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An Appreciation of Your Support & Announcing Some Changes
Hello fellow feasters of the forbidden.
First off, I’d like to say thank you so much for your support especially in the challenging past couple of weeks. I could've written some news sooner, but to be honest, I wasn't sure of how to go about with the future of the site until now. Navigating between sharing my art for free, and thinking of the followers who have generously spent a good amount of money to support my works, has always been a tricky balancing act. I don't want to be too selfish, yet I have to find ways to justify me doing my painstakingly done works, reward those who have honestly, gave me a reason to keep going, while also treating my art with some worth and not feel cheaply made and also appreciated. So when my works were leaked for free, it sent me a message that maybe my art isn't appreciated.
I'm still hoping to rebuild the creative momentum I used to have, but having seen your response, maybe I can get there again. Although still not at the monetary level before the P-pal issue & the leaks, subscriptions have been steadily growing again. Many of you too reached out to me personally through messages and gave some poignant advice. I have so many ideas, too many unfinished stories, sketches, comics, plenty of hidden pockets inside the TalesoftheVanished series that's still untold, to leave it all undone is a bit of a waste. Pushing the envelope seems to have finally paid off and it does feel it was somewhat worth putting in the extra effort.
And it's with this outpouring of support that made me realize that I have a very supportive fanbase that I haven't actually realized I had before and it is possibly to you, and the familiar recurring members all that I should be pouring my energy into, those who care about what goes on with my stories, who appreciate the extra detail I put into my works and are eagerly awaiting for new updates. So with this, I'm announcing some changes, hopefully for the positive.
- I'll be more active posting content on ForbiddenFeast, Subscribestar, Patreon & Hiccears instead of dwelling too much time on the forums even though I'll pop up over there once in a while to contribute to discussions & content where I feel I can contribute. This is where I feel my most cherished fans will look for me. For far too long my attention has been spent away from here and too much on the free social media sites, and perhaps to casual fans who are only mildly interested in my works. Though I won't neglect them, it's to my fans that I will spend more of my time. In the end, I just want to build a better community for fans of the work. I'm playing with the idea of emailers or opening up a Discord community but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew. I could seek advice from those who are familiar with how it works, whether I should open applications for mods or how to manage members as from what I hear, I could be biting off more than I can chew.
- I will begin creating personalized accounts (no more using the universal "gourmetclub" account). This will make it easier to build a tighter community of members. Usernames will be tied to the same usernames in the respective subscriber platforms (Subscribestar/Patreon/Hiccears, etc) and I will PM you details and the passwords. Subscribers at Hiccears will need to contact me with your ID. With this more manual approach, if I ever take a break, your accounts won't be deactivated even if you've stopped your support on Patreon, memberships will feel more fair and organic, while also freeing me to a restrictive schedule.
- I'm also making a better effort to promote other artists and writers whose works I respect and admire and fits the necessary levels of quality fans of mine would appreciate. I feel for far too long the community is rather detached and in their own little islands and I'd like to make an effort to remedy that. So soon, I'll post news and works from other on-topic artists such as Agatha, Chunlieater, Artdude, and many more whose works I follow.
- Finally, I have to be realistic and shift expectations about work deadlines. I want to keep being inspired which is why from now on, I will remove the deadlines. It’s been a creative challenge when “pressed” and pressured into doing art, we are at our worst creatively. The frequency of past updates will indicate the worth of my works. I will still use the 3 times a month update as a general default timeline, but at the same time, I may actually do more or less... it's just that I don't want to be tied to a certain number as that restricts my creative freedom. But know that every release should be a piece of quality, and content which should blow your mind. Each release should be a masterpiece and rare and I’ll rely on you guys to keep me in check. There are moment when I’ll need a break to recharge. Send me feedback, comments. I will use the level of support as a gauge. If you do feel let down, or that I’ve been slow in updates, you can stop your subscription and return whenever you feel like it. But also know I’m human and there’s only so much time for me to do artworks like these. I just want to put out an excellent masterpieces and I still have plenty of ideas left in my head and I want to get back to my creative best when I was in my creative prime.
In the end, want to cultivate a tight knit community and be better at curating my fandom and community. Not necessarily under "D-cett", or other related fetish communities but my own, the Forbiddenfeastcommunity. There are differences from how I approach the fetish compared to the other, for example, the way that I approach the fantasy is more grounded, a little more mainstream, and never misogynistic in spirit even though visually it seems that way. Here, we treat the "FleshofFem" and the "HairlessDoe" more reverentially. It is done with a celebration of sexual desires and love for women as beautiful tragic objects of desire, not out of hate and spite. To me, I don't know how to do works any other way. HPLovecraft, EyesWideShut, TrueDetective, TwinPeaks & Hannibal, these are the stuff of what I'm inspired by and it's what inspires the world of TalesoftheVanished. So with this, I need to cultivate the brand of Forbiddenfeast by paying more attention to my fans and not look too far away to other communities for attention. I feel like my works are rich enough to stand on its own. One can take a look at the illustrated pages that have been released so far or entries in the Glossary/Index section that describes a little more of this world I'm creating of the characters & goings-on within the dining halls of the enigmaticCircle, the CultofAsterion, the VanDuynes and more!
Just as one member poignantly mentioned in a comment:
"Don’t(overly)feelobliged.Themusecannotbeforced,ithastokissyou.Iliketoseewhatyoudraw“injoyandarousal”,notwhatyoudraw“becauseafewdrawingsaredue”!Ifthemusedoesn’tkissyouforacoupleweeks,justextendpeoplessubscriptionandcallitanartisticpause!Muchbetterthanforcingyourselfandloosingjoyoverit.“
I'll take this to heart and will continue to be inspired. The TalesoftheVanished stories are close to my heart & want to draw them. And all I know is that if I still have followers and fans who’d like to see them, I’ll still keep drawing with the same high quality as I’ve ever been. I may not be able to change things that are outside of my control such as piracy & deplatforming, but I can try to build a better environment here in our very small little corner of the web. That part, I can try to do.
