@muttdays
I understand I've made a lot of shitty mistakes. I have not drawn Damian respectfully or properly, I have not represented his culture (at all), and I've done and said a lot of things that were racist (the thing with garo on deciding npc names makes me cringe, I should have listened to him when he said i didnt have to have a stereotypical name. That was stupidly racist.). Even when it was brought up, I did not take the actions necessary to change or fix my mistakes. I know I should have realized this a lot sooner and changed a lot faster, and for that, I am so so sorry. But I am dedicated to doing that now. I want to treat Damian right. I want to give him the respect and dedication it requires for me to write and draw him.
I want to improve and that's WHY I'm stopping. I completely agree with you, I need to listen and learn and collaborate with actual mexican-americans who deal with issues similar to his. I apologize for not directly mentioning that in any of my posts so far, but that's what I meant by improving. I'm not trying to leave tumblr so that I can continue being racist elsewhere, I actually want to stop and learn how to draw and write people of color better. And this isn't about being woke, this is about improving as a human being who wants to unlearn their racism and do better.
I know I haven't given you any reason to believe me. I haven't listened to you guys before. But I want to stress that I am listening to you now and I am actively, seriously changing myself and Damian. I know that the only real apology is changed behavior, so that is what I am going to do.
However, regarding the creepy/sexual harassment behavior:
- For Damian, thoughts about cheating are intrusive thoughts. It's not funny or "lol" worthy, it's a serious issue, and not one to be taken lightly. If I ever have, that was never my intent, and I never, ever planned on having Damian cheat. Cheating is wrong, end of subject, he will not do it. He has been attracted to different people, but being initially attracted to people and actually pursuing them outside of a friendly platonic relationship are two very different things.
- I don't know where these allegations of sexual harassment are coming from. I am genuinely wracking my brain trying to think of anything I've done that could constitute harassment, but the only thing I can think of is the situation where miragem*ge made up an entire story of how I only wanted them for sex, which was never true and I have our entire chat logs to prove it. Beyond that, I know I did some really shitty and gross stuff a few years ago when I was 17, but I was dealing with my own hypersexuality in a very distasteful and horrible way, and if I had the chance to do it again, I would not have done any of it. I wholeheartedly regret and am disgusted and sorry for the way I acted back then. But, other than that, I really don't know where this is coming from and I do not want lies being spread about me.
- I have never, EVER tried to buy anyone off so that they don't say anything. I have offered people money, and have given people donations and tips, but NONE of those were to bribe someone into not talking. Were some of them made in poor taste? Probably! I know I offered you money to help with your dog after the shit that happened back in... last november I think? And that probably came off as super gross, but my goal was never to get you to stop talking or unblock me or anything. All I wanted to do was help. And that's the ONLY reason why I have given people money. Anyone that I've donated to will tell you that I have always been lax with my money. I don't want people to pay me back, I don't want anything in return, I just want them to be happy.