Another Quick Update

Hello, my lovelies!

So, the world is exhausting right now, and it's been exhausting for a while.  A lot has been hard this year. Writing has been a casualty of that. I think it's safe to say that, overall, 2020 has been a meat grinder for many of us. Even writing this post was difficult—it took me a week, and right now I'm going between this and the New York Times website. I'm really, really tired.

I'm still here. I take a lot of satisfaction in that. I plan to outlive 2020 and dance on its grave.

The end of this year will be a little muddled in terms of production. You've probably noticed that I've taken a break from polling for new content—my goal in November is to catch up on a lot of commissions and get a lot of stories drafted so I can edit them in December. I promise that I won't be overexerting myself. I recently got a new workspace, and I think I'm excited to get to use it for my writing. Signs are pointing towards hope.

My work this month will include a story about a dreambelle luring some real-world fraternity bros into the Cloistered Lands, a non-canon encounter between Senya and Celeste, an "epilogue" to Violets and Roses, the second chapter to Violets and Roses, and more. This is my NaNoWriMo goal, so I don't know how much of it will get edited this month, but fingers crossed!

And because I think it is helpful, at times, to remind ourselves that the present is a temporary thing and things will get better, some things I'm looking forward to in 2021:

 - A return to Bonus Pairings and Bad Ends!

 - A return to taking new commissions!

 - A return to the CYOA gamebook, though as I've indicated to pledgers previously, it might take a new less coding-intensive form!

 - I've gotten really excited with some ideas for a spooky hypnosmutty fantasy mystery podcast, and once I feel fully caught up on work and stuff, I really want to give it a shot. No ETA, though. :P

 - A friend and I have been working on, of all things, a smutty dating sim-type game. No ETA on this, either.

I appreciate all of you to eternity for your support, your encouragement, your kindness and your forbearance. This Patreon has allowed me to keep me and my loved ones healthy and fed through, I think, something like four of the worst crises in American or Pacific Northwest history. I have done my best to pay your kindness forward.

And finally, for those who need to hear it:

We are going to be okay.

Stay by your loved ones, keep fighting for what's right, and turn off the news whenever you can. The world will not stop spinning just because you took a break from worrying about it. You are not obligated to spend every waking moment fighting. When you need to rest, the rest of us will carry on. That's how we can be sure you can do the same for us later. One way or another, in the end, that's how we'll win.

You're still here and you're still you. That is never not something to be proud of. And no matter what happens, you all are welcome to come and dance with me in a couple months. <3

—Nicole