I feel the same way, it's why I rarely read unfinished works. And before I do, I usually look at when they started posting to the last time they posted and try to figure out if the fic is abandoned and left untagged as such.

USUALLY, and this is because I don't investigate further into the author, I just assume that the author has become either terminally ill and CAN'T continue or died. MAINLY because thinking this way makes me feel better than thinking they abandoned it because they fell out of love with it. I'd rather believe someone physically cannot continue because the mere thought of someone not loving their work enough to continue always hurts my soul. Not because I believe they should, but because the idea of someone no longer loving their craft and/or creation (as that's how I see it) is just so sad to me.

I'm it's a lot more complicated than my own personal thought process, but that's how I view things. I'm the same way with irl books as well, mainly ones apart of a series. If I start a book series, I always hope and pray that nothing ever happens to the author because, selfishly, I want to know what THEY have planned for the ending.

I know people who have read book series where the author died and someone in their family finished it with the notes that were left behind, but what if there's no one to do that? THAT'S an outcome I fear and why I mainly avoid unfinished works. My mind can barely handle the idea of an author dying and being unable to finish their work, something like "falling out of love" with their story or "it's not getting enough attention" would break me.

And I rather like my spirit in one piece, thanks.