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|The Gate of Eternity}}

 

 

When Sailor Pluto (temporarily) kills herself with a timestop at Mugen Gakuen, the Gate of <s>Time</s> Eternity decides it wants a ''different'' guardian, one who will not impose her own agenda on the Gate's ancient mission and on the course of the future. The only suitable candidate it can find within 500 parsecs, though, is a critically-injured Ranma, locked in her female form and [[Buried Alive|buried deep under a landslide]] in the aftermath of a failed confrontation with Prince Herb over the Chisuiton. Accepting the offer made by a mysterious voice in her head saves Ranma's life and just incidentally gives her a second chance at breaking the lock on her curse.

** Midori also notes during chapter 10 that if she doesn't marry Ranma it is likely that she will end up in an arranged marriage with her other cousin Daichi should their aunt [[Gold Digger|Tomoko]] try to marry her daughter Hiroko to him in a ploy to gain control of the Yamada estate.

** In chapter 11, Aiko informs Lieutenant Commander Kuroi (the Japanese-American naval officer who will be one of Ranma and Midori's guards during their honeymoon) that he is now affianced to Tsuya thanks to a (disguised) omiai during the tea ceremony at the Imperial Palace the day before. She ''might'' be teasing him, but Tsuya certainly takes it seriously. (Unfortunately, the extant material ends shortly afterward, and we will never find out.)

* [[Australia]]: The Gate directs Ranma to the Southesk Tablelands in Western Australia -- a remote bit of the Outback -- when she wants to try out some of her more destructive guardian powers for the first time.

* [[Australian Aborigines]]: Walkabout, a member of the Australian superteam that shows up to investigate the section of Outback Ranma devastates while training, appears to be an Aboriginal shaman despite dressing like [[Crocodile Dundee]].

* [[Broken Masquerade]]: In the final paragraphs of chapter 6, a panic-stricken Luna rushes in and reports the theft of the Time Key to Usagi and the other Senshi, only to realize that Usagi's mother Ikuko is present and heard every word she said, and is apparently furious at the revelation. {{spoiler|It's actually a partial subversion -- while the Masquerade ''had'' been broken for them, it didn't happen on-screen during the events of the story; Ikuko and members of the other Senshi's families ''already knew'' they were the Senshi, and Ikuko was annoyed because she'd just lost the [[Side Bet|standing bet between them all over who would blow the secret first]] (she'd bet on Minako).}}

** The Japanese government -- and presumably the other governments of the world -- are aware of at least some paranormal phenomena, given that in chapter 9 we see that the Imperial Palace has a telepathic security guard whose tasking includes confirming that all visitors are ''human'', and that his organization has rules and regulations for the use of powers like his.

* [[Bug-Out]]: Aiko Yamada's panic in chapter 8, where because of her daughter Nodoka's actions upon learning of Ranma's apparent death, she is about to set in motion all manner of contingency plans, including the immediate dispatch of vulnerable underage household members to safehouses in overseas locations.

* [[Bureaucratically Arranged Marriage]]: Very strictly speaking, this is the case for Ranma and Midori.

** Lampshaded in chapter 9, when Happosai indirectly receives a pendant from a dragon that he's informed he should wear for at least a year.

{{quote|A gift from a dragon was not something one could simply refuse, and even though you could never be sure if it was a boon or a bane, the one thing that was always consistent was that the item would be critically important. Somehow.}}

* [[The Chikan]]: In chapter 6, in response to Ranma's reluctance to ride ''inside'' a train, Harukichi prompts her to tell the story of a time she was on a train with Kasumi and punished a groper with a [[Groin Attack]].

** Later in the same chapter, Harukichi herself drives a throwing spike through the hand of a groper on a train they took on the way to Prince Arisugawa Park.

* [[Gratuitous English|Gratuitous Australian]]: Walkabout, one member of the Australian superteam that shows up in chapter 9, very deliberately embraces the stereotype to the point that his speech is all but unintelligible to other English speakers, including his own teammates. Oddly, he ''also'' uses Cockney Rhyming Slang, just to add another layer of impenetrability to his speech.

