Final Author's Note

 A/N: That is a WRAP on Sons of Light, and on this trilogy. 

When I started this project on November 23rd, 2016, seven years ago, I was a much different person. I was young, I had big dreams, and so much love. Funnily enough, through the course of Danzon, I myself had my heart broken. And immediately after that story ended in August, the whims of fate of September brought me my own endgame irl. By the time Whims of Fate was over I was moving states, had my first job, and yet was still building relationships with people I met on the cursed site fanfiction.net. Sons of Light came right when Covid had ravaged the world, and as these characters have rebuilt their world, I also rebuilt mine. That's why I look back on every one of these characters so fondly. 

Now, I'm planning my own wedding and figured the best way to end this trilogy was with the one who started the whole crazy need for a subplot in the first place. My writing has grown and changed throughout the seven years of this trilogy existing, going on eight. My relationships have shifted and changed and some have grown to the level of being my BRIDESMAID and attending my WEDDING from Minnesota and I cannot be more excited for it. 

My relationship with Sons of Light was one that had its ups and downs. It took four years for me to get this story turned out, but I refused to give up on it. It went from a normal SYOT to a rebellion story with ex-tributes featured to... A random rebellion clip show of sorts with characters nobody really knows or cares about except for me and Lauren, and honestly the reason for that is the 5 MILLION words of the SoL high school AU we have done that actually ended up becoming more canon to me than the verse it originated from. But despite the direction this story took, I still wanted to give the tributes acceptable endings. 

The joy of doing it this way and not trying to make a flowing narrative is the fact that ANYONE can come in and fill in the blanks with their characters. I tried to leave a lot of things and opportunities open for other authors to fill in the blanks of their characters' stories how they see fit. Because honestly, growing up and writing so much has made me realize that you will never feel a fire writing other people's characters quite like you get when you write your own. I think that's true for all of us, which is why I switched gears somewhat suddenly. I leave the interpretation for many of these characters open to the authors to do with what they wish - write deleted scenes, headcanon to fill in the blanks, resubmit, do whatever you will with them.

I loved them and was grateful to have them and therefore decided to bring everyone back together to make at least a somewhat satisfying end to their stories, even if they are never explored again. With the limited free time I have, I want to focus on my own projects that make me passionate (some of which are admittedly never to be shared outside of Lauren because they are embarrassing), whatever those may be. If I find that this verse is one of them I'll definitely come back and fill in some of the deleted scenes on my list, but who knows what the future will bring. 

I just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone I met on fanfiction for the laughs and fun we had together. The forum, the streams, the RP CAH, the server chaos and more, always made me laugh. I know I withdrew, and I had a lot of reasons for doing so but I wish everyone the very best. Any time you wanna let me know how you are, I will still be around on fanfiction (curse you partial nostalgia) doing passion projects. I'm sure you all have grown in those four years since this story started too. 

And now, I will do tribute "eulogies" for everyone even though most of them are still alive. 

For Basil, a huge thank you to Glader. Glader, I always looked forward to receiving your characters, and this was no exception. I loved Basil and his dynamics with the Careers and Chiwi were always fun to explore. You were always such a chill person to talk to and I remember always looking forward to seeing your reviews and submissions. Thank you and I hope life is treating you well! 

For Wendy, a huge thank you to ANNA! Anna, you indirectly caused 5 million words of chaos with one high school AU doc called WoF 101. I still have a picture of you as a clown on my computer and I still think of you when I use Kapwing to make a vine compilation. Not only that but I remember you were so passionate about doing great things and admiring you for that. I hope you are well and thank you so much for not only Wendy, but also Ceru, and every other amazing character you sent me over the years. 

For Nadia, a huge thank you to PIIII! Oh Pi, I am so appreciative of the characters you sent my way and I enjoyed writing every single one. Unfortunately I just ended up going a different direction for my story with the rebel subplot and it was hard to figure out where she fit. But I have so many good memories of conversations and adorable drawings you did for me and I know you've been through some shit but I hope that you're healing now and on your way to great things!  

For Vyka, a big thank you to Shiro. Your characters were always insanely creative and yet realistic at the same time and I was so happy to give Vyka a happy ending after all learning to drive her mom's yellow taxi. I always liked seeing your characters around the community and hope that you are still being creative somehow atl least. 

