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lizzybeth1986 · 6 months

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Liam and Olivia: When You Prefer The Side Character To The Main

Series - TRR's Alternative LIs: The Romances that Didn't Happen

Previous: A Brief History of Alternative Romances in Choices

A/N1: My apologies for the length of this one! There was a LOT to explore, and even more that I had cut out from my initial draft.

A/N2: This essay operates on the premise that Liam is not the "favoured LI"/"golden boy" of the team - an argument I have made in detail in other Liam-centric essays. I am not interested in arguing those same points in my comment box/reblogs. Visit the Liam section of my meta masterlist if you want to learn more about that.

CW: Mentions of non-consensual kissing. Mentions of the plot against the MC in TRR1. Very fleeting mention of the "infertility subplot" TRH pushed onto Hana.

(Screenshot from HIMEME's YouTube channel)

As I mentioned in the previous essay, TRR (along with ES, to a far smaller extent) was the only series that seemed to make an attempt to pair even their popular LIs with another character. It also was (along with TCaTF) one of the very few books that hinted at an alternative romance in the first book itself.

This section of the essay series will perhaps be the longest, since Liam x Olivia got the earliest hints, and was built up first. While the other three pairings were introduced or hinted at in Books 2 and 3, the reader got to see glimpses of a possible Liam x Olivia pairing from the finale of Book 1 onwards.

Why An Alternative LI?

TRR is, essentially, a story that hinges on the likelihood of an arranged marriage. The character that makes this entire story possible, Liam, is expected to pick a bride by the end of his social season, whether he is ready for marriage or not. The ending of Book 1 itself ties his ascension as a king to marriage.

(Screenshot from Skylia's YouTube channel)

To prove Madeleine's point, the finale actually shows us that until he picks a fiancèe, he literally won't be addressed as king, but still as Prince Liam. So while this point does get heavily retconned later on in the series, the original story itself required Liam to be married sooner than any of the other LIs.

But Liam's story doesn't just hinge on needing a good Queen for his kingdom. His arc - at least in Book 1 - involved learning that being a good king doesn't mean he needs to sacrifice his own desires or romantic sensibilities. If that were the case, he could have just been stuck with Madeleine. No - the story was supposed to be about Liam learning to validate his personal aspirations without hurting his political position. It was essential then that the woman he picked was someone he either was already in love with (the MC), or someone he grew to love over the course of the series.

When you take this context into account, having an alternative romance becomes not only convenient, but essential.

And if the MC doesn't choose Liam as her endgame...who better for this "romance" than an old friend who has always held a torch for him?

A Romantic Rival

(Screenshots from Skylia's YouTube channel)

As most of the fandom remembers the first book and the trajectory of the Liam and Olivia relationship in it pretty well, I'll try not to go into too much detail. The Olivia of Book 1 has two parallel storylines: the one with the MC, where they first start out hating and then learn to like each other...and the one with Liam, which begins with Olivia assuming she will win the social season, but becoming more and more resigned to the MC's chances of winning as her position in the competition declines.

There is obviously a lot more focus on her dynamic with the MC, for two reasons:

1. Until the MC chooses an endgame, an LI will never show more interest in another person. It will always be the alternative LI whose interest initially drives that side-story. Making an LI reciprocate that interest can result in a negative impression of them, as fans could potentially believe that their love for the MC is not genuine or special. This is the case for all LIs in the series, not just Liam.

2. Narratively, the first book wants to make Olivia's love for Liam their big character reveal. It is the first time Olivia actively opens up to the MC, and is canonically the beginning of their "friendship". So very little emphasis is placed on her emotional attachment to Liam until the Coronation (with her cactus gift and her confession to the MC before leaving), and even less on how Liam feels about her.

Whatever little we do get of Liam and Olivia's dynamic before the finale is focused on their childhood friendship. We learn from Liam that she was a sad, lonely child when they met, heartbroken by her parents' death and the negligence of the aunt who was supposed to raise her. Her attachment to Liam emerges from his support of her when they were children, and we later learn in TRH that he not only supported her, but often empathized with young Olivia and comforted her in ways that didn't give away her vulnerabilities.

Olivia claims at the beginning of TRR1 that "everyone just assumed Liam and [Olivia] would get married one day". Given what we learn later about Constantine and the Nevrakis family (and the fact that no one backs Olivia's claim at any point in the book), it is possible she was exaggerating. But it is also true that until the MC gains more popularity and Madeleine makes her entrance, Olivia is assumed to win the social season quite easily. In the same way that Madeleine is positioned as the "political" rival in Book 1's story, Olivia is viewed as the "romantic" counterpoint to the MC.

From Liam's end, there is actually very little shown about his thoughts on Olivia. It is clear that he cares for her, wants the MC to think well of her and understand her circumstances. While as a child, he comforted her when she was called a cactus by reminding her that they were tough plants that no one messed with; as an adult he is pained by her vindictiveness towards people who haven't even harmed her. There is plenty of grounds here for some sort of relationship, but enough there that shows why the MC who will marry him would be a slightly better fit.

The second half of TRR1 focuses on softening Olivia to an extent - having her and the MC optionally bond over their dislike for Madeleine (who is viewed as the "bigger bad" at this point) and having her only occasionally approach Liam for his company. Her feelings for him come to the forefront only during his Coronation, around the time she withdraws due to the blackmail exposing her parents' attempts to assassinate King Constantine.

This moment in the series completes Olivia's transition from antagonist to a possible friend. The reveal that Olivia loved Liam all along ensures that the MC can sympathize with her for not getting the man she loves, and allows the reader to envision her as a future ally.

To some who already vouched for a Liam-Olivia endgame before the finale, this moment was a confirmation. To others who didn't exactly see Olivia's actions towards Liam as rooted in affection, this moment was a revelation. Whatever it was, this moment made her extremely popular in the fandom.

But this scene also had a more important purpose - it provided players not interested in Liam, a possible out from the situation. The ending of TRR1 hinged on Liam choosing the MC as his future bride, then being forced to accept someone else when the scandal broke out. Book 2 allows the MC to explore what she wants without the expectations of a social season. The prospect of a titled lady who genuinely loved Liam being his potential endgame would make it easier for fans of other LIs. It sounded like a perfect ending for everyone.

The (Unwanted) Kiss, and What It Says About the Fandom

(Screenshots from Danni Stone's YouTube channel)

A scene that often gets ignored (or conveniently forgotten) when discussing Liam x Olivia in TRR1, is the kiss in Lythikos.

The Lythikos Ball in Ch 8 is already a social battleground of sorts for Olivia. She wields her power as hostess here - monopolising Prince Liam's company, and humiliating the MC and her friends with the worst seating and ice-cold food. Things come to a head when - while dancing the Cordonian Waltz with Liam - she forces a kiss on him, completely disregarding his ability to consent.

I use these precise words to describe this incident for two reasons. First, because canon refused to do so. Second, because most of the fandom refused to do so.

Different characters in the story respond to this incident in different ways. A shocked "what a bold play!", a sarcastic "Olivia's growing up, how sweet", and an enraged "she's gone mad with power here!" emerge from the ladies of the court - all focused on Olivia's intentions and actions. None of these responses ever address Liam's end of this situation.

Even more interesting are the options the MC is given to address the situation when Liam speaks to her later.

(Screenshots from Danni Stone's YouTube channel. This is the second dialogue option)

She either speaks to Liam like nothing happened, or engages in victim blaming. Personally I think both options are as bad as each other. Neither of these options include "are you okay?" or "were you comfortable with that?".

Liam's answer to the MC's (optional) accusations is perhaps the only time the issue of consent is even barely addressed (and even here Liam is duty-bound to think of Olivia's welfare over his own comfort). It is appalling that it takes the MC practically victim blaming this man for that to happen. And it is equally disturbing that Liam's response is so apologetic, so contrite, as if this entire situation was his fault.

The kiss is viewed as a number of things in the book: an affront to the suitors who have no power in Olivia's estate, or a political blunder. But what does it mean to the man who had this kiss forced upon him? Would he really feel comfortable or safe around her again after that? The writers clearly didn't know, nor did they care. And most of the fandom was only too happy to follow suit.

The few times this kiss was spoken about amongst the fandom, the question of consent was barely ever addressed. The kiss was either brushed aside as unimportant, seen as an indication of the "love and passion" Olivia had for Liam, or viewed as a manifestation of her jealousy towards the MC. Liam is sometimes seen as "clueless" for not "noticing Olivia's feelings...I mean, she literally kissed him!!" All of which could be true, but it doesn't erase the fact that his consent was never given, nor his comfort with the situation ever considered.

It is doubly ironic given the fandom reaction to the MC's plight in Applewood, after Tariq attempts to kiss her without her consent (though this situation involves significant privacy violations and dark conspiracies, and Liam's does not). The MC's situation was (rightfully) viewed as horrible and potentially traumatising, and many were upset that the emotional impact of it wasn't adequately addressed in the story. It wouldn't be surprising if Liam's situation wasn't viewed on the same level - given the difference in contexts - but the fandom and canon rarely saw this as something that happened to him, without his consent.

Ironically, the fandom never really considered Olivia planting a whole smacker on Liam's mouth as possible "proof" that she could engage in creepy, entitled behaviour...but they did often view Liam as "creepy" for...complimenting diamond-option outfits, or saying romantic-coded dialogues that the MC would reciprocate by default (again - I don't deny this is a problem and those lines should have been coded properly. However one cannot deny the doubt standards here). Olivia was the one who forced a kiss on the object of her affection in canon, but Liam was the one who got so many "abuser" and "harrasser" (and worse!) depictions in fanfic when TRR2 and 3 were out.

I will be addressing this particular scene again in another context, in a later essay in the series. I would like my readers here to not forget this scene, or the (lack of) outrage around it. It would be helpful to ponder over why Olivia's behaviour here is largely viewed as no big deal, especially when other side characters (and at least one main character) could be villainized for far, far less.

Olivia and Liam in TRR2 and 3

(Screenshots from Skylia's YouTube channel)

TRR1's finale and TRR2 show a small shift in Liam and Olivia's dynamic. Now that he is engaged, and in love with a woman who isn't Olivia, their interactions become sporadic and awkward. To ensure that Liam won't be viewed as a cassanova, the narrative keeps their interactions to a minimum. Group scenes that involve Liam often leave Olivia out, and group scenes that involve Olivia exclude Liam.

However, to address the "romantic potential" from TRR1's finale, the book shows Liam and Olivia interact in at least one scene in Ch 10. Here, they have a short, stilted conversation that leaves Liam concerned about Olivia's well-being, and that makes Olivia grieve over her unrequited love for him to an equally concerned MC.

Olivia's story in TRR2 largely centers around establishing her character (snarky, prickly, warriorlike. Much of this is actually a deviation from her writing in TRR1), strengthening her relationship with the MC, and integrating her into the core group.

Olivia's feelings for Liam get addressed again after the MC makes her final choice of LI. The MC's acceptance or rejection of Liam's proposal results in a bit of tension between the two women. If Liam is the MC's choice, Olivia admits to her heartbreak despite being truly happy that Liam has found love. If not, she reveals a slight resentment that the MC could so easily throw away the love that Olivia so badly wanted. The narrative allows Olivia her complicated, ambivalent feelings towards the Liam x MC match, and expects the MC to understand and sympathize. By default.

If you don't choose Liam in TRR3, his romance with Olivia does start here. And by this I mean that Liam is now allowed to reciprocate her affections.

(Screenshots from the Skylia YouTube channel (Drake playthrough). The screenshots aren't in order. 1st Liam x Olivia scene is the handholding at Applewood (5), 2nd is dancing at Vegas (1st two), 3rd is Liam asking Olivia for a dance at the finale ball (middle two), and the last is Liam asking Olivia out (6))

Even in the playthrough where Liam is marrying the MC, his default is to trust Olivia, show her kindness and staunchly defend her to people who suspect her motives. Liam advocates for her innocence in TRR3 Ch 2, even as her family becomes one of the prime suspects. The MC may vouch for her by choice...but if she does choose to suspect Olivia, it is Liam who pushes back against the idea.

By this point, the MC and Olivia can cement their friendship if the former has worked on gaining her trust. If not - the book has already created an inbuilt mechanism to ensure Olivia's loyalty anyway. It is tied to her gratitude and affection for Liam, the one person who consistently believed in her from childhood. Whether the MC makes an effort to win her approval or not, Olivia respects her. Her emotional attachment to Liam as an old friend, and loyalty to her king, ensures that her support is gained by default throughout.

Outside of his own playthrough, though, the narrative does slip in a few extra scenes where Liam shows an obvious romantic interest in Olivia. It's small - he isn't exactly yelling from the rooftops that he loves her - but it is definite progress where he seeks her out for support, dances with her and eventually asks her out to dinner at the finale. The scenes are few but prominent, and leave no doubt to the reader that Liam fully intends to court her.

So...why is Liam still single in the Drake, Hana and Maxwell playthroughs of TRH?

Writer Bias

When you read enough interviews and watch enough livestreams from the TRR team, one thing becomes very, very clear. They love their TCaTF callbacks. And no callback is more beloved to the writers than the repurposing of Zenobia Nevrakis' sprite to create her descendant, Olivia.

In this section, I will focus in particular on Kara Loo, COO of Pixelberry and one of the head writers of the TRR/H/F series. Going by several interviews and social media posts, Kara wrote most of Olivia and Drake's scenes and dialogues (along with "some of the Prince's speeches"), and was in fact the driving force behind how Olivia's character came to be, in the original series.

"...when we were creating Book 1, we wanted an evil redhead to be your antagonist, and Kara said, "Oh, what if we used Zenobia, but the twist is she's a Nevrakis descendant?"" - Jennifer Young, Looking Back on The Royal Romance (Sept 2018)

Kara has openly admitted before to having a fondness for Olivia's particular character type. In an interview with Daily Dahlia, she spoke of Val, one of the TCaTF LIs, in glowing terms that perfectly fit the way Olivia has been written as well:

"I love writing Val Greaves in The Crown & The Flame. I love writing for characters that are a little meaner and will really just say what they’re thinking, even if it isn’t exactly tactful." - Daily Dahlia's Interview with the Pixelberry Crew (Sept 2016).

The love for mean (and white! Don't forget white) women among the team, is pretty clear when you look at the kind of reception TRR's mean white women get.

Notably, Kara does have the occasional nice thing to say about Liam too. In an interview before the release of TRR2, she spoke of how "considerate and loving he is", how "there is nothing mean or selfish about him". As a Liam fan who kept seeing him bashed left and right after the TRR1 finale, those words initially felt like a massive relief.

But now, seeing the way the team treats nicer and more diplomacy-oriented characters in the series, this fulsome praise for Liam's selflessness gives me pause. It reminds me too much of how most of the team swore up and down that Hana would be their choice of LI to marry in a livestream, at the same time that they were slamming an infertility subplot on her in the books. Looking back with the knowledge of how the writers would treat Liam later, praise like this seemed less focused on finding him lovable, and more on ensuring that he gave constantly to the MC without ever getting much in return.

While Liam's treatment is not as bad as Hana or Kiara's, one must take note that the team - esp the head writers - have never really hesitated to throw Liam under the bus or retcon entire chapters and backstories to make characters like Drake seem better than him (eg. The narrative choice to have Drake claim Liam was leading the MC on when they first met in TRR3, which has led to more than one attempt to rewrite the bachelor party).

Part of this could be attributed to just the fondness for a specific character type. But I do think that with Kara in particular, ideology also plays a role in her preferences. There are at least two interviews from the team where her liking for darker, more violent storylines has been mentioned. In TRR3 the team affectionately called some of their brainstorming sessions with Kara as "Kara's trail of bodies" (one idea was to kill off Madeleine in Lythikos), and in the TRF livestream they mention that she initially wanted a war storyline.

This leaning towards a more militaristic mindset shows...in the care that Kara takes for Olivia's dialogues and especially her spy scenes (tho such scenes actually don't contribute much to the plot). In contrast there is a subtle disdain for the more diplomacy-minded characters shown in scenes where Olivia's ideologies are measured up against theirs (eg. Any scene where Hana and Olivia are supposed to work together, or the vast difference between the "valiant" Lythikos tournament and the "ridiculous" Castelserraillan flower competition in TRH3).

Even though it is often the diplomacy that saves the day at the end, the framing always highlights the militaristic way of thinking more positively. Given that Kara writes a lot of Olivia, and a fair amount of Liam, it's pretty obvious now where her (and the team's) particular bias may lie.

Because of this bias, it became far easier for TRR's writers to lean into popular fandom myths when it suited them, or pander to a particular section of the fandom. Which is the subject of my next section.

Fandom Entitlement

Olivia often has two types of fans - the ones who wanted to ship her with their MCs in canon (and couldn't), and the ones who wanted to be "bestieeeees!" with her. The frustration of the former was rooted in the fact that wlw had only one romantic option, but I will not be talking about them.

The latter were found in plenty among the Liam, Drake and Maxwell stans - all of whom either viewed her as an ally to win over (Liam), or as someone to push onto Liam, so they could romance the men they preferred in peace (mostly Drake and Maxwell. Some Hana stans but not as many).

As I'd mentioned in an earlier section, Olivia's final scene in TRR1 allowed people who didn't want to romance Liam, to envision a narrative 'out' for themselves. By the time Olivia reappeared in TRR2 Ch 5, she'd gained a cult following among many, many fans. A lot of them were actively rooting for the start of a romance between Liam and Olivia, and very few resented her for her feelings or begrudged her past actions.

But there was one downside. The intent among the majority who rooted for this pairing, was more about "getting Liam out of the way", than any actual romantic potential. Because of this, certain Liam x Olivia stans (ironically, the Drake romancers were the loudest voices in this group) felt a ridiculous level of entitlement towards this pairing.

A number of readers insisted on having Liam fall for Olivia immediately, wanted him to show feelings for her instantly, and complained when he didn't do so while his (optional) romance with the MC was still on.

Olivia's sad, longing gazes in TRR2 propelled many a reader to complain about what an awful situation poor Olivia was in and how insensitive and uncaring Liam was (even in the face of screenshots that clearly showed him worrying about her desolate mood). One of many examples comes from a post in Feb 2018 - a Drake stan's written walkthrough of TRR2 Ch 10, and ironically the following lines were made above a screenshot set that clearly showed Liam noticing how sad she was and worriedly asking the MC about that:

Liam finds you and as always, can’t help fawning over you. This time Olivia is right there and he is like, Oh yeah, Olivia, you are too here, hi. She definitely notices, gets upset, and leaves because she really does love him and she is third choice at best.

This was not the only one. There were multiple posts like these, and they often positioned Olivia as a figure of sympathy, yearning for a love that would never be hers. Liam in these readings was always positioned as someone who "didn't care" and later, "didn't deserve Olivia".

When he did start showing an interest in Olivia in Book 3, it went largely unnoticed by most of the fandom, even though he was romancing her in at least 3 out of 4 playthroughs. There were very, very few posts made about any of these romantic moments. Instead, from Chapters 3 to 10 of TRR3 - where Liam didn't show any indications of heartbreak re: the MC - certain Drake/Maxwell fans made posts complaining over his not pining over the MC, or theorizing that some of his friendly attempts to educate the MC about the country had to have been done with more than friendship in mind.

This section of the fandom often got insane amounts of pandering from the writers themselves. When TRR3 returned from a hiatus post Ch 9, we were suddenly hit with more scenes involving Liam's "heartbreak" (it featured sporadically in all three of the other playthroughs, but you could tell it was tailor-made for the Drake one because it got referenced there waaaay more) before the big battle with Anton. Fandom spoke far more on these scenes than on the ones they got for Liam x Olivia.

What was completely missed was that such "heartbreak" scenes happened because there was a demand from readers who weren't even Liam stans in the first place, and the same stans didn't hesitate to flip and label him "desparate" or "pining" or write fanfic where he was an absolute creep in response to a thing they asked for!

As for talk of the Liam x Olivia ship post TRR3, the phrase "sloppy seconds" started to be used often to address the pair after the series ended, and there were quite a few posts claiming that Liam didn't deserve such an incredible woman like Olivia.

