The GRIT (Global Ranma Insanity Thread) FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) v1.1

by 

Eli Kaplan (kaplane1@tiger.uofs.edu) inheriting the FAQ and drawing 
heavily from

Al-X Melchor (alejandrom@mail.proesa.com.mx )

with the unsuspecting aid of:
Blade ( chmcneil@upei.ca )
Epsilon (apeori@ug.cs.dal.ca )
Jason Heavensrun (heavensrun@aol.com )
Kuno Christoffel (deva@wizard.net )
Scott Schimmel (schimmel@eniac.seas.upenn.edu )
Vincent Tagle (vtagle@uci.edu )

Hi, all; this FAQ is less funny, though more informative, than Alexis' 
an Ed Liu's FAQ; it's purpose is to truly help the newbie and the 
lurker to understand GRIT and if desired, to participate.

1. Admin. GRIT
1.1. What does GRIT stands for?
1.2 OK, but what is it?
  1.2.1 How did it start?
1.3 Shouldn't it be moved somewhere else?
1.4 Is anyone in charge here?
1.5 Where can I get more information?
1.6 OK, it looks like fun; how do I join?
1.7 Who is this Bob person and why does everybody hate him?

2. The Unspoken and often Unobserved Rules of GRITing
2.1 Don't powerplay
2.2 Please, please, PLEASE try to be clear.
2.3 Flowing... like a river (or Following Threads Up)
2.4 Dealing with RLs
2.5 Ignore Bob
2.6 See 2.1
2.7 Using other PCs, NPCs and RLs

3. On the storyline.
3.1 What's the status of the original Ranma cast?
3.2 Who are the GRITers?
3.3 What the hfil is going on?!?¡? (major events)
3.4 What are the important places?


1. Admin. GRIT

1.1. What does GRIT stands for?

      Global Ranma Insanity Thread

1.2 OK, but what is it?

       It's a dynamic fanfic; sort of. It's also roleplaying and 
socializing among other Ranma and anime fans; it's a way of venting 
your frustrations and finding a relief from RL (Real Life (TM)). Mostly 
is a way to have fun. 

1.2.1 How did it start?

      It started when a debate about who was Ranma's best babe 
escalated into a war between the supporters of the Ranma girls; the 
culprits were Jason Heavensrun, Kenji Bashaw, Alexis Barrera and 
Caroline Seawright (aka Kun-chan), who started roleplaying the debate 
as a Trench War (term suggested by Werewolf); it later became a 
storyline as Allan Lawrie (aka MadPunk or MadP) and Jason 'dared' Ranma 
to propose to Akane. It all just went downhill from there ^_^

1.3 Shouldn't it be moved somewhere else?

     It's been discussed earlier, and the point was dismissed as a poll 
demonstrated that the people that liked GRIT on r.a.a.m by far 
outnumbered those who hated it. Both a new group and a mailing list 
have been contemplated, but the first was dismissed as the RFD would 
screw many participants as their servers picked up the new group (if at 
all), and the latter because it would clutter many mailboxes and bounce 
off suspended/cancelled accounts. Both suggestions would alienate GRIT 
from it's fans (yes, we _do_ have fans) and keep new members from 
discovering and thus joining GRIT. It's quite a heated point, so don't 
try to bring it up again...

1.4 Is anyone in charge here?

Jason Heavensrun (heavensrun@aol.com) is more or less the thread 
administrator; he was given that power by consensus, and he is a kind 
dictator ^_^. Really, he only makes suggestions now and then, in very 
rare cases he exercises his authority. Most of the time we ignore his 
rulings ^_^.

1.5 Where can I get more information?

   Several GRITers have setup GRIT pages on their sites. The initial 
official site, Checkmate Studios, was pulled down until further notice, 
so the new Official page is the one maintained by Kuno, but other pages 
have worthwhile content as well. Here's a partial list of available 
GRIT pages.

