u n f o r g i v a b l e s i n l i n e r n o t e s Navaash Fenwylde navaash@mail.wsu.edu ----- "Time to fess up, it looks like..." I guess I have some explaining to do. ^^;;;;; To all the people who have written in with feedback: I appreciate the support that you have given me in the past 1 1/2 years. However I received next to no feedback for months after I originally wrote the piece, which is one of the reasons I discontinued work on it. Not that it hasn't been in the back of my mind. I also apologize for not replying to any of you, since I've never really had "fans" per se, but I honestly didn't know what to say. Until now. THE MODUS OPERANDI ------------------ I wrote this piece over Christmas Break back in 1999. Why did I do it? Probably anger. I had just watched all of the Tenchi OAVs over again in a marathon session and one part in particular was bothering me. Namely, OAV 13.5. All I could remember was being extremely appalled by Washuu's form of "motherhood." Since I grew up in a family that *cared* for and *loved* me, there was something sickening about the scene that had transpired on the screen. Since I wasn't about to rant about it on IRC, I decided instead to write a story expressing my feelings on the subject. I finished the first half of the story, which is what is presented on the Tenchi Muyo Fan Fiction Archive. At this point I hit a bit of a roadblock; what was I going to do next? I had toyed with some ideas for a resolution, but my creative bursts are very few and far between; one of the reasons for not producing the second half yet. But... More importantly, I lost my anger. Why did I write the fiction? I was ANGRY at Washuu. The primary motivator for this story was anger. And somehow I managed to put together this piece, in all its coherent glory through my seething visage. However when I hit the roadblock and had time to think about it, suddenly I realized something. By managing to crank out the first part as well as I did, I had worked out the anger that I was feeling towards Washuu. That motivator gone, and with my creative blank staring me in the face, I found it impossible to continuee at that time. Additionally, with running K'thardin's reviews site (at the time) and taking college classes (which I still am, incidentally), and my creative bursts being totally nonexistent during summer vacation, I haven't really had the time to do this. Add to this that I've watched literally hundreds of other anime series since then (when I wrote the story, my exposure was fairly limited, mostly to Tenchi stuff), and I've developed a fear of writing anything OOC. I asked two other authors if they could continue the story for me, and they said they would if they had the time. For whatever reason, that has not happened. Since I have an aspiration to become a professional writer, fiction or otherwise, and I have to prove to myself that I can overcome creative block (such as with my current project, which I have worked on for years and only came up with eight measly chapters), I realize that I have to take it upon myself to finish what I started. But first... INDIVIDUAL SCENE NOTES ---------------------- (Each scene is separated by three asterisks. Each section of the story is separated by the quotes.) Section 1 quote: apparently you may now attribute this quote to ME since it doesn't turn up on Altavista search! bwahahahahahahahahaha Scene 1: I couldn't have imagined that Ryouko would have done nothing about her situation given enough time. I refuse to believe that she would have just let herself hang suspended in the laboratory overnight. Scene 2: I admittedly practice the annoying habit of using Japanese honorifics in an American fanfiction. (I don't really like the way they got translated into English, ie "Lord Tenchi". However I will also admit that Nanami saying "Makoto-chan" in the El-Hazard TV DUB is also out of place. Ah, the vagaries of language.) This scene was written with the Sasami-as-mother-figure interplay in mind. Scene 3: This technique of alliteration (of Washuu's name) is a technique also employed in poetry, to drive home a point. That is, that such a thing is traumatic enough that the character isn't going to get to hit the Big Reset Button (tm Voyager's staff writers) immediately. Scene 4: Curiosity is natural for a cat. Section 2 quote: this is a misquote of William Congreve. The correct quote is: "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned." Scene 1: I needed some comedy to break the mood up a bit. This is, after all, still a Tenchi fanfic. Scene 2: All things must follow naturally. Scene 3: Again, most naturally. Scene 4: "yurushimasen/yurusan" (meaning unforgivable) is a common