First things first, I know seeing a notification and finding out it's not a real chapter is the worst feeling in the world. I genuinely hate doing this to you guys. Sorry in advance. I just felt like I owed you an update after the silence.
The final midterm on May 15 was brutal. It was Cloud Application Development, with both a theoretical and a practical exam, and the professor is famously tough. The kind of test that makes you question your career choices in real time. I survived. Barely.
Then on May 16 I submitted my seminar paper. Now I'm just waiting for the meeting with my advisors and the judging panel, so wish me luck on that part too, because it's still hanging over my head.
I'm starting to settle back into a routine now and I'm sitting down to organize Chapter 15 today. Hopefully I can get a new chapter posted by the end of the week, once I get my mental health back online and process the fact that midterms are finally behind me.
Huge thank you to everyone who supported me through the last two weeks. The messages, the comments, the patience, all of it meant a lot. And a special thank you to everyone who kept throwing Power Stones at the fic even while I was radio silent. You guys are the real ones.
Shoutout to Gustavo_Dias_4181 for the message wishing me good health after pointing out that some authors just... die. Genuinely the best concern-with-a-dark-twist message I've ever received, and I'm taking the vitamins, I promise.
Thank you to everyone who wished me luck on the exams: ChristiaanZA, bob685014, Silent_karma15, Yunos_Noor, Mattia_Lisco, Himjim, William_White_8317, Mik_024, TheIdiotReader, Oleem, VoidSurge, solo_leveling_god, swarmofhives, and everyone else who dropped a kind word. You guys carried me through a rough stretch. If I missed anyone, I'm sorry, I'm genuinely drowning in roughly a million notifications right now and I tried to fish out the good luck messages as best I could.
And special thanks to bob685014 for the truck upgrade idea, this was the credit I was trying to give in the last A.N. and couldn't track down. I saw your reply, glad I finally found you, the scene wouldn't exist without your suggestion. Appreciate it.
More soon. For real this time. Stay tuned.