original explanatory post with links and screenshots has been confiscated because it's been over a decade 🥀
abridged summary for the clueless:
as a teenager, in 2014, i added art to a viral tumblr text post
the version with my addition went viral too
an unrelated teenager made a crowdfunding project, intending to create a live-action web series with their friends
they used my art on their crowdfunding page (with my permission) but i was otherwise uninvolved
the project raised ~$6k (USD)
the proposed live-action web series was never made, and its associated social media pages went dark
i made a post about it years later, in 2017, because i got annoyed at the folklore that i (the artist) had pitched an animated show and subsequently run away with the money
in light of this post, the person who ran the crowdfund came forward and said that the money had been paid into a bank account belonging to their family member, and that this family member had spent all of it paying off bills. they offered to try to pay back anyone who could verify that they were a backer
