This took far longer than anticipated, sorry. Before I talk about Mastermind, a quick word on that other fic, Fateless:

As I said in that story's opening author's note, Fateless is meant to be a fun little interim story that'll let me maintain an online presence while I work on my main project in the background. It shouldn't be compared to Mastermind - I'll tell you right now, straight up, that it (probably) won't have the same level of quality.

That isn't to say I won't be giving it a genuine effort, but rather that my objective for Fateless is just different. It's meant to be fun. To compare it to baking: Fateless is the cake I bake because I, well, want to bake a cake; Mastermind is the cake I'm baking for a national competition. Two wildly different beasts, on two wildly different levels.

Now then, onto the post-story synopsis. As a warning, this will ramble. It's here that I'll describe, in detail:

-Why I wrote Mastermind
-The thought process behind various plot points and themes
-What comes next

This obviously contains HEAVY spoilers, and assumes you've read the story. Reader discretion is advised!

An explanation of Mastermind's plot and themes:

Mastermind in the FranXX is written as a classic "hero's journey" tale, but with one core twist: it's told from the perspective of secondary and tertiary side characters. The singular, core heroine, the child Strelizia - who in any other story would be the titular "main character" - is not revealed until the penultimate chapter. Everything up to that point, all prior twenty-two chapters, is actually her backstory, told from the main perspectives of her parents, Hiro and Zero Two, and her eventual mother-in-law, Ichigo.

These three characters embark on two separate journeys to discover what happened to the world and why, but by the time they learn the truth, Strelizia has already left to fulfill what is in some ways her destiny. And it's from all of this that we get the title of the story, Mastermind in the FranXX, which references multiple characters and acts as the unifier of all the disparate pieces:

Mastermind 1: Lion (Strelizia 1)
Mastermind 2: Strellic and Elizia (Strelizia 2)
Mastermind 3: Karina
Mastermind 4: Werner
Mastermind 5: Strelizia, the daughter (Strelizia 3)

Each of the four previous "masterminds" contribute to the plot's overarching solution - stitch the breach shut - by answering various questions:

The Lion, Strellic and Elizia together provide context for who, what, when and where.

Karina focuses on the why.

Werner concentrates on providing the how.

Strelizia, the daughter, then puts all of this together in the background and solves the problem. The "XX" in "FranXX" refers to the two X chromosomes of the human genetic code, denoting a daughter. That's why it's capitalized.

All of these characters tie into the grand arc surrounding the one machine (the FranXX), which over the course of millennia and multiple generations is passed down like an heirloom until its mission is finally accomplished - a story of a monster, a story of inheritance, Mastermind in(side) the FranXX. This itself is referenced by the Lion, original owner of the body:

"Whether it takes two years (the length of the klax-saurian war) or two hundred thousand (the timespan between that war and the APE-klaxosaur conflict), I will seal the breach."

The lion dies in chapter 7 in defense of the hybrids, but only passes after being reassured by Hiro and Zero Two's combined subconscious that they will fight in its stead.

That willful declaration ultimately manifests in the combination of their magma, which the now-empty machine analyzes to predict a new "soul": their daughter, Strelizia, who over the course of the story is the only being to interact with every side of the conflict, whether that be through data logs or otherwise. She is the unifying force.

This baseline plot was designed to operate on the Darlifra anime's existing logic - that of super robots fighting a catastrophic, world-ending war, where reproductive energy acts as a major driving force. I wrote Mastermind with the intention of telling the same story with the same plot points, but in a different way, hence it being labeled a "retelling", instead of, say, an alternate universe. Much of the story's worldbuilding comes from Darlifra's one-off, incomplete plot threads taken to their logical extremes. Some examples:

The entirety of the klax race's backstory is developed from a single piece of dialogue during the VIRM reveal, in which the princess states the Franxx are actually klaxosaurs.

Asphodel's creation stems from a similar throwaway line during episode 19, Werner's backstory flashback, where it's briefly mentioned that not all of humanity approved of or accepted magma energy's adoption. It's implied they all died, so I said, "Well, what if they didn't?"

Hiro and Zero Two's history is an extrapolation of the episode 13 flashbacks - the toys, the room, the weird blue thing with the storybook. This is later tied into many other things, including Karina's death and the modeling of the character Elistre, who is an OC built over what little we know of the anime's klaxosaur princess.

