Pick Me! Interactive Romance ARG

My family and I are getting evicted.

we need 1,500$ by tonight, and thats not happening.

again, i do commissions

my cashapp is $DeathOfTheNight

Our commissions are officially open for the foreseeable future! I'm following in @lapcatcreations footsteps and doing commissions full time!

Heres where things get a bit serious. My partners car is spewing coolant from its air vents, which is an issue this car had previously and took over a year to fix.

theres a light at the end of the tunnel though, a local small used car dealership will take the car as a trade in to discount the total cost of the car.

My partner and I have to, in the next month or so, save up at ***Minimum $2k*** (Two-Thousand Dollars) to get a new car with the trade in. I've included my commission price sheet as well as some examples of my current art style. if you're interested in getting a commission, please dm me! thank you!

Also! if you're interested but cant afford right now, please reblog and comment so I can know level of interest! thank you!

You can also support via interaction on my tiktok!

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT6VxdUoM/

Here are some personal pieces and some commissions from lovely people such as:

@rhapsody-the-red @shinyeeveeboi @lavender-teardroplettes

This past week, an Australian hate group masquerading as a charity known as Collective Shout has harassed payment processors such as Mastercard and Visa into forcing game platforming sites such as Steam and Itch.io into delisting or outright removing many NSFW and Queer games, which has disproportionately effected the indie game scene and yandere simulators in particular.

However, not all is lost - there has been a massive turn-out of protests and calls in response to this, even outside of the indie developer community. Fans and creators alike are joining forces to call these payment processors and protest the puritanical censorship occurring following Collective Shouts campaign, and also to report Collective Shout itself.

If you would like to join in this protest, the following numbers will help you:

Mastercard (US): 1-800-627-8372

Mastercard (Int.): +1-636-722-7111

Visa (US + Can): 1 800 847 2911

Visa (AUS): 1 800 125 440

PayPal: +44-0203-901-7000

Alternative Mastercard numbers:

Mastercard (Aus): 1800-120-113

Mastercard (US): 1-800-307-7309

Mastercard (UK): 0800-96-4767

When this newsletter reached out to a few creators and big-name-fans in a group interview, a few had some very choice words to say.

@lavender-teardroplettes, aka Si, said "I’m sad to see so many friends and acquaintances being hurt by a random puritan group that shouldn’t have anything to do not only with foreign affairs, but the livelihood of those they deem as 'less than' for not following their conservative beliefs."

Hermit, the creator of @you-and-him, simply responded with "Fuck this ban", though did also express that she is trying her best to help in regards to the carrd she's compiling of all the delisted games she can, and that "If they're not comfortable with joining that's okay, but I want everyone to know the offer is available" in regards to fellow creators expressing shyness over reaching out to her.

@indycinders also seconded Hermit's sentiments of "Fuck this ban" - "Add it again with a x2 from me."

@will-you-pick-me, in response to Hermit expressing that not all games want to depict sunshine and rainbows, said metaphorically "Yeah - if everything is bright, without any shadows to rest, we'd all go blind anyways", expressing the thoughtful sentiment that a balance of content types available is needed.

- What are your hopes for the community following this ban?

Hermit: "For the ban to be lifted and for people to continue to write and create without restraint or fear of having their hard work taken down."

WYPM: "I hope we can remain a unified front even after this ban is over, and remember that we're stronger together, not apart."

Si: "I hope that we're able to come together for a cross attack and stand our ground not only as a community, but also as a fight for our freedom of creative expression and safety of LGBT+ media."

Cinders: "I hope the sense of community between everyone can foster a better supportive environment. I hope that in times like these, we can put aside whatever issues we might have in order to overcome and survive through these challenges. I also hope that this ban only affects these areas rather than extending to x, Bluesky, Patreon, ko-fi."

- Do you have any words of encouragement for the community at large?

Hermit: "For those just starting out, please keep going. Continue with creating. Never give up on what you love doing despite the odds."

WYPM: "Don't give up protesting and reporting Collective Shout. I've seen reports that they're already getting overwhelmed with calls - we're almost there!"

Si: "We’re stronger together than apart. 1000 calls can easily be made and more as we band together to protect not only ourselves, but future projects and creators."

Cinders: "Keep your heads up, guys. Things are weird and kind of scary right now. We need support more than ever, so keep creating. Continuing on this path is our big middle finger to the people that want to see us fail."

- And is there anyone who's response to this ban you'd like to commend?

Hermit: "The dev’s who are staying strong and were affected by this change (which are so many) despite everything being thrown at them at this point in time."

WYPM: "I think Hermy's work with the carrd is excellent, and I'm very proud of her for working to preserve this community and all its art."

Si: "I’d like to commend the first responders gathering resources together like petitions and phone numbers so we can organize a pushback, as well as devs banding together to help make their games easier to access despite the ban."

Due to changes in the policy on itch. io, I've made a carrd in order to link games that were affected.

Some games include Kid at the Back, Your guardian angel, YOU and HIM, Duplicity and many others.

