#this is why communication is important people

[harmomay]

LADS MEN with an autistic s/o!!

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

xavier, zayne, rafayel & sylus

Suprisingly knows a lot about it! Goes as far as to be aware of the whole ‘masking’ process.

Generally speaking, he’s a free weighted blanket. Will go out of his way to make sure he’s wearing clothing without that texture when cuddling. 

His whole home is pretty much an autism safe space already. No overhead lighting. Everywhere is soft and quiet. 

Not being the most expressive man out there, he definitely empathises and understands if you do the same thing. Especially if going nonverbal/are overwhelmed. Will print out a bunch of those communication cards, might even use some of them himself.

Sometimes is taken aback by sudden moments of hyperfocus, silently observing with interest as your attention span for this one thing is seemingly unbreakable.

Personally prefers the straight-to-the-point conversations. 

If you get tired a lot, especially from socialisation, he will definitely encourage nap times after work.

Immediately asks what he can do to support you. As a doctor, he’s very much used to the medical approach and may be more focused on how it negatively impairs your life. Though, he’s quick to change his perspective.

The more he does independent research as well as the input from you, the more he resonates with a lot of the traits. Personally, I see a lot of autistic traits such as social awkwardness, hyperfixations etc. (though important to acknowledge there are social factors as to why he’s so ‘cold’) in him and let’s be real- he’s probably at one point been told by someone he’s autistic. Hadn’t really looked into it until you came along.

Personally I think that Zayne is such a good doctor in the story is because he empathises with his patients on a much deeper level, but isn’t really good at expressing it externally (hence the ‘coldness’)- something which i’ve found through experience seems to correlate with a lot of autistic peoples’ experiences

He probably knows a few good pediatricians, occupational therapists and asks for recommendations regarding accommodations for you. Your experiences also encourage him to bring more awareness to sensory-friendly spaces within the hospital for patients.

Will get butterflies in his stomach listening to you infodump about your latest fixation, noting the way your eyes have that light in them and you speak with such passion about it. 

“Hey, I’M the one who’s artistic!”

Completely misinterprets it at first, but immediately realises his mistake once you repeated yourself. Being in the art space, he’s come across a few artists who had communicated about their experience within their work. Even with his limited knowledge, he’s eager to find out more. Maybe even be an inspiration for another piece. Referring to overstimulation as a tsunami makes him understand it better. Talk to him about autism in fishy terms please.

If there’s a certain texture you like, he’d incorporate it into his pieces upon the pretense of ‘being innovative’ within his art. 

Prepares an allocated room for your sensory accommodations. If you need white noise, the beach waves are just an added bonus. 

If you tend to speak in a blunt/matter-of-fact manner, he finds it very endearing and easier to tease you. Though, it can take him off guard sometimes depending on what you say.

Unconsciously picks up some of your stims. If you flap your hands around as a stim, he WILL call you a fish. Might also ask if you’re doing a mating ritual. Though, only if he’s sure that you’re in a mood for his comments.

Changes some of the ways he communicates to you so it’s more straight-forward/doesn’t rely on social cues.

You had best believe that this man would immediately provide a room in his base specifically catered toward your sensory needs. Essentially, it’s a personalised panic room. Here are the requirements he gave Luke and Kieran to organise:

A/C and Heating are completely adjustable

Dim/Gentle lighting

Couches, Beds, Beanbags

Weighted Blankets, Plushies

Soundproof Panelling

Shelves to store items regarding special interests

ALWAYS HAVE ADDITIONAL SET OF HEADPHONES!

Drawers for fidgets.

The twins, although their lore is quite limited, feel to me like they have ADHD. Otherwise, Sylus has a little bit of knowledge regarding some traits as they often overlap. Nonetheless, he will happily listen and have Mephisto take notes.

Finds the different thinking process a very valuable tool in his field of work. Sometimes you’d pick up on some random detail that not even Mephisto could recognise and he’d just smile to himself.

He empathises a lot with being the target of social outcasting, and if it does occur to you his heart will practically shatter. Resonates with you on a deeper level.

[twopoppies]

i really appreciate the way you answer questions about larry history. it’s so important that these stories aren’t lost.

but i did want to take issue with one part of the fimq story. ellie’s videos were great, but the one that caused antis to come for her did cross several lines from my pov. she used footage of actual holocaust victims wearing the pink triangle.

she didn’t apologize and she took her own videos private. i think it’s important we tell the whole story https://fanlore.org/wiki/Freddieismyqueen

Hi, love. She used those clips as part of a video called Louis the Brave in order to connect Louis' triangle tattoo to its context (the pink triangle used to label homosexuals during the Holocaust. It's long been a reclaimed symbol for the gay community). IMO, there was nothing to apologize for, and that is the whole story.

There are a huge number of extremely uneducated and volatile people in this fandom who will jump on literally anything without taking a minute to breathe and proclaim it "problematic." To think that she was saying Louis' situation compares to someone imprisoned during the Holocaust is just the height of stupidity.

Antis hated her. And they jumped on the first thing they could that gave them a little traction (see previous: unedicated and volatile). They whipped people into a frenzy about absolutely nothing. Maybe it was shocking to someone to see that clip. But art is sometimes shocking. And you'd be surprised how people have no idea why the triangle is so meaningful to queer people. What I remember is people feeling morally outraged by something that they fundamentally didn't understand and then, as per usual, they got really loud about it.

Here are some comments worth reading (as opposed to the fandom wiki you link to, which, in my experience, is HEAVILY biased against larries):

This This This (as an example of the bullshit lies antis spread)

I'd watch the video in question before making assumptions. And if you feel offended, that's okay. That's your right. But Ellie also had the right to make her art. And absolutely NO ONE had the right to threaten and scare her so badly that she left the fandom. Even if they wanted an apology for something.

[muzetrigger]

Pluto and “The Black Cat”

I guess it takes a community event for me to actually write out that Pluto post I've been planning for *checks notes* 2 months.

So, let's talk about Pluto (finally)!

By the way, spoilers, so if you're not into that:

We're first introduced to Pluto during the Maze arc, where he's unceremoniously dumped on Duke and Lenore by the Posh Crew, which also includes his roommate Prospero.

At first, it's easy to write Pluto off as kind of an emo soft boi. And in fact, Duke even tries to ditch him during the Acrophobia Trial.

