Thu Jul 27 '23 Announcement
about 1 year ago
– Thu, Jul 27, 2023 at 02:35:58 PM
Hi folks! Per my last messages I was worried I wouldn't be able to get all our physical merch sent out before the chaos of me moving to another state (thanks to fascist laws making it impossible for me to exist as a transgender person in my home state of Florida), but holy smokes, we did it!
Unless I've somehow missed something: All of the physical merch that we're directly responsible for mailing has been sent out. That means the red herring coin sets (above is the cover of the booklet that comes with the sets), the Mystery Boxes, etc. were all shipped out a couple weeks ago. Many of you likely have received yours by now and thank you all so much for sending in timely surveys and up-to-date postal data. If we've somehow missed you, please message me at [email protected] and we'll get things sorted out.
Now, obviously this isn't all of the perks fulfilled - we've still got to finish the RPG books and so forth - but those are being fulfilled physically and digitally through DriveThruRPG. (Soon as I get settled, I'll get back to finishing up that project.) As of now, everything that I have to lay hands on and put in the mail is taken care of. Which is great news because post-move everything in my life is still being taken out of boxes and is in disarray. ?
Onward and upward!
I'm not gonna lie - the past several months have been a heartbreaking blur - ever since I realized that life as I know it was about to be upended. Moving my entire life hundreds of miles away, leaving my friends, family, and infrastructure amidst everything was a gauntlet that had me at 110% every day as I worked to clear the path ahead and keep on top of all the moving pieces. Which is to say, the RPG book and the future seasons are all facing further delays because of this.
I'm settling in, I'm excited to get back to work on these projects, and I'll keep you updated as things develop. Thank you, as always, for your support.
- Cat
Sat Jun 17 '23 Announcement
about 1 year ago
– Sat, Jun 17, 2023 at 09:14:15 PM
Hi friends! This is Cat! It's been a minute, and there's some life-upending reasons why. But good news first: we're getting physical items underway! Look! Treasure!
Image description: An animated gif of a hand reaching into a box filled with wooden fish coins.
We have a veritable jackpot's worth of wooden fish coins, fit for shipping. (That'll happen in the next couple weeks – you'll receive notice) and the Lot X Mystery Box Questionnaires have been sent out! So, for those brave few who like to live a life of surprises, please do fill those out as soon as you're able and I'll get to creating your custom collection of curios.
Also, these were supposed to have been out ages ago, but everyone who was to have access to complete scores should have received an e-mail from BackerKit with a link to where you can download all existent collections (“Black Birth, “The Terrible Secret of Lot X”, and “Night at Howling House”). Apologies for the delay on this, there was an extra step in BackerKit that we didn't realize hadn't been initialized. Everything should run smoothly on that end now.
I'll also say, in passing, that last month Omniverse debuted a new podcast. It's called “MOTHER,” She Wrote: An EarthBound Podcast, it's hosted by myself and Mystery Program Associate Producer Jessica Mudd and it's a hybrid of audio drama and pop culture podcast exploring the biggest cult sensation in video games: the MOTHER aka EarthBound Trilogy. These games are a big influence on my work including Mystery Program and this show is made for everyone. If a psychedelic blend of Stephen King and Stephen Spielberg sounds exciting – give this a spin!
How's everything else going? Slowly. I'm sorry to say that my life, and with it, our production, has been impacted by a very ugly situation. Normally I wouldn't get overly personal here - this isn't my diary. However, some really scary stuff is happening to me and quite frankly not enough people are aware of it.
Image description: A design evoking an orange (the fruit), with leaves at the top, and an orange blossom on the side, but with the Intersex-Inclusion Progress Pride Flag and an angular flamingo in the body of the "orange". It's set against a black background. White text curves around the bottom of the shape that reads "Florida is for everyone." Design by Brandon Mead.
Omniverse, and the majority of the production team of The Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program, is based out of Orlando, Florida. Keeper Luke Stram is here, composer Ryan McQuinn is here, our Producers and actors Doug Banks, John Sebastian La Valle, and many others are all here, and, of course, there's me – the linchpin to this whole operation.
