The End Update
Hi, there! It's me!
So, you've reached the end. Congratulations! I know I've been saying this a lot over the course of the story, so it may not mean much anymore, but still, thank you so much for sticking with it! I hope you had a good time.
For those who read this a long time ago, you may remember me saying that I was working on a final update that would slightly overhaul the story, patch plot holes, iron out certain scenes, etc.
And now, it's out! I call it, 'The End Update'. This is actually the fourth update this story has received. I had uploaded the update logs for the last three as separate chapters, but I deleted them. By noting down most of the major changes The End Update brought, I'll give you an estimate of what those looked like.
Major Changes/Additions
+Added a cover
Now I can officially say this story is complete.
[Chapter 1 has been refined
Some descriptions were altered, and the crafting mechanics are now more detailed.
[Chapter 2 dream sequence has been slightly altered
In the previous 'versions', instead of an Evoker, Steve would see a wandering trader.
[Chapter 26 now includes an argument between Steve and 'Eva'
It's an important enough plot point that affects the story for quite a few chapters, so it warrants a mention. Before, Steve simply kept quiet.
[Chapter 28 (/gamemode c) has been completely overhauled
The original Chapter 28 was a little rushed, and its flow was rather messy because of that. On top of being smoother to read, it now also has new plot points, such as Steve and Alex being the Sky and the Earth incarnate respectively.
[Chapter 29 is now clearer
Alex's backstory is more precisely presented.
+Added a new ending
This one requires the most explanations, I feel. The original ending, in which Steve leaves the woodland mansion behind in order to find Rana, was the one I wanted to write from the very beginning, and I still feel happy with the way it turned out.
While I was writing the chapters centered around Alex, however, I found her narrative potential intriguing enough for me to write an alternate ending, where Steve decides to stay with her. It includes two arcs, one of which graced this update its name. Both endings are available on both platforms for those who want to read them (FFN, Ao3).
As a side note, Alex's ending is the very reason this story's rating was bumped up from T to M.
[Patched various plot holes
+Added various scenes
[Reworked various scenes
-Removed Herobrine
+Added Wolves
+Added Foxes
+Added Snow Golems
[Rana is now slightly shorter
…
That's it, I think, in terms of the update.
I'd like to end this off by giving some various pieces of trivia regarding this fic's development.
[Steve as a protagonist was a tricky one to write, as I didn't want the earlier arcs to be centered around him. I wanted him to start out as a blank slate, that would become more fleshed out as the story would progress. That's the reason I made him an amnesiac.
I was also very cautious not to make him too overpowered, but in the end, I might have actually made him look UNDERpowered, which I somewhat regret... That's up to you to judge, at this point.
[Rana is one of the most overlooked aspects of Minecraft's history, so one of the main reasons I chose her to be the deuteragonist was to shed some light on her.
Other reasons included her design, which is so distinctly different to Steve's. I felt it really drove the point home that they were from different worlds.
For her personality, I simply took inspiration from her design. Someone who isn't ashamed of the things she enjoys, no matter what others may think. Her backstory is meant to be just vague enough so that anyone can relate to her, while also concrete enough to be substantial, believable and serve a purpose for the narrative.
[Alex was by far and away the most difficult character for me to write. Most of that is centered around the fact that she originally wasn't meant to be a character at all! After I chose Rana over her, I had kind of neglected her. She ended up being added after a series of ideas snowballed into the end result.
Basically, a cold, bitter, ice queen type of character isn't how I view Alex, which is what made developing her so tough. I had to come up with a reason to retrofit her into a leader of an 'evil' clan, without going too over the top. Ultimately, I'm satisfied with the end result.
[The Wither is in a similar boat to Alex, in that I hadn't always planned for it to be part of the story. I suppose I had an epiphany that made it all fall into place.
I just find it such a compelling mob, with a lot of potential. From its glowing white eyes, to its three skulls, it can be molded into quite the flexible opposing character.
[The allays were a last minute addition, too, primarily because they were only announced and implemented into the main game while this story was being written.
A part of me wonders what would have happened if I had started writing this piece sooner, or if Minecraft had stopped updating after 1.8? Before the Wild Update, the Nether Update, the Village and Pillage Update, etc. How would each arc have played out, without raids or allays? It's a strange thing to think about…
…
Anyhow…
That'd be it. Thanks again for coming along this journey with me.
Stay safe, out there!
-JustMC