#covid is the only reason i am updating like this

[marzipanandminutiae]

Hello I was just wondering if you've seen Imani Barbarin talk about not voting (https://x.com/imani_barbarin/status/1747723080917492020?s=46&t=55h0eHrgY7FtQI8ej54maw)? I saw you reblog the post about "not waiting for the morally pure candidate" and I think that's a willful misrepresentation of what Gen Z is feeling

We've not seen Biden address ANY of the things the post claims (climate change is the only one I remember without scrolling back) but we have seen him approve more oil licenses than trump, drop more bombs than trump, support a genocide, abandon disabled people and any Covid mitigations during the second highest surge since the start of the pandemic (with less testing so odds are things r even worse than we can tell), bring back student debt, etc etc

As a Gen Z'r, I genuinely want to understand how y'all can believe "no vote is a vote for fascism" when both candidates are horrendous? Why is the onus on us and not the politicians to do better instead of pointing fingers and saying "at least we're better than Trump" when that is categorically untrue?

I'm sorry if this is too rant-y I'm just so furious and frustrated with my perception of older voters' complacency with being given utter shit instead of organizing for better

I am trying very hard to be reasoned and understanding about this- bearing in mind that we want the same things in the end and I'mnot jazzed for Biden either -when it's extremely, EXTREMELY obvious to me that Trump is worse.

Like.

If he gets elected there might not be another election. The man was theoretically willing to use military force to quell protests if he lost the 2020 election (why he didn't, I don't know; but I'm not willing to give him that chance a second time).

Trump has called himself a dictator, proudly, in the same breath as saying "we're closing the border and we're drilling, drilling, drilling." Biden does NOT remotely have a perfect record on either of those things- he was locked into some construction of the border wall by how the funds had already been allocated by Congress during the Trump administration, but not everything he's done in relation to it, which also pisses me off. As for the oil thing, it's a bit more complicated than it seems on the surface: not as simple as "he doesn't actually care about the environment" even as it's definitely not a good move or in line with his stated climate goals.

As for those climate goals, I found this interesting article that rates key areas of climate action and how they've fared during the Biden administration. It was updated in January, and it is not sycophantically uncritical across the board. But that is LEAGUES more progress than we'd get under a system of "drilling, drilling, drilling" with absolutely no concessions to the climate crisis at all.

His handling of the situation in Palestine...yeah, I struggle with that, too. I know he's been trying to talk their leaders down, to some degree, but it's not nearly enough to me. And I STRONGLY disagree with us selling them weapons. However, Trump's statements on the matter- calling for a ban on Gazan refugees in the US, calling pro-Palestinian protestors "barbarians," and saying he'd revoke the student visa of anyone he deemed "anti-American" -makes me believe that letting him get into power is not something my conscience would allow, vis a vis the fate of the Palestinian people. Because it would be exponentially worse.

I also think the material good that has happened under the Biden administration has been...MASSIVELY under-publicized. Because like. He HAS addressed things. Lots of things, in fact.

this article from last year was too early to include pardoning thousands of people federally convicted of simple marijuana possession (again, not perfect, but still very good), setting new rules to limit methane emissions, capping prices for at least some major insulin producers, partial student loan debt forgiveness (tried to do more, but got hamstrung by Republicans), cancelling oil leases granted by Trump in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (not enough given the leases HE granted, but it's not nothing either), and much more I'm sure I'm overlooking. Because, again, nobody's been talking about it. It sells more news subscriptions to feed readers an endless stream of what Biden is doing wrong- which I am not denying! -leaving people with the dangerous impression that both sides are the same. Republicans would not have done any of this. That's just the truth of the matter.

Look, I would like a better option, too. I would love to actually LIKE a presidential candidate in my lifetime. I'd love one who wouldn't make concessions to the interests of selfish, heartless people with ledgers where their sense of human compassion should be. I just don't see that person coming to power between now and November.

And I'll take someone who is Standard US Politician Slimy but at least makes some improvements (unfortunately, I doubt there's anyone with a chance of winning in less than a year who doesn't support Israel to some degree, since this country have a long history of that) over someone who might actually stage a right-wing military coup, and who would kill me and other marginalized people himself if he thought it would get him more fame and fortune.

Some people say their conscience won't let them vote Biden. I can't tell them what to do. But if he gets the Democratic nomination, my conscience wouldn't let me do anything else.

[obliqueblade]

End of Season 9 + health update (kinda)

So, I finally got a chance to watch most of the Hermits videos about the end of season nine, just finished with Grians, and I was not anticipating that I would cry.

I did. An embarrassing amount.

Something that I haven't talked about in a while, is the recent really bad health crisis I had a few months ago. For those unaware, or who don't remember, I was diagnosed with a form of Lung Cancer almost three years ago.

A few months ago, one of my roommates, allowed her partner into our apartment knowing that they had Covid and didn't tell me or our other roommates. I got sick. Really sick. I don't want to go into too much detail, because it is not pleasant, but since then my doctors and I had to change almost everything about my treatment plan, but the major thing we were unsure of was how would it affect one of my upcoming surgeries.

Originally, this was set for mid-January, but my doctors wanted to run some more tests and make sure that I would be strong enough to undergo it. At the time in late October, they told me they would know for sure by December. And, a few days ago I got the call to go and meet with them.

I'm not strong enough.

Which, essentially means that without this surgery, all they are really going to be able to do is keep me comfortable until I pass.

Obviously, this sucks, and not at all how I had intended things to go. I've not told any of my family, mainly because I don't really know how to at this time. Tomorrow being Christmas it feels wrong to do it now, so I'll probably wait till after the holidays.

Do not worry, I am still making progress on the fic, as it isn't strenuous to do.

Anyway, I felt that I needed to write this with the end of the Hermitcraft season. I had only started watching Hermitcraft during season 8, not long after I had gotten my diagnosis. So season 9 was my first time watching a full season- start to end.

I think that might be one of the reasons I got so emotional towards the end. Realistically, depending on when they start season 10, I won't be alive to see it, let alone the end of it.

Obviously, I'm not saying "they need to start the new season now because I'm dying, and screw how burnt out you guys might feel". That would be ridiculous, and not the point I'm trying to make.

The Hermits introduced me to so much joy, such much creativity, and so much strength. The days I felt like were the end, were made so much brighter, because of the Hermits.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I probably wouldn't have made it through the past two years without them.

So, in the only way that I hopefully can with the time I have left, I want to complete this fic. I want to attribute something back to this amazing community, and the people that got me through so much.

Thank you, Hermitcraft, for making the last few years of my life feel like they were worth living.

[idrellegames]

Hey folks,

I know many of you are eager for news about Episode 3. The fact of the matter is that it will not be coming to the public build for a very long time. The back half of 2022 was extremely challenging for me as I dealt with contracting Covid, recovering from minor surgery, and more illness. I was sick for a full month from the end of December to the end of January and I am only recently getting better.

Development is about 4-5 months behind schedule and it's impossible to make that time up. I am not going to push myself to try. Self-employed indie creators need sick leave and time off just like any job. It's not healthy to push yourself to create - create - create to meet arbitrary deadlines, because ultimately both your health and the quality of your work suffer.

Because Wayfarer prioritizes roleplay and player choice above all, its episodes are very content dense. Even if an average playthrough is not that long (relatively speaking), there are many, many possibilities depending on continuity, previous choices, and skill checks. The cumulative word count for each episode is well within the realm of a brick-sized fantasy novel.

