Ranma ½ To Curse or not to Curse

[goldenarms]

I'm debating something and I need a little bit of input on it.

Should I express or suppress the curse in a Familiar of Zero crossover?

The main thing that I'm looking at is whether or not it carries any value plotwise for a crossover story that's already starting out with themes of alienation (commoner vs. nobility) and identity (Louise's inability to do magic). Suppressing it could offer the struggle as to whether or not Ranma wants to return home or not.

Halkeginia
Pros
- curse cured
- freedom

Cons
- forced attachment to obnoxious girl
- looked down upon due to lack of magic
- may perceive Halkeginia a form of running away

Nerima
Pros
- home and family

Cons
- active curse
- forced attachment to obnoxious girl

Note, I've taken Ranma the day after he arrives at the Tendo household, so multiple engagements, rivals, etc. aren't a factor for him.

If I leave the curse on, he could be mistaken for being nobility, or at least being a magical being, which may or may not affect Louise's status from the outset. Outside of that, though, there aren't many awkward situations the curse can generate, due to the fact that he'll be considered both a commoner and a non-human entity. Plus he'll effectively be the second banana to most everyone, even with his asskicking abilities.

So, at this moment, I'm leaning towards suppression, but if there's something I've possibly overlooked/had not considered, please talk about it here. Thanks.

 

[zeebee1]

I'd think based on the list once Ranma got a couple of friends he wouldn't have any reason to go back. The list is just favored for him staying. Though the lack of skilled martial artists might be the real thing to focus on.

 

[sworded]

I'd think based on the list once Ranma got a couple of friends he wouldn't have any reason to go back. The list is just favored for him staying. Though the lack of skilled martial artists might be the real thing to focus on.

IMHO, you should either suppress or give Ranma control over the curse as the curse acting normally doesn't really contribute much to the plot...although Louise curing it when/if she learns Dispel could be a way to earn Ranma's gratitude. Perhaps the runes alter the curse to where Ranma gains an Animorph like shapeshifting ability to change into any form of animal he's had contact with, sort of an alternative Windalfr ability.

 

[Tonyloco]

Well the premise is interesting, but this would have to go very AU in order to work Because for example Louise and Akane have many things in common, they both have huge self seteem issues, they can be quite violent and any excuse, they are vindictive and peety and quite jealous.

I simply dont see Ranma going with Louise and helping her witouth a damn good reason to do so, he would most likely ditch her as soon as he can and go his own way.

The whole gandalf deal well a Gandarf is quite broken IMHO, but Ranma being a Gandarf is way more broken a gandalf can basically have a mastery of any weapon and they can use anything as a weapon in the novels, the spoon joke that many have hear with saito isn't a Joke it actually happens in the novels.

Ranma is basically his own weapon, under this premise he would get the the boon of being a Gandarf all the time or every single time he starts fighting.

His being a mage, well there are Ki mages, and if this is pos saffron he can easily pass a a mage and as a natural disaster with little more effort.

So I would recomment some things, feel free to use that you like and we can always discuss the rest.

1.- Make Ranma older, more worldly and jaded that way if you cannot convice him to be loyal at least you can have him being hired as a mercenay or a bodyguard.

2.- Do not make him Louise love interest, like sait is in the original story, Akane had the advatage of getting him fixiated to her quite soon, Louise doesnt has a chance to keep him helping if she starts with the Tsundere act.

3.- While the no taking shit from nobles is great I hope that at least he is more willing to fool them rather than lash out every time, Ranma would have a quite easy time making nobles believe that he's a mage too, hell if the whole Ki sorceror angle can be used he could actually modify some of his Control over Ki to achieve something similar if not outright ki Magic.

4.- While many things in the story would have to be serious have Ranma having fun with the other characters and hopefully not be the prude or sexually ignorant character that so many fanfincs like to make, nor the socially retard, ignorant hick that is so popular, remember he doesn't has the fiancees here to sour the party for him let the guys have some fun.

Basically I think that rather than have Luise act like an Akane MKII why not have her act more like a little sister, perhaps somethign similar to the one in hill of swords, Ranma can be quite protective of people he likes and he could help her, to get over her self steem issues.

