Forged - [Donald Na x female oc]

A/N

Congratulations! You've made it to the end! <3

This is the final author's note so bear with me. Keep reading for the last bit of info on the characters.

I'm overjoyed to have finished this work and I am even more overjoyed to see that people seem to like it.

I think no creator can stress enough how much the people that are reading the story mean, so here's my try at it:

I loved reading every comment. I loved receiving any wattpad notification. I loved rereading the comments. I loved replying to them and interacting. I loved seeing the same accounts that I had memorised pop up in a notification.
I loved it when you guys loved it.

And for that, I really want to thank you!!

This journey wouldn't have been so lovely without you, making little comments at Donald's gestures and Ray's stubbornness.

I will forever love the people who voted and commented and just read this story altogether!!

While I firstly wrote the story for myself with no intention of ever sharing it with the world, having it publicised was extremely fun.

Initially, the episodes were written as separate different little stories with no real connection between them, so having to find a way to put them together in a way that would fit a logical plot line was extremely fun.

I also only very late decided what the ending would be like, so having to go back and leave little hints without giving away too much was also rather fun.

If you ever decide to re-read, try to look for the little breadcrumbs I left along the way.

There are a few plot holes here and there, explanations with no actual sense, things that were a total stretch or would absolutely never take place and details that essentially do not lead to anything, but I think they just show you hints to the process of creation.

There were so many more things I wanted to do with this story, yet I didn't. I wrote it on a whim, sort of like a manic obsession, and then I just dropped it.
I reviewed the chapters and I knew what I wanted to work on but I just couldn't, so I left it at what I had initially written out.

This work could have been so much better, so much more complex, so much more deep, but I suppose this is all we get.

Though, despite the poor writing here and there and the nonsense, I hope you enjoyed it.
I didn't do my best, it doesn't even come close to what I was planning, but I still believe this work is good enough.

During this journey I also learned how hard writing fan fiction actually is.

Writing Donald had been far harder than writing Ray or any other character.

Having to write a character that already exists is way more difficult than creating your own, as you have to force yourself to make them act and react accordingly to their original character.

I found myself going back to certain parts over and over again and asking myself if Donald would ever think such a thing, if he would ever reply like that, if he would ever behave like that.

And boy did I have to make many changes.

I still feel like I didn't make enough.

But essentially, fan fiction is fan fiction and probably the whole concept of it prevents the characters from staying true to their original personality.

Besides plot holes and non-correspondances, upon other things I would have liked to include in this book and didn't, was some insight into Ray's and Donald's feeling in the aftermath.
But since I haven't, I'll get a few words in right now.

'Out of sight, out of mind'

Donald was focused on the upheaval that followed and forced himself not to think about her.
To him, while it hurt, Ray leaving seemed a natural thing to do keeping in mind what happened and what he tried to do that night.
He didn't dwell on the past, he stopped wondering about the what if's and more or less did what he knew best: conquer and control.

Ray, just like him, minded her business and tried to keep him out of her head.
She wasn't hurt, as she knew all along they would have to part ways, but she did feel disappointed things turned out this way.
Her take on the situation was that Donald was doomed from the start, but that maybe, if in the right company, he could redeem himself.
However, she wasn't going to be that company.

Well, looks like this is it.

They never really looked for each other and it's unclear if Donald will ever figure out she was behind this.

The ending was sad, but I'll grant them closure with their feelings. :)

Another issue that I have with the writing is that I feel like some things are either confusing or only make sense to me, while some others are just not explained at all.
In that sense, I am open to answering any questions about the plot or the characters that you guys might have, so leave them as a comment to this paragraph. :)

Also, any comment or thoughts about this book you have would be greatly appreaciated!!

I'd also like to note that i wrote most of this story in the middle of a brutal exam session.
If I had spent the time it took to write this on learning for my finals, I would have probably been granted a special prize and allowed to graduate early.
Anyway, I passed all of them, miraculously.

On ending notes, I loved every second of this process and if you're here, I'll assume so did you.

Thank you for all the support and appreciation!! <3