Identity 8.5 - Divergence

I really struggled with parts of this chapter, knowing how crucial it was to get Ranma and Akane’s interactions right. Changes I’d made to earlier in “No Place of Sanctuary” had to be reflected, and as a result, there is in general more understanding between Ranma and Akane, even if they don’t see eye-to-eye right away or get along without some tense moments. In the end, though, I’m happy with the end result. Ranma and Akane are making progess and trying to overcome their insecurities and fears. I think that clear sense of momentum is important.

Where Ranma, Ukyō, Kohl, and Shampoo have all had something to say in these past few chapters, this is Akane’s turn (and she doesn’t even get the entire chapter to herself). This is where she can shine and show her bravery—which isn’t meant to prove her worth to Ranma (that’s what Shampoo hopes for) but to show that he needn’t worry, that she doesn’t need his protection. On a moral level, Akane is the most well-intentioned character of them all. While she may fall into moments of jealousy or anger from time to time, I think she has a keen awareness of how those reflect poorly on her and how they represent flaws in her character. Even though Shampoo once tried to kill Akane (and, unbeknownst to anyone but Shampoo, seriously considered trying again), Akane would never leave Shampoo out there alone.

I created the character of the new captain, Liesun, out of necessity, for Xiu was a traitor, and Kohl is obviously in no position to lead. Where Kohl’s ultimately loyal to the people and doing his duty, Liesun is loyal to Sindoor, making her reckless and fanatical as a result.

Ranma’s gambit to get the souvenirs out of the house and Akane along with them was my attempt to have him do something productive while still dealing with his fears. I felt this was necessary, or else Ranma’s desire to protect Akane would become obstructive and hampering.

Of course, one should infer that Kohl is the one who led the Sorcerers to the Tendō home and that when he describes Liesun, he’s not being entirely truthful. Because that scene is from Akane’s perspective, we can’t know what’s going through Ranma’s mind at the time, but his caution in detailing where the box is should be noted. Remember that Ranma is not generally a trusting person, and particularly when he’s suspicious of Kohl anyway, there’s only one natural choice here. I, for one, think that Ranma’s tactical plan here is particularly canny: because he doesn’t actually need to defend the inside of the house, he can keep picking off Sorcerers and only go inside when there’s no chance of getting boxed in.

When Ranma says that the box isn’t in the house at all, Kohl quickly realizes that Akane and Ryōga (or perhaps the rest of the family) have made off with it instead. While he doesn’t know exactly where Ucchan’s is, he can give a general idea. I’d originally planned to have Kohl meet Ukyō at some point, but it didn’t pan out for 8.3. When Ranma goes to find Kohl, it’s just after Kohl has doped himself up with vision dust to get the message out. In retrospect, this might’ve been a good time to change perspectives and make all that explicit.

I never thought Akane would be willing to sit still at Ukyō’s, even knowing how Ranma was afraid for her. Ukyō is responsible for Akane’s safety; she naturally takes the lead, and that’s the role I think Ukyō will embrace going forward. She’s a generally level, well-meaning person also, but where Akane can be idealistic, Ukyō has it in her to be more pragmatic. She’s been through rough stuff in her life, so she knows it’s not all cherry blossoms and roses out there.

It’s somewhat convenient that Ranma and Akane can’t be killed—at least, not by the Sorcerers who need them, who need Ranma to be the Sieve at some point—but I see no way around that, and at least it gives a reason why they won’t die (at least for a while) aside from heavy-duty plot armor.

In truth, I never really planned on destroying the Tendō home at all, but I realized that given the stakes, it was time to give a real sense of damage and change. I was going to have the kiss scene at the end here take place in the walkway to the dojo, mirroring the scenes earlier that took place there, but this makes more sense, at it’s understandable for Ukyō to see them in a more open area, and the umbrella is a cultural symbol for romance in Japan. And Ukyō, while endeavoring to maintain some sense of personal integrity, is driven to join forces with Shampoo and Ryōga, marking the creation of a pact that was also one of my major goals with this story arc. Both the kiss and the pact were scenes I’d long had in mind.

Identity will be on break for a while during the rewrite, but a couple parts of “The Wanderer” are written, and I hope to be back as soon as possible. More on the rewrite in a later post.

