Plans, Updates, Sneak Peeks, All That Jazz

Hello, hello! I'm feeling much better, and I'm back to work recording tonight. Still limping around a bit, feeling a little gross, my voice is not at 100%, but at least now I'm not a hacky, coughing snot monster. Awesome! Here's hoping winter will be a bit kinder to my carcass than fall has been. If you can, please get a flu shot for me! And mask up if you're vulnerable! Even the common cold is especially bad this year it seems.

First Order of Business: Behind the Scenes Stuff 

This is not the fun portion of the post, but I do think it's important to explicitly discuss.

Because of a couple things getting flagged recently and the back-and-forth cat-and-mouse with reviewers, I'm having to comb through hundreds of scripts in my back log to discard those that may not fit the guidelines, as well as double checking with writers when necessary if thematic edits to better adhere to Patreon's rules are okay.

The hammer did not come down as hard as it could have, I'm very lucky and thankful that there's enough nuance in my work to avoid an outright ban right out of the gate, but I do prefer to be proactive.

As previously mentioned, because of this, I'll also be gradually going back to look at existing audios and posts hosted here, which may result in making countless censorship decisions if not needing to re-record whole audios entirely. That requires listening to each audio, making notes of where cuts might be needed, clearing writer permission, and then re-editing the old files.

With so many audios in my body of work, and scripts in my back log, I'll be honest: it's...a lot. I'm quite overwhelmed. I look at the pile, examine two or three, and then run away screaming to the safety of a blanket cocoon. The process will be long, dispiriting and boring.

To be transparent, Patreon has pinged me specifically for non-consensual and sexually gratifying works. If you think this is a nebulous category, you're right! "Sexually gratifying" is a bit like "obscene": it depends entirely on the viewer's sensibilities. If you've been on the internet longer than five minutes, you know there is no firm definition. If something exists, it's a fetish for someone.

So, what reaches the level of sexually gratifying? Whatever they feel like. I tried to find out going back and forth with Patreon, and basically got a few somewhat contradictory answers in return that clarified a bit but muddied more.

Expanding on that, ambiguous or implied consent can be insufficient in Patreon's view, if a work is sexually gratifying. Given that anything can be sexually gratifying if you're kinky enough, and the limitations of an art form with a silent protagonist, as far as I can see there is no level of consent I can add to a script or clarify better that can ever fully satisfy the guideline beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Basically: There is ALWAYS a chance an audio will get flagged and I'll have to make edits or take it down entirely. I apologize for that in advance if/when it happens. I'll do what I can to avoid it, and do my utmost to rescue stories that get flagged from obscurity, but I can make no guarantees beyond that.

I'm afraid if Patreon's guidelines don't gain more shades of gray in the future, interactive audio drama of this nature will always be in danger, as there is nothing stopping a reviewer from feeling that a speaking character saying something like, "You're into this, aren't you? (beat) Yeah, I could tell!" only contains implied consent. There is also nothing stopping a reviewer from labeling something sexually gratifying even if that isn't its narrative purpose.

As you can imagine, this is frustrating! Trying to navigate the edge of this slippery slope is a little..................................................

Is there anything less than clear, affirmative, enthusiastic consent in a totally safe environment without any complicating factors? Is it possible someone, somewhere is getting off to the scene regardless of its creative purpose? Is a character even implied to feel romantic or sexual interest? It's a potential issue and may be flagged.

Differing power dynamics, specific forms of internal and external conflict, uncertainty or reluctance of any kind in romantic scenes, these can all make a plot just muddy enough that Patreon may slap it with a sexually gratifying non-consent label, even if those elements are integral to the genre conventions or plot, take up only a small portion of a long narrative, or aren't intended to be sexy. This greatly limits what I can create and the kinds of characters I can play without fretting about the consequences.

While the reviewer I spoke with tried to make it clear that I can still produce nuanced stories, I admit I still have doubts.

Something as utterly mundane (and frankly human) as, "Your best friend and crush tries to kiss you but you're not emotionally ready for it and push her away" could be enough to get flagged as non-consent, so I'm baffled as to how anyone can have characters who experience any internal conflict about a romance without risk.

How can there be romance in plots with stock tropes that rely on a certain dubiousness to function as dramatic elements: arranged/political marriage, sex work of any kind, a friggin' Pon Farr situation? Search me!

(Truly bizarre to realize that a 50+ year old Star Trek plot wouldn't pass muster here. That episode is old enough to have grandkids! Never mind the mind altering love pollen of This Side of Paradise!)