It's not hard to see why. Aesthetically, Pluto has a much darker presentation than the rest of the cast which gives him the impression of a gloomy introvert that won't really contribute anything to the team. He wears a grey turtleneck instead of a white dress shirt marks him as a visual outcast; his slouching posture projects a lack of confidence; and his eye covering bangs actually do a lot of work to make him appear less communicative (windows to the soul, right?).

On top of that, Pluto's pretty small, a trait emphasized by his overly large jacket, which unlike other students, doesn't seem to be tailored to him, and his prickly personality don't earn him any teamwork points. I mean, just look at him:

The point being, Pluto isn't exactly the image of confidence that Duke and Lenore need to help muscle through the maze.

That being said, like most great characters, Pluto almost immediately shows he has a lot more going for him than first impressions.

One thing that readers might have noticed is that because Pluto is pretty small and unassuming, he's great at sneaking around.

But since it's mostly played as a gag many people might have also missed this detail right after:

Pluto stepping on a branch isn't mindbogglingly important, but it does speak to his character in a really touching way. He immediately recognizes that his silence upsets Duke and Lenore and goes out of his way to make noise so they aren't startled by him, even though they really haven't been the nicest to him.

It's a small detail, but it shows that right from the beginning, Pluto is someone who cares about other people, which is further reinforced when he tries to break up Duke and Lenore during Duke's inconceived attempt to awaken Lenore's spectre:

The maze also highlights a few of Pluto's other positive traits. For example, he's surprisingly interested in etymology (what a dork; I love him), which gives Red an easy way to explain the Greek/Latin roots to the readers while also playing up Pluto's allusion to the Roman god. It also indicates that Pluto is fairly book smart, which is directly contrasted by Duke's street smarts in the Chronophobia trial and Lenore's... instinct? Let's call it intuition.

We also get a bit of foreshadowing for Pluto's spectre. One, he's actually pretty dextrous on a tightrope, and two, he can't swim, both of which are traits stereotypically associated with cats.

Speaking of which, Pluto's spectre:

According to Poppet, Pluto is a Crytid, a type of Spectre that manifests when someone had a deep-seated desire to escape social constraints, but somewhat paradoxically, Pluto is a cat, a domesticated creature.

I'm going to take a small aside to say that cats really aren't that domesticated. I mean yes, who doesn't love tea cup kittens, but cats can return to the wild and they still share most of their genetic code and evolutionary instincts with their untamed counterparts, which can't really be said about dogs.

Okay, back to Nevermore, except I lied, we're actually going back to 1845 when Edgar Allan Poe published "The Black Cat".

If you didn't know (but you probably did. After all, you're reading a Nevermore character analysis), almost every Nevermore character is based on one or more works by EAP. (You can check out their main inspirations in this other post.)

And Pluto's story is "The Black Cat". It isn't one of Poe's most famous works, so you could be forgiven for not knowing about it, but if you have read it, you probably immediately recognized its influence on Pluto.

First, a brief overview of the story: (CW: animal abuse)

Like most Poe short stories, "The Black Cat" is narrated by an insane murderer (that's a tad hyperbolic, but you get the point). Unlike other narrators though, this narrator actually started out somewhat decent.

You see, the narrator used to be a loving husband to a woman that he married early in life. Both of them loved animals, so over the years, they cared for a lot of pets together, including "birds, gold-fish, a fine dog, rabbits, a small monkey, and a cat."

This cat is, of course, the titular Black Cat and his name is Pluto. He's also described as being the narrator's "favorite pet and playmate."

Unfortunately, the narrator is also an alcoholic, and his addiction gradually turns him from a loving and sensitive man into a violent mess. He's able to stave off his alcohol fueled abuse from Pluto for several years, but eventually, Pluto ticks him off and he grabs the cat and purposefully cuts out one of its eyes with a penknife.

Understandably, Pluto (the cat) does not take kindly to this, and for the rest of its life tries to avoid the narrator, which the narrator takes surprisingly well.

At first.

Eventually, his alcoholism catches up with him and he decides that, for literally "no other reason than because he knows he should not" decides to hang the cat.

So, there are a ton of references to the short story in Nevermore. Pluto's dad is a physically abusive drunk who cuts out Pluto's eye, Pluto's name and spectre are inspired by the Black Cat, and the way Pluto unlocks his spectre mirrors how the narrator hangs his pet.

But there are arguably lot more allusions from the rest of the story. You see right after the narrator kills Pluto, his house burns down and there are two characters in Nevermore who are associated with fire:

Lenore and Monty, both of whom have a pretty interesting relationship with Pluto, especially when you line them up with Pluto's short story.

If you associate the narrator's house burning down as karmic retribution, then Lenore is a natural pick. After all, she not only burns down her estate, her presence in Pluto's (after)life is arguably what causes him to start standing up for himself more, and at the very least, her leadership is what gets him through maze for a shot at the second life which dovetails nicely with the fallout of the narrator's house burning.

You see, the narrator doesn't perish along with his material possessions, but one wall of his house also survives, and burned into that wall is the image of a hanging cat, a reminder of his sins.

Soon after, the narrator, still drowning his sorrows and guilt at bars, happens upon a second cat who is "fully as large as Pluto, and closely resembling him in every aspect but one." It's even missing an eye. The only thing that separates it from Pluto is a patch of white hair on its chest.

Now the concept of doubling is one of Poe's hallmarks, and it's mirrored wonderfully in Nevermore by the students' past lives and their current unlife as students, or alternatively, their human form and their spectre form, but it's also symbolically present for Pluto because by leading him out of the maze, Lenore also leads Pluto on the path to a second life in addition to inspiring him to be more confident, which is arguably the difference between his past and current self.

Based on Pluto's memories, it doesn't seem like his father thought of him as a "man" and given his character introduction, Pluto was a meek person. But after meeting Lenore and befriending Duke, Pluto does this:

One, it's hilarious that Pluto is talking about taking eyes, but two, Pluto is fully ready to kill Monty here and that leads me to part two of the fire.

Monty is a self destructive individual. He purposefully instigates fights, loves to stir up trouble for no reason, and suffers from trauma that arguably isn't his fault (not to say that dealing with that trauma isn't his responsibility).

In some ways, he's haunted by his religious upbringing as much as the narrator of "The Black Cat" is by his alcoholism. Both are aware of how much it ruins their lives, but they can't help leaning into those violent tendencies. The narrator even calls his alcoholism a "fiend".

And, they both wall up someone they're rooming with.

Because, there's even more to the new black cat than driving the narrator insane. In fact, the narrator goes as far as murdering his wife while attempting to kill the new Pluto (I can't believe she stuck around, the poor woman).