phrase in anime. However this didn't cross my mind until just now. Somehow it seems all fitting. Section 3 quote: from Pink Floyd, "Keep Talking". Scene 1: The chopsticks thrust scene was inspired by Aikan Muyo, another famous unfinished fic. (Me and Happosai sympathize. :) Incidentally I think the dialogue is a bit stiff here. Scene 2: The allusion to OAV 8 in my mind is ample evidence of Washuu's (admittedly, possibly unintentional) neglect. After all, what good is it going to do if the daughter has her own way of thinking? Washuu's EMPing the VCR is a sign that even she hasn't thought this all over yet. Scene 3: I could have found a better way to express the flashback than with ()'s around every line. However it is another storytelling technique here, of showing the consequences before the events that resulted in them. Scene 4: I think it's obvious why she took the tape back when she did. Section 4 quote: from Nine Inch Nails, "Terrible Lie". Scene 1: When at a dead-end, resume standard operating procedure. Scene 2: I misspelled "konbanwa". -_-;;;;; Tenchi's reaction is similar to the one he has in OAV 11, perhaps suggesting a link that he is only now recognizing. I took "Archon" from the name of an old chess-like computer game. Scene 3: Long before Tenchi Forever, I had recognized that both Ryouko and Aeka were really friends. Yes, Washuu seems somewhat bitchy, but I have it figured out. I think. Scene 4: Once again, an injection of temporary humor. =) Scene 5: I realize that I keep violating the "show not tell" rule of writing prose fiction. But in this case I felt it was important that anyone who read this could keep tabs on everyone so that they didn't feel completely in the dark. Section 5 quote: (insert ego bloat here; c.f. Section 1 quote) According to a Tenchi genealogy published in an AIC publication a while ago, "Shinki" is Misaki's maiden name. Once again, I can't really reveal why Washuu is thinking why she is. This is in contradiction to the Scene 5 note. I know this. THE AFTERMATH ------------- A writer lives on feedback. If he dares show his work to others, no matter how amateurish, he expects to at least hear whether or not if he sucks. I got no feedback from the story (aside from IRC commentary) after it was posted for months and months, as mentioned before. (In fact I only received two mails.) There is nothing worse than apathy. Say something good, or say something bad. If you have something to say, say it instead of keeping it bottled up inside. There is nothing worse than misunderstandings evolving because two or more people don't have the courage to SAY what they have to say. In the last month or so, however, the mails began flooding in. (At least what I would consider a flood.) People like my story. Every time I would say to myself, "gee that's nice", and close the mail. This was for the first 2-3 that came in. But then as I received even more mails from people, something began to stir in my head. FINISH WHAT YOU START. I feel I have an obligation to do this; I have the rest of the story ready, but I've also been putting it off, thinking "nobody's going to read it..." I was dead wrong. My time has come. However as I'm in a critical phase in my college career I have to wait until I have some time to be able to complete this, my sole contribution into anime fanfiction (well, unless you count that tripe I wrote before, but that's more hack video game fanfiction ^^;;;; [1]). So it is this that I say: ** The second half of Unforgivable Sin will be released ** ** in December 2000 ** If you mailed me before about my fanfic, please mail me again if you have any further comments. [2] I will be glad to reply this time. If Thanksgiving Week passes and the story is not released, I sincerely apologize in advance. But come hell or highwater I am going to get it done before the year is over. November 2000 is my flash point, to prove that I can follow my own example. When it is released, feel free to mail me and give me the good word. I will be more than happy to reply. I'm writing this early in the morning (as when my inspiration seems to most come) so I must be off to other things now. But maybe this will shed some insight onto why I do things. And with that, I bid adieu... for now. Navaash Fenwylde October 26, 2000 [1] it's called "Twisted Worlds", and it's on my homepage (http://www.wsu.edu/~navaash/, and it hasn't been updated in aeons). If you read this, please let me know what made you laugh/cringe/whatever. And if you want to MST it, send me a copy of the riffing. ^_^ [2] I would mail everyone, but I've lost a lot of peoples' addresses due to a crash problem I had a couple of months ago. [3] There is no 3.