Alika

with song of the wasteland, the combination of subject matter, visibility from the creator's popularity and international attention contributed to pressuring the platform and creator to change their plans. if anything, this situation suggests some tactics that people can use to address other issues if people are aware and organized enough. people were emailing the publisher directly about their concerns and being vocal on social media. if you're someone who actually, seriously cares about how poorly things like exploitative relationships, abuse, rape, incest, and pedophilia are used in BL/media in general, it's time to start thinking tactically now that you know that things can change, instead of implying that people are hypocrites for... caring about racism and advocating against it here.

I think there was a justified basis for suspicion and skepticism from the one chapter given. the foundation a story is built on, and it's execution, determines the strength of the final story. even though I can think of ways this could have beaten expectations, this story was on shaky ground to begin with, starting with the setting and characters, and ending with the "I'm your slave" line.

of all the kinds of people and stories you could tell about this time period in this place, why are these the ones chosen? what's the appeal of their dynamic? how is the setting and time period relevant to that?

as it stands, it looks like there was a very deliberate choice to write around the existence of Black people who lived during that time even though their presence and labor is integral to the livelihoods of the MCs. maybe the author thought they'd avoid the backlash they got by doing that, but that's still an expression of racism, by ignoring that Black people are also people who want their stories and experiences told and treated with respect. and if the author didn't want to include Black people, which they're ultimately not obligated to do, they would have been better off choosing another topic and setting to write about, because like it or not, when writing about American history, you'll have to grapple with the racial dynamics of this country one way or another, to say nothing of the civil war era (even postwar) where the crux of the conflict was "what are we going to do with these Blacks? (are they even people?)". to then make the only Black people in the story be faceless mobs seemingly only with the intention of making the white MC look good and ethical, just rubs salt in that wound.
it's very suspicious to have a story where the civil war and its aftermath are significant to the narrative and characters, and then only feature Black people as background props to assure modern readers that the protagonist isn't a bad person by their standards. maybe there would have been actual Black characters done well in future chapters, but that initial presentation does not inspire confidence in the creator since they were not even aware of the implications of what they drew in chapter one. and if they were aware of the implications and making choices for shock value in the first chapter, like the "I'm your slave" line, then the response to those choices shows that the creator needed to reconsider their approach if they wanted better, more favorable reactions.
that's not even getting into how ezra, the ml, looks very ethnically and culturally vague... how was the creator going to handle the history of dispossession of indigenous lands and the violence inflicted on indigenous people by whites to settle their land and by indigenous people to whites to defend themselves? the various tactics and policies implemented by European settlers to weaken indigenous populations and suppress their ways of life that amounted to genocide? and that's not getting into how the ml is evidently mixed-heritage with blue eyes, which is its own can of worms in terms of visual design choices and how the creator would explore that character background.
perhaps the creator would have given more depth and nuance on the power and racial dynamics between the mc and ml in this time period, but their handling of the setup in the first chapter gave me significant doubts.

if the author wanted an interracial cowboy romance with this particular dynamic, they had other options for time and setting (and not to mention that those power and racial dynamics are present in other times as well).
every choice a creator makes in their story reflects their knowledge and interests, which are not free from bias. intentional or not, there were many opportunities for missteps here.

racism isn't always direct insults and targeted violence. it's also erasure and exclusion, putting particular people in particular roles. it's often unconscious and not deliberately intended. similar to how bullying isn't always physical violence, racism can operate in all kinds of subtle ways that can be hard to explain to other people if they aren't the target of it. many explanations have also been given in these comments for why people have reacted negatively to this.

I liked these threads for more background info -
https://x.com/SPLover1863/status/2069382347972063697
https://x.com/SPLover1863/status/2069512321475465603

It’s only been a chapter tho. Really long paragraph I must say, I get it’s dangerous water the author is looking at but holy it’s a chapter. And I seem very oblivious but felt the book deserved a chance and also if someone wants to use it I think they can use the themes because one way or another it’s gonna cause noise about the past. Which can also be a good thing. Sorry if am rambling and you don’t understand. Although am black I cannot say I have experienced direct impacts of American slavery to an extent just saying.