In IF terms, this means single episodes are roughly the size of a full game. There's a reason I use the term "episode" for each installment - these are not chapters, these are entries in a series.

Episode 3 Part 1 is the most complex the game has gotten so far thanks to the multiple endings of Episode 2, and it takes time to develop those paths. Part 1 alone is going to be well over 300,000 words cumulatively by the time it's finished, and there are still two more parts to go after that.

Wayfarer offers a lot of replay value and the game is intended to be played multiple times, in multiple ways. I highly encourage players waiting for the next installment to poke around at the existing material and find different routes and paths. Try something you haven't tried before! You may discover new lore or character dynamics you didn't know were there.

If you are looking for something extra, I post weekly sneak peeks of in-progress Episode 3 content on my Patreon every Wednesday. These are fairly sizable previews (ranging in the 800-2000 word count) and are available to all tiers. Currently, there are 31 previews of in-progress work under the tag, so there is a lot of content to peruse and theorize about. I am not going to be sharing any more previews publicly outside the two posted in December.

I can't say when the episode is coming. I am working on an alpha update as fast as reasonably possible, but the non-linearity is extremely challenging and takes time to sort out. As I have said before, when Episode 3 content does release, it will be Patreon/alpha only until Episode 4 is finished.

The wait is going to be long, but this is the reality of interactive fiction development. I am one person - I can only write, edit, and code so fast.

[thehaniverse]

HYBE vs Min Hee Jin - The Full Timeline

Hi guys, Han here, and LORD, this has been one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but I hope this is helpful to all those who are trying to follow this mess in its entirety.

Important notes:

I've included the pre-audit timeline to help you understand the history and context of everything that's happened

I will be updating periodically with new information

I will try to keep entries to the point, and highlight the main points given by each side without adding too much of my own opinion - so make your own conclusions!

Credits to TMIKpop on Twitter for most of the translated news articles as I'm far too lazy, busy (and dyslexic) to read all those Korean articles myself.

I tried to include sources as much as possible in the more recent news, but honestly, I'm going to be a little lazy with this as I don't have enough free time to go back and find sources for things that happened way in the past or are already well-known up to this point. Feel free to send me sources in my ask box though!

Also for reference, here are the key involved characters (and name abbreviations that will be used throughout this post.)

Bang PD (Bang Shihyuk, HYBE Chairman & BigHit CEO)

PJW (Park Jiwon, HYBE CEO, ex-CEO of NEXON Games)

MHJ (Min Hee Jin, ADOR CEO, ex-SM employee)

VP L (Lee Sangwoo, VP of ADOR, ex-financial division at HYBE)

VP S (Shin ??, VP of ADOR)

NJs (NewJeans), LS (Le Sserafim), IL (ILLIT), GFRIEND & BTS

BHM (BigHit Music), SouMu (Source Music), BELIFT & ADOR

Items with * are accusations by either ADOR or HYBE, but that haven't been 100% verified as true or false. Things that have been verified won't have any *.

Similarly, (RUMORS) that seem to have some basis in reality based on existing evidence but have not been explicitly stated by either side are also included. Also disclaimer: I am not pro-HYBE nor pro-MHJ, I have my personal opinion but I've tried to keep this as impartial and unbiased as possible. I've just presented the news that has been released, if it tills one way, that's just how it is.

Without further ado(r LOL), let's begin!

2019~2021

MHJ joins BigHit Ent as Chief Branding Officer for all labels - this is in preparation for Bighit Ent becoming HYBE.

*Between then and 2021, MHJ suggests making a girl group to Bang PD, and they agree to make the group under SouMu rather than BHM. However, MHJ is never officially employed at SouMu.

*Bang PD promises that MHJ's group will be HYBE's first girl group.

All NJs members join SouMu (Minji joined in 2017 / Hani 2019 / Haerin & Danielle 2020 / Hyein 2021)

*NJs' debut is pushed back initially because of COVID, then again due to contract issues, resulting in LS being ready to debut first and PJW telling MHJ that NJs will no longer be the first gg from HYBE. MHJ claims the reason for NJs' debut delay is because they didn't like her creative vision though.

2021

Q1 (Exact Timing Unknown)

Bang PD starts developing LS with SouMu as he wants to create a group featuring known members, Chaewon and Sakura from Iz*one.

*NJs' debut is pushed back initially because of COVID, then again due to contract issues, resulting in LS being ready to debut first

PJW tells MHJ that NJs will no longer be the first gg from HYBE.

*MHJ is upset that another gg is being developed under Source and claims that it's because Bang PD didn't like the direction she was taking NJs and abandoned her to work on LS instead.

MHJ later agrees to the new debut schedule, with LS debuting just 2 months before NJs, and decides that is enough time for her to promote NJs.

Feb/Mar

HYBE is officially established as a company with Bang PD as CEO.

May

PJW is announced as the new CEO of HYBE.

Bang PD continues as CEO of only BGM but only the chairman of HYBE. This means he has no say in the daily operations of HYBE, but can make big decisions that go to the Board of Directors (BOD). Note: Each label under HYBE has its own individual CEO.

GFRIEND is officially disbanded without any notice from SouMu.

*MHJ is accused (by HYBE staff) of taking almost all of the SouMu staff to ADOR resulting in SouMu not having enough staff to manage GFRIEND and LS. SouMu also had a lot of debt from the training of NJs that they would no longer see a return on as the profits would go to ADOR so they needed to take dramatic measures. (RUMOR) SouMu had already sunk a lot of money into LS (and NJs) and expected LS to be more popular as they were debuting under HYBE, so they decided to terminate GFRIEND at the end of their contracts without warning.

November

ADOR is officially established so that MHJ can have full control over her group's image and development, rather than answering to SouMu CEO and Bang PD.

HYBE gives 16.1B won investment for the establishment of ADOR

2022

May

LS debuts from SouMu

*HYBE claims they shortened their promotional period in order to give MHJ enough time to promote NJs ahead of their debut, but MHJ shows Kakao messages of PJW specifying that NJs should not be promoted ahead of LS' debut so they can benefit from the speculation of them being MHJ's group.

LS' debut is overshadowed by the Garam scandal.

(RUMOR) While Garam was later found to be innocent and misrepresented in the media (ie she was protecting a friend from a bully, not actively bullying someone), many believe MHJ was the one who leaked the information to the press to jeopardize LS' debut. This comes from the statements from HYBE that they have evidence of her collecting and leaking artists' private information.

July

NJs debuts with ZERO pre-debut promotion, instead dropping an incredible amount of content for the debut promotions. Note: While MHJ claims HYBE tried to stop her promoting at all before their debut, she has not provided any evidence. It is the responsibility of each individual label to plan and execute their artist's promotions.

End of Year

Thanks to NJs' successful debut, ADOR has paid off a majority of their debt to HYBE, and now only owes 4B won.

2023

Dec // Source: Donga Ilbo

Bang PD lends MHJ money to buy cheap stock options (intentionally discounted by HYBE for her to buy) and MHJ uses the loan to buy a 20% stake in ADOR. This means she gets paid her shares on top of her 1M USD annual salary as CEO. Note: I couldn't confirm this, but it's believed she is the only CEO of any HYBE label that has stocks in her company. BHM is private so there are no stocks and it is owned completely by Bang PD, while the other labels' stocks are owned 100% by HYBE.

