Hullo, my dear library patrons!

As many of you may have anticipated, I suppose we ought to have a brief chat over some tea and scones. Please join me for a few moments, and I'll try to keep it short.

First, let me assuage any fears you might have: I'm not packing up and taking the whole library with me. Everything here stays here. But things might be a bit quieter among the stacks. Here's what I've been mulling over this weekend:

• I was horrified by the revelations from former mods about how the site was run. I say "was" in the hope (however distant) that that will actually change. If you are out of the loop, I suggest reading what kicked it all off. The practices, lack of communication, stresses place on mods, favoritism, and more are inexcusable. It sullies a lot of my warm regards for this platform. (And derailed my plans to write bots this weekend.)

• I am a user of this site as well as a creator, and I have watched many of the creators I love leave this platform. Some have stayed in diminished capacities, and others have left altogether. It has been hard to watch a community I loved fracture. But I have been thrilled to see so many new faces join the Discord server I co-run with Murphy (Randomuserishere), Mori (MoriK), and now Chaos (Whale Z). Wherever the winds take us, I am glad that I can follow everyone on their journeys each time they share a bot or a story in the Mead Hall. It has always been my sanctuary, and to see it not just weather the storm, but grow regardless of where people are, has helped me be resilient about this, too.

• Last but not least, I love this library and have appreciated each and every one of you. The stories you share about your adventures, or even just a small heart in the comments makes me feel like I'm not shouting into a void, but co-writing stories with you all. I got into this hobby because, as much as I love writing and books, what I love more is communal storytelling. I don't want to write a fixed story; I want to create memorable characters and a world for you to explore together wherever you want to take it. That's why so many of my user roles in my bots are open-ended or only light outlines of a role, because I want to let you tell your stories. And as you have proved time and time again, you do; each is uniquely you, and it's amazing what you come up with. And then there are the requests you have sent in (so many!), which inspire me when I'm struggling with writer's block, or let me meet new characters I hadn't considered before. Each request feels like a conversation and a chance to work with you on something. Many of my favorite characters—like Prince Nicholas and Sir Caden, August Fairchild, Kevin Tierney, and so many others—have come out of your requests. I take that seriously.

So, in conclusion (and TL;DR), I don't want to leave, but I do want to refocus on finishing moving these books—I mean, bots—into some other spaces. I'll keep an eye on here, however. But, until I see signs of true change for the better in Janitor, I will likely only post requested bots here (1-2 bots a month), while new original bots will remain on other shelves. I didn't want to punish those who requested bots (which I do intend to write!), so requests will always be everywhere I am, so that they are everywhere you are, my dearest reader.

Whoops, I did say I would keep this short, didn't I? Never trust a lover of Victoriana to understand the word "short," I suppose. Anyway, thank you. If you want to find me, I recommend getting a library carrd or wandering into the Mead Hall (age verification is required within 48 hours of joining, as it is an 18+ space).