Famine...(Arifureta x Code Vein)

MAJOR UPDATE

I am alive, and working: both in university, part time, art, and writing! I am not dead, but there are some major things I have to say, so please read all the way through.

To start, where have I been? I am a senior, and my life is getting very hectic right now. I probably have a major burnout in life in general, and I've been blowing off steam playing games and reading fanfics rather than my creative hobbies.

As I just mentioned, I've been reading other fanfics by authors WAY better than I am, and it's given me a better understanding on how to write a story and craft a world that's truly alive and interesting to read. I've always written and drawn for my sake, never for anyone else's but seeing these superior works and enthralling stories makes me WANT to do better, more on this later.

Let's address this: Famine. The next chapter has been in development hell for a YEAR. I don't think any of you appreciate it, and neither do I. You know how I said the next update would be a long chapter? It WAS. I read through it throughout the year. It was bad. Childish. Poorly written and looked like a middle schooler wrote it. The pace was all over the place and didn't serve to give the characters any proper development. Thus, I cut the chapter in half, and expanded the first half to my usual 6000 word length. Expect that chapter to come in within the next few days (for real, I mean it this time). The second half? That thing is gonna be a SUPER LONG CHAPTER. Those who have watched Arifureta will probably know what will happen, as that's towards the end of the Orcus Arc. The meat of the story's prologue happens there, where things get really interesting for the story. The next three updates will likely be Famine, on account of the importance of that, and what is going to happen to Demonic Duo.

Demonic Duo. My pride and joy. I will be blunt., I am going to rewrite this story from the ground up. This story has been around for 8 years, and constantly lives rent free in my head. Every time I daydream, it's always about Yuu and Chelsea. The characters have all of my love and care, and was made either when I was a highschool freshman or towards the end of middle school, and it shows. It's very much a product of its time, with Rias bashing and the "creator of all Devil's descendant" plot point. This story has grown with me and it shows as the story goes on. And that's the problem. Wherever I think of how it started, I want to throw up. It's childish. It's bland. There are far too many mistakes. The characters are poorly developed and severely hindered by the fact a kid in the middle of his teenage years made it. There's far too many lore mistakes and there are severe problems in pacing and character depth. This story has all of my love and care, so I want to return that with all of my heart and soul. That means: better plot, better character depth, and more art pieces and even animations! If I'm going to dedicate myself to his story, might as well build up my craft while doing so while praying to god to somehow get a job in my art industry.

In every rewritten chapter, there will be an author's note that explains my changes and thought process in development. I want these things to make sense. Now that I'm older, I have a better understanding of Elsword lore and how my characters think and their motivations. I don't want to reduce them to tropes and archetypes, which some of them kind of are. I'll be doing this and asking for critiquing as well, so i hope you look forward to it.

The more recent chapters of Demonic Duo will likely appear in the rewrite almost exactly the same, but the entire beginning will be getting a heavy overhaul. I plan on doing this right, and I hope you all will enjoy what I have in store for this story.

Finally: Fate: Encapsulate. I will be honest, I am unsure if I want to keep working on this story. It interests me, but I think with how I am doing, it would be better for me to focus on two stories. I don't know if I will stop all development on that story, I will have to think some more about that.

Once again, I apologize for the constant silence I keep doing, and I hope you all look forward to what I have in store. For now, expect the next chapter of Famine to come out in a few days, followed by at least two more updates to Famine afterwards, then for the rewrite of Demonic Duo (will likely get a new name). Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful day, and I look forward to creating more of my worlds for you to enjoy!