Time to vent a bit after lurking here for a couple years and never posting.
I've supported for a while now, albeit it sharing it here once or twice only when he threw fits. I was never actually opposed to requests and care packages being paywalled, but the behavior from Sel (and in turn the behavior he has encouraged from others) regarding all this has baffled me. Sel's been increasingly revealing himself to a dick for a long time, but in the past it was always behind the curtain of the discord (usually the patron sections). I'm happy to see that this side of Sel has become a bit more publicly viewable so people can be a bit more informed before subscribing, but I'm sad that this affects the game somewhat.
I get separating the art from the artist, but when Sel is actively telling his subscribers to "wage war" (which seems rather hyperbolic to me), verbally attacks forum users here, and discusses writing "Fuck F95" inside future updates, it's harder to separate. Given the "puzzles" this game already has, along with the multitude of fourth-wall breaks in the game serving to vent Selebus' frustrations, I wouldn't be surprised if the art itself is influenced by this drama, which I find unfortunate.
LiL is a great game and has given me much joy over the years. I don't regret supporting Sel, and will probably continue to do so (he has made an amazing product, and I really do favor the idea of supporting creators you enjoy) but it saddens me a bit to see the community I once loved so much a couple years ago be filled with such toxicity. You can see the changes over time in the way he acts, in the way his community runs, and even in the way the game is written.
Damn you Sel. Damn you for making such a wonderful piece of media and then slowly tainting my love for it with your constant superiority complex and need to provoke drama. Over a couple years we went from spamming meat and celebrating new members to banning anyone who disagrees with Sel's status quo. Sel made a post today claiming people "love" him because they discuss him constantly. Maybe that's true for some, but Sel: know I despise how you act to people with every fiber of my being. I couldn't be further from "loving" you, and haven't even respected you for a while now. My sole hope regarding all this is that LiL can get made before you go so far off the deep end that you nuke the project entirely.
I miss the good old days chatting with Cad, Gaki, and Maui and hope things settle to a point where I feel comfortable chatting with other fans of the game again outside of F95 (a place which has thankfully remained rather welcoming over time).
