An update on the state of IAIMAY · 8:37pm Jul 28th, 2019
Hi all. So, it's been a very long time since I've said anything about the sequel to I Against I, Me Against You, and I think it's past time I addressed the truth I've come to understand.
For almost three years now I've been trying to get started writing this sequel, and for almost three years I'd either been unable to put something to the page, or simply didn't like whatever I had managed to write. It's taken until just these past few months for me to come to terms with a very simple fact: my heart just isn't in this project like it was when I was writing the first one. The very thought of trying to write a sequel that lives up to the scope of the original feels daunting and, regrettably, devoid of any joy. This could be a result of the fact that I'm just not into either MLP or RvB the way I used to be (and I blame the thoroughly messy seasons 8 and 16 of each show respectively for that), but the real reason is much more simple: when I set out to write IAIMAY, a sequel wasn't something I ever thought about. I've already told the story I'd set out to tell with IAIMAY, and the sequel was just something I decided to do when I was approaching the end of writing the first one. Despite its many flaws, I'm happy with how IAIMAY turned out, and I don't want to start writing a sequel if I can't be totally sure it will turn out as good, or if I'll even be able to finish it.
That being said, I don't want to say I'm cancelling the sequel outright. Despite my waning interest, I still did have some pretty cool ideas for the sequel that even now I still like, and don't want to throw away entirely. So rather than say I'm cancelling the sequel, I'm going to say that I'm letting it go. And who knows? Maybe one day down the road, my inspiration for writing in this fun marriage of worlds will return. But for now, I'm content with IAIMAY as it is now. In the words of Church himself, sometimes the things you let go have a way of coming back on their own.
I'll come out with another blog post at a later date with some significantly more positive news regarding my other projects on this site, but I felt this decision with IAIMAY was important enough to merit its own separate post.
Until then!
I get the lack of commitment part,the last story was incredible, one of my favorite of the site. But… damn, I really want to see the sequel. There’s so many damn unanswered questions I want to see answered. But I guess they’ll comes with due time.
Honestly I feel like it does not truly need a sequel, it would be neat to see. Hope to see what happens with your other projects in the future.
Take your time you don't want to rush it
Sad to hear there will be no sequel, but I understand your reasons.
Had the impulse to reread IAIMAY (Halo Infinite Flights and MLP: A New Generation may have had something to do with it) and decided to see if you had posted any updates on the sequel, so here I am. Wasn't really expecting to find much since it's been so long, no surprise this is where you're at. I'm guessing since you wrote this RvB Zero hasn't renewed your enthusiasm. MLP: A New Generation was pretty good though...
Anyway regardless of whether or not you come back to IAIMAY, best of luck on your future endeavors, fan fics or not.
Though if you do eventually hard cancel the sequel (I guess this is more of a soft cancel), I think it would be great if you would dump whatever outlines, notes, etc you had planned for it. There's a lot of sequel hooks I know I'd love to see what you had in mind for: The Disciples, Wash, Simmons (I know he's not dead, you've left him in an almost literal Schrodinger's box), how Alicorn Twilight will mesh with the new story, connections between Equestria and Chorus, Sunset Shimmer, Carolina, and all the other bits.
I also liked the PSA you did in the middle of IAIMAY. Might be a good way to get back into IAIMAY if you're finding it difficult to be motivated to start the bigger project? Or even just as an end of itself. I actually always debate trying my own hand at fimfiction with something small like a PSA set in your crossover universe here, or something. Then I remember I already have too many personal projects outside of writing that I'm not working on and think better of it. But like you I just can't say goodbye to the idea of writing something someday, it seems. I think there's some good PSA material in topics like passing the baton to a new creative team (something both RvB and MLP have done with mixed results), mistakes to avoid in crossover fan fics (I have a soapbox for this topic, I've read so many bad fics!), and a behind the scenes look at how IAIMAY was filmed (presenting it like IAIMAY was made like a Hollywood movie).
At the end of the day of course you should do what you want. Again, good luck at whatever it is you end up doing, even if I don't end up reading it.
Also PS: All the images in IAIMAY look like the image in the blog post now does, you might want to take some time to fix that if you still have the original images.
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Yes, making a blog post outlining what could have been for the sequel is something that I had been considering (same with my other cancelled story, Gangs and Monsters). The only reason I'm hesitating to do so is that once my plan for the story is out there, I will have passed a sort of "point of no return." By that I mean, there was always the chance, however slim, that I would one day want to pick up this story again and finish what I started. But if I choose to lay the whole planned story out on the table, I can no longer come back and write it for real. Yes, it's looking more and more likely that I won't do so anyway, but I don't know, I guess it's just hard for me to let go of it completely. Maybe after I've finished writing Paint the Sky I'll decide once and for all whether I want to try writing the sequel again, or far more likely, give you all an outline of what I had planned.
PS: As for the broken images you mentioned, this was actually a financial decision for me as I couldn't keep paying for the image hosting site I was using for them all.