This chapter is dedicated to the wonderful people who made the journey of 2012-2013 me's writing worthwhile and a super enjoyable /I look back on this now with a mindset of an elder reflecting on a young person's achievements and even though in this two year span since then I have changed a lot as a person (I think there's much growing up to be done between the ages of 16/17-20) and my writing has improved, I can read this with all its flaws and appreciate the enjoyment I had from /Eventually I may go back through this and make an 'improved' version, however purely for nostalgia purposes I think I may leave this one untouched.
(Written for my AO3 account, MageRightsActivist, where I re-uploaded this fiction)

Wow, what a journey! Over a year in the making and looking back on it I can't believe I managed to complete it.
The story began as something I had an incredible passion for, and (as you can see from my original author's notes) something that life eventually got in the way of. By the time I had enough hours in the day to come back to it my passion and drive for it had all but disappeared. Then I looked to my story follows, and my reviews, and kind messages from others asking how I was doing and how my story was coming.
I realised that these people were involved not only with what I was writing but with what I had been doing in my real life separate from this creation. My 'fans' if I can call them that gave me such love and motivation to finish it, if not for me then for them and in the end that was the push I needed to bring this fiction to it's culmination.
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did at the time of writing.
Reading it now it's as though someone else has written it, a person that I do not know but was once similar to - and I think we all feel like this sometimes as we change and grow. I forgot half of what had happened in my story and found myself re-reading it. Sure I could find mistakes here and there but overall it was an enjoyable nostalgic feeling, and left me with a sense of pride reading it as an 'outsider' and thinking; actually, I did write this!
Anyway, without further adieu, I would like to post some of my favorite things I have had sent to me regarding this fiction, and the names of those who followed it closely with me in order to have a page I can return to to indulge in a little when I am demotivated - and as a way of remembering friends who I have long since fallen out of touch with, albeit never forgotten.
'Electryone' reviewed many chapters after the third onward and served as a reminder that people did wait to see my updates. A particular favorite of mine was; "I love the idea of the letters; this was a great chapter! Good luck on your exams!" simple, sweet and caring enough to ask about my home life. Wherever you are now I hope life is treating you well!/p
As the story grew in length so did the volume and frequency of my reviews.
'Rather Keen' sent me this "This chapter in particular was really beautiful. I love how you blend the characteristics of ACD and BBC John/Sherlock. I can't imagine it was easy to combine those voices, but very well done. You also do a lovely job of handling the emotional aspects of their reunion - it's smooth and well paced, none of those unnatural fits and starts. :-)" in reference to chapter 7, and it felt like the first acknowledgement of my writing style, things like this inspired me to keep going.
' ' sent me my first piece of constructive criticism and reminded me to be humble and strive to improve at all times. She also sent me many personal messages of encouragement. "Jesus Christ, give me more. This is fantastic! I really like your style of writing, though I feel occasionally you use things like "the blonde/brunette" or "ex-solider/detective" a little too often. Honestly, aside from that I'm completely smitten! I am so glad I read this... I had about 7 different Sherlock fanfictions loaded and though this was the last one I clicked it was the first one I decided to try. Mostly your description had seemed interesting and gleaned with potential. Normally with fanfiction, especially given that it's two in the morning, I read a bit of the beginning, perhaps the first chapter if I'm interested, and move on so I can read different ones and finish it later. Not with this one. I legitimately started reading it and stopped about half way through the first chapter to post the link to it on tumblr because I couldn't not share it with the world. Brilliant. I absolutely CANNOT wait for more, but I know I must be patient since it seems that this chapter was put up mere days ago. Nonetheless, I am anxiously awaiting the next. Oh, and I was once told that in fictional writing, you should always spell out the number rather than just the number itself. It looks a bit more professional and is more appealing to the eye. Until you hit 100. In that case, there are too many words and I don't want to figure out the number you're trying to tell me haha :3"
She also left me this message during my hiatus "BABY COME BACK. Ahem. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE CONTINUE TO WRITE THIS 3 PLEASE. 3 Please. School should be out soon, yeah? We miss you. Please." and it was coming back to things like this that inspired me to keep going.
'Mistiquesbest' "Hold on to your dream and to your damnest very best to achieve it! Don't let go! Ever! Stay strong and work hard. Everything else can wait! Good luck!" messages of this kind were so lovely to read, in the end I did not end up where I originally wanted to be - but life has a way of working out for you and where I am right now may lead onto something even better.
I didn't make this 'chapter' in order to stroke my own ego, even if it may seem like it - in the end what I'm trying to say is appreciate your readers. They can do more for you than you ever realise and I would never have completed this without their help and encouragement. It was my first completed fiction, 37K+ words in length and at times felt like a marathon. In the end, my readers and I were a family, and that will mean more to me than anyone can ever /I love you all, this was for you, and may life always treat you well wherever you are as we leave this story behind, and begin our own new adventures.
- MageRightsActivist
Previously your Mayora-San