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About the Identity rewrite

As I announced at the end of “Divergence,” I’m rewriting Identity, and it seemed appropriate to explain this decision, which I’ve taken for several reasons. A writer’s style and capabilities are constantly changing, and were it for those reasons alone, I would not be rewriting this story, though they’ve played heavily in what I consider room to improve. Rather, my biggest concern has been, in my opinion, an error in presentation.

When I originally published the first chapter, “In the Cold Rain,” I did so as a single unit. That was about 30-35 thousand words in one big chunk, and one reviewer said point-blank that it was long (addictive, perhaps, but long). I stayed with this for chapter two, but as I continued, I felt unhappy with the structure, and building off the numbered sections I’d been using in Echoes, I split off each section as an installment in its own right, and typically, these were shorter, as small as 3000 words on the small end to 12000 or so with “Scars,” but again, much shorter.

Nevertheless, one big problem with this structure was that the story’s first chapter was spread out over five or six “effective” chapters when it wasn’t designed to be told that way. It’s also very heavy in flashback right off the bat, with the scenes taking place in the present at Jusenkyō being very small in comparison to the backstory that takes place in Japan. More than that, it gives the impression that the relationship issues will be the overriding focus of the piece when, just one chapter later, they aren’t dealt with at all.

So ultimately, my hope is to present a more uniform experience, one that gives a better idea of what kind of story Identity is right from the start. It is a serious tale, with heavy action components, but the Ranma/Akane relationship is also very important to the character growth. It’s a tough balance to find, but I believe I can do it, and in doing so, I can tighten up the prose considerably, making it more consistent with my style and philosophy of storytelling at this time. When I started Identity, I worked under the theory that the audience should understand as much as possible right away to fully appreciate what they were reading. In the years since, however, particularly in the last twelve months, I’ve moved away from that view. I still believe in clarity, but some things need not be approached or discussed right away, and benefit of limited viewpoints keeps things tractable, organized in a way that the audience can discover things as the characters do.

Two chapters totalling about 30,000 words are completed for the rewrite, and I’m working on the third. There’s a lot of new material, though some is recycled or minimally altered from the original version. I hope that this will lessen with subsequent chapters. Currently, chapter one is an expanded battle between Ranma and the Sorcerers at Jusenkyō which introduces them and explores Ranma’s state of mind. Chapter two is similar to “The Village” in its entirety, but streamlined a bit to stand on its own.

Overall, the changes I have in mind for the story will make some things play out a bit differently, but the story is recognizably Identity. I do not know when I will finish this rewrite project, but rest assured, I am fully invested in the completion of this story, as I always have been.

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First Ones 02 - Eisheth

I wrote about the first four thousand words of this chapter and stopped, unsettled, thinking it was not going to develop correctly or be as long as I’d hoped. As always, estimates of length are quite poor in general, and this ended up being longer than chapter one, despite my initial expectations.

Where best to begin than the beginning, huh? Let’s see here. I’d long had the idea that Eisheth would appear to Shinji not as a Rei or Kaworu knock-off but using something more familiar and, hence, all the more unsettling. I think Eisheth would appear to individuals differently. Shinji sees the cultist Masuyo, but others might see someone else. The constancy of the design of her clothing—always having the pattern of five buttons or other adornments in the same pattern as her eyes—should be a bit of a clue as to who’s talking to Shinji even before it’s made clear. It also, to me, captures an idea that Eisheth can’t be completely perceived, but parts of what she really is leak through.

The idea of this chapter is that Shinji is reluctant to speak out and embrace his status as a public figure for the greater good, but in the end, he realizes the necessity of doing so, that he has to stand up and speak out. This first section of the chapter, concerning the passengers in the traincar, sets up Shinji’s reluctance to act. The conductor is the good, responsible man, trying to do what’s right amid a horde of panicking people, who are—as Eisheth says—slaves to their fears. And Shinji isn’t able to stand up and make a difference before it’s too late for any of them.

The scene with Shinji in the lavatory was originally going to be when Shinji and Rei spoke again for the first time, but I ended up pushing that back to later. Rei being ever-present throughout the rest of the chapter made the feel and dynamics of it very awkward. I felt it was much more powerful to have Shinji be alone for this first section, unknowing and unaware of what would happen and forced to try to cope, to survive. It really lends to the horror feel of this chapter as a result. Otherwise, Shinji’s attempt at a ruse should show that he is a little bolder than before.

