You know, for all the stuff I've seen on the love argument, I can't help
but notice something.  Nobody's asked the relevant question (for the FFML,
anyway) yet.

Does love conquer all in Ranma fanfic?

It has been a source of much debate over the past year or two how much
'real life' should interfere in fanfic, with love as the central arguing
point in the bit.  Some no doubt champion Ranma and Akane's relationship as
a 'love conquers all' relationship; after all, they had to put up with
enough interference to destroy lesser couples.  And, yet, writers have
written works where love *didn't* conquer all, where something, whether it
be death, anger, or the curse, came in between them and ended their
relationship.  

So who's right?  Is it okay to put this touch of real life in there?  Or
should it be kept pure, away from the taint of the imperfect, and remain
ideal?

The answer: Depends on who you ask.  You're going to alienate people either
way.  Put in the touch of real life, and some will complain that it doesn't
remain true to Takahashi's vision.  Don't put it in, and you get
accusations that the work is contrived or unrealistic.  

So, as a writer, which should you choose?

That depends on why you write.  Some write as an escape, to get away from
the problems of the real world.  Others write as a vent, to tell a story
that has bearing on real life.  If you don't feel what you're writing - if
you don't laugh or smile along with the escapist work or ball your fists in
frustration when things go realistic - then the reader won't feel it
either.  Works from both sides have succeeded, so success doesn't matter in
that regard.  

In the end, realism or idealism are both necessary sides of fanfic - the
yin and yang, if you will.  Both are in contention, both compete against
each other; however, both are necessary for fanfiction to be truly
complete.  Without one, the other seems hollow, as its purpose is removed.
Ideal shows love as it should be, while the real shows love as we
all-too-often experience it.  Both are needed to understand what love
truly, completely is.

Love?  Heh.  Love is never simple - even if it does conquer all.

-- Nick