Ranma ½ S.M.I.(R.K.)

balthanon

Well-Known Member
#1
This is another older idea of mine that I enjoy a lot, but never got around to doing much with-- I have the prologue and a bit of chapter one complete.  I think it provides a good teaser at least and I'm interested in seeing what people think of the idea.  It's something I haven't really seen done much for some reason, though it could just be that I've just missed the stories where it occurred.  As with some of my other ideas that I don't anticipate working on in the immediate future, you'll find my notes for continuing the story below the snippet.

==========================================================
S.M.I.(R.K!)
Prologue
==========================================================

An eerie light illuminated the cavern, flickering shadows revealing the presence of five individuals...and two cats, can't forget the cats.  At any rate, the five individuals were mostly in the process of being heroic.  Mostly because a pair of them weren't really.

"USAGI!  Give it back!"

Said young woman in a short, very short actually, blue skirt and a funny hair-do stuck her tongue out at the scantily clad girl in a red skirt and proceeded to blow a raspberry at her.  "I'll have you know that this one is actually mine.  So there!"

Fuming, Rei put her hands on her hips and glared at Sailor Moon. "It is not, I just bought it yesterday and I haven't even gotten a chance to read all of it!"  She jumped at Usagi, unfortunately missing as the young girl slipped on a patch of ice, and ended up with a face full of snow. "AAARGGHH!!  You did that on purpose!"

"I did not!" protested Usagi, the tears that had begun to leak from her eyes drying up instantly.  "How could you say something like that!?"

"Easily.  Klutz."  Rei stuck her tongue out at Usagi, crossing her arms over her chest.

A sniffle from Usagi finally brought the rest of the girls into the matter, if reluctantly.  Rei watched in disbelief as Minako and Makoto went over to Usagi, helping her to her feet while Ami walked over towards her.  Hmmph, fine, let them take the brat's side.  She watched Ami warily as she got closer, finally pausing to speak.

The Senshi of Mercury paused, searching for words, then finally said, "Rei, we're all under a lot of stress."  She stopped as Rei snorted and glanced pointedly at Usagi. "Even Sailor Moon, but we have to do this.  Otherwise Beryl is going to succeed...and _none_ of us will be able to read that comic."

"Oh all right.  The little baby can have the comic if she wants it, it was a stupid story anyway."  Rei sniffed pointedly and stalked towards the cavern's entrance, gazing out into the swirling white snow.  The rest of the Senshi followed behind her, Sailor Moon bringing up the rear, her face buried in the book.

"Umm, Ami, do you happen to know how we're going to find Beryl...?" A particularly strong gust of wind filled the cavern with swirling snow, causing the Senshi as a whole to shiver.

The blue haired girl paused, tucking a lock of hair behind one ear as she tapped her tiara near her ear, a translucent blue visor sliding out over her eyes.  "Well..."  A couple of quick adjustments made lights dance across the tinted glass.  "It should be over that way," Ami said as she pointed to the northwest.  "That's where the greatest amount of power is emanating.  I'll lead."

Rei shrugged, following as Sailor Mercury started walking, and slowly started drifting backwards past first Makoto, then Minako, finally arriving at Usagi.

"Psst.  Hey!  I want my comic," whispered Rei, a startled Usagi looking up as she was interrupted.

Usagi frowned, then started to respond in her normal tone of voice before glancing up ahead and lowering it to a whisper like Rei had done. "Come on, Rei, pretty please, I'm just getting to the good part."

"No!  Give it back," she whispered furiously, glaring daggers at Usagi, "this is a dumb time to be reading a comic anyway."  A small commotion up ahead almost caught her attention, before Usagi responded, bringing her full attention back to the argument.

A wheedling note entered the Senshi of the Moon's voice as she answered, "but I always read on trips, and we're not even to Beryl yet, so this is a trip, not a battle.  See?" Usagi walked along carefully, demonstrating her point.  

Though not, Rei thought acidically, very effectively. Something tugged at Rei's senses again for a moment, but she refused to be distracted.  "That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.  I refuse to accept that as an argument."  

