<div>Hi there. I'm Kaile Hultner, and since 2019 I've been writing about video games and digital culture under the banner of a little site called <a href="https://noescapevg.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">No Escape</a> . The site buoyed me through the bulk of the pandemic and the strange world that emerged from it, introduced me to new now-hopefully-lifelong friends, and taught me the difficult skill and craft of cultural criticism essentially from scratch. It might be a little melodramatic, but I do genuinely believe the site saved my life on more than a few occasions.

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<div><strong>So let's cut to the chase: I'm (once again) deep in the financial shit! </strong>

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<div>One of the ways <em>No Escape</em> actually saved my life was last year, the first time I made a GoFundMe for the purposes of getting help digging myself out of a financial hole. By November 2024, the GFM was almost completely funded, and I was in a much better situation—and that's when everything kind of fell apart again. The main catalyst of this collapse was witnessing the death of my mother, and I basically spiraled. Out of grief and desperation, I fell right back into the hole people - including many folks in the community surrounding my little website - helped dig me out of.

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<div>The thing was, my mom's death also triggered a countdown. As it happens, the house I've been living in for a hot minute is going up for sale this summer, and coincidentally, our lease is up. We don't want to stay in this house regardless, just because of the bad memories (especially of that night in November), but it means that I'm kinda screwed if I don't do something quick.

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<div>I did everything I could to not have to come back to this site and make yet another GFM. I was lucky enough in late December to get a new (old) car, and with that car, I started driving Uber after work. My genuine thought process was that I could drive my ass off and pay things down myself. If I got to a point where I knew that driving wouldn't be sufficient, maybe then I'd ask for assistance. It was right at the point where I was going to field-test driving Uber full-time that the app rejected my car's insurance policy and removed my ability to drive for the company at all. Despite talking to multiple tech support agents at Uber, who all told me everything was fine, "just resubmit my insurance," every time I've done so, the app has told me that my car is too old to be used for <em>any</em> service.

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<div>In addition to this, I started writing for my local alt-paper, the Oklahoma Gazette. That gig is great and it pays pretty well, but it is also very slow going. I haven't had to worry about getting paid, they're very reliable, but unfortunately I'm not getting out of debt on one $250 paycheck per month. There are other, more personal and private means of getting assistance that I have attempted - and am still attempting - but there's no guarantee that any of those avenues will come through. In the meantime, the debts I owe are still present, I still need to get rid of them, and the clock is ticking.

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<div><strong>So... I'm writing a book! </strong>

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<div>Really, what this means is that I'm going to put together a collection of new and old essays around the theme of my site's tagline, "Digital Culture and its Discontents." I'm going to comb through my site and pick out the best work from the last six years of posting, some of which may end up getting revised or rewritten; and I'm going to write a set of new essays talking about games, labor, activism and radical politics. 

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<div>The division of labor here is going to be a little weird. For the next couple of months, while I'm running this GFM campaign, I'll be combing <em>No Escape</em> for good writing. I'll use this period to collect, pare down and finalize a list of essays that I will post in an update here; expect this in a couple of weeks. I'll do some of the rewriting and revising through the end of May. And then in June, I won't be doing anything related to writing a book, posting on a website, or anything else, as this is the month I move house. With any luck, and y'all's support, this will translate into a relatively stress-free month. 

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<div>Starting in July, once I'm situated in a new place, I will finish any rewriting and revising I have left, and begin the process of writing the new essays. Depending on the subject matter, this may involve original reporting, interviews, and research. And depending on the extent of that work, I may <em>at the time</em> revise the GFM goal to get some support for it. I will of course keep anyone who donates to this GFM apprised of my progress and the work I need to do. With any luck, I will have a manuscript completed by September, and hopefully people will be able to buy it on (digital) storefronts by October. (All donors will get a complementary copy of the book as a way of saying thanks.)  

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<div>In the meantime, every dollar that gets donated is going to help me dig out of the hole once and for all. It will once again give me some peace of mind, which I can translate into knuckling down, getting my shit together, and safely getting into new housing. I know this is a big ask at the moment. I'm watching the news too. I'm watching prices of everything raise day by day. I'm watching a rapidly deteriorating sociopolitical situation. Throwing money at a book of cultural criticism essays (and someone's bad financial decisions) doesn't even come close to the top of the average list of priorities. To quote the popular airline safety tip, put on your own oxygen mask first before helping others. 

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<div><strong>So then why am I doing this?</strong>

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<div>Because last week I got a kinda shitty letter from a person who reads my site wanting to know if <em>No Escape</em> was fixing to close down. And as a result <a href="https://noescapevg.com/so-whats-the-deal-is-no-escape-on-hiatus-or-not/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">I wrote a vent piece</a>  where I said I needed help but didn't know how to ask for it. And in response I got several people asking <em>me</em> how they could help. And I've spent several days since then trying to think of the best way for them to do so and for the experience to still be relatively productive. And this is what I've got. 

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<div>I don't expect your support or take any that I get for granted. I've decided to come back to GFM once again because even if I don't meet the ultimate goal, I can still take care of things incrementally, and that is leaps and bounds better than nothing. This will ultimately have the most impact, no matter what. If you do end up supporting me here, whether it's your first time donating or you've given me money before, know that I am profoundly grateful - and apologetic - to you. As I mentioned above, everyone who donates will get a copy of the book on release. 

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No Escape: A book publishing (and $$$ crisis) fundraiser

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No Escape: A book publishing (and $$$ crisis) fundraiser

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