Update

Hello everyone, and hello to my influx of new supporters.

Where do I begin? This past 24 hours has been...everything. Everything bad, and everything good. I haven't actually slept yet and am functioning purely on nervous energy, so please do bear with me. 

I have been promised that the strikes on my channel will be removed tomorrow morning. This is after hours of negotiation with the IP holder of the Horace character. To be honest, I am tired and I am scared and I just want this done with. The retro community has really rallied around me in a way that I could never have imagined. I am beyond grateful.

When I first saw the notification from YouTube that I was one strike away from a channel take-down, I had had no prior communication with the claimant. It took a while for discussions with them to start after I made my initial panicked tweet about it. Of course, this could have all been avoided - but they have given their reasons for not contacting me first, and I am so exhausted that I accept them. 

I am one person making stupid videos with dodgy green-screen effects. This is my livelihood, but it began as a hobby and a way to cope with a bad time in my life. The fact that I am able to do something I absolutely adore and live off it - albeit through kind donations from supporters - is something for which I am forever grateful. You do not owe me a living, and I have to admit I'm having some issues dealing with the sudden increase of what was already, in my opinion, more of an income than I deserve for such infrequent content.

After the strikes have been lifted, I have agreed to release a joint statement written by myself and the claimant. It has taken hours to agree on the final iteration of it, because the initial proposed one contained information that I deemed to be simply not true and/or purely a matter of opinion. They were also keen to include a request to my supporters which I was not happy to relay.

I will see tomorrow whether the strikes have been lifted, and as soon as they are I will release the statement and bring this whole thing to a close, at least from the Octav1us standpoint.

I accept that there are things here that are unfair. I accept that if there had not been such a backlash, this agreement may never have been met. But I'm just not strong enough to contest such things, and while I have my opinions on the matter they are not relevant when dealing with legal issues. 

I really hope you are not disappointed in me. This has been a huge blow, and to be honest I'm unsure of my next steps. I've gone from "I'm going to quit YouTube", to "I'm gonna get a proper job", to trawling Indeed for some contract copywriting work, back round to "I'm gonna make a new Octavius!". and right now I'm on "sit and play Rollercoaster Tycoon with my rats and eat chocolate." 

I do know that making content makes me happy. I do know that having so much support makes me happy. But I also know that the emotional reaction I have had to this whole thing and the reach it ended up having (I was contacted by journalists) is indicative of someone who, on the whole, is safer keeping their head down and just making content.

I need you to know that I am so grateful for this support. It is beyond anything I could have ever hoped for. To dip onto Twitter and see just a sea of Horace profile pics is just breathtaking. And then the "sexualised Horace" photoshops people have been doing, well...not even my videos came close! I have laughed and I have cried and I feel bruised inside, but I feel truly loved. And you can't buy an IP for that. 

Please bear with me while this draws to a close and I work on my next steps.

Thank you.

Octav1us

Sarah x