Dude, Worlds Are Gonna Collide (A Sonic-TMNT Crossover)

Afterword

Afterword - A Note from ShadowsGirl101

Dear Readers,

Wow. Where do I begin?

First of all, thank you for reading this duology! It means a lot to me that so many of you stuck around to see me try my hand at a different type of fanfic, and that many of you joined the fandom because of it as well. At the time that I finished Emerald's Chosen back in 2014 I knew I wanted to switch gears somewhat and try my hand at TMNT for the first time, but I was also so attached to Kay (and many of you were, as well) that I found it difficult to just let her go with an ending like that. So, I decided to try and combine the two, and this was the result.

I'll be honest with you - it's been a rough road. In the beginning I was so gung-ho about a TMNT fanfic that I beat myself up constantly over having elements of Sonic in it. I fought myself with nearly every chapter, especially as I got closer to the end of No Vacation. Finally, however, I sat myself down and sorted things out, and I decided, "You know what? Screw it. This is a Sonic-TMNT crossover."

Making that decision was probably the best thing I could have done for the story. I felt so much better once I began to reintroduce Sonic into my writing, and I know many of you were excited to see him return as well. I did try to focus more on the Turtles as often as I could, but by the time it was all said and done I knew that it would ultimately end up being half-and-half, and I'm okay with that.

Writing TMNT fanfiction for the first time was exciting and fun and a lot harder than I thought it would be. It was cool to be able to play around with the characters a little bit and bring out their personalities in my own way. It was also neat to experiment with omniscient third person rather than the limited third person I used in the Everything trilogy. Writing this duology gave me a chance to try out many writing techniques I learned about in college. Thank you for bearing with me during this process.

I also want to again offer a very heartfelt thank you for being patient with me through the several hiatuses I took. It was never my intention to take that many or have them be as long as they were, but things just kept coming up in my personal life and I found that the best way to deal with those things was to take breaks from writing now and again. I apologize for the inconsistency in updates and am very grateful for your willingness to stick around even after months of no updates. You guys are seriously the best.

One more serious note, and then I'll move on. It recently hit me that I have over 800 followers here on Wattpad - a number I never would have imagined I'd wind up with when I first joined almost five years ago. 800 individual people on this planet follow me, and my writing. Of those 800, at least 30-40 of you read every chapter I post. And of those 30-40, at least three or four of you comment on every chapter. To me, that is a huge number. It may not seem like much, but if I'm touching the lives of my readers through something as simple as fanfiction - even if it was only one person - then everything I've ever done here on this site has been worth it. I have achieved my ultimate goal in life.

You all know that writing has been my passion for as long as I can remember. I've always wanted to be a published novelist, and I still do. The last two years of college have put me on the path towards achieving that goal. But I believe that it is this unexpected year off from school that has opened my eyes to see what I'm already doing. The whole reason I write is to reach people. To touch their lives with a little bit of light in a world that may otherwise be completely dark for them. And I only recently realized that I don't need a big, fancy contract from a publishing company to verify that I'm doing that. All I need is what I'm doing right here and now on Wattpad. If I never got published, this would be enough for me. Thank you for letting me be a part of your lives through this fanfiction.

But I do intend to get that publishing contract, too! ;)

All right - moving on!

My time in the world of TMNT fanfiction is over for a while, and I'm pretty sure most of you have already guessed that I will be continuing Kay's journey. You can feel free to leave your guesses about what happens next in the comments below, and on Christmas Day I will be announcing her next story! So be sure to stick around for that! :D

I want to sincerely thank each and every one of you who are reading this right now for everything you've done to help me get this far. YOU decided I was worth your time, and YOU got me up to 800 followers. That's an insane number! YOU turned my spark of an idea into the flame it's become since. YOU are the driving force behind everything. Not me. Thank you so, so much, dear readers. You all mean the absolute world to me. I mean it.

--ShadowsGirl101