* The GRIT Official Homepage - by Kuno Christoffel

Lots of goods here; the guides, the compilations, some fanfics, links, 
et. al. This is the most complete GRIT page and is updated regularly.

http://www.wizard.net/~deva/grit.htm

* The GRIT Picture Gallery - by Al-X Melchor

Home to the illustrations of many GRIT characters by Al-X (me) and 
others who have sent their pics.

http://www.mexred.net.mx/~2lupus/GRIT/gritters.html

* GRIT SPAM page - by Will Buacharern

An exercise that includes links and some guides.

http://www.ktb.net/~willcbua/grit.htm

* Tsurugi's GRIT page  - by Tsurugi

Has mostly external links to other stuff, but it's the home to the 
Battle of the Bands thread that got suspended (and may yet be revived).

http://www.comet.net/personal/tsurugi/html/grit.htm

* MadP's Homepage -by Allan Lawrie

Lots of outdated stuff.

http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/2222/

* Beyond Forever - Steven Scougall's Homepage

http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/7196/

Very useful information that includes version 3.0 character and combat 
info that will at some point be posted on the Official Page.

1.6 OK, it looks like fun; how do I join?

It's easy; just create a character and jump in a thread. Almost every 
character is a reflection of ourselves with a little extra added (Al is 
not really that good a martial artist, nor a werewolf. Yet ^_^) Other 
characters are that, characters played that have little or no 
equivalent to the real person behind it (For example, Aaron is a very 
nice guy, but it's easy to dislike his character Epsilon). Some 
suggestions for creating a character:

a) Make it fun.
b) Try not to make him/her all-powerful, we don't like super-otakus.
c) If he/she is powerful, throw in a weakness that can be exploited 
(silver, lack of internal power, poor hand to hand skill, a pervert)
d) Please, no more Pool of Drowned Girl Jusenkyo curses. ^_^ (or 
variants -Jason Heavensrun)
c) Out of courtesy, send a profile of your character to Scott, who 
maintains the character guide (schimmel@eniac.seas.upenn.edu) and, if 
you want a sketch of your character done in the future, send the 
description to Al. (alejandrom@mail.proesa.com.mx)
e) It's better if you join an ongoing thread than to try to establish 
your own. That way, you attract the attention of those participating in 
that thread and will be better remembered.

--- Some comments I said in a GRIT post a long while ago:---

 If you're looking to start GRITting, first off, STOP and sit down in 
front of yer terminal and clear your mind.  Check out the messages from 
the last two weeks.  Contemplate them.  Get a rough idea of what's 
going on. Then... LURK!  LURK as if your life depended on it!  (Who 
knows, it may!) And do it QUIETLY, unless you want to advertise you're 
serious, just to get people tantalized.  Or something like that.  But 
don't get into any real threads, just sit back and lurk for a week or 
two, minimum, until you can follow how the format works and have a good 
idea of what's going on. 

 NEXT... draw up a template for your character.  If you're an RPG 
veteran, this should be somewhat familiar, but don't be drawn into the 
trap of creating some sort of death-god who can take anyone else out or 
some angel immune to all touch.  Don't worry about death.  No one dies 
in GRIT.  Even Bob.  (Shifted into another dimension, maybe... but 
that's another story. And even if we DO kill you, all it means is we 
have a really long, drawn out thread to bring ya back) 

 Ask yourself "What do I want to do with GRIT?  Write up dramatic fight 
scenes where I can take part in the interactive nature?"  Angst-ridden 
stories of suspense?  Silly jusenkyo escapades?  General Chaos?  Make a 
person's personality evident.  Are they snideful and sarcastic?  Proud? 
Bashful?  Cowardly?  Deluded?   Which Ranma 1/2 character would he or 
she most bicker with?  Most feel at home with?  Does your character 
already have a Jusenkyo curse?  Or would you rather put that off till 
later? (Hey, it's never a bad thing to go and save a thread, neh?) 

 Next thing, ask yourself "What kind of character could I use that 
would let me reach these goals?" 

