Equal Halves

By Deborah Goldsmith

Two different versions of Ranma cross paths

This story started when I wrote some outtakes for “Genma’s Daughter,” in which Ranma and Ranko appeared together. I had so much fun, I wanted to try a story along the same lines. I thought it would be a short story, but it wound up much longer. You don’t need to have read “Genma’s Daughter” to appreciate this story, though it would probably help.

This story was also partly inspired by “Definitions of Hell” by Richard Lawson. In tribute, there are a few hidden references to Richard’s story in “Equal Halves.”

There are two Japanese characters (well, Chinese actually, but that’s another story) on either side of the title. The one on the left means “chaos” or “disorder”; the one on the right means “orchid”. They’re both pronounced “ran” when used in people’s names. Characters with the same pronunciation are quite common in Japanese; my Canon Wordtank lists 30 characters which can be pronounced “ran”!

Once again, I’d like to express my deep appreciation to my prereaders: Steve Pardue, Nick Leifker, Zen, and Rachel Blackman. They gave me lots of excellent suggestions, and the story is better for it.

Please email me and let me know how you like it. My email address is dgoldsmith@mac.com.

Chapters
  1. Over the Rainbow   (plain text)

    You can hear more clips of Hilary Hahn playing the Bach Partita for Solo Violin in E Major at the Sony Classical site. Also, you can buy other performances by Itzhak Perlman Sonatas and Partitas, Partita No.3, Preludio, BWV 1006 and Jascha Heifetz Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006, I. Preludio (among others) at the iTunes Music Store.

    One afternoon in February 2001, while on a business trip to Tokyo, I decided to follow Ranko’s route home as described in Chapter 1. See the photographs I took while following in Ranko’s footsteps.

  2. Two of a Kind?   (plain text)

    On the first page of (Japanese) manga volume 28, you can see Ranma-chan trying on the dress Ranko wears in this chapter. The episode is “Mother, I’m Ranma,” which begins the Ryuu Kumon story arc. As far as I can tell from the Viz web site, they haven’t translated this story yet.

    I think Ranko normally dresses more like Akane: stylish but casual.

  3. It’s My Birthday and I’ll Cry If I Want To   (plain text)
  4. Lovers and Other Strangers   (plain text)

    I couldn’t find a free online clip of the Beethoven Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano, but you can buy this performance Violin Sonata, No. 2 in A Major, Op.12, Allegro Vivace by Michiko Kamiya at the iTunes Music Store.

  5. The Only Constant   (plain text)
  6. There's No Place Like Home   (plain text)

Back to my fiction page

Wednesday, December 3, 2003

 

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  1. The characters and stories of Ranma ½ are Copyright © Rumiko Takahashi, and are used here without permission or license.
  2. No claims to the above copyright are made by the author of this work.
  3. This work is for non-commercial use ONLY, and is produced for the enjoyment of fans only.
  4. This work is the expression of the author and the depiction of the Ranma ½ characters herein are in no way represented to be a part of Ranma ½ as depicted by the original author and copyright holder(s).

 

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