For Keelan, a big thank you to fizzerpeas. He wasn't featured so he didn't get a whole lot of screentime but I still enjoyed having him around as kind of a "typical" Career figure. My best wishes to you! 

For Ridley and Coda, a big thank you to VR! VR I apologize for forgetting that Ridley has a boyfriend for like 2 years but I figured it out before I did anything I couldn't reverse. Ridley was so fun to write and I loved the sunshine duo. And CODA! OMG now this is my son. I loved him too much to kill him in WoF and I just loved every moment I got to utilize him this story and show how much he grows the entire time, all the way to cussing at Kat's wedding. XD I hope that you are happy where you are and doing well and thank you for your FF friendship. 

For AMIAH THANK YOU DAVID! Ughhh, this hurts me to kinda have this little goodbye. I loved Amiah and I wish that I could have more directly traumatized her to really test her view of the world, but I guess she got off easy lol. And of course, June, who did Not get off easy on the trauma. I loved June so much and she was the first character I really Connected to in Danzon and I was so excited to give you your first Victor (sorry Dreamer). I just remember all the amazing times we had together when we were forum mods and closely tied in each other's stories. All the memes, Bagel Bagel which still appears on my Youtube feed and is making me laugh even now. I still have screenshots of all our memes from modding together and I will always laugh when I think of the suicide pact which I then used to hurt everyone and nobody had any idea it was coming. I hope whichever state you have ended up in is treating you well, and that you're finding fulfillment in your teaching job or whatever you're doing now (teachers are heroes, that's why I am not one anymore lol). 

For Ruthie, big thank you to Berrybush. Another user that joined the ride for this story and I didn't get to know as well, but thank you for Ruthie. I loved her and she was always right there with the comment to control Kaoru's thirst and I loved her for that. 

 For Mary, thank you to TheRaichuinRavenclaw. I loved Mary so much that I actually ended up giving her more screentime and I think a POV when I said I wouldn't do it and I am so glad I did. She was a perfect sister character/foil to Kodi before I even know what Kodi was going to be like, and they kinda developed side by side. Also thank you for the Lester/Bonnie love back in the day, I still think about the lightning in a bottle and part of me is still thinking about getting that tattooed on my body. All my best!

For Paisley, thank you to Caleb. Paisley had a really fun few POVs but with the direction this story took, I had to pick a sacrificial lamb and it became her. I still really liked writing her and her relationship wtih Cadmus, and I've loved all the characters I've gotten from you. It's been a while but I hope that you and Jenna have a prosperous and happy marriage and will soon be following in your footsteps as a married person.  

 For Cadmus, thank you to HELF! HELF, your characters have all been winners for me no matter what story they're in. You also are just in general a very lovely person and someone I am glad I got to know for a little while on this site. Cadmus definitely got the short end of the stick and it Hurt me to take away the one thing he held onto. And then going back and reading his form for this epilogue I realized just how much I ran away with him and how different he is now from then and it made me proud of him for his growth. Thank you HELF and I hope life is good for you. 

For Odessa, thank you Writer207. Writer, your characters were all so awesome. The tie-ins to this verse were so well thought-out, so much so that I actually had Odessa slated to get the coveted OMC endgame with Bonnie, and have him and Lester be cousins, but that did not work out for many reasons. But he still does thirst for her in the chariot scene so that's something lol. Anyways, Thakn you for such good and strong characters I could really use because they were so well-tailored to me. Wishing you well! 

For Antonio, thank you to santiago.poncini20! I am rereading all my stories and am currently on Silhouettes, and it is amazing to see your growth from the character of Edgard to the character of Antonio. I still did love me some Edgard, but Tonio was so well thought-out, the connections to the Lowell family were so good as well as the ones to Edulcorante, and it was all just so well-done that it made me a little sad rereading the form that I didn't do more to explore them all. Your growth was so fun to watch and I hope that you're continuing to grow and be happy. 