* [[Gratuitous Japanese]]: There's very little at the start, with the occasional "gomen" and "kawaii" slipping in here and there, along with a few other terms (like "butsudan") whose meanings can be inferred from context. However, the further along you go, the more random Japanese terms -- like "uchikake" and "oshugi", just to mention ''two'' -- appear without explanation. Sometimes Shurtleff provides enough context to guess what they probably mean, but honestly, most of them could certainly have been replaced with English without diminishing the narrative.

* [[Grey and Gray Morality]]: Appears to be the ethos of the Gate. When describing the events Sailor Pluto was facilitating to bring about Crystal Tokyo, particularly the canonical [[Apocalypse How|Class 3 Planetary]] disaster that ushers it in, the Gate responds to Ranma's horror by blandly noting that there was nothing inherently ''wrong'' with Pluto's plan and that many of its guardians had chosen to prioritize the survival of their own species over others. It does admit, however, that the plan is draconian and that there are less extreme alternatives that would still guarantee the survival of humanity, in larger numbers than Pluto's plan would have.

* [[Half-Identical Twins]]: The Imperial Throne formalizes the convenient fiction that Ranma's two forms are actually a pair of fraternal twins, providing her with separate paperwork and legal existences for each.

** On the other hand, Ranma discovers to her annoyance that, after the bonding with the Gate is complete, she now has a built-in alarm clock and cannot just sleep as long as she'd like any more.

* [[Hidden Depths]]: Ranma is surprisingly conversant on varieties of tea, and knows how to comport herself properly when drinking tea with others, thanks to time spent with Kasumi. She recognizes and understands the social implications of seating positions during tea. She's also ''much'' smarter than she comes across in both canon and fan fiction, which becomes more obvious when the Gate removes a "weak neural inhibitor" effect on her, and later rebuilds her speech centers and language skills after accidentally causing damage during the bonding.

* [[Hollywood Healing]]: What Ranma's ki mastery gives her. The avalanche utterly shattered one forearm, and she insists it'll be fine in two weeks, to the utter bafflement of her cousins. (It actually gets better ''much'' faster, thanks to her connection with the Gate.)

* [[Hyperspace Mallet]]: Not literally, but the trope is invoked in-universe in chapter 9 when a telepathic security agent at the Imperial palace attempts to enter Ranma's mind. The Gate takes offense, and knocks him out with a telepathic image of a gigantic wooden mallet.

** Ranma does not abandon the cousins and head right back to Nerima because she promised Akane she would return as a man. ([[Squick|And because Mr. Tendo threatened to force her to marry ''him'' if she came back still locked in female form.]])

** Ranma also never even considers refusing to go through with becoming the Gate's guardian, even when she discovers it means becoming a [[Magical Girl]] wearing [[Frills of Justice]]. She gave her word, and even -- especially! -- in the face of consequences she considers unpleasant she will not break it.

* [[I Have You Now, My Pretty]]: The [[Dirty Cop]] alone with Nabiki in her room, allegedly to retrieve all her blackmail material and proceeds. Because what she's retrieved and handed over allegedly isn't "everything", he orders her to strip, followed by a [[Villainy Discretion Shot]]. (It turns out he forced her to pose for nude photographs.)

* [[I Never Told You My Name]]: Ranma immediately realizes the cousins know who she is because Midori addresses her by name shortly after Ranma wakes from her chapter 2 [[Power Strain Blackout]].

** Similarly, the Gate calls its bonded partners "Guardians".

* [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons]]: Although it never appears on-screen, the spirit of Happosai's daughter Yasuko spoke with a dragon named Tokoyo to determine if Ranma actually died or not. (She gets a vague answer that seems to imply Ranma's survival but leaves some doubt.) The dragon also gives Yasuko, unasked, a [[MacGuffin|pendant]] for him that it recommends he wear for at least a year, suggesting it might have played a larger role in the long-term plot.

* [[Involuntary Shapeshifter]]: In the side story ''Illusions of Honor'', Nodoka appears to unknowingly possess some manner of ability which changes her appearance. While going on interviews for low-level hostess jobs, she attempted to disguise herself, and was unusually successful despite her limited resources. She noted that the cheap hair dye she used inexplicably looked like natural hair color, and that her face seemed to have changed shape slightly. And one woman she spoke with asked her where she purchased the contact lenses which made her eyes blue -- when she had done no such thing and her eyes were ''maroon''. By the end of the story, though, it's strongly hinted that she has gained some measure of control over the ability, which she uses in her occasional job as a [[Professional Killer|government assassin]]. Given the title of the story, it seems likely to be some manner of illusion power rather than actual shapeshifting.