MHJ buys the shares on the following conditions: + If she decides to quit, HYBE is obliged to buy the stocks back and pay MHJ 13 times [ADOR's profit from the last 2 years x her % of shares] + She can quit from Nov 2024 and has a non-compete clause for 2 years where she must maintain a 4.5% stake in ADOR. Note: This means as a stakeholder she can not establish her own company or work for a company that will directly compete with ADOR for those 2 years, as she can not do work that can potentially devalue her shares. This is standard in many industries.

MHJ later shares 2% of her shares to executives of ADOR: VP S and VP L. Note: It is unclear if she sold them or gifted them.

Q4 (Exact Timing Unknown)

VP L leaves their position in HYBE's financial team and starts to work at ADOR under MHJ.

*HYBE accuses VP L of downloading a bunch of HYBE's private financial data that he should no longer have access to, and giving it to MHJ to later use to try and blackmail HYBE into selling their ADOR stocks with the investors she is colluding with. This would mean the majority of ADOR stocks would be controlled by people who support MHJ's decisions.

2024

Feb // Source: Donga Ilbo

MHJ tries to negotiate the terms of her contract with HYBE. She requests the following: + The 13x valuation of her shares be increased to 30x. Taking their value from approximately 100B won to 270B won. (This would be 5.5x the amount of profit she actually made with ADOR in 2023.) + The complete removal of the non-compete clause, allowing her to cash out all of her stocks and start/work for a competitor company immediately after leaving the company.

Additionally, she asks for the ability to make decisions regarding outside investors by herself as the CEO without HYBE's input.

HYBE rejects all of her requests because they would be complete financial losses and risks to HYBE. Negotiations stop as neither side will budge.

It is also around this time that HYBE gets the tips that MHJ is planning a management takeover with outside investors.

Mar

HYBE received a tip that MHJ is planning to try and make ADOR independent by gathering investors who support MHJ to buy up the majority of ADOR shares.

[23rd~29th] MHJ and VP L share messages about selling ADOR after 'emptying it like a shell', how to make ADOR independent, and how they should blackmail HYBE and ruin HYBE's reputation. *HYBE believes the 'empty shell' comment means terminating NJs' contracts with the majority shareholder power from the investors MHJ was meeting. Note: MHJ has confirmed the existence of these messages but insists they were just jokes between disgruntled employees. HYBE retorts that these plans are too specific and detailed, and they found additional evidence to prove they were more than just empty words.

[25th] ILLIT debuts with 'Magnetic'

April

[3rd] MHJ submits an internal complaint to HYBE and BELIFT that IL's concept is copyright infringement of NJs and that HYBE has the obligation to protect them. She requests they respond by April 23rd or 24th (not clear.)

MHJ also complains to the parents of NJs that HYBE is trying to sideline NJs with IL.

[21st] HYBE and BELIFT submit a 6-page response to MHJ. Note: She later claims that she didn't receive any response, but HYBE provides proof that she received it, so she changed that they replied last minute so she couldn't prepare for the audit, but the response doesn't mention the audit because they are separate issues. However, MHJ believes the audit is all because of the IL situation.

[22nd] HYBE carries out and publically announces the ADOR audit. This results in an 8% drop in HYBE stocks. (Whistleblower will be revealed later!) *They claim to find evidence of her plans, the illegally obtained company and artist information, and more.

[23rd] MHJ holds a 2.5 hour press conference in retaliation. *She doubles down that she believes this is all because of the complaint she filed and that HYBE (and particularly Bang PD) has hated her and NJs from the beginning. Conference Transcript Here:

[24th] This was also the deadline for which all company devices needed to be returned for the audit but MHJ refused to return her work laptop (and still hasn't as far as I know.) *MHJ claims the timing of the audit was intentional to jeopardize NJs' comeback, however, HYBE provided copied devices to all the employees. She has since not given any justification for not returning her laptop and NJs comeback is continuing as scheduled.

[26th] While HYBE initially stated they wouldn't respond on the day of the conference, they later released a full statement addressing the key points of MHJ's argument. HYBE's full response in English:

NJs's fans (Bunnies) sent trucks to HYBE requesting that MHJ stop using NJs and their parents to protect herself and that NJs stay within HYBE.

NJ's parents refuse to accept calls from HYBE but express their support through newspaper interviews.

Both NJs and BTS RM announce their comebacks set for May 24th. (HYBE's stocks recover thanks to this.) MHJ paints this as HYBE trying to crush NJs with their biggest group because NJs surpassed BTS - HYBE retorts that BHM picked the date first and advised her to change the date, but she insisted on having NJs' comeback on the same day.

[30th] HYBE calls an extraordinary general meeting with the BODs, but the ADOR executives and MHJ do not attend, meaning they have to file a legal suit requiring the MHJ, VP S and VP L to attend the ADOR BODs extraordinary general meeting on May 31st instead.

Other things of note that happened between the 22nd to 30th:

News reports broke that a petition for re-investigation regarding a 2017 allegation against BTS for Sagaeji was passed to the KFTC & Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism. Days later the organizations responded by clearing the charges and asking that all musicians be as honest and forthcoming as BTS. It was later discovered at the hearing that MHJ was behind this situation, and ordered her VPs to create a buzz around the issue to distract attention from her. // Sources: Link / Yonhap News

Similarly, following the accusation from HYBE that MHJ was talking to her 'shaman friend', a rumor broke that BTS were members of a cult that the chairman of their university (Cyber Global University) is rumored to be part of. The Chairman denied being part of a cult, and HYBE/BHM released statements denying the allegations too.

(RUMOR) "K-ARMYs" sent trucks and funeral wreaths to HYBE dissing the company and pleading allegiance only to BTS until May 7th. The following day, these were replaced by trucks from "Bunnies" showing support for MHJ - contradicting the prior trucks sent criticising her. The suspicious timing, the unusually fast fundraising, the contradictory message, the hiring of bodyguards to protect the wreaths, and other strange coincidences cast doubt on if any of these trucks are actually from fans. Many believe MHJ is funding these herself to paint the image that fans are on her side, or at least hate HYBE, justifying her own discontent with HYBE.

May // Source: Biz Chosun

[7th] MHJ files an injunction to Seoul District Court to block HYBE from using their 80% share of ADOR to vote her out (fire her.)

[10th] ADOR BOD agreed to HYBE's request to hold the extraordinary general meeting to discuss the dismissal of MHj (and the two VPs.)

*The same day, prior to the BOD announcement, MHJ's side said a styling team leader was subject to improper coercion during the audit. // Source: Lee Daily HYBE later retaliated explaining how the audit was conducted and that when the staff wanted to stop, they respected her wishes. Furthermore, HYBE said they found evidence of embezzlement and improper payment receipts for ADOR staff. // Source: Newsen ADOR denied that the payment methods were normal and legal, but definitely they are not. // Source: Newsis However, the staff did come forward to say she felt pressured and blackmailed with the embezzlement claims if she didn't comply with the audit. // Source: Ilgan Sports

[12th] An email from "NJs Parents" to HYBE is released to a newspaper, the contents of the email describing how Bang PD did not greet the girls in the elevator, and how they are their parents were upset by it. HYBE retorted that this was not true, and that the email was fabricated by VP L and MHJ and they had proof of this. // Source: YTN A parent of NJs later gave an interview with Ilgan Sports revealing the email was in fact written by MHJ, based on conversations she had with the parents. She also claimed PJW had said the girls would take a break for 1.5 years in order to find a Grammy worthy producer for NJs and that the parents were worried about their careers. // Source: Ilgan Sports HYBE denies any such statement and that they plan to continue NJs schedules as planned. //Source: Seoul Newspaper

[13th] YTN reports HYBE has selected a new CEO for ADOR to replace MHJ once she's voted out, and that they will reveal all of the results of the audit at the court hearing.