How about this Lousie summon him by accident, but rather than getting mad at try to lord him over she gets depressed, yet anotehr failure as a mage, and worse the other students make fun of her and start the name calling the jokes and all the abuse, but before mount Louise explodes Ranma takes pity of the bullied girl and does something that shut them up that simple leave them believing that he is either a mage or some kind os magical being in human form, he pulls one of those stunts that makes sure no one is going to beleive that he's just a commoner.

The when Louise tries to make him her familiar he refuses if anyone tries to force him he's quite willing to hurt them some, so Louise is getting desperate she obviously summoned something more than just a commoner something special something that can help her prove that she's not just a failure, and secretly someone who seems to be willing to stand up for her. (something that no one is the school seems to be willing to do)

So in a private discussion she offers him money to play along even if it's only for a little while, you can decide here if you want to make him her familiar or not but in the end he becomes moe of a body guard mercenary than a familiar, and has to be treated with more respect.

So Ranma probably get some, money for his troubles and probably the promise to get the help to go back to his world as soon as they find one, and maybe even the cure of his curse it it hasn't been cured or controlled by then.

And Louise gets a a faux familiar who can kick ass and take names as her own bodyguard, and the story develops ranma would probably do it more for the sake of a freindship than for money but he would also make sure that he gets paid for his troubles. (Hey they pay him in gold if he ever goes back to Nerima wh would go bad a s a filthy rich martial artist rather than a poor bum.)

So you change the dinamic from a master slave/familiar to a master bodyguard and later friend and probaby love interest of one or several of the other girls.

And Am I the only one that thinks that Ranma would look fearsome using several Hiryushoten Ha during the battle again the Albion army ?

Who needs a magical sworld when you can use Tornados?

<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh6ww1xF25Q' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>Like the one at 8:05 in this video</a>

Well I hope this helps, later I really need to hit the sack, g'nite.
:rip1:

 

[biigoh]

Personally, I recommend more using Ryouga than Ranma as it would give an easier 'hook' with Ryouga slowly fixating on Louise.

 

[michirusan]

Personally, I recommend more using Ryouga than Ranma as it would give an easier 'hook' with Ryouga slowly fixating on Louise.

no, no.Have Ryoga show up as the pig!

 

[sworded]

Personally, I recommend more using Ryouga than Ranma as it would give an easier 'hook' with Ryouga slowly fixating on Louise.

no, no.Have Ryoga show up as the pig!

Now that's an idea!

Louise, "I summoned a cute little piggey? Oh well, it's better than some perverted commoner."

 

[Liam-don]

If I leave the curse on, he could be mistaken for being nobility, or at least being a magical being, which may or may not affect Louise's status from the outset. Outside of that, though, there aren't many awkward situations the curse can generate, due to the fact that he'll be considered both a commoner and a non-human entity. Plus he'll effectively be the second banana to most everyone, even with his asskicking abilities.

I'm not the most well versed in ZNT but I'm fairly sure the only one who considered Saito a non-human was Louise -only at the very beginning, too- considering that half the female cast is actively trying to get him into pants. That situation probably won't change with Ranma as I suspect he is considerably more atractive than the random otaku. Though of course you might decide to change that.

As for the curse, how would the ability to assume a completely different human form be irrelevant? Remember, even in the earlier volumes Ranma was shamelessly abusing his female form to get his way. As long as you don't pigeonhole Ranma in the role of dumb muscle, there should at leasrt be a few times where the curse could come in handy. Hell, simply assuming a different indentity in order to do some things without incriminating himself could be useful.

Also, what would it say about Louise if her summon is a gender-bender. Is she perhaps more adventurous that her peers thought? Maybe it'd explain to Henrietta a few suspiciously long hugs in their shared pasts, who knows?:sisi:

There's also the possibility that in Halkeginia Ranma's curse doesn't translate in something quite human.* shrug* An elf, maybe? Again, don't know enough about the setting to tell. Honestly, I don't know where you're going with this so I can't tell you if the curse will be useful or not, but the possibilities are there.

