diff --git a/artery/email-blast.mjs b/artery/email-blast.mjs
index 70883498aa..53b4f440cd 100644
--- a/artery/email-blast.mjs
+++ b/artery/email-blast.mjs
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ import { dirname, join } from 'path';
 import { createTransport } from 'nodemailer';
 import { createInterface } from 'readline';
 import { existsSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync, appendFileSync, unlinkSync } from 'fs';
-import { createHmac, timingSafeEqual } from 'crypto';
+import { createHmac } from 'crypto';
 
 const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 
@@ -30,14 +30,36 @@ const __dirname = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 config({ path: join(__dirname, '../at/.env') });
 config({ path: join(__dirname, '../at/deploy.env') });
 
+let unsubscribeSecret = process.env.UNSUBSCRIBE_SECRET || null;
+
+async function ensureUnsubscribeSecret() {
+  if (unsubscribeSecret) return unsubscribeSecret;
+
+  const { connect } = await import('../system/backend/database.mjs');
+  const database = await connect();
+
+  try {
+    const secrets = await database.db
+      .collection('secrets')
+      .findOne({ _id: 'email-blast' });
+
+    if (!secrets?.unsubscribeSecret) {
+      throw new Error('email-blast unsubscribe secret not found');
+    }
+
+    unsubscribeSecret = secrets.unsubscribeSecret;
+    return unsubscribeSecret;
+  } finally {
+    await database.disconnect();
+  }
+}
+
 // HMAC token generation for unsubscribe links
 function generateUnsubscribeToken(email) {
-  const secret = process.env.UNSUBSCRIBE_SECRET;
-  if (!secret) {
-    console.warn('WARNING: UNSUBSCRIBE_SECRET not set — unsubscribe links will not work');
-    return 'no-secret';
+  if (!unsubscribeSecret) {
+    throw new Error('unsubscribe secret not loaded');
   }
-  return createHmac('sha256', secret)
+  return createHmac('sha256', unsubscribeSecret)
     .update(email.toLowerCase().trim())
     .digest('hex');
 }
@@ -219,18 +241,25 @@ if (!SMTP_CONFIG.auth.pass) {
   process.exit(1);
 }
 
-const EMAIL_SUBJECT = '💾 Save us...';
+const EMAIL_SUBJECT = 'a little note from aesthetic computer';
 
 function getEmailText(recipientEmail) {
   const unsubUrl = getUnsubscribeUrl(recipientEmail);
-  return `Aesthetic.Computer's servers were suspended. We need ~$400 to come back online.
+  return `Hi,
+
+Aesthetic Computer has had a sweet year so far.
 
-  give.aesthetic.computer
-  github.com/sponsors/whistlegraph
+The tiny weird internet computer keeps filling up with life: thousands of paintings, more than 17,000 KidLisp programs, nearly 19,000 chat messages, and hundreds of published pages. The little orbit around it has been growing too: prompt.ac, news.aesthetic.computer, papers.aesthetic.computer, ATProto pages, and the ongoing Blank / AC Native work.
 
-Even though chat communities, assets and user media archive, and database are offline — you can still use notepat.com, kidlisp.com, and explore pieces that don't require backend connectivity, thanks to our distributed hosting design.
+If you want to help keep it alive and growing, the simplest way is:
 
-Even $5 helps. Thank you.
+https://give.aesthetic.computer
+
+If you want to see what support goes toward:
+
+https://bills.aesthetic.computer
+
+You can also help by replying to this email or sharing a favorite AC thing with a friend.
 