Zero Two's barren subplot is given to the klaxosaurs writ large, and specifically to Delphis and Niumi, the two klax inside the wolf (a pack creature), Delphinium. For the former, it becomes the driving force behind their actions, and leads into the main plot, where they strike a deal with Werner in the form of a simple quid pro quo: subvert the guaranteed klax extinction (via Hiro and Zero Two) in exchange for the smoking gun needed to convince Papa and win the "academic dispute" (the package Elistre retrieves from her home in chapter 16). For the latter, it becomes a core part of Ichigo's character arc, where she finds the book on childbirth, which leads to her questioning things, which leads to her journey, which leads aaaaaaaaaall the way to Midel, which gives Delphis and Niumi the family they've always wanted.

Mastermind's magma energy is technically VIRM - an eldritch energy source, a great "unifier of all", implied to have some sort of hivemind-like pseudo-conscious based on the combined experiences and memories of literally everything.

In the anime's episode 23, it's revealed the klaxosaurs created a wormhole. Strelizia later ventures into this wormhole and saves the world. In Mastermind's chapter 23, it's revealed the klaxosaurs created a wormhole. Strelizia later ventures into this wormhole and saves the world.

Literally: the main characters reincarnate.

Reincarnation as a subplot and minor theme is introduced back in chapter 14, during the vision sequence inside Strelizia. It's first hinted at when Hiro and Zero Two see the same flashback from Strellic and Elizia's perspectives, respectively. This continues through the forest scene, where the two are greeted by the jian bird colored like their future daughter (two heads on one body, two souls connected, etc.).

These hints continue in the background ever since and appear through various mediums and plot points, and the theme eventually becomes tied to Strelizia and Midel's genetic line:

-Elistre had a darling;

-She got the "darling" pet name from her mother, Elizia;

-In chapter 16 Zero Two comments on Elizia's hairstyle, and in chapter 24 Elistre mentions they share the same body type;

-In the same chapter, it's mentioned Strellic's suit fits Hiro well;

-Werner references Adam and Eve duality in chapter 19, and implies throughout the video log that the two hybrids not only share mannerisms and behaviors, but were "born" on the same day, perhaps within hours of each other;

-The above is repeated with Strelizia and Midel's births, and it later cuts to them at eight years old, where Strelizia is already calling Midel "darling";

-Ichigo mentions in chapter 23 that it's strange she doesn't need to look up at Niumi - she's the shortest character of the cast, which implies they're the same height and body type;

-All characters tied to this genetic mythos are either shown or implied to reunite in the afterlife, including Werner and Karina, and Naomi makes reference to this when she replaces "until death do you part" with "beyond death and forever more" in the marriage vows;

-In one of the Midel "future flashbacks", Alpha tells the boy Hiro and Zero Two are "biologically complex", and cannot be compared to standard relationships;

-In the same scene, Alpha mentions that some consider the burgeoning Strelizia-Midel relationship to be "the tail end of prophecy";

-It's implied that like pretty much all their ancestors, Strelizia and Midel eventually go on a journey of self-discovery together, during which their relationship will solidify into something ironclad and immutable;

-All of this references the Darlifra anime's ending, where the reincarnated main characters reunite under a tree and are implied to undertake the same, but also different, story;

-The mistletoe tree is where Hiro and Zero Two finally do the boogie-woogie, by the way. You know, something something Prosperity Theme, something something they can't fuck each other until the world is reborn, something something cherry blossoms signify new beginnings, something something Adam and Eve in the GARDEN (of Eden), something something Lif and Lifthrasir after Ragnarok repopulating the world and oh my god Nishigori please Mastermind's plot literally wrote itself it wasn't that hard just AAAAAAAAAA-

So on, so forth. I could write an essay on the reincarnation themes alone.

Yes, the kids' adoptive parents being the robots is an Evangelion reference. Yes, Argentea returning from the grave for the climactic "battle" is a Super TTGL spiral energy power of love reference, yaddah yaddah, hail Gainax, you get the idea.

The whole point behind all of this was to prove it's very possible to write a story using the themes and ideas present in Darling in the FranXX in a coherent way, without butchering the plot or character development. Is Mastermind's ending "happy"? If your sole metric is "Do Hiro and Zero Two survive and have dinobabies?", the answer is yes, but it's one that comes at great objective and personal loss: an entire civilization and culture sacrifice themselves for people who may never truly understand them; human society is gone; human experimentation and torture are required for the world's salvation; the members of Squad 13 lose their adoptive parents within a day of reuniting, and with one exception (Ichigo and Goro), they aren't even given the opportunity to say goodbye or thank you; Elistre's life in general.

