#aristasia recruitment

[tellurian-in-aristasia]

Your humble editress is usually quick to say "No, of course Aristasia wasn't a cult!", usually. But sometimes, I feel as if perhaps it was a bit too close to being a cult for comfort. It definitely varied from what you normally might think of as a cult, in that they didn't really recruit, and they usually played all their weird cards first thing, right out on the table. They didn't keep their strange secrets until after you were already invested in them, they wanted everyone to know, right up front, that they were aliens in exile. But maybe not in so many words. They were, of course, very happy to cozy up to girls who shared their interest, and see who were willing to to play their game (see Operation Roriita and their Femmekin/Otherkin blogging), but once they hooked you with their weird ideas, they didn't seem to want anything from you beyond your willingness to engage in long-term life theatre with them. Of course, it's also apparently true that certain girls, with certain positions of power, have allegedly used their spiritual and social power to act out what seems like obvious kinks (viewing it from this century, with what we understand now about kinks, even if it is just a bongo Tellurian's understanding) against seemingly unwilling members of their community who apparently were willing to subject themselves to such treatment because they apparently were lead to believe it was done for spiritual reasons. Maybe it was printed in bongo tabloids, but the events certainly seemed to transpire, one way or another.

To make a long post even longer, I would like to go through many of these and speak a little about my thoughts on them.

Chanting Chanting is used within the religious aspect of Aristasia/Chelouranya, but the religious side was never particularly pushed to any real degree. Instill guilt about not living up to potential This seems to be something that comes up a bit when ex-Aristasians (particularly of the Second Life era) tell their stories, and mostly it relates to feeling guilty that they're not really living a racinated life outside of the internet. No happiness outside of group The idea that the rest of the world was in an eclipse, and the world outside of Aristasian hearths was The Pit is a big one. Almost everything about the modern world was deemed disgusting. Forbid critical questions about leader The leaders (if that is what you could call Miss Martindale and Miss Langridge) had so many different personas it was almost impossible for them to have answered any critical questions about them. It's very possible that whole people have been invented, for the purpose of deflecting questions about who really founded Aristasia. Information deliberately withheld Now this is one that doesn't seem to actually have been a thing. Aristasians seemed to play all of their strange cards right at once. They wanted you to know they were aliens. If you didn't like that, you were free to leave. When, how, and with whom you have sex dictated While Aristasians generally didn't seem to care about your relationships outside of the group, it was indeed stated that if you were to be a full, inner circle, Aristasian, you were expected to give up relationships with em-ee-en. The old Artemis zines also have a lot to say about how intimacies between women shouldn't be regarded as "sex", and that "sex" should mean gender. So there is a lot of redefining what sex even entails in Aristasia, and more importantly, what is and isn't sexual. Which has lead to some behavior that is distinctly sexual in Tellurian life being regarded as nonsexual within Aristasia. This blurring of lines between sexual and non-sexual has lead to, to put it very lightly, misunderstandings. Encourage only good and proper thoughts This seems to be largely a Chelouranya idea, but encouraging their members to always be sweet and happy was important. Some emotions deemed evil See above, and also see this old Poppitops comics. Outsider vs insider doctrines Aristasians vs the rest of the world was a central theme to their lifestyle. There were a number of names for non-Aristasians, and even different Aristasian words for mundane objects. It was generally regarded by Aristasians that there was a war on, and they were fighting for the winning side. Instill fear of outside world See above. Control information at different levels within group This is something that they didn't really practice. While there was definitely the idea of inner and outer circle Aristasians, there seemed to be no secret information that would be revealed to the inner circle. New name/identity Creating a new identity was a central core of being Aristasian. If you decided to use your Tellurian name, you were at the very least encouraged to choose if you were a Blonde or a Brunette. Many Aristasians had many different names, identities, and even sexes. Distort information to make it acceptable There was a lot of information bending within Aristasia. Reading Aristasian musings often feels like it's very obvious that they're working backwards from whatever point they're trying to make to make it fit around their world views. This ranges greatly from science denial (for there's no belief in evolution in Aristasia) to their own history revision (They only ever got involved with all that Silly Monkey stuff to make money to fund their embassies, but also what they did wasn't Silly Monkey stuff anyways, because, remember, what they did wasn't sexual) Impose buddy system This one is a little bit vague, but pairing up blondes and brunettes or forming communal households was always a priority with Aristasians.

So, while it may seem like this Bingo card has a lot of marks, I still don't necessarily think that Aristasia or Chelouranya was a cult. I think that it was potentially a very toxic community, with some toxic views, run by some girls who maybe were not suited for running a community, members were free to leave if their faith in the game wavered, were not really expected to give up anything besides aesthetics, and were not actively recruited. However, I was never part of any Aristasian circles, so perhaps I'm very wrong about this.

