Xiran Jay Zhao

#1 New York Times Bestselling and Nebula-nominated author of Iron Widow + Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor (They/them)

[xiranjayzhao]

Things 2 know about me:

- yes it is i, author and youtuber Xiran Jay Zhao

- I’ve had this Tumblr since 2013. idk why so many of you are shocked to see me here. Tumblr basically raised me

- my ask box is closed because i value my mental health

- most of my posts are queued

- i no longer check the tags for my books because it feels too intrusive. so you don’t have to worry about whatever you post in there

- i also rarely check my mentions because I get harassed through those too

- basically this is my most personal social media account and i’m here to have a good time. i’d like to deal with as little bullshit as possible.

- speaking of bullshit, I DO NOT SHIP INCEST. THIS IS AN ACCUSATION THAT CERTAIN PEOPLE ON TUMBLR HAVE SPREAD ABOUT ME BASED ON AN ASSUMPTION ABOUT AN OUT OF CONTEXT TWEET. see debunking here. I have never touched genshin impact in my life and now I never will.

- More debunking of bullshit claims about me supposedly refusing to work on my sequel just because I didn't "feel like it" and lying about my publisher. Uh, why would I do that when I'm the one who'd be hurt the most?

- Generally please don't jump to believe random accusations against me without seeing proof. There are several groups of people on here determined to smear me because they can't stand hearing criticism of their favorite governments, and I criticize a lot of governments. I wish they'd fight each other but alas.

- There are so many lies about me I have now started a #slander debunking tag. Check it if you hear some bullshit about me and you're unsure. For example, I DID NOT DENY THE OCT 7 HAMAS ATTACKS BECAUSE I SUPPOSEDLY REFUSED TO BELIEVE THEY HAVE COLORED PRINTERS. I was talking about NBC reporting on obvious "battle plan" forgeries with GOOGLE TRANSLATE ARABIC.

- if you were an active yugioh blog from 2013 to 2017 I probably follow you (after that I took a break to focus on achieving my dreams of getting published. but now i’m back.)

- my forever fandoms: Yugioh, Saint Seiya, Ultraman

- check my #iron widow tag for posts that remind me of it and bonus content i’ve made. same for #heavenly tyrant and #zachary ying

- check #iw3 teasers for teasers of the 3rd and final book in the Iron Widow series

- I got into the French Revolution via the Phantom of the Opera memes -> Les Mis memes -> Frev memes pipeline. The interpersonal drama is just SO juicy. I have a Frev sideblog that I now keep secret but if you get into Frevblr too you'll figure out which one is me real fast. There's like 10 of us.

[xiranjayzhao]

Every time I make a post on here nowadays I'm kind of actively waiting around in anticipation for how some people are going to twist and misinterpret it in the worst ways. It's more impressive than anything at this point. Like wow, you could get THAT out of the words I typed? Truly spectacular state of mind. A train of thought I would never have. This world is full of wonders.

[xiranjayzhao]

Can you imagine how stressed Katara would've been by the time she had two kids with Aang and neither of them were airbenders

Like I know he wouldn't be MAD about it but just imagining being in her situation has me so stressed out

Also Aang was lowkey kind of weird for not bothering to immerse Bumi and Kya in airbender culture even though Air Acolytes were a thing and showed that having airbending wasn't a requirement for being part of the culture

[xiranjayzhao]

S C R E A M I N G AT 26-YEAR-OLD NAPOLEON PLOTTING TO MARRY A 70-YEAR-OLD RICH LADY FOR HER MONEY 😭😭😭😭😭😭

(From Paul Barras' memoirs, Volume 1)

[xiranjayzhao]

Everyday I watch more and more of you understand Robespierre a little more viscerally

[steampunktendencies]

Compilation of 19th century birdcages

[hudsonlowesbills]

And this is a recreation of a birdcage built for Napoleon while he was exiled on Saint Helena

(Source)

[xiranjayzhao]

i cant believe the british did that to him

[dashcon-two]

REVOLUTION!!

SOS SOS ROBESPIERRE HAS TAKEN OVER THE BUILDING

So we probably should’ve been a bit more worried about that weird guy with a sword at the last DashCon 2. For those unaware, Robespierre crashed the 2025 convention in an attempt to overthrow the monarchy and slay the Ballpit Queen. The newly knighted Sir Strange of Æons valiantly vanquished the interloper, but apparently her sword (Simone’s Dad’s Claymore, a.k.a. the Muppetslayer) only works on Muppets—Robespierre is back! His band of revolutionaries have now seized the bouncy castle. The clowns really don’t like how he’s chosen to redecorate.

While Sir Strange and the Ballpit Queen have successfully escaped Robespierre’s wrath, the future of the monarchy is uncertain. Robespierre has sworn revenge and is calling for Sir Strange’s execution on two charges of DashCon-spiracy, meanwhile, Strange has charged Robespierre with treachery and also being French.

As the only convention in southern Ontario with a guillotine permit, this puts us in a difficult position. The Muppet Joker’s tragic demise had an equally tragic effect on our insurance premiums, and we simply cannot afford more senseless bloodshed. Thankfully, laws often get overlooked in times of Revolution, and we’ve discovered that we’re allowed to commit crime if it’s a public service, as agreed upon by a democratic electorate. (You!)

