On Fri, 14 Feb 1997, William W. Arnold wrote:

Richard Lawson writes ---

I wrote this in response to some C&C I got that I always write 
stories with happy endings, "Appearances" notwithstanding.  Well, 
here's a story that doesn't end happily.  In fact, I found myself 
crying while writing some parts.  Oh darn, I've just revealed 
myself to be a wuss.  While I'm at it, I'll just mention that 
Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" made me cry, too, and let you 
taunt me all you please.  :)

If there's anyone who can read this with a dry face, I don't think
I want to meet them.  Nuku-Nuku is more human than they are.

Despite the fact that I like the Nuku-Nuku animated series, I've avoided
fanfics set in such.  I always thought there was much more potential in
the story than just the over-the-top spoofiness of the OVAs.

After seeing many people raving about this fanfic, I decided to go back
and read it.  I'm glad I did; someone finally used the world and
characters to the potential they had, instead of just making more spoofy
chaos.

This story is well written enough that it could work with original
characters, not just the ones from Nuku-Nuku.  The fact that this story
involved characters who we already knew and were attached to only
heightens the impact of it.

Seriously, this is the most depressing story I have ever written. 
I'm very interested to know what your opinions are, and if you 
hate me forever for allowing Nuku Nuku to die.

But she didn't die,  She's still alive in my heart and memories, and
yours, and Hiro's, and in the hearts and memories of all the other
people who love her, and have been touched by her.  Not to mention
in all the alternate universes where she can go on, and on, and on
in other peoples minds, and fanfics, and OVA's.

And everyone dies, physically, in the end.

It's what they've done with their life; how people remember them, and what
impact they had on others, that determines whether they truly die, or if
they live on afterwards.

While the scenes with the family were touching, and were meaningful, what,
in my opinion, made the story so meaningful was the scene with Hiro and
Yuki.  When, many years from now, I eventually leave this life, I'd like
to have left a legacy like that; even if you can only change one other
life, meaningfully, for the better, then you've lived well.

I can safely say that, on many levels, that was one of the best pieces of
fanfiction I've seen come across this list; perhaps one of the best I've
seen, period.  Not for the execution of prose, the description of scenes,
or any technical elements - but for the message it conveyed.

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