“So many tricks and traps, so many love potions and trinkets. So many lies.
He will never marry her. Never.
But he can’t leave.”AU where the Tendo–Saotome engagement never existed, and Ranma’s training trips take a darker turn. The Amazon tribe becomes his prison, threatening to consume and change him… Until light finds him in the form of Akane Tendo, a young apprentice currently training in China.
Ranma was no stranger to hunger. He was used to bad weather.
And yet…
He could see her with his eyes closed. Her smile. The gold specks in her warm eyes, sparkling with the mirth and challenge of a sparring partner. The way she stood immovable despite her small size. Black, turning to blueberry blue whenever the sun caresses her short hair.
Her smile…
There was nothing before her, and there will be nothing after she goes away.
He was no stranger to hunger, and yet...
This is very much inspired by the premise behind Lunescence's fic, a fic that stood out to me in its understanding that Ranma and Shampoo's dynamic is about bringing the worst out of each other, a race to the bottom, and that Ranma wouldn't like her or "touch her" even if Akane wasn't in the picture. Thank you Luna, I'm happy your fic exists.
I hesitated to share this but you know what, I have a take and an itch to scratch. Consider this an experiment that came out of me wondering how the characters would change in these circumstances: part of Ranma and Akane's sparring dynamic plus "not wanting to be the first to admit feelings" is the sense of safety that living together gives them. What if Ranma is older, sadder, and his interactions with Akane are more limited? What if we remove the safety he needs to be dishonest, if he's in an environment where he doesn't feel like himself, how would that change him? Bro tends to lock in when he feels like their connection is threatened. I'm a firm believer of Ranma not really hating his curse and the manga not having the cure as a real goal, but what if his environment fed his insecurities? Alas I cannot be bothered with plot, I can only offer "vibes" and "messing around with narration." (That's part of why I'm writing this, the ideas I have reminded me of another experiment I did for a different fandom with comphet as horror. Fun times. I pick up the pen to do weird shit, what can I tell you) (Thinking "how would they change" might result in some ooc-ness that might or might slip through here and there, I plan to be relaxed about it)
I wanted to address language, but a fic written in English mentioning Japanese and Chinese will inevitably get goofy (dialogue "in Chinese" is italicized) It is what it is. Also, I'm so lazy I tend to pick fic names with songs from my playlist that more or less fit the vibes, this one's from Pink Floyd (hell of a banger)
Additional thanks to nefnef4 for reading my constant rambles and helping me organize my ideas, and to kat for being the cheerleader motivating me to keep writing at gunpoint
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