Ideas Thread

[Brian]

Somewhere Far, Far away, and Long Ago (Tokyo, 1982): Story starts with Ranma returning from Phoenix Mountain
<snip>
After some fairly straightforward tests to establish Ukyou and Ranma's skills, Tsuruya determines that they aren't sharp enough to be assasins....

Did you mean "sharp" as in "intelligent"?  Because you can't possibly mean "capable of killing someone".

Intelligent, absolutely. :x

Really, the more impressive part is that they don't ever need to kill anyone.

Eventually, Haruhi gets fed up and decides that Ranma is probably some pretty cool, exciting, and attractive guy.  They finally stumble across one another, and Haruhi decides that she's going to figure out what Ranma is really like.  As it turns out, Ranma is a cool, exciting, and attractive guy.  So, a feedback loop commences where Haruhi continually thinks better of him, so Ranma keeps improving, so Haruhi becomes more attracted to him, so Haruhi continually thinks better of him...soon, Haruhi is Ranma's girlfriend/fiancee.

...ow.  That's harsh.  I can actually see this playing out, but it's kind of brutal -- it basically works out to Haruhi throwing the Brigade to the side, because she found something amazing and they (seemingly) can't keep up.  I can ... kind of see Haruhi going for the girlfriend angle, but I think she'd be really, really unwilling to share, so that would complicate Ranma's life a lot.  All those 'romance' crossovers aside, how much do you see Ranma being willing to threaten his living situation by pursuing another girl actively?  Also, kind of don't like the idea of Ranma hanging around Haruhi because it makes him more powerful (he's kind of on the verge of being a real jerkass in canon as it is).

Best presentation would proooobably be Ranma not noticing those weird things you mentioned earlier, so he's continually oblivious to that, and just regards Haruhi as 'yet another fiancee' who arrived from nowhere (which could be pretty much how she acts).

This bodes poorly for Mikuru, since she is the grandaughter of Ranma and Ukyou (cue Back to the Future).  I don't know if the Haruhi-Kyon relationship would have ever gotten up to the point of being jealous of Ranma, but with the Mikuru angle, there is still motivation for everyone to meddle since no one would like to see Mikuru cease to exist.  The other twist is that since Ranma is now so much more attractive, the fiancee war changes from just plotting to get Ranma to trying to going out of their way to actively attack (although these should be more like humiliating pranks) their rivals.

Depending on if Mikuru reveals that, which she might not.  Or even be aware of it....  I can see (kind of) Mikuru (Big) setting that burden on Kyon's shoulders, while Mikuru (small)  interacts with Ukyou, entirely oblivious of the fact.

That seems like enough of a basic framework.  Especially since I don't know if the starting premise is feasible, so that might all be for naught.

I think Kyon would be jealous of Ranma, especially if it does play out that Haruhi ditches her friends at the first sign of something amazing and supernatural.  Not that I can't see some interpretations of Haruhi doing that....  Kyon isn't the kind of guy to really lash out, though.  I think he'd get kind of prickly about things until Koizumi pointed out Kyon's behavior, and then he'd aknowledge Koizumi using the shield of being unable to admit his feelings to Haruhi until it's 'too late.'

You can recover from heartbreak territory (the implied ending of Haruhi joining the fiancee race because it looks 'fun' and she's picked up super martial arts because it's way more interesting than her old friends) by having Kyon use his John Smith reveal, but that makes Haruhi look pretty bad.  Well, maybe not.  If you really, really work at the struggle, so that Haruhi has to choose between 'sticking to her vision' (chasing after Ranma because he represents the supernatural/amazing) and 'being with the people she actually cares about' (because her bonds with the Brigade are important -- or should be, at that point).  If Haruhi seems to not want to give up on her friends, but be compelled to chase her dreams, that can play out ... better.

