there are relatively few things in this world that get any sort of emotional response from me any more. but something that never fails to touch something deep inside me is the accounts that say deactivated next to the username someone spent so long coming up with. the blank profiles and "Account Deleted" markers on comments from old works. touches from the past, stories lost to shifting lives and connections buried under an ever-changing world. stories that will never again see light.
i scrolled through an author's works earlier on a whim, someone who has been on ao3 for almost 11 years and written their fair share of works and stories in that time. for no reason other than curiosity, i clicked on their final work from december 2021, a completed 300k epic for a fandom i'd never heard of. and ending the last chapter's opening notes were the words "and with these final words, i bid you adieu."
the author has responded to comments and the like since then, but the force and placement of those words was like a 10-ton wrecking ball on my ribcage.
safe travels to all you writers and users who have found different paths to walk, and all the best to those who have yet to make the change. your impact has been noticed and will never be forgotten.
