So, I've never really done something like this before, and it's kind of impromptu, but I got notified ahout a few...pretty rude hate comments for this story, some of which include outright false accusations, and since I can't reply to them directly I thought I write a quick author's notes/explanations thing to explain my thoughts and reasoning for some of the stuff I did in the story and address some of the claims in said comments.

"Yeah this was not good.

The original Grieving was not perfect but it had its moments for a number of reasons.
1: the deaths were off-screen, the remains were shown and were so grotesque it allowed the reader to try and imagine what could have happened to the kids. That's more disturbing than edge lord, teenager gore not really all that well described. You've never written horror before, or you've never written it well, and it shows"

Yes, this is the first time I've ever written something horror-related. And while the deaths were off-screen in the original, the entire point of this re-imagining was to turn the creepypasta into a more complete narrative, which meant filling in the gaps of the original. And in my opinion, showing the deaths has just as much shock value and was just as disturbing as showing the corpses already dead.

"2: the identity of the killer. Because the killings are not seen, we never get a real glimpse of what brought such brutality to the children. Because of this, and due to the added implication it was just a murderer rather than a poorly implemented monster, it makes the horror feel more real and in effect more terrifying. How did you think a monster that's not even real in the context of the show was scarier than, y'know, a CHILD MURDERER?!"

The monster not being real in the context of the show is kind of the entire point of a story like this. it isn't meant to follow the rules or canon or the show. The entire idea of it being a 'lost episode' is that it's meant to be an episode of the show with unknown origins, doing and showing horrifying things the actual show would never show. And idk about you but I think a monster with completely unknown origins and motives lurking around in the depths of a forest and causing the disappearance of anyone who enters is much scarier than Gumball but he's evil and insane and psycho now for some reason.

"3: the added dimension of the found tape trope. So much of this is important, the context of the production of the show, how it explains much of the original footage of the tape, the implication that the footage reflected on actual murders! These details are what made The Grieving stand out from the typical horror fic."

Yeah...which is why my version also has the found tape trope with the titles and credits. Which you would know if you had bothered to read the introduction.

"These are the main comparisons, but your main addition to the fic, the "bittersweet" ending - what a joke. Okay, you introduce a monster, but then you just have it killed offscreen to add what I guess was an attempt of closure - you failed, it's just a poor resolution. And then you make the whole "let's have another child someday" schtik, , wow I think you need to stop taking story beats from DAVID FUCKING CAGE. That's offensive, sappy, unrealistic, and just plain fucking stupid. Don't try to force a happier ending at the cost of killing the mood you were trying to establish earlier!"

As I explained in another comment over on Wattpad, I had the Wendigo killed off-screen as VibingLeaf confirmed in a comment on his video that Nicole canonically killed the Wendigo after the events of his version of the story. I wanted to include this aspect in my story but couldn't find a way to fit it in without breaking the narrative flow or pointlessly padding the story, so I opted to have Richard mention it as a way to still reference and include the idea, and yes to add a little closure. Was it anti-climatic? Yes. But the alternative was a random unnecessary scene added simply for the sake of having Nicole fight the Wendigo, The story just wouldn't have worked as well with it.

As for Nicole mentioning having another kid, I included that to show that despite everything that had happened she was still remaining positive and hopeful for the future. I don't really get how it's unrealistic either. Nicole specifically said that they could have another child, once they were ready. She was merely suggesting as a possibility at some point in the not-so-near future, and the two having another kid years in the future once they feel the time is right again feels like a perfectly realistic and reasonable idea.

And offensive? Gumball, Darwin, and Anais would absolutely love the idea. Above all else, they'd want their parents to be happy again, no matter what. Even if that means starting a new family at some point in the future, as long as it meant they were happy they'd be fine with it.

And finally, I wanted it to end with a bittersweet, more hopeful ending as a sort of calm of the storm and to lighten the mood after reading such a depressing story.

"This doesn't even come close to The Grieving - it doesn't deserve the privilege of being called a re-imagine. You offered nothing and made far worse decisions than the original could have ever made. You tried to capitalize off a more qualified writer and a famous story just so you could leech some Halloween clout - sorry love, not gonna work if you can't write a sentence properly."

This story was not in any way done for 'clout' or to 'capitalize' on The Grieving. It was done simply as a fun little way to celebrate Halloween and was written with immense care and admiration for the original story. I tried to stay as close to the original story as I could whilst still making it my own. Also, no offense to GlobaLuna but I'm not sure how they're the more qualified writer when I've written over 32 stories/one-shots compared to their one. Again, no offense as their story is great, but the number sdon't add up..

Oh, and don't call someone out for not being able to write a sentence properly when you've misspelled 'schtick' and can't capitalize 'the' in your sentences correctly,

"Nice to see you're so humble to delete critical posts. You will certainly improve as a writer that way."

I have not and will not ever delete any comments except for adverts, bots, and scams. Any feedback both positive and negative is always welcome.

"f there's one thing this fandom has besides too much incest stories, it's bullshit suicidal fanfics like this. I don't know why people are so obsessed with torturing the Watersons or making them kill themselves but I tell you what, its getting old. No, its beyond that. It's stupid and repetitive.

The Grieving was a shitty idea that got way too much attention because it was basically this fandom's edgy equivalent of MLP's 'Cupcakes' except it was 1000 times dumber by passing it off as a creepypasta. If there's one thing we didn't need, its an even crappier rendition. Enough with all this suicidal bullcrap.

Why can't we just get a normal decent story for once with a happy ending?"

Like I said earlier, this was done merely for a fun little Halloween treat for those who, like me, greatly enjoyed The Grieving. If you didn't like the original Grieving story then why exactly did you choose to read this version? And if you want a normal story with a happy ending I have an entire catalogue of them available to read. You could have picked any of those instead of this one.

Alright, that's all of them. I think I've said everything I wanted to. For those who commented on how much they loved the story, thank you all so much! I appreciate each and every comment and they only make me motivated to write more great stories. And for the three of you who wrote the above comments...thanks for the feedback, but maybe try being a little less rude next time? Thanks.