UPDATE

I apologize for posting this as its own separate chapter. I didn't have the foresight to include this at the end of chapter 13, and now that it's been out for some time, this announcement would likely reach less people.

As those who might be following this story are painfully aware, chapter 13 took much longer than any other chapter to turn out—nearly 4 months. There are several reasons for this, such as university finals, a major shift in life at home, returning to my seasonal job, and also just being an exceptionally difficult chapter to pace and write.

I would like nothing more than to push out chapter 14 in a much more timely fashion, but unfortunately, I have to announce that Drink From Me will be going on a small hiatus. Rest assured, it will be brief, and the reason I am pausing the story is one that I hope will be palatable: Malenia's character and background in canon is inseparably tied to her brother Miquella, and that has played a central role in the story, serving as the catalyst for Ash's endeavours in the beginning as well as the consequences that ensue. I don't want to spoil anything, but Malenia's relationship with her brother is not yet done in this story, as will be revealed hopefully by chapter 15 (the ACTUAL chapter 15, not the one following this update).

However, those who have been keeping up-to-date with Elden Ring may know of a major roadblock: The upcoming DLC, in which Miquella and his actions serve as the driving force behind the DLC's storyline. Whatever lore and worldbuilding will be revealed in Shadow of the Erdtree will undoubtedly reveal unprecedented information about Miquella that is very likely to contradict my headcanon interpretation of him and his role in Drink From Me.

It is for this reason that the story will briefly go on pause; I want to take the time to learn everything I can about Miquella before I explore the consequences of returning his cocoon to the Haligtree. I am keen to see if I can adapt my story to adhere more closely to the new lore without compromising what I originally had in mind for it. If I cannot find a way to make Drink From Me's plot make sense with regards to the DLC's revelations, I will simply disregard it and continue with my original vision. I can only hold myself so accountable for failing to factor in canon information from a DLC that had not even been announced when I started writing this story back in January of 2023—and either way, it's called fan FICTION for a reason, right?

In the meantime, taking a deliberate break from Drink From Me will give me an opportunity to complete smaller projects I hope to share with you all. I have working storyboards for multiple one-shot fan fictions for different games such as For Honor, Lords of the Fallen 2023, Dark Souls 2, and Bloodborne. I hope these will be as worthy of your attention as this story has.

(TL;DR: DLC adds new lore that might go against my story so I'm pausing its writing to do research.)

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am sorry for taking a hiatus after chapter 13 took so long to make, but rest assured that Ash and Malenia's story does not end here. I will be back as soon as I can. Regardless, I truly appreciate everyone who has stuck with Drink From Me up until this point. This has been an immense passion project of mine and I am overjoyed to see the reception it has received.

See you all soon for the REAL chapter 14.

—Ash, Bearer of the Prosthesis