∎General Update // PSA

Hey so, big news of today for someone like me is this whole Payment Processor Shit. Ngl, kinda wigging me out ever so slightly; cant get my words together properly for it or know where to go about it but i know i should bring it to some form of attention at least? I think the least i can do is quote from my sorta-mutual DudeBulge 's post on the topic. This is his words, but a good lot of it rings true for me as well; so take this as me sort of playing an excerpt from him, y'know?

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" Some of you will know that a group of religious, anti-porn zealots called Collective Shout have recently applied pressure to Steam and itch.io through their payment processors, namely VISA and Mastercard to remove or at least delist and hide all of their legal, NSFW titles. This happened literally over night. As you know I have two adult titles up on itch and they are no longer discoverable through the site and likely will be removed in the near future. This really hurts actually. Itch.io has been a critical passive income for me ever since I first put up Maybe Valentine's Day Isn't the Worst years ago. Not a month goes by without some folks buying the game, and recently Pocket Rockets as well. This is a major unforseen blow to my finances and I don't think there's anything I can do about it other than signing some petitions. If you would also like to sign them, here are a couple links.

https://action.aclu.org/petition/mastercard-sex-work-work-end-your-unjust-policy

https://www.change.org/p/tell-mastercard-visa-activist-groups-stop-controlling-what-we-can-watch-read-or-play?recruiter=848024754&recruited_by_id=6cdf07b0-f4a0-11e7-aae5-f3a091574505&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf&utm_medium=copylink&utm_content=cl_sharecopy_490659394_en-US%3A8

This is Itch.io's official comment on what is going on currently: https://itch.io/updates/update-on-nsfw-content

My biggest concern is that because Steam and Itch are being forced to capitulate, thus marking a victory for Collective Shout, that sites like Patreon and Subscribestar will be targeted next. I truly hope this isn't the case because, well, that will be the end of me and what I do for a living. I feel a lump in my throat and knot in my stomach as I write this because I don't want to stop creating adult art for folks to enjoy. Even with all of the added stress and pressures I face just because I make adult content, I really love the work and don't want to be shut down. I wish people could live and let live and make space for adult content creators who are plying their trade legally and through regulated sites. I'm getting so tired of dealing with backlash and fallout and always wondering when the hammer is finally going to come down, all so I can barely make a living doing this shit. Add to that the way artists are being used and discarded thanks to AI 'art' and it all starts to feel overwhelming. I'm not at the point of giving up yet, but I am starting to look at job opportunities out in the real world because I don't know how much longer I can put up with the uncertainty of this career path. It really fucking wears a guy down over time.

Lastly, I am going to be taking a week long summer break at the start of next month because my mental is fucking shot and I need time to clear my head and relax. So when you don't see new posts from me during that time it is because I'm on vacation, not that I've given up on my patreon.

Lastly, a very heartfelt thank you to all of you who continue to support me and my work. I know we are living in crazy fucking times and none of us really know what tomorrow holds and I appreciate every single one of you who still wants to, and is able to put a few bucks every month to keeping this artist's dream alive. I hope I gain some new perspective during my vacation and I wish the best for each of you too. "

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I myself am not taking a particular break or anything of the sort, so don't worry about that on my end; but like i said at the top a lot of things rings very true and similar for me. When i thank y'all all the time in my posts i really mean it; I'm allowed to do a lot for myself and the ones i care about through your support and this whole site/situation as a whole and i honestly, frankly wouldn't even know where to start if things started getting really dark around this spot. I can think of some alternatives but it's just a head and heartache to think about in general- This whole thing is asinine and short-sighted and i feel that we (yes We, all of us; since i know 99.9% of us like porn and being adults!) should pitch in at least something to show the people in question that this isn't something to just throw over all of us and we'll be fine with it.

Sorry for the big ol' seriousposting but i figure this is important enough to bring up. Luck be upon us all regarding it !