Hi there. I know this is not the update anyone invested in this story would want, but here we go.
I would like to start off with my deepest apologies for disappearing without a trace five years ago. Long story short, all my creative work files and back-up files were corrupted shortly after posting Chapter 7, which resulted in me losing all my progress not only in this story but in some other original works that were important to me. To put it lightly, I was devastated, and while I was able to recover a lot of the files, for whatever reason, I was unable to recover anything I had touched during the month proceeding the corruption. Again. Devastated.
By the time I was in a good enough headspace to start writing again, I couldn't really remember the story I was trying to tell with this fic. What's more, I honestly didn't think anyone would care if this story never updated again. So with only a small amount of guilt, I logged off this site without a word.
Fast forward to a few days ago, I'm checking the email associated with this account to find someone had left a review on this story for the first time since 2016. I was shocked. Mostly because it was evidence that someone was actually reading this story and was invested. So here I am, doing what I probably should have done five years ago.
Now, I have been chewing on what this guest reviewer said for a couple days, trying to figure out how I want to proceed. At first, I was going to open up the option for people who are interested to reach out to me to adopt the story because honestly the passion I had for this story died out a few years ago. But as I have sat on this author's note for a few days, I am now thinking that I want to take this as an opportunity to try and get back into writing.
However, it's going to take some time, and given my current real-life responsibilities, I can't give a clear timeline. This is all to say that as it stands, I'm going to put this story on an official hiatus, so I have time to return to the metaphorical drawing board and determine if my heart is still in it to complete this story. That being said, if someone is interested in taking a crack at taking over the story, PM me and we can talk about it as a back-up plan in the event I decide to make the hiatus permanent.
In the meantime, I would like to thank and apologize to anyone who read this story in the last five years, especially those who favorited/followed it. Not sure how many of you are still out there. If there is anyone out there who would like the story to continue, feel free to leave a review on this note. It will help me feel like I'm not just talking to the abyss. Though, to be clear, it's not a requirement. Whatever I end up deciding will probably happen regardless of the feedback this note may or may not get.
Anyway, thank you to anyone who took the time to read this note. I hope you are well, and I hope that I will be able to return with good news in the near future.