What I Really Meant to Say

kirasmommy

OTHER STUFF BY THIS AUTHOR: Kids R Us

OVERALL: 7.7

Plot: 8.5

Grammar/Spelling: 7.0

In a Nutshell: What are Ranma’s true emotions after many years have passed?

Sum and Substance: Damn but this was good. After writing one shonen ai fic myself, one of my friends started sending me any she came across and this is one of the best. Not only does Ranma show how he feels about Akane realistically (“I love you” means “I’m sorry”) but he shows how he feels about almost every member of the cast – in one simple, characteristically-phrased sentence, each. This piece is short, succinct, and really quite lyrical, moving with the pace of the song it’s based on.

This is one of those pieces that, like ‘Reflective Snapshot’, depicts a single frozen moment in time with beautiful clarity. The reader witnesses all of Ranma’s thoughts that finally lead the his taking Ryoga’s hand as the Lost Boy sleeps. The beautiful synchronicity of the last couple of lines actually made my eyes water. Overall it’s very pretty, provided you don’t have anything against shonen ai.

And you don’t, do you?

Of course not...

The only problem with this story is a really common one. Why is it that in every Ranma/Ryoga fic, Ryoga is never once surprised? He just always knows – every single darned time! I simply don’t understand this. For me, it’s easier to understand Ranma liking Ryoga than the other way around. The reason for this is simple – I consider Ryoga’s attitude to Ranma to be antagonistic in canon, while Ranma’s towards Ryoga can mostly be described as playful, with occasional hints of real antagonism. I think that anger is Ryoga’s most canonistic reaction to Ranma’s liking him; and I’m beginning to wonder if that has ever even once been explored.