(Edit Source: the playchoicesconfessions Tumblr blog)

Using the pining subplot that nonLiam stans had asked for, some of the same people would insist that Olivia "deserved better than to be sloppy seconds" (at some point after TRR3, I noticed that even some Liam stans would say the same!). This argument often came hand-in-hand with the lie that Liam never cared for Olivia enough (as one can see in the edit above). It also often hinged on the premise that the MC was Liam's first love, that he wouldn't (and shouldn't!) ever get over her, and that anyone else would rank as second best to him. And while I agree that Olivia deserves a partner who would wholeheartedly love her, this argument seemed to come from people who were eerily reluctant to imagine Liam leading a happy life without the MC.

Tbh, the fandom at large has always had a very confusing relationship with Liam as a character. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said that from TRR2 onwards, making Liam a scapegoat was a very popular reading from the fandom. He was often expected to live up to impossible standards - way more than the other male LIs - and criticized incessantly for dialogues and action that the other two could easily get away with.

Many fans were (rightfully) frustrated by how Liam could have romantic lines by default (which the MC would by default reciprocate, to their chagrin) all through TRR1 - while ignoring romantic default dialogues from Drake - but also complained when Liam responded more calmly than expected to her rejection of his proposal. They also didn't like that he could be largely neutral/merely friendly towards the MC for most of TRR3. Damned if he didn't, damned if he did.

I'm not saying that this was the viewpoint of the entire fandom. There were people - yours truly included - who pushed back against such a biased view of this pairing. Against a view that insisted on centering only Olivia's feelings, while either badmouthing Liam for not returning her love, or ignoring the times when he did. There were people who pointed to canon for proof that he cared.

But enough voices vouched for this other, more unsavoury reading that "Olivia deserves better than to be Liam's sloppy seconds", that it became quite popular. That it became the accepted view in canon too, when the writers began work on TRH.

Olivia x Liam (not), TRH and Beyond

As we all know by now, Liam x Olivia did not happen in TRH. After a dance and an invitation to a date in the finale, Liam was back to being single and uninterested in any romantic relationships (like all the other LIs). It went to the point where he was ready to appoint the MC's future child as his heir (heir apparent, not presumptive. The fandom mockingly dubbed him "Rumpelstiltskin" for this). At the time, I imagined that perhaps the narrative was trying to erase the pair altogether, since no other LI got paired up either. It would be fair.

This wasn't exactly the case. In fact, in my opinion, what they managed to do was much worse.

(Screenshots from the HR Gameplay YouTube channel. Liam is renamed "Rayden" here)

Savannah's bachelorette (TRH1 Ch 7) has the MC and the ladies "address" certain pairings that were hinted at in TRR3. One doesn't get addressed at all, one addresses the LI by name only if the playthrough isn't the one where the MC is married to him.

Olivia's is the only one that got addressed regardless of whether the MC was married to the man she had wanted or not. And looking at the scene now, I really, really wish they didn't write it at all.

If the MC encourages Olivia to talk about her feelings for Liam, the latter shows anger and resentment over Liam not choosing her twice over. This, despite the fact that he did attempt to date her the previous book. This, despite the fact that he never indicated interest until he actually felt it. This... despite the fact that not returning the feelings of someone who likes you romantically is a normal, natural thing that said someone should accept without judging other person!

In fact, the fandom was more than willing to view other LIs "not returning feelings" as normal, natural and blameless...so why did only Olivia get sympathy and praise for her unrequited love, and why did only Liam have to be criticised for the same?? Even in THIS scene??

Liam x Olivia would not be referenced for 3-and-a-half books after this, until the very end of TRF. Over the course of the series, the team tested her compatibility and possible chemistry with at least two side characters. One was Jin, the Auvernese spy that Olivia fights with in TRH1 Ch 19. While they did seem to have some banter in the first book and a smattering of scenes in the second, interest quickly died down and Jin was written out of the story once the Auvernese royals' scandals were exposed.

TRH3 then hinted at Amalas x Olivia as a pair, peppering hints as early as the introductory chapters. There had been a few murmurings among the fandom for the same, since a number of wlw were fond of Olivia, and people liked headcanoning her as bi or lesbian (in fact, when the team claimed in a TRH1 livestream that having Olivia as an LI would "soften her" too much, the fandom protested). Amalas x Olivia was met with more approval than Jin x Olivia, and in TRF you could encourage Olivia to ask either Liam or Amalas for a dance.

Liam himself never got any other options for romance (understandable, none of the LIs did), and in fact had several aspects of his story chipped away, chunk by chunk, to benefit other characters. In the end, Liam is treated like Olivia's "alternative LI" than the other way around.

It was a pretty ironic ending for a pairing that people felt so entitled over in the beginning. After years of protests against Olivia being Liam's "sloppy seconds" just because he chose her after being rejected by their MCs... the narrative didn't mind treating him like some sort of "consolation prize" (one of two) for Olivia. And as expected, nor did the fandom.

Conclusion: Could This Pairing Have Worked?

Much as I dislike it now, I did think Liam x Olivia had some potential back then. Politically and emotionally, Liam and Olivia were opposites in many ways. There was a lot you could explore. Their background history and the sweetness of their childhood story had the potential to add layers to their dynamic.

But for a pair like Liam x Olivia to work, romantically, some things would need to change:

1. Respect in the writing room for both their ideologies, not just Olivia's. If you view one with adulation and the other with disdain, that will eventually show in the writing. These two could have been a solid power couple if the team could just set aside their boners for violence and knives once in a fucking while.

2. THE KISS. If you're going to have that kind of a scene around, especially in the context of TRR1's larger story, it needs to be addressed. From Liam's point of view. With Olivia openly regretting it and atoning for it, and Liam getting to choose how to handle that. It isn't just enough to assume they spoke offscreen, and then pretend the forced kiss never happened or that that violation meant nothing.

Olivia was wrong. Olivia crossed boundaries. Olivia disregarded Liam's consent. Liam was the victim here, not the person the MC should be shouting at - even by option.

If a romance should proceed between the two, that kiss deserves to be addressed with a lot of sensitivity and respect to Liam's own experience.

3. BALANCE! Between their perspectives, their viewpoints, their beliefs. Which would only be possible if you equally valued both characters.

4. Respect for Liam's feelings and his romantic choices, whatever they may be. Liam knows what he likes best. Him not returning Olivia's feelings is not a crime, nor does it make him any less of a caring person. Him falling in love a second time, seeing an old friend in a new light, should have been embraced as a concept.

Loving someone else deeply in the past shouldn't make his feelings for his second love any less genuine. But most of the fandom adopted such a way of viewing the Liam x Olivia relationship because it allowed them to pity Olivia and blame Liam (again) - and the team validated those sentiments out of excessive care for one character, and a lack of it for another.

Changes like these four would have definitely made for a better-written alternative romance. But given the kind of team and the fanbase TRR had, none of the changes I mention here would ever have a hope of becoming a reality. Olivia is too popular, too beloved to her writers and fandom, (and too white!) to be viewed with even this much of a critical eye. And tbh, once the fandom has marked a character (esp a character of colour - customizable or not) as a scapegoat, they would enjoy bashing them too much to stop. From then on, it would only be a matter of which excuse, which nitpick, which set of double standards, would work best.

Liam and Olivia had potential. And the narrative was able to get that story to the point where the two could at least have a first date. But team TRR squandered all its future possibilities in the mad rush to pander to a portion of their fandom, with a clear bias for the side character...and so we will never know how a more balanced portrayal would've looked like.

A/N3: I have quoted posts that have actually appeared on Tumblr, but without any identification marks. All of them are one among many such posts - either lost to digital decay or hard to find. I do not want to call out any of the individual posters - I want to make it clear that many of these posts are indicative of a fandom-wide problem. Do not try to find out, or harrass, these posters.

Next - Maxwell and Penelope: When You Like the Side Character So Much, You Gift Her A Shiny New LI

#essay series: trr's alternative LIs #the royal romance #the royal heir #the royal finale #king liam #liam rys #olivia nevrakis #trr meta

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eloise175 · 20 days

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Profile and Masterlist info ^^

𖤐 ̊⁎+˳✧༺ Welcome to my blog! ༻𖤐 ̊⁎+˳✧

Who am I and what do I do?

I go by El for short (most used), Eloise, or even Eli if that’s what you’d prefer (though not very used); she/her prononouns.

This blog is focused on VADTD and that only. My main focus most of the time are Callisto and Penelope, I love them so so much.

I post lots of my personal headcanons, AUs, memes and even episode/character/series analyses. Novel reader, so beware of spoilers! There are plenty on my page.

I'm a VADTD fanfic writer and artist, tho I rarely post my art. You can find my fanfics on Ao3 (I'll link my profile down below) ^^

—> Callisto &/or Penelope haters DNI with me/my posts, you will be blocked. (Yes I will block even if see you hate for no reason).

What fandoms am I in—manhwas/webtoons I've read?

(These are obviously not all of them, but mostly the main ones);

Villains Are Destined to Die (VADTD/VADD) — my longtime favorite and hyperfixation

Genshin Impact: EU sever; AR 60; Yelan main

Honkai Star Rail (HSR): EU server; TL 67; Acheron main

Sailor Moon — mostly SM Crystal

How to Win My Husband Over

The Siren: Becoming the Villain's Family

A Business Proposal — comfort manhwa, I watched the kdrama too but the manhwa is still my favorite

Daytime Star — comfort manhwa yet again, it’s sooo cute

Positively Yours — comfort manhwa pt.3 :))

Unholy Blood — another one of my longtime favs, Euntae and Hayan my beloved <3

Where can you find me?

I have pages on a few other socials, and I'm usually pretty active except stated otherwise. All of my profiles are still very much dedicated to VADTD or underwent changes to conform:

Read my fanfics on Ao3 — For now I only post my fanfics on Ao3 so if you see them posted somewhere else, that is not me! Please let me know if you come across anything like that, or any sort of plagiarism of my works (yes, it has happened before)

Eloise_175 on X/Twitter — Quite active on there lately, sometimes I post things I don't end up posting on here, like threads and whatnot

VADTD Discord server — I tend to be pretty active on discord and consequently on the VADTD server too, everyone is welcomed to join! (please make sure to read the rules carefully ^^)

calliopeys_ on Instagram — I don’t really post much on there as I’m not an Instagram person, but hopefully I’ll get around to posting more on there as well. Created a new account from scratch to maybe post my art and fanfic updates. If I see an influx of people from here on there, I may do some of those quick asks in the stories :))

calliopeys on TikTok — Empty for the moment, but maybe I'll do some silly memes on there

Tags Directory

(might edit this section later on)

Calliope: Penelope Eckhart x Callisto Regulus

Characters:

#blog intro #villains are destined to die

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spacingstars · 26 days

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do you have any recs for good cody characterization?

So, I should preface this by saying I kind of... avoid Cody's fandom, primarily because I'd like to not soil my enjoyment of his character, and as such don't really seek out much fics that do have him.

I can elaborate on this later in a reblog but as of now this post has already gotten ways away from me so I'll be sticking to main discussion of what Cody characterization I enjoy and find to be good.

Additionally, I don't read as much fic as I did a few years ago, mainly because I've gotten pickier in general, but also because real life as of late hasn't allowed much time for seeking out new fics and reading them through.

With that said, much of my change in attitude towards Cody is entirely down to @battlekilt, and much of what I will be discussing with regards to Cody's character is lifting from their conceptions of him (which are strongly based in canon).

Which, with regards to fic recs, I'll put those out here now, these first two will be Kilt's:

Nightmare for Others, Dream for the Self by Aiwha/@battlekilt

note: this fic is Anakin/Rex and while they are the central focus, Cody has some incredible moments, especially with the interplay between himself and Anakin and Rex.

Aay'han—Mournful Celebration: How ARC Troopers Saved The Galaxy by Aiwha/@battlekilt

note: this fic is Obi-wan/Rex but Cody is an incredibly strong character in the main cast, I should also say this can be a heavy read (there is MCD and the grief over that character is a major theme of the story), so, be prepared. But, There is a lot of fluff, especially shared among the Clones.

Also while it's not... out yet, I have been given a lot of previews of their current project and what I've read of Cody in that fic has done a lot of the heavy lifting to change my opinion on his character. So... keep a look out for that one. xD

And, I do have one other Cody fic that's stuck with me:

sun-stunned by ctdogma

note: this fic is gen, it's Cody & Anakin, but it's stuck with me for the way Cody and Anakin relate to each other, and the characterization of them both is also quite enjoyable. It's short, but I quite enjoyed it when I first read it. Also, it is archive-locked, so you will need an ao3 account to read it.

There is also this Cody meta from Kilt that's a good elaboration on the discussion I intend to have on what I do like about his character.

I would also encourage revisiting canon and the moments Cody does have, because there's a lot of character to be garnered from him by observing him. There's this video that compiles his screen time (little over an hour.) The only downside is that certain clips have a giant t.c.w/t.b.b logo thrown over them for, obvious, copyright reasons, but aside from that (which may be a little annoying for certain scenes,) it's a pretty good compilation of Cody.

And, speaking of that discussion, shall we?

The thing that I really enjoy about Cody's character is the internal tension he carries to the dichotomy of his "two halves,” so to speak. He's a character that manages to feel both young and old at the same time. He's young in the sense that, well, that is what he is, chronologically, at the beginning of the war, he's only 20. He comes with a lot of the anxieties and uncertainties expected of him, and those anxieties and uncertainties clash spectacularly with the fact that Cody is expected to be older and more mature. He is the Marshal Commander of the 3rd Systems Army, and the sheer amount of weight and responsibility placed upon his shoulders is massive. It forces him into a position where he has to be older than he is and has to be more assured in himself. He's only at his most comfortable with Rex.

Which, Rex, to me, is a key aspect of understanding Cody's character, because much of Cody's character is fixated to Rex, Cody & Rex are in a same vein as Obi-Wan & Anakin. Which is why Cody's most important moments are tied around Rex. Rex is Cody's most important person, no doubt about it. The sheer amount of respect and adulation Cody holds for Rex is quite telling, he frequently speaks incredibly highly of Rex.

Cody, to me, is quintessentially a character who is both young and old; he's a young man with all the anxieties and uncertainties that come with that pushed into a position afforded to seasoned Generals, men much older than he is, a position that affords him with immense responsibility and authority. Cody is wound tight in his code of honor; he's dutiful and professional, and he's strong in his convictions. But at the same time, all of that soldierliness, all of that which Cody is fundamentally a damn good soldier, in every respect of the word, is conflicted against the "youth" in him. It’s conflicted with his anxieties about himself and his performance. And I think the internal conflict between these aspects of Cody is what makes him so juicy; he will act out of duty, out of professionalism, he will do as a soldier needs to do, as a Marshal Commander needs to do, but at the same time, he's got those anxieties, about himself, how he conducts himself, the decisions he makes, the choices he makes. It makes for a very crunchy internal conflict between his conscious and his code.

I won't play by play analyze every one of Cody's moments, he's got a lot of them, but here's a list of things I noticed about Cody when rewatching much of his canonical appearances.

Also, a note on these, some of these will have additional commentary from Kilt because I was rewatching these scenes and discussing my observations with them. They had some useful additional commentary.

He stands in parade rest a lot, and he loosens up his stance by the time season 7 rolls around, but in the earlier seasons, and thus, the bulk of his appearances, Cody walks and stands in parade rest a lot, especially in comparison to Rex whose already much looser during that time. To me, this is indicative of his stiffness, of that need to pull himself together into an air of professionalism and orderliness. (Kilt Comment: Multiple character sources cite that Rex was a rather stickler for the Rules(TM), even going so far as being compared to Dogma at the start of the Umbara arc. This tells us that Rex had been actively encouraged and given space to become more comfortable and relaxed than Cody did, whereas the Commander took longer to stretch that.)

The only time he really engages in banter or otherwise engages in comfortable conversation, it's with Rex. This is contrasted with his interactions with Jedi, where he's much more professional, on the job, and orderly.

He conducts himself with some more "elderly" mannerisms, calling Rex "ol' boy" or referring to a clone lower in rank than him as "son." (Kilt Comment: Sir, you’re ten. Also, this tells us that Cody believes that by playing up a wider age difference with his subordinates than he would realistically have, he feels he might be given more weight to himself, the respect he is martially owed.)

Yes, he does fling himself at droids a lot, like half the time a droid gets close enough, he just resorts to kicking or flinging himself full body, very hilarious. (or, otherwise Marshal "IDK what it means to chill" Cody.)

He repeatedly salutes Obi-Wan whenever he's given an order in the earlier seasons (most notably the Ryloth episodes), and it's kind of hilarious, but it also reads as Cody kind of... overcompensating for his respect and orderliness.

Cody has a moment (at the Citadel) where he loses one of his men but has to quickly pull himself together in order to keep moving. I think it's also interesting to take this as a way to highlight when Cody cautions Rex against getting too fixated on the idea that Echo may be alive. (Cody has lost men, and Rex has lost men too; they both know the weight of their grief, and Cody knows how fixation upon the impossible could potentially hurt Rex, and that's the last thing Cody wants. It's a concern for Rex that he shares with Anakin, as Anakin expresses the same concerns.)

Cody also having multiple occasions of giving Rex praise is absolutely indicative of how highly Cody holds Rex; how important Rex is to Cody, but it is also kind of funny how Cody will just... repeatedly laden praise at Rex's feet, a persistent reminder of how great he thinks Rex is. (He totally 100% does not have favorites.) (He most definitely has his favorites, his favorite is Rex.)

I really love how much you can see how Cody's a lot looser in later seasons. His demeanor with Clone Force 99 is a good example. As well as his with Obi-Wan, especially compared to earlier seasons (the majority of Cody's interactions with Obi-Wan in earlier seasons is very much colored with professional distance; they don't really banter or have ease of conversation, it's only in later seasons and ROTS you'll get some more comfortable interactions.)

Cody's harshness towards Slick and traitors in general during those episodes is incredibly fascinating in light of his actions in T.B.B, where Cody himself ends up the traitor when he previously denounced them so strongly. It shows a great level of character growth for him. (And it's one of the things I love about his internal tension, is getting him to a point where he questions whether or not his strong sense of duty and the lines he draws in the sand are correct. The idea that Cody was much more dutiful, less forgiving of those who betrayed that duty, fundamentally a military man in every respect with a strong code of honor he'd never break, makes him come to the point of "this isn't right, the decisions I'm making aren't right," so much weightier. He chooses to become the thing he's previously hated, and that's incredible.)

(All of these little traits and moments from Cody can be categorized into either the "younger" or "older" half of the dichotomy he carries within.)

You really can construe a great character arc for Cody, you can pick up a lot of the little minute details of him by watching him. Going from the Cody of earlier seasons, who conducts himself with the utmost professionalism and duty, whose more youthful underside is only shown when he's around Rex. Where he only allows himself to loosen and open up towards the war’s end. Towards that conclusion, he has allowed himself a chance to unravel from his own rigidness (especially in his worldview,) to the point he deserts despite it being in every sense of the word a betrayal of what he's defined as the duty of a soldier, a definition he's so strongly held to, is incredible. He is such a fascinating character for all this juicy internal tension in him that keeps on pushing and pulling until he finally breaks and listens to his conscious in T.B.B.

That is why I've come to love his character. A lot of these are things I wouldn't have noticed if I didn't have someone who hadn't pointed them out to me and hadn't allowed for conversations about Cody's character that were not defined by a narrow viewing of his character I'd come to dislike. He is such a fascinating character, and the contrasts between his strict code and his conscious is one I really love to apply pressure on, the tension that results from putting Cody in situations where he needs to favor his persona of the 3rd System's Marshal Commander over who he is, just Cody, is quite fun. It's just fun applying pressure to his code, making him question himself and his convictions, and getting him to reevaluate his strict worldview.

Cody is simply a lot of fun to pull apart and play with; and I really adore his character for that.

#Commander Cody #Star Wars #Long Post #Fandom Stuff #Space's Chatter #Space's Fandom Stuff #Space's Answers

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azuremist · 10 months

Text

Alterhumanity and Autism (Script)

During my panel at this year's Othercon, I said that I would publicly post my panel's script, and my survey's results onto my tumblr, for easy archival purposes! (There is no way to submit Google Docs to archive.org that I'm aware of...)

