From:        Caroline Ann Seawright, kunoichi@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au

Why would she suddenly grow cold just because Ranma's half changed?
Why would she fall out of love with him because of a tragedy? She'd

Cause Humans aren't perfect.  People have fallen out of love for less 
than than this.

But they've been through this before. The only difference here is that
in this story, Ranma gave up for no reason, and Akane didn't love him
any more as soon as he got stuck as a girl... He got stuck as a girl
when Cologne put on the cat tongue - she didn't give up then, even
though the cure would only be given if he married Shampoo.

I don't think this comparison is really valid. The cure for the cat 
tongue was always within reach, always possible; all Ranma had to do was 
beat Cologne and grab the Phoenix Pill, something he believed he could do 
and something in line with his talents as a martial artist. Here... I 
haven't read the manga stories this is based on yet, but as I understand 
it, the Kaisui-fuu is the only thing known that can 'unlock' the cursed 
form. And in this story, it's dropped into a chasm, "buried under so many 
tons of rock even Ryoga can't get to it" -- lost in a situation where his 
martial arts talents can't do a thing to help. Gone forever, for all 
practical purposes. I'd say there's a very substantial difference between 
the two situations: the cat tongue was almost certainly not permanent, 
and Ranma could do something about it; this time it most likely *will* be 
permanent, and there's not a thing he can do about it.

In other words, he's been *beaten*, once and for all -- quite possibly 
for the first time in his life. Now, how would this affect Ranma? I can 
think of at least a couple of possibilities. 

One: the only similar situation I can think of is the original curse... 
and, despite his angry reaction and railing against it, he adapted to it 
remarkably quickly, and fairly completely. For example, the way he 
deliberately used his girl body to wheedle sweets at the start of the 
chapter introducing Kodachi. Or the times he dressed as a girl to fool 
Ryoga... 

Two (And, I think, the far more likely reaction, especially in the 
context of the story): Ranma is an extremely prideful person, and he's 
always been able to win his battles. Except this time. He's finally been 
beaten. No way to train and improve himself enough to win. No new 'secret 
technique' he can learn and take on to victory. The only thing that he 
*knows* can cure him is lost, almost certainly forever. If there's 
anything else that can cure him, he doesn't have the slightest idea what 
it might be or where to start looking for it. (Yes, the Musk Dynasty and 
Jusenkyou would be logical places to start, but he spent 1 1/2 years 
there and apparently came back empty-handed; it doesn't sound like there 
were any leads.) 

Something like that would hit me in the gut so hard I couldn't get up for 
a week -- and I've got a lot less pride and a lot less self-confidence 
than Ranma does. I can't imagine this *not* affecting him; even breaking 
him, at least a little. And that would explain both Genma and Akane's 
reactions -- Genma can't stand him because he broke, in addition to his 
giving up and coming back; and Akane because the person she loved has 
changed inside, as well as being stuck in a woman's body for what looks 
like forever.

So it just doesn't fit with Akane's character for her to dump him for
such a trivial reason. (Yes, it's trivial in the Ranmaverse ... There's
magic and cures everywhere.)

This is probably the root of our differences. You seem to be thinking 
that there's an excellent chance that Ranma will be cured -- if not 
immediately, then eventually. However, the way I read the story, Richard 
meant it to be permanent; if there's a chance for a cure, it's 
vanishingly small. (Am I on the right track here, Richard?) At the least, 
it's only fair to posit this within the story. Moreover, this fits with 
what I know of the Ranmaverse. It even seems to fit the spirit of the 
Ranmaverse; while Takahashi has provided 'temporary' cures before (Tofu's 
pressure point to counter the cat tongue, the Nanniichuan mix), there's 
always been only one 'real' fix (the Phoenix Pill, the real Nanniichuan). 
And here, the 'real' fix is lost forever.

most likely help him to find a cure, and I don't see Ranma stopping
looking for a cure, however long it takes.

I won't argue with that.
At least, Ranma would spend a VERY long time looking for it.

Yes. He wouldn't give up straight again. 

The problem is, where would he look? As I said, the Musk Dynasty and 
Jusenkyou itself are about the only places I could think of; it's 
possible the Joketsuzoku might have some ideas, but I'd expect they would 
be covered while he was checking the other two places. If he didn't find 
any leads there (and it sure looks like he didn't), then where else would 
he go? This is a pretty narrow set of circumstances -- a unique 
modification of an already singular Jusenkyou curse -- and if those 
places didn't have any ideas, I couldn't think of anywhere else that 
would.



Travis Butler
(The Professor, formerly of Myth and Magick!, Lawrence, KS;
 tbutler@tfs.net, now from the Wandering Powerbook;
 <http://www.tfs.net/personal/tbutler/>;
 Mac page <http://www.tfs.net/business/tbutler/>)

...Cats are the proof of a higher purpose to the universe.