Dearest Friends

Thank you for your kindness and patience over these past few months. As you may have noticed, this year has been quite a roller coaster for your local Bard. Between traveling to see friends in the US, traveling to Twitchcon Paris, exploring Europe, going to Knobcon in Chicago with the Golden Shrimp Guild, and performing at Twitchcon Las Vegas, I have experienced so many new things. All of these travels have, in their own unique ways, taught me some important lessons about myself, as well as lessons about the world around me. 

I was hoping to get all of your packages out on time for the holidays, but the past few weeks have been really exhausting. I've been dealing with some doctor stuff, as I've mentioned on Twitch, with a lot of miscommunication and such which has given me a lot of anxiety on top of my physical health issues. Long story short, I've been diagnosed with lyme disease. According to the better of the doctors I've spoken with, the lyme was probably contracted a while ago without symptoms, but this last tick bite may have had some sort of co-parasite that caused a flare-up in my body. Fortunately we caught it and the symptoms haven't progressed to bad. Just been a bit achey, some rashes, and a lot of lethargy. But I'm happy to say, after dealing with all the doctor drama, I am finally on doxycycline. Hopefully this knocks it out of my system and I can get back to full functionality.

That being said, I'm mailing everything out either today or tomorrow (depending on how quickly I can assemble the packages!) and they should hopefully arrive to all of you lovely beans by the end of the week.

So then.

As 2023 comes to a close, I hope that you have found joy and growth in your own lives. As far as our beloved Patreon is concerned, it will be “under construction” for a bit, as I flesh out a new and improved plan for 2024 that makes sense for both me and you. I do hope to still mail out goodies to the physical realm on occasion, but I would like to transform this Patreon into something that is a little more personal and a little less rushed. Ultimately, I will be spending this time reflecting on my goals as an artist, so I can move forward as efficiently and genuinely as possible. I love making art, but between the technical difficulties with printer issues, the cost of supplies, and the mere idea of adding to the waste on our planet- I would really like to figure out something else that is still personal, worthwhile for everyone involved, and also less wasteful. I nearly printed this letter to include in the packages, but I realized how ironic it would've been ("I'd like to create less waste on the planet", on bleached printer paper, mailed to the masses lol), so instead you're reading it here.

So, in conclusion, I will be spending the next couple of weeks creating some outlines for all my creative output (Twitch, Patreon, Bandcamp, etc.). I'm hoping to have a plan that I can really look at and touch, on paper, to make it real. Until now, “winging it” has done us just fine, but I’m realizing this has grown to a point that requires a bit more forethought. It's an amazing realization to have, because it means people are enjoying what we are building. Therefore, I owe it to all of you to create something really wonderful.

Thank you so much for all of your continued support. I can't wait to give you even more updates as this whole thing unfolds.

Happiest holidays to all of you, and a very happy New Year as well!

You are important, you are loved.
-Bard xoxo