 — @jeffrey
 
@@ -240,16 +269,29 @@ Unsubscribe: ${unsubUrl}`;
 
 function getEmailHtml(recipientEmail) {
   const unsubUrl = getUnsubscribeUrl(recipientEmail);
-  return `<p>Aesthetic.Computer's servers were suspended. We need ~$400 to come back online.</p>
+  return `<p>Hi,</p>
+
+<p>
+  Aesthetic Computer has had a sweet year so far.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+  The tiny weird internet computer keeps filling up with life: thousands of paintings, more than 17,000 KidLisp programs, nearly 19,000 chat messages, and hundreds of published pages. The little orbit around it has been growing too: <a href="https://prompt.ac">prompt.ac</a>, <a href="https://news.aesthetic.computer">news.aesthetic.computer</a>, <a href="https://papers.aesthetic.computer">papers.aesthetic.computer</a>, ATProto pages, and the ongoing Blank / AC Native work.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+  If you want to help keep it alive and growing, the simplest way is:
+</p>
+
+<p><a href="https://give.aesthetic.computer">give.aesthetic.computer</a></p>
 
 <p>
-<a href="https://give.aesthetic.computer">give.aesthetic.computer</a><br>
-<a href="https://github.com/sponsors/whistlegraph">github.com/sponsors/whistlegraph</a>
+  If you want to see what support goes toward:
 </p>
 
-<p>Even though chat communities, assets and user media archive, and database are offline — you can still use <a href="https://notepat.com">notepat.com</a>, <a href="https://kidlisp.com">kidlisp.com</a>, and explore pieces that don't require backend connectivity, thanks to our distributed hosting design.</p>
+<p><a href="https://bills.aesthetic.computer">bills.aesthetic.computer</a></p>
 
-<p>Even $5 helps. Thank you.</p>
+<p>You can also help by replying to this email or sharing a favorite AC thing with a friend.</p>
 
 <p>— @jeffrey</p>
 
@@ -518,7 +560,8 @@ async function exportUsers() {
 }
 
 // Preview email content
-function previewEmail() {
+async function previewEmail() {
+  await ensureUnsubscribeSecret();
   console.log('\n📧 EMAIL PREVIEW\n');
   console.log('─'.repeat(60));
   console.log(`From: mail@aesthetic.computer`);
@@ -530,6 +573,7 @@ function previewEmail() {
 
 // Send a single email
 async function sendEmail(transporter, to) {
+  await ensureUnsubscribeSecret();
   const unsubUrl = getUnsubscribeUrl(to);
   const result = await transporter.sendMail({
     from: '"Aesthetic Computer" <mail@aesthetic.computer>',
diff --git a/lith/server.mjs b/lith/server.mjs
index ead5ee0725..a3c595343d 100644
--- a/lith/server.mjs
+++ b/lith/server.mjs
@@ -183,11 +183,22 @@ function toEvent(req) {
   // Reconstruct body as string (Netlify handlers expect string or null)
   let body = null;
   if (req.body) {
+    const contentType = (req.headers["content-type"] || "").toLowerCase();
     body =
       typeof req.body === "string"
         ? req.body
         : Buffer.isBuffer(req.body)
           ? req.body.toString("utf-8")
+          // Preserve HTML form posts as urlencoded strings so legacy handlers
+          // using URLSearchParams(event.body) continue to work after lith.
+          : contentType.includes("application/x-www-form-urlencoded")
+            ? new URLSearchParams(
+                Object.entries(req.body).flatMap(([key, value]) =>
+                  Array.isArray(value)
+                    ? value.map((item) => [key, item])
+                    : [[key, value]],
+                ),
+              ).toString()
           : JSON.stringify(req.body);
   }
 
diff --git a/plans/EMAIL-BLAST-GIVE-AC.md b/plans/EMAIL-BLAST-GIVE-AC.md
index e7b49498fa..bb9f00190b 100644
--- a/plans/EMAIL-BLAST-GIVE-AC.md
+++ b/plans/EMAIL-BLAST-GIVE-AC.md
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 # Email Blast Tool: give.aesthetic.computer
 
 **Created:** January 5, 2026
-**Updated:** February 12, 2026
-**Status:** Ready to send (all 5 pre-send issues resolved)
-**Goal:** Email Auth0 users asking them to support AC via give.aesthetic.computer
+**Updated:** March 30, 2026
+**Status:** Prepared, verified, and intentionally on hold
+**Goal:** Warmly email recent AC users about what feels alive in AC this year and invite support via give.aesthetic.computer
 
