A quick update (CF + Newest Ep)

Hi friends,

Just wanted to give a brief update on the status of our next episode (Collapse of the Tower Pt 3) and close friends.

As you may or may not have noticed, Part 3 did not come out last month as I had originally intended. It's my mission to get at least one episode out per month, and in the past, I've often been able to do two. At the very least, I strive to maintain a running average of at least one per month, but April has been... well, a bit difficult to say the least. Between figuring out taxes for an online business, travel, a pretty horrible flu, some hiccups in my housing situation, and the nature of this next episode, I've been running a bit behind. On top of all of that, I've managed to lose my voice, which is of course not ideal when attempting to put out a podcast. Perhaps most importantly—Part 3 aims to tackle the ineffable in a much more experiential way than how we've discussed it in the past. This final part should be sort of the crown jewel of this series. I'm feeling some kind of soul-level imperative to bring the absolute best of my work to the table, which has unfortunately led to writing something like 40k words just toward the various DRAFTS of this final part (not to worry—the final product will be a reasonable length).

That's all to say—I thank you for your patience, and I believe (or at least hope) that the quality of this next episode will be worth the wait. On top of that, I'm in the editing process of a very fun interview with fellow meme page admin Arcanewit, which I think you guys will really enjoy, along with the rough draft for another Nekyias episode.

As for Close Friends!

A piece of advice my mother shared with me a long time ago went something like this: there is great power, and great opportunity, in admitting when you have failed... and, I think I have definitely failed when it comes to the CF part of this Patreon. Between updates made both to the Patreon platform and an ever-shifting Instagram algorithm, it has become extremely time-consuming to maintain the Close Friends list.

I'm currently working on an alternative offering, but in the meantime, I'm going to remove the Close Friends benefit until I can find a system that actually works. With that said, I'm going to give everyone until May 20 to send in their handles. I have that entire day scheduled to add everyone who has yet to be added (and to remove those who have canceled their subscription). After that, I won't be adding anyone else for the foreseeable future. I've often felt hesitant to post to CF precisely because I haven't been able to keep it updated, so hopefully this will allow me to get used to actually posting content there. If you're still looking to be added, please send me a message on IG with your email and the handle you'd like added, and, CRITICALLY, send your handle in a separate message. The separate message will allow me to copy/paste your handle directly into the "add friend" search bar, which is really important because for some reason when I try to type handles out by hand Instagram doesn't bring up the account. For those of you who have already sent me your handles—I'll send another reminder/CF check to make sure I've added you on May 20. I'm also going to be using that day for additional admin and to answer any unread messages.

TL;DR: Working very hard on part 3, which will be coming soon. Close Friends will be completely updated by May 20, but will no longer be a benefit for new subscribers until I can figure out how to make it work!

EDIT: If you're having trouble reaching me on IG due to the unaccepted message request thing (which has been another problem I've been running into) you are welcome to comment below or DM here. In the meantime, I'm going to attempt to change that setting/accept the messages sent so far.

Much love,

Sarah