Hold up a tic.

I think (with all due respect) that you are somewhat missing the
point, though, Robert.

The piece isn't about the ending.  It's not about the cliffhanger.
It's not (really) even about communication.

It's all about interpetation.  I mean, if you want to tell me you
looked at the scene where Anthy threw the sword she had quested for
into the volcano, and say that it meant nothing, and had no symbolic
value, then I strongly suggest you re-read it.

A lot of the vivid imagery wasn't actually background at all -- it was
carefully woven to make the entire piece a solid block of exposition.
It was enriched, refined, and (dare I say?) too intense for the casual
reader to interpet at the first glance!

When you get to the section where they actually have the car chase,
and Ranma's fighting the alternate universe Dark Lady/Chibi-Usa
(aside: the torn leather and Chibi Usa's Moon Cutey Kawaiisaki was an
amusing segment) in a race to save all of "The City of Toyko" from
nuclear anhilation....  There's symbolism there, too.

And let's not even touch on the incredibly moving scene where Akane is
forced to seal her entire family into quarantine for five years, just
because she can't KNOW they're safe otherwise.

I would actually go so far as to say that what you saw when you looked
at the original story ... wasn't the original story at all.  And if
you thought you saw it, you probably just misinterpeted it.

But.  It's ultimately the artist's (author's) perogative as far as
what he meant it to mean ... and to that end, I'd just like to quote
one of the more memorable lines of the fic:

IHNvIHNoZSBoYWQgZ290dGVuIGZpcnN0LWhhbmQga25vd2xlZGdlIG9mLQoKU2hlIGdhc3Bl

And that ... that ... I'm sorry.  I have to sit down.  That line just
got to me.  I mean ... the sacrifice ... the inner beauty.  The
tapestry of interactions....  All melding together to weave an image
of fanfiction such as no one has read before....

On Fri, 29 Oct 2004 10:29:43 -0700, Daniel Jess Gibson

- Hide quoted text -

Ah now that makes more sense, I thought it was a rewrite of the story of the
same name on FF.net by Golden Arms http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2108123/1/
which is a Ranma story about a post-17th Manga Volume situation.  If it
really is Digimon/Utena, it considerably more understandable.   I can also
see why two enjoyed the ending.  Such a plot twist is hackneyed and cliched
in Ranma fan-fics, but I've never seen it done in anything Utena related.
    Thank you for your clarification, I can now look at this in a new, more
appropriate light.

Daniel

--
Brian Randall
--
I write fanfiction. Too much of it. You can read it here, thanks to a
kind grant from the Larry F foundation:
http://www.rakhal.com/florestica/durandall/index.html
--
Together. Allegiance or death. BIGFIRE!
--
Haiku of my lament:

Forgive my spelling,
my U.S. education,
is the source of blame.

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