#and i have no idea why people think he’s unlikeable for that

[reasonsforhope]

The present isn't a dystopia. It's just a complicated, chaotic, sometimes amazing, sometimes brutal world.

The future is, I think, unlikely to become a dystopia in the sense we imagine it. I saw this for two reasons:

1.

First, I say "the sense we imagine it" because dystopias are based on the idea that all hope (for humanity, usually, sometimes all life) has been extinguished forever, and the forces of dystopia shall never be overthrown.

I don't believe that kind of world is possible - a world where there is never more hope. A true end to history. I don't think it's ever possible for all humans to stop fighting, as long as we're here. I have lots of evidence to based this on, much of which is called "all of human history." (And eternal dystopia is especially impossible if you look at deep time - there have been five previous mass extinctions, and life is still here.)

But it will not come to that.

Here's why:

2.

We have already averted truly apocalyptic levels of warming.

Yes, read that again. Let it sink in. This is what the science now says. We have already averted truly apocalyptic global warming.

To quote David Wallace-Wells, author of The Uninhabitable Earth, from his huge feature in the New York Times:

"Thanks to astonishing declines in the price of renewables, a truly global political mobilization, a clearer picture of the energy future and serious policy focus from world leaders, we have cut expected warming almost in half in just five years... The window of possible climate futures is narrowing, and as a result, we are getting a clearer sense of what’s to come: a new world, full of disruption but also billions of people, well past climate normal and yet mercifully short of true climate apocalypse." (New York Times, October 22, 2022. Unpaywalled here. Emphasis mine. And yes, this vision of the future is backed up by the current science on the issue, as he explains at length in the article.)

So we've already averted truly apocalyptic warming, and we've already cut expected warming IN HALF in just the past five years.

The pace of technology, of innovation, of prices, of feasibility, of discovery, of organizing, of grassroots movements, of movements in other countries around the world, have all picked up the pace so fast in the last five years.

Renewable technology and capacity are both increasing at an exponential rate. It's all S-curves, ones that look like this:

-via The Economist, June 20, 2024.

How much more will we manage in another five years? Another ten? Another twenty?

I know the US is about to fucking suck about the environment for the next four years. But the momentum of renewable energy is far too much to stop - both in the US (x) and around the world.

(Huge shoutouts to India, China, and Brazil for massive gains for the environment in renewables, and Brazil for massive progress against Amazon deforestation.)

We're going to get there.

Say it with me. We're going to get there.

[antianakin]

I don't really buy into the popular idea that Anakin somehow would've been saved by being asked to look after Jedi children, that it somehow would've magically taught him how to let go in a way he couldn't have learned in canon.

For one, you say that Anakin wanted someone to love him unconditionally and have their lives revolve around him. That's only partly true. Yes, he wants someone whose life revolves around him, but he specifically wants someone who will DEFINE themselves by their relationship to him. He wants someone who will do whatever he asks when he asks it of them, he wants someone whose first and only real priority is HIM, he wants someone who will give him whatever he wants whenever he wants it. This is why he likes Palpatine so much, it's why he gets upset whenever Padme tries to tell him no. You might notice, too, that this is an INCREDIBLY unhealthy dynamic to have with ANYONE and not something that should be encouraged to have.

The other issue with this is that no Jedi children are going to be taught to have their lives revolve around their creche master. The whole POINT behind the Jedi taking in younger children and toddlers rather than older kids is that it allows them to instill their values and teachings a lot earlier, BEFORE they'd learn to become too connected to one guardian (or one SET of guardians). Jedi children are unlikely to be encouraged to see their crechemaster the same way that other children see their parents. The Jedi tend to raise children COMMUNALLY, so their younglings likely have many different people raising them from the start. They're unlikely to have one person who just becomes a de facto parent for like 10-12 kids until they reach padawan age and then they just pass them off to the next person who becomes a new de facto parent. The Jedi would be taught that the whole Order are their family, that they can rely on ANYONE among the Jedi for aid and guidance and comfort. Anakin would not be handed a small group of kids that are just now "his" for like a decade or something. I don't buy that that's how Jedi would ever work (I DO buy that that could be how Mandos work, though).

So EVEN IF we go with the idea that somehow raising a child will fulfill the part of Anakin that wants someone whose life revolves around him, he won't get that from Jedi children, who are literally being taught not to let their lives revolve around one person from the moment they're given to the Order.

For two, this completely ignores that one of Anakin's biggest motivations is that he wants to be seen as a HERO, he wants fame and glory, he wants to do grand deeds like coming back to Tatooine to free all the slaves. As you might imagine, taking care of children isn't exactly going to seem like it fulfills that desire to someone like Anakin. It just isn't. THIS desire is what keeps Anakin from just LEAVING the Jedi in order to go be with Padme. If he just gets to be Padme's trophy wife, he can't go off to play the hero. He wants the fame and glory that he believes comes with being a Jedi, he wants the adoration that he thinks he can only get as a Jedi. If he didn't care about that, he'd have just left it the moment Padme agreed to be with him (or earlier, honestly). This desire is ALSO why he's peaks during the war, it's why he's so much happier and more comfortable during wartime than any other Jedi is. During the war, the Jedi are reduced to just going out and fighting "the bad guys" and protecting "the good guys." It allows Anakin to really settle into this feeling that he's being the big grand hero he's always believed he was destined for. The other Jedi tend to see this as really really far from what being a Jedi is all ABOUT, but Anakin DOESN'T because this is what he's always wanted being a Jedi to look like. This is why, when Tarkin claims the Jedi are being too soft during battles, it's Ahsoka and Obi-Wan who push back on that idea while Anakin actually agrees with it.