A stronger ending would probably be Kyon accepting it with resignation, and _not_ using the trump card, so that Haruhi decides that in the end, she'd rather be with him/the Brigade than chase after Ranma.  If you also play up the (potential squick) of Haruhi continually changing/altering Ranma, then this would be a good spot for Haruhi to admit to herself he's got flaws and (status quo) put him back to normal.  Then, well, implications of whichever shipping ending you want, as required, and Haruhi says on her own that the supernatural stuff is way cooler to look at than participate in (or something) and she'll stick with the brigade to search for something they can _all_ enjoy checking out (since only Yuki, if anyone, would be able to keep up with the crazy MA training).

Heck, Haruhi could even consider whatever skills she picked up (which would be above reasonable human tier anyway) as a reason to stick with the brigade even more at that point; from her perspective, she has a responsibility to protect them, according to the Nerima Implied Martial Arts Code.

Ranma: "That 'martial artist's duty to protect the weak' clause was fathered in."
Kyon: "Don't you mean 'grandfathered' in?"
Ranma: "No."
Random Nearby Panda: *holds up a sign:* "It's a good clause for weak little pandas like me!"

[Jason_Miao]

Really, the more impressive part is that they don't ever need to kill anyone.

Completely agree.  If the series were at all serious, you'd see blood flying all over the place.

Eventually, Haruhi gets fed up and decides that Ranma is probably some pretty cool, exciting, and attractive guy.  They finally stumble across one another, and Haruhi decides that she's going to figure out what Ranma is really like.  As it turns out, Ranma is a cool, exciting, and attractive guy.  So, a feedback loop commences where Haruhi continually thinks better of him, so Ranma keeps improving, so Haruhi becomes more attracted to him, so Haruhi continually thinks better of him...soon, Haruhi is Ranma's girlfriend/fiancee.

...ow.  That's harsh.  I can actually see this playing out, but it's kind of brutal -- it basically works out to Haruhi throwing the Brigade to the side, because she found something amazing and they (seemingly) can't keep up. 

Huh.  I wasn't actually think of it that way.  More of Haruhi deciding that the next cool thing she's going to pursue, rather than ghost stories or whatever, is Ranma.  Basically, she'd maybe spend less time with SOS, because some of that time is spent on dates (which Ranma always seems to end up agreeing with.  Wonder why?), but that also lets you retain the character interactions between everyone.

But hey, it's just a story framework, not an outline, so I sort of expected people to figure out different takes.

I can ... kind of see Haruhi going for the girlfriend angle, but I think she'd be really, really unwilling to share, so that would complicate Ranma's life a lot.  All those 'romance' crossovers aside, how much do you see Ranma being willing to threaten his living situation by pursuing another girl actively?

Well, would he necessarily know they're dates? :)

It depends on how you cast Ranma.  I tend to like the comedic aspects of Ranma 1/2, so I am perfectly fine with strategically making him ignorant of certain basic facts.  Realistic?  No, but neither is Ranma 1/2 in general.

Also, kind of don't like the idea of Ranma hanging around Haruhi because it makes him more powerful (he's kind of on the verge of being a real jerkass in canon as it is).

Best presentation would proooobably be Ranma not noticing those weird things you mentioned earlier, so he's continually oblivious to that, and just regards Haruhi as 'yet another fiancee' who arrived from nowhere (which could be pretty much how she acts).

That's how I was thinking about it.  Ranma using Haruhi's attraction as a power source is pretty damn cold.  While he's a jerk (what's with the "on the verge"?), he's not a heartless jerk.  The idea behind the feedback loop is that Haruhi and Ranma naturally gravitate towards one another, but for Important Reasons (or Mikuru's existence), everyone else can't let them.

[Brian]

Huh.  I wasn't actually think of it that way.  More of Haruhi deciding that the next cool thing she's going to pursue, rather than ghost stories or whatever, is Ranma.  Basically, she'd maybe spend less time with SOS, because some of that time is spent on dates (which Ranma always seems to end up agreeing with.  Wonder why?), but that also lets you retain the character interactions between everyone.