Or you could have her summon Herb, for something different. :snigger:

 

[Tonyloco]

Personally, I recommend more using Ryouga than Ranma as it would give an easier 'hook' with Ryouga slowly fixating on Louise.

I don't think that Ryoga would be a good familiar at all, not only he can get lost an d never seen again by Louise but also his own anger issues and the way he deals with woman would have him being a hindrance more than help here.

Hell I can easily see Kirche killing him by blood loss the first week of him being there, not to mention that one of the things that attracted her to him that that he resisted her charms, Ryoga would bend like a wet noodle. :lol:

 

[foesjoe]

If you don't see any use for the curse in your story, then I'm fine with it if you remove it.

Though you don't have to completely remove it. Ranma could keep his curse without it being that big of an issue. Instead of getting splashed every five minutes, have him go weeks without the curse activating at all.

That way you can avoid complaints from the misguided faction who think that Ranma without his curse isn't Ranma.

 

[Tonyloco]

If you don't see any use for the curse in your story, then I'm fine with it if you remove it.

Though you don't have to completely remove it. Ranma could keep his curse without it being that big of an issue. Instead of getting splashed every five minutes, have him go weeks without the curse activating at all.

That way you can avoid complaints from the misguided faction who think that Ranma without his curse isn't Ranma.

I agree with you, the curse isn't really important here, I can be used as a bargaining chip since he does wants to get cured, and you can probably fin more than one way to either get rid of it neutralize it for a while.

And even if it wasn't the the curse could be seen as a proof that he's not a normal human being at all.

 

[Tsukino_kage]

There already is a Ranma/FOZ cross on anime addventure by Kestral, which I hope he updates, and I find Ranma's reaction there to the Familiar bond to be somewhat more realistic of his attitude in life.

He sees it as slavery and promptly leaves Louise, only to literally run into Henrietta and end up working for her instead.

 

[Liam-don]

I'm pretty sure there's a form of brainwashing involved in the ritual to keep the familiar from freaking out over the contracting.

 

[Deathwings]

I'm pretty sure there's a form of brainwashing involved in the ritual to keep the familiar from freaking out over the contracting.

If there is one, then it sure as hell doesn't work on human familiars. :mellow:

 

[PCHeintz72]

Some thoughts... take them for what you will.

If you pull Ranma over pre curse... then he will not have it, but also will be missing all the experiences and combat abilities gained in canon.

If pulling Ranma over post curse... can do it at any point, but canon events should have occured up to point of extraction/summoning.

I would not make the curse go away as a side effect of the summons itself. However, one can play with the fact the magic binding Ranma to Louise after she kisses him could potentially interfere or change its activation.

I agree with others though... I cannot really see Ranma staying with Louise if she treats him as she did Sato, and he would leave her. In fact, this approach was taken by the only Ranma/ZNT cross I'm aware of, I'm hoping that is continued with a pairing with Henrietta.

Note that Ranma may well not be looked down upon if he is taken post canon and his fighting abilities become known... they may well think it is magic if he starts making tornadoes, energy blasts, invisibility, etc...


I am not convinced a easy cure should be abailable due to them knowing magic... there is no rule stating they should instantly be able to treat someone under magical influence, when the magic is probably completely unknown to them.

 

[Deathwings]

*snort*

Sorry, just had a though after reading PCHeintz's post and misreading one of the word.

Say, there is a bond between Master and Familiar, right ? A magical bond ?

So...what if the bond, say...allowed Jusenkyo's influence to spread to Louise as well, only with the opposite effect instead ? :evil2:

 

[Master of Squirrel-Fu]

Ranma as the L.Hand, R.Hand, or Mind of God would make him horribly broken. I suggest the use of the last and mostly forgotten type, Mr. Magic Nuke/Heart of God, the one where the master loads a shit-ton of void magic into the familiar to become a human weapon of mass destruction. Could make for an even more awesome version of Saxe-Gotha, Ranma steals Louises Magic sends her away and goes to royaly fuck up the invaders in a heroic sacrifice.