* [[Ironic Echo]]: When she confronts Genma in chapter 6, Nodoka angrily describes Akane as a "violent maniac", unknowingly echoing Kasumi's far fonder description of her sister from the first episode/chapter of ''[[Ranma ½]]''.

* [[Maid Corps]]: The Yamada employ a small such corps, and they're all [[Ninja Maid|ninja]].

* [[Manipulative Bastard|Manipulative Bitch]]: Nabiki Tendo, even more so than in most ''Ranma'' fics. When Nodoka informs the Tendo sisters that Ranma is dead, Nabiki's response is to ask, "what proof do you have that Ranma is dead anyway?" Her only reaction to ''seeing'' that proof is to say, "Well, it was certainly fun while it lasted," and to regret the loss of the income and entertainment Ranma had provided her. She then goes on to cheerily sell a copy of the video of Ranma's "death" to Ukyo for 9000 yen (approximately US$90).

* [[Manly Tears]]: Averted when Ranma briefly falls to pieces in her mother's arms in chapter 9, giving out huge wracking sobs (which also averts [[Men Don't Cry]]).

* [[Masquerade]]: Despite what they might think, the Sailor Senshi are ''far'' from the only paranormals on Earth, nor are they [[Invisible to Normals]]. Leaving aside all the magic, ghosts, monsters and other supernatural elements present due to the crossover with ''Ranma ½'', there are apparently [[Superhero]]es and other metahumans all over the world; the Emperor's security staff alone has an entire troop of psionically-active agents.

* [[Sexual Extortion]]: Strongly implied of the [[Dirty Cop]]'s order to Nabiki to strip, right before a [[Villainy Discretion Shot]] in chapter 9.<ref>In an earlier version of the story, the cop very clearly commits sexual assault upon her; in the final version he forces Nabiki to pose nude for several dozen photographs, in what he thinks is [[Laser-Guided Karma|poetic justice]].</ref>

* [[Shaggy Dog Story]]: Shurtleff's untitled side story is effectively a shaggy dog story, in which Cologne struggles to get information out of the inhabitants of a village while ignoring the one person who not only could answer all her questions, but is actively ''trying'' to.

* [[Shapeshifter Mode Lock]]: Part of the key divergence of the [[Alternate Universe]] -- a canonical lock on Ranma's gender-bending curse is not undone as it was in canon. Ultimately subverted, as Ranma learns that it will wear off by itself in no more than seven years, or if she trains sufficiently in magic, she can break it herself much faster.

* [[Schmuck Bait]]: The police who arrest Nabiki and Akane in chapter 9 have no warrant for anyone else, but they lure Soun into attacking them so they can stun and arrest him as well.

* [[Uncle Pennybags]]: Aiko comes across a bit like this where Ranma and the cousins are concerned, although there's a whole lot more to her than that.

* [[Undisclosed Funds]]: The Yamada are incredibly wealthy, but the exact specifics of their assets are avoided, other than to demonstrate they are very, ''very'' rich. For instance, when Aiko hires Dr. Tofu as Ranma's personal physician, they buy him a building to be his clinic. Unfortunately, due to what was available on the market, they had to get a ''bigger'' building than they'd planned. The exact cost is never mentioned.

* [[Unexpected Inheritance]]: In chapter 9, Ukyo receives 200 million yen from the Imperial Throne to settle the outstanding debt of honor and cash owed to the Kuonji clan by the now-extinct Saotome Clan. It is as a pair of Imperial agents are explaining this and why she is getting it that she realizes that Ranma is [[Metaphorically True|really dead]].

* [[The Unfavourite]]: Nodoka believes that she is this, because she was disowned by her mother for marrying Genma. She isn't by any measure, but her mother was forced to do so to protect the clan from him. This is reinforced by the embezzlement of a monthly stipend set up for her, leading her to believe she had been completely abandoned by the clan.

 

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[[Category:Crossover Fanfic]]

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