 Here's a brief listing of things you DON'T want to do with a GRIT 
character.  Do NOT, repeat, do NOT create an omnipotent God type 
character expecting to use them regularly in threads.   Gods, as Larry 
Niven writes (referring to the Teelas, humans with the gene for 
flawless good luck), are infinitely dull to write about and are boring 
in action.  (Witness why Walt Disney never wrote long series about 
Gladstone Gander.)  Likewise, their Ranmaesque siblings, the Hiroshis 
and Daisukes, who stand around mouthing off about how stupid the 
characters are, rarely have any 'real' potential for dramatic foci.  
The same goes for Kasumi, though admittedly she DOES have use in 
emotional and social resolutions.  Don't write characters who are 
unsuperable in broad areas, as Epsilon put it so masterfully, you are 
NOT the best at anything, no action is totally undetectable.  To be 
this powerful consistently is terminal powerplaying, and a major faux-
pas.  You can SPECIALIZE, especially in very close things that have 
limited application, but even then be very careful of powerplaying.  As 
the combat guide suggests, you want to be balanced and have weaknesses 
as well as strengths.  Kappa's only a Disciple in his main martial art, 
but his natural talents make up for it.  IMHO, I think his stats are a 
wee bit on the too powerful side for me.  And weaknesses like Jay's, 
where not being able to use weapons is a major problem, shouldn't be 
embraced provided they're easy to ignore.  (Naturally, Jay's a kick 
arse unarmed fighter, and is again pushing the power envelope, IMHO.  
But he keeps things in bounds.)  Zerech's abilities of phasing were 
VERY unpopular and his RL recognized this and curbed the usage.  Also, 
don't base your characters on something generally unaccessible to the 
reader. Kappa's hybrid of Gene Kelly, club rat, and martial artist, 
admittedly pushes the limit.  CMaster, who is hilarious provided you 
get the Gundam and mecha jokes, doesn't really jibe with the Ranma 
paradigm (Battle armor in Nerima?  You'd be damn careful to handle it 
right!  The best way I've ever seen it handled is in "The More Things 
Change...", using Tsubasa's disguises and taking it one step further).  
Do we really need to have Ralph, The Republican Primary Voter! or 
Lucinda, the Bottle Stacking Sculpture Martial Artist ("Hah!  Feel the 
Wrath of the Coors Light Dragon!")?  Beware of the Dual Fandom bug.  
(Though, if done correctly, it does work.  Witness the Azusa 
Shiratori/Elmira meld.) Once you're playing... expect to make mistakes.  
Play it cool, you can ALWAYS write and err on the side of incompetence 
when all fails (Right, Tsurugi?).  Kuno's posts tend to be a bit hot in 
nature, but don't take things out of proportion.  It's only a fanfic.  
Flow... flow like a river. (Waving hands gesture)  And don't go nuclear 
a la John Major (Argh!  Okay, BG-Kun's player would get it, but most of 
us wouldn't!  Again with the overly obscure reference!) and have a 
referendum on whether you should stop GRITting.  Think how cruel it'd 
be working at the Ken Ni Kaze. Now that you've heard my personal 
thoughts on how to GRIT, go at it. Quality counts more than quantity, 
and if you're not that good at it, make fun of yourself!   It's only 
for the hfil of it!  Go out there and lower those Nerima property 
values!  Conquer the... 

 Epsilon:  <MML> Ha!  That's MY job! 

 What?  I'm the writer her(sound of air being sucked in) Oh well, carry 
on...

--- end Eli's comments ---

1.7 Who is this Bob person and why does everybody hate him?

Bob is the character of William Geiger; he's the one and only person to 
be expelled from GRIT (also by general consent) because he powerplayed 
in very annoying ways; he was given a second chance, and he did it 
again. He's not part of GRIT anymore.

2. The Unspoken and often Unobserved Rules of GRITing

2.1 Don't powerplay

Powerplaying means getting incredible cosmic powers all of a sudden 
with no justification, and also having other PCs do your bidding 
without a chance for a way out, unless you consult with the RL in 
question first. There is no line that marks 'here begins powerplaying'; 
we've all powerplayed once or twice, but mostly in the name of fun or 
trying to move along a storyline. The key is to try not to abuse 
others. Don't severely mess up other characters or a thread with the 
batting of an eyelash, a twink of your nose or a snap of the fingers.

2.2 Please, please, PLEASE try to be clear.

Try to write clearly so we can understand you, separate your responses 
from the quoted post you're replying to. Basically, this means to 
follow standard netiquette. Consider that many of us come from many 
different countries and cultures.

2.3 Flowing... like a river (or Following Threads Up)

We are all in here for the fun of it; whether we get our kicks from 
slapstick, drama, cameos, adventure, etc. Keep this in mind when you 
follow up a thread; have fun with your post (but see 2.1). Some advice 
to follow up threads is to make your post funny, introduce plot points, 
clues, character development, push the story along. In short, make your 
post count for something; as in other threads, it's utterly 
uninteresting to read dozens of 'me too' posts; even if your character 
would only say 'me too' to something at least make him/her say it in a 
fun/interesting way. As you'll se in item 2.8, your post may conflict 
with another's, but adapting it or adapting to it is part of what GRIT 
is about. As a wise man once said: "Flow with it... like a river" (^_^)
 
2.4 Dealing with RLs

RL stands for Real Life (TM). It's the term we use both to describe the 
'real' us and the life we lead outside the Internet. Yes, there _is_ 
life outside it ^_^. All RLs are present in GRIT; we are practically 
gods in there, controlling characters' lives and events (insert 
megalomaniacal laugh here). RLs sometimes talk with their characters, 
or other people's characters or other RLs; look for the 'RL' suffix or 
prefix to know who is really doing the talking.

