I'm gonna agree with Krista and Reid here. This tired old argument is

That's fine. I knew the risk of sending out that message.

your basic logical fallacy of "all or nothing." I think just about all
of us would agree that any reasonable reader should be willing to accept
some variation in the characters. But it doesn't follow that a reader
should accept anything a writer does with the character.

True. And I'm glad that you stayed focused on what
I was originally trying to say. It is my fault that I did
not quantify my statements on how much change
is acceptable. Moderation is good, after all. But a
writer can reasonably pull off a change with a little
storytelling expertise, right? As in my other message,
the emphasis seems to lie more in the storytelling
than the characterization, ne?
 
---< Snipped the Dagwood analogy >---

A good analogy, and one that is very valid. There may
indeed be a limit,  but I do not believe that it Dagwood
Bumstead who dumped Akane in Chaos Chronicles. That 
still pretty much looked like Ranma to me. But that is
once again a grave matter of opinion, and who can really
say what is the truth?

"The Death of Love" by Steve Pardue. I also liked the story, though I
did have a problem with its treatment of Kasumi... but I digress. :)

Ah, as you see, there is a certain difference of opinion
regarding treatment of character again. But I, too, digress. ^_^

I hope that none of you are under the impression that 
I thought the fic was perfect. It could use some work,
and the good thing is that the author quickly did some
revisions and posted a revised version soon after some
people replied. My real concern is for the author to
improve his work, after all.

Some people I suppose cannot accept anything less than 
a perfect work, and that is their own personal preference.
But there are people who are willing to accept a work
that is less than perfect. People who want to have fun
reading, and not just seeking perfection in a hobby that
is supposed to be fun and entertaining. I guess that I
found Chaos Chronicles entertaining, while some people
took direct affront to alleged "character bashing" in the
fic. Whichever is the real case, whether it was truly
entertaining or character bashing, no one can really say.

Anyway, just wanted to say "me too." :-)

Um, yeah. The more the merrier! But I grow
weary, and I feel battered and defeated. I
suppose it's time to end this now and I will
exit from it as gracefully as I can.  -_- <a wan smile>