Done...and yet not.

Chapter 65 - the final chapter of 1 More Chance! - is finished. Actually, it's been finished for a couple of days, now. But I just haven't had the heart to post it.

One reason for that is that this is the last project I've got simmering on the burners, that I want to finish before NaNoWriMo hits in a few short days and I concentrate my energies on that.

Another reason is that I've still got the deviantART chapter versions of the story to post, from Chapter 59 on.

But the main reason is that the story has been such a huge part of my life that I just don't want to see it end.

I did sometimes wonder if I would ever finish this story, even though the entire basic plot has been laid out since I started writing back in February of 2009. There were stumbles along the way, of course, but ultimately I'm glad that I picked myself up and pushed myself over the finish line.

Will my remaining readers feel satisfied with the ending/epilogue? I don't know. (Only they can know that.) I hope so, naturally...but ultimately, regardless of the reaction, I have to take pride and comfort in the knowledge that I told this story the way that I wanted to, and finished it to my own satisfaction.

Chapters 64 and 65 complete the Persona/Shadow Arc, the one where Chie is forced to really look at herself and face the fears and anxieties and doubts that she has about her life. While the longest Arc by far (it's easily twice the size of the other three Arcs combined), in some ways it feels the most satisfying. For Chie, of course, because up until Arc IV, she was simply going on the same way she'd always done, leading with her heart and her kicks and never really stopping to consider the effect she has on the people around her. But for me, as well.

Arc III (the Duel) will probably always be my favorite, because it's about two people exploring their love for and trust in each other under deadline (and that stuff was fun to write), but this last Arc has meant so much to me personally, both as a writer working toward an end goal...and as a person who got to see so much of myself in my heroes. And in this whole process, I learned a little bit about myself, too.

I'm thinking I'll probably wait at least another day before putting up Chapter 65. I just want to savor the joy of this story a little while longer, before I put it out there for anyone and everyone to see. This one's mine, after all.

If you're still reading, I hope you enjoy. And I hope you'll be willing to come back again, someday. For another read through 1 More Chance!...or for another story that I may yet tell.

Thank you! (The FF.Net Favorites List)

Updated as of 2011 October 21 - I've also added some stories for those authors whom I follow and favor, too! Make sure to check them out!

As "1 More Chance!" winds down to its last chapter, I'd like to take a brief moment to thank everyone who's supported this story by putting it on their list of Favorite Stories on Fanfiction.Net.

One reviewer once commented that I was weird for writing a thank you note to him/her just for adding my story to a Favorite or Alert list, but I think that every little bit of support - even if it's just clicking on a button at the bottom of a page - is worth my acknowledgment.

My story is not a particularly popular one (I've come to grips with that), and I've lost a lot of regular readers/reviewers over the year-plus that I've been writing and updating it. But for those FF.Net readers who have taken even just that little bit of time to click that "Add Story to Favorites" button at the bottom of the page (and not delete it), I wanted to thank you. That you're willing to add my story to your list of Favorites (some small, some large) at all means a lot to me. I don't add a story to my Favorites list unless I really enjoy it, and it warms my writer's soul to know that you enjoy - or at least have enjoyed - my story enough to add it to your own.

So, thank you to

Ainmosni ("Borderline of Madness" discontinued?)
Akashic Torment ("Chocolate Kisses")
angelronin
Anisarian
Arroba Dotcom
Ashlee Dixon
Azrael Eternum
azrael76
bokasaurus
bouncyballparty

Cerebrate ("Shades of Red" discontinued?)
clownKuma
CrimsonMoon667
Defend.Divine
Deidre-Chie
Delirante
eggmiester
Enigma infinite
FallenAngel4556
Faust Persona

Feral Snake
Flafty
Geonitz
Hikaru Yamamoto
HMFarmergirl19
howls1
ihaveaclevername
Isoroku22
jcgonzo
KeRose

kinetic-cataclysm
Kisdota-The Freak Gamer ("Persona 4: Split Personalities")
Kitsuko Sakurai
Kitty Kyinsky
Kuya-Toph
Lady Cheshire ("Distance and Spaces" and "Pressure Cooker")
leaflett
Leslie4207
Liber-T.E.A
Loo'd

magiciankunai
margasanada
MelliSeesYou
MFAS
Mikhail the Wanderer
Miki-san4u
Minnimoto
Minstrel of Ages
MoMo the Mesh Monster ("Love of Penguins" and "The Brightest Green")
moyabomb ("All He Sees is Red")

ocean of milk
OceanLeviathan
patleon909
PlatonicTeddys
Renteka-Bond
Rpgking7
sapphiremage1106
Shade the Raven ("Far From Home")
shootdown20
Slasher71

Snake King
Stanko-B
Story Hunter
syruku
Takakuma7
Tarathiel
typecastwriter45
vegi89
Viktor Mayrin ("Divergent Branch")
Von Karma Jr.

Wesieboy
Xernuht
Yamikochan
Zarclonia
Zephyr.Camida
zero-damage ("A Very Good Influence" and "The Shortest Distance from A to B")
Ziek Aramaik
!

If I missed you, please let me know - this is simply the list that I see in my author's links, and you deserve the mention for your support!

Updates

It's been a while since I updated this - sorry.

For those of you still following, the penultimate chapter of "1 More Chance!" - Chapter 64, "I Am Thou" - went up a few weeks ago. Feedback has been pretty good (if low in numbers)...but what's really important to me is that I've been able to get so far in this story, writing it my own way.

I've had some discussions with some reviewers about what is coming next, and I'm not certain.

I am very interested in participating in NaNoWriMo again this year, and I have already plotted out most of that story. Then there are the Doctor Who universe short stories (most notably the Songbirds Series), that I've been having a real blast writing. Both of these projects get very little attention, but that's okay; they are just as personal to me as "1 More Chance!" has been, but I already know that the reader/fan base for these stories is/will be small, so I never get hung up on hit statistics or wondering what I'm doing wrong, that very few people are giving me any kind of feedback.

I'm still interested in writing the two sequels to "1 More Chance!"...but I don't know when I'll get to those. Not until next year, likely. The apparent resurgence of interest and excitement about Persona 4 from the anime and upcoming games may change my mind, but I rather doubt it. As I told one kind and generous reviewer, I'm not that interested in telling stories about TV adventures or murder mysteries. My stories are about relationships between friends and lovers and families, and the general fandom just doesn't seem to respond well to that. I mean, you just have to look at how relatively under the radar "1 More Chance!" is, compared to other stories out there.

That being said, I have to thank whoever "Sour Jack" is, for recommending 1MC! over on TV Tropes. I've long wanted recognition for my story over there [don't ask me why; it's rather a stupid and pointless thing for which to yearn], and I was thrilled to see that it is finally listed as a recommended fanfic.

Geez, that sounds lame.

Anyway, I hope that those of you who continue to read the story are continuing to enjoy it, as well. I have to write for myself and my own desires, but it's always nice to know that others are having fun with it, too.