Controversy about NJs new song 'Bubble Gum' being plagiarised from a 1982 song called 'Easier Said Than Done' by British Rock Band ShakaTak. // Source: Biz Chosun

[14th] HYBE filed a complaint with the FSS due to insider trading carried out thanks to a tip from MHJ's side about the upcoming public scandal. Note: It's complicated and is about additional people not mentioned until now, so I will link the thread explaining it. It is relevant however, as it backs HYBE's claim that MHJ had planned to ruin their company image as part of her management takeover plan even before the audit. LINK

[17th] The hearing for MHJ's injunction takes place. Each side has 30 minutes to present their arguments and evidence. The below tweets summarize the main points.

HYBE's Side:

ADOR's Side:

Although MHJ requested her Kakao messages not to be shared publically (despite her already showing some), a reporter did recreate the messages. (He copied them word for word but recreated the image so it doesn't break the rules.) The messages show her hatred for women in general, particularly a female employee who was reported assaulted by one of the VPs. Messages Translation: LINK Message Source: LINK LINK

[17th] NJs members and their parents all submitted petitions to oppose the dismissal of MHJ and request that MHJ and NJs continue to stay under HYBE - these petitions were submitted before the hearing where MHJ's disparaging comments against NJs were revealed. // Source: Hankook Ilbo

[17th] HYBE's Q1 results were released and showcased how NJs/ADOR is not as valuable an asset as MHJ is painting them out to be. This goes against MHJ's argument that HYBE is trying to crush her because NJs are getting 'too big'. LINK

[17th] The whistleblower who tipped HYBE off to make them do the audit is revealed. Long story short it was one of the associates of the investors MHJ had been trying to get to buy shares of ADOR who reached out to HYBE. MHJ has claimed during her conference she never met any investors and that HYBE should prove who they are. Now that they've been named, she's still deflecting because it was VP L who met with the investors rather than MHJ herself. // Source: LINK / Biz Chosun

[17th - yeah, a lot happened this day] MHJ accuses HYBE of trying to make her commit 'Albun Pushing', as well as complaining about the distribution deal with UMG - HYBE retaliates denying the allegations and provides evidence of MHJ doing the exact thing she accused them of, and also explains how the UMG benefits all artists and has already benefit NJs. // Source: LINK Note: This is NOT Sajaegi, but it is still a tactic to inflate sales. The difference is Sajaegi is the company buying the albums themselves, whereas this album pushing is forcing distributors to preorder more stock and then hold events (like fansigns) to help them sell out after.

[24th] This day is the deadline by which both sides can submit additional evidence before the courts make their decision on whether to pass MHJ's injunction (stopping HYBE from voting her out) or not. The court has stated they will release their verdict before the 31st. // Source: YNA

[31st] The ADOR extraordinary general meeting will take place.

This is all the information so far, I've skipped some of the common knowledge things like the details of the IL plagiarism or cult accusations because I think they just muddle the whole timeline and are very inconsequential.

I will continue to update this page as things continue to happen. And I want to show out TMIKPOP from Twitter one more time as I wouldn't have been able to put this together without their tweets.

[crimeronan]

god i know i keep half-tongue-in-cheek saying that my dad is literally belos owlhouse but. i've apparently gotten a little desensitized to Just How Bad He Is (because i have ESCAPED, YAY) & so today has been a delightful adventure.

i wrote an AITA post from his POV about stuff that happened several years ago, bc i was curious about how bad he'd get dragged - i updated the timeline but the Only fact i changed was the reason for his Woes (i blamed COVID economic struggles, which actually makes him a Hero compared to the truth. the truth being so ugly i'm not gonna detail it here good god).

i kept it true to POV by only using things that he actually did say to me at the time about why he was doing the things that he was doing, & blocking out all the relevant info about why the wronged party (me) was so upset, & having him praise his daughter (me) and go "i love her so much :) she's so smart and independent and i would never hurt her :)", & having him half-assedly admit he might've sounded unreasonable/angry/malicious, in a way that was clearly supposed to earn Good Dad points for being so Willing To Admit Imperfections, despite a continued constant doubling-down refusal to answer questions about actual important shit or fix anything ever.

cannot emphasize enough that this was not a fictionalized/embellished/creative POV. the only points of fiction were 1) my dad did not write these things on reddit, he said them to me in real life word for word instead and 2) this happened many years ago, not like... yesterday.

anyway the thread blew up and the commenters were all so kind and genuinely worried for me (as in, the daughter) and offering so much help that i hopped on a diff account to be my past self so i could reassure people i'm okay & had a plan in motion for gettin' the hell outta dodge. because i felt REALLY BAD that they didn't know i..... did in fact get out. people were so nice it made me actually fucking cry jesus CHRIST. i had in fact perhaps forgotten that these things were all as bad and worrying as they were

now. this is all a very serious and harrowing-sounding prelude to the actual point of this post, which is. a bullet list of some of my FAVORITE FUCKING RESPONSES. revel in these with me i had so much fucking fun. i have taken DOZENS AND DOZENS of screenshots to peruse whenever i need a healthy dose of Perspective

here they r:

you are CARTOONISHLY EVIL?

HOLY ABUSE BATMAN

DO BETTER. RIGHT NOW.

did you even listen to yourself writing this. HOW

there's something seriously wrong with you. like on an intrinsic unfixable level

hey this happened to me too! my parent died and i had a party about it btw

your daughter is never going to speak to you again after this

(note from the future: yeah)

you're going to act confused and sad when she goes no-contact aren't you

(NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: HE SURE FUCKING IS)

i think you are creating your own problems and then getting mad at them. maybe instead you could not do that

is this ragebait. i can't imagine anyone this horrible actually existing

this isn't ragebait. i can tell this isn't ragebait because I Know This Kind Of Man So Intimately

you are the asshole on literally so many levels i'm going to write a 15 paragraph response line-by-line dissecting everything wrong with you

are you aware that you're lying or are you literally this incapable of 2 seconds of honest self-reflection

i need to donate to a gofundme for your daughter right now immediately

(note from the future: i am not going to scam people by pretending a long-done sitch is a current emergency on gofundme. have no fear.)

wow. okay i'm gonna go hug my mom and thank her for not being you

you are Actually Literally Empirically the Actual Literal Worst Parent who has Actually Literally Ever Existed

HOW FUCKING DARE YOU????

WHO DO YOU FUCKING THINK YOU ARE.