2.5 Ignore Bob

As it's been said, Bob was thrown out of GRIT; any post from him is to 
be ignored; his character is bouncing through dimensions and is to be 
considered an NPC. He started the Anti-GRIT thread out of spite, it 
doesn't belong to GRIT continuity. I know this is harsh, but such is 
life.

2.6 See 2.1 It's important.

2.7 Using other PCs, NPCs and RLs

PC means Player Character, the main presence on GRIT of a person; it's 
taken from roleplaying games, like NPC, which is a Non-Player 
Character; these are the supporting cast, minions, the Ranma cast 
(nobody 'plays' them exclusively), in short, characters not directly 
controlled by a player. Some RLs have several PCs, like the Heavensrun 
brothers, Kuno's brood, etc.  When you use a character, try to put him 
In Character, that is, respecting his/her  basic personality traits. If 
you don't know how exactly to handle someone, ask; or use it and wait 
for the player to correct things here and there.

Some characters have had the gall to defy their RLs; this could mean 
that the player is going schizo on us or that truly characters take on 
lives of their own ^_^.

2.8 Continuity

We like to keep continuity. In fact, we like it so much we keep 
_several_ continuities at once! ^_^ Really, it's not such a big issue, 
but sometimes it's important to know what happens after what. Some 
posts reply to the same message and conflict with each other; sometimes 
they can both be integrated in the same flow, but the rule is that 
whatever thread is more popular (gets more replies), that's the one 
that stays and is considered.

2.8 Tag your posts.

In courtesy of those that don't like GRIT and have the killfile to 
delete it from their readers, always (and this is the only one true 
rule) put a [GRIT] (and only [GRIT]) tag in the subject line. It also 
makes it easier to find by the ones really interested.

3. On the storyline.

3.1 What's the status of the original Ranma cast?
(by Blade, with touchups by Kuno, SKJAM!, Al-X, and Eli)

The following is a guide to the Ranma 1/2 cast, documenting changes 
that have occured to them in GRIT. Any corrections or omissions should 
be reported to me at chmcneil@upei.ca. First of all, it should be noted 
that GRIT started about three years after Ranma 1/2 (the manga, that 
is) ended, and characters are thus older, and martial artists have 
probably increased their skill by more or less in the meantime.

Ranma Saotome: The most obvious difference is that Ranma and Akane are 
now happily (?) married! This occurred fairly early on in the GRIT. 
Ranma has gained a variety of new martial moves as well, mostly 
including variations of his old ones. The two he uses most frequently 
are the Kachuu Bisha Takaken (a combination of his Amaguriken and Moko 
Takabisha techniques), and the Aite (a postive emotion-based knock-off 
of his Moko Takabisha). He has also matured over the years...if only 
slightly. His rivalry with Tarou has stepped up due to events on the 
latest major thread. Oh, and he's the father (well, mother part time 
too) of two healthy, normal kids, Isamu and Nuriko.

Genma Saotome: Not changed much in personality, except that he had now 
being dragged around the world by Nodoka, having been forced to promise 
(by virtue of losing a certain fight) to apologize to everyone he has 
wronged over the years.  However, discouraged by the magnitude of the 
task, the couple returned to Nerima and for a time housed Lisa Callaway 
at their house.

Nodoka Saotome: No change from the end of the manga (she knew Ranma's 
secret by then), except for the above.

Akane Tendo: Married to Ranma, of course. Other than that, about the 
same as always. Her cooking has improved somewhat as well....It's 
almost always edible now, if not palatable. Has mentioned a "special 
recipe" a couple of times, which Ranma doesn't mind eating, but no 
further details have been given.  Recently she gave birth to twins, 
Nuriko and Isamu.

Nabiki Tendo: There was a budding relationship with Jacen Heavensrun, 
which was interrupted by Auris Kuno, who is a sort of reincarnation of 
her ex-fiancée, Shiro, and is love with her as well. Eventually Auris 
gave up out of honur, and we won't be seeing anything else in that 
plot. She won a mecha factory in a lawsuit and later bought a TV 
station along with Arkaleb.