From the get go, one of my major goals was to preserve Darlifra's existing theme of ephemeral beauty - the idea that things are fleeting, and you should understand that while working to treasure and preserve them. That evolved into one of Mastermind's core messages, the concept of responsibility: putting off or running from your problems doesn't solve them, and by refusing to step up when needed, one only shunts the issues to the next generation.

That message is told through the lives of Squad 13. The klaxosaurs did their best to take responsibility for their mistakes, and as a result every single one of their adopted children (except Epsilon, oof buddy lmao) survives the end of the world. That is specifically why Zorome and Miku are not killed off in chapter 12. It's implied - and later confirmed by Ichigo - that out of all the klaxosaurs, Argentea stepped up the most.

What do Hiro and Zero Two do? Run away from their problems. What happens? Their daughter dies solving the problem for them. What happens when they learn from their mistake, and step up to do their duty?

They get a second chance.

All that, without needing to kill off a pair of well-developed, flawed characters to prove a point. Zero Two's whole arc in the anime is rooted in her selfishness, the idea that she's throwing aside all these potential relationships coming her way for the sake of a long-dead memory. It's only when she realizes she almost killed the thing she wanted that she stops and begins to grow as a person. She's given the same character development in Mastermind, spread out over twenty-four chapters. She also survives.

Same arcs. Concept for concept. I matched them up as best I could. Both second chances are tied to reincarnation, even.

I realize much of this is my personal opinion. I admit I'm biased - I really do just enjoy a sappy fuckin' love story where they ride off into the sunset. I admit it, it's true. But I've also long held the impression that many writers feel the need to "shock" the readers or viewers to keep their stories memorable, whether that be through a sudden, unexpected plot twist (subverting expectations) or a prominent character's death. Sometimes, it works: Darlifra, for example, is remembered primarily because "aliens, then they die".

But things can be remembered for the wrong reasons. Why is Game of Thrones remembered?

I believe endings must be satisfying. Tragic or idealistic, emotional or logical, the reader or viewer must be given closure. All plot lines must be closed, and all characters must be given their respective resolutions. I didn't find Darlifra's ending satisfying. Too many things were left up in the air - things I, back in the theorycrafting days, oftentimes assured folks would be resolved - and so I set about correcting them myself. That is why I wrote MitF: to give myself, and others I unfortunately misled, closure.

All that being said, I do not consider Mastermind perfect. I find additional flaws with every reread, primarily in the first chapters when the story was young, my writing was rough, and I was still brainstorming key plot points. I'm truly thankful for so many overwhelmingly positive compliments and comments, but I know within my bones that I can make it better.

Which leads me to the main reason for this rambling author's note.

TL;DR BEGINS HERE:

I am planning on converting Mastermind in the FranXX into a trilogy of novels.

The core plot will remain the same, as will the ending. Don't fix what ain't broke, right? I'm focusing on updating things like world building, character designs, fleshing out the story's beginning, and adding depth and backstory to the plot points I developed myself, like Asphodel and the klax civilization.

This has been in the brainstorming works since chapter 15, when I and a group of interested friends realized the story had diverged into, frankly, an original world, with an original story. The vast majority of Mastermind's cast, based on their personalities and backstories, are characters of my own design living under names taken from a different franchise. This includes Hiro, Zero Two, Ichigo, Werner, Elistre's entire character, to name just a few. Due to Mastermind technically being a fanfic, I found myself forced to focus on the canon characters of that universe - the ones people came to read about - to the detriment of original content I designed myself, most notably the city of Asphodel. You don't want to know how much I had to cut.

I see Darlifra as a weight upon my story's shoulders, and it's one I aim to unload. Before I explain how I plan on doing that, I need to provide some context about myself, the person behind the olcon name:

I work on average between 10 to 14 hours every day, with a single day off a week, if that, and that includes working Sundays. It totals to somewhere between 56 and 70-plus hours worked weekly.

I wrote the majority of Mastermind - around 14 of the 24 chapters - on my phone, in half hour intervals, on my lunch breaks, oftentimes through states of genuine exhaustion and burnout. This author's note you're reading now was written in the same way. If you've ever wondered why updates went from weekly to every few months, that is the answer.

This is not a sob story or a pity party, and I have no intention of construing it as such. I very much consider myself a privileged individual, and it's from that place of luck that I'm even able to discuss this option with you now. There are many other aspiring writers out there who have never been granted this shot or given this reception, and never will be.

