Separate the art from the artist and all that, but it still hurts

[cupcake_goth]

As some of you have may seen, Neil Gaiman has been accused by multiple women of sexual abuse. I believe the victims. Especially because I am well aware of his (what I thought was from decades ago) pattern of picking up groupies at conventions. Everyone in the comics industry knew and just kind of hand-waved it because the attitudes about groupies hadn't yet changed to "Hey, there's a power imbalance there, and even if they consented, power imbalance". Quite honestly, I thought he'd grown out of that sort of behavior. 

But it turns out there was an ongoing whisper network in publishing, and it's not good. 

All of that to say:

1. I believe the victims, 100%
2. I'm struggling with feelings of betrayal and heartbreak, because I'm friends with Neil. Well, not quite friends, but more than acquaintances. He has always been kind and encouraging to me.
3. I have a LOT of Sandman merchandise. I've been collecting since the comic came out, and it means a lot to me.

In addition, one of my pieces of jewelry is the BPAL scent locket based off of his story "Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire" (yes, it's a loving parody of gothic romances). It's one of my favorite stories, and I searched for years for one of the lockets. I'm not sure how I feel about it now. I still love the story and the locket, but they both are tarnished by this news.

Anyway, that's what my brain and heart have been chewing on.