Please forgive me for another whining rant instead of new art, since I've got none. But I have to say what's on my mind right now.
As an art account, I don't talk about such topics normally, unless privately with someone I trust, but I'm starting to feel legitimately concerned over everything right now.
Online censorship and attempts to take people under total Orwellian control in social media were around me (and of course, everyone is allowed to start nationality shaming me for still living in Mordor, regardless of my stance) for about a decade. Except for the past three and a half years of open f@$%!$m, these attempts have become more frequent, and more vile. This already has made it hard for me to do my job as an artist; with the paranoia and feelings close to burnout and depression it all has given me, I can rarely bring myself to draw anything, knowing that there will be a tomorrow when I can't reach anyone. Which I assumed was closing in from within this hellhole, for there were rumors of whitelists so that no VPN could help anyone reach the outside world (not to mention most local websites), and during tests in some regions, it was claimed to be working, but not a true fact for me just yet.
In the past week, not only our own Draconian bills have caused insane negative resonance, though I will not stop fighting that censorship. The rest of the world, starting with the UK, seems to follow suit. Twitter is already partly unavailable for most people in Europe. And I am aware that people are fighting for their freedom of speech and content consumption, with their voices falling in part on deaf ears already... As much as I am unable to help other than signing one of the petitions, which I already did, and it's mostly due to the sanctions from both outside and within, I would like to wish you folks good luck, and for this battle to be victorious, and to look out for artists you love and enjoy.
As for me... I really don't know what I will do in the future.
On one hand, I am almost completely out of ideas, no new content in mind, not even something I promised a while ago (I really hope to bring all that to life, though) and it's been incredibly hard to bring myself to draw for over two years. At some points, I even considered not just taking a hiatus, but quitting entirely for several years until everything, including the aggressive invasion, censorship, and repressions, is finally over.
On the other hand, there is at least one active commission in the works right now, with less than 5 weeks to finish it AND cover my small "debt" for the recent expenses (which may be hard, considering other repressive bills regarding money transfers). Plus some more extra slots left from January 2024 batch. I do NOT know when AND IF they can be finished, but I'm not sure how much of it is or will be out of my hands.
Right now, I have no plans to quit permanently at all. At most, I was thinking if I should rest again or not, and when for that matter, though if I rest, it may take months, or years. And, the future with the censorship does seem grim and highly demoralizing, so I'm not sure what I'll be able to share in the future, and where. Yet, I'm not planning to stop entirely. Maybe going traditional from time to time would be helpful, too. But it's still hard to go on, pun not intended.
This is not here to ask for advice, or pity, or support. At most, it's the rusty robot grumbling about what's on his mind. But I hope everything will become better one day. Stay safe, please. And here's for the censorship to NOT stand.