HTDITR status update
TL;DR: chapter 10 is coming soon. pinky swear.
the long way:
hey guys,
just popping in to let you know that I'm still working on chapter 10 (3 months in the making). I never really stopped writing for this fic, but I just haven't been able to meet the word count that I used to with all that I've had going on.
for those who haven't seen my recent life update, I moved into a new apartment after a long period of homelessness! great, positive change! but even positive changes can leave one exhausted, so I've been missing the motivation to write as much as I used to when I first started publishing chapters for this fic a little over a year ago.
fun fact: the entire inspiration for this fic was based on my firsthand, real-life experience of being homeless at the time the fic was published. not saying any of this to get any pity points, just wanted to share the good news. when the idea came to me, I was feeling very hopeless and the concept for this fic gave me something to focus on aside from my circumstances. without this fic, I think I would have lost my mind. truly. there's something so grounding about putting together a storyline with little characters - getting to decide which pieces from canon to keep and what parts I could put my own little remix on. it gave me an outlet - a place to put all the depressing things I was experiencing with a fun, smutty destiel twist. might sound crazy, but hey. whatever it takes to get through it, amirite? and every single AO3 comment really made my week. I still go back and read the comments to this day. thanks to anyone who ever commented on a chapter! I truly want to print them all off someday so I can keep a hard copy of your kind words.
now that the homeless chapter in my real life is done, I'm recovering from the emotional burnout. being homeless is a surprisingly traumatic experience and I don't wish it on my worst fuckin' enemy. it was dehumanizing and sad and awful for a very long time (especially the winter time, that shit was BRUTAL). I still haven't completely decompressed from the whole experience because it's only been 2 weeks out of the shelter. recovering from being in survival mode for a year will take a lot longer than a couple of weeks, so I'm being very patient with myself.
hopefully this answers any questions about why updates took so long (no wifi and it's hard to write gay smut in a public library), why the quality of the writing may not have been the most consistent across all chapters, and why Dean's homeless experience is so detailed. I've truly been trying my best to get this story finished while also only posting chapters that I can truly be proud of instead of phoning it in.
anyway, just wanted to let the readers know that this is not an abandoned fic and there will be plenty more chapters to come. it will just take a little more time. I'm just waiting on my brain to function again now that I'm no longer in fight-or-flight mode.
thanks for reading (the fic and this post)!
tags: @ampbwrites, @a-vibing-potato, @ulyssesatdawn, @dokidango
