I realize that this has been a trying week for everyone who knew
Hitomi and her woirks.  I have never had the honor to meet the person,
nor sample her literary works, but I can understand some of what's
going on.

As the folks at Colliding SYmphonies state, we all wear masks.

I think it was simply a case of the life imitating art mobius cycling
out of control.  for some people, separating fantasy from reality is
not only hard to do, it's a defensive mechanism.  My friends and
fellow sailors say that one of my biggest assets/liablilities is that
I can't separate the fatasy from the reality, and they're half right;
in fact, a few of my friends claim that the personality that I have
given Ranko in my Tales of Shampoo stories is no other than my own.  I
don't know on that, but perhaps it is; maybe I'm simply projecting. 
But the point is, is that some of the best writers (not just on this
FFML, but in general) constantly walk the shadow world, spinning the
fables of legend.

We are all blessed with the gift of writing.  We use that gift here.
To use a quote, "Talent is the ultimate Art, whether you use or
squander it is your fate".  It doesn't matter if you're a college
student, an ex-soldier, a company exec, a sailor, whatever, we are all
using our gifts to entertain and bring a smile to each others' faces. 
If Hitomi's works, did that, then she did her job.

As to the personality betrayals, all I can say is I feel for you, and
wish you the best.  I can see--from personal experience--how it hurts,
to know the pain when you've been decieved in this manner.  All I can
offer in the way of advice is to remember it and move one; what does
not kill you only makes you stronger, or so they say.

Lastly, to those who are judging without merit, it is a point that we
should look within first.  Before we would potentially make something
anethaema, make someone a paraiah, we should see what it does to
ourselves in the end.

Our stories are extensions of ourselves.
Let's all try to make them beautiful ones.

That's just my two yen.

===
--YN2 Robert R. Barba, USN
  Rob, Ashita, whatever
ashita@rocketmail.com, calicatcafe@geocities.com
n11a@c7f.navy.mil (Subject:  Attn--YN2 Barba)
************************************************************
"To produce a mighty book, you must produce a mighty theme.  No great
and enduring volume can be ever written on the flea, though many there
be who have tried it."
--Herman Melville





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