Hi Arthur.

Guys (and gals) can be pretty low and cruel, but I read it
that *Ranma* is seeing anyone casting an appreciative
looks at "her" as oogling. Not everyone stares crudely,
but some aspects can be hard to ignore too.

Maybe I'm just naive. [shrug]

No, you're not naive.  =)

What I wanted to convey is that Ranma was both genuinely ogled, and
overreacted to people who were just innocently looking at her.

I didn't really have a problem, but I would have
expected Ranma to do something like Ukyo
(breast bindings) to minimize her own overt sexuality
and to dress as androgynously as possible

That's something I hadn't honestly considered.  You're right, Ranma might do
an Ukyo thing in that situation.

I'll probably not use that, because it would mean re-writing a lot of stuff
all throughout TOP - but I wish I'd thought of it to begin with.  =)

But because *Ranma* in my mind will never give up.

Ever.

Not on Akane. Not on a cure (someday) or his masculinity.

Ever.

Well, I won't spend *too* much time on this, because this was debate that
raged on the FFML when I first released "Thy Outward Part".  It was kind of
fun, actually.  =)

I just want to point out two things: read "The Nature of Love", which was
the second TOP story, and read the description of the argument between
Nabiki and Nodoka.  Nabiki clearly states my personal viewpoint on the
subject.

Also, the phone call in this story, between Ranma and Akane, was meant to
show just how painful any interaction with Akane had become, for both of
them, and why they might have chosen to avoid experiencing that pain.

Never is a long long time.  It's an easy thing to say in abstract - "I'll
never give up!" - but the reality of living with pain for day after day,
weeks stretching into months stretching into years, is quite different.
Eventually there's only so much pain and suffering you can handle, and it's
very human nature to eventually stop investing in something that's causing
you pain.

I don't necessarily disagree that Ranma and Akane would never give up.  It
could very well be in their nature to live with pain for however many years
it took, even if it meant living in pain and frustration the rest of their
lives.  Ranma has certainly shown the capacity for that kind of stubborness
in the manga.

However, just like I chose the premise that Ranma got stuck as a woman after
the Herb story, I also chose the premise that eventually the pain would be
too much and that both Ranma and Akane would move on.  I don't think that's
an unrealistic approach.

Thanks for the feedback.  =)

-Richard

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