For three, there is NO INDICATION that Anakin never spent time around Jedi younglings ever. In fact, there's the OPPOSITE indication in canon, that Anakin already DOES spend enough time around the younglings for them to recognize him immediately and know him by name. There's thousands of Jedi, it wouldn't have been shocking if that one little youngling in the Council chambers didn't know who Anakin was when he walked in and just recognized that he was wearing Jedi clothing. But he doesn't. He addresses Anakin BY NAME. As I mentioned earlier, the Jedi appear to raise their children communally, so it would make a lot of sense that Anakin likely DID have to spend some time with the younglings every so often. Ahsoka herself is put in charge of a group of younglings going to Ilum to get their first kyber crystal when she's only 15ish years old, despite being a padawan who is assigned to a front lines battalion in the middle of a galactic civil war. You can make a REALLY easy assumption that at bare minimum, Anakin has probably had to take at least one group of younglings to Ilum by himself. But it's much more likely that he's had to do far more than that and interact with them somewhat regularly.

For four, there's actually canonical proof that handing Anakin responsibility of a child would never have saved him. Because Anakin is canonically handed responsibility of a child and it doesn't save him. Granted the child is like 14 years old when he is given responsibility of her, but it still involves having someone who looks up to him, someone whose future depends upon him, and someone he has to learn how to let go of eventually. And look what happens when she decides to walk away from the Order, look how well he reacts to that. Look at what happens to her when Padme's life is threatened and Anakin decides to throw everything away for a chance at power. Being given responsibility of a child didn't help him, it didn't save him, it didn't allow him to learn how to let go of ANYTHING.

For five, this completely ignores that the one thing that truly fucks up Anakin is proximity to Palpatine. If your argument is that Anakin should've spent MORE TIME sitting on Coruscant rather than going out in the galaxy, then this just makes him EVEN MORE vulnerable to Palpatine than he is in canon because now he's even more available. Palpatine can pop over to see him, he can ask Anakin to come talk to him and chances are pretty good that Anakin's around. The ONLY real way to "save" Anakin from going dark is to somehow completely remove Palpatine from the equation. The reason Anakin falls has NOTHING TO DO with whether he gets to take care of kids or not, it has nothing to do with how the Jedi taught him their values, or WHO taught Anakin the Jedi's values. There is nothing the Jedi could've truly changed about their culture or their approach to training Anakin that would've saved him. The assumption that they could've just moves the blame from Palpatine and Anakin to the Jedi themselves instead of recognizing the Jedi as the victims of Palpatine and Anakin's choices.

And finally, you've kind-of missed the entire argument being made in this post about Anakin. The argument isn't "Anakin would've been better off as a different kind of Jedi" but "Anakin SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN A JEDI AT ALL." Now, if we set aside the problem of Palpatine entirely, the best environment for Anakin to grow up in likely would've been one that was more akin to a traditional family structure, preferably a set of parents who didn't already have children so he didn't have to feel like he needed to compete for affection. I DO think that Anakin could've learned a lot from the Jedi if Palpatine's influence were removed, but I also think that what he learned from them would ultimately help him to recognize that he didn't WANT to be a Jedi and that this life didn't truly make him happy. I think the Jedi's way of life was already perfectly set to help him overcome a lot of his traumas from childhood and lead a healthier life, but he was never going to make a good Jedi, no matter what kind of Jedi he tried to be, because the kinds of things Anakin generally wants AREN'T the kinds of things that the Jedi lifestyle allows for.

The whole metaphor with the kudzu and the goats is that Anakin DOES NOT BELONG IN THE JEDI ORDER, and he needs to be REMOVED from that environment in order to be somewhere where he doesn't harm others just by existing. It isn't the ENVIRONMENT'S fault that Anakin doesn't fit into it, and changing the environment itself doesn't change the fact that Anakin is a harmful presence in it. The kudzu also cannot be changed to be something that DOES fit into the environment without harm, it will ALWAYS be harmful, there's nothing to introduce into the environment that magically changes the kudzu into a non-harmful non-native plant. It's always going to be invasive and harmful until it's completely removed.

Anakin Skywalker was an invasive species in the Jedi. He was introduced to the environment by Qui-Gon and the Jedi tried everything they could to co-exist with him but Anakin just didn't want to co-exist, he wanted to take over, he wanted to be the BEST. And when the Jedi couldn't give him what he wanted, he destroyed them to make room for his own selfish desires.

Luke might be a non-native species on Tatooine, but his father was a an invasive species in every environment he inhabited and a parasite in every relationship he was in, so I think Luke's doing just fine quite honestly.

