8 ½ months ago, we started an adventure. An experiment, if you will, to determine just how insane we could make a challenge. In many ways, it was sheer madness, the idea of throwing people into a big pot with two amazing characters - Carol Peletier and Daryl Dixon - stirring everything up and seeing what came out.

There were ups and downs and sideways twists every few days, it seemed; and though the road was long, in the end we were gifted with two stories that will stand the tests of time and linger on in the halls of Caryl fandom for a lifetime. Showcasing the most amazing array of talent, emotional depth, characterization and just plain wonderful storytelling…

Team Angst sent us on a whirlwind adventure that ripped our hearts to pieces, hold our breath and skip more than a few heartbeats...  and made us love every second of it with Seperari (dividus).

Team Fluff countered by promising us sweetness and… well… fluff, but delivered a heaping dose of action and laughter as well with What’s In A Name.

Both stories are absolutely amazing, the result of countless hours of behind the scenes work by our incredible teams. From all of us on #TeamReader to all the Angsters and Fluffsters - thank you, thank you so much for sharing your incredible talents with us on this most epic of challenges.

Team Fluff: Ravenesque (team captain), Selbyzipper, leigh57, NotLaura, Stephtron312, munchkin78, LAH, indigo_bunting, meeshie, Caryl Warrior, jaibhagwan, krissyg927, Stellamare, sweettooth7
Team Admin: Ikkleosu

Team Angst: TheReadersMuse (team captain), Lamport, Piper, faegal04, Equuleus86, lovesdaryl, Peonies01, Argent Gale, dismantledrose, TheWalkingCaryl, heyansky99, inallthechaos
Team Admin: subversivegrrl

Each team member will receive a gift, which FM will be sending out via PM to each of you shortly. I would say more, but I’m going to leave it to my co-admins, Ikkleosu and subversivegrrl, who each took on being the point of contact for our teams and were heavily involved in the ride of the Round Robin.

Ikkleosu: Wow we've finally reached the finish line of the Round Robin, I'm sure it felt for some like we'd never get here. Congratulations on a fantastic job by all, but as admin for Team Fluff I have to say special well done to my team. Ravenesque/Megan did amazingly at keeping track of the authors and making sure everyone knew what was happening, with thanks to some terrific organisation help from Bedlinens. She also did some great work brain-storming with authors who were struggling with how to keep the fluff going. And boy did you ever all manage that! All the authors contributed such brilliant chapters, and as a Brit, obviously I am emotionally attached to tea and am so impressed everyone gave us so many feels with cups of the tasty stuff. Everyone should be so proud of their contribution, as both teams balanced the content so well which is amazing given the variety of authors . We've ended up with two fabulous stories to read over and over.

subversivegrrl: One of the best parts about being involved with Nine Lives as an admin is jointly figuring out and trying new things -- in this case, our first Round Robin. Was it a smashing success? Well, yes and no. Was it worth it? I think so. It's been fun - and humbling - being the admin liaison for Team Angst. TheReadersMuse was a terrific captain, staying in frequent communication with everyone and wrangling any difficulties that arose with regard to scheduling, writer anxieties, and any of the other complications that can arise mid-project. The writers went into it with a "clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose" attitude and I think they enjoyed the experience - great teamwork and support for each other when people were struggling. It took a community, but I think that's how NL does it every time!

ALL OF YOU: please give it up and fill the comments with your praise and admiration for our amazing teams of authors!

Thank you for continuing to push us and inspire us. Thank you for being part of Nine Lives.