This is the panel's script! What I said before the QnA part of the panel. Once the panel recording is uploaded, I'll reblog with the link to it, as well! The results for the survey will also be posted to this account shortly.

Here is the blurb that I originally wrote for the panel, on the schedule:

"This panel aims to explore the relationship between autism and alterhumanity, by looking at the history, the modern autistic community and what real alterhumans have to say on the topic. Why it is that neurodivergency is seemingly so common in the alterhuman community? Is it correlation, causation, or perhaps something in between?"

And, below is the script itself!

Hi, everyone! I am so excited to be speaking at Othercon this year and I hope everyone else is enjoying the 'con so far. My name is Azure! You may also call me Bede, as I answer to both. I like he/him, she/her and bun/buns pronouns, and I am a multitude of things! I am a demon (a fallen angel if you wanna get technical), and my main fictotype is, you'll never guess who based off my names, Bede from Pokemon. Shoutout to any Pokemonkin listening. I've been active in the alterhuman community for around 5 years now, and was the head and sole mod of ‘From Fictionkind’, which is a zine released in 2022, aiming to explore the experiences of those who have a fiction-based identity. If you are interested, you can download it here. (Send link)

I am a grab bag of disorders and disabilities, most of which I won't list, but what is relevant to this panel is that I am, in fact, autistic. Not only that, but I have done, by all metrics, way too much research into autism, and I am an autistic activist!

To preface: although this panel is going to specifically namedrop and talk about autism a lot, I am sure that a lot of different beings can relate to what I am going to talk about today. Not just other neurodivergencies and disabilities, either. Much of what I am going to be talking about today could resonate with any oppressed being's experiences. I welcome all discussion about the similarities of different experiences with open arms!

But, for the sake of transparency, I am not very good at talking off the cuff. So I am going to spend the bulk of this panel reading from a pre-prepared script. If anyone is interested in a transcript, it is available on Google Docs for viewing! I will send it in the panel chat right now, so that anyone who needs to may read along, for word-processing purposes. (Send link) This also means that I am not going to be looking at the chat a whole lot, so if there's something you'd particularly like for me to see, I encourage you to hold it until the end so that I can be sure to see it and give it the thought and recognition that it deserves. All this being said, I still will be looking at the chat occasionally.

To prepare for this panel, I took a survey polling autistic alterhumans, which was taking responses from March 7th to July 1st, so around 4 months. I was hoping for about maybe 90 participants, but that number was blown out of the water with over 500 responses!! I will be going over those results later on in the panel, and will also be referencing the anonymous freeform responses.

The very last point of my preamble here is to warn that this panel may not be suitable for all audiences. This lecture contains extended discussion of ableism, and, while I try to keep the mentions brief, there will be specific talk of disabled folks, including children, being hurt. If you're unable to handle that at this time, that is absolutely fine. Take care of yourself and have a great con!

This panel aims to explore the relationship between autism and alterhumanity, by looking at the history, the modern autistic community and what real alterhumans have to say on the topic. I hope to, perhaps not explain, but look into why it is that neurodivergency is seemingly so common in the alterhuman community, and whether it's because of correlation, causation, or perhaps something in between.

Now, let's start off with a question and feel free to try and guess: What do fairies, aliens, and crystals all have in common? Do we have any guesses?

The correct answer is that all 3 of these things have been used to try and claim autistic children are nonhuman!

Let's get into the specifics, starting from the top with fairies.

The changeling is a form of fairy found in European folklore. Also referred to as an "oaf" historically, a changeling is a fairy that is left in the place of an identical human child, when they are stolen away by other fairies. This is to say, parents believed that their human child was being replaced by an identical fairy child. There were multiple tricks that were thought to fend this off. When you believe you already have a changeling, though... There were less ways to go about that. Historical records and tales about changelings unfortunately imply that the solution chosen for a changeling child was often times infanticide.

Many modern psychologists now believe that most tales of changelings developed in an attempt to explain disabled children. This includes, but is not limited to, deformities, Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, cerebral palsy, and, of course, autism. The fact that boys are more often born with birth defects lines up with the touted belief that boys were more likely to be taken by fairies.

Furthermore, see "regressive autism". This so-called phenomena occurs when a child appears to develop, quote-unquote, "normally", until they start showing symptoms of autism in their later years. Now, what actually happens in these cases is that they never noticed their child's autistic traits until those later years. But the fact that there is still a name for this sudden perceived shift in an autistic child shows the sheer amount of cases there are like this, even today. Now, imagine how bad it was hundreds of years ago, before we even had a word for autism. This "sudden shift" perspective very much parallels the supposed markings of your child being replaced by a changeling.

Second verse, same as the first: aliens. Although the term "starseed" has been picked up in the alterhuman community as a way to describe one's self as an alien, "starseeds", or "star children", didn't originate in the alterhuman community. Their existence is a theory put forth by Brad Seiger in his 1976 book, titled "Gods of Aquarius". It posits that some humans originated as extraterrestrials, and arrived on Earth through either birth or by taking over an existent human body.

Generally agreed-upon signs that you or someone you love is a starseed, according to believers, include that person feeling like they don't belong, being hyperempathetic (which is a sign of autism, despite what the stereotypes would have you believe), introversion, and... Actually, I'm going to quote this in its entirety. In "What Is A Starseed & 50 Clear Signs You Are One", published by The Spirit Nomad, the first listed sign is, quote, "You are highly sensitive. You easily feel overwhelmed and drained when you are in a place with many people and with intense stimuli – like shopping malls, clubs, and networking events. You might also be sensitive to stimulants like coffee, alcohol and even dark chocolate." Endquote.

You think I'm joking about these things just listing autism symptoms. I'm not!

Finally... Crystals. Crystal children and indigo children are both believed to be sort of the next step in scientific evolution, according to New Age circles. More specifically, crystal children are the newest generation, while indigo children were the first wave, from around the 70s to the 90s. I'll just be calling both of these 'waves' crystal children for the sake of simplicity, but know that they are just two waves of the same thing. Crystal children are believed to possess special or supernatural abilities, such as telepathy. Autistic children having telepathy, as we all know, is the plot of Mob Psycho 100.

Signs that your child is a crystal child include high empathy, being perceived as 'strange' by others or intelligent for their age (see the autistic gifted kid phenomenon), and being sensitive to the point of fussing in crowded spaces. It's also said that crystal children may struggle in socially conventional schools, because of their dislike of rigid authority, being smarter than their teachers, and their lack of response to guilt, fear, or manipulation-based discipline. (Read: indirect communication.)

It is actually a noted phenomenon that many parents, when confronted with a diagnosis like a learning disability, ADHD, or autism, will alternatively label their child as a crystal child. Autism researcher Mitzi Waltz noted this phenomenon, and spoke about it in a 2009 issue of The Journal of Religion, Disability & Health. He suggests that parents recategorize autistic symptoms as telepathic powers to attempt to reconceptualize these autistic traits as a part of a more conventionally positive identity. He also puts into words why this can be harmful, stating that parents could refuse to acknowledge their child's impairments, refuse accommodations, and, quote, "transmit belief systems to the child that are self-aggrandizing, confusing, or potentially frightening." Endquote.

Believe it or not, there are actually MORE examples of myths or conspiracy theories that attempt to explain autistic children as nonhuman. But, I will leave it at those three.

Let's take a brief look into modern media now. Specifically, the "autistic-coded robot" trope. A lot of times, when humans try to write robots, or AI or such, they think that they can just take all essential things that make humanity what it is, and take away a few things. Make them not express empathy, they don't get nonliteral phrases, they obviously speak in monotone. We could sprinkle in a little bit of feeling out of place with humanity for flavor aaaand it's autistic. Your robot is autistic. To name some examples of this trope, think Data from Star Trek, or Zane from Ninjago.

This trope is more or less echoed, beat for beat, with the autistic-coded alien trope. Examples of this flavor of the trope include Peridot from Steven Universe, Spock from Star Trek, or, and I'm sorry for anyone who I'm about to violently throw back into 2016 with this, Keith from Voltron.

Because nonhumanity is so often linked to autistic beings by the culture around us, desiring to be nonhuman or connecting with nonhumanity is now a recognized part of autistic culture. We often feel out of place in neurotypical society. Join autistic spaces, and you’ll see jokes like, “What kind of nonhuman did you think you were as a kid?” (In case you’re wondering, the answer is werewolf for me.) Growing up thinking that the reason behind your autistic traits is because you are secretly nonhuman is a common experience. Jokes about desiring a tail and to purr often go viral within autistic spaces, because they are forms of natural and nonverbal communication that shows those around us that we are happy. The topic of nonhumanity within autistic culture is also talked about within professional settings, such as in Kim Duff’s speech, “The Role of Changeling Lore in Autistic Culture”, at the 1999 Autreat conference of Autism Network International.

There is also discussion of how autistic beings oftentimes connect with animals better than with humans. For example, Temple Grandin is an autistic animal behavioralist who has written extensively on how her being autistic helps her understand how animals feel. For example, she speaks in 2004’s, “Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior”, and in 1997’s “Thinking the Way Animals Do: Unique Insights from a Person with a Singular Understanding”.

In more modern times, we have the 2022 article, “How Autism Connects Me With Animals”, in which Emily Moran Barwick, writes, quote, “I knew how profoundly frustrating, isolating and demoralizing it was to be unable to convey what I wanted to convey. I knew how it felt to never be truly understood. And it broke my heart thinking of what non-human animals were experiencing at the hands of humans; that no matter how desperately and clearly they communicated their terror and pain, they were ignored and discounted.” Endquote.

All of these connections have led to the creation of subcultures created in an attempt to reclaim the dehumanization put onto us. To name one example, voidpunk is a subculture created by tumblr user arotaro in the 2010s, and more or less hinges on this idea. Key points of this subculture include the rejection of the norm, embracing nonhumanity, and comfort in the unknown. In the words of it’s creator, quote, “It’s not the same as otherkin because it’s not really like, “Ah yes, I am a cat/dragon/wolf/that one guy from Homestuck/etc.”, it’s not necessarily something specific, and it’s not necessarily literally believing you’re something other than human. It’s, well, punk. Society puts out a lot of messages about What It Means To Be Human (trademark) that can make a lot of people who don’t completely fit the bill feel lost, broken, alone, or like they’re doing something wrong; Voidpunk is about taking that message of “you’re not human”, making it your own, and throwing it back in society’s face. You say I’m not human? Sure, ok. That’s chill. Why does being Human (trademark) have to be a goal to aspire to anyway? What’s so great about humanity?” Endquote. She then goes on to specifically namedrop neurodivergents as one of the target audiences for the subculture, as well. She also later answers an ask to clarify, quote, “Someone who doesn’t face dehumanization cannot be voidpunk.” Endquote.

So, where does all of this information intersect with the notable number of autistic alterhumans? Well, that’s just the question, isn’t it? Is it possible that alterhuman identity may correlate with those who have identities and neurotypes which are demonized by society? After all, queer beings are common within alterhuman spaces, too. And, if there is a correlation, is there causation there, as well? There are already some terms coined to describe when alterhuman identity is caused or influenced by autistic traits; such as ‘otherspin’, a term for when one’s alterhuman identity is caused / influenced by special interests. Furthermore, ‘altervexo’ attempts to describe identifying as alterhuman out of spite for the dehumanization one has faced. However, to my knowledge, no term has been made or extensive talks had about, voluntary or nonvoluntary, alterhuman identity, as possibly having origins within dehumanization.

So, I set out to have that conversation. As stated at the start of this panel, I ran a survey, mostly promoted on tumblr, from March 7th to July 1st, posing questions to the autistic alterhuman community about their personal experiences, which got over 500 responses! 537, to be exact. I’d like to share the results of this survey with you now. The raw data collected is available here. (Send link) I will also be posting both the raw data, and the script for this panel, to my tumblr, @azuremist, but that’s mostly for easy archival purposes. Now, it’s NUMBERS TIME, baby!

I asked everyone to indicate if they agreed or disagreed with the statements I made. For the statement, “I believe that my autism has influenced my alterhumanity in some way, shape, or form,” 92% of those who took my survey agreed, and 8% disagreed, which is a WILD split. Far beyond notable.

For the statement, “I feel like the way that autistic beings are seen by society has influenced my alterhumanity”, the split is a bit more even, with 72.4% agreeing, and 27.6% disagreeing.

This means that, of those who I polled who agreed that autism influenced their alterhumanity, 78.6% (rounding down) also agreed that the way autistic beings are viewed in society influenced their alterhumanity. This is a rate a bit over 3 in every 4.

This next question is one of the things that I asked more out of personal curiosity, which is, whether or not they feel more safe to be openly autistic in alterhuman spaces, when compared to other community spaces. Of those polled, 89.4% agreed, and 10.6% disagreed, which makes me quite happy! One anonymous being commented, quote, “I generally find that most alterhuman spaces are a lot more accepting of autistic beings than wider society if that makes sense? Going into an alterhuman space, I'm never concerned that it may not be safe or accessible for me.” Endquote. Someone else wrote in that they could testify to the opposite being true, as well; autistic spaces, in their experience, had a higher likelihood of being accepting of alterhuman identities. However, one being who answered ‘no’ to this question stated that they avoid alterhuman spaces for things related to this subject. They list as an example, quote, “Like the refusal of tone tags? I understand not wanting them to be used for you but banning them from the space all together? And also a lot of spaces, despite being accepting of autistic beings, still find a way to hate those beings for being autistic.” Making community spaces safe for autistic beings is an ongoing learning process for everyone involved. So please make sure to consult your local autistic advocate to make sure everything is accessible for those of all neurotypes.

For the next questions, I asked about everyone’s specific experience with alterhumanity. Another question that I asked, mostly out of curiosity, is, “Would you consider alterhumanity, as a subject, a special interest?” 64.8% of respondents answered ‘no’, and 35.2% answered ‘yes’.

The next question, though, is really quite interesting to me. It asks, “If you have any kintypes which originate from a piece of media: Would you consider that kintype's source material a special interest?” 69% of respondents (nice) answered ‘yes’, and 31% answered ‘no’. That’s a pretty close percentage to the question about alterhumanity as a special interest, but with the answers flipped. Indeed, many times in the section where I invite others to talk about their experience, there are respondents specifically namedropping that they believe their special interests contribute to their alterhumanity. Some, but not all, of these instances include a space conceptkin who has space as a special interest, two catkin, with one having Warrior Cats as a past special interest, and the other, cats in general as one, and someone who specifically wrote, quote, “I also feel as though my special interests in some medias have influenced the fact that I identify with both real and fictional species. For example, I have a large number of original characters who are demons and I feel like my special interest in them may have led me down the path of discovering myself as demonkin.” When discussing the subject of autism influencing alterhumanity, special interests were easily the thing that came up the most, other than how autistic beings are seen by neurotypical society.

The final multiple choice question I had asked, “If you have a nonhuman kintype of any kind: Do you experience species dysphoria and/or euphoria?” To this, 85.9% answered ‘yes’, and 14.1% answered ‘no’.

We can compare this to a survey not aimed at autistic alterhumans; specifically, the ‘Alterhumanity and Gender Survey’, as conducted by Eli, at pantomorph on tumblr. These results were posted on July 22nd of 2019, and reported that, in response to the question, “Do you experience species dysphoria?”, 4.9% answered ‘I used to,’ 8.9% answered ‘unsure’, 22.7% answered ‘no’, 36% answered ‘sometimes’ and 27.6% answered ‘yes’. Adding up the percentages of ‘I used to’, ‘sometimes’ and ‘yes’, we get 68.5% of respondents who are certain that they have, at some point, experienced species dysphoria.

This means that, according to these surveys, autistic alterhumans appear to have a higher chance of experiencing species dysphoria, with a 17.5% difference. Though, keep in mind, I included euphoria in my question, and Eli did not. This would certainly require more data to confirm, however, this at least would warrant further polling, in my opinion.

All of this talk about autistic beings and species dysphoria may have you thinking about the fact that autistic beings are statistically more likely to identify as transgender, with some estimates stating that transgender individuals are up to 6 times more likely to be autistic than cisgender individuals! This is because gender is stupid, and autistic folks are not. Multiple respondents to the survey brought this point up. One being specifically wrote in, quote, “Statistically, autistic folks are more likely to know they're trans than allistics, and I support the theory that that's got something to do with autistic beings seeing things without the lens of social cues and societal pressures, including more awareness of who we are and how we see ourselves. … Society is like, "You should be like this," and autistics are like, "But why? It doesn't really make sense, plus I don't fit in to those standards anyway, so why not choose my own path in life?"” Endquote. I definitely agree that the reason so many autistic folks identify as transgender may be similar to, or the same, reason that autistic folks seem to be more likely to be alterhuman.

Hello to all trans autistic alterhumans listening! Call that a triple threat.

Now, the final question that I asked. I listed multiple different alterhuman identities, and asked everyone to indicate which, if any, of the provided labels that they identify with. And, indeed, my hypothesis when going into this question was proven correct. Of the terms that I provided, it was “nonhuman” that most autistic alterhumans identified with specifically, with 74.9% of respondents identifying as nonhuman. Other popular answers to this question included ‘therian’, with 57.5%, and fictionkin with a nonhuman fictional character. Indeed, I did put two separate options for fictionkin, where they could indicate if their fictional kintype was human or not. 45.1% of respondents had a nonhuman fictotype, and 41.2% of respondents had a human fictotype. So, autistic fictionkin appear to have around a 9% (rounding down) higher likelihood to identify with nonhuman fictional characters. Unfortunately, I could not find another survey to compare this statistic against, but it is a statistic we have now, nonetheless.

Furthermore, I specifically listed 3 common kintypes that have been associated with autistic beings, as previously discussed: fairies, aliens, and robots / technology. Of these, techkin was easily the most popular, with 19.9% of respondents identifying as such. Alienkin and fairykin were close in numbers, with 11.2% identifying as alienkin, and 11.9% identifying as fairykin. On the subject of being robotkin, one being wrote, quote, “I do not on a literal, physical level believe I’m a robot, however, tropes related to robots and the way they behave and are treated feel analogous to my own lived experiences, so in some ways it feels as though I experience my life as a robot would.” Endquote.

Which segways nicely into the final question, which is the filled in responses. For this question, I prompted, “If you have anything you'd like to add, please tell me about your experiences involving your alterhumanity and autism.”

Many took the chance to speak on if they felt like their autism and alterhumanity were connected. As previously mentioned, lots of folks mentioned special interests as a factor. Lots of folks also said that they felt the two were connected, but couldn’t explain how, with a common sentiment being that it is a ‘chicken or the egg’ situation. Two different beings whose kintypes are their past lives wrote in, and both said that a hypothetical allistic version of them wouldn’t be able to get memories as easily. Multiple beings also wrote that they felt like the awakening process was made easier due to their autism. They were so used to seeing themselves as different from everybody else, and not understanding social cues, that they were more willing to take on, quote-unquote, “weird” solutions as the source of their feelings. Other commonly-mentioned points include dehumanization as a reason for alterhumanity, autistic traits being seen as similar to animalistic traits, and the possibly-related high rate of autistic pagans and witches.

Something that I didn’t expect going in, but perhaps should have, is the amount of autistic alterbeings who wrote about their struggle to find words to describe themselves. One ghostkin wrote they felt like their nonconformity to their kintype’s typical associated traits (like darkness, doom and gloom, et cetera) was due to their autism, but that they felt they didn’t belong with other ghostkin because of it. And a LOT of folks wrote in saying that they had a lot of trouble figuring out what terminology to use, especially regarding the ever-dreaded ‘identify with’ or ‘identify as’ question. One being wrote in that they see themself as psychological otherkin, but would be more accurately described as having a neurotype-based, or neurology-based, origin, due to their autism. However, this has caused some issues, as it is not seen as a, quote-unquote, ‘valid’ origin. Someone else describes having issues with this because the community does a lot of gatekeeping, and because it is easier to find beings complaining about words being misused than the actual use of words.

Now, there are some responses that I would like to read in full, or mostly in full, for your listening pleasure.