Usagi started to look away, so she poked her in the chest as they continued walking.  "I'll have you know that..." Someone tapped her on the shoulder. "I'm busy Ami," she said before returning to the argument, "umm, where was I? Oh, right, now I'll have..."  Someone tapped her on the shoulder again and she finally turned around, spinning on her heels and yelling to let out some of the energy she was building up.  "I _said_ I'm busy!"

The youma woman smiled dangerously.  "Well, I guess you'll just have to put it on hold, won't you."

"No!  I won't!  Now go away!"  Rei let loose with a massive burst of fire, explosions ringing across the landscape as the greenish woman was flung up into the air, bursting into flames and disintegrating a moment later. Sailor Mars turned back to Usagi.  "Now where was I before I was interrupted?"

"Umm, Rei, do you know where the others went?" Usagi asked as she turned around in a circle, ignoring Rei's question.

A quick glance around revealed nothing but the two of them and Rei's mouth dropped open.  "Wha-  Whe-  Ho-"  She turned back to her princess, mouth working randomly.

"Maybe they went on up ahead?" asked Sailor Moon, finally tucking the comic away...somewhere.  "Though they probably would have said something..."

Rei nodded silently, then peered up ahead, shading her eyes with her hand. "I think there is something up there, now that you mention it."  She pulled her hands to her sides, fists clenching.  "We'd better hurry, don't want to miss the show, right?"

Usagi grinned at her.  "Right, let's go!"

Dashing ahead with her friend and princess at her side, Rei quickly made out a red haired woman in the distance and redoubled her speed.  Dark energy crackled through the air, the winds whipping themselves into a frenzy as they finally got within about speaking distance of the strange person.

"So, you have made it at last, Sailor Moon, you may have made it past my youma, but your friends at least have all been..."  She stopped, blinking and staring at Rei. "You're not supposed to be here.  You're supposed to be dead."

Sailor Mars looked down at herself.  "Really?  Cause I feel pretty alive, personally," she said sarcastically. "So who are you to be declar..."  A scream ripped out of her throat as she was hit with a dark blast of energy, and she collapsed to the ground.  Vaguely aware of the continuing dialogue between her princess and the person who finally identified herself as Beryl, she finally forced herself to her knees as Usagi, now fully in her guise as princess of the Moon, began her assault.  She watched worriedly as the woman began to grow, Princess Serenity withering under the increased assault of dark energies that were far beyond Rei's abilities.

"DIE!"  

"NEVER!"  

"MY POWERS ARE AS FAR BEYOND YOURS AS THOSE OF A MAN TO A FLY, I AM METALLIA!"

Usagi slowly began to buckle and Rei rushed to her, catching and bracing her as she screamed, "Princess, do it! You can do it!  We're all here for you!" And she did feel the others, wherever they were, slowly add their power to Usagi's, giving her the strength to slowly start pressing Metallia back.

Finally, Usagi stood firm, Rei's arms encircling her and giving her strength as she pushed her all into one last focused blast that ripped through Metallia, a dying scream crescendoing and finally drifting off as Sailor Senshi and Princess collapsed.

Rei smiled weakly, almost able to feel as her life drained away, trickling out into the crystal even after the battle was won. "Well, I guess we..." A racking cough interupted her.  "...won't be finishing that comic."

Serenity laughed weakly, unable to stop the crystal and slowly closed her eyes as she slipped into unconsciousness with Rei.  "It would...have been nice, though, to be them...just to have care free, fun..." An incandescent flare built within the crystal for a moment, then seemed to shimmer and turn inside out as both Usagi and Rei vanished, the crystal following shortly after.

=====================================================
S.M.I.(R.K!)
Chapter 1
=====================================================

Usagi came to with a pounding headache, her breathing accelerated and an absolutely fabulous taste in her mouth. A few more moments gave the realization that she was standing on a log, and perhaps more amazingly, wasn't falling off that log.

Needless to say, that wouldn't last long at all.

Simple, wooden huts surrounded her, with mostly straw for their roofs and simple shutters.  She saw one woman leaning out of a window, so apparently they had no glass.  Moving closer to where she currently was standing, grass and huts gave way to a clearing of dirt, with this hanging log that she was standing on in the center.