A lot of jokes get made about Florida. A lot of stories get told, but they seldom have anything to do with the reality of this place. It's a sacred and wonderful place, a preposterous and vibrant place - a place that is more than my home, it's who I am. There's nowhere in the world like it.
And now, because I'm transgender, I have to leave Florida.
I’m a political refugee from Florida - a political refugee within the United States.
The Florida state government has been overtaken by fascists. That's not hyperbole. Fascism is the word for the oppression and suppression that has been enacted upon the environment and every minority during the latest legislative session. A war is being waged on the land and the people.
Crammed into a bill predominantly targeting trans kids, their parents, and the doctors who offer life-saving care to them, was a blatant attack on trans adults' basic access to medical care. The only goal is to erase us. This bill forced clinics around the state to shut down care to trans patients. And another bill makes a trans person using a restroom that aligns with their gender an arrestable offense.
I spoke out about it on the news recently (in a woefully short segment that misses points and gives screen time to a bigoted politician who is intensely transphobic so content warning)
The simple, personal facts are these: I don’t have access to hormones any more. When I run out, I’ll be forced into rapid onset menopause which in my case first begins with severe joint pain. I've experienced it before and it's horrible. The Florida government has taken away my access to healthcare and made it illegal for people like me to exist.
Fortunately, recently a Federal Judge ruled this law to be frozen on the grounds of being unconstitutional and clapped back in a way that is precedent setting, calling out this blatant bigotry for what it is. However, it's still being argued, and laws governing adults could be a separate case all together. This injunction is a very good thing, lifted my heart with its strong language, and having a ruling like this on the federal record is huge - but it doesn't reopen clinics yet. It's the first return shot in a long battle.
I’m lucky I have somewhere to go and the resources to do it. Not everyone has this. I have a plan. I’m safe. But I'm leaving my home, my family, my collaborators, my friends. Fortunately the pandemic trained us well on distance.
In the Omniverse scheme of things it's just slowing things down as I uproot my life and move elsewhere. It's not stopping us from telling stories. As the Mountain Goats said, "push furniture in front of the door - it only gives me something to push against." I'm a storyteller, it's what I do. I have to be healthy to keep telling stories, so I'm keeping myself safe and in good working order.
As I've said, I'm lucky. In a situation like this, where I'm not able to fight back as I'd like to, others are fighting for me. I have loved ones all over. I'm surrounded by wonderful people (read: you) who believe in the work we do.
Case in point? Check out this gorgeous Anjana and Estelle fan art from PoppySeedPuffin!
Image description: Illustrated portraits by PoppySeedPuffin of Anjana Ramakrishnan and Estelle Thorpe from The Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program, divided by a dark green line. Anjana is on the left, Estelle on the right - they both look over their shoulders at you, a gleam in their eye, tentacles swirl in the darkness behind them. Anjana's hair is in a short bob with a hair clip of five orbs of increasingly smaller size. She wears blue eye shadow, red lipstick, and a blue dress. Estelle's short red hair is styled in waves - red lipstick, and sleek eyebrows - one of the bisected with a scar. She wears silver earrings that glimmer in the light, a green dress with lace trim, and a fur stole.
These illustrations were made to celebrate Pride Month with the artist's "favorite paranormal power couple". I rolled a sanity loss when I saw these (in a good way!). I'm absolutely staggered and so grateful that these ladies who mean so much to me, also mean so much to other folks. They were a huge part of me finding myself and being the change and beauty I want to see in the world.
As Estelle and Anjana say:
“Love is our strength. Love is our blade.”
I believe this more than anything.
Love,
-Cat
Tue Feb 14 '23 Announcement
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Feb 14, 2023 at 10:35:01 AM
Hi folks! Cat here!
