AphroDesia - A Hard Talk, and a Hard Reboot (Patreon)

Hey everyone. It's me, Sauce/ETC..

I've been working on a lot of behind-the-scenes things lately. But I think I'd like to have one more heart-to-heart conversation before New Years moves forwards.

This isn't easy for me to do. In fact, it's something that came with a lot of anxiety for me. I've done my best to take my position as seriously as I can, with little to no guidance. I became a content creator and amassed a following, supporters, and a platform in a matter of months. And I've never been 100% sure of my decisions, but I'm hoping maybe I'm doing this correctly.

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In short-- Obsidian (1/3 AphroDesia Co-Creators) has had to step down for life matters. It is sad, but it's a blessing to have had them around for the time we did and we wish them well. In that case, we've also released back to them any and all of their fictional contributions.

Of course, that now leaves the hard task of once again, amending the fictional lore of the series. Retconning, deleting, reminding, etc..

When this series started, it was a shit post. It was a dark and gritty commentary on how I felt about fan service content. I was living at home for twenty-one years - I'd been homeschooled since I was a child, and there was high-pressure and heavy intimidation to stay home. I wasn't taught to drive or fend for myself, and I had to ask for permission to get my first job.

In July of 2021, my family was set to move away, but in August it was suggested that I go to live with my grandparents instead. I lost my first and only support network, and was given a year to learn to fend for myself all by myself.

AphroDesia became more when friends began to rally around it. Soon I had amassed not a community to me, but actual friends. My first friends in a long time. mattered a lot to me, so I rolled out fact after fact to keep them happy. I paid away most of my own savings to produce an audio drama and took on the mantle of a big protective boss tying together this family that meant so much to me.

It was all I had, and for a while it was what I lived and worked for. But then something bad happened, and for reasons, I won't discuss anymore we lost Jambee's first VA. That was devastating for a variety of reasons, and it was a massive trigger to some underlying Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) I didn't think I had. It was a major source of feelings towards harmful thoughts.

After that, a series of events happened. Things which I contributed to, of course. As mentioned in why I quit being JambeeBot, my poor mental health became a burden at best to the people around me. But several other things happened, back to back. A lot of those things I haven't mentioned to most, and won't still. Two lost voice actors back to back, the inability to formulate the AD video game, the failure of the first pilot, and other things.

The worst thing that happened I think was working on AphroDesia and getting the phone call that my father (39) had had a heart attack. And I recall tearing apart my studio and you just see Jambee smugly standing there while I'm trying to keep everything together. I had to focus on preparing for the Kickstarter too, then slated to arrive 2/14/2022.

My father ended up passing away, as many know. I discuss it a lot because during AD's development, sending him progress was the one thing I had to prove I was growing and it was the one project he'd tell his friends about. I was his successful artist daughter. And not a few days after his death, I was back to figuring out how to salvage AphroDesia's Kickstarter.

The point of this sob story isn't to make you feel bad for me. Bad things happen every day. But after my father's passing, I slowly grew to realize I'd had PTSD that I didn't feel allowed to discuss in his presence. And things moved forwards, but I realized that every time I sat down to draw Jambee all I saw was horrible visions of a Lazy September day where I was scrambling to assure people that losing Jambee's first VA wasn't going to stop us. I saw my dad poorly describing the series concept to his friends. I saw every time I'd thrown on a poor impression of a mafioso over a voice call while in truth, I was scared shitless and had wanted to crawl into my dad's arms and cry, or the multiple Twitter meltdowns I'd had in my mourning.

That being said, I've decided to hard reboot the concept. I'm not re-sewing this quilt. I can't do it anymore. Not because I don't care, or feel horrible. I feel awful. But I've finally come to terms with the idea that doing what you love should not be hurting you over and over again.

The common factor in all this heartache was AphroDesia and me. The trauma follows the name around like a ghost, and I've realized that if I want to make something GOOD for you all, I need to start from square one.

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AphroDesia will be seeing a reboot in 2023. A hard reboot. And I apologize for this because I know so many people have built so much of themselves around this concept. I've never done this before, so I'm going to try and head in the best direction and listen to feedback while I guide myself and everyone through this.

Q: What will happen to Jambee, TMon, ETC..?

A: They'll be back over the course of the year. I'm handling development alone, to try and re-center the series. But the characters will still exist, and development has already started.

Q: What will happen to all the content already made?

A: It'll all remain on Patreon, cataloged and available to access. I don't see this content as outdated and irrelevant. In fact, they were very important stepping stones and genuine artistic creations. They're legitimate on their own. I'll probably be listening to fans about what to do, as I go.

Q: What will happen to the older AphroDesia adoptables?

A: For anyone unaware, I sold a few limited-run adoptables of Cherubs in the very beginning in order to fund the pilot and mini-episodes. In this case, buyers can keep their adoptables as original characters if they'd like or contact me with proof of purchase to have their adoptable transformed or receive a new piece of art as compensation. There weren't many sold, so you will need proof.

Q: What will happen to the world? The lore? How deep will the changes go?

A: The characters will all remain. But the series is planned to be developed into a Batman-style rogue's gallery-turned-POV story, with a Dick Tracy/Batman the Animated Series appeal. There will be fat trimming, such as removing complicated or unsatisfactory old content that needed to remain because it was too late to take it back. The voice actors will remain on for their roles, and even in potentially increased capacities. 

The base premise is going to remain the same-- A crime-centric exploration of love, intimate relationships, and traditional expectations of love clashing with modern and individual interpretations. An aphrodisiac-slinging gang of technically-not-criminals goes out to unite a rogue's gallery of socially outcast and sex/love-positive vigilantes.

However, what's also being examined is story structure. Is it possible to condense and improve the story further? Is it possible to make this a legitimate, all-in-one piece of media? (Quality improvements)

Q: How long until we start seeing concepts for this new series?

A: Expect something around the start of the New Year. You won't be long without work to follow!

Q: What media shape will this new series take?

A: Audio dramas have ultimately proved ineffective. They're a financial and time burden for patrons and require months of drafting, writing, voice acting, editing, etc.. The current draft for the next episode is still unfinished due to an inability to find additional writers able to write -IN- an audio drama format.

I expect it will resurface as a video game, which is more easily accessible to audio-impaired fans, as well as general audiences.

Q: I have an OC/Character in the series! What can I do now?

A: Right now AphroDesia will remain separate and un-discarded. In that respect, you could likely stem from the original concept and utilize it still. Just until we have something more concrete for you!

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These are all the questions I can anticipate. But I just want to apologize again. I don't want to half-ass rebooting the series again, but changes were going to have to occur anyways. This time, though, I am just choosing to remove the triggering pre-context which continuously causes me to have episodes.

AphroDesia will return. Perhaps not under that name, but with more love and care than was there before. I am so, so sorry. But I will work hard to do something with this opportunity that I never could before. And I'll try to answer any more questions which come up.

- Sauce