Caroline Ann Seawright wrote:

Akane would *not* be able to marry a woman.  Your points above, about
changing sexual preferences, apply to Akane.  She just wouldn't be able
to do it, I think, and their relationship would change.

Perhaps not, but in this story, it seems like Akane callously dumped
Ranma as soon as he came back without getting the cure. She didn't seem
to bother to hang around to see if there was another cure, or anything.
And how could she do that to someone she loved?

Um, do some math here.  This story takes place two years after Ranma's
curse became permanent.  They broke off the engagement six months ago. 
They had 18 months to fall out of love... or at least, for Akane to fall
out of love with Ranma.  Don't forget, too, they've never admitted to
being *in* love.

There comes a point where you have to stop waiting, especially when
there's not even a prospect for a change.  That's what Akane came to
realize, and what Ranma comes to realize in this story.

And, you don't actually know Akane's preferences - she hated guys and
liked girls ... although that's not a preference, really, it sort of
makes you wonder if she could be a little both ways ... especially since
she fell in love with Ranma *after* she knew he was a guy-girl. If he
was just a guy, do you think that Akane would have falled in love with
Ranma?

I don't know Akane's preferences, true.  Neither do you.  The best
extrapolation, I think you have to agree, is that she is heterosexual. 
It's possible that she's bisexual, but the *best* and *most supported*
observation is that she is strictly heterosexual.

My own series, "Thy Inward Love", poses the same observation:  That
Akane would *not* have fallen in love with Ranma if she hadn't seen him
as a woman first.  However, neither would she have fallen in love with
him if he was a woman full time.  And, if he were to become a woman full
time and no cure was in sight, she would eventually fall out of love
with him, because her preferences don't work that way.

In my opinion, of course.  :)

I can't say that Akane's gay or bi ... but she does love Ranma.

So Akane can change her preferences to love Ranma when he's a woman, but
Ranma can't change his preferences to love Kentaro?  That seems a
contradiction, especially when I was careful to build a friendship
between Ranma and Kentaro.  The *potential* for love is there; it's
simply a matter of determining sexuality, and how big a role that plays
in their relationship.  That would be true of Ranma-Akane as well as
Ranma-Kentaro.

And in this story, Akane was just way too callous ... (So was Genma,
but that's another story.)

Like I said, the poignant breakup occurred over the course of a year and
a half and concluded six months ago.  Akane has moved on, now, and is
trying to get Ranma to move on as well.  She comes off as a little
harsh, true, but that's *necessary*, since Ranma is still hung up.

I got my inspiration for this scene from the Kimagure Orange Road
movie:  I Want To Return To That Day.  When the protagonist makes his
choice, he has to be *very* mean to the rejected suitor to force her to
get over him and accept his decision.  He has to, however.  Any
half-measures would, in the long run, be *more* painful.

So I don't think it's unrealistic for Akane to act this way at this
stage of her relationship with Ranma.

This story wasn't meant to be an all-encompassing look at
Ranma-turned-female.  It was merely meant to explore under what
circumstances Ranma might allow a guy to kiss her.  I could have written
a couple hundred meg of build-up, which would deal with Ranma and Akane
and Genma and Nodoka during those two years, but that *wasn't* the story
I was trying to write.
 

I think that she and Ranma would have travelled around together for
years, searching for a cure ... none of this giving up and dumping
business...

This I might agree with, and John Biles actually made the same point. 
It's one way to go with this story, and if you want to write the story
this way, I have no problems with that.  I went another way, where Akane
and Ranma both choose to at least *try* to accept how things are, rather
than wasting years of their lives searching for something that might not
come to pass.

 

That's what I think is OOC - the lack of love and care that you gave to
Akane ... And Ranma's giving up ... that's not Ranma. *shrug*

Well, I don't think it's OOC.  So there.  :)

Seriously, I think accepting what's happened, especially when no cure is
in sight, is the more painful but braver thing to do, as well as more
likely to lead to a measure of happiness for Ranma.  She's not giving up
- she says that if the kettle reappears, she uses it in a flash - but
she's realizing that it's better *not* to depend on something that might
never happen.

It's kinda like not buying a new car, no matter how broken down your old
car becomes, in the hopes that you'll win the lottery and be able to
afford a Rolls Royce.
 

Kun-chan...

^_^  I love these debates, which is one reason I wrote this story. 
Thanks for your comments, Kun-chan.


-Richard
sterman@sprynet.com

Come see my Fanfic Web Page:   
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/sterman/fanfic.htm