 ---
 
@@ -18,18 +18,64 @@ node artery/email-blast.mjs --preview
 # 2. Test with your own email
 node artery/email-blast.mjs --test me@jas.life
 
-# 3. Re-fetch users (data is from Jan 5 — get fresh list)
+# 3. Use the current 60-day audience snapshot in reports/mail/
+#    or re-fetch if you want a newer audience export
 node artery/email-blast.mjs --fetch-all
 
-# 4. Send to verified users only (default, ~5.3k users)
+# 4. Hold here unless Jeffrey explicitly wants to send
 node artery/email-blast.mjs --send
 
 # 5. Resume next day (Gmail caps at ~500/day)
 node artery/email-blast.mjs --send --resume
 ```
 
+Current recommendation:
+- Do not send the blast yet.
+- Use `--preview` and `--test me@jas.life` only until the audience and tone feel final.
+
 ---
 
+## March 30, 2026 Status
+
+### Audience Snapshot
+- `183` verified users logged in within the last 60 days
+- `182` emailable after unsubscribe filtering
+- `139` have AC handles
+- `99` logged in within the last 30 days
+- `31` logged in within the last 7 days
+
+Private working files were exported locally to `reports/mail/` and should stay out of git.
+
+### Copy Status
+- The blast copy is no longer an emergency ask.
+- Current subject: `a little note from aesthetic computer`
+- Current body: a softer note about what feels alive in AC this year so far, with links to:
+  - `https://give.aesthetic.computer`
+  - `https://bills.aesthetic.computer`
+- Current stats referenced in the copy came from the live metrics snapshot on March 30, 2026 around 04:20 UTC:
+  - `4448` paintings
+  - `17145` KidLisp programs
+  - `18723` chat messages
+  - `252` published pages
+
+### Verification Status
+- Lith unsubscribe POST handling was fixed after the migration.
+- `application/x-www-form-urlencoded` requests now survive the lith adapter correctly.
+- `artery/email-blast.mjs` now loads the unsubscribe secret from Mongo if the env var is absent, matching the live unsubscribe endpoint.
+- Verified locally and on production:
+  - valid unsubscribe GET returns `200`
+  - unsubscribe POST returns `200` and inserts the Mongo unsubscribe record
+  - resubscribe POST returns `200` and removes the record
+  - invalid tokens return `403`
+
+### Test Sends
+- Test sends were sent to `me@jas.life` only while validating the unsubscribe flow and updated copy.
+- No audience send has happened.
+
+### Next Move
+- Keep the blast paused.
+- If Jeffrey wants to proceed later, start with the `99` users active within the last 30 days, not the full `182`.
+
 ## Architecture
 
 ### Credentials
@@ -100,6 +146,15 @@ https://aesthetic.computer/api/unsubscribe?email=X&token=HMAC
 - [x] Added `List-Unsubscribe` headers for Gmail native unsub button
 - [x] Added Gmail rate limit docs and day estimates in output
 
+## March 2026 Updates
+
+- [x] Verified the unsubscribe endpoint still works after the lith migration
+- [x] Fixed lith form POST body adaptation for urlencoded unsubscribe requests
+- [x] Updated the mailer to load the unsubscribe secret from Mongo when needed
+- [x] Rewrote the blast copy to be cuter, softer, and more about what is cool in AC this year
+- [x] Sent test emails to `me@jas.life` only
+- [x] Kept the actual audience send paused
+
 ---
 
 ## File Map
@@ -107,6 +162,7 @@ https://aesthetic.computer/api/unsubscribe?email=X&token=HMAC
 | File | Purpose |
 |------|---------|
 | `artery/email-blast.mjs` | Main blast tool |
+| `lith/server.mjs` | Lith request adapter fix for urlencoded unsubscribe POSTs |
 | `system/netlify/functions/unsubscribe.mjs` | Unsubscribe/resubscribe endpoint |
 | `system/netlify.toml` | Function config + routing |
 | `system/public/give.aesthetic.computer/` | Give donation page |