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I'm sorry, but this isn't MothWhoCriedWolf. My name is Val, an IRL friend of Moth's, and I'm heartbroken to inform all of you that Moth is dead.
Some of you are already aware, but Moth passed away from medication complications in June this year. It's been incredibly difficult for everyone who knew them, since they were such an incredible force of love and laughter, and a creative powerhouse. I've spent a lot of this time finding my own ways to cope with the loss, and one has been rereading their works, connecting with them through the words they left behind.
As soon as I realized I had their login info, I knew it was only right to make sure readers were aware of why this story would never update-- Moth was incredibly dedicated to writing, and this story was a genuine passion of theirs. We spent a lot of nights up late, talking about what characters would do when they strayed from the game's plotted course, how they would do things over. It wouldn't be right for anyone to believe that this story was abandoned, because I can promise you, if they could reach a keyboard from wherever they are now, you'd already have another ten chapters. Please know all the words you have are all that there are, and that this was the heart and soul of someone lost to us far too soon. Moth's vision was incredible, and I'm sad to say that even if I knew all of their remaining plans, I couldn't step in to write with their level of skill-- take me back and back again will unfortunately remain unfinished, unless I miraculously come into possession of some lost drafts that are worth sharing. They certainly never would've wanted it to end here, but I'm not clever enough to continue for them or strong enough to take over.
I know this is a shock-- losing someone you didn't know but who connected with you is hard, parasocial or not, and I encourage you all to treasure the words we have. And please, take this time to acknowledge the people in your life who you care about. You never know when someone will be lost to you, or how much time you have left together. Make sure they know how much they are loved, relish the time you have together, and be unabashedly kind.
I won't be doing much with this account, since it's simply not mine, but I'll be checking in occasionally. Grieve as you need, take comfort where you can, and remember: our connections are not so easily severed by death. It takes far more than that to cut us off from one another, and what binds us is what we leave to each other.
Take care of yourselves,
Val