Started With A Dare - A POTHENA STORY ✔

A/N: It's The End!

Dear readers,

Some of you had been here since the very start. Others had joined in the middle of the ride. You might even be here several years later. No matter who you are or when you've started reading, thank you.

To be honest, I started this book as a magnet to attract readers to my profile. A truly petty and cunning move, I know. I didn't even ship Pothena that much, I just got the idea from a small skit my friend agnes_ur_boi wrote. But this story grew faster than I'd expected.

As more readers started voting the chapters, commenting, even adding this to their reading lists, I felt more accomplished than ever. I was never good at doing anything on the internet, so to realise that people actually like what I've written feels amazing. This story turned from a tool to an enjoyment - it became my favourite story to write. I constantly tried to think of ways that would pull Pothena together, then away from each other. As I didn't plan this story well at first, lots of parts don't make sense and planning the villain after younger me had destroyed the story was the hardest part.

This story taught me a lot of things. First, never write for anything except simply enjoyment. Of course, popularity and skill might be close seconds, but you should always put enjoyment first. If you have a choice to write a story and you're going to write it just because you want something else, it won't work out. For me, I slowly started enjoying the process.

Second, make a dam update schedule. Some of you who had come earlier might remember all those hiatuses and attempts to give up this story, which you all pushed me forward and convinced me to keep going. This could've all been avoided if I made a proper update schedule and stuck to it. This story might've been completed months ago if so, too.

Finally, appreciate your readers. Reply to the comments, constantly thank them with author's notes. This is something I can pride myself for actually doing, and I hope you guys think so too.

The one thing I feel like I should do is apologise for all those late updates, half-effort chapters, complaints about how this story was taking way to long...but this isn't a chapter to be negative. It's one where I express my gratitude. So, once again, thank you. Thank you for taking the time to read this story, thank you for voting, adding this to your reading lists, commenting to help me carry on...thank you. For those of you who are aspiring writers, keep going! When the readers start pouring in, you'll realise that writing your story was a good decision. If you want me to read your stories, feel free to leave them in the comments.

Also, uh, about that possible sequel...

Nope. Not gonna tell you any more. I hope you liked this story from beginning to end and again, thanks for reading. Stay safe and take care of yourself and your loved ones!

- EverlastingTrash