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.