The use of tentacled monsters is, of course, something largely overdone in Lovecraftian work, but I did try to add something unique to these creatures, in terms of their sunction-cupped bodies and lack of hands but fingerlike appendages even still. I figure the Zenunim would be able to cling to ceilings or walls thanks to the suction cups, for example, which would give them a real tactical advantage. In keeping with their purpose, they carry no weapons, and their only real ability is to dissolve people back into LCL. Eisheth is not, in her mind, evil, nor does she wish indiscriminate death on people. Her children’s form is in keeping with this philosophy.

At last, Rei appears to Shinji directly and plays a part in saving him when he’s cornered by the Zenunim. There’s a lot about what Rei has become that I can’t really get into yet, but rest assured, I have a lot of her nature and abilities worked out.

All along in chapter one, I knew Misato and Rei would be in it together as far as the fight against Eisheth, and while originally I hadn’t planned for Misato to play such a significant role in this chapter, I’m happy with how it turned out. I don’t think what she’s been involved in should be much of a surprise, but it’s still fun to see.

By the by, on the name “Eisheth Zenunim”—the name comes from Kabbalah. Lilith, Naamah, Agrat Bat Mahlat, and Eisheth make up a group of four demons called “Angels of Sacred Prostitution.” I fully intend for Agrat and Naamah to be among the seven Seeds of Life.

Originally, I planned for there to be several mad people, touched by the influence of Eisheth and the Zenunim while tanged, but I reduced it down to one, feeling that one person would be the most impactful. Actually, this whole scene after Shinji and Rei meet in the LCL sea was originally Shinji being rescued by uknown SDF members and having to hole up in a traincar while more creatures came after them, hoping for help to arrive. The main element, however, of someone taking up a gun against the others remains the same. Here, I think it’s more powerful because it’s a threat against Shinji’s life here, as opposed to one against a nameless bunch of extras. I’m really quite happy with this scene.

A consequence, however, was that a lot of exposition about Misato and her efforts was needed to make her entrance make sense. The natural question would’ve been, “Misato-san, how did you know I was here?” So Misato and Rei’s involvement could not be hidden any longer. It also means that Eva-14 appears a little before I’d originally meant for it to. Actually, this probably represents a bit of a coming around in my outlines, for I’d planned on it appearing, then wrote it out, then wrote it back in in this final draft.

(It’s also Eva-14 due to a bit of a goof on my part. For whatever dumb reason, I forgot that Toji piloted Eva-03. I wrote Eva-04 by mistake and started counting up MP Evas from there. With 9 MP Evas, the new unit should be 13, not 14, but I think we can excuse the Japanese trying to skip that number, as long as 13 exists…somewhere.)

I said at the start of these notes that Shinji was meant to realize he needed to speak up and be heard and stand up for humanity, and it actually surprised me a little how much he ended up doing so. I thought to myself, “Man, this could be a little cheesy.” But on balance, I stuck with it because that is exactly what I wanted to get across. In a lot of ways, though the subject matter is bleak, this is about the good guys fighting to represent humanity in the best way possible, to justify our existence as individuals. They are going to face trials and hardships, yes, but the one thing they will not do is questions whether mankind is worth fighting for. This represents a bit of a departure for me, as Identity is all about people questioning themselves, but I feel that having any of these characters backtrack that way would be a trite. No, more than that—it would be a betrayal of what they learned in the series and End of Evangelion. If these characters were to step back that way, I would just be retreating stuff Anno did much better than I ever could, so I will not do that.

In that way, though, what I’m left with are the pieces for a reconstruction of Evangelion. The comments in the SpaceBattles thread already seem to have picked up on that, comparing Shinji to Simon of Gurren Lagann for example.

That Eva-14 does not yet have a pilot will prove the major plot point of chapter three, “The Sixth Child,” and while I will say that the pilot won’t be Shinji, I’ll also say it won’t be an entirely original character, either.

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Identity 8.4 - Wounds of a Warrior

I’m a bit late with this, as I’ve been working on several projects at once, and some of my tardiness will be explained in the coming weeks.

