Honestly, I'm probably just going to officially end this RP. I think I need to reassess my ability to properly pace an RP so players stay excited and involved as well as practice being more assertive in the future. A bunch of stuff happened and I've sort of lost steam, and I doubt there's momentum left in this RP to revive it.
So yeah, thanks to everyone for sticking around and participating, but rather than leaving people hanging, I'm unambiguously closing this RP. I sort of feel bad doing this as the GM, so I'm sorry. I hope people had fun while it lasted.