Public Community Thank You Screen (Patreon)

A few days ago, I posted the first of three new pages that were added to the game here . It's simply a dedication that I've been working on for the game so if you haven't seen it, please go give it a supportive view and help give some reinforcement to the demographic I really wrote this story for.

Now, onto this post and also another quick shout out to Clay for helping me make this in secret and for putting up with me again on voicechat. 

Secretly in the background, I've been thankful about this project. I know I say thank you publicly but I'm also very privately thankful when I'm alone in my thoughts and I have a chance to really absorb the reactions that I've gotten from people on this project.

All of you have humbled me.

If you're like me and you've never publicly created anything before, allow me to briefly describe the experience. People message me. A lot. I get messages here on Patreon and on Itch, Discord, F95, and other random sources too lengthy to list. People have sought me out. They've made accounts on websites just to leave a reaction to this story. The world is an immensely large place with uncountable cultures and worldviews--with competing religions and ideologies and things that reach them on an emotional level. We're all very different. In short, the people of the world never agree on anything. Because of the scope of that, it's impossible to describe the consistent positive reaction that I have gotten from the community over the years regarding this project. At times I've disbelieved it-- how can the internet of all places, be kind? But it has been and I'm grateful and humbled to be a part of this community and I appreciate all of you more than a simple screen or words will ever convey.

People have written stories about these characters. They've drawn pictures. They streamed and edited content and bared their souls in reacting to it. People have written me letters, sharing intimate details about their lives and their struggles; they've felt validated by these characters. They've openly wept on live streams. And I've truly felt every one of those reactions. In private I've secretly read your notes and letters over and over again. I still have them all. I've never deleted them. Because, I should take the time to experience someone's reaction or their work, art--whatever they've created--whatever the story has inspired them to share--the least I can do is give them my attention and share that personal moment with them. I've cherished your work as you have mine.

So I wanted to say thank you. 

So in the privacy of my thoughts I created a thank you file that I shared with no one and I wrote about it. I whittled it down over days, and weeks-- over months-- actually it was years. The somewhat embarrassing truth is that I began writing the page you see above over two years ago. I visit it often. Several times per week and I refine it and I see if it still holds true. Sometimes my writing days start with me reviewing my thank you file before I even dive into the game or respond to mail. It keeps me humble and grounds me. In short, the page you see is one of the most heavily edited parts of this entire project and that's as it should be. I could continue to refine and edit this statement for the rest of my life and it would not be adequate. My feelings and gratefulness are beyond words but I did my best. I've put two years of work into the writing above page and the time has come to share it with the world.

When update v0.21 boots, you'll see this screen after the adult content warning. When you boot up v0.21 for the first time, please don't click abruptly past it. Please take a moment to realize that I appreciate you-- all of you--whether you've financially contributed or not. It was never about that for me and never will be. I've felt your energy and I'm changed because of it. I hope that even an ounce of the way I feel about your support is captured by this and I hope you feel the same way I do every time you spend some time with these characters. 

Thank you-- all of you-- truly, from the bottom of my happy and grateful heart. 

-Aaryn

But stay tuned, I have one screen left and it's the one that's the most important to me.