For years this story has been sitting in my works, long abandoned as I moved on to write larger and better stories. For years I left this Gears of War story untouched while it still resumed to accumulate views and very patient and loyal readers, who still to this day, wait in virtue for the next chapter.

This years long stagnation is not okay, not acceptable, and it certainly is not fair to the many readers who either continue to wait patiently, or have waited so long they have completely forgotten about this story.

You, as a reader, deserve better.

Carmine, as a character, deserves much, much better.

Because Benjamin is the whole reason I even discovered this hidden talent for writing that I possess. Were it not for his character, I would not have written so many wonderful and meaningful stories and works that helped brighten peoples' day, or helped someone through a tough time with down to earth, realistic characters.

Gears of War 2 was the first of the series I ever played, and the first character I instantly bonded with was Ben. He was a dumbass rookie. I was a dumbass who was bumbled around with the controls and wondering what the fuck was going on.

I learned as Carmine learned.

Thus, I began to write about Carmine in a shitty old journal. The story (titled on this site-'Original Guardian Angel') shared most of it's storyline with what is currently written in Guardian Angel (at least with Benjamin rescuing Alura). Benjamin originally found an abandoned little girl called Serenity, who attached herself to Carmine. Alura was then found and rescued in the same general area as Serenity, and the little girl instantly became jealous, since Carmine's attention would often be diverted towards the other adult.

Other than that, the old notebook story shifted heavily into an odd locust/undead theme, and held the general love triangle of Ben/Alura/Joel.

That being said, I scrapped most of the story elements and began to simply work from scratch on Guardian Angel.

Things went well, then I hit a wall (why, I do not remember), and then eventually moved on to other works.

As I said before, this long period of abandonment is not okay.

The last Gears game I played was 3, and I never truly cared about the series enough to keep up with the lore. That being said, I had plans for this story to only delve into 3, and nothing more.

I will try to reground myself and try to pump out a chapter that is long, long overdue. When I write, I write whatever the fuck it is that comes to mind first, and never edit or delete my shit (save for grammar and spelling errors). What comes, stays. Unfortunately, with this technique, I'm at the mercy of whatever the characters that are the loudest at the time want. At times, I go to write for one fandom, and write entirely for another. I plan something in my head, and the characters do a 180 in plot.

This being said-my writing has matured, and developed. A lot. It should be quite evident if you compare any of my dog shit writing to newer works (or bother to check out any of my newer works). I'm also highly, highly critical of whatever I write. If I write it, there's a 99.9% chance I'll hate it.

Because that's just how I am. :D

I've been on a Jurassic Park writing binge as of late, but I will most certainly see that this story gets updated with a proper chapter. I estimate within a few weeks (but usually when I estimate it as a few weeks-it usually only ends up being a few days). I just need some time to get in the knack of Gears and get a feel for what dog shit writer me was trying to accomplish, all those years ago.

Because Carmine deserves better, and certainly you, as readers-either still waiting, having completely forgotten about this work, or just happening to see this story for the first time-deserve better.

Thank you all for your time, loyalty and patience.

Sincerely,

Joelcoxriley