ask-nightvales-voice

As many people are now aware, two amazing character ask blogs have been deleted for the third time. Askstrand and askreagan have been reported and deleted without warning or notice by PNWS, on account of “impersonation”.



This has incensed me to no end.



While I understand their desire to maintain the essence of realism and a hold on their characters, they should at least have the respect and decency to make a calm, civil, private request to the runners of the ask blogs to please not play their characters. If they were to address their concerns professionally and say that they would prefer people not play these characters because of realism or simply personal preference, then I would imagine that the muns would have respected their wishes. However, for them to simply have these individuals’ blogs deleted time and time again with no word as to why or offering an opinion is rude and distasteful. Yes, The Black Tapes (and TANIS) have an astoundingly organic feel, but in the end They. Are. Fictional.



To say that Richard Strand and Alex Reagan as people in of themselves are real individuals is one thing, but in the entity of the show, they are not. It is similar to how Abraham Lincoln was a real person, but the Lincoln portrayed in that vampire book and movie is not. Nor are the portrayals of the majority of the characters within the television show Sleepy Hollow. To press the point, I have seen a character ask/rp blog for Mark* plier (I don’t want to end up in the tags, hence the adjustment). That is wrong, because Mark is a real person, and if I had been on a desktop at the time instead of my at-the-time-malfunctioning phone, I would have reported them.



There in lies the difference. These two people may be real, but their personas within TBTP is purely fictional, and to treat them as real people to this level is frankly extreme.



Askstrand and askreagan are two wonderful people who loved the series so much that they wanted to continue the joy and passion. They even ensured to have disclaimers to further distance themselves from the official series. They did everything the right way and were in no way harming or misguiding fans of the show; in fact, they were adding something to the fandom that was unique and loved.



To this end I say, PNWS, TANIS, Minnow-beats-Whale, I am disappointed in you. You give an air of professionalism but you fail to extend it to your fans, and that is a grievous mistake. You will lose a fair chunk of love, appreciation and loyalty because of this. Shame on you.