And like any Poe narrator worth his salt, "The Black Cat" narrator decides to hide the body by walling her up in a false chimney. This comes with the added benefit of scaring the new black cat away so the narrator can finally enjoy some piece and quiet.

Only it turns out this is a lie. Just like Monty narrowly avoiding Pluto's gunshot, the Black Cat's absence turns out to be the narrator's undoing because the narrator accidently walled up the cat with his wife's corpse, and it's the cat's screeching that ultimately unmasks his crimes.

Similarly, it's Pluto's belief in Duke that activates Duke's spectre, "freeing a corpse" and leading to the much needed string of chapters where everyone dunks on Monty. (Thank you, Pluto.)

I think it's really neat that Red managed to blend multiple Poe stories into a new plot thread, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what she and Flynn have in store with Pluto because even though his inspiration story has been pretty much fully acted out, most of spectre abilities really haven't been explored.

For instance, while "unlucky" is a general description of black cats, Pluto's presence has actually been a major boon for the misfits, saving Duke, explaining the thalassophobia trial in the maze, guiding Lenore and Duke through Acrophobia, and also warning Lenore and defending her during the Manor arc. Maybe it's bad luck for his enemies or straight up luck manipulation?

"Blink" could be a reference to Pluto's dash attack, but Pluto also has an uncanny ability to disappear from people's perception as demonstrated during the maze and to a lesser extent when he hides from Eulalie in the forbidden wing.

For those of us into TTRPGs, blink is also sometimes used to refer to teleporting or the DnD spell of the same name with causes the caster to fade in and out of existence!

And finally, "evil eye" is a very intriguing ability. While it could just be a reference to Pluto's missing/remaining eye, as @takescrackseriously and other readers have pointed out, it could also be a reference to Poe's "Telltale Heart" maybe having the ability to drive victims mad, like Pluto's namesake (er, reincarnation?) does in "The Black Cat".

That brings up another question, which is why is Pluto still missing his eye? Lenore was also seriously injured in life, but she isn't crippled like she was post-Theo as a student. What injuries get to be healed and which remain in Nevermore?

I'm interested to see if, like Will's freaky blood wax clones, spectres' powers can develop and how far they can develop. After all, Pluto's power set seems fairly basic, and while I love underdogs (undercats?), ostensibly there's some kind of balancing system that makes traits like "blink" and "teeth" keep up with monsters like "fear itself" and "divine light".

Okay, maybe not given the ruthless nature of the academy and the Raven's comments, but narratively that can feel a bit unsatisfying, y'know? Because it would be such a waste for Pluto's development to stall here despite the amazing amount of progress he's already made.

Plus, aesthetically, I'm willing to bet Flynn is going to incorporate more white into Pluto's character design, because a considerable amount of detail focuses on this one difference between Pluto and the new cat in the short story. In fact, it seems to be one of the factors in the narrator's full descent into madness because he starts seeing the cat's white patch as morphing into the image of a noose.

And to close out this really lengthy post on a bright note, have some terrified Pluto:

What a cutie. We must protect him at all costs.

By the way, if you enjoyed my rambling, here are links to similar theory/analysis posts talking about Ada and Annabel!

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

hello. i find myself rather exploring this whump territory and thinking of writing one. can i ask for some advice or tips? or maybe some whump vocabulary for my knowledge? what is a whumpee, whumper, etc?

tq :)

I’ve explained what whump is and what the terms whumpee, whumper, caretaker mean here

HOW TO START WRITING WHUMP

reading or watching media with whump material can help you find what type of whump you’re into: medical whump (whump that takes place in a hospital settings), medical whump (whump that focuses on medical procedures), fantasy whump, medieval whump, team whump, etc.

it’s always okay to set your own limits and boundaries. you can be into whump and still be uncomfortable with some specific types of whump, and that’s okay. most people in whump community have their own Squick (things that trigger them / things they would rather avoid).

that’s why it’s important to always tag your trigger warnings while posting your content. for instance, if your fic involves blood and gore, please also tag blood and gore accordingly, so people who are triggered by this won’t accidentally be exposed to it. (in other words, tagging it as whump alone won’t help people who are triggered by blood and gore avoid the fic, because whump is too broad a term.)

also, don’t censor words. you can say rape, sex, cock, fuck, murder, kill, etc. because censoring words actually make it harder for people to avoid topics they want to avoid. for example, by censoring the word rape and replacing it with r*pe, your content will no longer be hidden from those who have the word rape muted or filtered out.

as long as you tag all your warnings properly, you can be as brutal, as insane, as violent, as bloody, as disgusting as you want!!

BONUS

(not necessarily how to write whump fics but just the etiquette of whump community in general)

whump can either be sexual or non-sexual. some people enjoy whump for kinky reasons. some seek whump as a way to cope with their trauma and heal from it. some just like whump because they like seeing their favorite fictional characters in pain. and the list goes on. the thing is that everybody is valid. whump community is a place where we don’t judge others.

don’t like don’t read is very important while in whump community; if we don’t like something — if we see from the content warnings that this fic contains our Squick — we simply don’t read it. but we don’t judge or shame others, doesn’t matter how “morally messed up” the fic is.

[fatliberation]

being an open fat fetishist whilst also being a fat liberationist is so hard because i worry it makes people think I’m biased. am i the only one?

that was one of my biggest fears for years! I have a very large following, and the majority of people stuck with me because I was genuine to myself, and many folks even changed their minds about f33dists. I did lose a bit of support from the normie crowd, but I gained so much support from the f33dist community, and that made everything even more worthwhile to me. I still get the occasional comment saying “this is just a f3tish for you” to which I respond, okay… I’m also into queer guys, does that make my lgbtq activism just a f3tish too? just remind yourself how ridiculous people sound when they try to discredit you. fat liberation is important no matter who is doing the work. your openness about fat admiration/f33dism will help so many others see that they are normal and that they add value to this community, not the opposite.

you don’t need to explain yourself, but if it helps, you can point folks towards this overview so they can educate themselves on why we’re… *checks notes* not evil.

[icyculturekingdompanda9989]

The death threats ("you should solve your "still alive" situation as soon as possible", "#but that's my favorite character/series!" die in a fire motherfucker", "#HP consumers need to fucking die torturously slow immediately now", "Actually I belive that as a community we should run over all Harry Potter fans. This is a serious political belief of mine. We must kill ALL Harry Potter fans. With busses") aren't helping, either.

Also, sed1ment, why you leave these in the tags?

