icepoptroll

[icepoptroll]

Haven’t drawn these two for a while

[icepoptroll]

Please stop trying to "fix" RTC's disability rep without doing prior research, especially if you are able-bodied.

I'm not just saying this because, on principle, I think it's important to centre & uplift disabled voices in discussions of disability representation. I'm saying it because in practice, I've noticed that when people take the "canon sucked so I'm just going to change it" approach to Ricky's depiction in RTC, they frequently end up erasing the parts of canon's representation that were valuable and important to me, sometimes doing things that are worse than canon.

It's important for a fandom to be able to recognise canon's flaws, especially in its depictions of serious topics. But I often feel that the discussion of criticising RTC's disability rep is dominated by people who haven't done a lot of research or don't understand the issue.

I've found that most of the things I actually consider objective flaws in RTC's disability representation are incredibly underdiscussed. Instead, criticism tends to focus on a few specific points, most of which are things I don't agree with or things that are just objectively wrong. For example - it was not ableist to remove the scene where Ricky concedes the competition. At all. I could even argue that this was a positive change, but it gets lumped in with the more ableist script changes (the 2022 rewrites removing Ricky's disability) simply because both happened after the most popular proshot was released in 2016.

Another criticism I see frequently is the idea that canon should have named Ricky's specific disability and was bad rep for not doing so. I understand the idea behind this and somewhat agree with it, but I also think it's more complicated than most people give it credit for - Ricky specifically has a rare disease, meaning most of RTC's audience would not be familiar with it, and when the musical was written, the intended "official" watching experience was for people to see it live, in a dark room with their phone turned off. While the majority of the fandom (who got into RTC through bootlegs) would benefit from Ricky's condition having a known name that can be easily googled, I think it makes sense for the the writers to avoid using terms the average audience member wouldn't be familiar with, given they wouldn't be able to Google it unless they remembered it after the show.

This wouldn't be an issue, if not for the fact that fans frequently use "canon wasn't clear enough" as an excuse to erase the things that canon was clear about. There is a big difference between a character having some sort of "blank slate mystery disease", leaving it entirely up to the fandom to decide what disability he has, and a character who is explicitly said to have a rare degenerative disease with a clearly shown set of symptoms, without the exact name of the disease being mentioned.

I think part of the issue here is a lack of awareness. Many people don't understand how one disease would cause both Ricky's inability to speak and his need for mobility aids, and so they assume canon must have just chosen these symptoms at random. And since "choosing symptoms at random" isn't exactly a great approach to disability depiction, these fans then try to "fix" canon by coming up with separate plausible explanations for Ricky's symptoms.

But the fact is that Ricky's symptoms were not chosen at random - they are in line with symptoms that are caused by real-world neuromuscular disorders. This is heavily implied to be the type of disability Ricky has (I've made a post explaining why, check it out on my account if you want).

Seeing erasure of Ricky's disability is always upsetting, but it's even more upsetting when it comes from people who think they are "fixing" canon by removing "unrealistic" depictions of disability. A person being unable to talk and a mobility aid user due to neuromuscular disability is not unrealistic. Just because you aren't already aware of how something can exist, doesn't mean it is unrealistic.

And there are other issues too, such as whether the "feed him through a tube" meant anything with regard to ricky actually having a feeding tube or generally how well canon handled ocean's ableism, where I feel like people are too quick to jump to "I don't know why canon did that, must be bad representation, I'll fix it" without fully understanding the issue. And if you try to "fix" canon without understanding where it went wrong, you might just make it worse.

I just think it's time for everyone to step back a bit and remember that it's okay to not know everything. Ricky is a character with an underrepresented disability, and it makes sense that some things about him might not be things you've seen before or things you understand well. It's okay to be confused. It only becomes a problem when people make assumptions and then spread these assumptions without fact-checking.

It's very easy for misinformation to get spread online. One person makes a claim in a post, and other people just believe it without fact-checking, because they don't see why the OP would lie about it. And often OP isn't lying at all, but they may be misunderstanding something. A lot of the time, complex subjects like disability representation can be accidentally stripped of important nuance in a game of telephone, when a discussion aimed at one group of people gets taken out of context. And the 2017/2018 RTC scripts frequently get lumped in with the ableist post-2022 script, purely because they both come after the most popular version (the 2016 proshot bootleg).

