This post contains a brief section discussing inaccurate disclaimer warnings and self-harm, so heads up in advance

Hey, everyone.

   I don't know how many of you are left after the "little break" I went on, and I'm here to address that. Ch 18 is the last chapter I've written since this story went on hiatus, and even though I said I wouldn't post again until I finished prewriting the story, I've had other thoughts. I wanted to use Ch 18 to try and bring people back and gauge things now.

   Firstly, I'll say this for myself since I haven't been called out here in comments, but it needs to be said. I've admittedly already messed up with a couple of disclaimer warnings here. Again, though nobody has said anything about them via comments, a couple personal friends of mine brought the issues to my attention and I had to add the warnings in too late. For instance, the instances in both MLD and MLC where Len harmed himself in ways that didn't involve drinking (ie. when he scratched at his face or punched walls, etc). I should've known they counted as self-harm, but I didn't realize it until later because these were things I've had personal experience with and didn't know they counted as that. Again, I know, I should've known at my age, and I'm just relieved that I was able to come to this realization myself before it was possibly brought to light in a not-so-kind way. Now on to the main considerations.

   For ages, I've had MLD/MLC's story set and I was sure of it, but recently, things have come to light that have made me extremely unsure of how to address the ending of the story. It really could be changed, but it's been so set in my personal canon at this point  (for over two years now) that it really can't be changed. It mainly involves, Len, Llyr, and their relationship. I've extensively developed Len and Llyr beyond the scopes of this story, to the point that Llyr in particular is a character that has a very complex relationship with his identity and his outward presentation vs societal expectations, but none of this was in MLD because my work with Llyr has happened in the past year when I've been trying to educate myself about different aspects of identity and presentation, especially since I myself have been having difficulties grasping my own identity. The point is, these characters have truly become extensions of myself, and I simply can't change the story so easily.

   Because of this, I've been talking with people both deeply involved with Len and the extended universe I've created for him in my spare time and outside the context of the story, and I've gotten different opinions. I even considered posting these fics on AO3 with new tags and new content/chapters to try and change some things, but honestly I just have lost most of my interest in writing this story. That's my fault on my part, but I can't change what I fixate on. So I've come to some sort of conclusion, and I'll see how it comes off.

In order to bring this story to a close without possibly upsetting people because of a certain subject matter I would've been bringing up, I'm thinking of posting a chapter that summarizes the remnants of this story and then a fully written-out epilogue that shows where the characters are at that point. I know that it's not the right way to end a story and it's agonizing to me to end a story like this, but you all have been such amazing and understanding readers and I love you all for it, and the last thing I want to do is possibly misrepresent something without the proper buildup and negatively affect those who read it without me wanting to go back and put in the proper buildup for it.

   I'd like some feedback if possible, but if I don't get any, I'll just consider what I've thought of and take it into effect in the upcoming months. Again, I can't stand to leave this story unfinished, but I'm not 16 anymore like how I was when I wrote my first couple fics. I'm almost 24, I'm more educated, and I want to exercise my foresight and consideration. I just wanted to update everyone, and I thank you for reading if you did read this.