At 01:00 AM 2/26/98 -0700, David Johnston wrote:

Nicholas Leifker wrote:

       The chirp of the crickets was the first thing Ono Tofu heard as he
woke up, a gentle, insistent call at the edge of nothingness.  Next 

Boggs:  Wanting ten minute more, he reached out, smashed

it and went back to sleep.  

Been there, done that.  

came

the gentle sounds of industry, the sounds cars and trains making their 

Cog:  "sounds of cars"

Appropriate that someone named 'Cog' would comment there.  ^_^

way

through the city.  His senses fully awakened, he chanced opening his eyes.
       He was home, in the clinic where he spent his days.  

Boggs:  Not the brothel where he spent his nights?  

You know, that would explain a lot - especially if it was Kasumi who worked
there.  ^_^

       He felt a hand grasp his, its slim, elegant softness in severe
contrast to his own.  

Mizu:  ...slim elegant hand.  Ever look at his hands?  

We're talking levels of slimness and elegance here.  

       For the first time, he found himself saying what he wanted - without
uttering a word.

Boggs:  Best Tofu/Kasumi scene ever written.  

Well, most start with "Ka-Kasumi!  What an amazing coincidence that we
should meet here, of all places!" and conclude with the doctor dancing with
Betty-chan.  ^_^

Thanks, by the way.

       "You seem surprised that I would call you by your given name.  I
merely listened to my brother's ranting to discover the truth.  Don't
worry, Ranma; your masculine self will be here for me soon enough."  

Boggs:  I dunno.  She seems pretty  with-it to me.  

Insanity is society's way of dismissing people who disagree with them.  ^_^

       "You think to try to get away?  Foolish girl.  Here, let my water
give you some wisdom."  Kodachi followed Ranma up to the roof, and uncapped
another thermos.  "Come on...why do you struggle so?"

Boggs:  Yeah?  Why does she?  What's so scary about becoming a guy 
for a bit?  
Mizu:  Well, Kodachi could have slipped a paralysis potion into
the water.  You never know.  

There are other reasons why Ranma wishes to stay a girl, one of which was
stated at the end of Part 4.

       Ranma grimaced.  "I would, if I was under the influence of blackmail
or a paralysis drug!"  She kicked the thermos out of Kodachi's hand.  A
touch of water soaked her leg; however, it wasn't enough to trigger the
change.

Boggs:  How long's it been she turned back into a guy, anyway?  

Only a couple of days.

       Ranma was almost growling now, the seething frustration of a year's
worth of impotent refusals hard in her mind.  "Then...only then, after
everything's changed, do you notice the fuzz in your mind.  All of a
sudden, you're seeing the world with different eyes, acting with a
different body, and thinking with a different mind.  You notice
things...feel things...emotions and thoughts that make you want to throw up
once you change back to a girl.  Now, Kodachi...do you really want to put
me through that?"

Mizu morphs into Kodachi:  Of course I do!
Boggs:  This is the part that's subtle, right?  
Mizu:  Well, rather than a blanket rejection of masculinity, it 
could be taken as Ranma discussing the horror he felt as he was
losing his gender identification.  What I have to wonder is why
Ranma now identifies so strongly with being female.  Does this
mean that Ryouga and Shampoo are going to become full-time animals?
Why does she now seem to find turning male as repellent as he did
turning female?  
Cog:  Incorrect.  She finds turning male far more repellent than
he did the opposite.  

Well, I've discussed this bit at length.  Although... I wonder how Ryouga
would like bringing home the bacon all the time.  

       Ranma let go of Kodachi's hand, allowing the last thermos to fall to
the ground, then realised that her own hands were shaking.  "The next time
you ever want to try something like this again, remember what I said...and
that there's a lot of Nannichuan water out there.  You want to play with
water? Then so will I."  She leapt from the roof, leaving the madwoman
stunned by her words.  The new woman ran as though the hounds of hell were
after her, not stopping until she was safely in the confines of her home.

Mizu morphs into a male version of Kodachi:  Ranma!  I've taken
your advice.  Now come to my arms my darling!  OHOHOHOHOHOHO!

The scary thing is that she'd probably look quite bishonen.  

       For centuries her people had been a shining light, keeping alive the
dictates of the warrior empress who had once co-ruled the Chin dynasty.

Mizu:  Which warrior empress was that?  My Chinese history is
a little shaky.  

Ask Hitomi.  She wrote this bit.  