[abbyfmc]

Yandere Story Idea #30:

"The traitor /fake friend".

Yanderes must have had some friends before meeting their senpai. I like to think of those kinds of "friends" who envy everything you have, to the point of doing anything to take it away from you (yes, like those friends who steal your partner). Let's say your partner has an envious friend, who is so in love with you that he will do ANYTHING to have you.

So this is the basic story I came up with: Two boys (who I'll call Anderson and William) have been friends since the end of high school (A/N: or as long as you decide), being classified as the "inseparable duo". Anderson came from a financially well-off family, to the point of inheriting the family fortune and businesses along with his brother Axel; while William came from a lower-middle class family with parents who weren't exactly the best.

William was overshadowed by Anderson in everything; in his studies, at work, in the family, economic and social spheres; however, Anderson did not do it on purpose. He always tried to be good to William, since he always defended him from the mockery he suffered for being considered poor.

Anderson was very good and kind to everyone, whether family or not. Unlike many rich and upper class people, Anderson could never look at middle or lower class people as inferior; on the contrary, he treated them as normal people.

William always felt envious of Anderson and secretly hated him for, according to him, "stealing a lot of things from him," when Anderson even gave him work and NEVER stole anything from him.

That's why William set out to steal EVERYTHING from him.

That is, until you met both men. You were a lawyer (or any other profession of your choice) that Anderson and William stumbled upon.

William fell in love with you at first sight, but you never really got interested in him, since you were really interested in Anderson. Anderson also slowly fell in love with you, and over time you became friends, best friends, then boyfriend and girlfriend, and finally married. Needless to say, Anderson was an excellent man to you.

You politely and cordially rejected every flirtation William made, but he refused to lose you to the possibility of Anderson "stealing" you.

This is where William starts to transform into the Yandere fake friend.

Yandere fake friend went crazy when you and his best friend first became a couple.

Yandere fake friend heard how happy you and his best friend were and he couldn't stand it. He would pretend while he was with you or in public, but in private he would curse Anderson for everything.

Yandere fake friend wanted you to look at him at least once the same way he did, but he didn't want to accept the reality that you deeply loved your husband. He hated seeing the fact that you talked nice to him, hugged him, kissed him, or gave him a child.

Yes, the yandere fake friend hated your child so much because is Anderson's child and not his.

However, William wouldn't take off his mask just yet. First, he'll try to take advantage of all the opportunities Anderson has given him to meet people and climb the ranks; second, he'll pretend to be a nice guy to your son; and third, he'll make his best friend believe that he would never hurt him, and that he could trust him.

Then, the yandere fake friend will try to create conflict between you and your husband, with the aim of separating you and making you disappointed in him.

Now, Here I have a couple of scenarios in mind:

You get divorced:

1. The yandere fake friend saw how his plan was successful after finding out about your divorce. You could say he was jumping for joy in his house. 2. The only bad thing would be that your son is between the two of you, but he would deal with him later. 3. Whatever the rumor or reason for your divorce (caused by William), William will make sure that no evidence reaches your hands. 4. Now, the yandere fake friend will try to manipulate you with comfort, support, and brainwashing. He will control situations in such a way that if Anderson sees you in these situations with him, he will become even more disappointed in you. 5. Or maybe the yandere fake friend kills Anderson and somehow manipulates Axel into helping him get a good place in his business. 6. The yandere fake friend will try to seduce you and if he succeeds, he will want and do anything to marry you (and maybe want to have another child). 7. If he fails, he will kidnap you and your child. 8. It is likely that if you fall for his manipulation, marry him and so on, William would make your son a puppet to keep him quiet, since he knows that your son is not stupid at all despite his young age; and that the little boy is suspicious of him. 9. Did I mention that William would secretly despise your son? You don't get divorced:

William will be very angry and will fly into a rage.

He would proceed to plan B, which is to murder his best friend. He would plan an "accident", then take advantage of your pain shamelessly to get closer to you.

Then the yandere fake friend would pretend to be hurt to try and manipulate you.

Since there are no witnesses (according to William), the yandere fake friend was able to continue lying to try to take Anderson's place.

If you fall for his game and fall in love, he'll do the same thing I said before. If not, he'll kidnap you and your child.

When your child is old enough, he will send him to study far away with the excuse of letting him know other places to expand his mind and knowledge, but in reality he just wants to get rid of him.

He only does this because he knows that your son is a hindrance simply because he is the son of your enemy.

If he had a child with you, he will treat it like a treasure.

William would also treat you like a precious diamond.

William will also try every possible way to ensure that Axel doesn't suspect anything of what happened and that he doesn't get close to you, his son (let's call him Dereck) or yours either so that he doesn't investigate what really happened.

If there happens to be a witness, William will extort him, give him money or kill him so that you will never find out the truth or be separated from him.

