Rori Thornton (xe/xem/xyr)

Here's a starter pack for all the Yaoi Bundle Artists and Developers. These folks deserve so much of your love and support and could really use some boosts on their posts! Thanks everyone, please share this!

go.bsky.app/Fkos7Kg

Stop payment processors from censoring games!

I fully intend to revive the Yaoi Bundle in some way, but the dust needs to settle first. If this delay upsets you, please make your calls, send in letters, do anything! We need all hands on deck for this fight!

Use this site to keep up to date on the fight!
stop-paypros.neocities.org

An ad announcing the delay of the Yaoi Bundle!

The Yaoi Bundle had to be delayed, now what?🌈
For #yaoiday check out my blog post on how you can support our affected artists: www.darkchibishadow.com/post/the-yao...

And don't forget to follow the starter pack too: go.bsky.app/Fkos7Kg

Thank you for your support!

This is still ongoing by the by! Gonna put my order in as soon as possible when I get home but I still need a few pre-orders to help out with costs. Please share, thanks!

🎶 it's the best of both worlds🎶
bsky.app/profile/emry...

STEAM CAMPAIGN TIMELINE In response to false claims and misinformation about our campaign, we're setting the record straight. Some have asked why we involved payment processors, and others have claimed we are responsible for Itch.io removing all NSFW content. We raised our objection to r*pe and incest games on Steam for months, and they ignored us for months. We approached payment processors because Steam did not respond to us. We called on Itch.io to remove r*pe and incest games that we argued normalised violence and abuse of women. Itch.io made the decision to remove all NSFW content. Our objections were to content that involved s*xualised violence and torture of women.

Collective Shout admits on Facebook that they pressured payment processors into destroying the livelihoods of game makers because their games made the group feel icky

I think the problem (for me) is that I often write from the POV of the monster and I want them to feel the soft and gentle press of lips 🥺

Human mouths are *so* sensitive compared to many other species. Proboscis kisses sound adorable though omg 💜

Hopefully it was just an automated response from being part of the previous guidelines they can reverse for those affected

I have heard of some people's payments being withheld for not complying to the new guidelines retroactively, but it sounds like Itch got flooded with requests and is trying to sort through things.

At least in my personal circles the general sentiment has been "we're mad at how Itch handled this, but the issue is the payment processors, here's how to fight them" so I've honestly been surprised to see so much vitriol still directed at Itch for more broad scale reasons

Lol also aroace and I write a lot of closed mouth kisses because I like them more than open, so 😅

But having a lot of chaste licking with my canid species has been fun lol

I know many ppl also found the salute emoji in particular insulting, reading it as an "f u" - maybe generational, I saw more as a "godspeed". But that disconnect in communication set a tone for a lot of people and how they perceived Itchio's feelings on the matter (right or wrong)

For me, I feel if you have time to post an emoji you have time to post something like "due to new payment processors guidelines were have to take immediate major action on site, more info to follow". I get they might not have been able to explain, but just something so users knew info was coming

The only reason I write so many "humanoid" face monsters is for kissing, because I enjoy smooches. But I also ADORE non-human face monsters and should write/draw more.

There's something particularly disturbing about content warnings, a tool only used by the writers who care the most about preventing readers engaging with something they might find distressing, being used by censors to ban art in the name of safety.

Visa and Stripe, in particular, are now at the point where their support numbers will go 'is this about steam/itchio?...' when called. So, it's working. Keep going. And don't fall for the trap of 'well, it's kinks -I- don't like for now, so it's not so bad!'

A screenshot of the itchio page for Canadian Wildfires Fundraiser, showing 1935 / 2000 raised. There are 11 days, 9 hours left.

Y'all the Canadian Wildfires Fundraiser is a mere $65 away from its shiny $2000 goals!

You can get ~80 games/books for only $10 (or more if you tip) and ALL the proceeds go to wildfire relief.

itch.io/b/3125/canad...

Stay informed & make noise. Don’t assume others will do it for you.

We cannot allow payment processors to control our freedom to express ourselves. Make sure YOU are being heard if you want to defend NSFW content & the creative, beautiful people behind it.

The background is a stack of books in front of a smudged blackboard. The text reads: Help Dove get back to school. Get 25% any ebook in Dove's Payhip store. Use code: 25OFF during checkout and get 25% off your whole ebook cart. Or get a whopping 40% off all 13 books at once at: https://payhip.com/b/l8ZwU Just want to offer support? Leave me a ko-fi instead: https://ko-fi.com/dovelynnwriter

Until September, you can get 25% off ALL my ebooks on Payhip to help cover my return to school costs after a number of financial set-backs. I'm thrilled to start paying forward the support my teachers gave me at last.

payhip.com/dovelynnw...
📚💙 #booksky #IndieAuthor #specfic #sff

I honestly read this thinking "ah, like work. Almost like sex work is work" 😅 (which you know, obviously)

Though I would definitely like to read more books featuring sex workers by swers! Had a friend who did sw so I did some light consulting when including it my work, but there's still plenty idk

The point of calling credit card companies isn't to make John Visa have moment of introspection and go "aw shucks I was wrong!" it's to grind business to a halt for such an extended period of time that all the higher ups who are real people with names and addresses decide that this isn't worth it

Itchio's communication was poor, but that's pretty much the only thing actually in their control. And, as pissed as it made me at the start, it's literally the least of our problems in the grand scheme of things.

I've seen people blaming Itch for the new guidelines and I'm just like??? We know these guidelines were given to them by the payment processors. They're probably vague because Itch also doesn't know what qualifies. (Or for other reasons.)

I think lot of people resented being told in the immediate aftermath that they couldn't be mad at Itch for *anything* - I know I did. And now a lot of people are digging their heels in and it's just not worth it to stay mad at Itch when we know who the real problem are.

Literally the only thing I wish they had done differently was make an official statement when things started. Everything else was out of their hands, and I get that. I don't want the platform to fail, 8hrs was just such a long time to give any official word.

Yn a trulye goode worlde not even a businesse would be "run lyke a businesse."

Colourful illustration of a Mari Lwyd with text: Yes, I'm a HORSE GIRL

~~HORSE GIRL~~
(New sticker design coming soon)

The Black Panthers didn't mock people for their lack of education. They taught people how to read

A lot of people need to hear this

this sounds like such a feat of science and I really gotta dig out the details. But. Good news!!!

Emmett Till memorial shot up with bullets

People with guns proudly posing in front of the Emmett Till memorial shot up with bullets

A bulletproof Emmett Till memorial. Riddled with bullet dents.

All I think about when I hear people say that it’s bad taste to dance on Hulk Hogan’s grave is that Emmett Till’s monument had to be replaced with a 500lb steel bulletproof monument because white people simply won’t stop riddling it with bullets. So now it just has tons of dents. From bullets.