#going in the woods to read harry potter like a witch practicing black magic #I think jkr gets enough publicity from her own actions #I don't think Deborah who works as a second grade teacher buying her books from a flea market really impacts anything #like I swear to y'all we have bigger fish to fry than arguing over the morality of reading harry potter #like yes jkr is bad and you shouldn't support her but like shes also rich and is not going to go brokebecause you aren't reading her books #like if you boycott her stuff because you don't support her actions and don't want to feel like you areaiding her very good for you #however yelling at people online for not doing the same ultimately achieves nothing but making you angry and tired #fuck jkr tho #just to make that clear #I don't really give a shit about Deborah tho

And you, jenndoesnotcare same question?

#one of the most interesting things about Harry Potter #is that it is so ubiquitous and so many people know the stories #and have fond childhood memories of them #that sometimes I have a real moment of having to decide #(as a person who deeply loved the texts andengaged with them in both study and enjoyment for years) #how much do I ruin their childhood? #so I really like parking all my assumptions at the doorand asking: #what did you love about these books #the answer is invariably related to how those storiesmade people FEEL #sometimes it's rooted in nostalgia #and sometimes it's about how being a kid is such a powerless and terrible time and you have so little autonomy #that we all want to believe we're important and cancontribute #so many people who aren't terminally online just...genuinely do not know that jk rowling is a terrible transphobe #they read the books as kids and then grew up and had kids and wanted to share that #or they're much older and remember that it was a Big Deal #and so get it for grandkids or niblings or whatever #there is so little MALICE in it #so I tend to believe people don't know the full extentof jk's terrible personal politics and her awful reach #and I do my best to gently redirect parents and grands toward Diana Wynne Jones or Susan Cooper #(other amazing British writers who write magical questing middle grade fiction) #and I don't immediately judge people who have that tender and distant fog of nostalgia #because probably? they don't know. #I do know #but that doesn't mean I get to go around thinking people who aren't terminally online are just terrible people #like. people in the world literally do not know! theydon't know!!! how awful she is!!! #oh! some of my favorite answers from the question of what did you love about it: #it made me feel safe and cosy' #they got to have adventures' #'my mom and I read it together' #tl;dr: people are mostly good and probably more ignorant than malicious

Well, as long as you're not forcing those other books/authors...

Oh yeah, to reiterate a point fortunes-haven made and why I reblogged from them specifically:

I don't like being preached to about morality, even regarding a cause I agree with and an action I'll be taking anyway (I haven't had interest in anything Harry Potter in well over a decade). So if this thread gets that response from me, I don't think it's going to be effective with anyone else either except similarly devout members of the consumerism-as-activism choir. And it will likely turn off people who might otherwise have been convinced.

to summarize: you have the moral backbone of a flatworm if your response every time harry potter comes up is to make it about your inability to give up a book

[incorrectmahabharatquotes]

I see so many hindutva wadis arguing that caste system is a foreign concept and hinduism only had the varna system. As if the varna system was fair? Also isn't caste derived from the varna system? Like brahmins and Kshatriyas became upper castes, vaishyas became obc and shudra were dalits?

I had the impression that the caste system was the documentation of people who already belonged to the varna system. Do correct me if I'm wrong.

It's a little more complicated than that. Currently, we live under the jaati(or jāti) system broadly speaking. When people talk about the caste system in modern India, it is this system superimposed on the varna system that they are referring to. Functionally, the caste system now is a hybrid of the two systems.

The Varna system and the Jaati System are both systems of social hierarchy.

As everyone is already aware, under the varna system, the society is divided into four categories(i.e. brahmins, kshatriyas, vaishyas and shudras) which are hierarchical in nature and mentioned in the various ancient religious texts. Crucially important to this system is the existence of a fifth category, the untouchables(I assume you're already aware of the practice of untouchability) and the outsiders(often termed as "mlechhas", which is now a derogatory xenophobic{and casteist!} slur coming back into popular use thanks to the resurgence of regressive ideas under hindutva politics). These are important to mention because the marginalization of these people was based on them being an out-group i.e. not part of the varna system. People claim the varnas were mutable based on a handful of examples in said texts but I would like to point out that those examples are said to be exceptions rather than the rule.

The Jaati System would be more familiar to you in terms of lived experience. Under this system, society is divided into socio-ethnic endogamous groups or communities and each of the groups have different socio-economic standing in society. The practice of endogamy(marriage limited to within a social group) is important to this system as there is emphasis on one's birth. This is why people say that intermarriage is the most significant step towards dismantling the entire system, but I digress. Prior to the colonization of India, these groups worked on a purely social basis of privilege and exclusion. Villages and cities were(and still are!) segregated based on these jatis. One's occupation was defined by their birth as long as they lived in their specific society.

I would like to emphasize that this system existed and thrived even before the colonisers ever came knocking on the subcontinent's doors. We can find mentions of the system in the historical accounts of both people of the subcontinent and travellers from outside. A study of people's DNA by some scholars claims that the endogamous groups can be traced back to as far as the Gupta Empire(mid 3rd century to mid 6th century CE).

The assertion that the caste system is a purely colonial fabrication is absurd. People point to the term "caste" as being of foreign origin but the term "jaati" already existed and was in use. "Caste" is just another way of referring to jaatis.

Now on to some legitimacy hidden in the nonsensical claims, in the 1901 census of the subcontinent, the British bureaucracy fit the various jatis under the broad classification of the four varnas. It was not a clean fit, leaving many in an awkward position of having been classified wrongly. This is their fault. Not the construction of the system but rather the wrongful categorisation of it.

Officially, there are over 3,000 castes and 25,000 sub-castes in India. Take these numbers with a grain of salt because there are many unregistered castes and sub-castes to this day fighting their own battles of legal recognition.

The castes do not cleanly map onto the varnas. There are many castes who are in the upper strata of the hierarchy in one region and the lower strata in different regions. The system is incredibly nuanced and complex and our current legal systems have not caught up to the sophistication required to deal with it because of the people in power's adamant insistence of ignoring the system simply because they profit off of the oppression of others.

I don't want to add to the miscategorization but I feel like I should correct you on the fact that broadly speaking shudras are classified more under OBCs. (Please keep in mind that this not a clear category and there can be some castes who are said to be shudra who can be other categories as well.) There's much to be said about that because there's no distinction made between the land owner castes and the landless castes. And no, the creamy layer is not a good marker either.

