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It's unfathomably weird that Star and Marcie and the Forces of Evil is over. I've been working on it nonstop for five years now, posting consistently (except for a few pauses to finish art to post with some chapters), and writing only about these characters and story. And now I'm done. I've finished it. I got to the Key Scenes that I built this fic around, I've introduced every important character and their plot beats, I've done... all of it. It's over.
You have to understand, this is the first Big Project I've actually finished. My first Big Project was a funny little story about flying superpowered wolves that I wrote with my friends, when I was around 9 through 11. I moved schools and lost those friends and the majority of those documents, so I never finished it. Then there was a Wings of Fire trilogy I wrote to about halfway and then abandoned. And finally, a Gravity Falls fic that I still plan on finishing eventually, but that doesn't really spark joy anymore – though its first draft is finished, so I can post it; anyone planning on reading it will just have to live with my 16-year-old self's terrible first draft writing.
But I finished SAMATFOE. I finished it. It's over. Done. Wow.
Let's talk what-ifs. What would I do differently if I started it now?
- I'd definitely rewrite s1. Some of the chapters in it follow the episodes they're inspired by way too closely, and Toffee doesn't have nearly the buildup I'd like. I'd also like to add a scene at the very beginning from Cítalia's perspective where they send the arrow through the window. It would give you much more of a hint at the morality of the series than Sílthéy's ramblings at the beginning. Sílthéy would still ramble, I can't exactly stop her, it would just give you a greater hint at what she's talking about. It would also bookend the series: it starts with Toffee entering Star's life, and ends with them leaving it. I guess it does in this version, too, but this would be a little more effective.
- Explain what happened to Shinjai's siblings. That would definitely add fuel to Shinjai's hatred of Mewmans. She may not be as outwardly obvious about it as her uncle, but she does hate them deeply and bitterly.
- Put more emphasis on the red glass re: Toffee's defeat. As it stands, only Shinjai notices it after the fact, but I think the rest could notice it too.
- More regarding Marcie's life as both a trans woman and a Mexican woman, maybe showing the fit Star threw when they spoke Spanish around her, and Marcie could resent her somewhat for that. And even though Earth is unconditionally accepting, Marcie still would have to send her friends, family, and acquaintances a text or come out to them in person – now that I know I'm trans, I'd like to write that.
- Other things I'm forgetting right now. I'm sure there's others.
Storylines I'd explore if I had the time/the will/the plot wasn't already overstuffed/I wasn't ready to end the story:
- Definitely something surrounding illusions and fake news – but that would probably be another season cleaning up Mina and Glossaryck's mess, with the Pegasi and/or Johansons as the main antagonists, saying Mina's defeat was illusions and essentially fake news. The weapon the Forces of Evil used to defend themself is now being used against them, etc.
- More examination of Steelbert's death and the impact it has on Higgs.
- Tiana and Kepler doing wacky shit in Septarsis. They grow a vegetable garden. They learn Septarian. They become potion makers and blow up their house every few weeks. They love their independent daughter.
- More with the septarians Star rescued from the tunnels. They're very happy to see Star, but have lost hundreds of years of their lives.
Things that helped me finish this monster of a project:
- Friends! It was great to have people commenting on my art and writing every once in a while, even if the svtfoe fandom is dead. Making me feel like I wasn't screaming into the void really helped me out.
- My therapist. Listened to me talk about my projects once in a while. Thank you for your patience.
- 4thewords. It's a writing site where you defeat monsters with your wordcount. It's paywalled, but it was affordable when I started, and I had enough runoff when they changed subscription models that I have enough time to decide what I'll do when it runs out. It's absolutely worth the money – it boosted my writing speed and how easy it was to set goals and have fun writing. If George RR Martin got 4thewords, I think ASOIAF would be finished by now. Pspspsps, George, you know you wanna come over here. Com'ere... finish your novel series so I can justify reading it... I know you're rich enough...
- Setting aside a specific time for writing: self-explanatory. After dinner is writing time, nothing else. I only rarely had to break it for extremely difficult or time-consuming homework.
- Setting a consistent update schedule: If I have to get two chapters out every two weeks, I will. I set a goal, and I mostly followed it.
- Including other things I like in the process: I like art, so I involved my art in the process quite a bit. This ensured I could still feel like I was working on samatfoe even when the words weren't flowing, and it tricked my brain into feeling like this was one long arc that I never stopped working on. I dunno if it's an official Psychology™ Hack, I hate psychology (long story), but it definitely worked for me.
- And finally: stubbornness. I am very stubborn, and I was determined to avoid stopping even once. Which, in the end, was the key to victory. It saw me through to the end, and now I promised myself I will not drop a project!
Thank you all for reading. This was such a fun experience. Stick around, because my next project, Unroyal, is being worked on right now. It's a queer YA Romantasy deconstruction, where the Edgy Bad Boi is actually kind of creepy towards our lesbian MC, who is way more interested in the jilted ex-lover and the servant girl. Sílthéy and her siblings are in it, along with a surprise character who will help us later. They are way scarier in this, as Tethalaos, immediately upon being introduced, accidentally murders a guy, and Iako, the MC, spends 90% of her time making sure Edgy Bad Boi doesn't get himself killed. Iako is... well, you'll have to read to find out ;)
But don't just wait for updates here or my personal blog, look for updates on my new art/story blog Other People's Stories (https://www.tumblr.com/otherpeoplesstories), which is the blog for my stories that involve Sílthéy and her family, in any capacity. And I have a youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChPx_eGWPztp1BbQ0jbO8pw)! I've posted a svtfoe analysis video there, but I will also post a lot of cute Bob (my leopard gecko) shorts and space stuff too.