The first one is as follows. Quote. “When I was 6-ish, I started noticing that people treated me a bit like they treated our old Windows ‘98 Dell computer. The computer was inhuman when it worked (and praised for its distance from humanity! “Yes, it can play videos from the internet! Isn’t technology cool?”) and human when it broke down (“He’s getting overwhelmed, give us a sec.” “She’s blinking at me. I have no idea why this is such a difficult task.” “It ate my fucking CD. Stubborn POS.”). It’s a bit frustrating that my autistic traits are only praised when they make me convenient for others to use... I’m self-sufficient, I’m quiet, I’m a fast learner and a thorough researcher, so I rarely need to bother another person to complete the tasks I’m given. But because that’s all anyone ever seems to want me for... It’s a self-fulfilling cycle which is useful for the neurotypicals but exhausting for me, and when it ends in a burnout (inevitable) then I’m finally treated as human, but only because I’ve failed to be the computer they wanted. So I’m a computer when someone’s pleased with me, and I’m human when I’ve disappointed them. You can see why I might like the idea of being a PC more than a person. Also, when something’s wrong, computers’ error messages are both clearer and harder to ignore than a human’s requests for accommodation. This is a bit of a bummer, sorry. The upside is that I’m crazy good at data analysis now.” Endquote. This was excellently put, and I’m sure something that may resonate with autistic techkin.

Another write-in reads, quote, “One does not have to be autistic to be alterhuman or nonhuman, but one does have to be autistic to be my species. My species does not have human neurology, or allistic neurology. To be my species one must be autistic… though it’s more that my species has neurology which allistics will refer to as autism. I could not be my species if I wasn’t autistic.” Endquote. This is a very interesting response, and, to be honest, I sort of wish I knew what this being’s species was so that I could look more into it. It’s almost like a sort of alternate view of autistic nonhumans or autistic aliens, which is just lovely.

Then, there is this submission. Quote, “Diagnosed with autism at 15, explained a lot, I can't help but wonder - if I'd known, would I still dehumanize myself in the way I do? Other kids called me "cat boy" because when they would pick on me, I'd hiss at them. I don't know why. I think I just saw my cats do it and it was the only way I knew how to retaliate. But it just made them laugh. ... I stopped seeing myself as human a long time ago, more of an animal for people's amusement. ... But when I found out about otherkin, it was like suddenly this experience of mine I was certain I was alone in was shared. For some people it's spiritual, but even in our differences, our feelings were the same. The community taught me to love this nonhuman side of me, and they were understanding of my diagnosis. I didn't feel like an outcast there, they made me feel like it was something to cherish, and I do.” Endquote. Again, absolutely very well-said. Reclaiming and celebrating nonhumanity is, from what I’ve gathered, a large part of the autistic alterhuman experience, and this response phrased it just wonderfully.

Lastly, in regards to responses: shoutout to the one guy who said, “I just finished making my first ever tail, isn’t that sick?”, because yes, yes it is.

Thank you so much again to all the respondents to my survey!

And so, we have now reached the discussion section, which will last until my time runs out. This is where I will cease looking at a script, so please send anything you’d particularly like me to see now! Also, feel free to ask me questions, and I will answer to the best of my ability. Alternatively, tell me about your experiences, or just give general comments!

#othercon #othercon 2023 #alterhuman #essays #alterhuman community #autism #actuallyautistic #actually autistic #otherkin #azure does a thing

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iravaid · 11 months

Note

(in reference to your reblog)

I would absolutely love an exhaustive breakdown of all of your decisions regarding ‘Simon Riley in Situations’

That series consumes me. Much like in the way that Simon was consumed by the desert. I have been fundamentally altered by it.

Oh my god, genuinely thank you so much for asking

This became a very long set of rambles that I have two split in two, possessed by the talk too much demons... sad! Here is the first part, the second part I'll tack on in a later reblog.

More below, I get a little bit Pepe Silvia in this, but oh well lmao

An Introduction

I’m going to preface this with stating that the comics are bad. On an artistic and writer’s standpoint, their net value is negative. I have read those six wretched issues at least seven times through and feel confident in that assertion. I have no idea why people think they’re actually good, in the face of muddy rendering and an overall displeasing art style, Americanised writing with poor panelling and pacing and dialogue, among other torture-porn related things.

That being said, there are moments of competency that shine through, past the early 2000s edge and casual sexism + racist stereotypes, which in turn irritates me because it does show there could have been a better story here. And Yet. But the comics have been a well of spiteful inspiration, first with Except You, and second with In The Desert (and perhaps more to come), and I do want to talk about that. (and I do know that the comics aren’t necessarily canon for the reboot Ghost, but like. C’mon. Work with what we’ve currently got. Even if my money is on Makarov in the reboot having something to do with Ghost’s past, considering the knowing look he and Price share upon seeing the photo.)

Simon is a character that has been doomed by the narrative since day one, and while it would not be a surprise if he survives MW3 on account of the company wanting to make money off his multiplayer counterpart, there is a certain compelling grief in knowing his fate was always going to be how it was in the original trilogy. Simon suffers: Simon dies; Ghost suffers: Ghost dies. There is no other way this story ends. And there is something about the cyclical nature of his life, and patterns to be found in a such a story, which I think are extremely fun to try and enforce, as well as emphasise. It’s this, among other things, that makes him a compelling character to me. Well – that and him being tall, built like a brick-shithouse, gravelly voice, wears a skull mask, has a strong sense of loyalty and compassion for fellow soldiers… (but that’s beside the point!!!!).

The things he went through in the comics had occasionally been so over the top that I need a moment to stand back and go ‘… really? Like. Really? After all that, you put him through more?’ after every reread. It’s not enough that his entire family was murdered but also his psychiatrist and superior officer, and so on and so on. But unfortunately, I have to reiterate that the comics have been a source of inspiration. ‘Simon Riley In Situations’ is an extension of this spiteful motivation to retell/improve upon what the comics were trying to do, as well as occasionally extrapolating on them, or even warping canon to better accommodate my own headcanons/the rebooted universe.

I love stories were a main/side character goes through an incredible change, to the point where they’re noticeably and irreparably different to how they were at the beginning of the story, for better or for worse. Examples that come to mind, currently, are Jinx from Arcane, Zuko from ATLA, Ahsoka in Clone Wars, Steve from Stranger Things. To me, the transformation of Simon into Ghost is something very compelling. The Simon Riley that’s about to fly to the states with Major Vernon is a man very, very different to the Simon Riley freshly recruited into the 141 by Shepherd. But fundamentally they’re still the same person, and that can be an important facet for a big change in a character imo.

I like using a lot of poems and songs and the occasional bible reference in my works. I know it’s fanfiction and maybe for some people that’s overdoing it, but I love it. I love how art informs and inspires itself, and I love using the inherent emotional and cultural connections attached to a specific work in order to enhance that of my own writing. I think it’s good practice, and maybe it doesn’t matter that it’s expressed in the form of fanfiction. I’m a better writer because of it, and that’s something of significance to me: I never studied English lit/creative writing at a higher level of education, so this is where it will be expressed.

Skulls, Death, and the Ghost

Skulls haunt Simon throughout the comics; in turn, Simon has been haunted by the Ghost he’s doomed to become for a very long time. Roba wears skull face-paint when torturing and attempting to brainwash Simon, Simon’s father used to wear skull face-paint when performing, Simon smeared toothpaste on his face when in recovery from Roba’s captivity and it resembled a skull, Tommy wore a skull mask to emulate his father, and Simon hallucinates skeletons/skulls at different points in the comics. Finally, when his family are killed and Simon goes on his revenge mission, he wears the same face paint as he did during Día de Los Muertos when Roba captured him. He claims that the brainwashing didn’t ‘work’ (as the comics put it), but here Simon is, wearing the same mask as his tormentors. I wanted to stretch that recurring imagery by adding the vocalist wearing the skull face-paint in chapter one of Except You. Something there about returning to form, or perhaps finally looking back to see what exactly is that thing who’s been lurking in the back of your mind. I describe the skull reoccurring as “morbidly familiar” in that this has always been Simon’s fate, and it doesn’t matter what he does to try and escape, because he will always return to it.

It can also be stretched to symbolise his close relationship with Death. Simon has ‘died’ a lot of times in the story. At first he believes he’s dead on a subconscious level (nightmares with Roba’ saying he killed him), but then issues 3+4 happen, and that belief escalates into a conscious conviction that he died on the concrete floor in Roba’s captivity; he died out there in the desert; he died surrounded by his family’s corpses on Christmas; he died the moment he killed Roba; he died for good at the end of MW2. Roba killed Simon, and Ghost put whatever ‘Simon Riley’ once was to rest in the funeral pyre of his childhood home. Ghost has always had to everything on his own up until this point: even give himself a proper sendoff. A part of me wonders if Ghost believes himself, on some level, to be the keeper of Simon’s memory and identity. That is what a ghost is, right? The thing that lingers after a tragedy.

It's something incredibly interesting to consider present-era Ghost. Does he still think he’s dead? Is he waiting for the rot to set in? Has he been so dissociated from himself for so long that he doesn’t know how else to function, and on some level is terrified of what might happen, should he in turn look back to face whatever is left of ‘Simon Riley’? Maybe Ghost can be interpreted as the one that came back ‘wrong’, and he’s waiting for other people to notice that there’s nothing left but a corpse. He has gotten very little help by way of therapy/counselling, and probably doesn’t have the tools nor language at his disposal to neither work through these things, nor know how to voice them in the first place. That’s one of the reasons I wrote Simon as not fully aware of the definition of ‘child abuse’ and how it related to him. He knows Nigel (his father) was a cunt and a wifebeater, but he doesn’t know those necessary psych terms to properly begin processing what happened to him both as a child and adult, because who could have taught him? He never got the chance to go to DBT or CBT, and that hazy moment of time with Dr Halloway probably wasn’t conducive to learning about things like CPTSD and trauma and abusive households. I tried to extrapolate this, with Simon’s internalised ableism also being a block to fully accepting or even processing those terms. He’s in a lot of pain, and he very, very desperately wants to move on, to return to how he used to be before all of ‘this’. Will talk later on about how the military factors in to keeping the status quo of ‘the Ghost’.

In tarot (love you tarot love symbolisms in it love when it’s used in media mwah mwah), the death card symbolises major change, rebirth, and endings and beginnings.

If anything, Simon Riley is defined by his deaths and rebirths, how he keeps forcing himself to change in order to survive a brutal narrative set for him. And Ghost, who bears a skull-face not dissimilar to the grim-reaper, perhaps wears this taboo symbol to ward off ‘evil’, or to use that fear in order to keep people at arm’s length, in response to these injustices done to him by fate and the machinations of people far crueller than Simon. He has been through a lot, and still he keeps moving, keeps completing missions and being a ‘good soldier’, because that’s all Simon knows. He’s like a shark in that way, or a well-trained dog: he was never taught, nor given the chance to learn, how to not be a soldier. This is something me and @narramin, affectionately refer to as hound-coding, which, god, really suits Simon. Will talk about it further on.

Roba Himself

Manuel Roba is certainly there. It’s honestly incredibly disappointing to see how this specific character was handled, how heavily the writers leaned into stereotypes to depict Roba – there’s a panel of him holding a burrito for fuck’s sake. This caricature of a villain is both lazily written, but also serves to reduce the impact he has on Simon. This man is supposed to be the primary antagonist, above Simon’s abusive father. He is the reason that Ghost exists, the reason the Riley family are dead, and can be considered the primary catalyst for most of the comics’ plot. And yet this man, and all that he represents in Simon’s suffering, is reduced to the fat ‘El Gordo’ with dialogue lines that are ultimately meaningless, a personal motivation that is only said in his dying breath without further exploration, and ultimately is a villain without any teeth. I think Roba has the potential to be a terrifying figure, one this kind of dark story needs in order to ensure that Simon’s suffering isn’t made a joke when compared to the one at the source of it all.

There are moments of competency and personality that shine through here and there. The pink deck chair in the sensory overload room, the ‘plant flowers over [the grave]’ line, as well as Roba choosing to make himself appear as the grim reaper himself as a way to express ultimate power over his captives’ lives (and, in turn, Simon killing Roba and choosing to don the skull-face could be seen as him taking that control back).

There is a set of panels, one from issue 5 and another from issue 6, that piques my attention when placed together (seen below). Simon has tried so hard to convince himself and others that he is fine, that Roba’s brainwashing failed, that he is not deeply affected by the seven months of torture and humiliation and dehumanisation. But then he comes back from the dead wearing the same face-paint as Roba. He refers to himself as death, as does Roba. That man has his claws deep in Simon, and Roba knew this, and he died with a smile on his face because of it. As quoted by his final words: in the end Roba is just one man. Killing him won’t bring back the Rileys and it won’t stop the pain Ghost is in (but by god is it Ghost’s right to put that man down for what he did to him.).

The following paragraphs will discuss the torture Simon was subjected to in Roba’s captivity and features discussion of the sexual assault he experienced, as well as being him drugged + detailed acts of dehumanisation. The section itself will be bracketed with a ‘-’, feel free to skip to the final paragraph marked of this section if you’d prefer.

In my writing I want to show a competent, terrifying Roba. He should be purposeful in how he goes about breaking these men down in order to build them up into the dutiful hounds Roba so obviously wanted. That’s part of why I think, and wrote, Roba having never touched Simon, he made sure it was his men assaulting Simon while he watched (for one reason or another). And when they were finished Roba would try to manipulate the situation into one being Simon’s fault and that Roba, and only Roba, could fix for him. Simon needed to see Roba as the one with the power to control all these awful things happening to him, and that his own obstinance is the reason he’s suffering. Roba would make an offer – if you listen to me, follow what I say, I can make this stop. I can stop them from touching you ever again. It’s purposefully and insidiously phrased, he’s trying to make all this seem like Simon’s fault for not ‘giving in’. In turn, the prolonged torture and dehumanisation would best be served as well-thought-out tactics.

I’m not a fan of how every other captive was noted as too ‘weak’ or whatever to hold out against all that Roba was doing to them, only for Vernon to say that his methods were ‘genius’ – not with a near 100% mortality rate it fucking isn’t. It would be interesting to explore a fic where Roba was actually competent enough for those aforementioned super soldiers to be a real thing (and we’ll make death proud of us touches on this very well I recommend this fic). But, regardless, I find exploring the ways Simon could have been dehumanised/tortured without succumbing to infection or shock or a sudden heart attack from the sheer amount of stress and trauma to be morbidly interesting. I’m a morbid person, so this tracks lmao (it’s regardless a matter of balance, though, because we’re trying not to fall into that Edge the comics loved so much). I also want to note that Roba rarely, if ever, called Simon by his real name. It’s always ‘English’ or ‘Mr. Death’. A name is a powerful thing to control, stripping a person of their name is a common dehumanisation tactic, one that even the military has been known to use in order to get all these individuals into acting as one mass. It’s also a sign of non-acknowledgement, in my eyes. Simon was not a person to Roba, not really, just a dog that needed moulding. In a way, Ghost referring to himself as ‘Ghost’ may also be a tactic to distance himself from Simon in order to cope with the Everything that’s happened to him.

The next point is just as important as the prior ones: what kind of effect would all this have on Simon in different stages of the comics? And what kind of inner monologue and mindset would he have in order to endure these awful, awful things? And how would he heal from it, considering how the events of the comics went down? He has no control over the situation as a whole, but I imagine that Simon is the kind of person to try and grasp for anything to have control over regardless – he’s exhausted but he still might try to lay in a way that keeps him protected or stills his roiling gut, he’ll occasionally still try to lash out against the narcos, he’ll try and joke with Sparks and Washington in order to help them cling to their humanity (as well as preserve his own identity as a protector, which I want to get into later). He especially utilises dissociation as a ‘tool’ developed from living under the same roof as Nigel Fucking Riley. It provided a very necessary reprieve, and Simon probably believes he’d been ‘broken’ by his father long before Roba ever got his hands on him. Simon at this point probably (maladaptively, in the long run) perceives his ability to dissociate from the body to be a way to control what he truly feels. He can get some kind of control over experiencing multiple instances of sexual assault, over MONTHS, by creating a clear delineation between the body and the person. I wonder if this laid the groundworks for the self-perceived split between Simon Riley and Ghost.

He’s out of that place, Roba is dead and whatever was left of the Zaragoza cartel is hopefully long gone. But where does that leave Simon, whose primary coping mechanisms are either feeling horrific, yawning numbness, or forcing all that pain and fear and humiliation into over-powering anger? All these things kept him alive then… but now what? He has been subjected to a horrific slew of experiences in seven months, over two-hundred days. How do you approach that kind of deal and unpackaging and addressing of that trauma? It’s something in and of itself would be a compelling story to tell, especially with his childhood trauma informing how he processes those experiences. Simon has been physically and psychologically changed by Roba, even if he tried to ‘resist’ – even though interrogation resistance training only lasts for so long.

Sometimes I wonder at what point did Simon realise they weren’t torturing him for information, but to make him into something that wasn’t human. At what point did he realise that there was a reason they made him crawl down the hallways on his hands and knees with a collar around his neck, or that they fed him dog food off the ground, or that he might have been kept in retrofitted dog kennels, in a long-abandoned dog fighting pit.

I wonder if there were times he wished he’d just let go and listen to Roba, and kill the people the latter wanted him to kill; just so that the pain would stop, and he could be more than this thing surviving on the concrete floor. Very interesting to consider, what with the comics implying that Sparks and potentially Washington were also drugged in order to force a dependence on them, as a way to further exert control over them. I’m not sure why Simon didn’t also experience this. Yet another Comics Cringe Moment.

Ultimately, when I see Roba I think of a Judge Holden-esque figure: an intelligent man who has taken a step back, looked at the violence of the world, and ultimately came to the conclusion that, 1.) It is in man’s nature to wage war and be violent, and 2.) It is Roba’s right to control that flow of violence. He had Simon, Sparks, and Washington, and others who came before them, tortured, brutalised, dehumanised, starved, assaulted, and vivisected with intents to brainwash them into his own personal soldiers/bodyguards. He wanted to perverse nature and control something that was never his to control, and I think a character like that should ooze calculated cruelty and a disdain for the optimistic/what he perceives as weak. It’s a dog-eat-dog world, in Roba’s eyes, and he wants to be the one holding the leash.

Dogs and Hounds

Speaking of dogs, let’s get into hound-coding. Dog/hound/wolf metaphors are used for characters in a plethora of ways: dogs and other canines are embedded deeply in a lot of cultures and that can be seen in how disparate a dog can be used in symbolism. The rabid dog that requires put down, versus the loyal-to-a-fault dog whose diligence will be its downfall. The dog that hunts you down relentlessly against the dog that protects and nurtures. Vicious and borderline obsessed, pursuing a singular goal with tunnel-vision; dangerous predator stalking you from the shadows; wholly dedicated to a sole purpose in life; kicked to the point where anger lines their teeth and they meet the world with a bite, because they’ll never let anyone hurt them again; a caregiver and teacher, sometimes even a leader that will look out for who they see as family.

With Simon Riley, I feel he is a hound, the kind that’s been kicked enough times to know to bite first and ask questions later – but can someone please be gentle? Please, can’t someone let him rest? Then the narrative slaps his muzzle and tells him the story isn’t done yet. Simon, off the coattails of escaping his childhood home as a teenager, finds purpose in the military and clings to it. So much of Simon’s identity can be tied to him being a protector, as well as a soldier; he’s proud of his achievements within the SAS, cocky, even. He is well trained in violence and well experienced, too; he’s risen above to make a reputation for himself as a tough sonofabitch within the SAS, which is pretty famously full of that type of person.

The dog can be moulded into a lot of different things in fiction, just as it has in real life. So can Simon, so can Ghost: he’s a character that has been subjected to extreme kinds of change, with some very clear distinctions between Pre-Roba Simon, During-Roba, Post-Roba, Post-Family Massacre, and Post-Jungle Raid. That’s one of the reasons why I think the dog metaphor, and its imagery, can provide very impactful parallels for Simon. What is a dog, if not loyal and loving? Didn’t we make it that way? And what is a dog, if not defined by the job it can fulfil. We made it that way. What use is Simon to the military, if he won’t do what he was trained to do. I wonder if he worries about that in between missions: losing his purpose and identity one way or another.

