Back when I was in my late-teens to my early-twenties, I was really into anime and anime fanfiction. Besides Digimon, other anime that captivated me over the years were Escaflowne, Monster Rancher, Yu-Gi-Oh, Sonic X, Naruto, S-Cry-Ed, and Cardcaptor Sakura. Some of them I'm still a fan of today.

One other anime I grew to liking was Inuyasha. Great worldbuilding, decent comedy, and decent characters. (I, however, despise Kagome in the anime because her characterization and power to sit Inuyasha are greatly bastardized. But Shippo's my most hated overall for being very obnoxious and unlikeable.)

Natural for me, I went to look for fanfic. One of them was by an author named Kristine Batey (known in many corners of the Inuyasha fandom, including Mediaminer, as "Bachan"). Her writing was really good. She knew the characters, how to convey emotions, how to make readers laugh hard, and the craft of writing altogether. Over ten years ago, she worked on a fancomic called "Hero in the 21st Century"; I never read it, but I heard it's good. You can check it out on your own volition, but it's for mature readers only, so I'm not linking.

Suddenly, in late-2004 to early-2005, she stopped working on her her projects, and for very good reason.

On June 17th, 2005, Bachan passed away from breast cancer at 53 years old. When she died, she left a very gaping hole in the Inuyasha fanfiction fandom, one that never closed. It's really sad, too, because she was apparently dedicated in her work, and I say this as someone who had no idea her work existed until a few months after her death. When the LJ community fanficraves was at its peak, I joined and recommended one of them to the community, called Animal Passion. To this day, it's still the funniest fanfic I ever read.

Later this year will be the tenth anniversary of her death, and that hole is still gaping even though the Inuyasha fandom has grown. Because I'm reminded of it, I can't help but shed a tear for two reasons. One: Because she left this world way too soon. Two: Because she left an amazing legacy in the Inuyasha fanfic fandom, and I'm sure she's making everyone who's gone laugh, cry, and cheer anytime she publishes a story.

I may need to read Animal Passion again soon. RIP, Bachan.