There are some castes(1,108 of them to be exact) who were listed as scheduled castes(SC) in the Constitution of India for affirmative action. This was done to socially reform the country and help those in the marginalized sections of society to gain social mobility. The hope was to remove caste discrimination. As we know, it wasn't successful because caste discrimination still exists and caste based violence is on the rise again.

The term dalit is a contemporary word for the untouchable castes who were and are subjected to despicable discrimination in society.

The reason that I say that we now function under a hybrid of the two systems is that the superimposition of the varna system over the jaati system has been accepted and in many cases, embraced by the people now. You will find many a "upper caste" people proudly flaunting their Brahmin or kshatriya identities. The varna system is now interlinked with the jaati or the caste system whether we like it or not.

The system is complicated and fucked. We should get rid of it, guys. And with your help, you can make that dream a reality.

-Mod S

[sunshinereani]

The Jester and his Lore

✨ First of all, this is long. I highly recommend watching Owen’s stream – it’s very detailed. Title "My last stream - Discussing The Realm Lore!". Timestamp roughly 00:57:00.

✨ Secondly, he flipped a lot between CC!Owen talk and TR!Owen talk. I will try my best to make that clear by referring to TR!Owen as The Jester, CC!Owen as Owen.

✨ Finally, important to note here that part way through Owen said if you take nothing else from the stream, take this: Why do people care about The Realm so much? Tubbo has let the conflict stem from the cast, rather than there being an outside force pushing in. The admins are good, but that’s not what the community talk about. The admins help to move the story along. Because no one runs anything by anyone else, it’s not a lore server but rather reality tv.

People care because it’s real and that sucks because when the community is toxic – it’s the CC!s feelings that are being spoken about, not anyone’s writing. Purgatory, for example, pulled the numbers it did because it was real. The Realm has facilitated deserved growth for CC!s but there needs to be checks in place. Owen is leaving for real-life reasons and because his story has finished, nothing else. The admins help to facilitate a healthy environment by having OOC events, such as April Fools.

✨ On to the lore:

The Jester is not immortal. He ages regularly and is called in to entertain over an extended time as monarchies take time to form.

 He started as a regular Jester and experienced what a corrupt monarchy could do, until he killed the whole court.

He’s never killed a queen before, only because he’s never come across one before.

His promo video is the original kingdom, and the hand holding the cup at the end is the original king.

[take this with a pinch of salt] The lore as The Jester understands it is that The Realm is a pocket that people are pulled into. It’s a loop in that when you die, or try to leave, you just get sent straight back.

The Jester didn’t know The King is immortal, but he suspected.

The Jester doesn’t know the names of The Keepers, that was a bluff. He does know Stultus, but not by that name, that’s the deity that puts him into stasis until he’s needed. However, he has told Stultus that he doesn’t want to return to The Realm specifically.

The Jester was never a physical threat to anyone, he’s intentionally a psychological villain. It’s a massive game of chess to him.

The issue is that for there to be a villain, there must be conflict. For there to be conflict there must be a character flaw. The most seen character flaw is lack of communication, but if communication happens, there’s no story.

The Characters need to stop communicating everything that happens, it undermines the conflict. Every plot hook that The Jester set up was resolved quickly (obviously no hate at all to the CC!s).

!Ros being kicked from the kingdom should’ve been a longer plot thread. Questions asked here are why was Owen not informed of any decisions happening around his character being killed, why are the characters communicating so openly if they want conflict. After this happened, every plot point Owen did was cleared with CCs before it happened.

The spy element: Foolish is thought to be playing a character that can pull strings and please people but that’s Foolish the CC recognising that Owen is building to something, this is why he let The Jester become a spy.

The Jester’s goal has always been to get The King in a room and kill him. The original plan was to build a theatre and drop dripstone on him, but after the !Clown !Pili fight it was clear that the cast are paranoid and would’ve found traps easily.

The Jester was perhaps hated more than he should’ve been as, really, the only things he did were: be mean to !Ros twice, said everyone was peasants, and kill !Krow in the name of the king.

!Bekyamon has true jester privilege – she writes the paper and is very messy but no one is bothered by that because she’s done an amazing job of building her character and he’s very glad she gets away with it.

It would’ve been insane (in a good way) if The King had let The Jester off and not kicked him out of yellow after he said it’s just a lark.

After !Ros had made The Jester apologise to !Aimsey, there was a monologue planned where The Jester was going to tell !Aimsey that he’s very much not sorry and would rip !Aimsey and !Ros apart, purely for the fun of it.

The Jester could’ve killed Coursfire quicker, he did it by slitting his throat whilst brushing his hair. He continued to brush his hair after that. Quicksilver lore is left open on purpose, but he was the oldest and longest reigning monarch in The Jester’s story.

The Jester killed The King in the manner he did because he’s a performer. It’s all a show for Stultus, it’s a chapter in the axe he’s writing.

Owen saw Foolish on the cast list and thought “The King of Fools”. He made the cinematic, introduced himself to Foolish as The Jester. Foolish then declares himself king. The perfect setup and execution. Owen didn’t know Foolish likes to be king everywhere he goes.

!Clownpierce was a day 1 op. There can only be one jester.

The Jester will never show his full face and is inspired by the jester from Darkest Dungeons.

The Jester gave his hat to Lukey, because CC!Lukey is what got Owen to come back to The Realm, so why not give it to him.

In an alternate timeline that was too main character, war arc would’ve ended in one of two ways, both with yellow dissolved – The Jester goes to The King after !Ros’ death, find the confession book and says !Ros is a spy. Yellow have a meeting where the book is presented, !Ros says no, I didn’t write that but !Sneeg and !Zam say she’s betrayed them. !Ros is kicked from yellow and escorted out by !Sneeg and !Zam leaving The Jester and The King in the room. The Jester would’ve killed the king and then inevitably been reset. !Sneeg and !Zam would apologise to !Ros but she’s set on staying out of yellow. Because there’s no king in yellow, it would be dissolved to purple.

Alternatively: !Sneeg and !Zam believe that !Ros didn’t write the book but The King doesn’t. !Ros, !Sneeg and !Zam decide to leave the kingdom, still leaving The Jester and The King in a room alone, The King still dies. The Jester would’ve then asked to be removed from yellow, leaving the faction empty. Yellow dissolving leaves a power vacuum that blue or orange could fill. (Neither of these would’ve ever happened, but they would’ve been cool).

The Yellow Green conflict needs a resolution, The Jester wanted to facilitate that but not main character it.

The death of The King needs to have an impact beyond “Let’s kill Bad, or Lukey”, what could be more interesting that death? Owen suggested a prison and immediately retracted that, chat panicked.

