Post by Austyn in The Smoke Room comments

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I’ve been following The Echo Project for a long while now. Like longer than i’d like to admit. The stories that y’all put out let me enjoy a side of me I hide and I am so grateful for that.

I had to create an Itch.io account for this most recent update, cause whew people are crazy.

If anyone is reading this comment, spoilers are in it for the most recent update of The Smoke Room.

I truly truly do not understand the audacity some people have. When I first started hearing about Kane I had been seeing people say that he was apparently sexually assaulting Will. I was so shocked and surprised by this, and was finally happy to get this new Will update to see what exactly was happening.

To see that what’s happening is being so blatantly misinterpreted is infuriating. George and the team pour so much love and hard work into this project and the sheer amount of complaints and very incorrect takes about Will and Sam’s arrangement anger me.

It’s stated many times that Will has a big tolerance for alcohol, and it also requires a million specific dialogue choices to reach the part where you’re with Kane, Sam, and Todd. Sam also encourages everything Will does. If you don’t like Will being on the receiving end or in a more submissive position you can click out of it or choose not to partake.

There are SO many other options to prevent the event from happening.

Saying that Kane is assaulting Will blows my mind. Will is finally being open about what he wants and who he wants to do it with. FINALLY. It’s character development and its a small amount of it at this point.

To overcome some trauma that he has is a huge step, and this should be a happy moment for all Will enjoyers. Sure he’s not 100% dom like some people wanted but it’s nice to see him indulge for once and let loose completely.

Unless of course y’all want him to stay the exact same person from the beginning of the story to the end?

I found this new update exciting, riviting even, and was SO happy to see Will get some. Not enough Masc men irl are willing, and it’s nice to see a favorite character of mine enjoy this aspect of his sexuality that he has repeatedly repressed and ignored.

So I thank you Echo team. For everything you’re doing. For the work and time you put into this when you really don’t have to.

And shame to others who don’t appreciate it.

(also I need Buy a Man Some Hooch on Spotify.)

abignothing174 days ago(+8)

i havent played the most recent update for will yet and therefore have no opinions on whatever this hot-button topic is, but even so, there are a lot of points here that resonate with me in general. 'the stories that y’all put out let me enjoy a side of me i hide and i am so grateful for that,' ugh how seen that made me feel.

even if this project is receiving financial support, it is still a passion project first and foremost, which means that the creators are not making something just for the sake of making it. they are putting together something they love so much that they want to continually share it, something that they have the yearning to work on and express whether or not it ever gets popular; and for that reason they deserve a large amount of grace and understanding, because they are sharing updates for a story thats far from finished. how can we have fully-informed and thoughtful opinions about the work before its done? we as readers can offer up our feedback when we feel it is necessary to do so, but otherwise should give the team breathing room to do what theyre doing in peace. even if an update is an uncomfortable one, there will be a resolution, there will be closure, but for now we must learn to wait and see how that scene will later fit into the larger whole.

i just want to end by giving a big thanks to the team for everything theyve done on the smoke room. i dont have the means to support on patreon, but this project, out of all the projects under echo, makes me feel the most. i not only feel like i step into this rich tapestry of prose, but that i see it through the eyes of an actual person with motivations and heart, and not just the narrative framing device of a neutral or passive first-person protagonist. it just- ugh. its fulfilling in a deep way that only a few other works of fiction have ever been able to impact me before, and thats because i can sense how much love and care goes into the work of producing it. this work has a spirit for certain, and it is full of longing and the kind of full-bodied beauteous sadness that only we queers can truly savor. mwah!

Echo Project164 days ago(+8)

Thanks. I quite dislike the notion that masc men can never enjoy subbing, and feel represented when I do get to see it in media.

-George

itch.io

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