[FFML] [Fanfic][Ranma/SM] On A Clear Day You Can See Forever Chapter 21

[Mark MacKinnon]

Bert Miller wrote:
> David McMillan wrote:
>   
>> Mark MacKinnon wrote:
>>   
>>     
>>> Bert Miller wrote:
>>>     
>>>       
>>>> Mark MacKinnon wrote:
>>>>       
>>>>         
>> 	???  I just re-read the previous chapters a couple months ago, and I
>> swear I don't recall anything that implied that the Cloud Thing was old
>> Underlord magick.  What did I miss?
>>   
>>     
> One of Mark's replies to my comments on Chapter 20, that's what.
> I speculated in my comments that the mysterious object in the clouds
> above the palace was Crimson Thorn, the sister ship to White Destiny
> (Desidinder); Mark came right out in his reply and said "no", and hinted
> that it's one of the Underlord's leftovers.
>   
    Which would explain why it was so powerful, but not how Wynneth 
found and controlled it.

>   
>>> (Does anyone find it strange that we hear of the hells, and the old 
>>> gods, but not of their demonic counterparts?)
>>>     
>>>       
>> 	Now that you mention it... yes.
>>   
>>     
> And I second the motion.
>   
    It will be a fairly important point in the next chapter.

>   
>>>>
>>>>       
>>>>         
>> 	"Bang, zoom!  To the MOON, Ranma!"
>>
>>   
>>     
> Well, if it turns out that the Eye is on Nemesis (or is Nemesis),
> and that Ranma has to go there to use the Key...
>   
    Now look where Gaia is!  Move over, Ranma, and let me drive!

>   
>>
>> 	...huh?  Aside from Dasma, when have we ever gotten any physical
>> descriptions of the Dark Gods?
>> 	Now, I *have* wondered if Yuu was the local version of Jadeite, freed
>> from his brainwashing, but....
>>   
>>     
> You are correct, we never did get physical descriptions of the other 
> Dark Gods.
> What we DID get, however, are names:  Dios the Fallen and his sister 
> Anisthyia,
> for two.  And (just in case) chapter nine has a footnote kindly 
> reminding us from
> which series the character of Dios comes.  [It might not be amiss to 
> point out
> that Yu appears in chapter nine, but that Dios is only mentioned.  So 
> why the
> credit for a character?]  Now, those of us who remember their Shoujo Kakumei
> Utena know perfectly well what these two Dark Gods look like.  Dios is tall,
> with very, very fair hair; Anisthyia is short, with dark skin and purple 
> hair.
>   
    Well, that's true.  Although Dios is also dusky-skinned, like his 
sister.  And kind of a douchebag.

>   
>>>> human.  Red herrings?
>>>> Or Divine Deep Cover?
>>>>       
>>>>         
>> 	I *must* have missed a memo -- I have No Idea what you're hinting at,
>> or where it's coming from.
>>   
>>     
> Well, ever since I noticed the resemblances, I've been scrutinizing this 
> pair's
> actions closely, but so far no smoking guns.  (They both eat very spicy food
> without breaking out into a sweat, though.)  So maybe the resemblances
> are just red herrings, and they really are just plain folks?
>
> On the other hand, it might be interesting to hear what Peorth has to say
> should these two happen to stroll by when Peorth is meeting with Venus
> and Ranma next chapter...
>   
    Don't you mean IF Peorth is meeting with anybody in the next 
chapter?  Sorry, just dragging out the suspense for no real reason.  Bad 
habit.

>> 	Hmm... do Wardens detect dark or inimical energies, or do they pick up
>> on stuff that specifically interdimensional in nature?
>>   
>>     
> Mark mentioned in his reply to my comments on Chapter 20 that the Key 
> picks up
> capital-D Dark energies, but not lower-case-d dark, so the Key couldn't have
> notified Ranma about Fenrir's arrival in the human plane.  Another mechanism
> was required for their rendezvous.
>   
    And Ranma isn't exactly conversant in the use of the key, so only 
the most obvious disturbances would register.

>   
>> 	It's this kind of thing that makes Mark's readers go crawling through
>> his stories for the nth time with a microscope, looking for any hidden
>> clues.  For instance, did you ever notice that Yuu and Usagi take their
>> coffee the same way?  This Means Something, I'm telling you!
>>   
>>     
> Well, I'm one of those readers (obviously), but I didn't notice that.
> You may be right, however, that it means something: recall
> that the identity of Princess Serenity's father in the Silver
> Millenium has yet to be revealed...
>   
    Vader?  YOU'RE my father?  NOOOO!  That's impossible!  Ooo, coffee!

>   
>> 	Now that's an angle I never thought of.  I always thought that Illianka 
>> was saving *this* sphere, expecting all the rest to be destroyed or 
>> taken over, and that the larger multiverse from which Ranma and the DTF 
>> come survived by chance, or by an unforseen side effect of Illianka's 
>> sacrifice.  But if the "geography" of the multiverse makes Gaea some 
>> sort of choke point...
>>   
>>     
> Well, it was clear in Chapter 18 that Illianka's intent at the time was to
> preserve Gaia, this sphere, by snapping all the hyperlinks to it.  And
> it was also made clear that Hild, Mara, and Peorth all thought that
> the rest of creation was toast.  However, we readers know that
> the rest of the hyperlinked spheres in the multiverse survived just
> fine.  (I mentioned that this discrepancy seemed odd to me a couple
> of times in comments on various story chapters, and Mark replied
> along the lines of, "Yes, that IS odd, isn't it.")
>   
    Helpful, aren't I?

> It's a big discrepancy, but easily explained if Illianka's snapping
> of the hyperlinks is the CAUSE of the survival of everywhere
> else.  And how could that be?  And what does that say about
> the origin of the forces beyond comprehension tearing time and
> space apart?
>
> Illianka said it best, way back in Chapter 3:
>      "He took to the Paths,
>       And the Paths lead, they say,
>       To where the Truth is hidden away,"
>   
    Rest assured this point will finally be revealed, probably in 
chapter 23.  So until then, keep reading.  And thanks for all the great 
comments and discussion!

Mark

>
>
>
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