Ghost is a good leader; he knows how to direct a team and how to keep Soap calm during the chaos in Las Almas. I imagine he found sanctuary in the camaraderie that can be found in a military environment, compared to his chaotic homelife. He doesn’t necessarily have to be open about it, or all that externally happy. But it’s regardless a community that has provided Ghost with some form of support (ironic, again, considering it’s the military, but that is how it works). Like a pack animal, one might say.

His potential relationship with Soap, if people take it that way (I do and will be talking about it more later #peaceandlove), reminds me of the poem ‘bait dog’ among others, here's an excerpt from the end of it: “And she still flinches / When I reach to pet her / but she smiles / once I get behind the ears / you will not heal from everything / that does not mean / you will stop being loved.”, and I feel that’s a very lovely image when applied to Soapghost, y’know? Simon has been through a lot, and Soap is emotionally mature enough to recognise that and give him space, while still putting in that necessary work to bridge certain gaps. Kind of like the slow burn of getting a rescue dog to trust you, except it’s your human superior officer with CPTSD and an edgy comic book backstory. They will doubtless have issues and bumps in the road, but they’ll also have shitty jokes and a lot of patience to keep things buoyed. Love wins or WHATEVER.

Roba tried to make Simon into an attack dog, too. Treated him like one, and I imagine there was a point where Simon was starting to believe it. Then he gets buried alive and has to dig his way out. He has to drag himself through the desert (more to come on that) and survive months of recovery until he has a chance to return to the state he physically was. I imagine this time of injury was awful for Simon: he felt incompetent on top of the other churning emotions one would have after surviving so many months of All That. Simon, I imagine, has always defined himself by his ability to provide, protection or otherwise, as well as his own physical prowess. It’s what kept him and his family safe all this time. It also led to him being picked for that fateful mission. I think Simon is a man shown to be capable of that single-minded focus of a hound that’s caught the scent, especially when he spent months tracking down Roba in the jungle.

Simon is a dog constantly having to remember its teeth. There is a lot to be said about dogs that learn to bite back.

I have reached a character limit here but still have a lot to talk about, please hold (and tysm, again, for the ask)

#ask #codposting #simon riley #ghost mw2 #cod mw2 #call of duty #rape mention #shaking my fist at the sky every time i think about the comics. god.#This is LONG and it's not done yet... freak

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solarandmoon · 4 months

Text

Pinned post for how this thing works.

This Blog is run by me (Moon) and Solar. (Solar here, Hi.) Because Lunar nagged us to, bonding and as something we can do together to keep our minds off...stuff.

Sometimes some our family/friends may try butting into the blog as well.

Before getting into the other information on how the blogs run, general information, etc-

Moon: (That's me.) I'll add a link to an introduction or whatever later I guess, I'll use Italics when the one typing.

Solar: (Hi.) I guess I'll made an intro as well as some point. I use bold to make it easier.

TAGS list:

#asks - asks (pretty straight forward, but ok.)

#solar muses - If I answer or post, this is my tag.

#moon rambles - Moon's tag (Really Solar?) (It's cute.)

#lunar yells - Lunar's tag

#computer states - The computer's tag

#musings - OOC stuff

#showcase - Little pop ins and 'offline' view of how things are at the time, little moments and sneak peaks happening 'in world'

#reblogs - Self explanatory

suggestive content will be tagged with a CW (along with anything else that might need it)

Additional stuff:

More about Moon

More about Solar

We will turn anon asks off if you are jerks about it

Swearings fine, suggestive asks and dirty jokes as well, even flirting (...towards Solar, also feel free to tease him, it's funny.)

No hate, insults, bigotry, homophobia, trnasphobia, ableism, etc.

Teasing Moon is also fine, he can dish it but he can't take it. (Solar, SHUT.)

Magic anon: N/A

Additionally we may occasionally reblog stuff (tags will show who) and/or otherwise interact with other posts as well.

(RP accounts CAN interact with them, but limited to talking only much like the no Magic anon rule, Lore may be dropped through these interactions. Like friends talking on tumblr kinda thing (See agenericrepairbot blog's interaction with other RP blogs type deal)

This blog will contain swearing, potentially heavy topics, suggestive content. (This will be tagged for things as needed)

Say hi or whatnot.

OOC under cut:

HELLO! Jester here, I run this blog, @jestersdlc (technically another side blog but my main's SMoon so...that one!)

I use she/they/ ey/em/eir! I am not a minor but anyone who knows most of my blogs will see some stuff here as....pretty different from how I usually do stuff (Such as swearing, not big on swearing or such but allowing for this blog! ^-^)

This blog has endgame SolarMoon, so expect that, if that's not for you then no need to be here!

Discrimination is NOT allowed, no hate, no insults no bigotry or anyone of that, I will block you.

Also, Magic anon powers are.....going to be limited if not at all possible, you can tell them stuff and try to influence them with WORDS but no time bending things, y'all aren't Dream Eater after all ;3

#solar muses #moon rambles #pinned post #musings #about the blog #tsams au

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aeryssickfics · 2 months

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Same anon as yesterday — I’m so hype to see there’s somewhat a Sickfic community again 🥺 I will 100 percent be writing something as soon as I’ve got time!! Probably a Kaeya Sickfic as he is my favorite!!

Anyways — have you ever considered writing something that involves Tighnari’s lightening scars? I think about the fact he was struck a lot… or did I make that up? I can’t remember hahaha

Welcome back Nonny <3

Oh Im excited :eyes: I love Kaeya and I've inhaled almost every (sick)fic on ao3 at this point (I need to comb through again in case I missed one but you know- lmao) The needing Time thing is So valid tho I feel you. Life is a Whole Thing and ofc must come first.

I have thought a lot about Tighnari's lightning strike injury! We don't know if he scarred or not but I DO love the idea of the fractal scars bc hoooly wow they're pretty but also ;~; I haven't thought much about writing for it specifically since I've only dipped my toes into genshin via sickfic but I could easily get into the idea of like, as soon as a lil of the dust settled Cyno going to Tighnari's side to find out how bad the injury was and help him as much as possible and just phantom pain and other issues with it- we discussed that a little over on.... I'm pretty sure it was @caspersickfanfics's blog! I am getting ready for work so I don't have time to look up the exact convo but I'll prolly hunt it down and reblog it if I haven't already Later:tm:

I may write something to that end eventually! Nari frustrated because there's so little he can Do while recovering. Dropping things, muscle weakness. Pain. He's used to being independent and he feels bad bc he Knows cyno is needed elsewhere... by Cyno doesn't want to leave him Like This:tm: ... well now lookit what you've done nonny [/joking

ig it's getting added to The List:tm: for later. hopefully this weekend I can finish up Here For You and maybe knock out another easier prompt! we'll see!

its (probably) only a matter of time before I start writing straight up plots in addition to sickfic scenes but I have to decide how I want to do that, like if I want them on my main profile or if I want to just create a psudonym on ao3 under this account's profile. buhdunuh for now I have Plenty of sickfic fuel and not enough time so we'll see if that ever materializes.

#asks and answers #oh god I just rambled im sorry nonny

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kjscottwrites · 11 months

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OKAY HERE WE GO here's the official final accountability thread for my WIP 🍄 Cavernous 🍄

If all goes well, (and barring final surface level copyedits and proofreading) this will be the last round changes I'm making before publishing. My life is literally in a bunch of cardboard boxes all over the house at the moment as I've just moved across the country so I wanted to make a visual checkpoint to share to keep myself on track in the chaos so that I can finish this sooner rather than later.

This will be my first time self-publishing, and I know there's a learning curve and a lot of work to do still, so I don't have a ballpark release date just yet, but stay tuned and apologies in advance for taking a stop-and-start pace with this one. I'd like for this book to turn out as polished as possible.

My writing partner / editor on this project (i.e. the other half of the KJ moniker) is going to be doing some passes on chapters or parts of chapters I'm having a hard time cracking - mostly dialog reworks. I'm extreeemely excited to see what she cooks up. I won't reblog this every time I finish a chapter, but every once in a while, and if people seem interested I'll elaborate about my process for each bit! Feel free to ask questions! (Or pester me if you notice I've gone a long time without making progress lol)

Thanks for following y'all <3

Taglist: @ultimatecryptid @kainablue @saraheadriance @milesgraybooks@thelaughingstag @artbyeloquent @ellierenae @calicojackofficial @wildswrites@astridmayewrites @antique-symbolism-main @crazybunchwriting @writer-artemis @kittensartswriting @jacquesfindswritingandadvice @happyorogeny @simdoodleswrites @two-girls-who-read @magefaery @elijahrichardwrites @nervestatic @spiderfall @pinespittinink @rainbowsnowflake @abitscripturient@tracle0 @chickennoodlesoupthecat @danijames @dazedteafairy @vanessaroades-author @outpost51 @asterhaze @ghostical

#cavernouswip #accountability thread #editing #writeblr #am writing #writer community #writers on tumblr #romance #queer romance #support indie authors #bookblr #self pub #wip #writing wip #lgbt #wlw #mlm #bi4bi

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cassi-pokeblogging-hub · 3 months

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Heyo! I'm Cassiopeia!

The following blog is an ooc hub for all my pkmn irl accounts, and where the follows for all the accounts listed later in this post come from! This blog USED to be the rp blog for a character I no longer use and have no motivation for anymore, and is the main blog on this account, so I figured changing it into a hub blog of sorts would be a good idea.

I'm free to answer questions about my ocs ooc here, plot arcs, and generally talk about stuff in the pkmn irl community. I'll also possibly be boosting some accounts I think are cool, reblogging important posts and ask games in the community to hopefully spread them around a bit more, and just generally using this to store some posts about pokemon in general that I think are neat.

Info about the Mod and General Boundaries!

The following is some general information that might be useful. Like I said earlier, I'm Cassiopeia, but you can call me Cass, Cassi, or Pea! I use any pronouns, and I'm an adult (Adult meaning 18 or older in this case.) I'm the host of a system, and a splitroject (or whatever the term is I cant remember) with multiple sources, but notably several pokemon characters. Pokemon has been a systemwide special interest since we were a little kid, and we have a lot of opinions and headcanons, as well as know A LOT about the series as a whole. Our main account is @max-starfall but this is a seperate account so follows for pkmn irl stuff will come from here. A warning that we occasionally reblog heavy stuff or more adult oriented content on that blog (nothing outright nsfw, but usually some suggestive stuff and sexual humor, so minors beware)

I DO check peoples boundaries before I follow so don't worry! Only time I won't is if I miss them. Also sometimes I follow people just cause I think the blog is cool, but I tend to not interact outside of anons just cause while I like your blog, my blogs just can't or wouldn't interact, or I'm a little scared to, yknow?

Any pkmn irl rp account is allowed to interact with p much any of my blogs! Sentient pokemon, legendaries, eebies, etc etc etc. I run on Rotomblr being a multiverse. I may not interact much if our canons diverge too strongly for personal comfort but usually it's whatever cause of the previously mentioned multiverse thing. Some general stuff I go by on all my blogs are people do eat pokemon, and pokemon do eat other pokemon. There are small bugs and bacteria and shit thatre still. alive but not pokemon. Not all pokemon lay eggs. A more mammalian pokemon like stoutland would give live birth like a real dog, and stuff like the more plant like pokemon like sunflora or oddish produce seeds. Not going to go too into details but thats something that happens.

While I am an adult, I prefer not to engage with more suggestive or outright nsfw content on the pkmn irl sphere (but i may rb some suggestive stuff or make brief jokes VERY RARELY, always tagged). There's a lot of minors in this community, and I'd like to keep my blogs generally safe spaces for them to interact. If it's anything you wouldn't joke about with a middle schooler or high schooler, probably not. I try to tag stuff that can be upsetting on all my blogs, and I'll usually ask before doing anything big with anyone elses blogs. There's other stuff, but DNI's don't usually work, so I'll probably just block you if I don't like your vibes.

My tumblr dms are always open, so if you'd like to plot anything out, I'm free to chat here or on the rp account in question! You CAN leave a message on my main account too, but I'd prefer to keep rp stuff here. If you already know my discord and we've chatted in dms there before in the past, that's also an option, but otherwise stick to tumblr.

If you have a problem with me, please tell me because I am stupid. If you don't want me following you please just block me, or tell me straight up because I will not realize.

Pokemon IRL Blogs I run:

Putting these under the cut cause there's a lot. Includes summaries.

@yveltalreal - currently in the process of being rebooted! will update when i get the new rebooted version more established!

@northernwindsglory - A slow eeby deeby. And I mean slow. Glory is a big fan of Legands and Myths, and wants to learn all there is about them! Unfortunately, this has... consequences...

@pure-incense - my attempt at making a normal ass guy i can just interact with a bunch of people with. probably gonna end up being a very active blog but who knows we'll see.

@sd-up - the blog of juno, an ex neoplasma grunt. an exploration of what inspired people to stay with plasma after the whole noble cause was gone, and what happens to people in that kind of environment long after they've been ripped out of it. tw for themes of past cult abuse and generally what comes with a member of evil teams. not a villain blog, but certainly a character with issues

@fruitbasket-gossip - A joint blog with 3 friends. I play Mod Starf. A group of NaraUva students and Blueberry students fucking around on Rotomblr. What will they do? Who knows!

@vital-spirit - A joint blog with a friend! A pmd blog in a setting inspired by various western movies. A whole new set of towns, dungeons, and characters unrelated to those in the various games. I play Lucario.

@blazingvictory -the blog of a bba student with so many problems and issues.

@crater-champion - A blog for Florian, protag of SV, specifically violet in this case. Linked to the Juliana from the blog @union-circle, who is from Scarlet. Another scenario of both games being true yippe. Post DLC and Epilogue. Don't ask him about what happened to Blueberry's League once he left (Please do. He's going to dodge the question like mad and it'll be funny.)

@shields-down - The blog of a VERY excitable Blueberry student named Electra. They're just here to have a good time and be silly.

@dread-plate - A semi-doccumentation of a Challenge Run I'm doing of Ultra Sun. Rift is a dark typed human and former big shot battler who's trying to get away from it all, retracing the steps they did as a child on their Island Challenge.

@redwoodrevival - Redwood Revival and Rescue is a research facility and sanctuary for various pokemon, especially those from the past. The blog is run by the owner of the facility, Professor Redwood herself, as well as her two assistants, Fern and Ginkgo. Mostly just a place for me to ramble about my pokemon hcs lol. Please ask her shit Semi-Inactive due to lack of asks.

@capricious-syrpents - A blog run by a Blueberry Academy student by the name of Malus! Formerly a member of the League Club but kicked out during Kieran's Reign as champion for bullshit reason, Malus is now in the music club and also not happy about no longer being allowed within League Club. Used primarily in a Discord RP

@snug-as-a-bugtype-in-a-rug - An eeby deeby from Alola by the name of Deb. She's been turned into a cutiefly, and is not having a good time. Free her from the hell that is minimum wage. Inactive due to lack of motivation.

@acetrainerchrys - Chrys is a skilled trainer from Johto who moved to Paldea about a year ago. Following strange events that led her to hatching an egg that contained the legendary pokemon giratina, she has not known peace since. She's the cousin of Reaper Sys from @yveltalreal. What do you expect? Used primarily in a Discord RP

@a0ranger - Venus is the father of Reaper Sys from @yveltalreal and a ranger stationed in Area 0 in Paldea. As him about his work sometime! Mostly a place for me to talk about my headcanons regarding pokemon, especially those surrounding Area 0 and give some silly stories. Semi-Inactive due to lack of asks

@lucias-narauva-hell - Lucia is actually normal. Her biggest problem is Ms. Tyme's math class. Why are there people at her school with absurdly strong pokemon and basically superpowers? What the fuck. Used primarily in a Discord RP

@festivalofmasks - A blog of Carmine from the games, post DLC and epilogue. Inactive due to lack of motivation and uncomfortable asks I got early on into running the blog. May come back to it one day.

There's a few others but they're completely dead and I have no intent to use them again for a while, and are still attached to my main rather than this blog.

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deltaruinedcoco37 · 3 months

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♤ Intro post ♤

✮ Hello people, I am Coco and i am an idiot :D I am very late to making this post but I'm doing it anyway lol. This is my SMG4/art account!

⮚ Non-art account (for silly reblogs): @cookiewookie37

✮ Pronouns: They/them

✮ Main fandoms: SMG4, Splatoon, The Legend of Zelda, Undertale/Deltarune, Animal Crossing, Pokemon, Hermitcraft, Homestuck

SMG34 Discord Server: No Mario x Meggy or proship, other ships are allowed as long as they are not problematic!

🎨 Doodle request rules here! 🖌

⮚ Wattpad account: Autism_Anon_Acc or my nonshipping 2nd account, CookieWookie37

More stuff:

♧ DNI ♧

Mario x Meggy shippers

Proshippers

Anti-LGBTQ

Anyone here just to be hateful or annoying for no reason

(Click that thing below to see AU stuff)

Hunger Games AU Simulator post here!

✯ My AUs ✯

⮚ Azure Blossoms (Hanahaki SMG34 fic)

⮚ [Hiatus] Linked to the Malice (TotK malice corruption AU)

⮚ [WIP] The Moon Will Sing / Excuse AU (Monster apocalypse AU)

And my one of my favorites,

Splatoon/SMG4 crossover AU!

(Click that thing below to expand this)

WATTPAD FIC!

⮚ Here! Though it might not update often.

OR you could read it on Tumblr?

⮚ Start here! This may not be up to date with the Wattpad version.