I AM A 57-YEAR-OLD MOM OF FOUR ADULT CHILDREN AND THE MERE THOUGHT OF DOING ANY OF THE THINGS YOU HAVE DONE HERE MAKES ME PHYSICALLY NAUSEOUS

these vibes are so skeevy. leave her the fuck alone????

along with ASTONISHINGLY accurate inferences about exactly what was happening with the daughter (me) in all the missing missing reasons & like..... exactly how the situation was So Much More Ugly And Horrifying than an innocently confused i'm-so-well-intentioned dad-POV post would have you believe.

so. anyway. that was literally the most validating experience i've ever had in my entire life. i know i've said he's a bad guy before but i also always forget just how far beyond the pale he is. like wow that was. that was not a normal average human experience to have growing up huh.

IN CONCLUSION.

if you guys are ever wondering why i am the way that i am about, like........ anything....... everything....... whatever......

just remember.

i was raised by belos owlhouse.

[mantimae]

I wanna take a sec to talk about Lucky Penny.

If you haven’t been lucky enough to have heard of Lucky Penny before now: it is my favorite graphic novel. It has been since junior year of High-school. I am now a senior in my final semester in college (and accounting for my Covid style gap year) Lucky Penny has been my #1 fave graphic novel for six years and counting.

It’s funny, it’s raunchy, the characters feel real, the story is well paced and takes some very fun and unexpected twists! However, the story and art aren’t the only reason I love Lucky Penny. I originally found Yuko Ota and Ananth Hirsh via their autobiographical book of daily life comics Johnny Wander: Our Cats Are More Famous Than Us, which I had picked up from the local library and was absolutely thrilled to find out was a webcomic that at the time was still actively updating. On their website (linked here!) you can actually read Lucky Penny and their Autobiographical comics completely for free as well as their current (still updating) work, Barbarous.

For me Lucky Penny acts as a bridge and a love letter to middle school me, who avidly read webcomics on solo hosting sights, many of which have been lost to time or have simply stopped updating. Self published webcomics outside of companies like Tapas (formerly Tapastic) and LINE Webtoon have ensured that solo host websites are far and few in between and routinely get looked over. Despite existing in the face of these big companies Johnny Wander lives on.

Lucky Penny is like warm soup. It’s comforting and every read feels different depending on where I am emotionally and just in my life in general. You can find Lucky Penny free to read on Johnny Wander here and even grab a physical copy for yourself here if you prefer paper. Updates on Yuko Ota and Ananth Hirsh’s current work and activities can be found on their respective tumblrs @aidosaur and @ananthhirsh

If you choose to read Lucky Penny I hope you love it. I’m sure you will. :)

[bellybiologist]

TLDR: Verzi Need Money. Here Link for Helping Fill Money Bar with Money Juice. -Ko-fi -Commission form (Open again! Note the price increase!) -Patreon -Paypal.me

Okay! Verzi need money. So! Here's this.

This shitty meter here is just for a bit of transparency (Graphic design is NOT my passion), cuz people like to know where there money is going. This will fill up as with funds from my patreon (money I got this month is already there!), from commissions, and from any tips/extras given by kind souls in passing, and I need to hit these marks EVERY month for like… a year. (This is after fees and such of course, cuz god forbid we don't pay the middle-men their dues.)

I will update this thing as time passes so ya'll will know where I'm at. Reblogging/Sharing is welcome, encouraged, and greatly appreciated!

A bit of info for each section under the Readmore:

-Rent and Bills: The Most Important thing to Keep Verzi Kickin'! I pay half my apartment's now $1368 rent PLUS the utilities, which range from 100~200 bucks, splitting with my aunt who works 2 jobs to make sure she pays her half. Since my mom passed away from Pancreatic cancer in 2021, this has been rough since it used to be split 3 ways.

-Dental Costs: The face bone doctors want my money after drilling holes and pulling out the insides!! My face actually feels BETTER so i'm not as mad as I COULD be about this, but this needs to be paid for the next 12 months. (And they want MORE money to do a cleaning and I almost laughed. Like, no buddy you ain't getting 750 out of me when I don't even have a refrigerator.(See Below))

-Big Purchase+Credit Card bills: It wont pay off ALL my credit card debt, but it keeps me from falling behind. Since the passing of Michael and Fred (my microwave and refrigerator respectively) I need to make some big purchases so my kitchen functions. Michael has been successfully replaced by Mikaela, and we are still looking for Fred's replacement. Ms. Frida, the chest freezer who is literally older than I am (I am 33!!) and STILL functions is holding down the fort while we look for a refrigerator. We can live without a fridge thanks to her constant service, allowing us to keep frozens. Also, like, literally on the 30th of July, Monty the Monitor must've succumbed to heatstroke so i had to buy one of THOSE too for my computer setup. I will name all my appliances to cope.

-Extra+Taxes: Once we get here, I'm in the clear for the month's expenses! However!! Taxes are due in October. I DO NOT know how much that will be, and since the whole Covid relief thing that lessened business taxes ended last year, I MAY be paying for quite a bit!! Anything past this point will be prepping for Taxes AND forming a buffer for More Happenings (God forbid).

===== Rewards??? Rewards!! =====

I considered a Drive like other kink artists in these circles, but I don't like drives for several reasons and those reasons are why I've never done one in the past. Despite that, I STILL want to do something that at least feels like a reward or incentive for people keeping me Alive™, so I'm going to do some simple doodles/sketches, and possibly try to stream those doodles in my discord!

Every 100 bucks past the "Rent and Bills Paid" section (meaning at 900 dollars and onward), I will do a RANDOM drawing from any requests/suggestions from the pool made by people who threw some cash monies my way!

Suggestions can be sent in through Ko-fi messages, Paypal notes accompanying payments/donations/tips, and a Patreon-only post (they are always giving me money, so patrons have access by default!). Commissioners who send in the form can ALSO suggest something for the pool if they like! (there's a question on the form for it) Now, like all requests, it's ultimately up to my discretion on whether or not I will draw something, but I will still try to keep it random and let it be a roll of the dice (or a RNG app).

There is no minimum requirement either! So people throwing only $1 at me, buying only one Ko-fi, or dropping anything bigger are free to offer a suggestion. But please limit requests/suggestions to one entry per person.

Now, as to what these will and can be:

-It will be a simple lined sketch with one color or flat colors. Depends on how many need doing, how I'm feeling when I draw it and how complicated it is.

-It can be up to 2 characters, but they may be less refined compared to a single character one. They can be the same character in 2 different states, or 2 different characters interacting with each other.

-No private requests please! It will have to be something that can be publicly posted and that you're fine with being perceived by others.

-In terms of kinks/sizes/etc, it will be something that you'd normally see on this blog or for my work! Mileage may vary, but more extreme stuff that I'd normally avoid may be glossed over when I'm constructing the pools.

-Unlike commissions, these will not go through a WIP stage/be modified after the fact! They end up how they end up. If you wanna be nitpicky, please use this opportunity to order a full commission!

-You're allowed to suggest OCs as long as it's yours or its owner has given permission to draw them in the context I am known to put boys in!

[spurgie-cousin]

ok i have been lacking fundie content lately just bc im mentally recovering for like 10 different things at the moment so here's a completely random and non-fundie related update of mostly things I just want to talk about for no good reason:

1. I'm sick but with like no symptoms other than I'm achey as hell so it's probably goddamn COVID

2. I am currently watching Saltburn and aaaAAAAAAAA *screams in deviant bisexual*

3. My old food hyperfixation of frozen Stouffer's brand Salisbury steak has been replaced with buttered noodles and ham that every mom figure in my life sent home with me from xmas leftovers:

(Preferably mixed together but this worked too)

4. Speaking of obsession I have become actually clinically obsessed with a $15 perfume that smells like 2009 I found at Marshalls which is only relevant bc the only thing I am usually truly snobby about is scents

Well that's it really hopefully whatever illness I have will go away soon but until then, all of my other problems were fixed so I'll just be over here smelling like a Y2K era mall and eating noodles and ham

[hoverdreamer]

Emergency Commissions!!!! (Final Update: January 1st, 2023; Closed!)

