The follow-up I promised months ago (if you follow my deviantArt). Almost fittingly because it’s been a year since this all went down: the ToonKriticY2K Scandal. And I was debating back and forth as to whether or not I should do this follow-up. Many reasons going back and forth as to why I should and why I shouldn’t. I unfortunately came up with more cons than pros:
I felt that coming forward would hurt more people than it would help.
I was worried not for my image, (I’m a small channel. What image do I have?), but for Voice.
I was worried for those also involved with him and them getting dragged into this mess. (No. I will not bring up their names.)
The only positive thing that came up in my list was that it would be off my chest. I thought I could circumvent this by telling people I thought I could trust. But out of concern, someone let someone else know. And now it’s public knowledge. Again, I will not bring up who did this.
Which brings us to today.
I will come forward and say yes, I had conversed with Zak, formerly known as ToonKriticY2K, for at least a month after the scandal let loose. Let’s rewind to a year ago, back when only a handful of us knew what he had done to the girl who will remain unnamed for her own privacy sake. Then someone decided to leak the information to Vida because they wanted justice for a man who had hurt them. That someone was me.
I thought I was doing the right thing by coming forward to someone I was acquainted with to not turn this into a drama-fest. I was right. He didn’t. I told him that most of the people who already knew didn’t want this public, but we were in the process of informing the Chicago branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. How that turned out played into why I kept silent about this for as long as I did. We’ll get to that in a moment.
Many people responded: some were former friends of his hurt by his betrayal. Some were people just wanting to milk the drama out of it. Most were people angry that a sexual predator was in our fandom, someone well-known. And a handful of those responses came from his victims. No. Survivors of what he did to them. Mine included.
Throughout the next month, Voice and I kept in regular contact with the FBI. In hindsight, we now know that as a, “witness,” Zachary, better known as Voice of Reason, would’ve had to alert the Albany PD. They would’ve eventually taken it to the FBI from there. But then FBI made the decision that it did: that since neither officially met in person, though there were plans to, and neither were fully nude in pictures exchanged between them, there was no case against him.
I was angry, at first. I was mad that this wasn’t gonna go further… and I thought this was my fault. Because I was the one who decided to go to Vida to make it public. I thought I had hindered their investigation. So that was my thought process of why I kept quiet about what came next:
That same day, towards the end of February, I get a call from Zak. I had forgotten that he still had my number. I told him I was busy and stepped aside. Then I told Voice immediately. I say to him that I feel like this was the only way I could get closure from this: talking with him directly. He gave me the okay and I continued.
You might say this is the equivalent of having a fear of sharks and going into the ocean wearing a meat suit or some other metaphor. Whatever metaphor you chose to describe this, you would be right. I face my fears head-on… that’s how I am.
I listened to him apologize and tell me that he was seeing a second therapist, trying to make an effort to actually do better. I later sent him a request on Skype so that I could look over and format his worksheets. They, along with my conversation with him, are gone now since I deleted him as a contact.
He had asked me if I could be used as a bridge, per se, to try to make amends with all of his other former friends. I agreed on one, mainly because he was the only one I knew personally: Voice. When I visited him in March, I brought up the suggestion for the two of them to have a call together, with him on my end. No. They did not exchange Skype contact information. The two talked with me listening in. Zak gave his apology to Voice, told him what he told me, and although Voice didn’t forgive him for what he did to me, Voice did listen.
After that, Zak would add me in a group with other bronies who decided to confront and come forward to him. It is there that he would tell us that he had since gotten a job. I don’t recall what that job was exactly, but let’s just say that it didn’t allow him to be near children. He himself hardly showed up, but the rest of us would talk occasionally. The only times Zak would interact with the group was with his boyfriend there as well. Just to be clear, the last time the two of us spoke directly was in March. I can’t recall when I last spoke with him in the group.
As for any other questions you guys might have:
How many people were in the Skype chat with Toon after he was outed?
Not including me, roughly five.
How long were you there?
I still am. Toon no longer is.
It possible there were more or other people who left before you got there?
No.
Why did you stay in touch with Toon and what were your goals in doing so?
I originally decided to come back into contact with him in regards to my nightmares. Afterwards, I guess you can say that we wanted to keep an eye on him.
Why put out that video with Voice, while still in contact with Toon?
I wasn’t in contact with Zak at the time. We didn’t start talking again until the end of February.
When it came to the incidents between you, Toon, and Voice; why did you keep that secret for so long? What was your reason for interacting with Toon like that at that time?
I kept quiet about the initial incident because I was worried that if I said anything, Toon would hurt Voice’s reputation in some way. If not his reputation, then his friendships with almost everyone else. This is also part of the reason I didn’t bring this forward. Voice is directly associated with me on the basis that we’re dating. I didn’t want him to lose his friends because of me.
Is Isaac in or know of this Skype group?
He was in the group. And now he’s not.
Was there anyone in that group/in contact with Toon after he got outed that were under 18?
No. We are all above the age of twenty-one, in fact.
Are you willing to share any or all the DMs you had with Toon after he was outed?
No. Even if I was, after he and I parted ways again, I deleted the chat logs.
Were there any outside or internal forces that drove you to contact him?
He contacted me.
Why did you refer to the child Toon was seeing as a, “side-girl?”
Based on the dates he was seeing her, he was also dating other people at the time. Mimkage during the beginning, and Isaac towards the end of their affair.
Was there anything you said no to; whether it be in your later communications or the previous incidents?
His requests to me to speak with any of his former friends. The only exception was Voice, because he was the only one I felt close with anyhow.
Have you parents been any sort of support for you during all of this
No.
How goes moving out, since the GoFundMe concluded?
I should be out by the end of the month. While I am thankful for the money raised to get me out, I still wanted to try leaving through an honest means (and also because I can’t just run off without my parents throwing a search party for me. They have security cameras on the property now.) The $5,000 that was raised is going to pay for my college tuition and other college fees. I got accepted into a community college where Voice lives. The semester starts in February and I’ve been looking for work up there since this past April.
Was there anyone in the Roundtable that knew you were still talking to Toon?
Outside of Voice, no.
Through the Skype group, did you learn of any addition social media accounts that Toon was using? If so, are you willing to release them?
There was one time where we thought he had a second twitter before he left. (In fact, he left the following day.) However, that turned out to be someone else. (That twitter, @tookriticy2k, has since been deleted.) Other than that, no.
What are your plans now, and how would you like to move forward on this?
I… never thought about plans. As for moving forward, I would just say just, outside of focusing on school and looking for work, focus on Voice. We’ll celebrate our fourth anniversary this year.
So… that’s it, I suppose. I’ll be willing to answer any further questions if you have any.
