On Tue, 3 Jun 1997, Quek Kwang-Ee wrote:

michael.h.chen@yale.edu wrote:

Hmmm, if I can't be productive, I might as well come up with new
ideas to write. :)

Ok, here's the question.  Suppose Ranma never really had his "big
bad" father and spent his childhood wandering around Japan, alone?
How would you suppose he would be like?  Would he be better mannered?
 Be more like Ryoga?  Be a practical person? Be more emotional?  I
think this is going to be a major part of my next Alternative
Reality, Ranma doesn't have parents and he doesn't have a place to
call home, until of course, a sweet girl takes pity on him and takes
him in.....

Well, that's what I have on my mind right now, but I just have a
problem how to characterize Ranma the right way...

Michael Chen

Sorry to post so soon after subscribing to this ML, but I was wanting to 
add something I don't know if you'd think of it. If you have Genma die 
when Ranma was young, wouldn't the engagement to one of Soun's daughters 
still be a plot device? Genma promises it before he dies... And how would 
Ranma take it... Would he still be as rebellious to the idea, or would he 
grant his father's death wish (having not known Genma very well, since he 
was just a boy when Genma dies). An

If Genma dies before Ranma's birth, or when he's a baby, how long does 
Nokoda live? Should it be so angsty that she die in childbirth? And if 
so, wouldn't a family friend, such as the Tendos take little Ranma into 
their household as one of their own? Think about the probabilities of 
what would change and what would stay the same. Also, would your audience 
accept a totally different alternate reality? How does not having 
parents change the relationships Ranma would have (if any) with other 
characters we've seen?

Thanks for your time.
RED