November fanfic poll and some news

I'm not dead (yet) and I want to talk about a few things, but first things first.

The next fanfic voted on by our top tiers will be from Genshin Impact. On our Discord server, we'll vote on who the protagonist will be, while here we'll vote on the type of transformation: What kind of transformation do you want to see in this fanfic?

Now, here I am with the news and updates.

I sincerely apologize for being late with the content all week. I have been experiencing anxiety and emotional issues, which have led to insomnia, which in turn has affected my physical health. So, at least this week, with all the pending things I have to do, everything got complicated, but everything will be ready by Friday at the latest, including next month's schedule (even the content published on DA/Pixiv/Reddit/etc. and the two pages of extra content like last month, which I will publish today).

Now, there is one specific issue that delayed the November fanfic vote (since there are three polls: one for the top tiers on Discord, another for the general public on Discord (including those who don't pay, using @everyone), and the poll on Patreon. I would also like to do a poll on Fanbox, but Fanbox does not allow that option (so normally the Discord poll is the one that allows Fanbox users to vote, or at least those who are on the Discord server).

The specific situation is that a free member of my Discord server in a very rare situation (where he opened a thread in the #news channel that I quickly deleted) asked why my content had not been uploaded recently to a specific website (a site where my content and that of other artists is stolen and automatically uploaded by bots that I will not mention). It seems that the guy wasn't the brightest person in the world to do something like that right under my nose, so I questioned him without getting any answers, which led to his ban (btw, that member had never spoken to me or anyone else, he just joined and that was it). I'm not so bothered by the fact that someone stole my content like that, but rather that they had the nerve to enter my Discord server, my sanctuary, my home, my safe space, and sacred place where I not only publish Patreon content and some other extras (which anyway, neither he nor anyone else who I haven't personally verified their subscription can see), in order to get some extra benefit (I thought maybe voting in the content polls we do on Discord and some other things, when he's already viewing the content illegally. Now, if we consider that I ask every person who joins my Discord server for their Patreon/Fanbox nickname, but I also give them a rank just for joining (what used to be called Ina's Follower), and that this year, and especially lately, people have been joining the server who don't answer my question about their Patreon/Fanbox nickname (or where they come from or why they are here), but instead ghost me and still remain on my Patreon, that made me think, if this bastard is here to see what he can steal or influence the community with his vote or anything else (or even found a way to breach the security of the ranks and Discord channels) without even dealing with one of us with dignity, what guarantees me that the vast majority who ghost me when I ask them questions aren't doing the same thing? So I put it to a vote (where only subscribers could vote) and we decided to do a mass ban of people with the lowest rank (banning around 360 out of 400 people with that tier) and only leaving people that I identified as old subscribers who stopped being subscribers and stayed on the server with the free rank, people who showed interest in participating in the community, who had had some conversation with me, etc., who were given a new free rank. I was really undecided about doing it, and this (along with remembering the content thieves) was part of what caused my anger and sadness, which intensified my anhedonia (inability to feel pleasure) and abulia (lack of motivation and will to initiate or make decisions), but I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of defeating me (because those people love to see those of us who do things fall from grace), and I have to move on, but not without taking action. So now, at least, my Discord server has gone from being partially public to private, and the new free rank (which obviously does not allow you to see the paid content, only to chat and participate in some votes) will only be given to very specific people (people I personally invite and new subscribers who earn the right to remain on the server even if they no longer pay for the subscription).

Because let's be honest, if you're already viewing the content illegally, what are you doing in my discord community while you laugh behind my back? At the very least (those of you who watch my content automatically uploaded to an illegal website), stay away from me, because to me, what you are doing is an insult and an affront to me and our art, and before anyone asks, “Can anyone think of the poor?” Bro, we are the poor. I am the poor one, with physical and psychiatric health problems that prevent me from having a conventional job, and Patreon has been a great blessing for me, allowing me (who am the writer and editor) and my graphic artist, who illustrates what I write (and who, by the way, thanks to this has been able to support not only himself but also his sick single mother and his two other sisters, he is the breadwinner of his family), to survive in a world we were not made for, creating content that we love as much as you who view our content, who help us with your cooperation, both when you subscribe and when you commission.

And I'm not saying that everyone else doesn't have their financial problems, but we only ask for a mere $5 USD per person to view all the content (which is a lot of content, uploaded daily from Monday to Friday). The monetization model is based on attracting as many people as possible to subscribe, not so much on commissions (although they are appreciated), and despite the volatility of the dollar, we have maintained the price and remained loyal to our people. In an underdeveloped, third-world country like Mexico (where I live, and where the first person I kicked off my Discord server for consuming stolen content apparently lives), $5 is only half of what you pay for a Double Western Bacon with fries and a soda at Carl's Jr. (an hamburger with fries and a soda), which is half of what a person spends on a single meal in a day, while we charge that $5 to view our content for the entire month... And if I could pay that $5 to view the content by subscribing to the Patreon of anyone who charges that, in a third world economy, no story of poverty can justify theft. Those who steal that content are greedy and selfish bastards. What if those who view the stolen content view it stolen and don't pay because they are subscribed to many other Patreons and can't afford others? And why should I understand that? The fair thing is that if you value one artist's work more than another's, then you settle for what you can afford. That's the way the world is. You're not affecting big Hollywood production companies or major record labels, as is the case with pirating more heavily produced content. You're hurting us small artists, who are affected not only financially, but also emotionally. The only understandable thing is your greed not to pay or that you are minors (which makes it frankly worse, as paying ensures that you are of legal age, since only adults have access to debit/credit cards and PayPal accounts).

And you know it well, you are not authentic fans of our content, if not you are compulsive dopamine-driven consumers who do not understand the implications of what stealing means, and you do not help us, but rather affect us, and there will probably be those who get angry and cling to their stupid pseudo-moral banner of “it's free publicity,” “content should be free, it's a human right (???, it's a human right to drink water and even that isn't free in most of the world),” etc., without considering that there are people who, if they don't charge for their art, will die and there will be no more art. And the people who steal this art through bots or consume this stolen art are such pains in the ass and trolls that if someone tells them the truth to their face or tries to fight against their theft, they will try to cause even more damage and do as much harm as possible to the person and their content in a virulent way. That's why I don't like to talk about the subject (and this is the first and last time I'll talk about it on Patreon), but know that for years I have been evaluating tactics on how to hinder them from stealing my content, and even if I haven't tried it so proactively, I'm going to do it, and you won't know when or where. I will find and ban you one by one from Patreon and Fanbox, no matter how many people come. This will be permanent, because in such a hostile world where my survival depends on this (which is also what I love), one must stand up if Patreon won't do it. Thank this dude who gave himself away (his Discord is manuel03786 in case anyone wants to thank him personally) for flying too close to the sun and not being able to continue operating from the shadows. I'm a fighter to the end (to put it in an ambiguous and not so intense way); that's my nature (even though I keep it in check most of the time).

As for how to access Discord, for now, at the beginning of each month (on the 2nd), a new link will be sent out that will be valid for 30 days and will change every month, although the content will continue to flow (I will not allow these people I am talking about to make things more difficult and hinder easy access to content for people who do pay).