Hey all. Been a while, hasn't it?

Unfortunately, this isn't going to be anything resembling a new chapter. This is a quick note confirming what everyone probably already knows. This story has been abandoned for a long time and won't be picked up again.

It's crazy to look back at this story all these years later. So many things that, had I known at the time, I would NEVER have written. All these interesting characters in this fruitful world and I merely used them to make the main character look cool. I, just like many others, felt drawn to such a powerful imagining and, of course, self-inserted myself into the main character.

He was cool, strong, powerful, charismatic, successful… And of course had a bevy of vivacious females all around him.

If you'd have seen me in 2010 and 2011 you'd have thought that I was the opposite of all those things I just listed. And… you'd be right.

This website allows people to write whatever they want and allows readers to read whatever they want. In 2010 this story was childish, amateurish and what was basically a self-serving venture into a person that I wished I could be. And the early chapters represent that childishness.

But it changed. As time passed and I kept updating this story became something else to me. I grew up a little bit. By 2012 I spent all my time in high school crafting story scenarios, developing plot devices and planning chapters ahead in hopes of streamlining my writing process. I delved deep into my own ideas of what a character in a novel could truly become.

So, for those of you who are still reading this drawl of mine, I wanted to apologize. This story will never be completed by me. This story helped me grow in ways I never realized. It's easy to say that now, with however many years have passed since any sniff of me was left over on this website.

But I just wanted to say two things.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for joining me on this story. This story has a laundry list of flaws, but one thing that became clear to me was the amount of growth I went through as an author with this story. Hell, just read the first few chapters and compare them to the last few chapters. The early chapters are a laughable mess of terrible grammar, awful plot devices and jarring POV switches that served no real purpose except to be different than anyone else's story. When compared to my later chapters? It's crazy for me to see just how far my writing style developed in just that time.

As for my second thing…

I'm sorry. I truly am. This story is both a beautiful representation of who I was when I was younger and an abomination of my jagged and unrefined writing skill. Despite all of that, I still managed to amass something resembling "fans" and a "following" which made those years so much more amazing.

Who'd have thought that ol' sseasshark could have people on the edge of their seats for the next chapter? Not all of you felt this way of course. Some of you rightly quit this story after Chapter Two. I basically had to force my way through the first eight chapters before any semblance of quality was established.

But still. The fact that people enjoyed something that I made? There's no feeling like it. Something I created brought another person creative enjoyment! The idea that something that I created could bring someone enjoyment for even a moment, that my work could help distract someone from the looming clouds that life throws at us…

That I could make someone happy.

So thank you.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for each click. Thank you for each follow. Thank you for each and every bit of engagement you all did with this story. I relied on all of you for a long time in my life. For all of you it was typically as simple as "I can't wait to read the next chapter!" but for me it became a beacon of strength. A goal to strive towards. I was going to write something better than I did before.

You all gave me the strength to try and become better than what I was. It was much bigger than this story.

You all made me feel empowered for a very long and hard time in my life. And nothing in the world could replace the happiness it brought me when I saw those reviews.

So thank you.

And for one last time…

Sseasshark signing out.

What a tacky catchphrase. Gonna need a new one of those.

Edit: As a quick aside, let me make my position clear. I am abandoning this story, and if anyone were interested in adoption they have my full permission to do so.

I have no plans to delete this story or anything dramatic. All I ask is that if an aspiring writer wants to adopt my story then they contact me for permission.

Will I leave the site? I have no current (February, 2018) plans to upload any more material to this site. I will not be deleting my account or this story.

Ok, now I'm actually signing out. Ja ne!