Owen gave a shout out to CC!BadBoyHalo for letting The Jester kill The King, his spin of !BBH enjoying watching The King engage in the game The Jester set out was appreciated.

CC!Owen and The Jester couldn’t be sure green wouldn’t snipe The King the second the peace treaty was over, which is why he hurried everyone along.

Closing things Owen said: Take the opportunity to be the first to bow out when you can as you get to see the impression your character leaves on the story. Even if it’s completely ignored that The Jester killed The King, he still did it, time cannot be changed.

[gabbrofan27]

No. I’ll write More about hearthian music. Nobody can stop me, I’ll think till the sun explodes

obviously music is important. It’s how they keep history, how they connect (and stay connected) with each other, how they express community. But what is music outside of that. Because all of that, that’s just music In General, like for Real for real. So why does it matter so much to them? What does daily life look like? Like actually?

I don’t think they’re singing songs all the time, that would just drive slate or rutile insane. But I think music is present in most situations. think like singing softly to themselves as they work (ie spinel’s fishing rhyme). When some of the more musically-oriented hearthians get a break from work, their playing can usually be heard across the valley, giving a soft touch to whatever everyone may be doing. The observatory could have some recorder constantly playing music, almost like a makeshift radio station, so anyone with a signalscope can bring a tune with them wherever they may go

like we can see with the OWV members, they’d likely use music, or at least audio, for communication and safety as well. Tektite fighting a fire, whistling to themself a tune that others in the village, when scanning for, would know that the situation is alright. When lost or injured, the young are taught to sing or whistle at all times, so as for anyone searching for them to hear them or detect them across vast distances, find them easier and faster.

and so, while signalscopes may not be common tools for every hearthian, likely some form of the scope’s audio detector would be made available for everyone. the more people you have that can sweep an area, the better their chances of being found. Everyone’s got a little scanner they can use to tap into the music around them. They likely cannot isolate speech like they can with music (either due to technical limitations or as a set limit to make tapping into someone’s conversation impossible)

I like to imagine daily life with music for the hearthians is like what music is to us, except a lot more present due to its cultural significance. The music one makes with another, for another, is beautiful and cherished. But the music one makes with themself, by themself, to pass the time, speaks a lot about that hearthian’s character

[cherry-phoenix]

Queer people exist in these places too. Its important to remember that.

Hurricane Hugo was damn near 40 years ago, and /to this day/ signs of its destruction still exist. I would not wish that kind of terror, fear, and pain on another soul, no matter how terrible.

Mentality like this is why I choose to remain in my home. I know its illogical, but I feel like I've been cast aside and forgotten from the community at large at times due to the sheer fact of where I was born, and the place I call my home.

Queer people are everywhere, and some of us are unfortunately born in, raised in, and deeply love these places, despite their treatment of us at large. There may be nothing for me here, but it is my home. To my fellow queer folk in red states, you are seen, you are loved.

not a new observation by any means but it still blows my mind how whenever a natural disaster happens in a supposed Bad State every white gay city slicker will be cheering about it like its actual 4 year old morality. grow the fuck up

[hanayotta]

for all that i rage about li lianhua and the checks watch about 12 times he ditches fang duobing, i gotta say, i do get it.

the desperate urge to get away from who you were, who you are by the definition of others, a living situation that you might've gotten yourself into but that has started to lay its shackles around you. and it is desperation, it is the very real feeling of trying to escape but being caught up on repeatedly, of the circumstances trapping you at a fixed point. that point might not necessarily be the most awful thing ever, it might be surviveable, objectively. but once you've decided to leave it behind there is no chance of settling there ever again, of finding peace with it the way you did before, when you were still unaware of the damage it did to you.

and sometimes that feeling gives you the strength to leave behind even what you're fond of, because it's necessary, because as much as you like somebody, as fond as li lianhua is of fang duobing and di feisheng, they're still tying him down, tying him to a version of himself, demands on him, a feeling, that he needs to get away from. so he runs and runs and runs because sometimes the only way to achieve happiness is through total freedom - or atleast the approximation of it. so hurting them, hurting a-mian and everyone else who cares about him is necessary for him, in that attempt to escape.

they don't allow him that escape though, whether out of love or the unresolved frustration of a shared history (like zijin). so he has to hurt the people around him until he, for himself, can figure out how to communicate the need for space and detachment and hope they'll grant it to him. and it hurts him too! the guilt is crushing! but it's an important decision to make, weighing his own wellbeing against that mountain of guilt eating away at his insides. because sometimes, people like fang duobing might mean well but not quite understand that rejection doesn't always stem from dislike. sometimes, clinging and not-giving-up-on-somebody can be terribly suffocating to the target of that affection.

i also think that's why li lianhua is very good at handling di feisheng's habit of vanishing after periods of time, of setting dates when he wants to see them again. because he understands. the need for choosing when to put yourself into relations with other people, into the context of your surroundings. and it must be so deeply, immensely frustrating when even in the end, during his final escape, zijin catches up with him again and forces him to prove himself again and again and again. when he doesn't believe li lianhua when he pleads for freedom, essentially. when he forces him to prove again that wanting to get away is all he wants. and all that after li lianhua has had 10 years to himself, to re-define his own existence in solitude, after he has tasted that feeling of inner tranquility that sometimes only being alone (ft. hulijing) can bring. so, he finally manages to vanish again. only to have everyone looking for him. that too must be stressful and confining.

but maybe, after a long time when everyone else has given up, maybe then on his own terms he could choose to reconnect with only those he wants back in his life, in this existence only defined by himself. then could he allow them to find him again, maybe, and only them. and they would have to understand that it would only be possible under the condition of them respecting the space he's carved out for himself, no bargaining.

[mr-nauseam]

You may like him or not, but Sejanus was the model for the torture that the victors of the games are subjected to.

I can argue. First I always say that to understand Sejanus there are two things you must always keep in mind: he is district despite the money. D2 runs through his veins, that's his home, no matter if the people there consider him a traitor. And the other is that Sejanus' most important relationship is not with Coriolanus but with Marcus.

Marcus was Sejanus' schoolmate. They were not enemies and not even friends, the only thing that unites them is a gesture too simple and kind but fleeting and irrelevant. Why has such an incident acquired such importance? Because now Marcus' life is in Sejanus' hands.

He is his mentor. He is obliged to push Marcus into the show that Coriolanus and Lucy Gray have started if he wants to give him a chance to survive, but the pain is incomprehensible, the idea is unthinkable because Marcus is no stranger and they share a silent bond that Sejanus treasures even if Marcus refuses to speak to him: both come from the same home.