Haruhi's kind of an all-or-nothing character, though.  Plus, we've got geographical issues insofar as Nishinomiya isn't in downtown Tokyo.  We're talking about 2-3 hours by bullet train to travel between the two, so either the Brigade has to be in Nerima (or meet at a neutral location), or the distance issue will have to otherwise be addressed.

Any instance of her doing something without the Brigade (or for the Brigade's benefit) kind of goes against her ideals.  Not that (like I said) I can't see that happening in some places....

There's a story with that idea where Ranma's a constantly shifting, fantasy ideal, and Kyon represents reality.  Works best if Haruhi chooses Kyon on her own without the John Smith reveal, like I said earlier.

Haruhi dating anyone at all leads to either her hiding it from the Brigade (which is more of the 'cutting the Brigade out' issue), or her telling them openly that she's doing it.  Which I expect would result in a major falling out (or at least shaping up for one).  I could see a jealous Kyon trying to point out all the ways that Haruhi is falling short on being the best chief she can be for the brigade (something he has complimented her about in the past, saying that 'The Brigade needs you' to her, for example), but at the end of the day, it really does boil down to Haruhi having to choose one or the other.

But hey, it's just a story framework, not an outline, so I sort of expected people to figure out different takes.

Approach B: Nerima field trip goes awry?  Nerima comes to Nishinomiya?

Well, would he necessarily know they're dates? :)

It depends on how you cast Ranma.  I tend to like the comedic aspects of Ranma 1/2, so I am perfectly fine with strategically making him ignorant of certain basic facts.  Realistic?  No, but neither is Ranma 1/2 in general.

He ... should?  Or at least suspect.  I mean, given that this is Ranma, what's so awesome about Haruhi that he doesn't mind spending time with her?

Oh....  I think I'm thinking about this too hard.  Okay, spin it that Ranma sees everything as him proecting her (and digging that cute girls go to him for that, because, what's not to like?  (*spatulae'd* @_@))?  I can kind of see that, especially depending on how Haruhi plays things.  The misunderstandings between them on the basis of Ranma agreeing to 'take care of her' could stretch pretty far....

That's how I was thinking about it.  Ranma using Haruhi's attraction as a power source is pretty damn cold.  While he's a jerk (what's with the "on the verge"?), he's not a heartless jerk.  The idea behind the feedback loop is that Haruhi and Ranma naturally gravitate towards one another, but for Important Reasons (or Mikuru's existence), everyone else can't let them.

Heh, well, we can say he's a Jerkass With a Heart of Gold, but making him that cold would be too far?  Seems we agree, anyway.

Hmm....  Ukyou being told that she's supposed to marry Ranma by Mikuru (big) and going overboard in response?  "Heya, Ranchan!  Are we going to get married right now?  Or maybe tomorrow would be better?  I can be flexible!  But we should really get that taken care of by the end of the week, right?"

It'd be funny to me if the Brigade had to turn to the Ranma cast to try and solve things -- leaving Ranma and Haruhi both in the dark.  Koizumi having a reasonable discussion with Nabiki (...oh, god ... I ... think this scene has to happen)?  Mikuru admiring Kasumi's skill around the house and being given the job of trying to keep 'unreasonable things' from Kasumi's line of sight, while Kasumi is worried that Mikuru's just too jumpy, so tries to keep the insanity of Nerima from Mikuru's view?  Happosai tries to steal Nagato's underwear, is defeated by blatant TFEI reality haxing "...I struck a vital point." (totally stolen from DB's Avenging, but it's too awesome not to use).

Haruhi and Akane talk about guys they like, Haruhi teaches Akane how to cook?  Tsuruya is in town and makes it her mission to cheer up that gloomy Soun?  Kyon looks around and finds himself utterly without a fellow Straight Man to play off against, starts perfectly reasonable conversations with everyone in town, but always manages to find the worst possible people to have 'normal' conversations with (Tarou, Mousse, Ryouga, all building to reveals/jokes where their conversations devolve into, "Saotome!  This is all YOUR fault!" or the like)?

Cologne swings by, gets a good impression of what's going on, turns around and forbids Shampoo to go anywhere near 'those people.  Just trust me on this one'?

