Brad:
> I'm trying to play my way through that one again.  I stopped playing at
one
> point, then when I finally got back to it I had no idea where I was, what
I
> was doing, etc...

    Yeah, this seems to happen to a lot of people.  It is a pretty long
game.  If you've a Gameshark, there's a code out there that makes the text
scroll speed faster, which can save you a lot of time.

> I can deal with that though.  What really took my watch for a walk was
> losing my Parasite Eve save files in a HD reformat when I had finally
> turned in enough junk from the Chrysler Building for the Super Handgun
> thing.  There was absolutely no way I was starting over just to see the
> 'real' ending.  Period.

    I don't recall anything too special for beating Maya or whatever her
name was.  You probably have to New Game + a couple times to stand a chance
against her anyway.

> Does Ukyo ever learn that Shampoo is also Jusenkyo cursed?  I don't recall
> Ukyo and neko-Shampoo ever sharing a panel together, even in the Onsen
Race
> story.

    As far as I can recall Ukyou's pretty oblivious to the Jusenkyo curses
aside from Ranma's.  They don't know of each other's presence until the
Onsen Race, really, and they simply don't interact at all, probably because
there are so few stories where they both show up (and interact).

    Okay, now a fanfic idea I've been tossing around.  I've long been
thinking about writing the idea of a girlfriend for Ranma, as in a female
friend, rather than another potential fiancee (I think we already got way
too many as it is).  She is generous and will never refuse a request from
Ranma, but she's a 'be careful of what you wished for' kind of person   If
Ranma want to go to Jusenkyo, she'll get him there, though not necessarily
in one piece.  She likes Ranma, because she loves adventure and excitement,
and of course Ranma's life has way too much of both.  She disdains martial
arts, but she's quite talented at it.  She's both unbeatable in combat and
incapable of beating anyone at the same time.  Why?  Well, I like the
analogy 'needle in cotton' that's used in Chinese martial arts.  If you hold
the cotton softly, it doesn't harm you, but if you try to squeeze it hard,
then you get hurt.  Her physical ability is only that of an athletic girl,
which means she has no way of harming someone like Ranma if she was
attacking.  But that's okay, since she hates martial arts, she will choose
to defend over attack 100% of the time.  When she feels threatened enough to
use her weapon (it'll probably be a sword-type weapon, if she doesn't use
her weapon she's not strong enough to hurt someone like Ranma with her
fists), she will always assume a position that will hurt her attacker if
they continue to attack.  The premise is that if you're attacking, there's
got to be some spot you can't defend.  All she has to do is point her weapon
there, which has a longer reach than your hand/feet, and you'll get hurt
before you can hit her.  Of course, this is easier said than done (both in
real life and even in fiction) because that'd imply you've to have such an
incredible knowledge of combat.  In that sense she's incredibly talented.
But of course, if you never attack her, she won't be able to hurt you,
either.  As far as ranged combat is concerned, she can always evade them on
time by the same token (she can see what kind of attack is coming right
away), though counterattack is obviously impossible.

    My question is, do you think Ranma will try to beat her in fighting,
even though it's clear that she's clearly not a competitive person?  I guess
that'll depend on the situation, too.  If he lost to her badly at the
beginning, then I'd imagine he'd try as hard as he can, but I don't plan
that happening.  Her style is more of a background issue to show how much
she hates fighting.  Will Ranma accept the fact that there are some people
he just can't beat?

Don