⮚ Character designs: Here!

~~~

Well, that's all I've got so far! I'll probably add to this later lol

#intro post #blog intro #SplatoonMG4 #splatmg4 #coco terseva

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writingseaslugs · 1 year

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How To Start Up A Request Blog

Table of Contents:

Decide Blog Theme and Fandoms

Creating a Proper Page Bio

Masterlist/Introduction/Information Page

Rules and Information

Behind The Scenes: Utilizing Docs, Making Templates, Making Banners, Organization

Grammar

Your First Posts

Interacting With Others

Writing Requests

Shared Blog Information

In Summary

Hello everyone, this is Slug and I am here with a tutorial on how I personally set up my request blogs. All this was learned from trial and error, and I'm making this in hopes that if someone wanted to run a request blog, but didn't know where to start, that this post will help. This is going to be a lengthy post, and you don't have to follow all or anything from this tutorial! As I stated before, this is what I did, but it's by no means some magical method to run a super successful request blog. It's to help you get started and kind of see what goes into the making of these things. Everything has been split up into categories, and some of them are more optional for aesthetic. You can pick and choose what you take away from this. Please remember the main thing with running a request blog is having fun. If it's not fun for you, then consider why you're doing it. Well, I hope you enjoy this and sorry for the length, but I go very into detail as to what I do...and I might be a little insane with setting things up.

Deciding Blog Theme and Fandoms

So the first thing I recommend is deciding on what theme you want for your blog, and what fandoms you want to write for. I'll split this into two categories on what I mean.

Blog Theme

I'm sure you guys have seen how some blogs have very specific appearances for their posts. Personally, for me, I have the same formatting for every single post I do. If it's a request, I use the same formula for setting them up. For my posts that aren't requests, I also have the same formula alongside banners for everything. Keeping a format that's unique to you will let people know the post is from you. If they don't even have to look at your username to know you wrote it, then you're already on the right path.

I also like to do a lot of oceanic themes for all my stuff which means things like Request Information Pages, Au Information, and Masterlists all follow the same theme. I think keeping a blog theme is just super helpful and fun, and it's not hard to do. Just decide what you want your blog to look like and go with it.

That being said, there are some things you shouldn't be doing:

Profile Images: Keep your pfp pretty consistent. I know for one that when I'm looking for specific people on my dash I go after their pfp to know it's them. I suck at recalling usernames, so having that distinct image is good. So try not to change the pfp too much, and if you do keep it with the same character or theme. I normally just put my OC Slug as my pfp now, but in the past, before I really settled on what I wanted, it's been other things. Changing your banner is totally fine, nobody really cares, but try and be consistent for people to easily recognize you.

Changing Your Username: This was something I did and can say for a fact...don't do it. It screws with every single link you have which will be important in later categories like the Masterlist. Also, it'll cause some confusion. The only reason I changed mine was this originally was an account for reblogging shit, not writing. So once I decided I was going to make this into a writing account, I changed my username ASAP to reflect what I wanted to be known as.

Now, this is your blog, and you'll hear me saying this a lot in this little tutorial. You can do whatever you want, change your theme, change your pfp, do whatever. This is just what I recommend, but not a law. You're supposed to be having fun with it. If you do a total reconstruction on everything though, make a post to inform your followers so it can mitigate confusion, and maybe add to your bio that you changed some things.

Fandoms

You should decide the fandoms you want to write based on what your interests are, and what you'd enjoy writing. If you don't love the fandom enough, don't say you'll write for it. The luck gods will pinpoint that you don't enjoy writing it, and it'll become the fandom you're known for the most. Aka you'll be getting mainly requests for that instead of the ones you love.

I also recommend not writing for too many fandoms. If anything, stick to two or three if you want it to be multi-fandom. Things can get confusing and overwhelming really fast, so if you don't think you can keep up with it, then don't do it. Requests blogs are supposed to be fun, not stressful. However, it's your blog. You can do whatever you want, and don't let anyone tell you anything else. If they don't like you, then they can simply block and move on with their day.

Creating A Proper Page Bio

So you know that little bio you got at the top of your blog, along with a header? Fill those out properly. This is going to let people know who you are from a glance, and I think it's important because that's the first thing I read when I go to someone's blog. It doesn't have to be anything long, but here are some key points I recommend having.

Blog Title: Personally mine is "Unhinged Writer"; it's been like that for a hot minute and when I started to take requests I made the personal decision to not change it in fear that it might break my links again. I doubt it does, but who knows. I recommend having either a catchy title or something simple like "Fandom Request Blog". It's not uber-important, but def have something there.

Name: Have your name in your bio so people know what to call you by. It can be a nickname or whatever, originally I just had Salt in there since it's the name I go by, but a lot of people call me Slug so I recently added it in there. Give people a name to call you by, please.

Age: Now you don't have to put your age, especially if you're a minor. Just put "Minor" in your bio if you want so people know "Hey, let's not send adult conversations to this person". I like to have my age in the bio because I just don't care.

Pronouns: This is another simple one...if you want to be referred to as specific pronouns let the people know. I like to always get pronouns correct so this is helpful when it's in your bio.

Request Status: Let them know if your inbox is open or closed for requests. Simple as that, it lets the people know.

Fandoms: Let the people know what content will be on your blog. It can be as simple as saying "Hey, I write for Twisted Wonderland" and that's it.

Side Blog Or Main: Lots of people do follow-for-follow, so if it's a side blog just let people know. It also lets them know why you can't reply to comments if you don't want your main to be known.

Any Other Information: If you want them to know any fun facts about you, go ahead and let them know.

Masterlist/Introduction Page

I recommend doing a Masterlist...like highly recommend. Do it at the start of your blog, as well as an Introduction Page. I like to have them together and pin them at the top of my blog. So again, let's break these into two separate categories for ease of reading and organization! Also if you want to know what it looks like, feel free to check out my post to get inspiration for your own!

Masterlist

So for Masterlists the reason I highly recommend doing it is that people are going to be asking. It makes it easier for people to find exactly what they wanna read so they don't have to scroll through your blog for hours. This is especially important if you like to reblog stuff or answer non-request related asks, or even engage in battle with the ask box. I also say don't wait for this part...my first request blog actually doesn't HAVE a masterlist at all. That's because I was new to tumblr requests in general, I seldom followed other request blogs, so I wasn't aware of having a Masterlist would be so important. By the time people began asking me, I had already written at least over 150 requests, and the thought of going through each and every single one was nauseating. So do it before you get to that point and it'll make it easier on you.

So if you're writing for a lot of fandoms, I recommend having separate Masterlists posts. For me, I have a Masterlist for every single dorm so it's easy for people to navigate. The main Masterlist post you have should have hyperlinks to all the separate Masterlist postings. This is because the original posts will soon be buried with everything you post, so the links are needed. You can only have one pinned post to your blog, so have it be the main Masterlist. To explain things easier here are the steps:

Make a main Masterlist that will be pinned to the top of your blog.

Make separate masterlist posts for things (We'll call them Sub-Masterlists). Examples of what you'd make Sub-Masterlists for would be - Different Fandoms, Different Dorms, Etc. So if you're doing five different fandoms, have five different Sub-Masterlists.

In the Sub-Masterlist posts, make headers for each character so it's easy for people to scroll through and find who they want to read for.

Post the Sub-Masterlists to the blog. You can try and put them as private posts, but in my experience embedded links don't always work for them.

Get the links to all the Sub-Masterlist posts and add a hyperlink the main Masterlist. This is easy, if you don't know how to do it, just highlight the text you want to have the hyperlink (probably the Fandom's Name) and there will be an icon that looks like two chains together. Click that and it'll let you add a link to that text.

Viola, you got the Masterlist done! An optional thing is adding your "Rules Page" as a separate post as well and add a hyperlink in your Masterlist.

Bear in mind, you don't have to constantly be updating the Masterlist with every post you make. I normally wait till I have a few posts then pop them in the Masterlist, just so I'm not constantly having to do it. With asks, I recommend having people using a template you made (will be more in-depth in the "Rules" section). The reason for this is using the "Archive" feature on your blog is super helpful. Go to the main page of your blog and you can click a button that says "Archive" and it'll show you all your posts in a super easy preview format. If it's an ask, the preview will have the first few words of the ask itself. If you use a template you can see the character they're asking for. To add a hyperlink you just right click the post and select "Copy Link Address" and then you can add the hyperlink. Super easy and simple.

As for what goes into the Sub-Masterlists, it's simple. Once you write the request use your own Masterlist links to find the Sub-Masterlist and then scroll to the character's name. Hit "Edit Post" and add: (remember these are all optional, but I do say at least add in the first two bullets):

Title of the Request

If it's SFW or NSFW

If it's a headcanon, drabble, or a full length fic.

It should look something like this:

Character Name Title - SFW - Headcanon

Random Tip: In your Masterlist, if you have a joint account with multiple writers, color code the story title so people know who wrote it before they even click on the story!

Introduction/Information Page

Next is an introduction page. This is going to be like the bio you made, but more in-depth. You can put your name and other information here. I like to inform people in this area the type of requests I do (not too detailed, that comes later) as well as other misc. information. You don't need to add a lot, hell you can just copy most of the information from your blog bio. This is just an optional thing, but I prefer doing it. If you have more than one moderator for the blog, have separate introductions for each member here! I also say have each moderator have a specific color and show it here. On my other blog, my color is orange while Queenie is purple. So when someone sees purple text appear, they know it's Queenie is speaking, and vice versa...more information on this will be in the "Shared Blog Information"

Custom Hashtags

Something I like to add in the information page is custom hashtags. These are Hashtags that are unique to you, that nobody else on this site would probably ever use. The reason for having these are for one specific reason: for people to block. Some people are OCD about what appears on their blog, and if you happen to always be reblogging things or making random posts that isn't writing, they might get annoyed. Not to mention if you're having a reblog conversation with someone, the constant notifications can get annoying. Some things I recommend having custom hashtags for:

NSFW Content: If you're going to be writing SFW and NSFW, I say you should have a custom Hashtag for these. I use "Slug is Sinning" as mine, so if someone blocks it then they won't see the posts that I put out that have this.

Reblogs: If you're gonna be reblogging a lot of things, I say have one for those. Something simple like "Slug Reblogging Spree" or something like that.

Not Writing Asks: If you sometimes get people in your inbox just telling you to have a good day, that's amazing. Honestly it brightens my day when I get those. Some people don't care and would rather not see you post ten of those in a row as you go through answering them. I normally use my nicknames and just put "Slug Speaks".

Feral Time: I don't know if this is for everyone, but I sometimes go feral. This normally results in people in my inbox being mean and bullying me because they don't believe I'm actually 8ft tall. Add a hashtag if you're like me and you're typing in all caps while speaking to people and going hog-wild. I use "Feral Slug Hours" for mine.

One you might want to add that won't be for blocking is this:

Writers Name: This is if you're going to be having multiple people writing and running the blog. Have a custom hashtag for who is writing. You can use something like "Moderator Slug" and "Moderator Queenie". Just so people know who wrote it.

Add the custom hashtags and what they do to the Information Page so people have the choice in what they see on your blog. Obviously this is optional, but I personally find it helpful and a little considerate for your followers. You do you though, this is your blog. You're the god of it. If you want your followers to see your feral time unleashed with no choice, do it. If it's not their cup of tea they can unfollow, easy as that.

That's all for the Information/Introduction Section of your pinned post. I like to put the Information/Introduction below the Masterlist links because after someone reads it once, they won't read it again. They want to get to the Masterlist and having it on top is easier for them.

Rules and Information

This page will save your freaking LIFE. When I say it's one of the most important pages, I mean it. Let's break it down on things I recommend adding to your rules and information page. This is optional but I suggest it:

Introduction

Oh god another introduction, I know right? Well this is simpler than the others. This is just to say "Hey, I'm taking requests for X Fandom and Y Fandom." and if it's a joint blog say "Blue Text is X and Green Text is Y." There you go, Introduction is over. Painless, right?

Rules for Submission

Another simple one, these are your hard rules. Aka if someone doesn't follow your rules, you simply won't be writing for it. Be stern on your boundaries, you're doing this for free. You owe others nothing when you do this for fun. So be firm in what you say. If you don't want people sending you messages on when their request will be written, let the people know! Most are super understanding of your rules as long as it's not anything crazy.

If someone doesn't follow your rules, just delete their ask. I say don't publicly shame someone. If they're on anon and send in something breaking the rules, just delete it. If they're not on anon, answer it privately and request they check the rules before sending in another ask. If it happens several times you can answer it and just say "Hey, I keep getting asks like these. Please check my rules and information page before submitting things." Sometimes others just need to be reminded, and often times it's a mistake because someone didn't feel like reading everything on your rule page. Nudge them to it.

The Will and Won't List

These are going to be two lists of what you are willing to write, and what you absolutely won't be writing. Examples of what you will be writing would be "I'll write: SFW, Fluff, Angst, Yandere, Etc" Meanwhile the won't write can be "I Won't Write: NSFW, Gore, Specific Scenarios, Etc". You don't have to explain yourself on what you will or won't write. It's nobodies business but your own. All you have to do is say you won't write something, and that's all. If someone asks for something on the "won't write" list, delete it. If it keeps happening, again make a post and inform them that it makes you uncomfortable and to check your Rules page. If you want you can also block them.

Sadly if it's anon you can't block their blog, but you can block their IP address so they can't submit stuff anymore. Simply click on the three dots in the upper righthand corner of the ask and click the block button. They will no longer be able to send in stuff from their IP address.

Submission Template

This is optional and always goes at the top of my "Rules and Information Page". A submission template is something you make that others copy/paste into the ask box and fill out in order to have their request written! It's totally optional to have one of these, in fact most request blogs don't. I use these for a few reasons:

Mental Organization: I like to be able to see right off the bat if a request is going to be for a specific character, SFW or NSFW, and if they want a Headcanon or Drabble written. It helps me know exactly what they're asking for, so there's no guess work involved. This is how my brain works and it might be how yours works, or it might not! Whatever works for you is what you should be doing.

Archive: When I'm adding things to my Masterlist I use the "Archive" feature on my blog to look through and copy links to posts quickly. When they use the template then that information pops up in the little preview window. That way I don't have to click on a post to know "Oh, I need to add that to X character's Masterlist!"

Mass Tag Editor: Just like the Archive section above, it's the same concept. I don't use the Mass Tag Editor anymore since I have copy/paste tags I use in Google Docs (will go more into this in the "Behind the Scenes" Category). Some people do use this, and if it's you then the template is nice to have.

My template is simple:

Character Name | Platonic/SFW/NSFW | Headcanons/Drabbles - Request Information

Just let them know they have to use it in order for you to write the request. I'm extra and added a "How to Use" section incase there was any confusion. If you want, you can use this template as well for your requests. Go right ahead, sharing is caring! Or you can make your own, whichever works for you!

If you want an example of what all this looks like together, you can check out my Rule Page and use it for inspiration! Just don't copy/paste my stuff and make your own (minus the template, feel free to steal that).

Behind The Scenes

Okay so this is optional, but it makes things so much easier on you. When I say it makes things easier I mean it. If not for the behind the scenes stuff, it would take forever to format everything I want to post, and would make it too tedious. This might take a while to do, so be prepared to dedicate a few hours if you go this route. It saves time in the long run. Also this might be the most lengthy part of the tutorial, so if you don't plan on utilizing this, then skip this entire section.

Utilizing Docs

If you have a google account, then you have this fancy thing called the "Google Drive"! It comes with this feature called "Google Docs" and this is where I live most of the time. If you guys saw my google doc you'd think I was crazy. I have folders for days, and they're color coded. I have one for both my request accounts and each one of them has essential things in them. If you don't use Docs for anything yet, then you won't need as many folders as I do. If you do, then here's how I organize my folders and documents (also photo reference so you guys know what I'm talking about):

Blog Folder: This is the most simple folder to make. This is going to have your Blog Name on it and this is where all the other folders go! Inside the Blog Folder I have two other folders: Templates and Posted Stories. I also have all my WIPS swimming outside of the other folders in this one. I won't go into the "Posted" Folder because that's self explanatory...it's everything that's already been posted or scheduled onto my blog. Here's an inside look of the folder:

Templates: This is where I keep all my templates and tag lists! Obviously in the "Making Templates" section I'll have more information for you. For now, this is what it looks like!

Individual Dorms/Fandoms: Those folders just leads to the dorm folders. If you write for multiple fandoms, have a folder for each one. I'm just crazy organized and have a separate folder for each character and dorm, but I promise you don't have to go this crazy with it. This is what inside one of those folders looks like!

So there you have it, a show and tell of my drive and organization. Now let's get into some of the documents and why I like using them so much!

Making Templates

This is super helpful for most people! Now while I personally go a bit crazy in making sure each character has a template made with their banner design and name in the title, you don't have to do this. Templates can be as simple or complex as you'd like!

I always say make sure you have:

The Character Name

The Title

An Author's Note (let's you interact with people, but you don't need it)

The Actual Writing

Hyperlinks to "Request Information" and "Masterlist"

Now the reason I use docs in particular for this is because of hyperlinks. Oh yes, we're back to those hyperlinks guys! So if you create a hyperlink in docs and then copy/paste it into tumblr, it retains it. This is especially important when you want to link to your Masterlist and Request Information in each post. Having to add in those links with each post can be tedious and get old very fast.

I recall in one of my tutorials I had mentioned that you can keep a draft in your tumblr that you can copy/paste from, but this can clog up your drafts and it is harder to find exactly what you're looking for in there, rather than if you had just made a google doc.

Another reason I use docs is because of formatting. If you click on "Header 1" in docs, write something, and then copy/paste it into tumblr, it'll translate that into the "Biggest" text setting. It also remembers everything you kept bolded and italicized, so it makes it so much easier to deal with. Personally formatting in docs is way easier than tumblr in my experience. Here's what my formatting looks like (and mind you, my character templates are outdated and will be receiving a bit of a retouch before I post my next long post)

Note: Don't use the "Title" formatting, use the "Header 1" instead. Tumblr doesn't have an equivalent to the "Title" text format, so it defaults to putting it as normal text. "Heading 1" translates to "Biggest" in the tumblr formatting, so you'll be using that instead. Second Note: Make sure you double space between paragraphs in docs! If you don't and then copy/paste it into tumblr, it'll look like a giant wall of text. If you use two spaces between each paragraph, it'll transfer normally. The only exception would be on mobile. If you're writing on docs on mobile then copy/pasting from there as well, don't add the double space or else it'll add extra spacing in tumblr.

Tag Lists

So the tag list, another essential function! Wanna know something fun about tumblr? You gotta tag your posts correctly in order to get people to see your stuff! Which means it's time to research specific tags and begin writing them down!

I use two giant lists of tags, one being sfw and one being nsfw, just for Twisted. Again, you don't have to go as crazy as I am, but I like it for how easy it is when needing to copy/paste things. Now Docs has this wonderful function where if you add a title or a header to something, it creates a sidebar for the "Outline" where you can then click the name of the title and it takes you to that location in the doc.

That's why I use tag lists on docs because I have character-centric tags and I have to navigate to their name in order to grab what I need. Here's what the outline looks like, as well as how I set up my tags:

Mind you, when making your tags you have to have a paragraph between each tag in order for tumblr to register that it's a different tag being inputted. This method means you just have to copy all the tags and then paste it into the tag section of tumblr, and they'll all be there. No need to do them individually...unless you're on mobile. Sadly for mobile users, it's a bit more complex. It doesn't register the same, so you'd either have to manually type all your tags, or copy/paste them one by one.

Making Banners/Dividers

This is easily the most optional part of this entire thing; this is an aesthetic change. I use character banners for anything but requests honestly, and that's just so people can tell requests apart from what I wrote on my own accord. If you're doing only requests though, consider using banners. They're honestly super easy to make using a website named "Canva".

It also helps your stuff stand out from others, so there's always a bonus there! Now when it comes to dividers, you can make your own simple ones like I do, or you can find them on tumblr. People make tons of animated dividers that are totally free to use, so you can use those in order to help divide up text!

Just some things I say to be careful of when using banners for posts:

Character Banner Names: So always add the character's name to the title, even if you're using a character banner for them. Sometimes, especially on mobile, images refuse to load. This means someone might not be able to see the banner, so having their name directly under the banner will let people know who you're writing instead of having to figure out by finding their name in your text.

Official Artwork: When I do character banners I always have their face on there. I make sure to always use official artwork since I don't have permission to use fanart that others make. If you either draw the images yourself, know the artist and get permission, or commission someone, then go ahead and use those. If not, I say stick to the original artwork.

Copy/Paste: Okay so I was absolutely raving about docs a few minutes ago, and now I'm saying there is a major flaw. If you use character banners and you copy/paste from docs or another tumblr draft, what happens is tumblr adds a "link" or something underneath the image. It's a small visual change that can be rather annoying. If you want to avoid this, make sure to keep all your character banners on Canva and copy those to clipboard for every post. I originally was doing this until I realized it was too much damn work. I took the bullet in dealing with the weird link underneath all my banners just to make my life easier. This is all up to you and how bad your OCD is with formatting.

Grammar