I would like to make special note that I'm speaking strictly of the Aristasia that later transformed into Chelouranya, and not at all about the Filianic, Madrian, or Deanic religious community, which have made much effort over the decades to distance themselves from whatever Miss Martindale and Miss Langridge were doing after about 1982.

[racinated-beauty]

I’m glad to see your blog active, thanks for an amazing resource. From what I can tell, miss martindale was involved with daughters of shining harmony and still was involved in chelouranyan-ish online activities until relatively recently? Do you know how many people were involved in it when “operation bridgehead” was happening? Would people run multiple accounts to give the appearance that there were more members than there actually were? Thanks again

After private verification, the person who contacted me seems to have done so in good faith. So, here is an outlander-focused public answer:

No, Miss Martindale (the maid/persona/character) has not been involved in the Feminine Universe for a very long time. For many reasons, she was retired from her post around the time of Operation Bridgehead. 

I do not know exactly how many people were involved in Aristasia. It is possible to find the number of members of both Heartbook and Shining World through archives, but this does not necessarily answer your question. Around when I was active, I would guess there were a core of around four to six OGs with a varying number of other participants, many of whom probably did not understand the nature of the world they were interacting with. However, this is merely an educated guess based on accounts on Tellurian social media, as well as the number of participants in Virtualia and how many appeared to be regular vs transient.

Because one of Aristasia’s unwritten rules was essentially, “never break kayfabe”, there is no way to directly count the number of Tellurians behind the maids. The only way I can think of would be to somehow count all the unique IP addresses of, say, Heartbook visitors. But, crucially, it doesn’t matter. I have already written a little about how Aristasia was welcoming but wasn’t really intended to recruit. Also, never forget that a physical trait such as the hair colour, physical aptitude, social status, or even (hypothetically) the species of a maid’s Tellurian vessel said nothing about who she was in Aristasia. Such pittish things should never be brought up, to bring them up would be most inappropriate, against the unwritten social contract. A true Aristasian maid shows herself through her conduct and propriety. She is always who she says she is, no matter what her vessel implies. To make a crude outlander joke: In Aristasia, no one knows you’re a dog. (Because you aren’t. You’re a maid.)

No, I do not believe people (read: individual players/Tellurian vessels) ran multiple accounts to give the appearance that there were more of them than there actually were. A Tellurian form is imperfect, full of contradictions and contrasts, whereas Aristasians are intended to be purer, more refined in their nature and purpose.  Thus, a Tellurian vessel may hold several Aristasian souls of various natures. The Blue Camellia Club, Heartbook, Shining World, and other platforms were open to new participants, but they were NOT intended as simple public-facing spaces. A single vessel with multiple personae was not attempting to give outlanders any sort of impression; rather, they were allowing the many maids within them to manifest and interact freely and joyfully with other maids.  

If you need a Tellurian analogue, Aristasia’s many websites and forums can be seen as attempts to build multi-channel semi-private platforms where they could worldbuild, roleplay and relax in-character with friends and where their conversations would not be as ephemeral as in something like an IRC channel. They were basically trying to invent the modern discord platform, and having more characters = more fun.

Since this blog is not a truly Aristasian space, let me go further into this outlander-friendly metaphor: Imagine you’ve joined a fully in-character online roleplay group where you are allowed to play different characters as long as each has her own account. You may make several accounts to try different parts of the game, to play with different groups of friends, to explore different sides of yourself, to explore someone unlike you out of curiosity, to fill a niche you see the game lacks. But on you have no reason to do it to inflate numbers. Your reasons are internal to the game and its functioning/meta.  

In my own case, I frequently attend a LARP where players are allowed to have multiple characters. I currently have a noblewoman I play as a double act with my partner, a bodyguard I play more rarely with a group of five friends, a duelist I play solo to improve my combat technique, a few recurring NPCs I am willing to play whenever they are required for the plot (some of whom may be played by others if I am busy), and I often take a turn “crewing”, where I play multiple short-term NPC roles for the benefit of other players. Some roles are personal, some roles are necessary for the game’s culture, but inflating numbers does not touch the reasons why I play so many characters.

I do not think Aristasia is quite as simple and straightforward as I have described, but I hope this metaphor is helpful. Forgive me for not answering from a directly Deanic/Filianic frame, but I needed to be able to bridge the gap between Aristasia and Telluria as clearly as possible. 

Here are some relevant pages, quite old ones from when Aristasians were more willing to step out from behind the curtain: Life Theatre  A History of Elektraspace (pre-dating Heartbook) Discussion Paper on Life Theatre within Elektraspace (The closest thing I’ve seen to what the British LARP community often calls a “manifesto”.)