Kasumi Tendo: Given the ability to use superpowers by SKJAM!, which 
generally happens by accident. Dr. Tofuu asked for her in marriage and 
they're now officially engaged... they must find the stolen engagement 
ring, though.

Soun Tendo: No major differences in personality.

Ryouga Hibiki: Still has a bit of a running rivalry with Ranma, but 
this was eclipsed by Jei-san Heavensrun's undying hatred after Ryouga 
destroyed his guitar in a fight shortly before Ranma and Akane's 
wedding. He doesn't look for fights with Jei-san (actually, he spends 
most of his time looking for Akari), but is usually quickly pushed to 
anger when the Heavensrun shows up. Ryouga has given up on Akane for 
good.  In recent events he revealed his identity as P-chan to Akane; 
the ramifications thereof have yet to be realized.

Ukyou Kuonji: Broken-hearted after Ranma and Akane's wedding, Ukyou has 
had trouble getting over irrevocably losing her nearly life-long love 
(her relationship with Konatsu never really got beyond friendship). She 
allowed Blade to work for her and live at Ucchan's, and soon found out 
that he had fallen in love with her, but has not as yet returned his 
feelings, though they are now good friends. Also, through an absurdly 
complex series of events, she ended up getting split from her "other" 
personality, Ukkyo, and there were quite a few other clones as well, 
most of whom (save Trina, U-chan and Christine) were destroyed.

Shampoo: Through a series of events which I (nor anyone else) still 
doesn't think have been fully explained, Shamps got split into two. One 
of them got amnesia from Ukkyo and married Mousse; the other ended up 
with Alexis.

Mousse: Well, happy now that's he's married to Shampoo, of course. That 
cooled his psychotic tendencies, and he's now without a care in the 
world. 

Cologne: Aggravated over losing both Shampooim, Cologne was distracted 
by Blade defeating her (albeit extremely unfairly) at the tournament, 
and tried to seduce (*gag*) him. Then she got turned into an beautiful 
young woman... and almost immediately thereafter got turned into a 
perverted old man with a Spring of Drowned Panda curse. Retains her 
original mind, but has uncontrollable urges to glomp pretty girls, and, 
of course, is now a guy. Probably working on a cure for her condition, 
but has to be on the lookout for Ginseng, who has vowed to destroy her 
for killing his goldfish a couple of centuries ago.

Tatewaki Kunou: Mostly given up on Akane (though he still hates Ranma), 
Kunou has devoted more time to the "pig-tailed goddess" and his new 
flame, Amy Tagle. Briefly worked with Wing.  Akemi has a major crush on 
him.

Kodachi Kunou: Fell in love with (with some chemical help?) And married 
Bob; the two had a daughter, Miyagi. Motherhood settled her down a bit, 
she has not been seen much since Bob's disappearence. In a fit of 
admin.power, Jason turned her into a pillar of salt, and was later 
rescued by Wyldfire.

Pantyhose Tarou: Two major changes here: one, he went back to 
Jyusenkyou again and dipped himself in the now defunct Spring of 
Drowned Armoured Cybernetic Mecha with Optional Flight Capabilites, 
which made his already formidible cursed form absurdly powerful. Two, 
with a cunning plan and some luck, he won the tournament and caught 
Happousai, forcing the old lech to change his name. Unfortunately, it 
got changed to Tom Tarou, but you can't win them all... Now more or 
less residing in Nerima, partially due to his friend Blade's presence 
and partially because he has nowhere else to go. No major changes in 
personality, and touchy about his new name. He has incurred the hatred 
of Jo, and dislike of the other Heavensruns, but hasn't been too 
affected by it as of yet. He also upped his enmity with Ranma.

Hikaru Gosunkugi: No real change, though I think he's working under 
Tsurugi. Poor guy.

Tsubasa Kurenai: Fell madly in love with Amy Tagle, but was later 
convinced that she was a boy and that Vince was the girl ("Victoria"), 
and thus fell for Vince. Thanks to Tsurugi, now commands his own 
version of the Dawn Requiem attack, which makes the normally inept 
fighter more dangerous. His love for Ukyou seems to be on the 
backburner for the moment, but that is probably subject to change, 
especially if Blade was out of the way. To pay for his tuition, he took 
up a job as a secret government agent.

Hinako Ninomiya: Was dating SKJAM! for a while, but not much seemed to 
come from it. Might go back to chasing Soun, now that the kids are 
occupied with other matters.

