Author's Note

To the readers,

I am nearing the completion of Jupiter’s Gone, a fanfic that has lasted five years. I have worked on this story far longer than anything else I have written before. Like most of you the readers, I’m sad to see the main story winding down. However, everything must have an end.

Someone once asked me in an e-mail, after stating they liked the story (which I always appreciate), which one of the characters was me. Honestly, a lot of them are me, just specialized parts. For example, as the oldest child of a large family, I have a great sense of responsibility, which is one of Leda’s key characteristics. I’m studying medicine because I want to help people, a trait imparted to Elara. Even Naffid’s seemingly overwhelming ambition has come from a part of me. We have good and bad in all of us, which is clearly evident in Scylla’s transformations.

This duality of both good and evil in one thing becomes one of the themes, especially in the later part of the story. Cignus is symbolized by the swan (white) and the ebony (black), which in turns symbolizes light and darkness by the colors. Its Guardians represent virtues (hope, mercy, truth, etc.) but dress in black as part of their uniforms, in and out of battle. The element of Cignus that brings the Guardians to Jupiter and threatens the whole universe is the cycle of the Child of Light and the Child of Darkness.

Another topic that the story revisited again and again is the past and its effects on the present. You simply cannot escape the past for long, a lesson that Logan only learned too late. And, by not telling anyone on Jupiter of his past, Logan created more problems than he solved. Lita paid for this with her life when she accepted the challenge from Nadomus because she could not know how truly dangerous he was. Logan’s inaction also denied Leda an understanding of her heritage, which marked her as being different from even her half-sisters. And these consequences, Lita’s death and Leda’s ignorance of who she truly is, left Jupiter vulnerable.

Readers have complained of the amount of introspection and self-doubt that many of the characters go through throughout the story. Leda is their chief example. However, I like to show what my characters are thinking so that the reader may gain an understanding of their motives. But there are other things to consider as well.

Remember that Leda is only nineteen at the start of Jupiter’s Gone and, in the first two chapters alone, she was coping with the loss of her mother, her control of Jupiter’s government when Rand steps aside in his grief, and the challenge of Nadomus to her and her sisters. That is a lot to ask of anyone, let alone a teenager. Of course, she is going to have some introspection and self-doubt. The arrival of the Guardians and the issues of Cignus and her heritage only add to her problems.

The same goes for Cassandra as well. She is the leader of the Guardians of Cignus, which includes several heavy responsibilities. As a seer, she has knowledge she cannot give to anyone by the gods’ commands. Even the choice to become the Guardian of Hope was not entirely hers (which I hope to show when I finish The Call of the Guardians: The Guardian of Hope). She is limited in her actions, far more than Leda, and none of the other characters seem to be entirely aware of that, such as when Dido asks her how it will end (Book VII, Chapter 10).

The legacy/inheritance issue appears throughout Jupiter’s Gone, too. Leda and her sisters are Sailor Soldiers because they are Lita’s daughters. The same is true for the heirs of the inner planets: Cami, Angie, Rini, Phoebe, and Diana. However, Rini and Leda have additional powers because they inherit abilities from their fathers, too (Darien/Endymion and Adonis/Logan, respectively).

In the Guardians, the legacy/inheritance issue is seen as well. Scylla, Dido, and Monea are all considered half-caste because they resulted from marriages between members of different clans. In the twins, this “mixing” of bloods produced surprising abilities, surpassing the abilities of either parent. However, in the case of Harmonea, the ability has some painful results, such as the burns she suffers after battle. But, it is interesting to note that the Sailor Soldiers can be harm from their abilities as well, such as the courtyard battles toward the end of Book I.

Now, did all of this occur to me while I was writing Jupiter’s Gone? I wish I could say yes, but I’m not that good. It is a result of my writing style. I do have the characters and some of the key plot points already in my head as I write a story, but I also write “as it comes” to get me and the story from point A to points B, C, and D. I think it leaves some fun for me, as the writer, because I can discover things about the characters and the story just like you, the readers, do.

Overall, I have to say that I’m proud of Jupiter’s Gone. Sure I still wince at the awkwardness at the story’s beginning (particularly the very first chapter, which I still find painful to read). But there are some really good things, too. I think that Reveries is an example. Then again, it also happens to be one of my favorites.

And I have learned from both the good and the bad parts from this work. It has made me a better writer as a result (which some of you have commented on) and I think it has shown in my more recent writing ventures. I hate to think about how Sailor Sol or some of my other fanfics would have fared without my experiences with Jupiter’s Gone. And that alone makes these last five years more than worth it.

Thanks to all of you who took time out of your life (which I can never give back) to read my story. To those of you who provided praise, criticism, or just even the barest of interest, you have my gratitude. To those of you who will miss it, you have my sympathy, because I will miss, too.