Prior to verification, this post read:

Rayati. Thank you for your interest in my blog. Are you the same anon I was speaking to earlier, or someone else? I ask because the type of questions you are asking and the way you have worded them raise red flags in my suspicious mind. Please forgive this melini her natural drive towards order, harmony and propriety. I do not wish to treat another with suspicion, but at times, such a reaction is inevitable in the face of a hostile, vikhelic world. The exact things which have set me on edge are:

While you have not actually worded it as a question, you seem to inquire about a particular Aristasian ambassador from many years ago. Do you simply wish to know if Miss Martindale is still involved in the Feminine Universe, or is there actually a different question you are trying to ask here? Think through this one carefully.

You are concerned about numbers. I am curious what this information would tell you. Why does this matter to you? What do you want to know by asking this?

Your wording, "to give the appearance" seems to imply the belief that Aristasians-in-Telluria around the time of Operation Bridgehead behaved in a particular way with the express intention of projecting a certain image to outlanders. That implication seems to reveal a fundamental misunderstanding as to the reasons for Aristasia's existence and form at the time, one I have often seen repeated. This especially sets me on edge as to your motives. If you have read my post about the "Mushrooms", you may understand why I feel this way.

I list these things not to accuse you of anything nefarious but to be very clear about my concerns. I am always willing to answer questions as long as someone is asking in good faith. However, I keep track of the discussions that happen all over the internet, and I know that there has been some sensationalist discourse whizzing around recently. And so, many concerning scenarios fly through my head. I ask myself, "Is this esteemed anon asking these questions in order to compile a salacious exposure document framing something fairly mundane as sinister? A dramatic post shared to mock a person or group for their harmless eccentricity? A YouTube video to entertain the gawking masses, or something like that? If I answer this maid's questions, will I empower her to give another grief or trouble? Will become accessory to the shaming and harassment of a person or group?"

To be clear, I bear neither ill will nor hostility towards you. Curiosity can be a beautiful thing, and I do not wish to make you feel unwelcome. I do not wish to hide anything. Rather, I am here to share what I know! My concerns are merely strong based on recent events. I would truly love to provide lengthy and nuanced answers to your questions, but I neither want to say anything that might hurt another nor wish to waste my time on someone who has come to me in bad faith.

If you still wish me to answer, please send me another message. Due to my heightened concerns, I request that you either message me off anon or provide an in-depth explanation of your intentions. (Which I am happy to keep private if you prefer.) If what you say makes sense, I will take the time to answer your questions as fully as I can. If you cannot placate my concerns, I will edit this reply with the simplest answers possible. Either way, if you send me another ask, you will still receive answers!

I hope to hear from you soon.

[tellurian-in-aristasia]

I know I've said Aristasians don't recruit, and other people have said Aristasians don't recruit. But let's be real, they do recruit. In their own way. Aristasians would put their ideas out there, barely disguised that they're Aristasian, but repackage them in different ways. In a way, they had been doing this since the early days of the Rhennish. But, they don't just take anyone who bites, these seem to be very strategic attempts at picking out the 1% of the 1% who are suitable for playing their game. In 2007 they went fishing for Otherkin. They even managed to snag themselves the URL otherkin.wordpress.com, making web searches at the time point right to them. They called themselves Femmekin, and presented intrigued Otherkins with the fairly standard Aristasian faire of Blondes and Brunettes and alien planets. Their otherkin blog has only a few entries, but many comments in varying degrees of enthusiasm, which the Aristasians frequently interacted with. Their sidebar linked both their Aristasian wordpress as well as their Mother-God blog, making it no secret that these Femmekin were associated with Aristasia. I do not know if they just expected interested Otherkin to naturally make their way to their Aristasian Embassy (which I believe was largely in Virtualia in Second Life at the time), or if they cherry picked commenters for a more personal correspondence and invite. Although, giving the remaining comments a skim, this was probably slim pickin's for the Aristasians. It's unclear exactly who ran this blog, because they didn't use their usual nom de plumes, and instead went with usernames such as "Femmekin Sisterhood". But, as with all things Aristasian, it was probably Mary and Sushuri, as one of the articles makes a reference to "talking to a friend ... who always wore angel wings on their avatars", and this is clearly a reference to Sushuri's Second Life bewinged avatar.

[tellurian-in-aristasia]

A post from the B&B Club. Some people have said that the Aristasians never evangelized or recruited, but they definitely did a fair amount of recruitment in their day. I wonder if this cat-whisperer was ever formally introduced to Aristasia, and how she felt about it. It's one thing to invite people into your vintage fashion friend group for pit-crit time, but it's quite another to spring the idea of Aristasia Pura, intermorphs, and a spanking based society on the poor girl.