So before you try to "fix" RTC's disability representation, I think it's important to take a step back and think about what you think RTC originally did wrong. What makes you think these parts were wrong? If it's simply because you don't understand it, or because other people have called it bad representation but you don't understand why, it's time to do some more research to figure out how to best fix it. Otherwise, you might do something that is also bad representation, or plain erasure - and you might do this in an attempt to "fix" one of the things that RTC actually did a good job of originally.

My asks are always open if you're interested in hearing one disabled person's perspective on how RTC handled a specific topic. Please do not assume you don't need to ask because you already know what my perspective will be, and please don't feel like you're bothering me by sending an ask. I am much less bothered by good-faith questions than by people speaking over me, even unintentionally, or taking it for granted that i'll agree with their views.

I think getting a disabled perspective is incredibly important if you're planning on changing any aspect of ricky's disabilty in fanworks - there is a fine line between genuinely improving on canon's flawed rep, and just erasing canon's rep (including the good parts) and excusing it with "well it was bad representation anyway". Remember, disability erasure isn't only when a disabled character is made completely abled - it is possible to erase an aspect of ricky's disability even if he is still disabled.

This is a little more blunt than my usual posts, but it is very important. Thank you so much for reading.

[icepoptroll]

favorite versions of song costume changes? Like outfits for Sabm, Noel’s lament, tsia, etc

I loved Yannick's bachelor man costume. Stageworks Monique too. I saw a picture from one production wherein Misha was wearing a gold chain with his name in giant letters on it, the S being a $. I loved how in Fed's backyard Jane got a costume change too

[icepoptroll]

what's you favorite rtc production OTHER THEN STAGEWORKS WE'RE SORRY

LOL NOT OTHER THAN STAGEWORKS im so predictable lmao

I guess the 2016 version is the only other one that I'm super familiar with? I saw Stageworks 3 times and the pro shot about a million and one times. I also enjoyed Fed's Backyard quite a lot

[icepoptroll]

Headcanon that the Potts family does have the 14 cats, but only four or five of them are *Ricky's* cats. He adores them all, but those few are his darlings, his babies, his everything.

I see the vision yeah!

[icepoptroll]

Do you like rollercoasters?

I like the milder "kiddy" coasters yeah!! But when I go to Six Flags with my friends I usually sit out the bigger scarier thrill rides. I like the carousel and teacups and I once had this mind-blowing spiritual experience on a Madhouse ride called Houdini's Great Escape which was pretty rad

[icepoptroll]

I'm doing laundry and its really really boring please send yaps and questions to my ask box please

[icepoptroll]

[icepoptroll]

Hello again!

I wanted to ask your opinion on showing and not telling when it comes to a disabled character. Obviously in a longer more involved fic I would mention Ricky using his mobility aid and the way he communicates, but recently I wrote a oneshot (only about 2k) with minimal Ricky involvement and I realized after I wrote it, I used italics for his speech but never explained it was an AAC.

Is italics enough every now and then if you’ve established you only write disabled Ricky? Or is this a form of erasure to only do that, even if it’s one, small fic? Or in any capacity including mobility aids too? Or does it truly depend?

Thanks in advance!

I don't think this is erasure at all. I do think it's a good question.

Ricky can't be the main character, or even a major character, of every fic, and that means some fics naturally just aren't going to feature him enough for his disability to be very relevant beyond his speech being in italics. More broadly: disability representation is a very complex subject and that means if it isn't in focus, parts of it will often have to be somewhat simplified or glossed over.

If you want to mention Ricky's disability, then I believe there are ways that can be done in any fic. If Ricky has any speaking lines, then his communication method can be mentioned when he talks, even offhandedly. If he's just sitting there not saying anything, then he's presumably sitting with a mobility aid nearby (or just in a wheelchair), which can be mentioned. These things can be done in any fic without putting too much focus on ricky & without inflating the wordcount, and when done well, small details like this can mean a lot for representation.

But do you have to mention it?

Generally, I think, not necessarily. I think the important thing to keep in mind is: if someone saw this fic, would they be likely to assume you were erasing ricky's disability on purpose? Or would they assume there just wasn't a good time in the fic to mention it?

And like I said earlier, disability is a complex enough subject that it's near-impossible to represent all of it. So when I see a fic that doesn't mention a specific aspect of Ricky's disability - whether that be his experiences with ableism, his shortened lifespan, or his implied/potential feeding tube - I don't assume it's being erased on purpose. I assume it's just not being mentioned, because if every aspect of Ricky's disability was represented in every fic, it would be hard to find time to write about anything else.

