 
attempting to write a story that is almost entirely dialogue.

Finally, a fic request.  I once came across a angsty Ranmafic where in 
the first chapter Nabiki had arranged for Akane to lose the morning 
battle to Kuno.  Akane returns from the date, doesn't speak to anyone 
and spends the next three hours in the furo (I think we can guess what 
happened).  I searched in all the usual places but haven't found it. 
 Anyone recognize it? (And no, I am not referring to Gregg Sharp's "Kuno 
Got Lucky".)


Well that wraps up R4.  Ja ne.

-whimsy









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