Shadow Plays : Author's Notes ----------------------------- Be warned in advance that this is going to contain spoilers for the stories that make up the series, so if you're going to read them I'd recommend you do so first. I suppose the first question I have to answer here is "why?" Why did I write this? Why, of all people, did I choose to write a romance between Rei and Setsuna? It all started whilst I was in the middle of my university finals. For a while I'd had the image in my head that eventually became the final part of the series. I started to write it down... and it was absolutely appalling. So I binned it and tried to get back to work. A few months later I was struggling against a serious case of writer's block, and the same idea was still nagging at my mind. In desperation I decided to try it again and see what happened... So, why Rei and Setsuna? To start with, it was simply a random idea, almost an excercise in absurdity, but then, as I started to write the story it actually began to make sense. As characters they're very similar in nature; aloof, lonely... different. On a more personal level, I had my own reasons for wanting to write this. First and foremost, it was a challenge - I wanted to try and write something different. As romantic stories go, I sincerely hope it /is/ just a little bit unusual. I know it's certainly distinctly purple and perhaps more than a little obscurantist in places... Overall, I'm still very unsure about this series as a whole. In many places it comes close to what I was trying to do, but for me it never quite gets there. It's very much more optimistic than many of my stories, though, and that's one thing I'm pleased with. My thanks at this point have to go to all the denizens of the HAML for support, criticism and restraining my worst excesses throughout. (Yes, some of the drafts were /more/ purple. Whoops...) C&C, flames, questions and slappings to: adam@yggdrasl.demon.co.uk Thanks for putting up with this aimless wittering; I hope you enjoyed the story. Oh, and a quick wave to Joe in case he ever reads this... --A.