Usagi's eyes widened when she finally got around to noticing the women surrounding her, and drawing in closer with frowns on their faces.  Taking a step back, Usagi waved weakly, a sickly smile on her face that quickly turned to panic as the log moved slightly under her feet.

Windmilling her arms, Usagi swayed back and forth on the curved surface, stepping first back, then forward.  Each step seemed to make the world rock a little more, until with a yelp she tumbled backwards, just barely grabbing the rough surface.

"HEEEELLP MEEE!" Usagi cried, then blinked, her tears drying up.  "What's going on?  Hey!  This isn't my voice!"

"What do you mean it's not your voice," asked a voice off to the side, "It has... to... be your voice."

The moon princess looked up from her position at the speaker, a rather pretty girl with long, shimmering hair, a shade of violet she had never seen before.  Her reddish-brown eyes were currently opened wide as she felt her throat with one hand, her mouth opening and closing silently.

"Hello?  Are you going to help me?  Please?" Usagi asked, afraid she had been forgotten by her rescuer.  Or who she hoped was her rescuer.

The other girl finally nodded silently, getting on her knees and reaching down to grab Usagi's hand, which clenched almost convulsively as soon as it had something to grab onto.  Unfortunately, all this did was make Usagi lose her grip on the other side, and with a yelp, both girls tumbled off the log.

"Owwwww..."  Usagi rubbed her bottom covertly as she looked around for the other girl, spotting her a few feet away and scurrying over to her.  "Are you ok?"

The girl nodded slightly.  "Are you?"

Usagi smiled slightly.  "I'm ok.  My name is Usagi, what's yours?"

"Usagi!?  You're lying," accused the girl, "you're not Usagi, you look nothing like her."

The displaced princess frowned.  "I am too!  How would you know anyway? I've never met you before."  She briefly touched her own throat.  "You're not...?"

"...Rei."  She frowned.  "What did you do to us, Usagi?

--------------------------------------------------------------
S.M.I.(R.K!)  - Sailor Moon Insertion (Ranma's Kaput!)
--------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Notes / Spoilers
Chapter 1 - Summary
Usagi and Rei's discussion is interrupted by an amazon coming up to the pair and speaking to her in Chinese.  When she asks (tentatively at first) what she means in Japanese, the amazon exclaims, "The Kiss of Death, you foolish girl!"  The realization comes shortly after that that Shampoo has been possessed by something...and she thinks that Usagi is in on it too.  At this point, Genma will break in and grab Usagi (who grabs Shampoo) and the trio run for it, leaving the guide in hot water.  That ends that scene.  (Probably need to make Cologne be busy elsewhere-- I don't think they would be able to escape from an elder of her power.)

We come in later on Usagi, Rei, and Genma sitting around a campfire, Genma wailing about his son betraying him and Usagi trying to comfort him even though she doesn't know what he's talking about which just makes him bemoan his fate more.  Eventually Usagi starts crying too which disgusts Rei who proceeds to inform them that she's going out looking for more wood.  While she's out in the woods she stumbles upon an Amazon scout, who starts chasing her all the way back to the camp.  As they're running through, Rei screaming for help, Genma finally snaps out of it and defends Rei, putting down the Amazon and then grabbing the two of them and taking off again.

The next scene is basically a long discussion between Genma and the two Senshi, trying to decide what to do.  After a bit of conversation, Genma heats up a kettle and transforms Usagi.  After feeling her chest and then tentatively between her legs, the dispossessed girl keels over in a dead faint.  When she comes to, she's much like Genma was earlier, grabbing Rei and moaning about how they need to fix this, and whatever is she going to do.  Genma says that he'll protect the two of them from the Amazons, but he expects to get his son back soon.  Otherwise Usagi is just going to have to start training and fufill the agreement with the Tendos.  Usagi pauses at this, thinking hard, then her eyes widen and she starts spouting denials. "Uh uh, no way!  I'm not marrying a girl!  Never, never, never!"  "Oh, what a horrible evil woman, kidnapping my only son and destroying the honor of his very name, the horror!"  Usagi and Genma go into a melodramatic competition, each trying to top the other until finally Rei pulls the sleeping bag over her head and tries to stuff up her ears.

