From: Sean Connor [SMTP:sec@frodo.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 18, 1997 9:07 PM
To: fanfic@fanfic.com

It is not absolution that he gives her - it is forgiveness.

Maybe that was the intent,  but it certainly comes across as
an absolution.

Probably because I accord Akane very little blame for the events of "The Bitter End".  In my mind, it was more her friends' and family's fault.  Of course she knows some blame herself, and she does have to deal with that.

I'd also like to mention that the ending certainly gives the
impression that the BE Akane is suddenly 'cured'.

Did you?  I merely meant to show that she was on her *way* to being cured.  What I didn't like about the very first sequence in BE (and I told this to Zen, who did alter it slightly) was the doctor's implications that Akane would never be cured.  I thought she *could* be cured (and my research for "Roses of Shadows" showed me that conditions like Akane's are eminently treatable).  So, with Zen's blessing, I wrote this story that showed her take the very first step into admitting that she has a problem, and admitting that she needs to remember and be held accountable for her actions.  She's taken the very first step on a long journey towards healing herself.  I never meant to imply that she was suddenly free of her mental disorder(s).

I'll look at it a little closer and see about making this clearer.  I didn't want to bog down the ending with too much exposition, however - enough of that had already been done in the earlier scenes.

After all, it took quite some time for her to reach the point
she's at; it will undoubtedly take at least as long to get back.

Exactly right.

- Sean Connor (sec@frodo.com)

-Richard
sterman@sprynet.com

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