DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

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Interview with an Authoress
Chapter 5: The Fifth Show

By Shadow's Mirror

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Show aired July 3, 2004

The show begins with the by-now-familiar scene of the library/office of the Dark Magician's tower home. As usual, the camera focuses on the cheerful fire crackling away in the grate and then pans back to show the overpadded chair set in front of the fireplace, and the purple figure sitting in it. The Dark Magician smiles into the camera.

"Welcome to another episode of 'Interview with an Authoress' where I, the Dark Magician, discuss the latest news and events with the Authoress, Shadow's Mirror." The camera pans across to the other chair in the room. The empty chair. The Dark Magician blinks. "That's odd… she was here a moment ago…"

"She vanished while you were doing your intro." D Human's voice comes from off-screen. The Dark Magician blinks at the news. Before he can comment though, a flash of light fills the room.

"Sorry about that, I had to duck away for a moment. I'm chatting with Vash is my Angel so I'm going to be coming and going for a while." Shadow's Mirror grins at the Dark Magician who blinks back at her.

"I thought I knew all of the Shadow Monsters by now…" he mutters.

Shadow's Mirror bursts out laughing. "Oh no, she's not from around here. Vash is my Angel, Vash for short, is a fellow Authoress. Well, technically… she has written a story but it's not online yet. It's a very good story too. She's also my best friend, the one who helped me with my 'Conversations' stories and she's partly to blame for my latest Yu-Gi-Oh! fic too. She's multi-talented!" Shadow's Mirror chuckles.

The Dark Magician smiles. "I look forward to hearing more about her story when it's online." Then his mind registers the rest of Shadow's Mirror's cheerful chatter and his eyes light up. He leans forward eagerly. "You're updating?" His excitement fades slightly. "With a new story but not with a new chapter to an existing story?"

A blush colours Shadow's Mirror's cheeks. "I know… I'm a naughty girl. I haven't updated in ages. But that doesn't mean that I haven't been writing!" She sighs. "It's just that the stuff I've been working on was either for something else or related to one of a jumble of ideas that have decided to ambush me over the past few weeks."

"New ideas? That means new stories. But I thought you were planning on working on your ongoing stories at the moment, rather than starting anything new?" The Dark Magician looks confused.

"Yes… well… that's what I thought I was doing too." Shadow's Mirror rolls her eyes. "Unfortunately, I don't control when ideas come to me or how insistent they are! I just write the stuff that flashes into my mind at all hours of the day or night. Usually night. It's odd how inspiration always seems to hit me between one and three in the morning."

The Dark Magician nods. "I get that way with new spells sometimes. So what…" He blinks as she suddenly vanishes. "Oh dear…"

D Human's laughter can be heard coming from off-camera. He's still laughing when Shadow's Mirror reappears in a flash of light. She blinks. "Did something funny happen?" D Human is laughing too hard to reply, so she raises an eyebrow in the Dark Magician's direction. He shakes his head.

"Just D Human's idea of… Oh honestly…" The Dark Magician glares off-camera at the source of the loud laughter, then waves his hand. There is sudden silence as all sound outside the area of the two chairs is magically blocked out. "As I was saying, it's just D Human's idea of humour."

"Ah. That explains it." Shadow's Mirror grins. "Nifty spell by the way."

The Dark Magician looks pleased. "Why thank you! It's one of my favourites. I use it when I'm working and don't wish to be disturbed." He smiles smugly. "It also stops teleportation spells."

Shadow's Mirror bursts out laughing. "Curses! Foiled again!" She winks and settles back in her chair. "All right. You have my complete and undivided attention!" The Dark Magician laughs.

"We were discussing story ideas and how you have been inundated with them lately. Are there any you can tell us about? Anything interesting?"

"Depends on your definition of 'interesting'," Shadow's Mirror chuckles. "I have one new Yu-Gi-Oh! story ready to go. It's called 'Who Would Believe Me' and I have absolutely no idea where it fits in with my other stories. It all came about because my friend Vash and I were monkeying around online one night. A couple of days later, Vash delighted me with the beginnings of her fanfic. I couldn't resist responding with one of my own. The end result was a short Joey and Seto one-shot."

The Dark Magician blinks and stares at Shadow's Mirror. "Did you just say…?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter. It's not that kind of fic." Shadow's Mirror smirks as the Dark Magician blushes. "Although some readers may think it is," she adds with a shrug.

"So I take it that it's written in a similar style to your 'Conversations' story? With suggestive language and the true situation not being revealed until the end?" Shadow's Mirror grins and nods and the Dark Magician smiles, obviously pleased that he guessed correctly. "You said it's ready to go?"

