At 03:44 PM 5/14/98 +0900, YN2 Rob Barba wrote:

At 06:58 PM 5/13/98 -0400, Luigi Mattera wrote:

And before somebody says, it's NOT Kimiko. That is, as far as I can tell, a
fanfic invention that has creeped into the pool of common knowledge, rather
like passion spice and Ryoga's exageratted habit of getting-lost.

**(nods).  I use Yoshie for the simple reason that my own fiancee's name is
Kimiko, and I wouldn't want to unintentionally do a personification.  As
for the passion spice, I think it too is overrated, and I will admit to
going overboard with Ryoga's sense of direction (but it is fun).

As Rob implies, the value of a plot device such as Ryouga's sense of
direction or Passion Spice is twofold - it helps set up or move along a
story and it can be quite amusing.  

Although Passion Spice is a fanfic invention, it fits in the Ranmaverse,
especially since (in those stories that use it) the effects from its use
rarely go as planned and generally cause futher complications.  What
authors should avoid is using plot devices like Passion Spice to solve
problems.  Likewise, Ryouga wandering onto another planet and bringing back
the royal bathrobe of the Emperor of the Whatever Empire as a present for
Akane is fine when used to set up a situation.  However, Ryouga traveling
into Fairie and absentmindedly picking up the potion on Titania's night
table that cures the dread infectious halitosis epidemic raging in Nerima
does not work because here the exaggeration of Ryouga's travel is used as a
deus ex machina.


                                                              dml