They went to the same school, they saw the same moon, they both believe that scattering breadcrumbs over corpses will nourish them on their way, it doesn't matter that they weren't that close, they were from the same community, they live the world the same in a way that no other person outside of D2 could understand.

And the pain chokes Sejanus.

That's why I don't usually judge Sejanus so harshly for the arena scene, as if it was an ineffective protest but the goal was really to protest? Or really to die together with Marcus? Dying to atone for his faults, so Marcus doesn't go alone, two D2 kids walking to the other side together, any effective fight Sejanus could have made ended up drowned out by depression, by guilt, by pain.

Before he got to the arena, there were already the nightmares, the meals he restricted himself from, the deterioration of having to do this for someone he knew. And being so young. This was the first time and yet Sejanus tried to rebel, to fight back but his miserable life made him the perfect target for the moment he finally failed Marcus, he wanted to die.

It was on purpose. Gaul knew well what she was doing, to make this system-subjugated, totally helpless teenager believe that he could do something for Marcus (when it was never so, he was only 18 years old and alone in the world) and the moment he didn't, he lost his mind.

Coriolanus understood it too by the end of Ballad, what an effective way to tie someone's hands, refusing to participate in the game, in the show as Sejanus did is a condemnation to the tribute. So he go and proposes the victors' village, to give a prize money to the winners because that is the bad fortune that made Sejanus the perfect victim.

Sejanus was rich within his district. That aligned him from all his people, towards him they had a grudge, he was the traitor of d2. There can be many traitors if you give them a nice house and fortune. Sejanus was also sent to the Capitol, an unsuitable place for someone like him, where he was always aligned because being a district is something that not even all the money in the world can erase.

And force the victors to mentor people they went to school with, people who at one time even if they weren't enemies or friends could be gentle with them. People who are not strangers, and resent them because their life means someone else died by their hands. Someone else that die in dignity before became a rich person, "safe" of the struggles the rest live every day.

A victor. The lucky ones. Just like Sejanus.

[a-little-beastie-most-foul]

i feel like now is a more important time than ever to remember why the queer community has survived for so long in spite of everything:

1) you cannot """eradicate"""" queerness, we will always exist, we have always existed, we aren't going anywhere

2) we are a *community* - there's no room for racism, transphobia, misogyny, classism, etc because that is exactly what our oppressors want to tear us apart, they want us estranged from one another and distant

you and that kid at your college who uses neopronouns and identifies as polygender aren't so different

you and that trans butch lesbian who doesn't want to go on hormones at your workplace aren't so different

we can bicker amongst ourselves when we have our rights, but they're actively being stripped from us.

and it's immature and unproductive to be antagonistic to other queer people just bc you don't like the way they live their lives: gender criticals are literally taking our rights because they simply don't like the way complete strangers live their lives

right now, we need community, so if it all goes completely tits-up we aren't alone

[veryfastnighuncatchable]

I understand why people are upset and I'm absolutely not here to tell anyone they're not valid! But I have some thoughts on the finale (note that I'm not a book reader!) ↓↓↓

First off, Siuan's death was not about Moiraine. I love Moiraine, and I love their relationship, but painting Siuan's death as simply a plot device for Moiraine does Siuan herself a huge disservice. Siuan was a powerful leader in a rapidly deteriorating political environment who fell to a coup, not a tragic romantic figure. While she acknowledged her love for Moiraine (in a very realistic way, in my opinion), her final speech to Elaida focused on her defiance and her belief in the light. Siuan didn't die to advance Moiraine's plot, she died as her own person.

Second, while I (as a member of the queer community) acknowledge the pattern in media of creating tragic queer relationships as side plots to the happier main hetero relationships, I don't think this pattern applies here. Yes, it was a tragic love story--but so was everyone else's. Rand and Egwene, Perrin and his wife, Alanna and her warders, even Lan and Nyneave, they all went through tragedies, deaths, forced separations, and conflicts. Why? Because everyone in WOT is fighting the war against the Dark One, and war is hell. That's the whole point. Siuan's death was tragic, but it wasn't for no reason. It showed how easy it is to create discord in times of strife, demonstrated the faults in the Aes Sedai, and further splintered the existing factions. Siuan didn't die for shock value--she had an actual, important death. And they didn't shoehorn a queer woman of color into the show just to be a side character and then kill her; Siuan was important in her own right, and there are also so many other powerful women, poc, and queer characters that will continue to fight for what's right, which is what Siuan died doing.

In all, while it was sad in the way that the deaths of any beloved characters are sad, I personally don't view Siuan's death as harmful or poorly executed. I think it aligned well with the plot of the show, and while she was stilled and bloody, Siuan Sanche died defiant, powerful, and unbroken.

Hail Siuan Sanche, daughter of the river.

[courtkossai]

some people : physical shifters need hard scientific proof of these impossible claims before anyone should respect identity and experiences .

some people : physical shifters all have identical stories and experiences , which is why not important to listen as individuals .

some people : anyway , every single physical nonhuman need protection from physical shifters , because definitely all delusional with identical stories and experiences . 

some people : …

some people : but totally OK with physical nonhumans . just make sure to double book-keep no matter how much this hurt , which clarify there is no need to take seriously .

some physical nonhumans : …

some physical nonhumans : hey physical shifters . some of those folks out there say some pretty stressful things , feel like not really respect . want to chill out together ?

physical shifters : OK , promise no one here will treat that way ! :)

some people : …

some people : proof ! proof of dastardly deeds ! ah , save those poor souls !

… with how some people talk and continue on about this , hardly feel like exaggeration .

perhaps problem that drive physical nonhumans away is reaction and obsession with physical shifters as some great community evil which need to thwart . just hunch .

[lowrahh]

Hey, remember gaypirates.club?

The little Mastodon server half of the OFMD fandom flocked to back in 2023, when we briefly thought Twitter was about to die?

That little server is shutting down at the end of this month (announced by @unicorndeathrace last week), and I'm here to urge everyone who has an account there to migrate that account to a different Mastodon server, even if you're only semi-active or abandoned your account long ago.

Mastodon lets you keep your follower & following lists – if Bluesky and/or Tumblr ever go down or fully enshittify, it'll be good to have your Mastodon account as a backup, with as many of those connections as possible still intact. The more people do this, the easier it will be to find your fandom friends in the next social media apocalypse!