Thanks, again, for everything,

Sarah (Allura99)


Author's Note To the readers, I am nearing the completion of Jupiter’s Gone, a fanfic that has lasted five years. I have worked on this story far longer than anything else I have written before. Like most of you the readers, I’m sad to see the main story winding down. However, everything must have an end. Someone once asked me in an e-mail, after stating they liked the story (which I always appreciate), which one of the characters was me. Honestly, a lot of them are me, just specialized parts. For example, as the oldest child of a large family, I have a great sense of responsibility, which is one of Leda’s key characteristics. I’m studying medicine because I want to help people, a trait imparted to Elara. Even Naffid’s seemingly overwhelming ambition has come from a part of me. We have good and bad in all of us, which is clearly evident in Scylla’s transformations. This duality of both good and evil in one thing becomes one of the themes, especially in the later part of the story. Cignus is symbolized by the swan (white) and the ebony (black), which in turns symbolizes light and darkness by the colors. Its Guardians represent virtues (hope, mercy, truth, etc.) but dress in black as part of their uniforms, in and out of battle. The element of Cignus that brings the Guardians to Jupiter and threatens the whole universe is the cycle of the Child of Light and the Child of Darkness. Another topic that the story revisited again and again is the past and its effects on the present. You simply cannot escape the past for long, a lesson that Logan only learned too late. And, by not telling anyone on Jupiter of his past, Logan created more problems than he solved. Lita paid for this with her life when she accepted the challenge from Nadomus because she could not know how truly dangerous he was. Logan’s inaction also denied Leda an understanding of her heritage, which marked her as being different from even her half-sisters. And these consequences, Lita’s death and Leda’s ignorance of who she truly is, left Jupiter vulnerable. Readers have complained of the amount of introspection and self-doubt that many of the characters go through throughout the story. Leda is their chief example. However, I like to show what my characters are thinking so that the reader may gain an understanding of their motives. But there are other things to consider as well. Remember that Leda is only nineteen at the start of Jupiter’s Gone and, in the first two chapters alone, she was coping with the loss of her mother, her control of Jupiter’s government when Rand steps aside in his grief, and the challenge of Nadomus to her and her sisters. That is a lot to ask of anyone, let alone a teenager. Of course, she is going to have some introspection and self-doubt. The arrival of the Guardians and the issues of Cignus and her heritage only add to her problems. The same goes for Cassandra as well. She is the leader of the Guardians of Cignus, which includes several heavy responsibilities. As a seer, she has knowledge she cannot give to anyone by the gods’ commands. Even the choice to become the Guardian of Hope was not entirely hers (which I hope to show when I finish The Call of the Guardians: The Guardian of Hope). She is limited in her actions, far more than Leda, and none of the other characters seem to be entirely aware of that, such as when Dido asks her how it will end (Book VII, Chapter 10). The legacy/inheritance issue appears throughout Jupiter’s Gone, too. Leda and her sisters are Sailor Soldiers because they are Lita’s daughters. The same is true for the heirs of the inner planets: Cami, Angie, Rini, Phoebe, and Diana. However, Rini and Leda have additional powers because they inherit abilities from their fathers, too (Darien/Endymion and Adonis/Logan, respectively). In the Guardians, the legacy/inheritance issue is seen as well. Scylla, Dido, and Monea are all considered half-caste because they resulted from marriages between members of different clans. In the twins, this “mixing” of bloods produced surprising abilities, surpassing the abilities of either parent. However, in the case of Harmonea, the ability has some painful results, such as the burns she suffers after battle. But, it is interesting to note that the Sailor Soldiers can be harm from their abilities as well, such as the courtyard battles toward the end of Book I. Now, did all of this occur to me while I was writing Jupiter’s Gone? I wish I could say yes, but I’m not that good. It is a result of my writing style. I do have the characters and some of the key plot points already in my head as I write a story, but I also write “as it comes” to get me and the story from point A to points B, C, and D. I think it leaves some fun for me, as the writer, because I can discover things about the characters and the story just like you, the readers, do. Overall, I have to say that I’m proud of Jupiter’s Gone. Sure I still wince at the awkwardness at the story’s beginning (particularly the very first chapter, which I still find painful to read). But there are some really good things, too. I think that Reveries is an example. Then again, it also happens to be one of my favorites. And I have learned from both the good and the bad parts from this work. It has made me a better writer as a result (which some of you have commented on) and I think it has shown in my more recent writing ventures. I hate to think about how Sailor Sol or some of my other fanfics would have fared without my experiences with Jupiter’s Gone. And that alone makes these last five years more than worth it. Thanks to all of you who took time out of your life (which I can never give back) to read my story. To those of you who provided praise, criticism, or just even the barest of interest, you have my gratitude. To those of you who will miss it, you have my sympathy, because I will miss, too. Thanks, again, for everything, Sarah (Allura99)


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