FanficRecs Cryptic Mirror's review
As you can probably tell from my other recommendations I'm a sucker for a good Ranma/Ryouga fic and this is a very, very, good Ranma/Ryouga fic. And a very dark one too, made even better by it being crafted to resemble a quintessential WAFFy fic complete with the Happily Ever After and Babies Ever After ending so beloved of shippers, and turns that into the most heart-wrenching Bittersweet Ending you've ever read (with a healthy dose of Now What thrown into the mix). By the author's own admission she(?) set out to do a dark parody of all the "Ranma and Ryouga fall suddenly in love fics" out there and has succeeded in an epic manner. Not just parodying, but deconstructing the sub-genre as a whole. I'm almost tempted to remove my recommendations of previous Ranma/Ryouga fics just based on this story alone, such is the power of the piece.
FanficRecs The reason why this pairing doesn't make sense.
The following is the review I left for the author. It reflects my feelings for this fic. Overall, I think it's great... if you like crying I guess. Overall I think it's a deconstruction of this pairing and shows WHY it's a bad idea.
This... This is why I vowed to never pair a female Ranma with a guy. It's tragic. You have to kill Ranma to do this.
I'm not lying when I say that this is the most gut wrenching fic I've ever read.
Damn it! Now I'm crying! Ranma... What makes it worse is that this is well written and probable. Others just rush through and do it so Ranma decides on her own.
I can't see that happening unless under extreme circumstances. But you, you made me weep and feel terrible.
Hopefully, these types of fics will stop and Ranma can finally have peace. At least have her be in a lesbian relationship and be Ranma, not like a submissive housewife everyone seems to want Ranma in. Leave Ranma alone.
I... Thank you, you have made me more determined to treat Ranma right and try to turn the tide against... That. I'm now set on making more fics that have Ranma treated right.
And it's because you made me feel terrible and dead inside. If this was badly done, wired wrong, impatient or characterized badly, I wouldn't be crying. But because it's done well...
Let this be a lesson to all of the Ranma writers here. Thank you. Thank you for destroying my heart. I didn't need one anyway...
<*sniff*>