Chương 166: Closing Note
I don't feel like writing a 10k words long note, so I'll address the two elephants, and let you express yourselves in the comments.
1. Is this finished?
My work is supposed to be split in two parts, just like Naruto and Naruto Shippuden. Tango with Death was the first part, and so the budding plot lines were left there intentionally, because not every matter was supposed to be resolved at the coronation.
The second Epilogue might have surprised too, with the introduction of a new main character. After all, why on Earth would I introduce a whole new character when I already have Sukaina, who was the heart of the story and whom you've been following for months now? Well, because she is no longer suitable for the second part. Tango with Death was the tale of Sukaina's growth and evolution, and there is very few left to address. She has become an Empress ruling over a majority of the world, she has grown strong enough to trample over any living humans, and she has experienced all kinds of intense emotions, be it love, hate or sadness.
That's why a new character had to be introduced, through whose eyes we would follow the rest of the story unfold. The world has been split by Sukaina's actions in the first part, and only a new character could properly relate the story of everyone.
However, that is not to say that Sukaina would simply disappear from the second part, she remains the main character, and the true heart of this story. However, we would have a more external view of her compared to the internal one from the first part, because that's who she has become. Sukaina is no longer the innocent little girl assaulted by an enemy ninja in a dark forest, desperately fighting for her survival. No, she is an overlord, an absolute into the world, and for that she needs to be viewed externally.
But all of this holds little meaning, because of the other reason the last two chapters were named epilogue, and this links to the second major issue.
2: Why was the ending rushed?
Yes, it was rushed. And I feel sorry for it, more than you could imagine. My original intention wasn't to turn this into a kingdom building novel and endlessly expend on the problems Sukaina deals with as the Shogun, but I still intended on writing out an actual proper investigation with the rebels, while showing the increasing tensions with Konoha, all the while keeping a certain element of mystery for part 2, to leave plot lines unanswered.
However, as you may have noticed, things did not go according to plan, and the reason for this is painfully simple. I didn't want to write it.
But it was not out of a lack of love for the story, but instead because of how much I love it, which only pains me more to have written such an ending for it.
As some of you may know, this isn't my first story, and most of my other stories were left unfinished because I lost my passion for them. This was not the case here. This is, in my humble opinion, the best story I have written to this day, and I am quite proud of it (except for the rushed part). But with every day that passes, with every upload, this love started feeling bitter.
And the reason is simple, and to some extent, childish: the story isn't popular.
I know I should be above this and not care about it, but I can't help but feel pain seeing the unpopularity of this story. It feels like I am wasting my time.
Now, not to be misunderstood, I'm not complaining about not being as popular as this story or that story, I don't care about the ranking of others, since I can hardly compare stories without feeling strong bias for my own story. Besides, I write for myself primarily, so I don't really give a fuck about others.
What I'm comparing Tango with Death with, are my other stories. As I have said, this isn't my first story, and it is my favourite. And yet, out of all my stories, this was the least popular, by far. This is what saddens me.
I cannot fathom how my other stories got as popular as they did with all their flaws, while this one was ignored for so long. At first, I simply shrugged it off as being a FMC story, thus being less popular, and while I believe this has played a role, it doesn't explain such a gulf between my stories.
And honestly, I still haven't found the answer. All I know is that this has been bothering me for far too long, and has turned writing this story from an enjoyable moment to a choir. That's why the ending was rushed. Because I knew I was close to the end of the first part, and I just wanted to be done with this, without dropping it completely. Now, you do have an ending, and although there could still be another story written, at least you do have a proper ending.
Well, that was longer than intended, but I guess the message has been passed.
What happens now? Well, I have my midterms coming up, so I'm off for a time anyway. But after that, I'm still going to need a break. I don't know whether I will ever write part 2 or not, perhaps I will in a month, a year, or maybe never, I don't know.
All I know is that right now, I don't have it in me to continue writing this story. Again, I'm very sorry for this, you guys aren't to blame either, since you are the few reading this, so I know this is quite the injustice to you, and that's why I'm sorry. I did not reach the expectations.
Still, I hope I allowed you to travel to a new world with what I have written, and that I made you feel something, whatever that may be.
Lastly, Late Merry Christmas, and early Happy New Year.
PS: If you have any questions, be it about the epilogues or the hypothetical second part, feel free to ask, I'll try answering them. Also, any opinion about the second epilogue and the new character would be appreciated. Although I know he probably won't be very liked, I'm sure you will have some interesting insights. It might never lead to anything if I don't write the second part, but I'm still interested in what you have to say.
PSS: Sorry if this sounded like a rant, it was not the intention. But if you do not understand my frustration, please go check my first fanfiction, A New World, which just so happens to be a Naruto Fanfic too. It has much better stats than Tango with Death, despite having much less content. I dare you to read it, and tell me it was better than Tango with Death in any way, shape, or form.
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