On Thu, 2 May 1996 gaffney@iconn.net wrote:

1) Does Ranma get mad at/berate Ukyou and Shampoo for attacking
Akane at the wedding, or is this glossed over in the general 
chaos?

   Glossed over in the general chaos, I understand. I suspect he wasn't 
happy at Ukyo later.

2) How does Konatsu attack people?

   Can't help you there.

3) What are wakes like in Japan? 

   Ditto. (Ms. Ichinohei?) 

4) Where is Ukyou's village where she grew up?  Is it a village?
City?  Town?  Stick in the road?  And how far is it from where
our heros are?

   The precise place? Unknown.
   Hoping this will help:
   The dish called okonomiyaki originated in Osaka, which is in the 
Kansai area of western Japan. In the Japanese Ukyo speaks the dialect 
associated with that area (sort of the way all purveyors of Italian food 
supposedly speak with Italian accents). Safe to say she's from the Osaka 
area, though not necessarily from the city itself.
   The Kansai dialect is considered an uneducated one, I'm told. It's 
also associated with the business class formerly associated especially 
with Osaka. Ukyo, in other words, is a bit of a hick, alas. (I suspect 
the Kuonjis are a very conservative bunch, for reasons I'd rather not 
discuss here. That helps explain it.) But she's very much the 
businesswoman. Case in point: in the Kansai dialect "uchi" (lit. "my 
house") also means "I", and Ukyo uses that to refer to herself rather 
than "watashi" (used in standard Japanese). "Uchi", I'm told, is also 
used to refer to the business one works for. So one who speaks Kansai 
identifies oneself with one's business or trade. The okonomiyaki 
trade defines Ukyo's life in a fashion second only to Ranma. Neat, huh?

These will improve my fanfic immensely.  Sorry to all the people
who think we're discussing Ranma too much.

--Sean Gaffney
--still working on "Ranma 1/2: Sour Times (Nobody Loves Me)"

   You're not very subtle, do you know that? :)
   I think I've figured out what you intend to do to poor Ucchan. Of 
course if it's well written, knowing the ending in advance won't be too 
bad. (Why do people read good books over and over otherwise?)

Paul Corrigan
budgie@insomnia3.dorms.utoledo.edu