FINAL UPDATE:

Sorry for the long silence, it’s been hard to make this post with the state of my old laptop. It’s been a long road, but we’re finally doing alright! We recovered from covid, got jobs, and now everyone has moved out of the house we were in. I can’t thank those of you who helped out by commissioning, donating, and reblogging enough. While I am closing all commissions for now (I’m getting a desktop computer I can draw on in soon), my regular-priced commissions will make a return this year! I still have a few emergency commissions to post (including a big one for my bf that I’m still finishing, bless him for his patience) but otherwise am over this hurdle. The original details of the post will be under the cut. Wishing you all a wonderful new year! c:

I’ll keep this as short as possible: I just recovered from covid, but (although it doesn’t seem any of them caught it from me) the vast majority of my household now also tested positive. My mom has MS and couldn’t work even beforehand, and my brother is the only one with any sort of reliable income at the moment. I have a job interview in a few days, but our bills are past due and utilities could shut off at any time. A room in our basement flooded with sewage and contractors have been in and out of the house basically ripping up the whole basement... it’s just been a lot. 

My sibling and I are opening emergency commissions to see if we can help make ends meet this month (his post is here, check out his tiered commissions!). Any donations would also be appreciated, but I will draw something for anyone who gives $5 USD or more. If for whatever reason I don’t feel comfortable drawing what you’d like to request, let’s talk over what I can draw for you instead! Please DM me or email me at tks.fritz@gmail.com for questions or to communicate what you’d like! I can also accept e-transfers, though I’ll need prior communication so I can give you the correct email! Thank you so much for reading! 

Paypal: tks.fritz@gmail.com 

Some sample art (more available at my art blog, @potetheart​): 

UPDATE: My mom made a gofundme page, please consider reading more here! 

UPDATE 2: 

This morning our car got t-boned in an intersection and no longer goes. This also means that our secondary (read: should always have been primary) source of income is gone, as well as our main access to groceries. I am still unemployed and waiting to hear back from a couple of jobs, but am practically helpless from my end. I’m still working on a few commissions, but if you’re able to help in any way my family and I would greatly appreciate it. 

UPDATE 3: 

A lot has happened over the past month, including another covid case, but now a few of us are employed (though I won’t actually be working for another week or two). While I’m not convinced that we’re on solid ground yet, I am feeling more hopeful thanks to the generous donations and commissions we’ve received so far. Once my job starts up I won’t have quite as much time to dedicate to doing commissions (and if the demand gets too high I’ll shut them off and update this post) but for now it’s still about the only thing I can do, so if you can and are willing to commission me or my sibling (see the link to his post above in the main part of the post) we’d love to draw you something! If you’d just like to help, my paypal is above the pictures in this post and my mom’s gofundme is below them, but you can contact me to get a picture out of it too! 

[theamccafrey]

Idk a lot of crap or smth.

Ok so like I recognise that I had put up the 'I am takin a break from tumblr' post just yesterday, and like... I'm back, but in my defence I had been absconding since a few days before that anyway. And I may become like really active again, or I may not. But anywho, I wanted to idk just say stuff.

Everytime I have these- burnout episodes or whatever I just sorta feel very detached from the entire world. I'm like very talkative irl but I just sorta go into a shell. And maybe it is something normal everyone experiences, maybe it is not, bottom line is I end up feeling really shitty.

Anyway there is a lot to unpack regarding what I'm goin through. Basically- and this has been happening since covid- I have been goin through life as a third person witnessing {insert my name} interact with the world. And this third person does not like her (me).

But there are times when it gets real bad. Like I cannot make myself do basic things like studying or drinking water or charging my phone. And the only thing that makes me better is to... indulge in it . Just listen to my brain and embrace the burnout, hyperfixate on whatever I am hyperfixating on. Usually it is Netflix. For some reason it is much easier to detach with movies. I'm ashamed to admit even reading books, something I've built my entire life on, seems impossible at times. Anyway the best thing that possibly happened, hence, is school ending. If I had to spend a day doin nothing it usually came with a guilt of not studying or whatever, and i don't have to deal with that now.

I may be active rn, and I may disappear in the next five minutes. So just bear with me.

Anyway today has been kinda better. I woke up at 11 am and I read an entire book by lunch, nobody has fought yet, and I updated my online book catalogue. I feel better. So ye idk why I said this but it's my blog so whatever. I'm still not feeling up to it to handle the gimmick blog, I feel overwhelmed still. But yeah.

[ohtobemare]

a silly little update....

hi tumblr people!

as many are aware, i'm in the process of writing two different celebrations: my birthday celly, and my slutty 400 followers. i still have over thirty requests to fill, and it's taking a lot longer than expected. for reasons.

first, weather here in Minnesota has been killer with sub zero temps. and having horses means constant barn care and animal welfare, on top of juggling a full time job.

not only that, i struggle-bussed through a mild case of COVID at the beginning of January that knocked me on my tush, and in the aftermath, i have some weird thing called post viral respiratory inflammation where my bronchial tubes are so inflamed that it triggers pneumonia-like coughing spells, and because of the incessant coughing, cannot heal properly. steroids are kicking me butt.

also on top of all of that, i am prioritizing my health. i've been hiking an hour a day (all through December, before January!) and i'm teaching myself how to lift weights and enjoy exercise for the first time in my life. with this comes the nutrition battle and understanding my body (turns out my body does not like dairy, at all). the beginning is a little overwhelming, and it demands a lot of brain power and focus.

but the biggest factor in these slow updates is that right now i am currently seeking the Lord about a lot of things in my life, a lot of life decisions through fasting, intercession, and worship. if anyone is familiar with fasting, it is excruciating. i am doing fluids only, aside from the little food i have to consume for my medication, and it's difficult. i write this from day 2 and i'm weak, tired, hungry, but uplifted. getting back on track with God and spirituality is something i've felt called to do for a few weeks, just haven't bit the bullet. but now i am.

all this to say, updates are taking awhile. for good reasons. i promise i have not forgotten and will get to them.

in the meantime, check out my masterlist here, there's a lot of fun. at least to me.

i think i have the best followers and mutuals of anyone out there and i am so uplifted, encouraged, and touched by every interaction i get. this silly little blog makes me so happy and brings me so much joy when i need it.

i know it seems like i'm in the weeds and shadows, but i promise i'm here. loving all things Val and Top Gun, because of course i am.

ya'll have my love and thanks. always. <3

xoxo,

mare

[adonis-koo]

I know people hesitant to reblog and can get how you must be feeling after working so hard over a fic and people not doing the minimum of dropping a comment. But from the time BTS has enlisted there is an over all slag in fic been written and readers too. Like I remember during Covid there was so much good stuff written and also updated on regular bases. I know writers have their lives too but some time updates r tooo slow and with Wicked it some time so happened that I had to go back re read some stuff so I could get what was happening. Sorry if u find this annoying but if updates r regular then readers will engage more. Like I know many who like to binge read so they will wait for like atleast 4-5 chapters and then read. And it may take some time a year for that kind of update. But surly Wicked deserves a lot of attention. Sorry for this confusing ask all I want to say is I get your side of story but slow updates is also on of the reasons for low engagement rate is what I want to say

I respect your side of what you feel might cause a lack of engagement, but it really comes across as definitely a reader and not a writer, as I simply don’t agree that updating quicker will solve the issue of more engagement. Wicked chapter 18 and 19 we’re back to back updates, posted only a week a part, and the drop off in people sending in asks was very stark.

