Another thing I've noticed, that I wanted to put a pin in: Andy publicly says that he mistreated Abbey, and he graciously gives her leave to talk about that, etc., but his defenders have a very similar way of talking about her that leads me to speculate that she's a common talking point behind the scenes.
Several years ago there was the dust-up over ceirdwenfc accusing Abbey of sexually taking advantage of Andy as a minor (Andy had told her they'd gotten together at 17). When it turned out that Abbey had documentation that she hadn't met him until he was 19, Andy posted a great big 'apology' and left CFC out to dry.
In his most recent post-Molly clarification post, he says that NONE of the people have actually met him in real life except for Abbey. This is wildly untrue. People who have posted on various AA media include Winjennster (to some extent), the two people from the trail of tears hike, Brittany's father, and one former DAYDian. Diamond also blogged on livejournal about her time with Andy, and her descriptions are really viscerally horrifying. TF-talk also had a 'who actually knows andy IRL' thread, and multiple people did, or were very close to people who did. HOWEVER, it's again leading people to the idea that all this information about him dates back to Abbey EXCLUSIVELY...again, the person who was only with him from ages 19-24 when he still gets some 'messed up kid' benefit of the doubt.
Now from in the Andrew Blake FAQ post we have someone saying: "I’ve read the accusations made against him, and find them odd, to say the least. It’s clear he had some sort of mental breakdown, and dragged a few people along with him, but I also kind of wonder at the sort of people who would invest so heavily in a delusional teenager in the first place. The phrases “hobbit cult” and “communed with elves from another dimension” rather baffle me.
From all accounts (including her own) Andy’s misadventures with his ex, Abbey, seem at least as much her responsibility as his, if anything, because she was an adult at the time and he was a minor."
The same person, in response to Abbey: "Don’t bother. Andy does that himself. And he’s not a teenager any more, and he’s not involved in fandom anymore, so if he were to start a new cult it would be with rational adults who know the difference between reality and fantasy, which is a lot harder to do. He also has a lot of skeptical no-bullshit friends who are keeping a close eye"
A different person: "When I was 18 I believed an anime dog demon was my true love and we were meant to be together. The adults who loved me found out and got me help.They did not tell me I was special and then help me fake my death. They did not smuggle me across the country and use me as the figurehead of a cult. They sure as hell didn't place the actions of an adult on my childish behavior. Y'all relationship was toxic but it was mutually toxic. Take some responsibility, get some therapy, and live your life."
Again, we have multiple people implying that Andy's only victim was Abbey, and that his 'abuse' all took place during that 19-24 year old window.
If Abbey was the only reference for Andy awareness, I'd be skeptical too. He WAS young, folie a duex is a thing. If it was Abbey and Diamond (let me again reiterate how affecting I found her writing about this), I'd be much more skeptical of the 'there's two sides to the story' statements.
But...after his channeling hobbits/Tentmoot/alternate universe X-men/Pevensie children, he posted an 'apology' saying he'd been a mixed up kid sufferring from gender dysphoria and he was out of fandom. Then he changed handles and started in Harry Potter.
In Harry Potter he did ALL THE SAME THINGS, and he wasn't 18-24 any more. There are many, many many accounts of this. This time also featured the 'evil twin sister', the 'pay for my travel because I'm dying of a heart defect', 'I was raised by Irish grandfather and fought on both sides of the Troubles', etc.
Then came Supernatural...
The Abbey stuff isn't the most recent. It isn't even the flashiest. The easiest to defend is probably the 'victim blaming him for Brittany's murder angle.' He probably has more notoriety as "Thanfiction" than he ever did as VB. But everyone goes back to the 'mixed up 19 year old who thinks he's talking to elves'. I would bet he likes to drop bread crumbs to that conclusion. He would NEVER say anything negative about his ex Abbey's role in all this...but he was very young...he was very mixed up...yes she was 5-6 years older than him, but he ABUSED her guys and he feels SO BADLY about it and deserves all this punishment and so much more...though it does suck that these total strangers are going after him in her name...etc.' I have no proof that this is the case, but I'd bet on it.
