That's a pretty heartwarming story :3 I'm glad things turned out like this for you aside from your friend's wedding. But having a warm reception from your family and acceptance is great to hear. It's a shame sometimes when talented writers and artists don't show their wonderful work or are reluctant to do so because of negativity. It was probably such a relief to be able to show your work as well finally after it was discovered.
But it seems I missed a zero in my estimate for writing budget. I wrote $0.05 to $0.05 per word but what I meant to write is $0.005 to $0.05 per word. I'd really like to not go over that amount because that would be a bit pricey for me. I've asked for writing help before from a few places and in some 0.05 is the minimum but to me that's a lot to ask. I think realistically I could find someone willing to do quality work for $0.01 per word. I don't want to be cheap or rip anyone off, but if I want to have a realistic budget then the honest truth is I'll need to shop around and find the best quality for the lowest price. If I want to fund this new project then that's important because I don't want anyone's funds to go to waste. At the same time I don't want to pay someone what they should earn, but I can also only pay what I can pay. I'm not looking to rip anyone off, just a fair deal ^^
I think finding both an artist and a writer would be much easier if not for the erotic part since, as you know, it's a bit taboo. Not only that but it's furry erotica so that narrows the field quite a bit. Same with art. I don't think I'd have a problem finding an affordable artist at all if I could use services such as upwork, however, wanting nsfw version of all the character artwork puts a bit of a damper on that. It is possible I'm sure. And the artists I've found before were mostly through FA. I've spent, just like you describe, a number of hours browsing art for artists with a good style and a price I can afford, and I've had success doing so in the past. It's just time consuming but I can get it done. I guess I'm a bit of a perv, but I'm unyielding in that the project needs some nsfw aspects. I want these games to have a good story that can stand on it's own without the nsfw bits, but also the nsfw additions are a must for me as well.
Thanks for the well wishes! And it's fun to hear you're enjoying utopia XD that's such an obscure game I don't think many people play or find it interesting (and I can't blame them) but I have such fond memories of it I like to play every now and then myself.