Ricky is, by default, a disabled character. If his disability isn't mentioned, that doesn't make him suddenly abled - it just means there wasn't a place to mention it explicitly.

With that being said, it is context-dependent. There are times when I might think it's important to mention Ricky's disability explicitly & to make it undeniable. For example, if you were specifically writing a fic based on one of the productions that erases Ricky's disability, and you're choosing to add it back in, you should absolutely mention it, otherwise people might reasonably assume you're just being "canon compliant" with that production by erasing it.

Another situation that might blur the lines between disability erasure and simply not mentioning a disability, is if something happens where ricky's disability realistically would be relevant. For example if he's doing physical work. You mentioned that your oneshot was short with minimal Ricky, but if there was a longer fic where ricky was a major character and his disability still wasn't mentioned, I would start to find it hard to believe that his disability was never relevant. So those are the situations where less readers might assume "ricky's disability just hasn't been mentioned" and more readers might assume "ricky is just able-bodied in this fic".

And I don't think the solution in these situations is to just... always mention Ricky's disability explicitly in some way. I think a better solution is just to ... be aware, always, of Ricky's disability. As something that will affect his whole life. And research to understand the various ways it will affect him. That way, you're not going to run into situations where his disability should be relevant and it simply isn't mentioned - because you'll be aware of when it should be relevant to the fic, and you'll bring it up then.

I rambled a lot oops so TL;DR:

No, this isn't inherently a problem. There are some circumstances where it could be a problem, but even then I think it's more of a symptom of a problem than the problem itself.

Nobody should be trying to avoid mentioning Ricky's disability. But if you get to the end of a fic and you realise it just never came up? You're probably fine. If it does seem like erasure that probably just means you need to do some research, which is good practice for all RTC fic writers anyway regardless of whether you've run into this specific problem.

You're never going to have time to perfectly represent every detail of every character in every fic. Sometimes Ricky isn't in focus so aspects of his character aren't relevant, and that's not erasing anything on its own.

(also, side note, I've noticed that sometimes when ppl have this situation on ao3, they try to clarify that ricky is disabled by tagging the fic as "disabled ricky potts"; I personally don't think you should do this. some people use this tag for fics where his disability is in focus / a significant part, and other people just use it for any fic where he is disabled, which makes the tag less useful for finding fics bc its such a mix of disability-centric fics and fics where his disability is barely relevant. i think by default he's disabled and the tag should be saved for fics where that's very relevant. also sometimes people write straight up disability erasure and then put it in the "disabled ricky potts" tag as though that stops it from being erasure and like, that doesnt solve the problem)

[icepoptroll]

"I love this thing just like you! but it's so AWKWARD and CRINGE and RIDICULOUS and STUPID sometimes right? it's so EMBARRASSING to like it, it's a GUILTY pleasure haha"

uhh no actually. I love it and express it unironically and earnestly with my whole heart and don't care what's considered embarrassing or cringe or whatever and I know I don't have to justify my love and enjoyment of it to anyone who thinks so

some people genuinely just seem so ashamed and embarrassed to like things or even just exist and it's just sad. like that was me once upon a time (socially at least, never in terms of interests ever for me, personally) but it's so far behind me now

it's unfortunate if you felt like that as a child but now is your time to own it and be yourself as you get older and realize that anyone judging you, trying to change you, and shitting on your harmless joy don't fucking matter and aren't worth your time

growing up certainly shouldn't consist of becoming more embarrassed of your harmless joy and passions. who gives a fuck if it's what sad "normal" people devoid of joy consider "cringe", you have fun and feel joy and that's great

maturing should be realizing you're a person and deserve to feel joy and do things you love and you don't need people's approval or permission to do it. that you can be earnest and honestly and love deeply and express passion as truly as you feel

you shouldn't validate anyone who tries to make you feel otherwise by doing what they want. don't let them win and think it works so they'll keep bullying and shaming people into what they want. you may just help other people too in multiple ways

I love edgy music and games and characters, I have an Eggman shrine and body pillow, I wear and carry Sonic merch in public all the time, I have a whole blog talking about how sexy I find Eggman and truly and deeply analyzing and gushing about it etc- and I'm not going to apologize or feel bad or embarrassed about it because of some miserable morons. I'm happy and proud to live and love earnestly and express myself truly

I recommend it greatly

[icepoptroll]

What's up with tumblr sending me a whole other separate notification to tell me that "people are liking my post" like yeah I know i was there

[icepoptroll]

Oh

Oh my God

That warms my heart that my presence here means so much to you!! This is the kind of thing I really needed to hear tonight, thank you so much!! Apart from your kind words this is a beautiful drawing and it's totally getting printed out and put up on my wall 🥲

Keep drawing, you already have so much distinct style here and I see promise of more!!