But let’s get started here. This installment is all about Shampoo, and her outsider’s mindset is something that presents a unique challenge. I feel that Shampoo has a very absolutist mentality. Things either are, or they aren’t, and there isn’t a lot of room between the two. Ranma is the man she’s bound to, the only one who excites her, and that’s that. Akane is weak and unworthy of him. Ukyō is too unwilling to do what it takes, and Ryōga’s attraction to Akane is something she can’t understand, either. The challenge for Shampoo is that she has these opinions about all these people, and each of them has a kernel of truth, but reality is more nuanced than the way she sees it. To me, her attraction to Ranma is intense and genuine, but it nevertheless lacks depth because Shampoo fundamentally misunderstands what appeals to him.

The scene to start off that flashes back to the Council and aftermath of “The March” is where that first hint really comes to her. Ranma is significantly improved over her thanks to his magic skillset, yet Shampoo doesn’t hesitate to go after him. It is, in her mind, the only choice she has. She is uncompromising, at least as much due to stubbornness as uncertainty, I think. It is a big hit to her pride and sense of self-worth if she has to lose at something.

Here too I touch on the ongoing reflection that Shampoo poses to Cologne. Cologne had been unwilling to compromise herself, after all, and while she’s stepped back at times due to that painful lesson, she’s also lived it all again thanks to the defeat at the Sorcerer village. This is something that will be explored in more detail in “The Wanderer” though.

I hope Ranma and his crackers were amusing; this little bit of melodrama struck me as a moment to work in some levity. There are a couple things going on here, though, that might get overlooked due to limited perspective. Kohl neglected to destroy the box of Hibiki’s souvenirs when the smoke detector went off in Ryōga’s house, so that’s why he has such a reaction to this information, for instance.

On balance (and thanks to a comment from Richard Ryley), I do think I will go back and tweak some of Ryōga’s dialogue to make him seem less pathetic. At minimum, Ryōga should realize that he holds Ranma to a higher standard than even himself out of jealousy, and as such, he does himself and Ranma a disservice. Still, this conversation between Shampoo and Ryōga is important, as Shampoo is trying to build alliances.

Ranma and Akane have a squabble here, also, which I left mostly intact despite some tweaks to the progression of their relationship in the drafts of chapters before and after this one. This, to me, is part of the idea that despite all they’ve realized about one another, old habits and worries don’t die instantly. They have to be continually dealt with. That’s not to say progress can’t be made, but it is, in my mind, a struggle that can be mostly, but not completely, put aside.

The rebel Sorcerers make another appearance, and this is all setting up a much bigger arc for them, but the most important part of this passage is the reintroduction of Marula—you might remember her faintly from “Monsters and Demons” or even before that. I didn’t do much with her there, and I don’t even know if I had this element in mind at the time, but this is what I’ve decided to do with the character: she too is a reflection of Shampoo. She is friendly on the one hand and sympathetic toward Shampoo for her plight, but on the other hand, she subjugates her own wishes in deference to the tribe and even suggests she would accept a slight stain of honor for the greater good. To be honest, I admit I felt a little uncertain if these traits would come off well, if this would give sufficient depth to the character, but I do hope she came across as an effective foil to Shampoo, a reminder of what she’s lost and how that’s shaped her.

This leads into the most difficult scene for me: Shampoo going to Akane’s room. To tell the truth, even to this moment I remain unconvinced that I did enough to make Shampoo’s decision here come off as within her character. Pride definitely is part of her persona, though, so I really hoped that would be enough. Shampoo’s realization of her fears and anxieties is really the moment her walls come down, the moment (I hope) that people can reconnect with her for everything that will happen moving forward.

A big battle is coming up, along with an announcement.

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Identity 8.3 - The Lady's Agent

Continuing in this new method of telling acts mostly from one character’s perspective, this installment follows Kohl. Of course, Kohl is an original creation on my part, as are all the Sorcerers, so I do feel a bit of trepidation in confining myself to his perspective for such a period of time, but if you’re willing to accept him as a window to this world, I think his insights can be very telling indeed.

Japanese society in general is supposed to be more reserved than Western cultures, particularly in terms of public displays of affection and general interactions between men and women, which tend to be more stratified. Still, compared to Kohl’s home, I thought it would come across as very, very alien. That’s a big theme of this installment—how very different the world is outside the village—and while Kohl is trying to stay true to what he knows, I think Kohl is a curious, thinking person. He may be stubborn when dealing with Ranma, but Kohl has always been questioning Sindoor, trying to understand what it is she wants from him instead of showing her blind obedience.