[Arakawa]

Happosai tries to steal Nagato's underwear, is defeated by blatant TFEI reality haxing "...I struck a vital point." (totally stolen from DB's Avenging, but it's too awesome not to use).

I'm not sure Nagato would engage in reality haxing over underwear. And... oddly enough, I'm not sure Happosai would even be motivated to go after a girl of her type for very long.

It would probably play out more like: Happosai keeps stealing Nagato's underwear, but Nagato misses the import of this action and just keeps getting more underwear to replace it. ("What a strange person.") Then he discovers Nagato's underwear doesn't have any cute patterns and doesn't even smell like anything, it's like it was just bought from the store... thus he switches targets to Mikuru and is immediately curb stomped by an angry Haruhi. Haruhi completely fails to notice that the pervert she just bashed into the ground is supposed to be one of the most powerful and feared fighters of the Ranma cast.

Cologne watches the scene from a distance, which leads her to make worried inquiries into who exactly Haruhi is.

[Brian]

You're right.  Nagato wouldn't get involved over that, but it sparks off an entirely new idea.

Nagato would protect Kyon from danger, so if Kyon managed to somehow (perhaps even on accident) provoke a member of the NWC....  I could see this plot thread being worked into the 'Haruhi notices nothing through wacky hijinks' story idea--  Nagato inadvertently gets a reputation as the New Challenger.  Finally, Ranma challenges her, based on everyone else showing up at the dojo and whining about being trounced.

Nagato accepts the challenge at Haruhi's insistence, (because it's been 'so boring so far') and all of Nerima watches on as Nagato basically lets Ranma pin her effortlessly, much to Haruhi's annoyance, and everyone else's disbelief.  Of course ... as soon as Haruhi's not looking/Kyon is endangered....

[Muphrid]

That makes entirely too much sense.

Now who would keep endangering Kyon?  Who would be so persistent that they'd ignore having been trounced by Nagato despite repeated demonstrations of her power?  Kuno?  Kodachi?  The principal?  All three of them?  Say Kyon accidentally did a good deed for female Ranma, and Kuno perceives this as a slight?

[Jason_Miao]

Now who would keep endangering Kyon?  Who would be so persistent that they'd ignore having been trounced by Nagato despite repeated demonstrations of her power?

If it's a one-shot thing, Mousse, in his latest attempt to murder "Ranma".

If it's more than that, then either someone delusional, or someone who thinks Kyon is trying to pick up his/her love interest.  Tatewaki is usually the one used for this...which kind of makes it boring.  Tofu would be hilarious, but would likely strike most people as an off choice.

[Muphrid]

So Mousse would put Kyon at risk by sheer accident?  I can see that working once, yeah.  I admit, I was thinking more of a running gag.  For that, it would need to be someone who develops a grudge against Kyon and then would keep coming after him.  Granted, Mousse would do this if, say, Kyon accidentally stepped on his glasses or, otherwise, the picking up love interest approach would seem to apply.  I guess it could apply equally well to, say, Ryoga, who might come to view Nagato as a worthy opponent and a sign that he's slipped in his efforts to keep up with Ranma; then, when he tells Ranma of this Nagato that could possibly defeat him, Nagato rolls over, as was said, much to Ryoga's bemusement.  Then Ranma would shrug and say, "Huh, that wasn't hard."

You know, if I had the time to write this...it's tempting.

[Jason_Miao]

So Mousse would put Kyon at risk by sheer accident?  I can see that working once, yeah.  I admit, I was thinking more of a running gag.  For that, it would need to be someone who develops a grudge against Kyon and then would keep coming after him.  Granted, Mousse would do this if, say, Kyon accidentally stepped on his glasses or, otherwise, the picking up love interest approach would seem to apply. 

You know, you and Bri are looking for reasons for people to attack other people.  Bear in mind that Ranma's rival first declared an honor duel over curry bread. 