So this is an important one...you want to make sure everything has good grammar. This goes for things like your "Masterlist" and "Rules and Information" Pages. This is a representation of you, and often a first impression on your blog. So make sure you use proper grammar. Some things I don't recommend doing in these posts are:

No Capitalization or Punctuation I don't know what it is, but when I see someone who doesn't use capitalization or punctuation, I won't read their work. Even if it's just their Masterlist page, I simply won't. It fills a small rage in me that can't be quelled. If I see it, I assume their fics will be like that as well. If I'm reading something, I want the grammar to be decent at the very least.

Text Speech: Again, if I'm reading someone's Introduction Page and they type "u" instead of "you" I click off. Again, I assume their stories will be similar, and I don't want that.

Typos: Direct call out to me, the King of Typos. My typing speed is normally 2,000 words in 15 minutes when writing stories, so I have a lot of typos. It's why Queenie is so important because she fixes my lazy mistakes. I say go through your posts or have someone you trust do it before posting. Especially if you're like my and have a burning hatred for reading things you just wrote. Most people won't bat an eye at one or two of them, but if there's one every other sentence know that some people will click right off your story...just watch this tutorial be riddled in typos and make this bullet the most ironic thing.

I don't know if I'm finally getting old and it's just a new, stylized thing, but it reads as almost...lazy to me. I'm so sorry if that offends someone, I really am. It's not my intention, it's just my impression right off the bat. Again, maybe I'm getting too old, but I do have a lot of friends in the writing and reading community who agree, so perhaps I'm onto something?

Obviously it's your blog, you can do whatever you want. Don't let me tell you what you can or can't do, or tell you you're doing something wrong! If you prefer formatting like that for stylization, then power to you. Just know it might turn off a lot of readers, but it also might draw in some! Different people like different things, so you do whatever your little heart tells you to do!

Your First Posts

Okay so you got this far, amazing! This is just a lot of set up for running your blog, boring stuff, I know. I hate setting up things so much, but it makes running your blog so much easier. Now that you got it all set up, when are the people going to roll in? The thing is...they might not. Well...not until you do something. A Monkey might draw some random stragglers in, but when it begins dancing and singing musical numbers...people's heads are gonna turn.

What I'm saying is do some writing. You might be sitting there for a hot minute waiting for someone to stumble in without any content other than a Masterlist on your blog.

What I've done for my blog that I wanted to be a request centered blog, and one that was just for my writing, is I wrote. I started off simple: Character Headcanons. It lets people not only see you have content, but your let's them see your writing style. Once people see you posting headcanons or fics on their dash with all those sexy tags you curated earlier, they're gonna click on your blog. They're gonna click that gorgeous link you'll have at the top of all your stories that says "Request Information" and they're gonna be sending in stuff.

Don't expect people to see you're taking requests and just send something in without prior knowledge. Sure it's free content, but they want to know what you're capable of. They want to see your writing style, how you portray characters. If they like it, they'll want more and ask for it. That's how you get requests in. Don't just start a blog and then sit back expecting it to flood in your inbox. Put in the work and draw in a crowd. You're gonna have to dance to get a crowd, or else you're just gonna be a monkey chilling on the sidewalk.

Interacting with Others

This is also a SUPER IMPORTANT STEP! Get your name out there a little...interact with other blogs! Go through the community you're writing for and begin liking and maybe even reblogging their stuff and commenting on it! I know if I see someone who leaves interesting comments or hashtags on my posts, I'm checking out their blog.

Don't be such a recluse and get out there! Not to mention never be afraid to interact with people who reblog your stuff or comment! Sometimes having battles in your ask box is hilarious too, so have fun. You're still a human, so show the people for goodness sakes. Be social, I know it's scary. I'm an introvert to the max, but if you don't think I'll throw myself into someone's DMs and be like "I saw this artwork you did, mind if I write something on it?"

Balls out. The person on the other side of that screen is also still human (hopefully). They see some rando come into their DMs asking to write something based off their creation because it inspired them and they're gonna be like "Hell yes."

Interaction can be a bit harder when it's a side blog because you can't go into replies and put things in that way, and if you simply like a post it shows from your main. So reblogging and DMing is the only way (and no I don't mean DMing to promote yourself, people might get annoyed if you do that). Do what you can though and you'll see the fruits of your effort in time.

Promos:

So this is something I never once considered, but the other day I got mentioned by a new blog asking for a promo. This doesn't really hurt to do, as long as you already have stuff posted to your blog. Just @ some blogs and ask for a promo if they're willing. This person did it and several blogs actually did reblog their introduction page, so it never hurts to ask.

Taking Requests

Oh look at you, they grow up so fast! You're getting people in your inbox...you did make sure to go into settings and add in an ask box...right? Now you can finally begin writing those requests you've been wanting to get to so badly! It's kinda why we did all this...isn't it? To have fun writing requests? At least that's what I hoped you were here for...but I guess all this would apply to a writing blog as well if you think about it. It's kind of what I did when I originally was just going to have a dedicating writing blog, so in theory it's the same. Let's not get too side tracked, we're talking about taking your requests!

Alright so you got a request in now you just...write it. If you want tips on how I write a lot of headcanons, I did make another tutorial on how to do that. I also answered an ask the other day that has a simplified version of how I write smuts, but the same concepts can be applied to writing SFW as well.

So get out there and write some stuff, and be consistent. No, I don't mean posting every single day of your life, I meant in formatting. If you have a consistent format that goes with your blog theme, people will be scrolling and see it and be like "Hey, it's that writer!" If you went through the nightmare category of "Behind the Scenes" then it's a simple copy/paste for everything you're about to post!

The start will be slow with getting requests, and that's normal. Write what you can and post them. Once you begin getting more and more requests, consider scheduling things out! You can pop them in your queue, or if you want posts to go out on specific times and days, schedule them and space them out. That way if you ever take some time away from the blog, things will still be posted and people will see it and get hyped!

Finally...don't be scared to close the ask box. Once you get like 30 things in your inbox it might get overwhelming, so tell them you're inbox is closed and change your bio to reflect that. Catch up on what you can, then reopen when you're ready. There's no shame in it.

Bonus: Using Your Drafts

So when I get asks in my inbox, I like to drag them into drafts right away. Normally I copy/paste my template and tags into the request, fill out the character name and title, and then click "Save as Draft". I keep all of them in my drafts to help me organize them all better, so if I ever wanted to I could write stuff on my phone and not worry about formatting. It's all right there so all I do it post after it's written or schedule and viola, it's all done!

You can do this or just keep them in your inbox, totally up to you. I just found this method works better for me, and perhaps it'll work well for you as well!

Shared Blog Information

So having a joint account can be fun, especially if you need someone to help you. One of my requests blogs is co-owned by my good friend @queeniesrose . It can be super helpful to have someone assisting you, but there are limitations aka disadvantages...but there are also a lot of advantages so you wanna weigh your options.

Disadvantages

Has to be a side blog: You can't share a main account unless you decide to give them your login information. If you share an account, then it has to be a side blog only. This already poses limitations in itself, like not being able to leave replies on posts. So bear that in mind when making this decision.

No DMs: If you have a shared account, you can't have DMs on your side blog. I think this was a more recent change since at one point, Queenie and I could both reply to DMs on the side blog, but things changed. So if someone needs to DM you, they simply can't. You can always link your main account for them to message you, but if you want to keep it hidden then this isn't a good idea. You could technically make another side blog just for DMs though which is a small workaround.

No Tipping: Since it's more than one person running it, you can't accept tips. This isn't a problem for most; I only have the feature on so I could test it out for another blog of mine. If you want to have the feature enabled though, you have to run it alone. A workaround if getting a Ko-Fi account and linking it.

Advantages:

Help With Replies and Questions: When I say Queenie is my right-hand woman, I mean it. She helps me reply to questions and replies all the time. She lets me know what's going on in the blogs and the fandom as well. Having someone who can see the ask box and reply to things is a lifesaver. Especially if you get above a certain follower account, it is needed. Not to mention if I'm at work and she isn't, she can handle things that are going on and vice versa. If I need the inbox closed, she can generally do it for me. An absolute blessing to have some help.

More Writers: While Queenie doesn't generally do any writing for my blog, it's a special situation for us. You can have writer friends helping you run the account and writing requests. This will be super helpful if you do multiple fandoms, one person can write for each fandom. You can do it however you want, really!

Motivation: Bro...when I say sometimes you need motivation I MEAN IT. Having others helping you can really kickstart it, so don't look down on the thought.

Editing: So Queenie is mainly my editor, it's why she doesn't do the writing. She will go through the drafts and edit things and fix typos and grammar before posts go up, even adding them to the schedule. It's super helpful when busting out content!

If you go this route, make sure you have clear communication with the others on the blog, and that you trust them. You have to give admin rights in order for them to answer requests, which means they could delete the blog since they own it. So bear in mind, and also make sure the workload is divided well between you guys. If you're writing with others, a good technique is to "answer" the request and put it in drafts first, and just put your name on it so they know you'll be writing that one.

I also went briefly into detail in the "Masterlist" section, but color coding text is helpful, especially when replying to asks that aren't request related! Seeing a distinct color for the different Mods let's them know who's speaking without checking the tags if they've been on your blog before!

In Summary

Remember, this isn't some holy grail of what you have to do. I've run one request blog for over three years, this is stuff I learned through a lot of trial and error. It's not hard after you initially set things up, honestly the set-up is the most tedious part. It makes the rest so much easier though which is why I recommend doing it.

This is your blog. You can do whatever you want with it. Have fun with it, please!

#writing #writing advice #writing tips #important for writing #request page #request blog #request #how to write #writer #writers on tumblr #running request blogs

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shirzan140102 · 9 months

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Mahsa Amini: One Year Later

I don't know if this post will have any value. Since I wasn't on here in a long time, I don't know if other users have already posted about this matter. Even if I'm the first person to write about these matters, I expect that I'll hardly get any interaction with this post as usual... which fucking sucks when the goal raising as much awareness as possible and finding more supporters. But I'll still say what I have to say, because it's important. As a heads-up, this post is on the longer side, but please read it in its entirety and reblog it so that as many people as possible can read it. I promise that it's worth it.

This past year has been marked by protests - which contrary to what you might have been led to believe, never actually ended - thousands of protesters being arrested, hundreds of innocent people randomly being killed, countless protesters losing an eye after being shot at by regime forces, a record high number of executions, stronger repression (especially of ethnic and religious minorities), schoolgirls being poisoned simply for wanting an education, several... interesting... scandals of Islamic Republic officials, desperate efforts by Iranian diaspora and opposition leaders to get the help of Western governments and organizations, and meaningless, hollow gestures and statements from these governments and organizations. But what's changed since last year when people first took to the streets? Everything and yet, nothing.

Even if the protests decreased in frequency, many people have engaged in acts of civil disobedience. The people of Iran have become much harder to contain for many reasons, and the Islamic Republic is scared. They may have the resources for violent suppression, but they know they're losing when it comes to numbers and determination. On top of that, more and more cracks are starting to appear and grow in their seemingly strong and impenetrable system. Every move they make is destined to be met with backlash and to backfire on them somehow. By all accounts, the conditions are there for this to be the beginning of its end. So, then, what's preventing the people of Iran from delivering the final blow?

Well, there are two main obstacles on the path to victory:

The people of Iran aren't armed. Without weapons, it's impossible to push through. If lower ranks in the military can somehow be won over, of course, then that'll give a much-needed boost.

Western governments, organizations, and media.

I'll spend most of the remainder of this post elaborating on point 2.

Now, allow me to preface this by saying that I'm a Democrat/liberal. My views align with the Democratic Party's platform, and, at times, I even think it's not strong enough to address certain issues. I also want to make it clear that although I'm referring to the regime in Iran by its name (i.e., the Islamic Republic), it's solely with the purpose of distinguishing it from the people of Iran; my intent is not to disrespect or even criticize Islam (or any other religion for that matter). (In fact, like many, I believe that the Islamic Republic is an affront to Islam.) In short, this post is not being written in bad faith or with the intent to cause trouble. I just want everyone to understand where I'm coming from and my mentality in trying to expose some things.

Also, while I haven't had the chance to provide links to sources because it'd take too much time to find all of them once again, I strongly encourage you all to Google the contents of this post on your own to verify my claims.

Contradictory Actions and Complacency

Ever since the beginning of the revolution last year, the behaviors of the Western governments and organizations have been very contradictory. While they claim to be horrified at the atrocities taking place in Iran, they have hardly changed their approach to dealing with the Islamic Republic and have even, at times, taken steps that actually benefit them. These actions make no sense.

Take the strange politics of the UN, for example. Last December, in an unprecedented move, the Islamic Republic was expelled from the UN Commission on the Status of Women as an alleged show of solidarity with the revolution, but now, it's been announced that a representative of the Islamic Republic will chair the 2023 United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Social Forum this coming November. Let it sink in: 11 months after being punished for violating the rights of women, Iran will be taking on a prominent position in discussions about human rights. On top of that, they allowed the Islamic Republic to host an exhibition about the history of clothing in Iran (or something like that), which just gave them another platform to completely misrepresent everything going on. They had an opportunity to completely rewrite history (i.e., spread the falsehood that women in Iran have always worn the hijab or analogous clothing) and, in turn, minimize one aspect of the revolution.

In addition to all of this, the UN's so-called fact-finding mission on the human rights abuses in Iran has hardly been better than a joke. From asking regular people to send evidence of these abuses (even though they can be easily found on any social media network or news site) and having a very lax schedule for meetings (even though time is of the essence when many lives are at stake), it's clear that they do not take their mandate seriously. Now, in all fairness, I understand the need for concrete, valid evidence, especially when dealing with something as serious as crimes against humanity, but this approach just borders on nonchalance. This is just reinforced by their social media activity. Take this tweet from about 4 months ago as an example:

The wording of the tweet (ALLEGED?!?! human rights violations) and simply saying they're "deeply alarmed" do not indicate genuine concern or sympathy. It does not show any willingness to work faster to bring the regime to justice for its many crimes as soon as possible and, thus, give the people of Iran some long overdue justice. It's hard to think of this "fact-finding mission" as anything more than just a superficial formality. Its clear that they are content to let the Islamic Republic continue its reign of terror with impunity.

The actions of the US, the UK, the EU, and individual EU member countries similarly belie their supposed concerns and expressions of solidarity with the people of Iran. The most notable example of this is the failure of the UK and EU to add the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to their respective terrorist lists (also known as proscribing it). It is odd that despite many alleged concerns about the dangers posed by the Islamic Republic, the parliament of the UK still hasn't moved to take the one very powerful course of action (i.e., proscribing the IRGC) that would help address this matter (and also help further weaken the Islamic Republic, thereby allowing the revolution to succeed). In fact, James Cleverly - the current Foreign Secretary of the UK - recently claimed [not-so-cleverly] that they haven't proscribed the IRGC, because it's not yet in the UK's interest. Let's just reflect on the absurdity of this statement: Cleverly's claiming that it ISN'T in the UK's interest to protect its own citizens from credible threats from the IR, although they acknowledge their existence. One has to wonder what interests would make the UK drag its feet on taking strong, decisive action despite these valid concerns (and despite it being the right thing to also do for the people of Iran). (I'll talk about the problem with the EU later in the post.)

Despite the acknowledgement that the Islamic Republic is a threat to its own people and other countries, the US, the UK, the EU, individual EU member countries, and Canada are happy to let the Islamic Republic act as it pleases in their countries. Regime agents notorious for horrific crimes against humanity are allowed to freely wander around in the US and Canada, and at times, they are even rewarded with positions of power that can continue to affect relations with Iran in ways that benefit the Islamic Republic. Oberlin College and Princeton University have hired two such criminals as professors, and despite strong backlash, they have done nothing to remedy this. (In fact, Oberlin claims that it conducted an internal investigation and concluded that there was no such issue. Yes, really...) Several institutions in the US and the UK (including THE Cambridge University) were exposed to be collaborating with institutions in the Islamic Republic. (The case of Cambridge University is the most egregious, since it has helped with the drones that Russia has used to attack Ukraine.) Many people have called attention to the fact that so-called Islamic Centers built by the Islamic Republic throughout Canada and Europe are actually places for espionage and radicalization, not for practicing religion and building religious community, and yet, to the best of my knowledge, only a few have been closed by now. (It was recently exposed that similar institutions have also been built in 4 US states, and I don't believe this matter has been properly addressed yet.)

Regime officials are essentially given warm welcomes to these countries. Recently, the same Princeton professor whom I briefly discussed above was given an opportunity to speak at USSTRATCOM. President Raisi is due to speak at the UN this coming Tuesday. Besides all this, the children and relatives of people affiliated with the regime live the most luxurious lives at the expense of the people of Iran. Rather than respecting the teachings of Islam and showing the same modesty that their relatives preach at home, life is one never-ending party for them here in the West. Mahsa Amini was brutalized to the point of death because of her allegedly improper hijab, but the daughters of these people proudly show on social media that they are wearing the most revealing clothes and drinking the best alcohol money can buy. (The regime's problems with financial corruption are best saved for another post.)

Another side of the problem is that many companies based in the West happily do business with or somehow involve people with ties to the regime in their ventures. Recently, it was revealed that the German company Bosch supplied the Islamic Republic with spy technology that's been used to target protesters. It has also been revealed that a major reason why the voices of protesters are often suppressed on social media is that people affiliated with the regime have ties to the groups or companies dealing with their content moderation/enforcement; with the ability to control who can post and how much, they can easily bury the voices of revolutionaries. And yet, none of these companies have taken responsibility for this, nor have western governments done anyhing to hold these companies accountable.

And now, let's talk about the most recent development between the US and the Islamic Republic and why it's nothing to celebrate, contrary to what many Democratic/liberal influencers would want you to believe. It was recently announced that the US would release $6 billion in frozen assets to the Islamic Republic in a prisoner exchange in which both governments would free 5 prisoners. Qatar would be responsible for overseeing the disbursement and use of the freed-up money to ensure that it's only used for humanitarian purposes. The problem is, however, that besides being a totally nonreciprocal deal (they get money and 5 people while the US only gets 5 people):

Qatar, in addition to having its own problems with human rights abuses, has been shown to be in the league wit. the Islamic Republic. For instance, at the behest of the Islamic Republic, they barred protesters from wearing or bringing anything related to the revolution in the stadium at last year's FIFA World Cup. Now, I can already anticipate some responses to the effect that they were just trying to keep the match apolitical, but that's simply not the case, as evidenced by the fact that people were allowed to protest for Palestine without any problem. (This isn't a dig at Palestine, btw; I'm simply pointing out the double standard.) With Qatar doing the Islamic Republic's bidding, who's to say that they will honestly report why any money has been released and make sure that it has been used for the declared reasons?

Money is fungible. Assuming that the $6 billion that's been freed up will be used for humanitarian purposes, the Islamic Republic has an additional $6 billion at its disposal that can be used for anything, including getting extra equipment for suppressing protests... or providing Russia with more supplies with which to terrorize Ukraine.

The prisoners being released allegedly aren't actually prisoners, but rather agents of the Islamic Republic who are based in America. (Read this article about the family of Siamak Namazi, one of the prisoners who's due to return home.) The fact is that the Islamic Republic has dominated the Iranian/Iranian-American lobby here in the US, most notably through the National Iranian American Council (NIAC). Any activism from these groups or people affiliated with them often ends up repeating regime talking points and pushing for policies that will benefit the regime. (While it's beyond the scope of this post, just know that NIAC, the Quincy Institute, and J Street should all be avoided. Anyone affiliated with any of these groups or repeating their talking points is bad news.)

Not all US nationals have been freed, and the Biden administration is lying about it. By law, all US nationals (both citizens and permanent residents) should receive the US government's protection in hostage/prisoner exchange situations. One of the prisoners left behind is Jamshid "Jimmy" Sharmahd, who has unfairly been sentenced to death and can be executed at any moment. (More on this later.)

Many Iranian-Americans have pointed out that this goes against the philosophy of not negotiating with terrorists. All this does is encourage further hostage diplomacy, which only benefits the Islamic Republic and allows it to stay in power. Several officials from the Islamic Republic are on camera promoting this as a business model of sorts. In fact, as luck would have it, before these "prisoners" have even been cleared to return to America, more prisoners with ties to the West have already been kidnapped.

While we'll only know in hindsight the reason for this deal, it's likely that this is part of an attempt to return to the JCPOA or to replace it with a similar agreement. Biden's secrecy and use of flimsy technicalities have made these acts a violation of INARA. (Yes, the Republicans are actually correct here.) Ultimately, this would continue to legitimize the Islamic Republic and help it remain in power, and it would be free to do as it pleases, which means that it can oppress the people of Iran even more brutally and continue to embed itself in other countries (see the Tanzania espionage incident). (There's some speculation that this is some sort of money laundering scheme with some financial benefits for Biden, and while I can't speak to that, one must also consider this possibility.)