Having Kohl come in contact with the rebel Sorcerers proved to be one of the big practical challenges to work out. Though magic can have influences on the mind, most Sorcerers really don’t specialize in that. Tilaka is the only major exception presented so far, so it’s unlikely that Kohl could contact them telepathically, for instance. So I went with something flashy, something likely to get a lot of people’s attention.

So now we meet the rope-maker once again. One reader had thought Xiu killed the rope-maker at the end of chapter seven; that wasn’t what I intended to say, so I went back and clarified that passage. Still, one wonders why this rope-maker would go about in her cursed body, which is inherently weaker with magic, and surround herself with people who can do magic, who would be more powerful than her?

The scene with Ranma, Akane, and Kohl in the dojo was a tricky one; I’d ended up having Ranma and Akane leave off on a particularly high note from 8.1, and to have this regression, this step back, was something I knew I had to handle very carefully. I didn’t think seeing the argument unfold in all its gory detail would be too interesting—rather, the reactions are the big thing. Akane can see what’s happening with him, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to come to an agreement that satisfies them both. I hoped to not be too one-sided in that respect. Kohl points out that Akane should be afraid to jump into battle so eagerly, and I think it’s important that Akane recognize how justified Ranma’s fears are. As scrappy as she can be, she would have to come a long way for Ranma not to fear for her—probably further than she would otherwise just to be a safe match for a Sorcerer. Right now, she’s far too close to 1-on-1 parity with them, and when that means half of all outcomes leads to death, well, there’s a problem.

Ranma’s precautions against the Sorcerers are meant to be logical in action but spurred on by his fears—indeed, it almost rises to the level of paranoia. This is the same reason he doesn’t bring Kohl in on Ryōga’s presence in the Tendō home.

Slowly, Kohl is getting to understand the differences between men and women in this society and how they dress. Right now, he’s still entirely male in self-image, so Akane’s assumption that Kohl might be wanting to explore is a bit presumptuous. In general, though, Kohl and Akane have a good relationship, and it takes every bit of Kohl’s ability to manipulate and lie to really persuade her into doing what he needs.

One of the challenges of limited perspective is trying to get things across through the eyes of a character who can’t quite understand what he’s seeing. There’s a big focus on the belongings of the Hibiki family when Kohl enters the house, seeing the photos on the refrigerator, for instance. These are things Kohl can’t relate to, having grown up without a family, and that’s something that will be explored in more detail in chapter nine. All of the elder Hibiki’s belongings—the sourvenirs he’s sent back, his journals—will have their significance clarified later on, too. Right now, what’s important is that Kohl is still walking the path the Lady set for him, doing his duty because he believes in it, believes in his own sacrifice. Kohl’s loyalty always has been and always will be to the village, but what that means will soon come into question, as will how he seems himself.

I’ve always felt that for original characters, villains are the most easily accepted, but what is Kohl here? A villain protagonist? This is much harder to do, and I’ve felt that difficulty. Still, I hope you have enjoyed Kohl’s perspective on Ranma, Akane, and the growing threat. Getting into his head gives us an opportunity to see what Sindoor is plotting, though we—like Kohl—can’t fully understand it just yet.

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Identity 8.2 - Enemies

Part of my new model of storytelling is to try to change perspectives less. I grew attached to the notion through writing “Before and After” and The Coin, for first-person perspectives require great awareness of that separation, that barrier between what the character knows and what’s actually going on. I feel that telling a story with limited perspectives allows for the reader to slip into that viewpoint as well. People have to figure things out and analyze the world around them to understand it. Little of what we encounter in the world explains itself, after all. I know that’s all personal preference. Third-person omniscient perspectives are entirely valid from a literary perspective, and indeed, by changing the POV character at will, I get a little bit of the best of both worlds, but only a bit. Some of what people expect in writing isn’t objectively best but merely contemporary trends and fashions. Omniscient was popular in the 19th century, for instance, where limited came into fashion in the 20th. At least, that’s what wikipedia says. Take that for what you will, of course.