If there's a plot that involves Kyon being attacked, then work with the plot.  If Kyon being attacked is itself the goal, then think of a trivial or ridiculous reason, then make up some justification as to why it fits in a duel of honor.

You know, if I had the time to write this...it's tempting.

This is the fate of most idea lists.  No one has the time to actually write them.  It's pretty much just a mental exercise, until someone actually tries to write some of it.

[Brian]

You know, you and Bri are looking for reasons for people to attack other people.  Bear in mind that Ranma's rival first declared an honor duel over curry bread. 

If there's a plot that involves Kyon being attacked, then work with the plot.  If Kyon being attacked is itself the goal, then think of a trivial or ridiculous reason, then make up some justification as to why it fits in a duel of honor.

Actually, in my mind, Kyon gets everyone but Ranma to attack him (or close to it, until the 'Yuki is uber' rumor spreads).  He gets a little too close to Akane, provokes Kuno, gets a little too close to Shampoo, provokes Mousse, rumor is going around, runs into Pantyhose Tarou and laughs at the pantyhose he's wearing (thus requiring Nagato to intervene), etc.

The worse the reasons, the potentially more hilarious.  We are going for comedy, right?

This is the fate of most idea lists.  No one has the time to actually write them.  It's pretty much just a mental exercise, until someone actually tries to write some of it.

Worse that some of us come here specifically to share ideas because we don't want to write them. :x

[Jason_Miao]

Actually, in my mind, Kyon gets everyone but Ranma to attack him (or close to it, until the 'Yuki is uber' rumor spreads).  He gets a little too close to Akane, provokes Kuno, gets a little too close to Shampoo, provokes Mousse, rumor is going around, runs into Pantyhose Tarou and laughs at the pantyhose he's wearing (thus requiring Nagato to intervene), etc.

The worse the reasons, the potentially more hilarious.  We are going for comedy, right?

Maybe.  The worry is that people do this with ANCs all the time (See new protagonist, has all the same problems as old protagonist).  I think it depends on how much work you're willing to put into the dialogue between Kyon and everyone, so it doesn't feel like a straight up Ranma/Kyon swap. 

My thought on this is that if you're doing an "everyone attacks Kyon" scenario, you can't do stupid reasons.  You have to make them good reasons (or at least, a series of legitimate misunderstandings that don't sound too stupid), otherwise Kyon just comes off as a cheap Ranma replacement.  If you're going to pick one character with an acrimonious relationship, then it's okay to do a stupid reason because that happens all the time in the canon (Shampoo v. plant girls - poisonous evil twin, Ukyou v. Octopus-mask vendor - childish bet).

Worse that some of us come here specifically to share ideas because we don't want to write them. :x

Heh.  Not like I would ever do that in the last week, or something.

[Brian]

I think it's totally fine to run Kyon as a snarky, non-combatant version of Ranma -- especially if it culminates in Ranma showing up to do something about it, actually.

And the understandings can be legitimate, and awesome.  It'd take some work, but it'll be even better if Kyon manages to start digging himself out of the hole he's gotten into, and a different cast member's offhanded remark casts everything in a suddenly worse light immediately after....  And so on.

[Jason_Miao]

Hmm...there's another way to do this, which is that each Brigade member has some fiancee with whom they naturally side, and some for whom they dislike.  Kyon, being Kyon, still makes friends with everyone, and ends up getting drafted by the applicable Brigade member in any ridiculous Ranma matchmaking attempts, as long as it isn't something that is going to negatively affect Haruhi (because the Brigade is there for Haruhi).  So, you can either look at it as Urusei Yatsura (Huge network of complicated relationships, but they'll suddenly work together) or as a switchable hybrid of Nerima and Brigade (Nerima infighting, when something occurs that would affect Haruhi, the Brigade relationships trigger). 

The thing is, I don't know how to make those funny.  For the first, Kyon is the anti-Ataru, and for the second, that's more suited to scenarios to make Kyon the King of Martial Artists (which is abstractly funny if he doesn't know any martial arts, but not slapstick funny).

@Bri.