In general, the Biden administration has been more lenient in enforcing sanctions, which has allowed the Islamic Republic to get away with things that normally should not slide under these policies. He's renewed sanction waivers. (Yes, the Republicans, sadly, are correct here, too.) One can only speculate at the desired outcomes for such dealings, but it will not be pretty for anyone anywhere in the world. (Yes, this will come to have worldwide consequences.)

Ultimately, from all of these instances, it's possible to glean the extent of the hypocrisy and betrayal on the part of these Western countries and groups. If anything, one can make the case that these governments want to keep the Islamic Republic in power, and the people of Iran are completely alone in this revolution.

New Friends from Unexpected Places

As I stated at the beginning of this post, I'm a lifelong Democrat. Their platform appealed to me for being progressive and for purportedly advocating for human rights. However, several events since the beginning of the Biden administration already made me wary of them (namely the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan) and alert to a more problematic side of them, and these dealings with Iran collectively became the breaking point for me. Now, I'm not saying that I'm going to become a Republican, but I no longer want to associate myself with them and support them. At this point, I'm a politically homeless liberal, and I currently believe that rather than going by party and platform and voting, I'm better off fighting for issues on an individual basis.

With all of that having been said, for once, I actually have to say that the Republicans have been on the right side of history. They're the ones actually trying to hold President Biden accountable for going about things the wrong way. I've even called several of their offices to bring up my concerns about his actions, and they were completely lovely and understanding. In addition to this, Republicans brought the MAHSA Act to the House floor. Again, this doesn't mean I'm a Republican, since I take issue with essentially the rest of their positions, but this whole case has renewed my faith in bipartisanship. I believe in complete fairness, and that means whoever resorts to underhanded methods to achieve their goals, even if we have the same beliefs, should be held accountable, just like that means anyone who does the right things needs to have their good deeds acknowledged, even if we are normally at odds with one another.

Suffice it to say, this whole ideal has left me disillusioned with the Democratic party, and I now have no place in the American political system - at least for the foreseeable future. Many other Iranian-Americans who lean left seem to share in this sentiment.

A Mini-Burn Book

There are many people who deserve to be called out, and I could honestly write a novel detailing everything they've done wrong, but I'll format my grievances with them as a brief list for brevity. In addition to the individuals and groups I've named throughout this post and the Islamic Republic, the following individuals need to be especially called out:

President Carter - For his role in helping the Islamic Republic come to power and in so doing doomed not only the people of Iran but also the people of America and arguably even the whole world. (Yes, really. While it's really complex, there's quite a bit of evidence out there supporting this. And I'll be happy to elaborate on my claim that his failures as a president have effectively doomed the entire world.)

President Obama - For originating the JCPOA and, by his own admission, not standing by the Green movement in 2009 to help the people of Iran get their freedom back then.

Robert Malley - The allegedly former Special Envoy to Iran. He clearly has ties to the Islamic Republic, and his son allegedly has ties to NIAC. When it was announced that he had been suspended from his position for accessing sensitive information despite having his security clearance revoked, the Tehran Times, a state-run paper in Iran, had suspiciously way too much information about the circumstances surrounding his ouster from his position. They also had access to documents that allegedly pertained to this problem. (These documents have yet to be authenticated, but they're suspiciously convincing.) Despite this controversy, he has managed to gain employment at Princeton University and some engagements at Yale University.

Princeton University - Not only for its questionable hiring decisions, but also for allowing two of its graduate students to be kidnapped by the Islamic Republic and showing no concern for them beyond a few empty statements that were clearly written begrudingly. (They also have yet to address everyone's complaints about these problematic employees.)

Josep Borrell - High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. He's clearly in the Islamic Republic's pocket. He has sabotaged attempts to proscribe the IRGC with some bullshit technicalities. It's on record that before some major events, such as the votes to proscribe the IRGC, he was on the phone with the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic to provide some reassurance. He's also an example of someone who mischaracterizes the revolution and deliberately wants to help the Islamic Republic stay in power. In a tweet from a few days ago about the one-year anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death, he talked about making Iran change its behavior... Take note: The people of Iran are openly calling for revolution, not reform, and the Islamic Republic has proven time and time again that it has no intention of changing its behavior. However, Borrell's put it in these terms, completely disregarding what we Iranians want and effectively insulting all the death and trauma that people have suffered in the fight for their freedom and dignity.

Antony Blinken, John Kirby, Matthew Miller, Vedant Patel - For their lies and equivocations. While I can't exactly remember who said what, they all have shown the same dishonesty and nonchalance towards the people of America and the people of Iran. Between the four of them, they have denied knowing about Jamshid Sharmahd and another US national excluded from the upcoming prisoner exchange, dismissed Jamshid Sharmahd as Germany's concern (due to his also having German citizenship) and not America's (though as a legal resident, he is indeed also America's concern), justified the deal as being the only way to get what Biden wants, and when pressed about the prospect of the Islamic Republic using the released money for something other than humanitarian purposes - President Raisi openly claimed in his recent interview with Lester Holt that they are free to do whatever they want with the money. - flippantly saying they don't want to speculate.

Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut - For disrespectfully attacking Iranian-Americans who simply were sharing their concerns. He's thrown temper tantrums on Twitter when talking about this prisoner exchange that are completely unbefitting of his position, accused us of being "Iran hawks," and claimed that any criticisms about the deal are unfair, bad faith attacks against President Biden. (No, sir, we just want what's best for both of our countries.) It's been said that he's secretly met with NIAC and thus may be under the regime's influence, which is completely credible, considering his demeanor.

Everyone from NIAC and other IR-affiliated lobbying groups, but especially Barbara Slavin - In addition to whitewashing the regime's crimes, a video from a meeting earlier this year emerged with Slavin proposing a course of action that is very, very close to the final prisoner exchange deal we're seeing now. Years ago, she had the gall to callously flip off people protesting an event featuring a regime official. Overally, Slavin seems to be oddly enamored of the Islamic Republic.

The New York Times - For disregarding people's concerns that some of their Iranian writers (i.e., Negar Mortazavi and Farnaz Fassihi) are affiliated with the Islamic Republic. Previously, they dismissed people's concerns about these individuals' employment as racist, bad faith attacks against these writers. Last year, they falsely reported that the "morality police" in Iran had been disbanded and to this day haven't retracted or apologized for this, despite pressure from Iranian-Americans.

NPR - For having a presenter/host (Mary Louise Kelly) who's also clearly a regime puppet and allowing her to bring other NIAC/NIAC-adjacent people (including Robert Malley) on her show. Several months ago, after the protests had already started, she randomly shared a picture of peanut butter she found in a store in Tehran on her social media in a clear stunt to distract from what's really going on. With this stupid, childish post, she pretty much said, "Yes, people are dying in the streets fighting for freedom and being raped and tortured in prison, but hey, look, peanut butter!"

Various social media companies (including Tumblr) - For not listening to us when we talk about how are voices are being suppressed and allowing it to continue to happen and for not giving us the attention we deserve. (@staff, Iran deserves to be on the "Things We Care About" page!)

Celebrities and show-off activists - For only making posts or stories to claim that they care and act like they're good people and then quickly moving on with their lives. I get that compassion fatigue is a thing and that you can't go too deep into everything, but the speed with which they forgot is most likely due to them only putting up appearances. I'm sorry, but there's no way most celebrities don't know a single person of Iranian descent when they live in a place with a large Iranian-American population (i.e., Los Angeles) and, in turn, haven't heard some additional things about what's going on in Iran from these acquaintances (or maybe even friends).

There are probably plenty of people whom I've forgotten, but these are the worst offenders at the moment, imo. In particular, there's a congressman whose name I've forgotten who had the gall to dismiss Iranian-American activists because they're "being too emotional." (Yes, in the year 2023, a man actually dared say this to someone affiliated with a movement that started with women.)

The Role of the Media

The media has also played a huge role in suppressing news of what's going on in Iran. For instance, tonight's episode of NBC Nightly News did not mention that today was the one-year anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death. Media attention waned after the first few weeks of protests, and it's very, very rare to see any mention of Iran on tv nowadays. I understand that there are still plenty of online articles and think pieces, but discussing these major issues on televised news or in primetime tv programs is a very effective way of raising awareness. And we're being deprived of that.

When someone is brought to comment on something related to Iran, it's highly likely that they are affiliated with the regime (i.e., have ties to NIAC), and it's very rare to see legitimate opposition leaders have an opportunity to set the record straight. Even in these cases, there's no guarantee that their story will be given the attention it deserves. Going back to the horrible prisoner exchange deal, Ghazale "Gazelle" Sharmahd, Jamshid Sharmahd's daughter, has been doing everything she can to bring attention to her father's situation and save his life. She recently shared that at a sit in with the families of other "prisoners," she managed to finally get interviewed by MSNBC of all networks, but her story never made it to the final cut. Only the material with the families of "rescued" prisoners (i.e., people who probably have ties to the Islamic Republic) were broadcast.

Now, I'm not saying that we live in a country where our news is 100% controlled by the government. We fortunately have nowhere near the amount of issues they do in Iran, Russia, or North Korea with state-sponsored media, propaganda, and information control. However, it is very suspicious that only certain voices are being promoted over others and that certain things are overlooked or misrepresented. There's no way that media outlets haven't gotten tips from Iranian-Americans; people have been so active and vocal that they've certainly heard our concerns. One is left to conclude that there is something or someone controlling how certain narratives are told. (This also explains the prevalence of the fake-intellectual history about the 1953 "coup" and why hardly anyone believes that America, France, and the UK had a role in the 1979 revolution, although the evidence is there.) While I agree with a lot of criticisms against them, I still think it's very interesting that Project Veritas managed to get believable behind-the-scenes footage of an ABC employee complaining about how they knew about Prince Andrew's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein years before the story broke but they were prevented from exposing it by the royal family. If this footage is legit, it definitely hints at a shockingly insidious trend of governmental/elite control of the information we receive from the media. I do think we mostly have a free press here - Or, at least, I'd still like to believe that this is the case. - and I don't buy into the Republican narrative about the mainstream media, but there are suspicious signs of interference with the news and facts that are provided to the general public.

Dear Reader

If you've managed to make it this far in this post, thank you for sticking with me. I promise that we've reached the end, but I have a few things that I'd like to leave with you... and a few requests. As I've hopefully made clear throughout this post, the people of Iran are up against insurmountable obstacles due to Western powers ostensibly wanting to keep the Islamic Republic in power. They say all the right things to play the role of the leaders of the free world, but then they take actions that are a slap in the face to all of us fighting for a free Iran. If they keep getting in the way like this, we'll be doomed to live under the shadow of the Islamic Republic forever. In fact, even we diaspora aren't completely safe.

And this is where you, dear reader, come in. When it's just our voices as the minority, it's easy for people in positions of power or with larger platforms to ignore us. However, when people from other groups show up with us, then it'll be harder to disregard what we have to say. And the cool thing is that, in this case, even if you aren't Iranian, this still does concern you too. The Islamic Republic is becoming a worldwide threat, and gradually nobody anywhere will be safe from their clutches. For instance, do you think they won't get around to attacking Israel or the US? I'm not trying to manipulate anyone or exaggerating when I'm saying they're after worldwide domination; it's a fact. They don't care that they're destroying their own people and their own land and that they've tainted the name of Islam. Nothing is sacred to these people except power and their own interests. And there will be a time where you, too, can become their victim. Do NOT let that happen.

This is why I'm assigning non-Iranian people the following action items:

If you live in America, contact your senator and ask them to vote in favor of the MAHSA Act.

If you live in the UK or EU, push your parliament to proscribe the IRGC.

If you live in America, call out President Biden for his actions (most especially the prisoner exchange). This is especially important if you're a Democrat, since any underhanded claims that you're acting in bad faith will have no merit.

Boycott any companies that still do business with the Islamic Republic, and push the governments where their bases of operations are located to punish them.

Hold the media accountable for their selective, biased reporting on matters in Iran. Tell them that you're interested in hearing about Iran and ask them why they haven't discussed it in televised programs much. If it's just Iranian people asking, then they can dismiss it as the interest of a niche group and claim it's of no value to their program, but if a wider demographic argues that there's a need for it, that would arguably put more pressure on them. Also, bring to their attention that certain individuals are NIAC members (or NIAC-adjacent) and that they shouldn't be given a platform. If they do get involved with someone from NIAC (or a NIAC-adjacent group), hold their feet to their fire; make them cut ties with them and issue a retraction and apology.

If you're on stan Twitter or Instagram, nag your fave to post about Iran, especially if they've acknowledged or interacted with you before.

Pressure social media companies to look into the suppression of Iranian voices, especially if you're employed at one of these companies.

Find a way to bring Iran into any discussion as long as it's relevant. If issues such as LGBTQ+ rights or environmental justice are being discussed, for instance, talk about how these matters are under attack in Iran.

Also, if there's any debate about whether someone is affiliated with the Islamic Republic and associated organizations, please follow the lead of Iranians and Iranian-Americans. Take care to not make assumptions on your own, and just help us expose whoever we've identified.

I know this post has been very long, but this is an extremely important issue. Please stand with the people of Iran. We can't do this alone. We can't stand anymore tragedy and destruction, and we want to rebuild and thrive. Amplify our voices and be our friends in our time of need.

Thank you!

#freedom for iran #free iran #mahsa amini #woman life freedom #iran revolution #iran revolution 2023 #current events #social justice #human rights #mahsa day

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dangerous-advantage · 11 months

Text

concerning the new changes (07.10.23)

all right fuck it i wasn't gonna do this but then i ended up filling the tags on the post i reblogged.

so here's my thoughts on staff's 'Tumblr's Core Product Strategy" post and the things that i think could actually be good!... if staff respects tumblr's culture in implementing them.

to note, i am referring to this post. for better context, please go read the whole thing and try not to skip details, since i think it's important to understand the post through your own perspective if you want to participate in the conversation.

this post worried me at first, both because changes in the tumblr ecosystem with as much weight as this post carries have, historically, been pretty bad for the userbase.

starting off with a focus on creating a larger user base and inviting more, new creators rather than with a strong plan to focus on improving the current state of tumblr sets off alarm bells.

reading through the rest of it leaves me with... mixed thoughts. while it honestly does seem like they've heard a lot of the things we've been screaming at them about and might actually take steps to make things improve, i'm still wary.

this isn't a post explaining specific changes tumblr plans to implement. in fact, there are relatively few examples of actual strategies being communicated. it's just an overview with a lot of implications for the future.

i mean, not even the new tumblr labs group has any idea what the exact changes are going to be. just look at this:

[ID: A screenshot containing text from a post made by the aforementioned account. It reads, "But we're not sure exactly what that change looks like, so we've assembled a new team, called Tumblr Labs, to figure it out as quickly..." It cuts off here. /End ID]

and i think that's the problem.

so, the post. staff explains that the issue, as they see it, is that the platform is fundamentally flawed-- i.e., because tumblr is difficult to use if you don't have an understanding of the site before, it tends to scare off new users rather than encourage engagement.

this isn't untrue. however, it should be noted, the tumblr userbase has cultivated a culture of teaching newcomers how the website and the website's culture functions. (see: the many posts made as 'guides' in the wake of the twitter and reddit fiascos, as well as @/strange-aeon's video on the topic.)

(not to say that this system isn't imperfect and could be improved by directing new users to the these posts, buuuuuuut i'll get into that later.)

now: i (and i think most of the userbase) agree with staff on the main point-- tumblr, as a platform, is broken. we have long complained about the bugs and the messy reblog chains and the notifications overwhelming you if a post gains traction.

(though, we've also just integrated that into tumblr culture, but that's a tangent for a different time.)

here's the thing: staff does mention these things as problems they want to fix.

here's a short list of some things the post mentions that i honestly agree are a problem, and that a lot of people have wanted to see change!

[ID: Screenshots of items taken from the bulleted lists on staff's post. These read as follows: "Improving Tumblr's search engine optimization (SEO) practices to be in line with industry standards." "Making it easier for users to follow the various conversation paths within a reblog thread." "Build mechanisms to protect creators from being spammed by notifications when they go viral." "Improve performance and stability: deliver crash-free, responsive, and fast-loading apps on Android, iOS, and web.""Improve quality: deliver the highest quality Tumblr experience to our users." /End ID]

again, these are things that i agree are issues and would be cool to see improved upon. but staff doesn't tell us how they plan to do this.

in staff's response to the userbases' assumption that they're going to remove the reverse-chronological dashboard, they state they're 'surprised' users came away with this assumption.

i, for one, am not.

the relationship between tumblr staff and the tumblr collective has been strained for a long time. mounting frustrations about users' actual issues with the website being ignored while new features are implemented that are almost unanimously disliked doesn't help.

and don't forget, the last time a change as drastic as this post is making it seem came into action, the porn ban was implemented. a change that had an overall negative effect on the community and tumblr's culture at large. it tore away crucial aspects of tumblr's identity that we'll probably never get back.

so while this post does address issues users have wanted to see fixed, of course we're still going to be wary.

the bottom line is, users don't trust staff to implement changes that will be beneficial to improving the platform for the tumblr userbase. (the recent reddit and twitter debacles don't help things much, either.)

i think staff needs to realize, as the final poster put it, tumblr already has innate value. value created by the community.

if staff focuses on improving tumblr to be easier to use-- in accordance with elevating tumblr's culture-- it will attract more people, simply by being less broken all the time.

this brings me to the other (main) issue i have: putting new users first over the current userbase.

this may not have been what staff meant to imply, but the emphasis seems to be on improving the userbase for incoming users, rather than those of us who are already here.

to be clear, i don't think that making tumblr easier to navigate for new users is bad. i mean, there's a reason we were writing guides. joining tumblr if you aren't already exposed to it can be daunting.

allowing new users to rely on an actual, working algorithm (although i think a user-driven algorithim is possibly one of the best parts of tumblr) isn't inherently bad. using that algorithim to elevate new creators isn't bad, either.

it's the way they choose to do this that makes us wary. like i mentioned before, we already have somewhat of a system for on-boarding new users to the site: word of mouth from more experienced users. this helps with both learning how to navigate tumblr and introducing new users to tumblr culture.

with all this in mind: where do we go from here?

in my mind, the solution for these problems comes down to communication. if staff wants more trust from the tumblr userbase, they need to show they are willing to listen to feedback from the tumblr collective.

when implementing changes, a great way to avoid the immediate backlash and distrust of tumblr users is by clearly outlining the changes they plan to make and the strategies by which they will be carried out.

another user made the analogy that websites should be like cities, where the users have a say in (as staff puts it) the 'evolution of tumblr.'

(mmmmmaybe we could use that spiffy new poll feature, too? everybody loves polls!)

for on-boarding new users, staff could take inspiration from the userbase in implementing a system by which new users are given the information needed to navigate tumblr. tidy up the site, remove bugs, and make it easier to use, and a lot of problems will sort themselves out.

then, we can go from there.

regarding the rest of the stuff i brushed over, i don't feel i can really say much without knowing what they actually plan to do, or where they plan to go with these things.

for example, here's another list of images of things from the post that i am cautiously intrigued by, but am worried will be improved for the worse:

[ID: Another series of images, showing more of the items listed in staff's post. They read as follows: "Move faster: provide APIs and services to unblock core product initiatives and launch new features coming out of Labs." "Get creators' new content in front of people who are interested in it." "Improve the feedback loop for creators, incentivizing them to continue posting." "Allow engagements on individual replies and reblogs." "Improve our algorithmic ranking capabilities across all feeds." /End ID.]

the bottom line is this: if staff wants the support of the userbase in upcoming changes, they need to show that they respect and value us and the culture at large. in my opinion, staff has made strides in embracing tumblr culture, but we need to know these changes are not just motivated by profit.

if staff intends to keep it's current users, they need to to recognize that we deserve a say in this, too.

without the userbase, tumblr wouldn't exist. end of story. we are what keep tumblr alive. as stated before, expanding the userbase is not a bad thing. but doing so to the detriment of tumblr's culture is.

in this regard, i do truly hope that staff means what they said in the conclusion of their original post:

[ID: An image of the conclusion of staff's post. It reads: "Our mission has always been to empower the world's creators. We are wholly committed to ensuring Tumblr evolves in a way that supports our current users while improving areas that attract new creators, artists, and users. You deserve a digital home that works for you. You deserve the best tools and features to connect with your communities on a platform that priotitizes the easy discoverability of high-quality content. This is an invigorating time for Tumblr, and we--" The words then cut off. /End ID]

so, @staff. if you really do believe this: prove it.

#(btw i would love to hear other peoples thoughts on this as well)#there are a million more things i could get into but this post is already ungodly long #so unless staff somehow listens to user feedback and actually communicates their plans for the future #take this as an overview of my thoughts #tw long post #long post #hellsite #tumblr culture #staff #not fandom #hell site analytics #described

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