So where last act was entirely from Ranma’s perspective, this one is from Ukyō’s. I feel this clean division helps distinguish each act from the others nowadays, even though I always had some idea that acts should have some beginning and end to them, some finality. It’s not a hard and fast rule—little in writing ever is, and I’m going to break it in act five out of necessity—but on the whole, I feel staying in one character’s viewpoint as much as possible gives me better focus on that character’s story. This is something I felt I had become lax in for book one. Ukyō and Shampoo’s stories saw little focus after chapter four, at least, and while the nature of a story with this kind of scope is one of rotating perspectives, I must take care not to neglect a character for too long. So this is the beginning of me trying to remedy that, and with the increased focus on Ranma and Akane’s relationship, Ukyō and Shampoo get more opportunity to respond to that as well. That’s not to say there’s only one way to give them screen time—far from it, part of my task is to give them focus without the Ranma and Akane relationship as the undercurrent—but it’s still a starting point for them.

Now, if you remember from last time, Ranma and Akane were supposed to study, and there was a small reference to Ukyō being there snuck in. A lot of this act overlaps in time with Ranma and Akane’s date, then—a necessary consequence of increased persistence with one perspective.

This act is mostly setup still. Ukyō’s mindset and opinion of Akane is one of general respect, but Ukyō isn’t going to think anything other than that she’s better suited for Ranma, so that colors her perspective. Conversely, while Ranma can see the good in Akane now that she’s calmed down a touch about things, Ukyō remembers some of the things Akane’s done wrong. The “truth” should be somewhere between these depictions, mind you. No one character’s perspective should be believed completely. Almost always, I’m paraphrasing a character’s thoughts or opinions. In that sense, what the narrator says about people could be considered unreliable.

The big, ongoing thing with Ukyō is going to be the clash of opinions with her father. I always wanted Ukyō’s father to represent a less traditional parent compared to usual depictions of Japanese culture that are so honor-based. Ukyō cares enough about getting her due that another voice saying the same thing is pointless. While her father represents a return to old, traditional ways and pursuits, he sees Ranma as a possible distraction, a fruitless exercise that keeps Ukyō from more productive efforts.

Now, we have a bit with Mousse, and this is where limited perspective comes in. Were this from a more omniscient perspective, we could see Shampoo scheming to send Mousse out to Ukyō, to give a message covertly. Instead, we, like Ukyō, have to figure it out a bit. I think this is a much more satisfying exercise.

As Ukyō’s father presents one reason not to go after Ranma, Shampoo represents Ukyō’s reflection—what would happen to her if she let her desire for Ranma go unchecked. Shampoo isn’t stupid. She knows that Ukyō is trying to do things the right way, but when Ukyō presses her buttons, Shampoo’s true desperation comes out. The little details about Shampoo’s necklace and such will be treated in more detail in act four.

Overall, though, this piece is called Identity for a reason. Who is Ukyō? Is she as desperate as Shampoo? Can she be the person her father wants her to be? The person she aspires to be for Ranma? Or maybe it’s none of these things. She’s already rejected the first two, and the last one, well, as we can see, what Ukyō hopes Ranma will want and desire in her just may not be the case. And it’s not her fault; who people fall in love with doesn’t follow logical rules. I hoped to make it clear that Ranma is genuinely conflicted here, that he wants Ukyō to stay and be a friend to her, but he just can’t find a way to make her happy to and stay true to what he feels. And for once, he’s actually trying to confront this stuff instead of letting it fester.

But Ranma is still not particularly adept at handling women, and this is where the question of who Ukyō is comes into play. As she handles the phone, realizing how desperate and wanting she is, she stares right into the darkness within her heart. Ukyō, however, is a good enough person to recognize that it’s there and try to resist it. Ukyō still is intent on having Ranma for herself; that cannot change here, but she will be very cognizant that she has to walk a fine line. She can do that, but it’s going to be painful for her—for everyone, really. I don’t want to make it sound like these growing pains are going to single Ukyō out.

That’s all for now. “The Lady’s Agent” will be here in early May. So far (through one act, anyway) I’ve been able to finish on schedule for maintaining this three-week posting interval, but we’ll see how it goes.

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Identity 8.0 & 8.1 - Monday Again - notes

Well, it’s been a while for Identity, hasn’t it. I’ve spent the last ten months or so writing different pieces—finishing “Before and After,” writing The Coin, and even starting The Coming of the First Ones. I think in that time I’ve learned a great deal. Indeed, one could say my goals for writing and for constructing stories have changed, but my passion for this story hasn’t gone anywhere. Indeed, I think this experience has given me the tools to make it better than ever.