If youre still taking reqests, it is my civic duty to ask for Stageworks Ricky!! He's from a lesser known production but one of my favorites ever

IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT MY WHOLE LIFE 🙏

stageworks ricky for all the marvels

ummm idk how to word this but like !! ur totally my favorite rtc artist evr and ive lurked as an anon for the longest time in ur inbox and seeing u follow me back made me lose my shit in the middle of class 😭 so glad i could draw him for u !! ur art has rly inspired me to break out of my comfort zone and i feel like ive improved so much <33 hope u enjoy :3

[icepoptroll]

Working night shifts / having an unorthodox sleep schedule is wild because occasionally someone will point blank ask you “hey do you mind waking up 4 entire hours earlier than you normally do on Monday” and you just have to accept that if you consider this an unreasonable request everyone will think you’re lazy/immature/etc

[icepoptroll]

okay

I'm sorry if I sent some of the thoughtless seeming asks

I was just super excited that asks were open again and I love your art

None of it was to try and test you (if it was my asks you're talking about)

Hey ya know, you live and you learn. I appreciate that you like my art but there's a lot more where this came from, there's no need to worry about missing your chance. All I'm saying is like, all things in moderation ya dig? Sometimes I'll get a small batch with not a lot of askers and I'll ask for more, at which point yeah absolutely send a few more. I don't even mind multiple asks all that much but 10 or 11 rapid fire causes my ask box to close as soon as it opens and as a result people keep missing the boat. Remember that Ricky is a character who means something very significant to a lot of people all over the world and to account for other timezones I would like to keep my ask box open for longer than a few minutes.

[icepoptroll]

you might want to put a limit on how many Rickys people can submit at once. Because there was 1 time I sent like, 10 or 11 and now I feel guilty

Quite frankly I assumed everyone knew to self-limit how many asks they're sending. I myself have no way of knowing which anons are from which people and so it is on the anonymous askers themselves to be mindful of how many they're sending in in comparison to how big a batch generally is. There's no way for me to police that, short of not allowing any anons at all.

[icepoptroll]

hey sorry to send this to your main account but I'm really anxious and the other one has asks closed

What were the problematic Ricky requests? Not asking to be intrusive, I just sent a lot this batch and I might've accidentally sent something bad and if so I'm super sorry I did

Hi,

I was planning on logging off for the night but I caught this ask before I went to do that and I don’t want you to worry too much, so I will do my best to answer it.

I'm not really interested in publicly posting the asks in question. Nothing was like. Unforgiveably horrifically offensive. However some things came across as "I wonder if they'll do this or if they'll turn me down." I just added to my pinned post (which I suggested everyone to look at before asking) that I will draw reqs that appear to be in good faith and will turn down things that don't sit right with me. A couple of things came across as perhaps an attempt to test that. Maybe these asks were attempts at trolling. Some stuff just came across as asking for lots of stuff just to ask for it without giving me much of a premise to work with. Whether you sent them or not I don't know, they just seemed to have very little thought put into them and very little regard for what I'm trying to do here, and for the energy that I have to put into making these. To be blunt, I'm not an AI art generator that effortlessly spits out drawings in the blink of an eye. I'm a real person with genuine good intentions behind the Rickyverse project and real struggles I face outside of Tumblr. I know that I'm icepoptroll and I like to have fun and I'm known for being a bit of a goofball sometimes but I gotta be honest, I'm pretty caught off guard because the bulk of the requests I've gotten up until now were thoughtful and clearly in earnest.

To be clear, I'm not gonna rip anyone's head off over this, I just would like my Rickyverse askers to keep in mind that the more stuff you send in the smaller the window I have to keep requestd open, so please please please put some thought into your asks before you send them in, so that everyone in all timezones gets the opportunity to receive a Ricky from me

[icepoptroll]

Mmkay well I think thats enough time on tumblr dot com for tonight