[Ranma 1/2] Autumn and Spring

[Brian]

Autumn and Spring is by Angus McSpon, and can be found on his website.

You can also find the sequel, Second Spring.

This is a story of Ranma, and Akane, and then of Ranma, and then of Ranma and his past.  Angus paints a compelling picture of a Ranma who's gained in a lot of confidence and knowledge in his old age, but is, at his core, still Ranma.

Now that he's in his seventies, and Akane's passed away, Ranma spends time coming to grips with it, tended by a friend of his family.  Along the way, mysteries are uncovered and revelations are made.  There's discovery, loss, laughter, recrimination, tears, and maybe some absolution, too.  I found it to be an exceptional read, and the sequel was really just a smaller slice of the same pie, neatly rounding out what would otherwise be gaps in the story.

I really enjoy the way McSpon has had Ranma's martial arts and chi ability evolve, and I especially like the way Ranma's thoughts are portrayed in battle, and there's a little bit of experimental stylism that worked _just_ right in the first fic.  It's an older fic, one might even venture to call it a classic, given its age....

...but I think it withstood the test of time fanboyously, and when I re-read it last month, it worked just as powerfully as it did when I first read it five years ago.  Good stuff.

[Edit: Because not all tags are closed with /quote -_-]

[Edward]

I'll agree with Brian on all points here.  An excellent read, and definitely worth a reread.

[thepanda]

Damn you, Brian! You cost me an evening of study! >_<

God, now I remember what was so good about Ranma fanfics. >_>

Bastard.

[DB]

Yeah, this was a nice one. The opening was good from a prose sense, but it didn't really break much in the way of new ground until we come to the real catch with Cologne. Then things take a very suspenseful turn. And there is a side-by-side writing technique Macspon uses which I loved so much I stole... err, paid tribute to in one of my fics.

The sequal actually isn't that great, until we get to the very end with one heck of a twist that I enjoyed immensely, but then it plays into *my* fanboyism.

I recommend this one as well.