"Yes. I'll be posting it the same time this interview goes to air, along with three other new stories and a new chapter for my Angel fic." Shadow's Mirror smirks at the Dark Magician's obvious shock.

"Did you say three new stories? My. You were not joking about being 'ambushed' by ideas. I take it that they are not Yu-Gi-Oh! stories?" He looks disappointed.

Shadow's Mirror chuckles. "No, I wasn't joking and no, they're Inu-Yasha fics. Three short one-shots about Kagura and a character that some fans of Inu-Yasha might not even know about yet."

The Dark Magician blinks. "Meaning?"

"Meaning that he doesn't appear on the scene until episode 141 of the anime and book 30 of the manga. So anyone who doesn't know what happens that far into the series is going to have no idea who he is."

"That could be a problem," the Dark Magician agrees with a thoughtful frown.

Shadow's Mirror sighs and nods, her movements barely noticeable beneath the black hood that leaves only her face in clear sight. "Yes. I'm hoping that it won't have much impact on the readers' enjoyment of the stories. Hopefully, having the same character in all three fics will make him more familiar."

The Dark Magician nods. "True. Why three at once? You said they were one-shots, but from what you're saying it sounds as though there is a connection between them."

"Yes, there is." Shadow's Mirror grins. "You know me, I can't just write three unconnected stories at the same time. There has to be a link, or at least a common thread. In this case it's the theme. All three are about two specific characters and their interaction with each other. I've written them as a trilogy, but they can also be read as separate stories. Really though, if you like one of them, then you'll probably like the other two as well, because they're all similar in style and theme."

"I see." The Dark Magician ponders that for a moment before going on to his next question. "So are those all of the new stories that you were speaking about earlier?"

"Not quite. I do have one more that I'm working on. It's ongoing though and I'm still debating with myself over whether or not now is a good time to post it. I did want to try to focus on my current ongoing stories, and adding a new one to the list wasn't part of my plan. Also, I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with it. I think I need to think about it some more."

The Dark Magician nods, the slightest of frowns on his face. "As you said earlier, it has been some time since you last updated. Does that mean that these new stories have drawn your attention away from your ongoing ones?"

"Yes and no." Shadow's Mirror takes a moment to consider her reply. "Every story is different when it comes to how long it takes to simmer, but they all have one thing in common. It takes ideas and inspiration to keep them simmering. Lately, I haven't had much of either. So when I get an idea for a new story, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Sure, it means that I'm distracted from my ongoing stories while I work on it, but by the time I've finished…" Shadow's Mirror smiles. "My mind ends up buzzing with thoughts and images and my ongoing stories draw on them to simmer more strongly than before."

The Dark Magician nods thoughtfully. "So, in a way, the new stories become inspiration for your ongoing stories?"

Shadow's Mirror nods, smiling slightly. "It sounds strange, I know, but I think it has a lot to do with the way I write. When I open a story file to work on it, I'll always begin by reading over what I already have. It gets my mind in sync with the story, so I can pick up where I left off more easily. It also means that whatever mood I'm in while I'm writing doesn't influence the story as much as it would otherwise. I've written some of my funniest lines when I've been feeling like my world's collapsing around me and I've written lines that have made people cry when I've been feeling bouncy and mischievous."

"So, does that mean that you can write anything at any time, or are there some things that you do need to be in a particular mood to write?" The Dark Magician leans forward in interest.

"Last chapters." Shadow's Mirror's response is immediate. "It depends on the story, but if it's one that I've spent a lot of time working on, or if it's one that I'm particularly fond of, then the last chapter will often take me a long time to start. I put a lot of pressure on myself when it comes to tying up stories. I like to make the last chapters as good as I possibly can, and I often use them to tie up any loose ends from the rest of the story. Because of that though, it does take me a while sometimes to sort out what I have to cover."

The Dark Magician thinks for a moment. "Is that one of the reasons for the current update delays?"

Shadow's Mirror nods. "Yes. At the moment I'm up to the final chapters in two of my ongoing Inu-Yasha fics. They're both proving to be very difficult for me to write, but I don't think they'll take much longer. I'm also coming close to the end of my Angel fic, but I started the fic knowing how it would end so I shouldn't have any trouble there. It's been a strange one right from the start."

When she stops there, the Dark Magician raises an eyebrow. "And what of 'Another Source of Magic'? It is getting fairly close to ending also, is it not?"

"Yes. There's only a few more chapters to go in that one," Shadow's Mirror quietly admits. She sighs before adding, "I'm currently going through the chapters where Bakura was a chibi, making notes of any loose ends that I wanted to tie up. So far, I have eighteen pages… and that's just the loose ends!" She chuckles softly. "Even without that, the chapter is particularly hard to write. I'm trying to find a balance between humour and angst and believe me, that is not easy!"

The Dark Magician smiles and nods. "No, I am very glad that I am not attempting it!" He waits for Shadow's Mirror's laughter to subside before continuing with his next question. "You mentioned earlier that you have finished a chapter of one of your ongoing fics?"

Shadow's Mirror smiles and nods. "Yes, chapter six of 'A Promise of Tomorrow'. Considering where I left off, I'll probably find out whether or not anyone's reading it by the number of 'you're evil!' reviews that I receive for it. I don't often do cliffhangers, so when I do I like to make them count." She smirks, her eyes gleaming with wicked amusement.

"I see. What of your other ongoing stories? Is there anything you can tell us about them?" The Dark Magician leans forward. "You are still continuing all of them, I hope?"

"Oh yes! Definitely!" Shadow's Mirror doesn't even need to think about it, but then she hesitates. When she next speaks, her voice is very quiet and very sad.

"The truth is, although I dearly love Yu-Gi-Oh! and all of its characters, it is very difficult for me to write in that fandom at the moment. About a month or so ago, I learned the final fate of the characters, according to the Japanese manga. That knowledge completely devastated me. Not just because it was so unexpected, but because of the effect that the ending will have on my stories. If the anime follows the same storyline as the manga, and it probably will, then it will mean that all of my stories are AU."

The Dark Magician frowns in confusion. "AU? Forgive me but… what does that mean?"

"It stands for Alternate Universe. You see, there are two types of fanfiction. Some writers follow the facts as they are in that particular fandom. They never, or barely, deviate from the 'canon', the things that happened in the series, movie, book or game that the fandom is based on. So those stories could actually happen in the world of that particular fandom. But sometimes writers aren't happy with what happens in the canon. Perhaps a favourite character dies or perhaps an episode doesn't end the way someone thinks that it should have. That's when Alternate Universes come into play."

The Dark Magician nods slowly. "I believe I understand. By changing one detail, an entirely new version of that world is born."

Shadow's Mirror nods. "That's right. If the fandom is for something that has a definite end, like the series Angel, then the line between canon and 'fanon', facts made up by fans that were never mentioned in the canon, is clear. But when you're writing in a fandom that is ongoing, like Yu-Gi-Oh! and Inu-Yasha, it becomes much more difficult. You have to be careful. There's no way of knowing when something might happen in the series that would make your story impossible."

A thoughtful look crosses the Dark Magician's face. "I see what you mean. Is that what happens with your stories because of the way Yu-Gi-Oh! ends?"

Sorrow dims Shadow's Mirror's eyes. "Yes."

"But surely this isn't the first time you've encountered this problem? Yet, I sense that this time there is something… more?" The Dark Magician's voice is very gentle.

A silent nod is his only response for a moment. "I prefer to keep to the canon wherever possible, but I do make exceptions. I write the characters the way I see them, and it isn't always as close to the canon as it could, or should, be. But I never go so far as to make it AU. Sometimes, I've had to rewrite things or find ways to work around things. But… this goes beyond all that. Everything that I've written, every story that I've worked so hard on…" she trails off, her head bowing until the black fabric of her hood falls forward, completely hiding her expression from sight.

The Dark Magician bows his head also. Then he looks up. "Surely something can be done to make it so that your stories are not affected in such a way?"

Shadow's Mirror's head slowly rises and the Dark Magician gasps when he sees her expression. Rather than crying, she is smiling slightly. "I'm working on it."

Oddly shaken by the gleam in her eyes, the Dark Magician turns to the camera. "Well, that ends the show for now. Thank you for viewing! Shadow's Mirror," he turns to her, "Thank you for coming."

Shadow's Mirror grins and nods. "You're welcome." She turns to the camera and waves. "Bye everyone!" Then, despite the fact that the teleportation-blocking spell is still in place, she vanishes.

Now thoroughly stunned, the Dark Magician removes the spell. The sounds that had been blocked out return and he blinks for a moment as he adjusts to the sudden lack of silence. While he's doing that, D Human peers out from behind the camera. "You know, she scares me sometimes."

The Dark Magician glances at him and smiles wryly. "Only sometimes?"

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Cut, that's a wrap!