Soon, you’ll receive an email from us with a special link to your BackerKit survey. All rewards will be managed through BackerKit - this includes what name you'd like listed in the books and episodes, DriveThruRPG codes for the digital or physical books, shipping notices for physical items, and digital rewards like the score. You'll also be able to add-on any rewards you missed and would like to get in on.
Most rewards are still in production. Getting BackerKit surveys filled out will ensure that as soon as rewards are ready to go, you'll have them - so please respond to your survey as quickly as you can. It's really short!
You don’t need to create a BackerKit account to fill out your survey. When you receive the email with the survey, click the survey link to respond. Answer the questions about your reward preferences, and purchase add-on items if you like.
One of the many great things about BackerKit is that it's like a library for rewards. As rewards become available, you'll be given notice, and can head to BackerKit to get your rewards. For example, right now, backers who got the complete score reward have access to all our original score to date. When we get new score made as a part of the next season's production, you'll receive an update and will have new score available to download.
Thanks so much for your patience! We love BackerKit from our experience backing other people's projects - it's been really easy and useful. This is our first time using BackerKit as creators, so setup took some time and they have an extensive quality check process.
As of this posting, we've sent out a smoke test (early survey) to 5% of backers, making sure that everything is fully operational. We'll throw the switch to send surveys out everyone as soon as we've got the green light. So - If you don’t have access to this survey link yet, it will be available soon via email!
After you respond to your survey, you can go back later and change your responses at any time before we close the surveys and get our final counts. (March 15th)
If you need to review your information or pledge status, you can return to your survey by clicking the link in your survey email or requesting your survey link under "Lost your survey?" on our BackerKit project page at https://cthulhumystery.backerkit.com
If you have any questions, please contact support at https://cthulhumystery.backerkit.com/faq or reach out to us here.
Thanks, folks! Awesomeness is afoot!
-Cat
Tue Feb 7 '23 Announcement
over 1 year ago
– Tue, Feb 07, 2023 at 07:19:36 AM
Hello beauteous backers! It's Cat, The Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program's showrunner once again - with a brief update and an announcement of a forthcoming event you might be interested in.
Project Update
After some logistical delays, things are getting back on track. Surveys should go out any day now, we're waiting on BackerKit to finalize some details. With the surveys there will be a page where you can pick up any items and experiences you may have missed out on during the crowdfunding.
A Grant and a Talk About Storytelling
I'm the recipient of an Illuminations grant from University of California, Irvine. It's a small grant, but a wonderful opportunity to connect with students about the storytelling work I do, as well as kick off a forthcoming project in earnest. I'll be in Orange County, CA for a month, during which I'm going to be a part of some exciting classes and co-headlining an event (which non-students can attend in-person and online.)
Transmedia Transgender Storytelling as Radical Action: A Conversation Between Cat Blackard and Theresa Jean Tanenbaum
MONDAY FEB 27th 5:30PM-7PM PST (8:30-10 EST)
REGISTER FOR THE EVENT HERE
"When these two dynamic storytellers collide, the only thing certain is that the conversation will be fun, illuminating, and unpredictable. Join Cat and Tess as they explore the intersections of media, music, narrative, magic, activism, identity, fantasy, gender and sexuality, role-playing games, and autobiography.
In their public conversation, they will discuss their backgrounds and experiences in media and storytelling, their current projects and research, the role that autobiography plays in their work, and how the very act of sharing their stories is a form of radical activism."
Dr. Theresa Jean "Tess" Tanenbaum's work explores the power of interactive narratives through a number of modalities (you can read more about her work in her bio at the above link). You can also get a sense of the dynamic classes she teaches - just check out this syllabus. As I'm sure you can imagine, there's a lot of bleed between her studies and the kinds of things we do here at Omniverse with projects like The Call of Cthulhu Mystery Program, Surprise RPGs, and all the collective experiments in collaborative storytelling and roleplay that we've co-developed over the years. It's really exciting to have an opportunity to speak about our respective crafts in a public forum.
If any of you are in the area of Irvine, CA, I hope you're able to come out, and if not, I hope to see you online!