In fact I went on a six month hiatus to finish writing the story of tease so I could update the rest of the story (12 more chapters) consistently, once a week, that was when my engagement dropped the most, and I’m talking went from 1.2k notes to only 300.

And if updating more regularly is the solution to this then surely only three weeks shouldn’t have caused such a sharp drop off? When I posted chapter seventeen after eight months it blew up, I honestly feel more inclined to say that quicker updates cause people to disengage because they’re simply able to binge read multiple chapters at a time with little thought about engaging with an author.

I’ve seen more people then I can count continually drop likes which tell me they’re binging reading and I rarely ever get a comment, let alone an ask on the 50,000 words they just consumed, in five hours, did you guys know a regular fiction novel is only 80k words??

14k words takes a little over sixteen hours of non stop writing for me to produce. Now imagine working full time and having a life outside of writing that only leaves one hour on a week day to relax.

I guess this take should be expected, as being a good writer only rewards you with more work and the same amount of engagement

The only thing I really gain from this is to stop writing such long fics 🤷‍♀️ I’ve enjoyed the process, don’t get me wrong! But it’s honestly become too much of a hassle to maintain and not only this it makes me even less inclined to want to write anymore. I’ve watched a lot of incredible authors leave this site over the course of my time where and I never thought I would become one of them but here I am

[feral-fae-writes]

Sierra Six / Courtland Gentry Headcanons || SFW

A/N: Recovering from COVID gave me too much time to think. These are in no particular order, either.

(tw: mentions of abuse; mentions of scars)

"... And I'll find my worth in more than open wounds."

Six loves, and I mean loves holding hands. In the sense that his love language is touch. This is supported by the movie, and no one can change my mind.

He started chewing gum as a way to both distract himself and/or focus his mind, situation dependent.

He's really shy about anything on the romantic side of things. Absolutely not used to it, given his line of work and his abusive past. He knows how he feels, but not how to verbalize it without it coming out as his usual sarcasm and wit.

He has a thing for shower sex, both because it being in the shower makes the situation not so strange, and because he has an easier time physically relaxing due to the heat.

Stealing this from La La Land, because I want to. He likes jazz.

He loves movies that are so bad, they're good. He also loves anything to do with mythology (duh) and will point out anything incorrect within a piece of media. He will not shut up about said incorrect thing until someone stops him.

He's not used to anyone touching his scars, so when his partner finally does, he can't help but tense up. Gradually, he gets used to it.

He's the bigger spoon, every time. Lowkey a romantic at heart.

He doesn't talk about his brother, or about his time in prison. (Hopefully we find out more about both.)

Contrary to his quip to Lloyd, he actually hates Skittles.

He is big on aftercare. This man will go full house-husband/male-wife if you let him, but there's a 51% chance he'll burn the eggs. If he does, he won't let anyone else eat them, and make his partner a fresh (unburnt) plate.

He's not used to staying in one place for too long, for obvious reasons, and is hypervigilant. Again, for obvious reasons. If there's a balcony to be on, he'll be there at 3 AM.

Has a mild distaste for coffee, and, really, any stimulant. I like to think he also dislikes depressants, for much the same reason. He doesn't like the idea of not having his wits about him, especially due to Claire.

Not super kinky, but will indulge in his partner's kinks. Definitely a dominant, when he lets that side of himself out, but not rough.

He loves massages.

He would adopt a dog and spoil it, if he and Claire weren't on the run. Probably a Border Collie.

Buys Claire a new vinyl whenever he can. Six burned all her loved songs on a CD, and plays it during their constant road trips. Updates it when she finds a song she likes. They duet. Six is, surprisingly, a baritone.

He hates the fact that Claire can't have a normal life, and wants to give her the best one he can. After all, she's his only family.

Keeps his promises, because he knows what it's like to stick your neck out for someone else, having been on both sides.

Doesn't realise he has puppy eyes. For all his criminally-hardened exterior, he's just a kid who was forced to grow up too fast because he did the right thing.

[tamberlanecomic]

July Newsletter

Hey everyone! Here are some general updates for everything that’s been going on and what you can expect for this month and throughout the summer.

Health Update

As some of you may remember, right after the Kickstarter closed I was knocked out by a one-two punch of a fibro flare and Covid. While I’ve been put through the wringer, I’m FINALLY feeling like I’m crawling back out from under this extended period of sickness.

I’m still dealing with some pain and fatigue due to my fibro flare-up, but it’s more or less back to the “normal” levels of what I’m used to, so overall I’m doing pretty good. I took some extra time to recuperate from Covid in the hopes of avoiding any long Covid effects, and while I am still taking it easy, I take a lot of joy in drawing and being forced to not indulge in any of my creative pursuits have made me all the more eager to get back into the swing of things. So, I’m still being careful, but I’m also easing back into work. 

I got so many amazing comments from patrons, readers, and Kickstarter backers all encouraging me to take as long as I needed to get better, and I can’t thank you enough for the kind words and well wishes! It was measurably easier to take some time off to rest knowing I had so many people cheering me on and encouraging me to do so, so thank you so much for taking the time to say something and for sending me words of support. <3 You da best!

Comic Updates

We’re moving right along, with 12 pages currently in the pipeline at various production stages. In fact, I’ve just put three new finished pages into the buffer for $10+ patrons today! Our priority right now is to get a healthy buffer so that I can have ample time and space to catch up on other work without impending deadline pressures.

Patreon Rewards

Next, I plan to knock out a good chunk of Patreon commissions for my $50+ folks. I’ve already been doing that here and there, but I want to make sure that the oldest ones are finished first. 

Likewise, due to the chaos of a sudden move and a lot of life changes, Ari didn’t send the May postcards out until today, so I apologize for the delays there – we’re getting back on track! June’s postcards have already been sent.

Speaking of, I’ve included some of the patron reward art I just finished last week!

Kickstarter News

We still need to finish the internal book edits, draw up the Q&As, format the information in the book, and finish formatting annotations. These are all things I had intended to get done both during and after the campaign but I was simply unable to keep up with it due to health reasons. Curse you, chronic illness! 

I am also going to explore another option for getting the softcovers printed locally, which is something I will only go with if the quality is up to my standards. But we're less than $5k away from being able to reprint Chapters 1-3 so if we're able to get a cheaper local deal with a good printer, I'm willing to explore the option! 

By the way, we are now officially sold out of Chapters 1 and 2 books, but you can help us reprint them by preordering them and other stuff through our Backerkit shop!

Preorder Here

We’ll be streaming edits in the Foxglove discord server, so be sure to keep an eye out on there!

New Pride Merch

For Pride month I launched two new apparel designs as part of our Pride collection! Choose from Agender or Non-Binary Ainsley or Biromantic or Transgender Marie on comfy shirts available in a wide range of colors and sizes. 