Ending #1: William gets away with it and never pays for his crimes. He gets rid of Axel and your son with Anderson (Anderson. Jr.) and passes it off as accidents, leaving him with you and only you. 12.1- If you find out the truth about his crimes against Anderson, Axel, Anderson Jr and other witnesses; the manipulations towards his own son Dereck; the hatred against Jr and all the lies, William couldn't believe what you are claiming from him with pain and resentment for all those deaths and tragedies. When he saw the pain, anger and sadness you felt for those people, his heart broke as he desperately tried to manipulate you that it was an accident, but you didn't believe anything and finally you yelled at him: -"Anderson gave you everything! He advocated for you many times, helped you with money and in your studies, he faithfully supported you when you needed it and gave you many job opportunities, HE CONSIDERED YOU AS A BROTHER! And I foolishly fell into your game…"- And with that, William began to show his true colors. 12.2- If you even think of trying to escape or call the police, William will not accept it and will probably keep you kidnapped. If you continue to love Anderson and advocate for him, William will not tolerate his resentment or envy and will kill you because he cannot accept that you, the love of his life, loved his best friend more than him. 12.3- Poor Dereck, upon learning of all the crimes and manipulations his father has said and done, would be so devastated that he would leave that house hating William or he would take his own life rather than continue being his son.

Ending #2: 13.1- The beginning is similar, except that Jr and Axel team up to investigate what really happened to Anderson. 13.2- While William is brainwashing you, Anderson.Jr and Axel are trying to gather evidence, until they finally find a witness. 13.3- It turns out that this witness had not confessed anything because William had him under surveillance and threatened, which is why he could not speak in all these years, with a weight on his conscience. 13.4- Anderson. Jr and Axel managed to convince him that nothing would happen to him, so the witness talked about how he saw William tamper with Anderson's car (the same car that Anderson crashed and died in). 13.5- Obviously both Axel and Anderson Jr. were devastated. 13.6- They both decided to tell you about it and finally open your eyes. Needless to say, you were very disappointed and started to hate William. 13.7- When they got all the evidence, the yandere false friend was arrested, especially for the crime of murdering Anderson. 13.8- Dereck managed to confront him before and after much discussion, William confessed his hatred for Anderson because he "stole" everything he could not have, ignoring the help and consideration that Anderson had for him; the deep hatred for Junior, Axel and the murder of Anderson. However, William tried to manipulate him and did not realize that he was recorded by Dereck himself. 13.9- You felt pretty bad, but not for him but for your children, for Axel and for yourself. You hated yourself for falling for his manipulation, but you hated him even more for everything he did against someone who had nothing but attention for him.

-The End.

Yes, i made an entire story in my head.

[catacropolis]

Twisted Wonderland Fear and Hunger AU

Jamil Viper

Jamil Moonschorching

The Deceiver

Growing up as a servant for the Asim family meant that every day was filled with strict responsibilities and menial tasks. His main duty as a servant of the Asims was to tend to the every whim of the heir of the Asim silk industry, Kalim. He hated him. The Asim silk industry was a thriving and highly successful conglomerate of fine and expensive fabrics. And their heir Kalim was probably the least fit person to run the company. As pampered as a pet , Kalim was a naive fool and Jamil despised him for it. He had spent years of his youth trying his hardest to teach the young heir about the responsibilities of his position and prepare him for his life ahead of him and yet he couldn't understand how the young man couldn't grasp such simple concepts. 

He would find himself spending his off time dreaming of what life could be like if he were Kalim. To him it was clear as day that the heir was incompetent and Jamil himself showed such promise. Above all he wished for a better life for him and his family. They were all talented and strong willed individuals. It seemed frankly ridiculous why they were not in power as he grew older. 

When Jamil reached the age of 13 his family began training him in studies of Gro-goroth The god of human sacrifices. Utilising his teachings he became skilled in magic associated with Gro-goroth.  When getting involved with the old gods he has been warned about the corruptive side of Gro-groth’s power. Learning to balance his power to the best of his abilities the underbelly of the Asim house assisted in Jamil's training believing that he would become the ultimate bodyguard for the heir. 

Unbeknownst to them, Jamil's hatred towards Kalim grew day by day. His patience wearing thinner before after years of his loyalty to the house he snapped. He had hurt Kalim . the person he had dedicated his entire livelihood to protecting. A part of him reveled in the power that his actions gave him but the realisation of the consequences dawned on him like an angry cloud. 

If the head of the house found out about his actions he and his family would truly meet a fate worse than death. 

With what little resolve he had left he fled the house and swore vengeance upon Kalim if his family was endangered . wandering the endless deserts of his homecountry he found himself on a train headed to Prehivil. 

Jaim and kalim both embody multiple roles in twst alone one that stuck out to me recently was chapter 7s connection to jamil being the genie 

And in a way it makes a lot of sense so the design is also somewhat reflective of that 

He's still trapped in this life that he desperately wants to escape from but he's lived this life for as long as he can remember so he doesn't even know how to live outside of that responsibility but he also so desperately wants to escape from that life 

Twst Jamil has expressed his interest in leaving. leaving the scalding sands and his old life behind and exploring the world and going somewhere that he has never been, that's nothing like the life he's had to live till now. 

Unlike the genie his master can't just wish for his freedom and it will be granted . kalim doest have that power his father does . 