Sure.  If you're doing all that though, are you writing a slapstick comedy or a drama?  (I know, I know...it's not like you've ever written a serious toned plot-driven Ranma fic before, so how could I be considering such a thing.  Only lighthearted plots from you, like shooting all the fiancees off into space or extending the story behind comedic elements like the koi rod and reversal jewel. :)  )

[Brian]

Yeah, that and my planned Madoka crossovers.  I occasionally blind myself by the blazing beacon of hope and joy that I radiate constantly.

While pairing off the Brigade (and other cast members) to map to the Ranma cast can work, I have this feeling that it works best if Haruhi and Kyon just play off one-another, making him the epic straightman, and Haruhi his unwitting (and annoyed) foil, occasionally echoing him as her annoyance at not finding anything that amazing increases. :p

[sarsaparilla]

Ok, this is something that I dragged here from a Ranma thread in Harbringer.

Universe: Ranma
Style: original flavor (comedy)
Format: doujinshi (I can draw in the same style as the original manga)
The magic MacGuffin: Long time ago in ancient China, an old and wise master once saw an evil landlord unjustly beating his servants with a cane. To teach the landlord a lesson he created the Slapstick of Empathy (SoE).
SoE fact 1: When somebody hits another person with SoE the two swap bodies, so that the one who tried to give a beating is the one who actually receives it.
SoE fact 2: Further swapping doesn't happen if the two were already swapped to each other by the stick (it only works once for any particular combination of bodies/persons so that they don't keep swapping back and forth when beaten). This means that the easiest way to get the swapping reversed is to cycle bodies through a third person, as in (body!Person) a!A & b!B -> a!B & b!A, a!B & c!C -> a!C & c!B, b!A & c!B -> b!B & c!A and finally a!C & c!A -> a!A & c!C.
SoE fact 3: The situation automatically reverses itself after a certain time (maybe around a week or so).

The story starts in modern day Japan where Ranma and Akane come across SoE without knowing what it is. When Ranma teases Akane she hits him with the nearest available item that happens to be SoE. They swap bodies and learn fact 1, and eventually fact 2 when they find out that they cannot reverse the swap by further hits. The situation is played for all the inherent comedy that can be derived from this setting before moving to act 2 of the story.

Eventually, Cologne recognizes SoE for what it is and states facts 1 and 2 and tells about the shuffling cycle for reversing the situation (but even she isn't aware of fact 3). However, when Ranma and Akane try to shuffle themselves back to their own bodies through somebody else a combination of misunderstandings, accidents and hijinks cause the situation to escalate out of control, getting an ever increasing percentage of the cast shuffled around until even the characters themselves lose track of who's in whose body. At the height of the chaos the stick breaks, to the absolute horror of everybody involved.

In the final scene we see the entire cast doing their usual stuff in swapped bodies while Cologne tells fact 3 that she has just learned, and although people feel in general relieved they are also shocked that they'll have to endure another week of the madness.

Some specific incidents:

• Right after the swap. ranma!Akane: *in horror* I'm a boy!? akane!Ranma: *applies cold water on ranma!Akane, turns her into girl!ranma!Akane* Better now? Akane: No!
• Kuno drops in, tries to hug akane!Ranma, Ranma forgets that he's wielding SoE and tries to hit Kuno with it, but girl!ranma!Akane hits Ranma first, Ranma actually thanks Akane when he realizes in horror what he almost did, they then boot Kuno together.
• Ranma causes an unintended swap to prevent Akane from finding out the truth about P-chan.
• Ranma in Shampoo's body: Hey, I hadn't noticed that these are even bigger than mine! Akane: *applies cold water on shampoo!Ranma, turns him into cat!Ranma* Ranma: *faints in horror*
• Happosai is swapped into one of the girls, is happy. Everybody else: No way!!!

On the whole, this probably doesn't work well as a written fic because of the difficulty of keeping track of bodies/persons in that format, and losing the visual gags would severely reduce the overall comedic effect. However, if it's possible to create a good outline from these ingredients then I just might draw it.