It's actually a pretty simple process, and I wrote a step-by-step guide to explain how it works. You can read the whole thing here, but I'll share an abridged version here, aimed specifically at folks who aren't super familiar with Mastodon!

Part 1: How to find a new server (= instance)

The part people tend to struggle with is picking a home for their new account, so I've dedicated the largest chunk of this guide to that, but I'll also give some recommendations in case you find that part too overwhelming.

No matter what instance you choose, you'll be able to connect and interact with folks on all the other instances, unless their instance is blocking yours or vice versa!

The most important things to consider are:

What kind of community you want most to connect (if your answer to that is fandom, scroll down for a list of fannish instances!)

What kind of content you want to post/see

What you don't want to see

👉 Have a look at your potential new instance's “About” page (for example, gaypirates.club/about) for its individual Server Rules, Community Guidelines, and blocked (“moderated”) servers.

If you want to post smutty fanart or fic, make sure the server rules allow not just nudity/NSFW but also ~erotic content~! You should also check the exact conditions – for example, most instances will require a CW and/or tag, and some don't allow NSFW content in public posts.

You'll find lists of selected instances, sorted by category, at the links below. There are instances focused on fandom, queer community, specific regions/languages, instances for artists, writers, gamers, musicians – you get the idea!

If all that sounds overwhelming or just too hyper-specific, have a look at the “General” category!

If scrolling through lists isn't your thing, this little wizard can give you suggestions based on what you're personally looking for in a server:

❤️ If you just wanna hang out with fellow fans, I recommend joining another fannish instance! ❤️

Personally, I chose blorbo.social! If you're curious as to why, check out this post – it mostly boils down to “I like their server rules, and some of my moots are there already.” (hi @xieliansbignaturals & @ofmdrecaps & most recently @hamykia ... and anyone else I forgot, sorry I can never remember who all is on Tumblr XD)

Having said all that, I also encourage you to check out other fannish instances! Below are a few I've come across but am less familiar with than blorbo.social.

❗Note that this is not an endorsement of any of these servers – I skimmed their server rules but don't really know enough about any of them to say whether I'd personally recommend them! That said, if you happen to know that any of them are actually horrible, please do let me know and I'll remove them.

FederatedFandom.net:

Adult-only “server for the girls & the gays & seeks to provide a trans-inclusive, anti-racist space”;

NSFW images must be under a CW;

no “AI” content allowed.

fandom.ink:

18+ instance

“small instance designed for lovers of fanfic, fan art, fan meta/acafandom, fannish communities, and blorbos of all kinds”

erotic content limited to followers-only or unlisted posts

no auto-crossposting from other platforms

retro.pizza

Queer-run “poly-fandom nerd culture server”

NSFW, spoilers & potentially triggering content must be under a CW (see sever rules & their “Director's Cut” for examples/details)

fandom.garden

“queer, anti-racist, anti-ableist space”

Nudity allowed, erotic content restricted to followers-only posts from 18+ accounts

Runs on a modified version of Mastodon (glitch-soc) that has extra features but is potentially less stable

FanGlitch.space

Adults-only

“no anti-shipper/pro-shipper nonsense” allowed

“adult content” must be under a CW

Otherwise pretty minimalist server rules

Runs on glitch-soc.

Part 2: How to create a new account

This part is so simple I wasn't even sure whether to include it, but it's been a while since most folks signed up, so I figured I should, just in case it helps anyone 🤗 Otherwise, just skip to part 3!

Many instances have a manual review process in place to keep out spam bots, but if you have an invite link from an existing member, your account will get approved automatically! So if you want to join blorbo.social, let me know and I'll send you an invite! 💖

Go to your new instance's website and click “Create Account” or use your invite link.

Review & accept the server rules.

Enter your details and set a new password.

If you don't have an invite, you may now be asked to share why you want to join. For example, you can mention that you're moving from gaypirates.club because it's shutting down soon; for fandom instances, just mentioning your main fandom is usually enough to get you approved! Once you've filled everything in, click “Request account”/“Sign up”.

Wait for your confirmation email.

If there's a manual review process, keep in mind that most instances are run by a small team or even just one person, so they may not be able to approve your account immediately. You may find more info about how long the review process typically takes on the instance's About page.

Congrats, you're in! 🎉

You may now want to fill in your new profile by copying over your bio, profile pic etc. from your old account. But you won't lose any of that in the migration process, so you can still do this later if you prefer!

Part 3: How to export & transfer your account data

The actual account migration requires a bit of switching back & forth between your two accounts, so this part will be easiest if you have them open in two separate tabs/browser windows on your PC.

Step 1: export your data from your old account.

Go to gaypirates.club/settings/export

Download all the CSV files (see screenshot – yours won't be 0 Bytes, that's just cos I used my new account 😉).

I highly recommend you also download the archive of your posts & uploaded media! While these unfortunately can't be imported to your new account, there are tools that make it very easy to look at all the stuff in your archive once the server has shut down, without being some kind of tech wiz! I'll add a fourth part shortly to talk a bit more about the archive – that step isn't time-sensitive once you've downloaded the file, so just make sure you do that before the end of this month!

Step 2: link up your two accounts by creating an “account alias”.

Log into your new account and open the Preferences menu.

Go to Account Settings, scroll down to “Moving from a different account” and follow the link to create an account alias (or just navigate directly to [instance URL]/aliases).

Enter your old handle and click “Create alias”.

This action is completely harmless and will not disable or transfer anything yet.

Step 3: import the CSV files you downloaded earlier.

In your new account, go to Preferences → Import and Export → Import.

From the drop-down menu, choose which file you want to import, then click browse, select the file, and upload it.

Repeat the previous step until you've uploaded all your CSV's.

The number of accounts you're following might not match up with your old account immediately after import, since some may need to manually accept your new follow request. You can easily open those CSV files in Excel, Google Sheets or something similar to see all the accounts in your list, and you can always re-import them if anything goes wrong.

Step 4: transfer your followers & deactivate your old account.

This final step will deactivate your old account, put a redirect notice on it, and transfer all your followers over to your new account.

Until gaypirates.club goes down (cries), all your posts will stay right there, and you'll still have access to your data exports.

Once you're ready to move to your new account:

Go to gaypirates.club/settings/migration

Enter your new handle and the password for your old account.

Click “Move Followers”.

Don't panic if some of your followers aren't transferred immediately. This can apparently take up to a few days (in extreme cases), depending on which servers your followers are on.

✨ And you're done! Now, anyone who visits your old account will still be able to see your posts, but they'll be shown a link to your new account.