 (I have a lot of thoughts about the complexities of Jamil and Kalim as people their dynamic is so convoluted and morally gray on both ends that neither is completely innocent or guilty and it's so fascinating) 

( could you tell that Jamil is one of my fav characters to think about ) 

 The multiple heads of the snakes is a combination of a few different design ideas 

First, its a reference to the snake hair Jamil gets in his ob design.

Second, i wanted to feel a lot like a gorgon head of snakes.

Third, the multiple heads represent Jamil's inner conflict of wanting to escape from his old life but not knowing how to since it's all he's ever known ( ex . Levi after the war returning to Prehevil despite all the pain it caused him because other than war Prehivil is all he knows and despite not liking the town doesn't know where else he could go )

The deceiver is a being of self-interest trapped by outside forces and despite its monstrous power, it can't break away from its own chains. In losing himself he loses any chance to find the life he wanted for himself. trapped in a fate controlled by higher powers once again.  His legs twist together into a solid pillar forming like an incomplete snake's tail. His appearance shifts into one resembling a naga . his legs becoming one restrict his movement only further imprisoning him into the reality he finds himself to be in. 

He is the deceiver yet he hides no part of himself. An example I could correlate this to would be Samaries moonscorching. dysmorphia is the embodiment of Samries view of herself and her deteriorating body and yet when she becomes dysmorphia she is happy in a way  and calls herself radiant 

Similarly, the deceiver shows the hidden truth and most vulnerable aspects of jamil that he keeps hidden from the world 

Samarie was one of the inspirations for his moonscorched form 

One of the abilities the deceiver would have is mind control ( ex the father snail enemies)

A lot of his attacks would probably be less physical and more mental/ psychological attacks that drain mind 

 Jamil would become the deceiver Day 2 morning  if the player during day 2 morning fails to encounter jamil and doppleganger kalim 

In the interaction, Jamil is within the city of Prehevil when he comes across a doppelganger Kalim if the player does not expose the doppelganger to Jamil his encounter with Kalim will escalate  causing him to Moonscorch ( ex Samarie and Marina)

for more information about this au

Au Masterpost

[mirensiart]

i have a super self-indulgent fire emblem modern au that brings me comfort during hard times and I suppose I could share it with u guys, maybe even draw it if I ever have the time...

But like, as you know, in canon marth marries caeda and chrom+lucina & lissa+owain & emmeryn are their descendants and their great great great great great great (add more greats) grandkids right

Anyway i just love the idea of a modern au where marth&caeda are chrom+lissa+emmeryn’s parents (lissa and emm can be adopted or the blonde gene is recessive idk) and like, lucina is grandpa marth’s fave and owain is grandma caeda’s fave and idk I just love the idea of all of them as a fam lmao

marth & caeda being like, super famous and also well known, marth is like a huge celebrity everywhere, like maybe an a-list actor with like 10 oscars and 20 nominations lmao caeda is like an actress too and they met on the set of a movie and everyone's obsessed with them lmao

emmeryn followed in their footsteps and is also a mega celebrity but went into politics, like she even becomes president at some point, while chrom+lissa try to keep a low profile for their kids’ sakes

I think chrom suffering from the tony hawk syndrome would be absolutely hilarious lmao like he is a nepotism baby cause his parents are MARTH and caeda and is like idk a famous actor and yet no one recognizes him ever lmao he marries robin who is his manager and people recognize robin more than him

meanwhile lissa is like the only one of the marth×caeda kids who isn't an actor or into politics and yet SHE is recognized everywhere unlike chrom lmao

LMAO OK BUT

lucina bringing severa to meet her grandparents for the holidays and she’s like “honey pls don’t freak out” and severa’s like “why would I—OHMYGOD IS THAT MARTH LOWELL?!?!”

marth signing an autograph on a napkin for severa during dinner, though

Also severa awkwardly meeting chrom (her father-in-law lmao) and telling him he is her mom's celebrity crush kdbdjd

[almacambiondaughterofsaleos]

Despite Both Being Toxic Figures, I Am More Worried About Those Who Relate To Stolas Than Bojack

The reason I worry more about Stolas' fans relating to him is because of the fact he's more openly soft and effeminate than Bojack thus people underestimate him as a predatory scumbag and don't think he's as bad. While Bojack shows he has a vulnerable side, he fits more of a traditional masculine build where people will call him out more for it in comparison with Stolas where people will say bs that a "bottom" like him can't be abusive or a pos. But as Ricky and Morty stated:

And that's why I really am concerned to people who look up to Stolas because it could enable a lot of toxic traits found in them. While Bojack is someone who meant to be written as such, Stolas is an unintentionally written toxic predator because his writers don't perceive him as that and endorse his more abusive traits. Unlike in Bojack where the lessons are he has to take responsibility and not rely on his past to justify or excuse his behavior, the narrative does that for Stolas from making his wife abusive to avoid taking him to task for cheating on her to now having Octavia being mad at him taking meds so that it makes her look like a prick for choosing to cut ties with him. Also notable in his relationship with Blitzo despite making a grand gesture out of tring to win his love he still thinks he's entitled to a relationship and is ignorant about how bigoted he is towards his kind and his social status. Frankly, where he is now with Blitzo he's already shown he's leaching onto his kindness and taking him for granted but is not called out by the narrative or fanbase.

