THE TIDE IS TURNING . . . .
0. FOREWORD
Hello hello, dear readers !
I'm used to starting my stories with a foreword (call me old-fashioned if you like… ;P) , where I give clarifications and explain my motivation and background with respect to each story, and where I also dedicate the story to one or several persons. There are important points in there, that you should be aware of, in order to decide if you'll read the fic or not.
It's not that long, but if you're one of these avid readers who can't help jumping straight into the plot/action and don't mind about preliminaries, then you can skip this "0 chapter" and head ahead. ("head ahead"… yeah, definitely like the sound of this ^^ ).
For those who'll take the time to follow these introductory lines, thanks a lot, much appreciated.
First of all, being a native French speaker, I'm not as naturally gifted or skilled as you guys in English (buttering you up, yup !), although I prove fluent in it, and this explains why you will prolly find some of my expressions or "turns of phrases" kinda odd or awkward, and also why you might be surprised at my putting spaces between the end of sentences and punctuation elements such as ? / ! / : The reason why is simple : we use spaces in French, between last word and punctuation sign, and even if I write in English, I nevertheless stick to the French punctuation habits (but hey, I think that's secondary and "forgivable", right ? ;D)
Second of all, I'm interested in OoC protagonists in fictions and therefore tend to make them more or less out of character in my own stories as well. Some fans dislike it (being purists and willing to preserve the essence of the show) and some other fans appreciate it (being interested in a more daring and creative approach, even if this slightly "betrays" the canons). I hope that most of you are from the second group, but just know that I still respect those of the first group. It's just that I consider OoC as a kind of stylistic challenge, a content challenge, something that stimulates one's imagination.
Third of all, I use A/N (Author's Notes) in my fictions. I put a certain number between parentheses, such as (1), at some point and, after the end of the chappy, I develop all these A/N, before concluding with a comment about the chapter. I used to put the notes directly in the main body of text, but after being "flamed" by a reader in one of my Teen Titans stories, I learned my lesson well and postponed Author's Notes to the end of chapter to avoid disrupting the natural "flow" of the story with brief interruptions.
Fourth of all, "don't like, don't (continue to) read". But if you do not like, please don't pull out the flamethrower from your bag… in fact, you don't even have to leave a comment at all if you don't feel like it or dislike the story, it's up to you, but if you leave a review, please try to remain as objective and respectful as possible. You CAN make your point WITHOUT being severe or harsh, say what you have to say without risking to get hurtful, it's all in the choice of words/expressions you'll use. I'm open to constructive criticism and pertinent remarks, not to lashing out or people being smartypants, scolding the author (in a way or another).
Now, to the reason I chose to write this. I "rediscovered" RANMA ½ this year and instantly fell back into the Fountain of Youth, being reminded how much I LOVED this anime as a teenager, back in the first half of the 90's, when I (fortunately) came across this humor- and action-packed show, with also some tender and emotional or melancholic moments scattered through. It was one of my fav' Japanese series back then, and given how much I still love it as a 45-man, I guess I can safely consider it as one of my fav' shows ever, in a lifetime.
And because I'm also interested in unusual pairings/shippings, I decided to "twist" this fic in another direction, the one I felt like heading to. Fans of Ranma X Akane will prolly be running after me to hang me or stuff, after reading this story (IF they actually DO read it ! XD), but… what can I say… I just can't help being different, lol ! ^.^
Right, I guess we're done. Oh, perhaps not yet. I wanna dedicate this story to all RANMA ½ fans – you certainly have good tastes in anime… well, at least for THIS anime, eh eh… - and, as strange as it seems, I also dedicate it to… one of the protagonists of the show (and of this story)… a certain pigtailed readhead who's as cute as can be….. (and if you wonder if I ever was in love with her, I indeed was as a teen… and still somehow am as a man… true love never dies, remember ? ;P…)
Alright, time to turn the page and start for good, watcha think ? Hopefully you'll like what you find.
Now let's go.
It's just around the corner…
N'JOY !
Léo / Dixxy