The fact is this: the novel will be written. I say that will the same confidence that one declares poop smelly.

What I cannot guarantee is the time frame in which it will be accomplished.

Ah! Here's where he asks for money!

No.

I have done nothing to deserve a single penny from any of you. I'm not going to ask any of you for anything, and I feel guilty and offended for even bringing it up. Nor am I stupid enough to quit stable employment in the middle of a global pandemic to pursue what very well could be a pipe dream.

What I'm looking for is not your patronage, but your interest and, most importantly, your patience.

Regarding interest: I do not consider ffnet's statistics reliable. It tallies views in an odd manner, and I have nothing against which I can compare Mastermind's (if they're real, awe-inspiring) numbers. I don't know if they're legitimate or, like, the result of some folks keeping a tab to this story open. While at the moment I have no way of figuring this out, when I get some more time on my hands I'd like to see how big my audience actually is, and how many of you are willing to hop on the Goliath assault train I'm riding to wormhole Armageddon. Perhaps a dedicated subreddit or a tumblr or something, I dunno. I'm open to suggestions.

Regarding patience: to cut it short, right now my workplace is debating a new contract. If it gets passed, in around six months or so I should be in a position to lower my hours to something... healthier. If that works out and fits well with my passion, wonderful. If my job remains irreconcilable with writing the book?

I'll quit.

I've spent far too much energy and lost far too much sleep on this story's potential to see it dashed by the monotony and perpetual exhaustion of the workplace grind. I'd rather live under a bridge with a pen in my hands, than make good money but lack time to write. I don't care. Money is ephemeral, time is forever.

To explain what would happen if I hypothetically quit my job:

On Wednesday, November 11th, I went into quarantine for COVID-19 due to coming into contact with someone who later tested positive. I myself tested negative, no worries there.

In those two weeks I wrote the first four chapters of Fateless - totaling, roughly, 20,000 words - and 8,000 words of chapter 24's 11,000 total. Around 28,000 total words. The average novel chapter length clocks somewhere between 4k and 5k words per.

So, between five and seven chapters in two weeks.

That is the level of progress we'd be talking about were I able to switch to writing full time, but I also understand actions speak far louder than words. If I were to quit without a new source of income, I'd have enough saved to live frugally for about a year. That's the absolute last thing I'd like to consider, as it'd be putting all my eggs in one basket: getting published, and the books being successes.

To that end, while I get my situation sorted, I've planned three ways for interested folks to keep track of my progress:

Option 1: Fateless, which as explained is a fun little story meant to show I'm still writing. I'll post occasional status updates in its author's notes.

Option 2: If you don't care for Fateless, I plan on posting weekly updates every Sunday on this account's bio. The first one's been posted now. Even if no progress has been made, I'll still update the date to show I haven't fallen off the face of the planet.

Option 3: For those of you who just want to know when the first book is ready, keep following this story. When the time comes, I will post one final Chapter 26, announcing Mastermind's death and subsequent reincarnation.

I plan for the first book of the trilogy to be ready and available sometime, hopefully, by 2022. I have confidence in its potential and feel it could be published, but if that doesn't work I'll do it myself and throw it up on Amazon or something. I realize that's potentially another long two-year wait, so here's some more info on my broader goals:

I plan to write the story I, and hopefully many others, wanted out of Darlifra. My dream is to create a universe out of Mastermind's framework, a saga told across millennia. From the first klax-saurian conflict, all the way to the collapse of human civilization and the founding of Asphodel. I have all of human history to play with. The potential, as I see it, is infinite.

Bioluminescence. Claustrophobic cave diving. Subterranean city-labyrinths. Armed tank-train chimeras on car-sized treads. Scavenger raids. UN "peacekeepers". Industrial excavators surfing the wastes on rocket-powered skis. Asphodelian politicking.

From the color of their eyes to the fluorophores in their muscles, from the Barrier's frozen walls to the very air they breathe. No stone will be unturned. No plot hole will go unfilled. I've given them their peace; my goal now is to give them justice. A universe they can call their own, built with care and a steady hand.

So just as I did back in Mastermind's chapter 8, I'll make not a flimsy promise, but an absolute guarantee:

MitF will never be abandoned. My nerd rage is eternal, and spite is the greatest motivator.

I will fix everything.

Thank you all for the kindness you've shown me,

olcon