We get a few scenes of them hiking through the wilderness, Usagi complaining and Genma berating her for being weak.  Interspersed with these are several amazon attacks which Genma fends off and finally a scene at the village, with three shamed Amazons vowing to hunt Genma down and give him the Kiss of Marriage.  Thus ends the first chapter of SMIRK.

The rest of the story
So, needless to say Usagi gets to be Ranma, Rei is Shampoo.  I would want to insert the other scouts into this as well, but I haven't really decided upon who they would occupy.  Usagi has only read up to the introduction of Shampoo (thus the reason they started there), so if she's aiming for the named females in the story I suspect the three Tendo sisters are also having some very bizarre conversations with Soun.  (I am currently thinking of Ami as Akane, Minako as Nabiki, and Makoto as Kasumi.) 

Other alternatives are Kodachi and Azusa or upending the "new manga" mention and having Usagi be in the process of a re-read with each senshi taking a fiancee or love interest (Shampoo, Kodachi, Ukyou, and... maybe Kuno, which would not go over well.)  This also opens up more of the standard "I know what is coming" self insert shenanigans and I like the idea of the senshi all ganging up on poor Usagi about her subconscious' desire to turn them into her own harem.  Though in the case of the senshi, it's hard to say how much future knowledge actually helps them given that I like the idea of none of the skills transferring across.

Rei has either a slight amount of additional information over Usagi or I could see a revision where she's read the entire series and knows how insane things are going to get.  Given what I wrote above, I'm obviously leaning towards a slight amount.

This is intended more as a parody or play on self insertion, so I don't imagine it would run too many chapters.  Playing the events and misunderstandings in Ranma for laughs would probably give several chapters of fun though.  I imagine the conclusion would be Usagi managing to figure out she has the Ginzuishu hidden inside of herself again with Cologne or Happosai's help and mustering up the will and ability to use it without her life being in danger.  No doubt with a Ranma style training montage. :)

And then I could dump them into another manga with different rules.
 

Stormfury

Well-Known Member
#2
These types of stories ALWAYS go better when you keep the transferred characters down to the minimum.

The very worst of this genre are the time travel do over stories where the main character starts giving the memories of future events back to pretty much ever character, and it stops being a time travel do over and just being a shit show.

Usagi and Rei would be more then enough IMO
 

balthanon

Well-Known Member
#3
Stormfury said:
These types of stories ALWAYS go better when you keep the transferred characters down to the minimum.

The very worst of this genre are the time travel do over stories where the main character starts giving the memories of future events back to pretty much ever character, and it stops being a time travel do over and just being a shit show.

Usagi and Rei would be more then enough IMO
I was actually thinking about doing that and potentially making the other scouts future attempts by Usagi set in different universes after some talk on Spacebattles-- sequels to this one, however long it ends up being. And potentially just focusing on Usagi and one scout at a time.
 

PCHeintz72

The Sentient Fanfic Search Engine mk II
#4
I'll continue to follow your 'Anything Goes Laundry Service' but will give this one a pass. This is not badly written as a opening I suppose, but I've found over the years these types of stories have never appealed much to me.

The only variant of this type in Ranma stories I've seen that has appealed is Ranma's curse carrying another personality in the background, so Ranma is still present and in control, and allowing them to interact mentally (like 'Take the Green and Go', or 'Two In One', or 'A Third Chance at Life' ).
 

balthanon

Well-Known Member
#5
Yep, I can understand that. Self inserts as a rule tend to be a hit or miss proposition for people. (And they do have an even greater tendency than normal for some of the flaws of fanfiction writing to appear.) This is basically intended to be the same thing, albeit not with myself. I've found some decent ones recently in other fandoms though, so it renewed my interest in this idea.

Finishing off the latest chapter of Anything Goes Laundry Service is the next thing I'm actually spending time on-- hoping to have more time for that now. A few things at work just cleared up.
 
Top