I do think another thing that really worries me about the harm that Stolas fans could find in relating in him is the victim complex narrative. I am saying that the Stolas narrative of him being a victim of abuse is used to justify his own abuse towards Blitzo and neglect towards his daughter. This is in contrast with Bojack that never lets him off the hook for being abusive towards other people just because he himself had a hard life. Having an excuse of being abused doesn't absolve you are hurting others and it hurts even more when the narrative tries to "both side" or "treat the other party as wrong" when someone points it out. The guy only pities himself but never is made to reflect on his actions and have empathy for the people around him. The narrative expects him not to really have long lasting conseuences to his shittty behavior like Bojack but instead eventually get rewarded for it like the entitled pos he is. The gives the message that as long as you can cry about how you are the victim you can get what you want and not have face the fact you brought this on yourself.

With Bojack there is an encouragement to change, while Stolas there is a message stay shitty self while everyone around accommodates you. Stolas isn't encouraged at all to stop treating people like crap just because of the issues that Goetia life foisted on him but instead have everyone else do the heavy lifting. The show has an idea of Stolas being wrong, but doesn't go through with it because of his creator's pet status. They treat his shittiness like it's a quirk little aspect rather than how it should make him justifiably hated by others. They treat him like he's has the worst life out of all the characters while not being sympathetic to anyone else's circumstances but his. He is essentially what the show condemns Bojack for doing, but is going to continue to be rewarded because it's deluded he's just some sad boy whose only crime he loves too much.

[crooked-wasteland]

This Anon makes a point that fascinates me.

I know we all know the Fandom runs on emotional inertia. They really think we just feel a certain way about the show and so when we argue how Stolas abuses Blitz, but then how Stolas also abandons his daughter, they are legitimately confused.

How can we criticize both of those when they seem at odds with each other? They genuinely do not understand that our issue isn't in these choices, but the lack of weight and validation they have in the story. I have always loved the idea of Stolas having emotionally abandoned Octavia since Loo Loo Land due to only seeing her as a small child. This characterizes Stolas as not having been around to be a parent to her for a while. Specifically since she started puberty.

And that is great.

But the whole arc in Loo Loo Land was about bridging that divide and Stolas committing to being more involved in his daughter's life, even as he burns it to the ground. It's his shame incentivizing the relationship with his daughter to become rekindled, and that's excellent. I love the way the episode set this up.

So when Stolas proceeds to keep neglecting his daughter in Seeing Stars, it recontextualizes the message of Loo Loo Land. Stolas said he would be there more, and in fact he is still an absent father. So to have Seeing Stars end with Loona telling Octavia that she should be more forgiving, it makes Stolas, and Loona, a terrible person.

Which to clarify is not a problem.

Which means if that scene had a modicum of self awareness, Loona looking at that lighter shouldn't have been her saying how hard "Dads try" but rather realizing she is terrible to Blitz the same way Stolas is to Via and if she keeps treating him badly, he will abandon her the same way Via ran away from home.

What is the problem is this:

While we are supposed to see Loona as "connecting" through sharing her own feelings about her father, really she is the Stolas of her dynamic with Blitz. She is equally emotionally abusive to Blitz as Stolas is to Via. Not in the same ways, but to the same extent.

This isn't about emotions. We aren't hung up on characters because we think Medrano has it out for them or doesn't like them. We want these characters to be potentially unlikeable. But the story never takes into account the larger implications for how these actions, all actions, have consequences.

Except she kicks him between the legs when he apologizes for doing nothing wrong.

In the same way, the show does not identify stolas as being the problem. And because the show doesn't recognize that how he's behaving is harmful. He has no way of actually growing past that. It's okay that he's terrible but the show needs to know he's terrible.

This is why I keep stressing the importance of world building. Any show that doesn't have any world building, like Hazbin and Helluva, will be terrible. No matter how much talent or effort or good ideas go into them. Emotions are not good enough to love or hate anything. Emotions are fickle, fleeting and highly changeable by context. You can't survive on something so unstable. And the longer you try and manipulate people's emotions, the weaker the effect you have. You need to ground on something firmer than how the characters feel.

You can't build a house on sand, and they are trying to build a city.

Stolas saving Blitzø isn’t the problem, for me it’s Stolas’ lack of moral dilemma and hesitation. Helluva Boss loves slapping the audience in the face of how Stolas loves his daughter/how she means the world to him, show official painted images of Stolas taking care of Octavia, etc. But Stolas for the most part doesn’t show it with his actions onscreen.

Immediately once Stolas found out that Blitzø was going to be executed, he immediately rushes to his rescue. In this moment, he doesn’t think about Octavia. It’s only after Stolas gets stripped of his powers that he now thinks about Octavia.

I know it wouldn’t change Stolas and Octavia’s overall fight but at least it would illustrate that Stolas does cares about his daughter and that she isn’t an afterthought or a meat shield to use against Stella for an argument.

