Greetings all.
	The debate on which Fiancee Ranma should choose will probably never end. 
 I'm not here to make any statements regarding who's best for Ranma.  I just 
want to try to define what will justify the various choices in Fanficts.
OK.  Now the canon relationship is Ranma and Akane.  Now this pairing isn't 
required, but if the Fanfict is considered to have diverged from the Manga after 
the pair has fallen in love, this relationship is a really major part of both 
Ranma and Akane's character, and can't be put asside for any reason's less than 
earthshatering.
	Now here's how the relationship developes.  On the first day of their 
meeting, they see things they like about each other, then get really mad and 
choose to dislike each other and their situation.  However starting the second 
day, they begin to look at each other again, and begin seeing the things they 
like about each other more and more.  By Ryouga's arival they've passed the 
first stage of falling in love with each other, and that unspoken love only gets 
stronger as the series progresses.  Indeed, the only thing that makes them mader 
than being forced together is something trying to force them apart.
	As I said this doesn't preclued the possibility of effective fanficts 
being writen that match them up with other partners.  It's just that unless you 
split the fanfict storyline off before Ranma and Akane meet, or just afterward, 
it'll take a REALLY extreme situation to seperate them.  And even if they do 
seperate, expect both to hold the other in their hearts for quite some time.
	Ok, let's look at Shampoo.  I'd say that if Akane left by means not 
involving her or her great grandmother, she'd have had a chance with Ranma, at 
liest up to the date story.  Once she manipulated and abused Ranma with a phony 
promise of a cure, she essentially lost all hope that Ranma would ever see her 
as anything other than a scheming manipulator.  Well, conceivably she could 
convince Ranma that she had given up manipulation, but it would take a while.  
So the two strikes against Shampoo are 1 Ranma's initial memories of her are of 
her trying to kill him, and 2, her manipulations.
	And there's Ukyo.  She's just as manipulative as Shampoo, just more 
subtle.  However when Ranma thinks of Ukchan, the first thing he thinks of is 
and will always be his childhood friendship with her.  This makes him a lot more 
forgiving of her Manipulations.  However this complicates Her Romantic pursuit 
because when she tries to make him think of her in those terms, the 
manipulations she's done are mixed in with her offerings of love.  Even if he 
wasn't so in love with Akane, this would make dampen any impending Ranma-Ukyo 
Relationship.
	Now one more factor, this being Ranma himself.  Whatever the feelings 
he's portrayed as having, there are two things that will make any relationship 
difficult.  First off, Ranma has no experience with love.  Love is a terifying 
thing to him, which is why he avoides the subject with insults when he's with 
Akane.(She has the same problem)  However the lack of experience is only part of 
the problem.  I suspect that Ranma's scared of the possibility of Fatherhood, 
mainly because he is worried that becoming a father means becoming HIS father.  
After all the easiest way to immagine yourself in a role is to look at someone 
else in that Role and 'edit' yourself into their place.  For Ranma that's Genma. 
 And it's not an attractive picture for him.

	Well, sorry for babling like this, I just thought this ought to brought 
up and defined a little.