For why to keep or kill the curse consider the following:
Is Ranma still Ranma? Check if he contains the 3Ps that define a character (Personality, Past, and Powers).
Is it really necisary to the story? If not will the inclusion do more harm than good?
Can it be made of use?
Finally, Are you just including it just to please the complainers against your own prefences?

 

[biigoh]

Ryouga isn't that bad at getting lost as long as he has a guide ala the Hibiki dog 'Checkers'... Also Ranma would be amusing if 'she' was summoned as a girl that people think turned into a guy... oh the perverse Louise must be 'that way'.... people would think. ^_^

 

[PCHeintz72]

Here is a additional thought...

Ranma in fanon picks up techniques after seeing them once... in canon more difficult.

in either approach... what if he learned their magic...

Louise not thinking on it could take Ranma to some of her classes.

There are plenty of other Ranma learns magic out there... so that alone would not make this unique... but it could really confuse people that a commoner could learn magic... though calling Ranma common magic or not is laughable.

EDIT: As for Ryoga... I'd just as soon rather he not show.

Ryoga in canon gets lost easily, is completely hopeless with directions, and is too stubborn to stop just due to hitting a dead end (truth in canon).

Ryoga in fanon is known to cross space and time at whim. There are multiple crossovers out there that deal with this. not one iota of evidence for such in canon though.

 

[Aarik]

You do remember that the Gandalfr runes rewrite the familiars memories and suppress their feelings to make them want to stay right?

Nerima could have all the pros in the world and he still won't want to go back or ditch Louise as long as those runes are on his hand.

 

[foesjoe]

Also Ranma would be amusing if 'she' was summoned as a girl that people think turned into a guy... oh the perverse Louise must be 'that way'.... people would think. ^_^

No. It wouldn't be amusing at all.

 

[PCHeintz72]

You do remember that the Gandalfr runes rewrite the familiars memories and suppress their feelings to make them want to stay right?

Nerima could have all the pros in the world and he still won't want to go back or ditch Louise as long as those runes are on his hand.

Hmmm... I do not remember that in the 3 season anime continuity. Would explain his accepting Louise torturing and beating him with a whip and forcing him to sign a contract under duress though, and all the other abuse she heaps on him.

I've never seen the other material.

I like ZNT... but not because of Louise. I quite liked practically every other recurring character in it though that was not the enemy from henrietta and Agnus to Tabitha and Kirche.

So far... I've only seen one fan fiction of ZNT that actually made me like Louise as a character, that was Hill of Swords.

 

[Aarik]

You do remember that the Gandalfr runes rewrite the familiars memories and suppress their feelings to make them want to stay right?

Nerima could have all the pros in the world and he still won't want to go back or ditch Louise as long as those runes are on his hand.

Hmmm... I do not remember that in the 3 season anime continuity. Would explain his accepting Louise torturing and beating him with a whip and forcing him to sign a contract under duress though, and all the other abuse she heaps on him.

I've never seen the other material.

I like ZNT... but not because of Louise. I quite liked practically every other recurring character in it though that was not the enemy from henrietta and Agnus to Tabitha and Kirche.

So far... I've only seen one fan fiction of ZNT that actually made me like Louise as a character, that was Hill of Swords.

The anime ended before it got there.

Sorta like with the Ranma anime never got to the Saffron fight.

 

[Ura Mamoru]

*snort*

Sorry, just had a though after reading PCHeintz's post and misreading one of the word.

Say, there is a bond between Master and Familiar, right ? A magical bond ?

So...what if the bond, say...allowed Jusenkyo's influence to spread to Louise as well, only with the opposite effect instead ? :evil2:

I never really liked ideas like that. Ranma's curse isn't specifically a "gender-swap" curse. It's a "become a girl" curse. If the curse carried over to Louise, there would be no visible effect, as Louise is already a girl. I can't see a reason why the curse spreading would inflict her with a different spring's curse.


Honestly, the whole concept of Ranma's curse somehow jumping/spreading to a girl and suddenly flipping to turn the girl into a guy bugs me.

 

[Deathwings]

It was just a funny though is all, specifically because LOUISE would end up turning into a guy. A most likely very bishi one or something equally hilarious. :snigger: