Final Author's Note…
So, this is it! The second installment of my Team MARS saga has come to an end! Just like at the end of the first story, I would like to take some time and thank all of you readers for tagging along thus far! I don't make or gain anything from these stories. I write them because I like the characters and enjoy writing as a hobby and the thought of other people enjoying my stories is what motivates me to continue.
Concerning this Installment…
This story was a blast to write, but it also presented a lot of challenges for me to work around. In my original notes the story ends a lot sooner, but I decided to buff up the story and write more chapters because the original draft felt… incomplete…
For example, in my original draft of Sage and Verdant's first face to face meeting, Verdant shows his hand and threatens Honey almost immediately as incentive for Sage to steal Penny's arm. I ended up re-writing this entire section of the story and had Verdant's threat come later, because it was out of his character to resort to violence straight away.
I also had to reconsider a lot of the ideas I initially wrote about. For example: in my original draft Sable lies to Mauve, telling her that Asher was the one making advances on her; the next few chapters would have been Mauve and Asher feuding until the truth comes out, then Asher would have been mad at Mauve for a while before the two eventually reconcile…
That entire segment was deleted with prejudice after I wrote it… because I hated it. It all just felt way too unbelievable, and I refuse to make characters who I have established as intelligent into convenient idiots to serve a minor plot thread.
Writing is a fun hobby… but it can be full of missteps….
The Future of this Saga...
A third installment of this saga is going to come! But it's going to be a little while before the first few chapters are ready for posting, for two reasons…
1. This story was not finished when I began posting it. Therefore, I don't have any chapters for Team MARS Part Three written yet. I don't want to turn out anything subpar, so I'll need some time to write.
2. The plot for Team MARS Part Three has not been finalized yet. I have an absolute ton of cool ideas for the story, but I need to sort these ideas out so I have a plot that makes sense; bigger is better in my opinion, but a story shouldn't feel too bloated.
3. If anyone here has read my Titanfall story "Tigress" you'll know from yesterday's authors note that I plan to focus on that story for a while. The chapters for Tigress aren't that long nor are they difficult to write, but knowing me I'm going to make that story far longer than I intend to. Don't worry though, I'll be working on Team MARS Part Three in the meantime…
There are no sneak peaks available for the next story, so I'll leave you readers with this…
1. The next story will be a little more Mauve centric. There will be more revealed about her childhood, her upbringing and her relationship with her father. Mauve will also have her own personal dilemmas she'll have to deal with.
2. Argent will return, I admit that I neglected his character somewhat in this story. Well, scratch that… he wasn't in this story at all…
3. One major theme in this story was secrets and how damaging they can be if left to fester; I plan to continue with this a little in Part Three. The other major themes of Part Three will be darker impulses, self-doubt and different outlooks on the meaning of justice… maybe, these are all work in-progress ideas after all.
4. Asher's story isn't done just yet either… there's a lot more that I left unsaid.
Other RWBY Content…
According to the statistics on my account page most of my audience reads my RWBY content and I want to cater to this majority while the third installment is being cooked up.
So, until Part Three is ready I'd like to announce a brand new series, "MARS Saga: Oneshots!" These will be (mostly) canonical oneshots that place focus on the Team MARS centric universe I have constructed. These oneshots will be rather short, perhaps less than one-thousand words and will take place before, during and after Team MARS Part One. They will be lighthearted and comedic for the most part, but a few will have more serious themes. Not all of these oneshots will focus purely on Team MARS either...
The good news is that I kicked my ass into gear and wrote a bunch of these oneshots in advance. The first two will be released this Thursday (October 22, 2020). I'm not too sure about what the upload schedule will be… more on that later.
The Q&A I plan on doing…
I've been planning to do a Q&A for a little while now.
In Friday's authors note I went over my plan for the Q&A segment, but it may have come off as a little rushed, so I'll reiterate my plan here.
I plan to answer every question I can as accurately as I possibly can, the only questions I will not be answering are questions that threaten my anonymity. Questions don't have to be strictly about my stories either, I am a human too, I have my interests and hobbies and love talking about them.
If you want to contact me to leave a question, here's how…
1. The easiest and fastest way for me to receive a question is through Fanfiction's private messaging service. You might need an account to do this, I'm not all that sure, but needless to say I will receive what you send.
OR
An alternative way is send me an email at hellyeacabbages .
I will leave it up to your discretion…
2. You can leave your question or questions in my inbox or the email provided. You will not receive a personalized response, but I will message you back just to confirm that I received it.
3. I will take all of your questions, post them onto a mass document and then give my answers. Once that's done I will attach the Q&A to the end of THIS story for you guys to read. The date that I will post it is October 23rd, which is Friday of this week.
Some Important things to note…
1. Submissions for questions begin today (October 19th) and end on Thursday (October 22). As mentioned above the date that the full Q&A will be posted is October 23rd.
2. No personal questions that threaten my anonymity shall be answered, everything else is fair game.
3. I will post a question in its entirety on the document before I give my answer. I am also going to put the username of the person who asked it next to the question. If you personally don't want this and would prefer to remain anonymous, let me know through email or private messaging.
So… yeah… that should be everything I have to say…
Anyways, a Q&A sounds like a lot of fun, so if you guys have questions for me then I encourage you to send them in!
Sincerely,
hellyeacabbages
