Once again, with fleeing

[Crescent Pulsar S]

So, there's this story I read ages ago, either at Lady Cosmos' Fanfic Library or through Penultimate Ranma Fanfic Index. A few years ago I made a topic here for it (actually, I can't remember the exact time I did it), and at the time I did a fairly decent search of the former place and lightly picked at the latter ('cause it was daunting, I tell ya). So, since I'm going to do another search on my own, and actually try to tackle Penultimate's index this time around, I thought I might as well cover this base again as well.

Right. So, in this story Ranma ends up alone in a forest (which I'm assuming is in another world), which I think glowed white (perhaps not all the time?). I don't know if Ranma's curse was "stuck," but I don't recall him being male at any time. There were at least two other guys present (I don't know if they were elves, gods or what-have-you, but they clearly outmatched Ranma), though I can't remember if one wanted her dead and the other saved her, or if they were both fighting over her. At some point, Ranma gets a hammer/mallet (I think something large, fancy-looking, made of metal and potentially magical) from one of them and is taught how to use it.

[Crescent Pulsar S]

While I'm still looking through the index for the other story, I figured I'd try my luck with another story that no one seemed to know in a past search, which I was reminded of by a recent search topic.

This one has Ranma being cursed early on, perhaps permanently. I can't remember much about it, but Ranma seemed to train hard enough (for whatever reason) to surpass the best of canon Ranma at a younger age. At one point Ranma dodges rain drops, and he may have even flew (I'm unsure if that happened or not, though). I wouldn't be surprised if it was a Dragon Ball Z crossover (or just borrowed the Saiyajins for the curse), but I imagine that that would have made it easier to find.

[PCHeintz72]

Those... are vague.

The first almost sounds 'Journey' by druth, but in that the magical hammer/mallet was eventually given to Akane (and magical semi sentient kitchen cleanup tools given to Kasumi as they loved her but hated him). Alternatively, if it was a more serious bent, it almost sounds like a story called 'Stars of Destiny' by DarkStrider, but as far as know that was never on either site. Where Ranma, two other guys, and Setsuna Meiu were dropped into a medieval forest to figure out their situation.

As for the second... cannot really think of such a story with all that in it. I can think of ones where he has to fight or outwit a different version of himself, I can think of ones with him cursed eearlier, I can think of ones with him able to fly... but not all that. One to come to mind is 'Destiny' by Smartalek aka Arun, multiple versions exist, at least one of which ironically was on Lady Cosmos site. But his curse was not locked, and there was a massive misunderstanding with the Senshi that caused Ami of all people to take his side against them.

[Crescent Pulsar S]

Sorry if they're vague. I read them once among many others around ten years ago, just another two bricks in a wall, but I remembered them (somewhat, and eventually) when I got back into reading fan-fiction, and they pique my interest since they're pretty much the only ones I haven't been able to find again, with or without help. (Well, I think there's also a story where Ranma gets a female Saiyajin curse that I haven't found again, unless it also happens to be the second story I'm looking for.)

Journey's not it, but it has a lot of the general elements I'm looking for, and was started around the time I could have read it. I'm going to read it and see if I ever read it before.

I don't know if the curse was locked in the second story, but I don't recall Ranma being male, and the vague memories I have of it leave mostly feelings than solid examples of its contents. Like, I get the feeling that Ranma meets Akane despite the divergence, but I think it was more by chance than design (considering how powerful Ranma becomes, I can't see that as a result of Genma's training, who doesn't have the kind of presence in my memory to have stuck around with Ranma).

If not Penultimate or Lady Cosmos', Crossing Bridges is also a possibility (which I've been looking around in, too). Granted, I went to a lot of sites way back when, for various collections (for series, pairings or crossovers) or ones that were author-specific, but those three cover most of what I read (and it's usually how I found authors' sites anyway, once I no longer felt like using the Anime Web Turnpike).

[PCHeintz72]

Well... the issue is, I may have read, and may even know, of the stories you are looking for, but can't tell from those descriptions, so I doubt I'd be of much more help.

But I've been reading Ranma fanfiction since 1999, and I frequented almost all those long gone archive sites at one point or another. Sanjiyans, Fandorium, Lady Cosmos, Ranmafics, Sofaspuds, Anifics hosted, Geocites, Nabiki and Ranma and Kasumi and Ranma relationship archives, and a whole bunch of others that all have disappeared over the years.

once I no longer felt like using the Anime Web Turnpike

I almost never used that method, I almost always used Google.

[arcanasage]

The second story sounds similar to growing up the half way, in that story he is cursed at a young age around 6-8, when his father finds out uses Ki building building exercises so ranma can heat the water around him, ranma does use the Ki to dodge rain at one point.
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/639048/1/Growing-Up-The-Half-Way

[Crescent Pulsar S]

I'll have to check that out further, then. I didn't recall Ranma dodging rain in that one, so I'll see if it's what I'm looking for.

Well... the issue is, I may have read, and may even know, of the stories you are looking for, but can't tell from those descriptions, so I doubt I'd be of much more help.

But I've been reading Ranma fanfiction since 1999, and I frequented almost all those long gone archive sites at one point or another. Sanjiyans, Fandorium, Lady Cosmos, Ranmafics, Sofaspuds, Anifics hosted, Geocites, Nabiki and Ranma and Kasumi and Ranma relationship archives, and a whole bunch of others that all have disappeared over the years.

That's okay. If it helps anyone, the first story was either an uncommon or rare crossover, or Ranma had been sent to an original fantasy setting. I also doubt that it met or exceeded five chapters. Around the time I read it, it left off shortly after Ranma received the hammer and began to train with it. I think I've narrowed it down pretty well for me, personally, but I may have missed it simply because the summary given for the story didn't have enough/good information. I'm thinking that I may find it at Lady Cosmos' if I look at each and every story prologue and/or first chapter (save all the ones (especially crossovers) that obviously aren't it), but I'm still working through that index.

Well, we seem to have similar backgrounds, in that regard. Probably the only real difference was that I very rarely ever browsed that mailing list place, even though I knew about it for a long time. Until '04, I avoided socializing except for a few brief exceptions (one of them being Sofaspud).

I almost never used that method, I almost always used Google.

I'm not sure when I started using Google. I didn't have the opportunity to use a computer until sometime in '03 or so. Before that was years of WebTV, and the Anime Web Turnpike made browsing for stuff not so much a task for things of interest because of how the WebTV worked.

[Crescent Pulsar S]

Okay, Growing Up the Half Way might be the story I'm looking for. It's possible that -- after so many years -- that parts of another story mixed in. If that's the case, it looks like I still have a female Saiyajin Ranma to find.

[Spokavriel]

You mean something like Saiyajinnyanichuan Spring of drowned female Saiyan by Trugeta?