Extremely AU Ranma idea- possibilities?

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

I actually did a sort of prototype for this, but I erased it sometime ago. Anyway, I recently acquired the "Infernum" RPG, and that coupled with my love of Ranma 1/2 half sparked this idea into life.

The basic premise is this: it follows the normal Ranma timeline, up until... sometime past the event where Genma abandons Ukyo. Somehow though, Ranma and Genma encountered something or did something stupid that resulted in them being dragged bodily down to the Infernum- the hell dimensions. Though the lifespan of the average mortal in Hell isn't much, these two weren't normal even then. Landing in the estate of a minor House, their (mostly luck-induced) defeat of a veteran soldier amused the Noble who ruled it, so much so that he actually adopted the two of them (thus making them "honorary demons" in the eyes of Infernum society).

While not while you could enthusiastic about this turn of events, the Saotomes did their best to adapt- not least of all because their new "lord's" displeasure would undoubtedly mean death and the torture mills for the both of them. Unfortunately for them, their House was eventually overrun by a rival's army, with Genma being killed whilst he and Ranma escaped. Rather than leaving his Damned father to be bled dry of his precious iliaster, Ranma had him soulshaped into a weapon and fled for the Outlands, growing to maturity in the infernal wilderness.

As the story begins, Ranma was eventually transported back to earth via hellgout (a random portal to or -more rarely- from Earth) and, at the insistence of Genma, has come to Nerima in search of the Tendo dojo. And thus the madness begins...

So what do you think? Does it sound like it might be writable? I've a few more ideas on this setting, but I'll wait to see peoples' opinion before revealing them.

[rmt]

Hmmm. It's definitely doable, but seeing as its *so* AU, you're going to have to really watch that you don't end up with a Ranma and Genma that are so different to the ones we know of that they may as well be different people.

Is there any reason why it needs to diverge from the canon so early on? One of the things that people tend to really associate with Ranma is his curse; if you split from canon after Jusenkyou, you not only keep the curses and all their recent history intact, but his defeat of the demon lord will be more plausible as he is considerably more powerful at 16 than he would have been at 8 or so.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Ranma hasn't beaten any demon lords- nor Genma for that matter. When they arrived in the Infernum, Genma was basically spotted by the demon equivalent of an army Sargeant and managed to kill him using Anything-Goes, despite the fact that demons have a rougher physiology than humans and thsu can take more punishment. However, he was so exhausted that the "privates" caught him and Ranma, but chose to show him to the lord rather than tearing him a new one.

Said lord was amused by the fact that a human could hurt, let alone kill, a demon with his bare hands, and so chose to spare Genma- either seeing a potential use for him in the future or out of sheer whim. Ranma was spared because of the fact he was Genma's student and Genma vowed that he would equal or even succeed his father in mastering Anything-Goes.

The main reason to diverge at such a young age is as it makes it more plausible for Ranma to have a different personality as a result; at that time, he's still relatively malleable, while the post-Jusenkyo Ranma is a lot more defined in his very nature. Plus the original idea was for the hellgout to deposit him in China -near Joketsuzoku specifically- and then have him head back to Japan. So there's room to have him fall in a Jusenkyo spring (or not- a sudden idea occurs to me of having Genma-sword getting dropped into the Nyannichuan and suddenly finding himself restored to flesh and blood- as a teenage girl) before he makes it to the Tendos.

[rmt]

The main reason to diverge at such a young age is as it makes it more plausible for Ranma to have a different personality as a result; at that time, he's still relatively malleable, while the post-Jusenkyo Ranma is a lot more defined in his very nature.

Which was kind of my point. If you're going to write a story about someone who doesn't have a Jusenkyou curse, doesn't know any of the people that the canon Ranma does (e.g. Ryouga), and doesn't act anything like the canon Ranma, then why write a Ranma fanfiction in the first place? People read fanfiction because they want to read about the *characters*, not because they want to read a story about some stranger with a familiar name.

Sorry if I'm being a bit blunt, but this is kind of a sore point for me.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

It's kinda along the reasoning people write "early divergence" fics to try and fix Ranma's life- there's a topic on such in this very forum. As with those fictions, things are different, but still much the same. Other than a few minor ideas (Mousse & Ukyo meet and decide to tagteam for their vengeance on Ranma, Ryoga went to the same Junior High as Akane), the other characters are still the same, so Ranma can still get involved in the same sort of chaos- remember, Ryoga wanted Ranma's head for the bread incident and Jusenkyo in his first appearance, and wanted it because he wanted Akane afterwards.

Have it that he wandered to China (perhaps in search of some legendary martial arts master) and challenged Ranma near Jusenkyo, promptly losing and getting flung into a cursed spring (Ranma being unaware of their curse at the time) and then came back to Nerima to find the guy who defeated and cursed him is now the fiance of the girl who is his best friend and/or he's had a crush on since Junior High, do you really think he's not going to develop the same sort of antagonistic relationship the canon-version has? If anything, he's likely to be even more aggressive than the canon.

What I'm trying to say is that, other than some modifications to his personality & abilities, and the fact he doesn't have a clue who Ryoga is when they first meet, Ranma is still able to have all the troubles of the canon. More, if I decide to run with the idea that his presence weakens the barrier between Earth and the Infernum.

[rmt]

It's kinda along the reasoning people write "early divergence" fics to try and fix Ranma's life- there's a topic on such in this very forum.

Not really my cup of tea, but hey, that's cool. Just be careful you don't divorce your Ranma too much from the original is all I'm saying...