[papagabu]

The other day I kind of went on a whole thing about Shadow regarding my feelings towards the character to help people understand how I plan to portray him in my AU. But I decided I want to give my reason for why Tails is the main character of my AU.

The short answer is the Metal Breakers AU is inspired by two ideas I had: What if Metal Sonic rebelled against Eggman early, and the idea that if Sonic died, Tails would replace him as the hero of Earth.

The long answer.

Tails is a character that I feel has loads of untapped potential, like Silver, but unlike Silver, whose potential is wasted just off the fact we almost never see the guy, Tails is just held back by two things. First, his age; people like to call him weak a lot of the time, but Tails is frequently shown and even stated to be comparable to Sonic. He’s still below him but very close. Tails is also younger, so there’s a lot of potential for growth there; he would likely easily surpass Sonic if it weren’t for the second, more substantial thing holding him back: his complacency. Tails doesn’t really strive to be the best; he strives to be equal with Sonic, which is not a bad thing. It’s cute and nice that he’s got a humbleness to him that makes him not really strive for more than standing beside his big bro.

Tails is also just flat-out my favorite character; he always has been since I was little and likely always will be, seeing as how I still have love for the little guy after the character assassination he went through the during previous decade. For the longest time I couldn’t figure out why I liked Tails specifically. Looking at him, he didn’t seem particularly remarkable compared to other characters in the series; even at his best, sure, he’s cute, but that can only get you so far when you have to compete with characters like Shadow and Blaze. But I’ve finally realized why in recent years, to me Tails is easily the most relatable and inspirational character in the franchise; this seemingly innocuous little boy has such real aspirations and shortcomings.

I already mentioned how he just wants to stand beside Sonic. Tails doesn’t want to be the coolest; he wants to be seen as cool as Sonic. He doesn’t want to be the strongest or fastest; hell, he doesn’t even seem to want to be the smartest; that just seems to be something he was gifted with. Tails just wants what makes him happy, and that’s being beside the person that makes him happy, the hedgehog who practically gave Tails everything he needed in life. Sonic, the first real friend Tails likely ever had, the first person he could ever really call family. And I love that about Tails; at his best, his relationship with Sonic doesn’t just serve to make Tails a better character but Sonic too. I don’t think Sonic would be anywhere near as likable of a character to me if he didn’t have this precious little bean he’s constantly uplifting; Sonic inspires Tails to be better, and Tails inspires Sonic to be more loving, because without that relationship, Sonic would be almost all snark, which would really get old, as games like Colors, Lost World; and Forces have shown us.

Tails also easily has the saddest backstory; as sparse as it is, the bigger picture we can gather from what we know is not pretty at all. The fact he was bullied is what’s usually focused on, but we also know Tails was homeless and had to sleep outside a lot before he met Sonic, and that stormy nights were the hardest to get through, which is why he’s scared of lightning. That one statement has so many implications; why wasn’t Tails put in an orphanage? Why did no parents or other family take him in? Why did no one take him in? There’s no reason given, but you can make some assumptions; one I personally headcanon is because of the fact there’s implied to have been an ancient civilization on West Side Island where Tails was born. The people from his town or village are likely descendants of that civilization and have carried superstitious beliefs from that ancient culture. It’s very likely that Tails’s mutation was seen as a bad omen of sorts, so he was chased out of town; it would explain why he wouldn’t even be allowed in an orphanage and why he’d be such an easy target for bullying from the other children. And living isolated and ostracized like this, Tails probably had to do stuff like eat garbage, bugs, and small animals to survive. It can also give an explanation for how he took up engineering; he likely attempted to build ways to defend himself from the elements using parts he’d find in people’s garbage, or at a local dump or something. And this trauma has obviously left him with some deep-seated issues, low self-esteem being the most prevalent. You can even easily rationalize his portrayal in Sonic Forces, especially when you take into account the fact that since Colors, Sonic had seemingly been actively holding Tails back, keeping him away from danger rather than letting Tails stand beside him. Tails had come to rely on Sonic again due to Sonic’s actions causing Tails to lose the confidence he built up over time. Lost World is inexcusable, though, but I like to pretend that game doesn’t exist, considering it contributes nothing to the series (that anyone actually likes). 

I headcanon Tails as bisexual, I used to be against the idea of Tails being gay due to all of the evidence of him liking girls but I got into a weird conversation with a friend of a friend a couple years ago where I ended up conceding and saying I could accept Tails being bi.

[magnusthepuppet]

ok heres the thing. i know what it’s like to feel miserable because you’re forcing yourself to engage in spaces that make you feel worthless. i cannot emphasize enough how much that makes a person feel as if they’re worth less than nothing.

so when people hate stede because he left his family, i get really fucking pissed off. mind you, i grew up with one parent, i know what it’s like to be abandoned by a father figure. but jesus christ if it doesn’t boil my goddamn blood to hear that morally elitist argument that forgets that stede is human. at some point, you’re willing to do whatever it takes to just not feel like trash.

it’s the lack of understanding of that desperate state of being that it takes to do something like that that makes me angry i guess. that and i see a lot of myself in stede, so being told that his actions are self-centered and incompetent kinda fucks with me a bit yk yk.

