Hey. It's been a long while, hasn't it? I gotta say, aside from the occasional favorite or comment, I really haven't been interacting with many people outside my discord server. After the loss of a job and apartment, I fell into a pretty bad depression. I may still be recovering from it, but I want to say I am bouncing back and hopefully will get things back in order to be social and furry again.

Obviously, the loss of a job was quite hard, and I didn't really feel like moving out of state or really taking any kind of enormous risk without some capital behind me. It took a while, but I'm now bouncing back from that with my new job. Initially a part-time technician and customer service agent, I've moved to a full-time one. Shortly, I'll get benefits back like health insurance and things of that nature. Our company is also massively expanding, so we're getting new things too (especially being full-time now) like retirement plans or financial assistance for school (I could probably give getting my Master's another shot). I'm reducing debt and will hopefully be back on my feet as a stable person within a matter of months.

During the silent time, I really didn't do much socially. I usually played games on Saturday with my Discord Group, but that was about it. I'm starting to reach back out, though. Currently, I am mostly playing familiar games like Left4Dead, Monster Hunter: World, Phasmophobia, and Consuming Shadow. Hell, I've even gotten back into Team Fortress 2 now that the bot crisis is pretty much handled. (Note: there are still the occasional cheaters, but now they no longer outnumber the players, and their effectiveness is pretty much manageable. It is still freaky as fuck to hear bots talk, though).

I haven't really done... any drawing, though. I am kinda stuck and hesitant to get back into it. Just... lacking ideas, honestly. I've actually spent time writing. You may have guessed from my avatar that I've also gotten back into My Little Pony (specifically, Gen 4; I've heard... lukewarm things about Gen 5). It is kinda the subject I've been writing about, primarily crossovers with various horror games (The aforementioned Left4Dead, Phasmophobia, and Consuming Shadow). I was only working on the L4D one, but I tried some writing exercises when I got stuck and have now made... three. They're still kinda in progress. The CS and L4D ones are REALLY difficult to write (hell, the left4dead one has been 10 YEARS in the works). The Phasmophobia one is going alright, but I'm still stuck and trying to push past the blocks. Being creative is hard. I also need beta-readers/proofreaders just to make sure it is still engaging and in character. But I do like what I have so far. I may upload some here just for that so I can get critiques and the like.

And apparently, Georgia's opened a few Marijana depositaries lately. Its legal status is still kinda questionable (from what I've read, it has to be a certain level of THC to be sold here) but these dispensaries have enough legal citations to clarify that they can operate in this state and sell things for recreational purposes. I'm willing to make a drive to the closest one and give it a shot. That stuff did wonders for anxiety a few years ago, but I'll obviously need to get better at moderation. Seeing as I am working with my issues from soda intake (down to 2-3 a day from 7, yes 7), I feel like I should be okay now that I have some kind of self-control.

I am sorry that I have been dead on all social media and not reaching out. I stopped using Twitter a while ago (politics, especially the shitty ones we have now) make me too uncomfortable (I'll still support my causes like Women/Gay/Trans Rights, Pro-Choice, and things that put more personal freedoms on people. I kinda forgot telegram existed save for a couple of occasions, so I've really only been active in Discord (specifically my gaming channel) and in Steam. I'll make an effort to reach back out to the awesome people (read: everyone I know and have talked to, most likely you), so I hope we can resume our friendship. I hope things have been well in the time I've been dormant. A year can change a lot of people, and I know we're still mired in the effects of Covid, so I know it hasn't been easy on a lot of you all.

But I thank you for hearing me out and being a part of my life. I wish you the best and hope that I can bring that same spark/enjoyment back into your lives that ya'll have put in mine. Miss you all a lot.

~Vlux (Dwarf_Ninjas)