Finishing What You Start, by Gabriel Blessing (PG-13)
Title: Finishing What You Start
Fandom: crossover, between Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon [no, really]
Pairing: Ranma/Setsuna
Categories: action, crossover, humor, romance
Length: Epic [41,000 words]
Warnings: violence, don't expect the Ranma characters to be IC, some character bashing
Author on LJ: n/a
Website: His page on Fanfiction.net
Summary: Having replaced a dying human child a long time ago, the demon known as Ranma was always famous for finishing what he started... but he thinks he might want to keep a few of these Sailor Scouts around after the Master conquers the Earth. Add a dash of betrayal and switching sides, plus a pinch of love, then stir.
Review: Gabriel Blessing wrote this story back during the 1990s heydays of both fandoms. This is one of the few stories that I've read, of any fandom, which has completely rewritten the main character's motivations and morality without destroying the plot or my willing suspension of disbelief. I'll confess to having read ridiculous fics as a teen, with overpowered or SecretChessMaster! Ranmas, and while I ate it up at the time, most stories that bend characterization that way can't stand up to a critical reading. "Finishing What You Start" has surprised me with its continued readability.
I'm not sure why Mr. Blessing's story succeeded when so many others like it have failed. Is it because he knows how to write a scene so clearly that it feels like you're watching an actual crossover episode? Is it because Ranma may be strong and manipulative, but he has his own set of (demonic) morals? Is it because the character bashing actually seems justified (this Ranma has been pushing the other characters toward their worst selves for years, to provide himself with entertainment and spiritual food, so when they act like jerks, it's actually due to demonic corruption)? I don't know. What I do know is that a world in which the real Ranma was killed during his Cat-Fist training and was replaced by a changeling is surprisingly plausible, at least when Mr. Blessing writes it.
Finishing What You Start [ignore the confusing formatting and occasional typo, it's only FFNet stripping out symbols and spacing.]
Fandom: crossover, between Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon [no, really]
Pairing: Ranma/Setsuna
Categories: action, crossover, humor, romance
Length: Epic [41,000 words]
Warnings: violence, don't expect the Ranma characters to be IC, some character bashing
Author on LJ: n/a
Website: His page on Fanfiction.net
Summary: Having replaced a dying human child a long time ago, the demon known as Ranma was always famous for finishing what he started... but he thinks he might want to keep a few of these Sailor Scouts around after the Master conquers the Earth. Add a dash of betrayal and switching sides, plus a pinch of love, then stir.
Review: Gabriel Blessing wrote this story back during the 1990s heydays of both fandoms. This is one of the few stories that I've read, of any fandom, which has completely rewritten the main character's motivations and morality without destroying the plot or my willing suspension of disbelief. I'll confess to having read ridiculous fics as a teen, with overpowered or SecretChessMaster! Ranmas, and while I ate it up at the time, most stories that bend characterization that way can't stand up to a critical reading. "Finishing What You Start" has surprised me with its continued readability.
I'm not sure why Mr. Blessing's story succeeded when so many others like it have failed. Is it because he knows how to write a scene so clearly that it feels like you're watching an actual crossover episode? Is it because Ranma may be strong and manipulative, but he has his own set of (demonic) morals? Is it because the character bashing actually seems justified (this Ranma has been pushing the other characters toward their worst selves for years, to provide himself with entertainment and spiritual food, so when they act like jerks, it's actually due to demonic corruption)? I don't know. What I do know is that a world in which the real Ranma was killed during his Cat-Fist training and was replaced by a changeling is surprisingly plausible, at least when Mr. Blessing writes it.
Finishing What You Start [ignore the confusing formatting and occasional typo, it's only FFNet stripping out symbols and spacing.]