3.2 Who are the GRITers?

Too many to number here; for a more complete description, look at 
Scott's List of GRIT Participants; it's more or less kept up to date 
with most current participants and the secondary characters.

3.3 What the hfil is going on?!?¡? (major events)

Look at the ready compilations; they cover the historical stuff, but as 
a synopsys: After the Wedding, everyone went along the Saotome's 
honeymoon to Fidji, where they caused some major property damage and 
got cloned, multiplied, cursed, etc.. Wondering what to do next, the 
Heavensrun clan and Nabiki organized a tournament; a little after Blade 
went ugly and stole people's power to defeat Ranma. The tournament was 
a long, dragged affair, and it was the framework during which many 
things happened: the attack of the Ukklones (giving birth to U-chan, 
Trina and Christine), the arrival of many GRITers (Al-X, Vince, Scott, 
Arkaleb, etc.). Zuni's and the Ken ni Kaze open their doors near the 
ending of the Tournament. 

By that time, Epsilon had arrived, and was not a complete nuisance 
until he killed Blade; Shiro arrived, followed by Chyron (who turned 
him into a her) and got killed by Amy. Tarou won the tournament. A trip 
to the Underworld was organized to rescue the souls of Blade and Shiro, 
but the first escaped fueled by his hate and anger and turned into the 
Angel of Vengeance (seeking revenge on any who even looked at Ukyou 
funny) and Chyron got Shiro. Two task forces were formed: one to deal 
with the Angel of Vengeance and the other to storm Turnip Keep and 
rescue Amy and steal the Medallion of Souls from Epsilon. 

There was a Christmas/New Year/Victory/Tournament party and things 
returned to their chaotic normality. Another major batch of 
participants arrived and things went smoothly from there. That is, as 
smoothly as things can go here, for there was an alien invasion 
prompted by a contest between some alien races, but the brave GRITers 
fought it off.

Furinkan High received new students and teachers and the Greater Nerima 
Institute of Technology was founded, where several of the older 
characters signed up in. Some went in a trip to Egypt to discover some 
lost ruins, as strange things happened when Epsilon allied himself with 
the archdemon N'astirth; the cursed-dragon Gaeld and the evil scientist 
Kagato (from Tenchi Muyo!). 

In recent days, Kasumi has come into possession of the One Ring (from 
the Lord of the Rings trilogy; the Ring-Wraiths now have come to Tokyo, 
if only as irritants as yet).  A brief mix-up of the ring's possession 
caused an estrangement between Jacen Heavensrun and his brothers.  Jo 
Heavensrun (the original) is seeking to remove the curse that has 
locked him in female form; the Nerimans traveled initially to Korea to 
seek a portion of a legendary magical artifact to effect the cure.  
Following that, they traveled to Jyusenkyo (where remarkably, nobody 
got cursed) and split up to scour the globe for further parts of the 
Holy Hairclippers.  Oh, and Ranma now has kids!  Akane gave birth to 
twins, one male (Isamu) and one female (Nuriko).  Rest assured, they're 
not cursed.  As for their upbringing..

Note that several subplots revolve around this, so don't yell at me if 
I didn't include your thread.

3.4 What are the important places?
(by Aaron Peori, aka Epsilon, edition and additions by Al-X)

Tendou Dojo: The famous dojo of Ranma 1/2. Living there at the moment 
are the Tendo sisters, Ranma and Akane are married and sharing a room. 
Soun has recently returned from vacation and Happousai is still there 
as well. The spare room Ranma and Genma used to sleep in has been 
converted into a nursery for Ranma and Akane's new kids, Isamu and 
Nuriko.  

Ucchan's: This is Ucchan's Okonimiyaki shop from the series. It has 
recently been renovated in the GRIT, both due to destruction and to add 
a few rooms. Living there are Ukyou, her erstwhile suitor and friend 
Blade, her "sister" Ukkyo, and Konatsu the Transvestite ninja. The 
place still serves the best okonomiyaki in the world, with two 
excellent cooks, a really fast delivery service thanks to Blade and a 
strange quality of privacy since it isn't a GRITer hangout.

Nekohanten: The Cat Cafe is run by the two Shampoos, and is home to 
Cologne, Shampoo-M and Mousse, Shampoo-A and her soon-to-be-born son 
with Alexis. The staggering unpopularity of the Chinese amazons has 
caused this place to be almost deserted.