This collection also features downloadable Tales from Treehollow comics dealing with LGBTQIA+ themes. Come check it out!

Shop Now

Artfight

I’ve never done Artfight before, but I’m gonna try this year! It’ll be fun to have little warmup drawings I can squeeze in here and there between larger projects. 

If you’ve never heard of Artfight, it’s an annual art trading game where you “attack” by drawing other people’s characters. It seems really fun! If you’re participating and want to add me, here’s my profile:

https://artfight.net/~Cvilbrandt

Thanks all for reading! May this month be ever better!

[fasterthanmydemons]

{out of breath} Alright folks, I know I'm getting on here late tonight, but it has not been a good day. I'll put some updates below a cut, but there's just a lot going on in my life right now that's not only taking away from time I have to write, but it's also leaving me without a lot of creativity or ability to concentrate. I would probably skip tonight if I could, because I'm exhausted and my focus is not really there to write, but I skipped last week, and will need to skip next week as well. So... I am here to do what I can tonight, but I apologize if it's a bit light. I'm doing the best I can, honestly. The next few weeks are going to be rough, but then I'm hoping maybe I can turn a corner and things will get better. Thank you for understanding, I know I've been absent a lot lately in recent months, but you've all been so supportive. Things will get better, I'm just not exactly sure when. <3

Okay so... for those who want to know what's going on... I found out this morning that I will need surgery to remove my gallbladder. This was anxiety-producing enough because I've never had surgery before in my life (unless you count wisdom teeth extraction), and people in my family rend to react poorly and dangerously to anesthesia. So I'm very anxious about this, and I've got a consultation with a surgeon next Monday to probably schedule a date to have this done in the near future.

In the meantime, I'm in a decent amount of pain, and I'm already on a restrictive diet that will likely become even more restrictive after surgery. I've been a comfort eater/baker all my life, that's my main coping mechanism for stress and anxiety, so this has been very damaging to my mental health to have my one go-to taken away.

While that was going on today, in the midst of calling doctors and making appointments and such, I've been working on a promotion package that's due the end of the week. I didn't want to apply for promotion because I don't really think I deserve it, but I also just want to keep things status quo. I'm fine with my job the way it is, and I don't need a promotion. But I've been informed that not applying may be one of the factors contributing to me potentially losing my job later this year, because I won't "seem ambitious enough." I'm just like... of course I'm not ambitious, I'm taking care of my grandmother, I've got health issues, I've got focus and memory issues post-Covid, yeah I just want things to stay the way they are. But I may lose my job if I don't show interest in advancement. So I've had to quickly write and gather everything to apply by Friday because I wasn't planning on doing it.

Then I found out today that the person I have to send all my promotion materials to, and one of two people who will be making the decision on whether or not I get promoted AND whether I keep my job going forward... is a woman who 1) stole my research in 2015 and rendered me unable to publish my own work because she stole it and published it first, and 2) got me laid off from my dream job in 2017 because she lied behind my back to the company we were conducting research for that I was no longer interested in the project, so that she could have all the project funding only for her lab. So I'm just like.... I am... so screwed. *sigh* My hope for keeping my job plummeted after that. That was my second panic attack of the day.

My third... was when I went out to get the mail, only to find out I've been summoned for jury duty. I mean seriously, life? Really? What the actual flippin' pancake?! I was like how am I going to manage this promotion application process, surgery, recovery, AND my students have their midterm this Friday and a forum assignment I have to grade the same day as my surgery consultation as well (the reason I have to skip this blog next week)... and then also add jury duty. After I calmed down, I went on the website and tried to do a medical deferral until the summer, when I would be between classes and hopefully over some of my health issues... which was thankfully accepted. So that at least has been resolved for the time being.

After that, I just... crashed so hard. I slept from 7PM to 11:30PM because the stress just hit hard. After dealing with some laundry that had been backing up, I am just now getting on here at 3AM, heh. So. That's. What's been going on. It's been... ALot™.

Once I have my surgery date, I'll know better when I have to go on hiatus for a bit, because I'll be in the hospital for a couple days with limited web access and then I'll be recovering at home, so I'm not sure how all of that is going to go. As soon as I know more, I'll let everyone know so that you'll know when I'll be gone and when I'm coming back.

Again, thank you for understanding. I'll be okay, it's just a seriously bad patch of life right now. This too shall pass, I know. I just wish it would hurry up, heh.

[kitthepurplepotato]

hey love!!! it's me! i dont know if you remember me, but i've been liking, reposting, commenting and following the series 'my weird roomate boyfriend' and i absolutly adore your work and writing, and for a while now i haven't heard updates from you, not about the fanfic but about you, and i just remembered you and wanted to ask how are you. i've been a little worried, and we really dont know each other and there's no reason for you to trust me but i really just wanted to make sure if you're doing any better or just need someone to talk to, im here if you need a friend!

im sending you lots of hugs and sweets and lots of lots of good!

i will understand completly if you decide to not answer this, but im really just worried for my favourite author and would be more then happy if you could give me an update for how are you doing!

have a wonderfull day and a wonderfull week and please please please dont forget to drink, eat, and rest and remember to not overwork yourself!!! love, me!

Oh my god, of course I remember you, silly! I absolutely adore you 💜💜💜💜💜

Also, perfect timing because I wanted to post an update on my situation but I wasn’t sure how to start or if it’s even needed?

Thankfully, things are getting better now, I just got sick from all the stress and the constant meltdowns I’ve had almost every day (yes, I just had Covid 3 weeks ago yet here I am, sick again, love my life.)

/warning for everyone - mentions of death, depression, suicidal thoughts and other bad stuff, also, a lot of TMI/

I’m not going to lie, this was the hardest week of my life and I don’t say that lightly (I lost my father suddenly a year before, and my grandma died in a house fire just a few months back.)

I had a really hard time understanding that all these terrible things do not mean that I’m not good enough to live and they aren’t signs that I shouldn’t exist in this world. I felt like life’s trying to force me out of its territory by terrorizing me until I break down, taking everything I love and cherish and it all felt so unfair. I really thought I’m old enough to not go back to that terrible place I crawled out of when I was 17, but this “thing” was the last straw.

With that said, I want to thank you guys for all the kind words and also my best friend @porusuniverse who woke up at 2 fucking AM when she had to wake up at 5, just to keep me company after having the worst nightmare of my fucking life and also for the ridiculous amount of hours she had spent with me and kept me fucking alive while this thing got sorted. She is an absolute legend.

I’m not going to lie and say everything is 100% alright, but I’m getting there.

/TMI OVER/

I am slowly getting back into writing, I have half a chapter of the Izuku one and the Aizawa one is almost finished! Also have a half chapter of the Bakugou one. I wanted to finish at least one of them tomorrow but then I got sick, so we will see when I’ll be able to post any of them. I’m trying to concentrate on the Aizawa one now as there’s only one chapter left and then I can give the other two the attention they deserve, but I’m also trying not to FORCE myself to write but rather just do what I enjoy so will see which one wins, eyy!

I can’t wait to be back. Like honestly, I miss Tumblr, your comments and writing in general soooo sooo much 💜

See you soon and thank you for being so kind! I’ll definitely bug you the next time I manage to go down the rabbit hole but let’s hope I won’t because I don’t think I have the mental energy for another round 😂

Cheers, everyone! 🥦

Kit 💥