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!