Okay, I'm not sure how many people are even still here. I get the occasional message in my email, but at the behest and suggestion of a friend I feel it is best that I at least inform those who are still around, at the very least to clear my conscience.

No, I am not dead. At the time when I disappeared from the site initially during my first or second year of college, I desperately needed a break from the website for personal reasons of mental health. These stories never left my mind or interest, they were always in the back of my head and I always had the intent to return to them when my skills as a writer were refined and polished, and when life itself was more preferable for it. However, I simply can't do it anymore, at the very least not to the capacity that I was able to before. It is not that I lack the will or ability or even the interest, but it is a combination of many things that truly stop me from being invested into writing these stories again; I will explain myself.

1. Many of the themes and characters that I had spent building up have not aged well. I believe when these stories were at the peak of their development the show was at Volume 2. That was a loooooong time ago, and since then the show and its characters have progressed so much since then. Many of the mysteries of the shows and the factors that make these characters what they are are simply not there anymore at this point. Thus the stories would be less malleable and less faithful to the source product at this point were I to continue the stories as they are. Perhaps I could have learned to work around this problem, but the following issues are things I cannot change or tolerate as much

2. To put it simply, this fandom and community is toxic...EXCESSIVELY. I don't know what happened to it, but what was once a place brimming with creativity, an environment that nurtured my innate desire to connect with others under a common interest and enjoyment for a product, that served as a sanctuary for many others, has become a hollow shell of what once was. Yes, every fandom has their bad eggs, RWBY was no different, but lately the sheer numbers of these toxic fans seem incredibly disproportionate to the people who are just here to have fun and forget the troubles of life. Ever since some time after Volume 3 the fandom has become a bubbling cauldron of corrosive venom, whether it be because the fans themselves have changed or because there was a surge of newer less mature fans, maybe a combination of both. I have seen people who entertain the ideas of theories simply for the sake of fun (even when they state their thoughts preemptively with the words "I know this isn't a real thing, but-") be attacked in droves by other fans like a swarm of pyrannas, and applauded for it. I have seen fans who are dissatisfied with a few narrative elements of the show and express their opinion fairly with supportive evidence to back up their thoughts be attacked, even if the opinion was constructive criticism. For example, if you think the shift in Adam's character made him into little more than a psycho boyfriend instead of the radical extremist with disagreeable, yet understandable, motives that the show was building him up to be, then congratulations you are a woman-abusing sympathizer who only watches the show to hate on it. Don't get me started on the shippers, and yes that has always been a thing in RWBY, but lately it is awful and erodes enjoyment in the product, or rather the people who ship do when they complain about their ship or force it. Notorious example, Bumblebee as it is now compared to what it used to be for example; it was a fun ship, purely something to just enjoy until it was turned into an agenda for politics (something that is famous for having toxic effects on people). Many of you remember how Arryn Zech (an avid Bumblebee lover) was bullied and harassed for stating that the Volume 4 soundtrack song of the same name did not confirm it was canon. THAT is why I don't like the ship anymore personally: its overzealous agenda-driven fans who are more concerned with representation than the actual show, and yet because anyone who agrees is labeled as a gay-hating misogynist despite all evidence to the contrary...that was all over a ship by the way. Speaking of evidence...

3. Many of you will remember the immense drama that started this past year over the allegations levied against ex-voice actor for Qrow Branwen, Vic Mignogna. This fandom used to view the voice actors as more than just voices behind a screen, but as part of the extended family in the creative process; this was one of the few fandoms that understood that these people behind the screen aren't just names in the credits, but people with lives, opinions, flaws, and have the ability to do as much good as they do bad; HUMAN BEINGS, and this fandom just spent the better part of the year destroying him. Rapists and abusers and any who are guilty of these sins should be punished justly and monitored, of that I agree whole-heartedly, but this country that allows us to enjoy these pleasantries and enjoy the aspect of creative freedom itself was built on the foundation of justice and fairness, that every person was entitled to a day in court before being declared guilty. Vic Mignogna had no day in court to defend his job, his livelihood, or tell his story before accusations alone destroyed his career. To this day, these accusations are not verified; his accusers did not actively take him to court to prove to the public the authenticity of their accusations, and Vic Mignogna had to take THEM to court to try and reclaim at least a fraction of his reputation. Yet to this day there has been no definitive evidence of any actual wrong doing; only hole-filled stories on the internet (many which are now debunked) and unfounded rumors, and his accusers have proven themselves to be terrible people.

But firing Vic and contributing to this Dark-Age mentality, this literal Witch Trial, was not enough for Roosterteeth. They allowed their employers to speak out and fuel the fires of this community-splitting debacle. Jen Brown, Miles Luna, and ESPECIALLY Shannon McCormick are all guilty of this and before any actual proof was provided, Shannon even going as far as to attack fans who do not blindly believe; a complete lack of professionalism at its finest...and yet he gets to keep his job? What of Michael Jonathan Quinn who was fired for domestic abuse (PROVEN domestic abuse) relatively quietly who did not have his name drug through the mud nearly as violently as Vic's was. What of the unpaid hours of overtime for Roosterteeth employees followed by the mass layoffs? The misbehavior and rumors surrounding other RT personal that go ignored, such as Shannon McCormick doxxing somebody online DESPITE the atrocious home-break-in that befell fellow RT employees Gavin Free and Meg Turney?

If anything there is more evidence of sin on the company's fault, but so long as there are enough people willing to overlook actual evidence and point the finger at unsupported shoddy evidence, all for the sake of protecting their favorite company nothing else matters.

So no, I'm not dead...but this fandom sure as heck is. RWBY itself isn't the same anymore, it hasn't been for a long time and I used to welcome the change, but this was not what I had in mind. I have not lost my spark for writing fanfiction, and despite the fluctuating quality of the show I have always held RWBY dear as it was the brain-child of someone I looked up to during the worst times of my life (I'm glad to see Volume 7 doing better for itself then the last few volumes), but I cannot become engrossed with a community that cannibalizes itself and others. The community does not have a good heart anymore, and to those few who still give a crap and are sticking around waiting for an update or those who are following these long dead stories...I'm sorry; maybe I will return more permanently in the future, but not until something changes, but I will always cherish the memories of those I did meet on here when it truly was the RWBY fandom at its best.