Andy defenders going after Abbey
Several years ago there was the dust-up over ceirdwenfc accusing Abbey of sexually taking advantage of Andy as a minor (Andy had told her they'd gotten together at 17). When it turned out that Abbey had documentation that she hadn't met him until he was 19, Andy posted a great big 'apology' and left CFC out to dry.
In his most recent post-Molly clarification post, he says that NONE of the people have actually met him in real life except for Abbey. This is wildly untrue. People who have posted on various AA media include Winjennster (to some extent), the two people from the trail of tears hike, Brittany's father, and one former DAYDian. Diamond also blogged on livejournal about her time with Andy, and her descriptions are really viscerally horrifying. TF-talk also had a 'who actually knows andy IRL' thread, and multiple people did, or were very close to people who did. HOWEVER, it's again leading people to the idea that all this information about him dates back to Abbey EXCLUSIVELY...again, the person who was only with him from ages 19-24 when he still gets some 'messed up kid' benefit of the doubt.
Now from in the Andrew Blake FAQ post we have someone saying:
"I’ve read the accusations made against him, and find them odd, to say the least. It’s clear he had some sort of mental breakdown, and dragged a few people along with him, but I also kind of wonder at the sort of people who would invest so heavily in a delusional teenager in the first place. The phrases “hobbit cult” and “communed with elves from another dimension” rather baffle me.
From all accounts (including her own) Andy’s misadventures with his ex, Abbey, seem at least as much her responsibility as his, if anything, because she was an adult at the time and he was a minor."
The same person, in response to Abbey:
"Don’t bother. Andy does that himself. And he’s not a teenager any more, and he’s not involved in fandom anymore, so if he were to start a new cult it would be with rational adults who know the difference between reality and fantasy, which is a lot harder to do. He also has a lot of skeptical no-bullshit friends who are keeping a close eye"
A different person:
"When I was 18 I believed an anime dog demon was my true love and we were meant to be together. The adults who loved me found out and got me help.They did not tell me I was special and then help me fake my death. They did not smuggle me across the country and use me as the figurehead of a cult. They sure as hell didn't place the actions of an adult on my childish behavior. Y'all relationship was toxic but it was mutually toxic. Take some responsibility, get some therapy, and live your life."
Again, we have multiple people implying that Andy's only victim was Abbey, and that his 'abuse' all took place during that 19-24 year old window.
If Abbey was the only reference for Andy awareness, I'd be skeptical too. He WAS young, folie a duex is a thing. If it was Abbey and Diamond (let me again reiterate how affecting I found her writing about this), I'd be much more skeptical of the 'there's two sides to the story' statements.
But...after his channeling hobbits/Tentmoot/alternate universe X-men/Pevensie children, he posted an 'apology' saying he'd been a mixed up kid sufferring from gender dysphoria and he was out of fandom. Then he changed handles and started in Harry Potter.
In Harry Potter he did ALL THE SAME THINGS, and he wasn't 18-24 any more. There are many, many many accounts of this. This time also featured the 'evil twin sister', the 'pay for my travel because I'm dying of a heart defect', 'I was raised by Irish grandfather and fought on both sides of the Troubles', etc.
Then came Supernatural...
The Abbey stuff isn't the most recent. It isn't even the flashiest. The easiest to defend is probably the 'victim blaming him for Brittany's murder angle.' He probably has more notoriety as "Thanfiction" than he ever did as VB. But everyone goes back to the 'mixed up 19 year old who thinks he's talking to elves'. I would bet he likes to drop bread crumbs to that conclusion. He would NEVER say anything negative about his ex Abbey's role in all this...but he was very young...he was very mixed up...yes she was 5-6 years older than him, but he ABUSED her guys and he feels SO BADLY about it and deserves all this punishment and so much more...though it does suck that these total strangers are going after him in her name...etc.' I have no proof that this is the case, but I'd bet on it.