Dr. Tofuu's clinic: Still tending the several wounded and maimed 
martial artists, it's been doing very good business; enough for Dr. 
Tofuu to gather courage and propose to Kasumi, who might move in after 
they marry. It's also the residence of Agent Dana Scully, who, after 
being abandoned by Mulder in Nerima in the midst of an investigation, 
took up a job thanks to her medical experience.

Furinkan High: Until now, used unoften in GRIT. Furinkan recently got a 
couple of new students in the forms of some GRITers. Some of the older 
GRITers might move on to GNIT soon, but for a while at least it has 
students again. The teaching faculty consists of Principal Kuno of the 
series. Fara, The LiG who teaches etiquette and magic; Gaeld, an evil 
dragon who teaches history and Corrie, a Timelord who teaches science.

Zuni's: This is the residence of the Heavensrun brothers. They opened 
the place up not long ago in terms of overall GRIT time but it has 
become a GRIT landmark. Several people reside there with the 
Heavensruns, including Vince and Amy and Mariko and MadP, the faceless 
minion Uhm, and the other alternity characters Miko and... Uh I forget 
her name. It is a pizza shop, and a successful one, serving anything 
you might wish. It is in a running rivalry with the Ken ni Kaze.

Ken ni Kaze: This is Tsurugi's restaurant/bar/apartment house. He 
created it after a Kaoroke contest in the GRIT on a whim. It is the 
work place of the hapless RLless NPCs that RL AAron and RL Tsu have 
captured over time, as well as the residence of sevral GRITers, 
including Mizue, Christine and Will the Wraith, Al-X and U-chan, Sigma 
and his Faceless minions. Not to mention Tsu and his endless list of 
NPCs and PCs... It's also a favorite dwarven drink-hole which might be 
the cause that it is not doing well as compared to Zuni's.

Ork Base camp: The base on which the Space Orks reside. It is a 
military installation, at an undisclosed distance from/in Nerima. The 
base is the residence of Arkaleb's Space Orks, and the homebase of 
Ratzik, GRIT's professional snoop. On the edge of the camp is a high 
rise in which Arkaleb the teenage dragon, Mist his adopted "brother" 
and clone of Epsilon, and his mother Fara the Lady in Green, reside.

GNIT: the Greater Nerima Institute of Technology. This is Nerima's 
college and promises to be a place where Ranma characters and GRITer 
will interact soon. 

Mystic Mansion:  Another major boarding house for GRITters.  Owned and 
ran by Tegan Dawson.

Maison Psykkoku: This is run by Reimasu, a transvestite gun-wielding 
GRITer. He has two tenants at the moment, including Gaeld and Hirohi, 
the unobservant flower-mage. A plot to take over the world by food-
beings is being cooked up in the Maison's kitchen and garbage pails.

ATTDFWAAFAN HQ: This is the home of the Arch-typical Terran Defense 
Force With An Acronym For A Name. Home of such personalities as the 
Unnamed Supreme Commander, the Young But Intelligent Lieutenant and the 
Young Attractive Scantily Clad Female Pilot. A group of incompetent 
faceless minions charged with saving the Earth from the GRIT.

NDF HQ: The underground facilities of the Nerima Defense Force are a 
Sega-Bandai franchise thanks to Prof. Atomu's business sense, and serve 
both as military and training base as well as boarding house. Currently 
living there are Mairi and Kappa, Jiro (the Depression Ranger), CMaster 
and his Gundam and Jay with his training minions.

Martian Mothership: The home of the Martians. It orbits the Earth and 
is near-omnipotent. It rarely interferes.

Turnip Keep: This is the fortress of Epsilon, GRITs resident villian. 
It is an ugly fort atop a mountain shaped like a turnip. From here 
Epsilon plots and schemes. It has yet to survive a single thread 
involving Epsilon intact, but he keeps rebuilding.  After the 
destruction of Epsilon, the keep has yet to be rebuilt; there is a 
dimensional lock upon its former premises.

GRITVision station: A small-time local TV station that was bought by 
Nabiki and Arkaleb and is now run by Al-X. It will get some named 
minions soon.

AdMechaTek Inc.: This cybernetic mecha factory was owned by Bob until 
he dared to sue Nabiki. The Tendou business genius has now fixed it up 
and is about to develop and mass-produce Labors.

---end of FAQ
Any comments, suggestions, corrections to Eli Kaplan (kaplane1@tiger.uofs.edu)