The carrd is linked below:

Please note that the games linked are ones in which I have received explicit permission to link their game.

Some games might not be posted due to the permissions being pending or the dev not wishing to be included.

Call or email them and politely ask why they have capitulated to the pressure from an australian far right hate group, and damaged legitimate businesses on the whims of said hate group.

Mastercard (US): 1-800-627-8372

Mastercard (Int.): +1-636-722-7111

Visa (US + Can): 1 800 847 2911

Visa (AUS): 1 800 125 440

PayPal: +44-0203-901-7000

Alternative Mastercard numbers:

Mastercard (Aus): 1800-120-113

Mastercard (US): 1-800-307-7309

So if you're Australian - (or maybe anyone for that matter) guess what I found:

The official Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission's registration page of Collective Shout.

[x]

There is a bill right now in the US trying to pass It would make it illegal for any financial service provider to prohibit or inhibit any legal transaction It's called the "Fair Access to Banking Act, H.R.987 in the House, S.410 in the Senate" Call your representatives if you live in the US !!!!

Alright so as y’all may or may not know, credit card companies and other payment facilitators have put pressure on digital storefronts such as Steam and Itch.io to remove “adult content” recently largely due to lobbying by fringe radical organizations. It would be bad enough if it just affected actual porn, but you know to these people “porn” means “anything that even mentions a homosexual.” Several of my team’s projects including mini-expansions to Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy “The Fanservice Files” and “The XXX-Files,” as well as team artist @chaospyromancy’s personal side project “A Squad of Drow” have been delisted from itch.io as of last night though they are still available by direct link or from our main account page and you can still pay us for them for now but there is no telling how long they'll actually stay up. Many others have had their projects completely delisted or outright removed, and are having payments withheld from them. If you don't want to see us and other creators pushed under by this crap, you need to do something about it.

People affected by this far outnumber the people who lobbied to make it happen. These organizations are very vocal but also relatively small and very fringe, and since it is a policy decision that was created by complaints it may be able to be destroyed by complaints.

Here are the phone numbers of these companies and an email address I was able to find. We need to blow their phones off the wall and fill their inboxes with customer complaints.

Mastercard (US): 1-800-627-8372 Mastercard (Int.): +1-636-722-7111 Visa (US + Can): 1 800 847 2911 Visa (AUS): 1 800 125 440 PayPal(UK): +44-0203-901-7000

Paypal (US) 1 888 221 1161

For investor relations:

914-249-4565 (Mastercard) 650 432 7644 (visa)

Visa Email Address: [email protected]

Mastercard Contact Form: https://b2b.mastercard.com/contact-us/

Saying stuff like “sex work is real work” and “this affects black trans women,” while true, is not the kind of thing that is going to tug at the heartstrings of lib-conservative CEOs and board members and their PR teams. They’re mercenary. You need to tell them how this is going to hurt their wallets and make their customers very unhappy.

If feasible, you need to get your moms and dads on this too, and get them to get their friends on it, etc.

40-60-year old middle class white people high credit scores and stuff will have more sway with these corporations than any young adult trans person.

My team has put together a template for your phone calls and emails. Take the template and delete the [bracketed parts] that don’t apply to you.

“My name is [_____], and I’m contacting you about your recent decision to alter your user policies regarding adult content and thereby putting pressure on digital storefronts like itch.io and Steam to hide and remove adult content. By doing so, you're cutting off a significant revenue stream, [and as someone with financial investment in your company, this has me extremely concerned]

[I both buy and sell that blocked content, so this is directly interfering in my finances, and I will seek compensation.]

Products I paid for are no longer available to me, [and people are buying my products without the money going to me because of your interference with the payment processing.]

If you don’t want to lose customers and face potential legal trouble, these policies which pressure itch.io, Steam, and other digital storefronts need to be reversed.

You have changed these policies because of Collective Shout, a radical group from Australia that sent only a mere 1000 calls to destroy a significant revenue stream on your part and to interfere with my finances. This decision literally affects millions of people and millions of dollars, and so I expect a prompt response on reversing these policy changes and removing the pressure on itch.io and Steam to ban adult content on their sites. [As a cardholder, I worry that these new policies are responding to a vocal minority of customers, and I’m left doubting the reliability, versatility, and integrity of your services. I use these services to securely and conveniently make the transactions I see fit, and it’s disappointing to see legitimate, legal transactions be excluded.]

[I am furious that an American company would bend so easily to a lobbying group from a foreign country.]”

There is also a petition you can sign here.

[All images in this post have alt/id text if you need it or want to copy paste anything]

With no warning, Itch.io, a site where many host their indie games, comics, books and more, has started purging and shadowbanning explicit and LGBT+ works. Creators got no warning. And if they were still owed payouts from these works, Itch.io is saying they won't give them their money as they 'broke the rules'. Rules that were only just set in place, with no warning, and therefore no way for creators to try and draw out their money or delete these 'offending' works before they got banned under the new rules.

