In my past few articles, I've remarked about how hard it sometimes is to write worthwhile essays of appreciation for all the Ranma fanfics that I've greatly enjoyed. In a few cases, I've been all set to include a certain fic among my favorites, but could not find the inspiration to write a worthwhile appreciation. In these instances, I simply cancelled the project and moved on. I'm a weak and imperfect creature and can't always finish what I start. And with the quality of Ranma fan fiction as a whole improving so much with each passing month, I am being overwhelmed.
Many people wrote me asking that I specify the fics that fall into this category of "unspoken appreciation." So I've decided to create a list of all the Fanfic Year 1997 fics that I tried, but failed, to list with the rest of my favorites.
These fics do not constitute a list of "runners up" or "honorable mentions." I believe that they are as good as most of the stories which I did include in my favorites postings. I just was unable to write an effective appreciation for any of them. But I enjoyed them and re-read them as often as I do most of my listed faves.
Naturally, I reserve the right to upgrade any of the following reactions to full appreciations whenever I find the inspiration.
In my opinion.
Taleswapper
Hitting the Nail on the Head by Bridget Engman
Engman's one of the best prose artists in the Ranma fanfic community, and I've been waiting for a story that makes good use of Gosunkugi without aping the apprentice-magician storyline from Putting Your Heart in the Right Place. But I couldn't put my finger on what exactly makes this this soul-searching narrative more memorable than the rest of the fics based on the lament: "now he/she never will be mine."
Namida no Okonomiyaki by Webdragon
When the author asked me to comment on a pre-RAAC draft of this work, I responded: "Enjoyable and relatively original storyline, fluid dialogue, surprisingly riveting sexual tension, sharp ending." I held onto this review, anticipating that it would serve as the basis for a full appreciation of this story. No such luck. Though I have re-read this enjoyable fanfic many times, I can't come up with anything else to say, apart from: the song device works pretty well and isn't too cheesey.
The Rhapsody by Rhonda Schell
Wonderful and wonderfully brief, but its imagery was so similar to another one of my first-quarter favorites, Shizuku. And I was barely able to scrape together three short paragraphs of appreciation for Shizuku.
Red Shoe Kasumi by "superdude"
Excellent concept, superior lemon, well executed framing story. That's all I could come up with.
Iron Roses by Rhonda Schell
Again, juxtaposition with a superficially similar story (Black Roses) rendered me unable to do justice to a Schell fic. I remember stumbling through attempts to contrast the two fics, and when that didn't work, I tried comparing the Iron Roses version of Kodachi with her characterization in the Thy Inward Love series, but that effort yielded nothing worth posting. I probably gave up too soon.
You Say It's Her Birthday by Andrew Eoff
Eoff's stories consistently entertain me, but his writing style is so understated in its delivery as to leave me little to actively admire, even as I revel in its high quality. I continue to enjoy his fics and to watch his work intently, for of all authors, he seems best at balancing fidelity to the anime-manga and the creative excellence that marks the most engaging fanfics.
Akane Remembered by Andrew Eoff
I almost put this one in my list of favorites on the strength of plot alone; the idea behind the fic is ingeniously twisted. But it was notably difficult to come up with anything interesting to say about the actual prose execution of the idea.
Ranma Elseworlds #5: Honor and Loyalty by Paul Gallegos
This fic really stunned me with its originality and splendid crafting, but it's pretty hard for me to write about in the context of Ranma fan fiction. Gallegos transcended the medium; the story seemed to me a Ranma fic solely by fiat.
Ranma .05 Volume 3, Part 1: The Slice of Life by Darren Demaine
I still enjoy this series as much as I did when I wrote appreciations for Volumes 1 and 2, and when I put the series into my Hall of Fame. But I've run out of new things to say about Demaine's landmark lemon. Hopefully I'll get my act together when the next part comes out.
Sunday by Richard Lawson
Typically superior Lawson prose and characterization, set in one of the quiet, slice-of-life situations that are well represented in my favorites listings. I've read it several times and can come up with nothing very insightful to say, having used up all the good stuff writing about comparable stories by Joseph Palmer and others.
Sandcastles by CBear
Like most of the stories by this author, Sandcastles succeeds in eliciting a small, but genuine emotional reaction. This fic struck a chord with me because of some similarities with one of my earliest childhood memories. I could not, however, find a "hook" to get me started writing an appreciation.
"It's Just the Damnedest Thing..." by Kevin Eav
A neat little twist to the tired idea of a cursed Akane. I read it more than once, perhaps hoping that the story had completed itself between readings, but I couldn't scrape together much commentary on it.
I Know Him So Well by Sean Gaffney
How imaginative and touching this was. As a songfic, of course, it's based entirely on another artist's work. And there really wasn't much actual writing going on, only some adaptive plotting and staging, so there's not really much fanfic for me to appreciate. It was a great idea, though, and I like it more every time I read it.
Tales of Ranma & Nabiki 9: I Don't Love Ranma by "McKinley Morganfield"
Do you know how much I've written about this series? My ToRN commentary has its own web page, that's how much. Well, I'm out of ideas, except for a goofy little essay I started, comparing the writing style to tight, efficient computer code. I gave up on that and now I just stare dumbly at the screen, appreciating Morganfield's prose and wishing that just about everyone else wrote more like that.
'Til I Wake Your Ghost by LaShawn M. Taylor
I was really drawn to Ukyou's curmudgeonly narration in this fic. I hope to see more, because so far I've proven unable to gin up a worthy essay of appreciation.
Cure for a Broken Heart Part 3 by Sharon Tripp
Having written about the first two parts of this story last quarter, I looked forward to its continuation. I was not disappointed, except by the unsatisfying length of the chapter. Were there more, I probably could have pulled together a pretty nice essay. Maybe next time.
Blue by Scott Schimmel
Summer meets Namida no Okonomiyaki, with some of the best features of both. I couldn't get the older fics out of my mind, so Blue ends up in the Mea Culpa section. My bad.
Bedtime Story by Shazorn
A riveting tale, but the style and the tenuous Ranma elements proved too challenging for me to write about.
Nekophobia Part 2-3 by David Eddy
Wow! What the hell is Nabiki trying to pull? Wow! A "sinister" Kasumi! Wow! Happosai brought some real good focus to that training scene. Huh? Critical analysis? Um, I'll get back to you after chapter 4 comes out . . .
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