PATREON UPDATE – APRIL 2025 & Discord Link

Hey Patrons! I hope you’re all doing well—and welcome to April! Already! Somehow! Because time is the fire in which we burn.

If you’re new here, first off: WELCOME, NEW FRIENDS! This is my regular monthly update where I share what’s going on both on and off the channel—what I’m working on, what’s coming next, and where things are at. And oh boy, I have BIG news this month.

But before I get to that, I want to start with the most important thing, and again, thank you all for supporting me. I know it's not exactly easy to support other creators and folks financially at the moment because we’re all in a really scary time for…. Really obvious reasons, which makes me so extremely thankful and honored as always, but especially now, to have your support. Erin and I would not be able to survive without y’all, and I wouldn’t be able to make art and do my passion with you… so thank you for not only helping me survive but even somehow thrive a bit despite the shittiness of the world right now.

There’s a tiny bit of tough news at the end, but let’s start with all the good—because, surprisingly, there’s a lot. Also, there's some images from the next video at the end if you stick around!

 PERSONAL NEWS

First up: I’m officially an aunt!!
My brother and sister-in-law welcomed a baby last month (I’ll keep his name private for safety). I haven’t had a chance to meet him yet, but I am going to be able to in May when I also go back to the East Coast where they live for my sister’s college graduation. It’s gonna be freaking amazing and I’m so excited to hold him in my arms, even though I’m absolutely terrified to hold babies in general. I like kids, but I am terrified of babies haha. Still, I will hold him! So thats so amazing.

PROFESSIONAL NEWS

IDENTITEAZE is a 2025 Webby Award Honoree!

HOLY CRAP, I JUST LEARNED TODAY THAT IDENTITEAZE IS OFFICALLY A 2025 WEBBY AWARD HONOREE! This is the biggest professional recognition I’ve ever received. That it’s for something so personal and meaningful just makes it all the more special. I'm beyond grateful to everyone who worked on it—you helped me bring this story to life. I make art to connect, not for awards, but being honored by my peers like this... it means everything. Thank you all for getting me here.

LONG AWAY has wrapped production!

So—not only did I find out about the Webby honor today, but just yesterday we wrapped shooting on Long Away, the sci-fi, trans-focused short film directed by Star Trek: Prodigy’s Susan and Tilly Bridges, which I had the honor of assistant directing. I’m also editing the film (haha, no rest for me), so there’s still a lot of work ahead—but being back on set and helping two women I deeply respect and admire bring their first short film to life was incredible. It reminded me that I am a good director, but also that I can support others and help them grow too. Supporting trans art and trans artists is so important to me, and getting to do that while also growing myself—and doing it on such a super-queer set—was just the best. Huge shoutout to the amazing Dr. Erin Macdonald for being an incredible producer and making sets like this possible. She’s truly one of the greatest friends and professional peers I’ve ever had, and I adore her with all my heart. I can’t wait for you all to see Susan and Tilly’s amazing short. (Also: our fundraising campaign blew past its goal, which means we’re able to pay our crew extra and have more funds to submit the film to even more festivals. AND we got a shoutout from Lilly Wachowski, which is just… so damn cool!)

Two Secret Projects... still secret (but not for long!)

I know I’ve been teasing two huge non-YouTube projects for a while now. And I still can’t talk about them publicly yet—but I’m hopeful I’ll be able to very soon, possibly this month or next.

What I can say is:

• One project has me back in the director’s chair.
• The other has me writing like mad.

Both are big, intense, and taking up most of my time right now—but I can’t wait to finally share them with you. They are both, quite literally, two of the biggest things I've ever worked on. Bigger then IDENTITEAZE, which is wild.

YOUTUBE & VIDEO UPDATES

Because of the secret projects, my YouTube work has been a bit quieter. But I did release two videos last month, including “The Stories Fascism Fears Most”, plus an exclusive Babylon 5 bonus video just for y’all.

Coming soon:

• Sex in Star Trek – Next Entry:
  Already shot! My editor is working on it now. It’s a big one with lots of VFX and b-roll, so ETA is probably May, but I’ll try to share an early look on Patreon in April. However, I have below a few screenshots from the video's spicer section just to be a tease haha.
• Androids in Sci-Fi (Script by Aranock):
  The first draft has been completed by Aranock! I’ll be adding my own writing and working on it with her this month and filming sometime later this month hopefully, with a target release of June or July.

So, bigger gaps than usual between uploads, but trust me—it’s going to be worth the wait. I do apologize that just because of all the stuff I'm doing, the YouTube is going to be a bit longer waits for the next few months, but I'm going to make the wait more then worth it, I promise! They're gonna be cool <3

OTHER COOL STUFF

• Frak This Podcast is still going strong with Vera!
• I’m hoping to release new video reviews for:
• Doctor Who
• Andor
• The Last of Us
  ...if I can find the time. (I do too much, y’all.)

AND FINALLY… SOME HEAVIER THOUGHTS

Erin and I have been having increasingly serious conversations about the direction the U.S. is headed—especially in light of Gavin Newsom’s recent rightward appeasements. We’ve started considering whether we might leave the country.

It’s not an easy thought. There are people here I want to fight for and with. But a few of our closest friends have begun leaving, and it’s hard not to think about what it means to stay, or what it means to go. I’ve been going to protests—including some against Tesla—and doing a few other things. But it’s a long, hard fight. And we’re figuring out how to stay safe, and stay human, within it.

💌 IN SUMMARY

• 🏆 IDENTITEAZE is a 2025 Webby Award Honoree
• 🎬 Long Away just wrapped; I AD’d and am now editing
• 🔒 Two big secret projects underway—announcement soon
• 📹 Two new YouTube vids are out!
• 🧠 Two more big ones in progress—coming May–July
• 🎙 Frak This Podcast still going
• 📺 Doctor Who, Andor, The Last of Us reviews on the horizon
• 👶 I’m an AUNT!

Take care of yourselves. I’m doing my best to keep fighting, but also to focus on making art—making hopeful things. We need that more than ever. As Samwise said, there’s some good in this world worth fighting for.

I adore you all. Thank you for being here. 💛

Also, here's the discord link for those who need it! https://discord.gg/T6nxFRT9

With love,
Jessie