So Itch.io has been the most recent to fall to the demands of a group that's been contacting Visa and Mastercard and convincing them to threaten sites/businesses with 'stop selling what we consider to be explicit content on your sites of we'll stop allowing your site to have transactions with Visa and Mastercard'. Steam folded, and now Itchio has too. And a reminder earlier this year Gumroad also stopped allowing explicit content, further back than that Patreon banned some kinks and fetishes even if it's depicted in fiction not real life, and I don't have to explain to you guys the great Tumblr explicit content ban of 2018.

And as always remember this doesn't stop with sexually explicit work as LGBT+ stories and people are often labelled as explicit and already we're seeing works being taken off Itch.io that are about LGBT+ and especially trans stories. Other non-sexually explicit works I've seen already getting shadowbanned, delisted or deleted are SFW games featuring furries/anthros, SFW dress up games (because when you take the clothes the model is nude), and the aforementioned SFW games that include LGBT+ characters and stories.

I'm compiling here information I've seen around various social medias, mostly Bluesky, because I haven't seen all these things shared over here.

I don't personally have explicit content on itch, but I had been considering one day selling things on there and I do currently have explicit content on my Patreon, my main source of income, and am terrified that Patreon is going to fold next (if anyone knows alterative for hosting audio content behind a paid subscription service please let me know so I can start maybe making a back-up in case the worst happens). Because for me personally if Patreon goes next, it's not like I can go out and easily get another job. Not only because in general finding and getting a job is difficult enough, but I'm autistic and have chronic pain and have been constantly getting sick or new pains over the last few years and don't feel safe being trans in the UK right now and all of that combined rules me out of a lot of jobs and makes me feel unsafe to apply to any. I'm so grateful I've been able to make a community around my work, but if Patreon caves next and I just leave my SFW posts on Patreon... 10% of my Patreons are signed up to the SFW tier, 90% are signed up to the explicit tier... I know if Patreon caves I will go from someone living comfortably who's searching to move out of my parents so I can live in a safer environment to someone who can no longer even afford the rent I pay to my parents. I'll try and get an alterative found and set up in case that happens and I can only hope you guys will follow me to whatever other site I have to set up... but it feels unlikely that people will get a whole new account on a whole new payment provider just to support me on a website they might never have heard of...

But what can we do right now?

A petition you can sign (international but you do have to give your name, email, and postal/zip code):

Get calling:

Mastercard (US): 1-800-627-8372

MasterCard (UK): 0800 964 767

Mastercard (International.): +1-636-722-7111

Visa (US + Can): 1 800 847 2911 / 1-800-VISA-911

Visa (AUS): 1 800 125 440

Visa (UK) : 0800 891 725 or use their international call collect +1 303 967 1096

Visa (International): (call collect - it costs them $): +1-303-967-1096

PayPal (US): 1-888-221-1161

PayPal (UK): 0800 358 7911 from landline, +44 203 901 7000 mobile

PayPal (International): 1-402-935-2050

(numbers gathered from these posts X X X )

Don't know what to say on the phone? Here's a script written by timidtanuki:

Creators have had their work removed off Itch.io with no warning and since it's been removed for 'breaking the rules' (rules that were suddenly in place with no warning) they aren't entitled to get their payouts. Just like other sites such as Youtube and Twitch and Etsy, Itch.io hold onto money from their users in a wallet and then give them payouts. So there is money creators have made, are owed, that Itch.io is not giving to them.

People are recommending that if you still have works on Itch.io to turn down the revenue sharing to 0% so that Itch.io no longer takes a cut or your money if you no longer want to support Itchi.io finically but don't want to remove your works from their platform. X

Other Bluesky posts and calls to action I've seen:

radiantg.bsky.social is asking for anyone on Itch.io who got their game deindexed, removed , or payouts turned off to reach out to them (espeically if you make explicit and/or LGBT+ games) for a piece of journalism about what is happening.

sleepyhard.bsky.social is making a threat of all the games that Itch.io has censored/removed from their site search function. Obviously be aware this will include 18+ only games, games with sexual content and other dark or heavy themes.

thetransfemininereview.com wants you to reach out to them if you're a trans creator on Itch.io who is being affected by this so they can make an accurate report. they say 'authors' in their post and I'm unsure if they also want game devs to reach out.

dropdownbear.bsky.com wants you to reach out if you have purchased things on Itch.io that you can now no longer access because of this ban. they can include them in a report being filed with the Australian Consumer Commission as this may be a violation of Australian Consumer rights. If you are Australian you can no longer access things you purchased of Itch.io you can report directly with this guide.

It's a scary time for adult creators and sex workers. It's a scary time to be trans. Support creators. And if anyone knows of any alternate payment providers that allow explicit work, and/or alternate websites to Itch (and in case things get worse, also give me Patreon alternates please) where people can host, sell and/or offer paid subscriptions to writing, images, videos, audios, games and more please leave them in the replies. And please help share this post, the posts I'm linking too, and any other resources you can find.