What I'm trying to say is that, other than some modifications to his personality & abilities

You're not going to make him super-powerful, are you? Beware Ranma-Sue; he is evil and must be purged from the universe!

More, if I decide to run with the idea that his presence weakens the barrier between Earth and the Infernum.

Now that sounds like it could be interesting...

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Don't worry, I intend to keep Ranma both as close to the original as possible and to avoid making a superpowered post-manga-level killing machine. He's a good fighter, definately, but he's in a completely different environment and thus at a severe disadvantage.

Actually, I think I might as well list the changes I was intending to make to Ranma with this idea...

*Ranma's version of Anything-Goes incorporates sword (or whatever weapon I end up making Damned Genma) techniques and is a bit more brutal, due to having been honed against creatures that can withstand a greater deal of pain than humans.

*Ranma is more adept at spotting when he's being manipulated and at counter-manipulating, though initializing such proceedings is not his forte (tends to prefer the direct approach).

*Ranma doesn't hold back against foes -in fact, he actually has some trouble with understanding the concept at first- though he won't kill a human opponent unless he's sure they're a lethal threat. This also means he lacks the chauvinistic chivalry of canon-Ranma; if he's being challenged by a girl, he will hit them.

*Ranma is used to be alone, and respects only those who prove worthy of respect (a category into which he grudgingly slot Genma, as he taught Ranma all he knows and has saved his life on more than one occasion).

*Ranma might (emphasise: might) have one or more of the following abilities, developed out of neccesity during his time in hell.
-Anti-Demon Special Attacks (martial arts moves designed with the specific intent of countering demon powers/physiology- unlikely to be much use against humans)
-Rudimentary (apprentice level) black magic
-Mild Taint (humans in the Infernum are gradually corrupted by its infernal energy, thus developing demonic qualities/abilities- Ranma has the equivalent of 1/2 "baby" level powers)

*Ranma lacks a lot of specific knowledge about Earth (obvious stuff -like don't kill someone for looking at you funny or don't walk about in the street naked- he does know), though he does have some infernal lore (guy-on-the-street level stuff, like what Covenants are, what's this demon, can you eat that funky-looking fruit etc).

The basic "immediately pre-story" timeline rattling around my head goes like this: Ranma gets sucked up a hellgout, along with a hostile demon or two, and gets deposited near Joketsuzoku in China. He kills the demon, but in the process attracts attention from the village. Unable to understand each other at first, they bring him back to Cologne, who takes sympathy on the obviously confused young demon-killer. He spends a week or two there, acquiring some rudiments of human culture in the process, and unwittingly earning the attention of Shampoo and the wrath of Mousse.

Unfortunately for him, this comes to a halt when Shampoo decides to make her feelings clear to Ranma. Genma, not liking this at all, immediately acts; what Ranma doesn't know, as Genma has hidden it up until now, is that the mental bond they share allows Genma to try and manipulate Ranma's mind. Seizing advantage of his shock, Genma induces a sudden overwhelming surge of fear, possibly even tapping into the long-dormant nekoken, and sends Ranma fleeing from the village. Needless to say, Shampoo does not take this apparent rejection well and immediately heads off in pursuit. Unfortunately for her, Mousse also pursues her, providing enough of a handicap that she's essentially crippled until she manages to lose him.

Ranma's flight takes him to cliffs near Jusenkyo, where he runs into Ryoga Hibiki (though he has no idea who he is at the time). Still panic-striken, Ranma reacts to Ryoga blocking his route by clobbering him and unthinkingly flinging him over the edge into a Jusenkyo spring. Hmm... which is more ironic; spring of drowned pig, or spring of drowned girl? Anyway, by the time Ranma snaps out of it, he's far from Joketsuzoku and, as Shampoo is evidently ticked off with him when she finds him again, he realises he's got no choice but to follow his father's advice and head for Japan.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

Now that sounds like it could be interesting...

Glad you like that thought, though I'm a bit unsure how to use it without making it a simple dues ex machina for "monster of the week filler chapters". Any thoughts? There was this vague scenario involving a demonic travelling circus using the weakness to cross into Nerima, but I'm not sure what that could be used for.

[Heaven's Deamon]

1. Add a demon to Ranma's list of suitors, could use the weakness to track him down, as well as to return home for supplies to help in their campaign to win him.

2. Demon Lord notes the weakness, comes through, kidnaps someone, and the others have to follow him a beat them up to get the person back as a bit of a sub arc type thing.

3. Add in another crossover with a series that deals with demon hunting (Devil Hunter Yohko or Sailor Moon would be examples) and have a more involved "Demon Lord probing in preparation to invade Earth" full fledged arc.

[Tovath]

*Ranma might (emphasise: might) have one or more of the following abilities, developed out of neccesity during his time in hell.
-Anti-Demon Special Attacks (martial arts moves designed with the specific intent of countering demon powers/physiology- unlikely to be much use against humans)
-Rudimentary (apprentice level) black magic
-Mild Taint (humans in the Infernum are gradually corrupted by its infernal energy, thus developing demonic qualities/abilities- Ranma has the equivalent of 1/2 "baby" level powers)

I would go for Anti-Demon attacks if I were you (but I'm not) A crossover with devil Hunter Yohko would be good.

[SpaceKnight of Chaos]

I don't actually know any animes involving demon hunters...

Hmm... what about a chapter along the lines of "Ranma gets a pet"? Some manner of infernal animal, like a riding spawn or pack of hellhounds, comes to Nerima and promptly attaches itself to Ranma- to the danger of everyone else around him?