I'd also love to know how, exactly, inherently uneven power dynamics like "Vampire/Human," "Queen/Courtier," "Goddess/Mortal," "Pirate/Stowaway," "Wealthy/Poor" etc. aren't rendered automatically dangerous to perform under these conditions.

I don't think the guideline writers considered just how much fiction hinges on situations where consent simply cannot be 100% clear, freely given and unambiguous without a plot, dramatic theme or character archetype completely collapsing.

Like, if someone really wanted to throw a fit, it could be argued that even playing spin the bottle at a party is done under social pressure, therefore not fully consensual. 2002's Spider-Man/MJ is not informed consent, as she doesn't know his identity when they first kiss. Snow White? Poison Ivy's pheromones? Beauty and the Beast? Um....

The list of tropes and existing works this policy handily kneecaps goes on. And I have ZERO assurance that the most extreme interpretation of the rules won't be applied to anything I make, because I can't control the lens it's viewed through. One reviewer's "necessary plot point" may be another's "sexually gratifying" at any time.

You can see why I'm stressed out!

Further complicating this is that even presenting a narrative as consensual if that's how I wrote it/interpreted it/how it was conceived, can get me banned if a reviewer feels it isn't sufficiently consensual! Because it may be interpreted as trying to slip non-con past the rule! Fucked! It's all fucked! AAAGH.

While it's clearly not the intent, I'm unfortunately left with the impression that Harmless Good Girl Romance in Comfy, Cozy Settings is the policy I must adhere to if I want to avoid ANY trouble. While there's nothing wrong with that kind of content, and I've made it before, it's a bit bullshit to feel cornered into it.

Obviously, I don't intend to stop playing morally ambiguous, or even evil characters, or creating stories centered around more complex dramatic situations and character dynamics, as well as darker romances. I would wither and die if I had to live by the Hays Code creatively. But it's clear there's considerably more risk involved now and I'll have to adjust all future content accordingly.

Just from a personal standpoint, it does feel especially absurd that my consent as a creator, the consent of the writers I work with, and my audience's consent does not matter: the consent of wholly fictional constructs who have no agency is weighed as more important. That is a bit fucked up to me.

The appearance of consent is a more pressing concern than the legally and morally relevant consent of actual humans, which???? Certainly a choice, I gotta say! My consent is invalid, your consent is invalid, but by god! If the make-believe captive of that sexy supervillainess who sprang into existence on the page ten minutes ago isn't consenting...!

[Please mentally insert a "Myth of Consensual Audio RP" meme here which I'm too lazy to make, with Jesus replaced by Patreon's logo] 

For now, it is what it is. I understand why these policies are currently in place even if I don't agree with the way they're being implemented, or the massive scope of plot elements and archetypes they jeopardize across all genres and art forms because of its zero tolerance nature.

Like, I get it. Patreon wants to make sure it isn't hosting something illegal that causes real world harm, they don't want anything on the site that makes them look bad, morally questionable or that might open them to litigation, and the only way to do that is to ban anything even close to it. It can't be fun to moderate content when so many people try to skirt the rules and slip truly heinous stuff past the censors and aren't acting in good faith.

Still, it's irritating, there will be a long adjustment period, and I foresee many headaches in my future as I try to make dramatic works that don't have all the edges sanded off without, y'know, dying from stress.

Well, now that I'm done bitching, on to the fun stuff!

Upcoming Audios: 

...if they don't get flagged, that is!

This week's audio will be: Evil AI Wants to Remake You in Her Image 

Sci-fi/horror, inspired by I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. Expect that tomorrow morning.

Next week's audio will be: Dominant Yandere Billionaire Wants Marriage?!

I'd like to get it out by the weekend if I can because there's a lot of planning/recording left to do for Creature Comforts this year...

Upcoming Patreon Exclusives:

Two on the slate! Expect one this week, another next week...

Goth Princess Wants You 

As voted by you!

Dominant Yandere Mistress "Purchases" You 

Far-Flung Sequels...

Hopefully slated somewhere in December/January!

Sequel to...Werewolf Mafia Queen Owes You a Life Debt After You Save Her

Sequel to...Your Loyal Mech is in Love With You

I've also slated a remake of Dangerous Bad Girl Assassin Goes Yandere for You in February, as that's one of the top audios in the ongoing sequel poll, and a couple others will likely make the cut for this year's Creature Comforts as a lil sequel experiment. I just have to work out the schedule fully to figure out what goes where.

Welp, that's it for me right now! I have to go back to work. I'm sorry I don't have more to share! But I hope this post was useful/informative, and that the sneak peeks whet your appetites a bi!