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Finale

Thanks for the kind words all. Once again I have to say that you've been a great set of readers. I'm happy that, on the basis of your reactions, the AAR could at least finish on something of a high. Forgive me if I don't thank each and every one of you below but cheers to all

And, in the off chance that anyone is interested, here's a trailer to my next AAR. It'll be a return to both Vicky and my beloved history book style... Jacques has me running in fear from narrative! I intend to launch this new effort next week

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Dimmimar: I'm afraid that if there's one thing I can rule out its continuing this AAR or launching a sequel. Its taken almost a year and a half to tell three years of game time... needless to say that this is longer than I first anticipated

Still, I do like Jacques as a character so he might crop up in a cameo appearance in some future AAR of mine

Qorten: One of the interesting things about this AAR (to my mind at least) is that Jacques didn't really have to go all that far to find glory. Paradoxically for an AAR with so little happening, when I decided to wrap things up with a few short updates quite a lot of interesting game content got cut. One of which was the establishment of a Sheikdom in southern France! Who knows, maybe the game would have really taken off if I'd played past the 1342?

RGB: Birds sing, dogs bark, and Jacques schemes. Its probably something to do with his insidious nature. Somehow ending the AAR with him scheming to escape a second exile is more in keeping with character than simply accepting fate... or actually accepting that he might have, possibly, erred in the past

And just wait until you see 'The Life of Santa Anna: As Told Through the Medium of Interpretative Dance' :nods:

CCA: But this is the happy ending. Really

My original plan - waaaaay back when I expected this AAR to span a few decades - was to handle the inevitable in-game death of Jacques by having him killed by de Pontchâteau. The narrative perspective would then shift to the latter with hilarious results ensuing. Even when I decided to end the AAR abruptly with the mini-series at the end, the idea was to have Jeanne order our hero's assassination... that ink scrawl in the penultimate update was originally going to be blood

It wasn't until I actually sat down to write the finale (a week or two ago) that I went for the Hollywood ending - Jacques casting off the depression of Brittany and sailing off into a bright (and warm) future. I'm not sure why I changed my mind... I suppose I like the character too much to kill him

stnylan: I'm not sure if my writing itself has improved significantly over the past year (certainly I'm still rubbish at narrative) but this AAR was a fantastic learning experience in the dark arts of plot and structure. Certainly Sins benefited hugely from the stagnation of this AAR and by taking a break to absorb some of the lessons I was able to return and apply these lessons to wrapping up this AAR. Something which, judging by people's comments, actually worked fairly well

JimboIX: I did think there was a certain poetic justice to a second exile :D

I've said it before but Jacques was really a fantastic character to write. Even when the AAR seemed to be going nowhere I enjoyed his egotistical outlook on life. Hmmm... what does that say about me?

It's Amazing: Yes, I suspect that a great deal of Jacques' charm was how things never really seemed to go his way. I doubt even a change of scenery (and weather) will change that :p

Kurt_Steiner: Because it would take me another two years to progress the story that far? ;)

Actually Guy was the last time I wrote a happy ending... and I intend to keep it that way. I discovered during de Lusignan Dream that it was far more fun to write about Jerusalem collapsing into civil war and becoming a marginalised backwater than Guy's peaceful death of old age. Something that might *cough* have influenced the fate of Papal Italy slightly
 
Well, honestly ComradeOm you have improved over the course of the AAR. I know from my own experience how difficult it is to accept one's own progress, but I would not say that if I did not believe it to be true.
 
After busy July I had time to finally read the conclusion of this great story. Poor Jacques, in the end woman outsmarted him. :D