That woman, who had been an example to other women, had shown others that
true ability to rule did not rely on a being's sex.  It relied upon the
inner strength of the person who was competent.  Normal laws and

Boggs:  Feminist...lecture...boring...can't...stay...zzzzzzz

Well, what else do you expect from an Amazon matriarch?  ^_^

       A part of the rules that they had emplaced were meant to further
their heritage, and prevent the sicknesses that had occurred in other
villages.  Although they had not known it by that name, intermixing new
genetics, new 'blood' into their lines kept them strong when others fell.
It was that strength, the influx of new genetic material, that had
encouraged their survival when Confucianism and the pacification of women
became a standard across the rest of China.

Cog:  A more accurate word would be "subjugation".

But 'subjugation' is such a strong word... I know!  Let's call it 'Cultural
Revolution'.  ^_^

Mizu:  Yadda-yadda.  Let's skip over the entire history of
the Amazon nation, shall we?
The picture speeds up, and Colognes voice-over sounds like
an enraged squirrel

What... did she just fall into a Jusenkyo spring?  

       If they only had some way around the limitations placed on them,
they could help Ranma.  They could help one who was worthy of eventual
leadership of the tribe and knowledge of their arts.  They...she would be
able to help a child that she had truly grown to love.
       For the first time in years, Cologne wept.

Mizu:  Well, that was long winded and mostly pointless.  
Cog:  One would like to know what Cologne's definition of
"help" would be.  

Some things are better left unsaid.  It'll come up in future chapters. 

       Not the Ranma she knew, but the Ranma she had always wished for.  A
friend to listen to and share dreams and hopes with.  Someone whose
interests matched her own, and was not limited by societies' dictates. 

Mizu:  Twit!  When was Ranma ever limited by society's dictates?  
Boggs:  She always wished for Ranma to love shopping for cute girl's
clothes?  Each to her own I guess.   

@BAP!  Baka.  ^_^

The

person who would treat her as human.

Mizu:  When did Ranma ever _not_ treat her as human?  

Five words: "Why won't you fight me?"

       Now it was her own prejudices that were getting in the way.

Boggs:  Oh god, I'm heterosexual!  I'm so evil!

Heeheehee...

       She loved Ranma, even this version of Ranma, but was unable to deal
with having another woman as a lover.  It shouldn't have mattered to her,

Boggs:  Why shouldn't it matter to her?  Akane's got as much
right to her sexual thingy as Ranma does.  Give him to 
Ukyo and wave bye-bye.  
Mizu:  What makes you think Ukyo's lesbian?
Boggs:  Let's just say I wouldn't be surprised if she swang both
ways.  Remember, she's the one who thought the sex change bit was
so neat.  

One problem: Akane loves the jerk.  As such, Akane now loves a *female*
jerk.  

especially since she had almost a year to get used to the idea that her
fiancee could change sexes, but Akane realised that it did.  Ranma was now
a woman, and even though she loved her, Akane was afraid of what the
physical act would mean.

Boggs:  He'll lose his soul and kill your pig!

Well... maybe not the first part.  ^_^

       She felt Nodoka's warm hands leave her own.  "Nabiki, I know you are
not like your other sisters.  You want to go out into the world and make a
life for yourself, rather than a love for yourself.  But remember,
Nabiki-chan...love can strike when you least expect it.  Shouldn't you at
least know the basics of how to cook?  After all, how else are you going to
provide for your husband?"

Cog:  Heat up TV dinners?
Boggs:  Hire a housekeeper?
Mizu:  Trick him into doing all the work?

Yep.  ^_^

       "I'm going to take a bath."

Mizu/Boggs:  She is?  

Surprising, isn't it?  

       To Nabiki's relief, Nodoka managed a private smile.  "I know,
Nabiki.  I know."  She looked back to Nabiki, and to the apron the teenager
wore.  "And don't you have vegetables waiting?  I want to see a stir-fry in
front of me by the time the night is out, you know..."

Mizu (morphs into Nabiki):  Akane, I'll pay you 5,000 yen to
cook dinner for me.   

At least that way Nodoka wouldn't ever let her try again...

Mizu:  So, any final thoughts?
Boggs:  Well, I liked all the sufferin', and the Kasumi/Tofu
scene was grade A.
Cog:  Very few grammatical or spelling errors.
Mizu:  Personally, there's one thought which keeps nagging at me...
Ranma's still hiding from what he really is, still trying to
fit herself into a neat category with regard to the rest of
the world.  Perhaps it's because I never had a natural gender,
but it seems to me that Ranma needs to stop lying to herself 
and everyone around him and accept both natures as integral
parts of what he now is.

Ah... but will she?  That is the question.  She's never been good with
emotional confrontations, and that one would be a doozy.

Thanks for the comments, David.  

-- Nick