The prologue goes into the rope-maker reaching Japan through Sorcerer magic, and this is the catalyst for where the Sorcerers will influence the plot. They don’t make themselves known yet, for I felt the most appropriate thing was a couple acts to get people reacquainted and reset.

There’s a lot to do in 8.1—establishing what’s happened with Kohl, for instance. Initially, I hadn’t intended to have Kohl’s alter ego be known, but as I thought more and more about it, it made little sense that someone wouldn’t try to figure out what he looked like in uncursed form. That Akane implores everyone to trust him ties into her long-running faith in people, which even when abused, is to me a part of who she is.

Ranma’s sleeplessness has to do with the vast number of people he’s killed, yes, but also with his innate fear of how Akane’s presence can drive him to something beyond what he sees as good and controlled. This is made explicit by the end of the act, but pay attention to the beginning—when the narration is about to describe the vision he saw before killing Henna, it cuts off. This, we know, was a vision of Akane, but even at that point, Ranma is unwilling to consider the notion, to think about it quite that closely.

Kohl’s method of trying to help Ranma center himself is the beginning of a closer look at the rules of Ki Sorcerer magic. Alas, this exposition is going to be innately flawed, since I didn’t have a good grasp of it at the beginning of the piece, and in trying to avoid a shōnen-esque shouting of attacks and stuff, I’ve left things pretty vague, honestly, focusing on elemental magic (fire, ice, lightning) quite a bit. In principle, I don’t think there are many intrinsic limits on Sorcerer magic. That Ranma has focused on ice attacks is, in part, something I find too fitting to try to change, but someone else may start learning magic, and what theme she takes (if she takes an elemental theme at all or instead prefers something higher than that) is something I’ve yet to decide.

A lot of this act is devoted to Ranma and Akane’s relationship at this point in time, and I’ve taken great care to give them a moment of genuine enjoyment and happiness. In general, I think my approach to writing is much more positive than when I began Identity, so I anticipate that there will be more focus on growth in the face of obstacles instead of how book one turned out—which, often times, involved persistence in the face of utter horros. But we shall see.

The thing here is Ranma’s determination to act on his feelings instead of bottling them, knowing he almost wasted an opportunity. As a rule, I tried to make the developing romance subtle and understated. These are two shy teenagers, at least in matters of the heart. I think what puts Ranma and Akane at ease the most is the opportunity to be themselves, to interact without external pressure. Yes, at times Ranma and Akane have, in the past, sparked conflict between them all on their own, but these are already different characters than from when Identity began. They are closer, and a bit more secure.

The martial arts exhibition was something I felt most appropriate for these two. A festival, were the timing right in the year, might be similarly good fodder for a date, but it’s hard to imagine something bringing these two together as well as some sort of martial arts.

That Ranma and Akane go to a Vietnamese soup shop derives from personal experience. My extended family owned such a shop for a time, several years ago. Akane asking Ranma not be intent to take down the Sorcerers just for her should echo her asking if that’s what he’s doing in the martial arts cheerleading arc, and it’s something that in a way just slipped out, but as I mulled it over, I realized I liked it quite a bit. It gives Ranma a path to realize what he’s been doing and why his sleep has been disturbed and to overcome it. This should be a permanent change in their dynamic. Though Ranma will still be aware of how his feelings are invested in her, he can try harder to keep those fears in check.

Finally, we know Shampoo’s been following Ranma for some time. That’s a dangling thread for later on. If you were paying close attention, you might’ve noticed that Ukyō is supposed to be waiting for Ranma and Akane at the library. That’s where we’ll begin act two.

As I wrote at the end of the act, the next installment will come in three weeks. I feel this is the pacing appropriate to how fast I’m churning each act out. Some of it is a function of how fast I write, how much time it takes to revise, the size of the acts, and diversifying interests. I’m starting to write two projects in parallel now, and I feel like overall I’m more productive, even if on any single project I’m less productive than I would be if I were only writing that one. I feel it keeps me fresher, though, so for now, that’s what I’ll do. Of course, if I manage to accumulate a significant surplus of finished material, I can also give it out faster, but we’ll have to see.

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