I just sent you a PM, just in case 502 ate it up for the fourth fucking time today

>>319531319531 cooooooooool. btw thanks for the reply.

>>314671314671

Short answer: Yesish. There has been progress, still not much of an eta on updates.

Long answer: You may wish to avert your eyes at the amount of self-indulgent and catharsistic ramblings I'm about to embark upon.

The primary reason for the long delay is surprisingly not related to any period of incarceration, but rather simply due to the nature of my work. I'm an HPC administrator in a rather fast-paced industry, in an HPC department that is laughably small for the amount of services we support. That being said, I barely knew how to spell Linux a little over a year and a half ago, now I am about to go and take the RHSCA exam. I know that it is merely the entry level certification for RHEL, but I feel that it's a fairly valid measure of just how quickly my cli skills have increased in such a short amount of time. Especially when taken in the context that I'll be only the second person in my company to obtain this certification. The rest of the company's preferece for AIX versus RHEL aside.

Now then, while my natural ability to learn with some rapidity has had a bit to do with this expansion of my skillset, I fear that another key factor is the unhinging of my mind. At the moment I'm on so many uppers and downers, the former to help me sleep, the latter to wake me up, so that I'm tired when I'm awake and wired when I should sleep, that I don't really know what's going on anymore. I spend roughly 12-16 hours a day at work, and they've given me a laptop to take home with me, so I don't have to commute to work on the weekends.

That being said, there has been progress on this story. Quite recently in fact. I'm over half-way finished with the initial rough draft. Once it's out the door, I'm hopeful that it will be easier for the next chapters. It's like pushing a 1972 chevy up a hill. It's heavy, and the day is hot. You push and you push, putting all your effort into it, your head held low, your body almost parallel to the road, your muscles straining, and beads of sweat rolling off your forehead to stain the asphault beneath you. You finally look up and the crest of the hill is a few dozen feet in front of you. You're so close to the summit, yet still so far. You pause, not sure if you can go on, but you can't let up, otherwise the car will roll back down the hill, possibly crushing you in the process. So all you have left is to go on. And so, you bend your head, and start to push again.

It's kind of like that.

Anyway, I'll keep working on this story, in this small little AU corner, while the show, and the rest of the fandom pass me by.

short simple to the point, not gona beat around the bush. Although i do mean it with the utmost respect.

update anytime soon?/ any progress?

Hey l0x0r, just wanted to drop a line and say howdy and that I'm eagerly awaiting your next chapter, no matter how long it takes! I understand real life comes first mate - same thing over here with long days and longer weeks :D I wish you all the best and hope the increase time you spend at work has translated to an increase in the size of your savings account as well!

-Kitt

Ya know, when I came across your fic and gave it a read I tried reading it all in one sitting from midnight to 4 in the morning. When I found out why you were writing this fic, as a way to give back to the MLP community my respect for you as a writer and as a person increased much larger than it already was. Now not to sound creepy, but I've been reading your comment responses/posts and see you as demotivated because of the possible dwindling interest, and I just want to say: no. You should not feel this way. From this fic alone, I see your strong and capable writing abilities, with attention to detail and character that gives the reader a strong connection to the characters. I can understand that life is hard, and the writing process is long and tedious but here's the thing: it doesn't matter. If you find yourself losing passion in your work, it may be best to just take a breather. Either from the fic, work, or both. Because I see a hard working person who wants to satisfy their readers, but is losing motivation from stress or from the lack of interest generated to the fic. It's not a great environment for a writer to work in, nor is it a great mindset. I don't want to be that fan that badgers you to finish, because I know that a writer works at their own pace to generate their best content. You're a fantastic writer, and for what its worth: I appreciate you. Both as a writer and as a person. I don't know if you are losing followers, but what I do know is this: it doesn't matter, because writing is a form of expression of the self and you, express yourself greatly. Write, not because you feel like you have to, but because you want to, and that's the content that'll go appreciated because it has passion in it and it doesn't feel like a chore. I'm not trying to give you a motivational speech to finish up, I'm trying to say that I appreciate you and what you're intentions are. My words may not possibly carry much weight to you, but I feel like you're a fantastic writer. If you want to go for that as a career, go for it. Get your name out there, because I feel that you have the talent to do so. I'm not trying to tell you how to go about your life, it's yours and hell, you don't even know me and vice versa, but I do want to say you have that option and I feel that you're fully capable of doing so.

Oh man, I feel like I even lost myself in that loosely connected ramble there, eh? Well, I suppose I should get back to my main point: you're a great writer, and from what I can tell, you're a great person. Just know, that even if you may not be as huge as other writers, that there are people who appreciate you and your work and you can count me as one of them. I'm probably going to look back at this post with embarrassment for how erm, passionate I got, but I will still stand by what I say (just more eloquently I hope).

>>213047213047

Ouch, that offends me greatly.

Seriously though, has the drop of readers been that big?

I'm still watching don't let the sun catch you crying, no pressure from me bro, just don't abandon it!  

>>210129210129

Unfortunately writing has not been going very well. I'm only about a third of the way through the next chapter. Admittedly this is due in large part to my taking a break from writing anything for a month or so. Mostly because I came to a point where I was afraid that my writing ability has all but withered away, and anything I create would be a pale imitation of what I've already written, and I'll let down the many people who've left positive feedback on this story.

In better news, I guess, I was promoted at work. So yay, more money, more problems.

I'm just about at the stage where I'm convinced that few, if any, people are following this story anymore, so there's much less pressure for me to actually write well. So hopefully I'll crank out the rest of the rough draft for this chapter in the not-too-distant future.

Thanks for stopping by and dropping a line.

Just wanted to say hope the writing's going well...and work...life in general, really.  

Have you been liking season 3 so far?