On Sat, 12 Oct 1996 18:29:57 +0000 Krista Perry said:
: The characters of the Ranma .5 universe are the sole creation and
: possession of the brilliant Rumiko Takahasi.
While _Hearts of Ice_ and the characters therein belong to the
brilliant Krista Perry. :)
: Hearts of Ice
: Part 6: Lies and Dreams
: Cologne rarely slept. In a lifetime that extended over
: three centuries, she had trained her body to replenish itself in
: an amazingly short amount of time. She knew how to conserve and
: use her energy wisely and economically.
Neat description of Cologne in this paragraph.
: The trick would be getting Ranma calm enough to
: listen to reason...
Which is not an easy task, even under normal circumstances.
: Cologne's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed. "Well
: well," she muttered under her breath. "I should have known Son-
: in-law wouldn't wait until a decent hour for this confrontation."
: She reached for her staff and swung herself up to her customary
: place while balancing the staff on its tip, then closed her eyes
: and spent a few moments focusing herself for the upcoming battle.
: Whether the battle would be physical or otherwise had yet to be
: determined, but it didn't matter. It would be tricky either way.
Apparently, despite her advanced age, Cologne has not seen enough
movies (or read comics) - The righteous anger of the hero *always*
wins over the treacherous tricks of the villain. :)
But then again, this fic is not like the Manga. The Manga was in
black and white, and for the most part so were the characters and
plots. In her monochrome world of clear-cut shapes and sharp
contrast, Takahashi-san built stories of a wonderful simplicity
that tapped into the archetypical core of the genre. (and they are
bloody fun to read, too!) Krista's fic is, as it were, a Ranma
Colour Special. She paints her characters - new and old - in
livid colors, contrasting them against each other, and gives them
values and morals that are no longer black and white, but in all
shades of gray.
Like only the very best of fics, Krista's work manages to color in
the blanks of Takahashi-san's sketches without altering their
shape, keeping them the same and making them anew at the same
time. Although I have many "favourite" fics, since there are so
many different visions possible, based on the clear outlines of
the Manga, each as valid and unique as the next one, _Hearts of
Ice_ has entered these ranks as soon as I saw the first part.
(Hey, Mike, are you still awake after that rant? How about this
one, then?)
Seeing the complex plot, I am given to think: Perhaps Cologne is
right in her assessment of the situation. Maybe, just maybe, she
can come out of this victorious, if she plays her cards right.
Naaaah, I'm kidding. This is Ranma 1/2 we're talking about -
Cologne can *never* win. :P Ranma is gonna get Akane back and
they'll marry eventually and live happy ever after.
Do you hear me, Zen? He's gonna marry AKANE!!!!!
WaAHahaHAHaHAhahAaA!
: "She means that they didn't do it, Ryoga," said Ranma, after
: instantly devouring his bowl of raman. "It was some dragon in
: China that wanted to marry Shampoo. She wouldn't marry him
: because," Ranma swallowed, still uncomfortable with the idea,
: "because of me. So he cast the spell to make me hate her. But
: don't worry," he said, smiling. "If anyone can lift this spell,
: Cologne can."
Uh, one slight comment: If a blood spell is such an incredibly
powerful sorcery; And if this particular one was cast with the
blood of a dragon, no less - Then why is Ranma not hating Shampoo?
Huh? Explain *that* one, Cologne. If that was the true objective
of the spell, a short explanation without any proof *whatsoever*
should not have been able to convince Ranma.
The fact that he has accepted the explanation so easily *proves*
it to be a false one. Ha ha ha!
: "Oh my," said a new voice. "Isn't this a sight to warm the
: heart. And here I came expecting to see the place torn to
: pieces."
:
: Everyone turned to see Nabiki standing in the doorway, her
: arms folded across her chest, looking at the group with a cool
: expression.
Wheeeee! Yay for Nabiki!!
She'll figure this out in no time. Ha, Cologne, you don't stand a
chance, because Nabiki is the only one in the series with a brain!
: Shampoo bristled in anger and stood to face Nabiki. "We no
: use anything like that, sneaky girl! We want to help Ranma!"
Um, loath as I am to say this, but she has a point there. Despite
the mountains of _Passion Spice_ clones, The real Shampoo is not
actually known for attempts to poison or drug Ranma.
: "Oh yes, that's right," she said, rolling her eyes in
: disgust. "I heard you mention this Chinese dragon who
: *supposedly* cast this spell when I came in." She fixed Ranma
: with a look that would have made Einstein feel dumb. "You're not
: really going to fall for that, are you? You actually believe
: that some dragon all the way in China away just *happened* to
: cast a spell that completely eliminated Shampoo's competition in
: the fiancee department?"
There, you see? There is nothing to prove their story true,
except their assurance that it is, but there are lots of *known*
facts that speak against their credibility. Five bonus points go
to Nabiki for exceptional perceptiveness.
: Still, Ranma may be able to accept such a story, but the
: whole thing was a little too convenient for her liking. She had
: a sense for these things, for feeling out people, and knowing
: what motivated them. And most of all, for sensing when someone
: was trying to pull a fast one. It was a very... profitable
: talent.
:
: Mostly, though, she didn't like the well-disguised
: predatorial look Cologne was giving Ranma. The untrained
: observer would have missed the subtle expression on the old
: crone's face completely. But Nabiki had worn the expression
: herself too many times to be fooled.
I love this. It is *so* in character for her, and finally there
is a *positive* way for her to apply her talents. I am eternally
thankful for your portrayal of Nabiki, Krista.
Ranma's Dream was very interesting, bringing some clarity to the
nature of their link and what hope it holds for them. The "Not
forgetting each other" angle is wonderfull with its mythic
undertones, harking back to so many fairy tales and ancient sagas.
But... How would Ranma be able to forget Akane, when he's living
in her home, being constantly reminded of her by his friends and
associates? Unless, of course the spell affected more than just
the two of them and Ranma will find himself in a situation where
everybody's memory of Akane is slowly fading, as if she never
existed, until only he is left to uphold her memory and keep it
alive in his mind.
Brrr. A chilly thought.
Sebastian