[FFML] [Ranma][Revised] Hearts and Minds, Part 2 of 10

[Gary Kleppe]

On 07/06/2013 11:07 AM, Michael Clark wrote:

>> It's not that it never came up; Shamps has learned a few things from
>> the Elders in the seven years between the original series and now.
>> In the original series where these things are played mostly for
>> comedy you can get away with glossing over these points, but in a
>> more serious story that deals with the curses there really needs to
>> be some sort of explanation. I don't know that this is the most
>> plausible one, but it does fit into the overall treatment of the
>> curses used here.
>
> So you're saying Shampoo did not know at the time, but does know now
> that the supposed cure would not work for Ranma.  Mousse, if he had
> known, would've had no reason to disclose this information anyway, and
> same for Cologne (since it could be used as leverage against Ranma, so
> she wouldn't want to undermine herself).  Is that about the gist of your
> point of view on this?


Pretty much, yeah. Cologne certainly knew all along, but there was no 
benefit to her in telling Ranma -- he probably wouldn't have taken her 
word anyway. It was and is news to Mousse, and I suppose I could/should 
explore his reaction a bit more in this chapter before he gets the call 
from Kasumi.


> Hm. Still, it strikes me as very sweeping, in that with that one line,
> you're forced to reconsider a whole bunch of character motivation and
> such.  I suppose I don't have a big problem with doing that in itself,
> but I might feel better about it if the consequences of that revelation
> are more thoroughly explored.  You probably do just that later on,
> however.


Well, maybe not in the sense you're expecting. At this point the 
nanniquan as a cure becomes somewhat moot for most of our heroes thanks 
to Kasumi's new technique. The dynamic is changed. For Mousse, Shampoo, 
and Genma, the curses aren't that big a deal anymore. (The former two, 
of course, have more than enough other things to worry about in this 
story and the latter is very adept at getting himself and others into 
trouble, so it certainly doesn't mean their lives will be a cake walk 
from now on.) For Ranma, the dynamics will change even further, and in 
the process he'll learn about some unexpected consequences to his curse 
that he hadn't been aware of. Then of course there's Ryoga, the only one 
who still needs water to change because Kasumi didn't know about his 
curse. Yes, he can no longer hope to be cured by the nanniquan, but the 
question now is whether he'll work up the courage to reveal himself (so 
to speak) to Kasumi, and, if so, to what degree she'll hold his having 
slept with her sister against him.