As such, we’ve negotiated a tentative agreement between the two parties.

The Eight Tenets of the Royal-Revolutionary “Put The Sword Down” Agreement:

The 2026 convention’s theme of “Galaxy” has been toppled, overthrown by the revolutionaries and replaced with “Revolution!” (Galaxy is permitted to be used in a later year.)

The convention shall henceforth be referred to as DashCon 2: Vive La Révolution! as its official title.

The Ball Pit Queen shall not be executed (for now), but will have no legal power, instead being used as a figurehead in case an event needs a little pizzazz.

To appease our insurance overlords, the People (attendees of the convention) will be authorized to vote on who to kill. Each person will have only one vote, so cast it wisely—or don’t. We’re not cops.

For accessibility of voting, VirtualDash attendees will also be able to vote on who to kill.

The People shall choose between executing either Sir Strange, Lord of Æons, Wielder of the Muppetslayer and Honourable First Knight of the Realm… or Robespierre himself. Interesting.

He who is chosen to die will be executed via guillotine live on stage. (Robespierre was insistent.)

The severed head of the executed will be auctioned off for charity via raffle :)

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Vive la Révolution?

This message has been approved by Robespierre and his Band of Revolutionaries.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Sir Strange……………………………….Strange Æons. YouTuber and Tumblr historian. Robespierre……………………………..Xiran Jay Zhao. YouTuber and bestselling author of Iron Widow. The Ball Pit Queen…………….….Lochlan O’Neil. Raccoon biologist and founder of the original DashCon.

[xiranjayzhao]

I AM READY

[kaftofi]

a bit of a doodle that i got carried away with

been thinking about gyaruo jou and vkei yugi for a while. they are so clashy best friends

[xiranjayzhao]

Lately I keep having the same recurring dream about the Big Bang Theory cast wrestling with the decision to get frozen for several centuries on a spaceship to another planet across the universe. The dream keeps framing this as a normal thing in their world (though the most recent dream had them win 2 of 100 randomly selected slots). It usually ends up being Penny and Sheldon who go together?!

[flamingkorybante]

My friend worked with the People With AIDS Coalition in 1990 and found this while cleaning out some old folders. I can't stop thinking about it.

[xeansicemane]

"especially if they've made it to 40" fucking Christ.

[daisy-if-u-do]

Yeah. That. I spent my formative years in DC for Reagan's terms, and never thought I'd make it to *twenty* much less this far beyond. And when I realized I would be? I found myself suddenly without any real, actionable plan for the future.

The AIDS epidemic was monstrous. Not only for the lack of cure, but for the easy excuse it made for 'good people' to rid themselves of those disgusting gays.

The national willingness to discard an entire generation of (at first) gay men and then any queer persons has done immeasurable damage to every single one of us who survived it. The horror stories you might have seen in tabloids or online memorials only scratch the surface. We were unpersoned. We were named dangerous simply by our existence, and our presence was a herald for death and disease.

Our joy was not in spite of this. Our mad parties, the tendency to live in the moment, the stereotypical 'cattiness' and sex-crazed outlooks that media showers us with us even now, these were survival techniques. We dance because we lived another day. We craved physical contact from a world that feared us even in the same room, or touching the same door handle, or gods forbid us holding your hand.

And it's happening again.

If you notice your queer elders seem a little agitated beyond their usual baseline with what's happening with their trans peers this time around it's because we all recognize it from the 70s, 80s, 90s.

Name it a disease. Imply it's contagious, made-up for attention, or masking the 'real' problem (it's always pedophilia, always), often in the same breath. Consistency doesn't matter, only fear and hatred.

Say trans folks aren't worth the same considerations that good, upstanding people are. Deny them the medical care that, were they not trans, they would otherwise qualify for. Gender affirming care. Hormone treatments. Comprehensive therapy. Acceptance.

(Hell, even those lucky enough to escape obvious open discrimination find it on the back end, with medical care suddenly not being covered after being prescribed. Ask me how I know.)

And it's not just the right-wingers. Ask your Democratic or NP rep, if you have one, their thoughts on transgender rights. Listen close. See if they actually say anything of substance.

And then when trans people start dying off in droves, vanishing to forced detransitioning, assault, murder, or worse, well, that's just proof there's something wrong, isn't it? Not with the system. With us.

This is why we ask that the newer generations of queer folks learn the history. It's not *all* about Stonewall and Pride. It's about the lengths that those in charge will go to in order to ensure our deaths.

[cardassian-artistry]

"Have a blessed evening." I think you will find that I will have a dialectical evening, actually.

[itslillyphillips]

Just listen to me tf 👀

[smileymoth]

Its thursday, don't forget to crash your car and force transition someone

[basilarte]

this endless river

[xiranjayzhao]

Nobody:

Robespierre Stans:

(Published in 1837 btw)

[emr-ygo]

[xiranjayzhao]

Random poll out of curiosity but would you rather the government assign you a job (livelihood guaranteed but little choice in what you do) or figure out your career yourself (livelihood not guaranteed but you can choose what to attempt to pursue)

Just give me the government-assigned job

No I want the freedom to choose even if it may not go the way I want

Voting ended onDec 15, 2025