For Adrian, thank you to Platrium. Your characters and stories were always so unique and I was never really sure how to emulate that quirky creativity in them. Thank you for giving me one of my first Victors and always being around to provide a laugh. I'm sorry that Adrian's end wasn't more exciting but I think that's the reality of his situation and a fitting end to his arc. And thank you for all the other characters you've sent over the years, it's been a pleasure to know you and be your friend and I hope you are nothing but happy now. 

For Ember, thank you to Veronica Moore. This one was, pun fully intended, a diamond in the rough. I wasn't expecting to fall in love with her like I did, but she is just so down-to-earth and realistic, while also being so very relatable. I liked the exploration of her character and I just couldn't hurt her by taking her man, so she can live the rest of her life happily.

For Anakyn, thank you to Eugene. I reread the scenes we wrote together before I wrote the Helekyn wedding and I just smiled so much. I love these two and how they grew up together. I always appreciated the detail in your submission forms and honestly felt like I couldn't cover it all which is why I hope you'll be able to fill in the blanks with your own imagination and headcanons because I know it is so great! Ani was here from the start and one of the foundational characters in Danzon, and he continued to be a favorite all the way to the end. I knew I had to write his and Helen's wedding on screen because they were the two that were both so impulsive and so in love with each other that they would just get married and not even think twice about it. They were truly special and I appreciate all of your love and support for my characters and writing. I hope that you are doing well and keep making characters because they are all so special!

For Jun and many more, thank you to Legend. I know you've moved on to bigger and better things now in terms of character creation and creative endeavors, and I respect that. I love reminiscing about the old days and hearing about the great things you are up to now. It's been too long since we've seen each other and we should try soon, but we are just two busy adults living in different states and it's hard T.T But either way I hope you and your fiance are happy and I am excited to hopefully be able to come see YOU get married next year!

For Rory, Angelina, Lyra, Charlemagne/kids, Valenty, and MANY more, thank you to DREAMER! DREAMER! I'm SO excited to meet you irl for the first time, SOON! (Not too soon tho as I still have shit I need to plan.) You are my longest FF friend and I know we've been so nostalgic together about all our old characters and RPs and ships. We grew together on this site and you've been next to me through everything. You are a real and true friend and I cannot wait to give you a BIG hug when you come and show you my life (then you can do the same next summer and I'll come to you!) I love you girl, despite betraying you, and thank you for the years of friendship and more. 

And of course, for Kat, Camellia, Jo, Ryder, Vasilisa, Shani, INDY!, Laz, Kat, Elliot, Syca, and so many more that I can't even count, thank you to Lauren. When Danzon started seven years ago you were a first-time submitter that sent two pretty good characters and I could only choose one, so I picked the boy because I had a LOT of girl submissions. And omg that changed EVERYTHING! From learning you are a BTR fan and putting a bunch of BTR songs in his interview, to making you cry for the first time with Into the West, to meeting up to go to a REAL BTR concert together and getting the 'rona, to you MOVING DOWN HERE AND NOW LIVING AN HOUR AWAY AND BEING MY IRL FRIEND to literally BEING MY BRIDESMAID T.T I can't believe it, I thought you were gonna get annoyed with me when we met irl but as Matt said, "There's TWO of you!" The Shani to my Kodi except when it comes to pumpkin carving then we switch. Please don't hurt me with Renegades. Remember this feeling of fuzziness. Remember you LOVE me and want to be NICE to me. Please and thank you. For real though, 5 million words together says it all. I love you and thank you for being my friend and loyal submitter! (*chants* 104! 104! 104!)

There are many others that I have had the pleasure of knowing on this site and becoming close to, and I will always think of my time being really active on here fondly. From here on out I'll be around as I said but just... Well, focused on doing my own things, instead of focusing on pleasing others and fishing for reviews. If you want to come along for the ride it would make me so happy but also with no real rules also comes no real expectations from readers about what it's going to be like, because I'm just going to do what I want. And that's okay. 

So thank you for the seven-year-long journey. I'm excited for what's next for myself and for all of you. This is Celtic, signing out. (Just to come back for another partial because ya got me back on this kick with awesome characters and memories from 8 years ago, so thanks everyone for nothing.)

So fill to me the parting glass,

And drink of health, whate'er befalls. 

And gently rise, and softly call...

"Good night and joy be to you all!"