“It’s time to say goodbye...”

ᅠ

ᅠ

ᅠ

ᅠ

ᅠ

silence

Alan walks over to the couch standing in the middle of an “Absolutely Empty White Room” A red-haired girl lies sprawled across the slightly worn sofa, her hair spread over the pillow. A strange purple slime has taken the shape of a cat and sleeps at her feet. Alan adjusts the blanket and leaves.

quiet footsteps

In the same white nothingness, at a distance where they won’t hear him.

Alan sits down on the floor and looks into the camera.

“Did you fall for it? No, I’m not leaving... at least not today.” he adjusts his glasses

“...”

silence

“By common courtesy, I should warn you — there’s going to be a lot of talking ahead. If you’re not interested, feel free to switch the channel.”

“I prepared this speech a couple of days ago, before publishing the latest ‘story.’ Honestly, I didn’t expect a thousand viewers to show up for a special episode.” he smiles awkwardly
“I still don’t know what happened to the last character... I’d been thinking about creating them for about a month... not because it was difficult, but because it was obsessive — it just wouldn’t leave my head.”
Alan leans back slightly, resting on his hands.

“Right... what was I saying... April 3rd marks a year since I started writing stories on the site. I guess it’s time to sum things up... but I don’t want to do it like they do.” he slightly shakes his head

“It wouldn’t be fair to focus only on the negative. Over this past year, I’ve found new friends on the site — people who support me... and I truly appreciate that.”

“Like I said earlier, I’m not leaving — just going on an indefinite break. Maybe a week, maybe two... maybe longer. I don’t know.”

“I have my reasons. The first — and the one affecting my life the most — is that I’m working on my thesis. The second... you can interpret however you want, but from here—”
Alan glances around the white void

“—I can see that my stories have become too heavy compared to what they used to be. Back then, I was afraid to tell stories like this... now it feels like I can’t write anything light anymore...”

“I’d like to write something simple, easy, unobtrusive. Something that doesn’t hide a dark core beneath something cheerful and kind... but I just can’t.” he sighs

“I want to clear my head. I doubt it’ll fix everything, but it’ll at least give me some breathing room. I’ll mention a couple of small things before I go.”

“First, I remember my promise to @Veta#. I already have ideas for a duo bot with Rubia and Albea — I hope you’re not too upset that I’ve been dragging this story out for so long.”

“Also, there’s now one more inhabitant in this absurd space. A purple-green blob has joined us... and it needs a name. I hope you’ll help me with that — I’ve always been bad at coming up with names.”

“And finally, if you have any questions, suggestions, or advice — my Discord is: re.back. Just a warning though, I’m not the easiest person to talk to — I use a translator.”

“That’s probably it... see you, someday.”
Alan stands up, brushes off his pants, and walks through a door that appears out of nowhere.