"it's only been one chapter, it could have been good!"

based on what? does anyone saying that care to explain why they think so aside from just calling anyone who criticized this oversensitive? (as if oversensitivity isn't a natural response to pain and hurt, or simple vigilance) what's wrong with being sensitive, as opposed to being callous or numb?
the people who were concerned based on what was shown in that one chapter explained the potential for this to go wrong(er than just its conception in the first place) in multiple ways and brought it up to the creator and platform. and evidently the creator recognized the limitations to their preparedness and/or ability to execute the story in a way that satisfactorily addressed those concerns, and discontinued the series.

and that's not a bad thing!

it's good to admit and acknowledge your limitations when it comes to knowledge and experience! you yourself say that despite being Black you "seem oblivious" and haven't "experienced direct impacts of American slavery to an extent", so you correctly make that acknowledgment, too. which then makes me wonder why in your original topic, you came in pretty strongly dismissive of people taking issue with the story despite your not having knowledge or a personal stake in the historical topic in the same way as the people making criticisms. you don't have to answer me on this, but i urge some reflection on your perspective and why you have it, and how that conflicts with other people's perspectives and why they have it.

just because a person is Black doesn't mean that they'll have an immaculate understanding of racism in all ways. depending on where a person lives and their class position, they might be shielded from some of the worst effects, and might not recognize some of racism's more subtle cultural and psychological expressions. there are many things that are hard to recognize and articulate if you don't make the effort to observe and analyze, or worse, you just accept the dominant/mainstream narrative about history and current events.

i have said in other replies that i don't think the topic of war, post-war conditions, slavery, and all sorts of sensitive topics are untouchable in fiction. ideally, someone who has done the research, is aware of the racial dynamics, and has the skills for it could pull off a story in this setting. i think it would have to depart from many typical BL conventions to be good and worth doing, though.
people can and should be free to create whatever they want, but that doesn't make it free from criticism or pushback from other people, especially when the profit motive is involved. why should anyone be able to make stories based on painful real life history and make money off of it without any feedback or response?
the creator and the publisher sought to make money off this series, and it was feedback from potential customers that indicated that there would be problems monetizing a series like this. if this story was something the creator felt passionate about the world seeing, they could release it for free. otherwise, they currently have an opportunity to rework it/do something new, and make a better release.

all of this isn't to yell at you or berate you or anyone who's like "why couldn't we just give this a chance?", but
to explain why people weren't optimistic about it,
to encourage some thoughtfulness, reflection, and hell, even some research about the relevant historical and contemporary topics,
and above all, a willingness to listen/curiosity/open-mindedness that the creator was able to show and that the people upset about the discontinuation are failing to do, which reveals either ignorance (best case scenario, fixable) or malice/racism (can't help y'all here).

He's got some issues in his head. He thought Guwon killed his dad so he's in some kind of revenge BS with the rest of the people in that town which is stupid imo. They're only alive because of the hounds. So why are they planning to kill Guwon??

That’s what am saying plus even if he killed his dad at least he still living w/o the hounds they all would be dead. They seem kinda greedy

because even though they are alive, they are still oppressed. they live day to day in fear of making a mistake and potentially getting killed for it - it fries your mental state. Teach is sympathising with them bc he’s so new to the environment and can see it with fresh eyes, and also cos he thinks guwon killed his dad ┑(￣Д ￣)┍

I see why it harms ur mental state but idk abt betraying guwon it dont seem like a good idea

it really isn’t a good idea but the entire hustle is basing it on the assuming that guwon is so whipped for teach that he’ll let him do anything and forgive him for anything

They're right abt Guwon forgiving teach... But not them they'd be all dead once it's all out

Teach can survive ts but those ppl idk why they think they can harm the hounds, if they can ill be shocked