deep breath Okay, here I go, opening a can of worms. But I feel this information should be shared.
Short, short version: I got a message from William, and he's okay with people continuing his characters or work.
Longer version, with receipts:
So, back when I was a little yinglet in the forums, before I knew anything about William leaving and such, I had sent a message to him about getting permission to write more Rats' Raiders content. At the time, I wasn't aware of all gestures to everything this. Well, anyway, months later, I did get a reply, though he hasn't responded since. But I will attach the screenshot of what was said to me in PMs, minus some redacted information that COULD be considered personal. It probably isn't, but I'm executing the better part of discretion in case.
In the message, which will be seen below, he mentions that he has no plans to return to writing, and that everything he's done is open and public to be seen and used as others wish.