[hsslilly-blog]

source

[naetaesarya]

Hi @herizon-verizon, I’d like to respond to several points in your replies and your posts.

For the sake of transparency, I want to put out there that I do like the idea of Jon and Dany interacting and having a (hopefully close, impactful) relationship. Jon is also my favourite character.

I don’t even think a relationship between Jon and Dany has to be romantic, I just want to see Jon and Dany interact and share their views and ideas. They’re probably not going to agree on some things and may have some moral objections to decisions made by the other -- which I think adds to the story between characters. However, I’d argue there are some pretty compelling avenues for these characters to go down together – including that they both are very young rulers who challenge oppressive status quos and convention. Some of my own takes with how Jon’s storyline unfolds are not popular. For instance, I do not think Jon is going to end up as a king for a number of reasons both in-story and conceptually.

At the risk of coming across as a “Joncel”, I’d like to make several arguments to your points and anon’s points.

First, I’m just wondering how Westeros (or any other character apart perhaps those close to Jon) is going to believe Jon really is the secret long-lost son of Rhaegar and Lyanna? Jon has the Stark look, a direwolf, the story of his conception and birth is widely accepted and unquestioned. Ned Stark was known for his honour. What’s more, there is this prejudice against bastards (including against Jon) that say they are deceptive and long to steal the claims of trueborns. A known bastard born super sus pro-wildling Jon Snow is now being claimed as the long-lost, perhaps trueborn progeny of Rhaegar Targaryen? I think there’s going to be some trouble – more if Jon does leave the Night’s Watch (seen as deserting).

For me, I think how this relates to Jon may be in Varys’s saying: “Power resides where men believe it resides.” I interpret this as that it’s not the truth of situations which define outcome but what the people believe/perceive.

2. The claim that Dany is a “girly-girl”. Yes, Dany certainly has conventionally feminine traits but I’d argue these don’t define her as they do Sansa and other characters. Dany also occupies many traditionally masculine roles (conqueror, leads armies, rules). Also being the mother of dragons – another non-conventionally feminine thing. Waiting for rescue while in a tower, brushing out her hair, isn’t really who Dany is or what she does. She's not martially trained by neither was Val, Alys, or Arya when Jon knew her. Nymeria never bears arms either but she’s known as a warrior queen.

Jon seems to have great respect for women like Alys, like Val, neither of whom are combatants and both having traditionally feminine traits. Yet, Jon still views Val as a “warrior princess” for her courage and resourcefulness. She's lethal. She's proactive. She completed a mission his men kept failing at. Jon also admires Alys for her courage and for her willingness to marry a wildling leader ("Let him be scared of me." ) Additionally, Jon has wanted to give Ygritte a flower from the glass gardens -- a method of Westerosi courting rituals Jon grew up with. Wildling Ygritte shoots that down because she doesn't know why she'd need a flower. Arya like flowers.

I’d argue Val and Alys, Arya, and Ygritte are all resourceful, courageous, proactive, and willing to challenge Westerosi convention, whether they bear arms or not. These traits, including opposing oppressive conventions, are something I’d argue Dany does as well.

Jon too wants a simple life with love and children, not unlike Dany. That’s what he was hungering for when contemplating Stannis’s offer: lordship of Winterfell with a woman he loves and children (including two wildling kids Jon wants to foster). Jon mentions that decision would be much easier if Ygritte had been alive which makes sense to me because Ygritte was a woman he loved and the only woman Jon has fallen in love with so far. 3. One of your anons said this: “Daenerys is willowy and tiny in stature as well, not hardened and tall. Yet more proof she isn’t Jon’s type and is exactly the type of feminine woman Jon reviles and is repeatedly derisive and misogynistic toward in his POV.”

Arya and Ygritte are both petite, short, and skinny too. I’d also argue neither are/were hardened… They each exhibit vulnerability with Jon.

4. There are multiple instances in Jon’s POV that refer to Jon having to “steal” a woman to win her love per wildling ways (“I would need to steal her if I wanted her love”). I’m wondering if perhaps that has something to do with Dany’s wish that a man come and take her away as her brother did with Lyanna.

5. Where does Jon… sell people?

There is more I'd like to respond to but I'm verbose enough as it is and am afraid of my post becoming tl;dr.

I'm sorry if I've misunderstood you at all.

Jon Snow’s misogyny toward feminine women who brush their hair and wait for knights to rescue them vs. Daenerys being feminine and wanting a man to carry her off is another clear indication of how incompatible Jon is for her:

In her dream they had been man and wife, simple folk who lived a simple life in a tall stone house with a red door. — ADWD, Daenerys II

Starlight and seafoam, Dany thought, a wisp of silk that leaves my left breast bare for Daario’s delight. Oh, and flowers for my hair. —Daenerys IV, ADWD

In my Seven Kingdoms, knights go on quests to prove themselves worthy of the maiden that they love. — ADWD, Daenerys IV

How beautiful, the queen tried to tell herself, but inside her was some foolish little girl who could not help but look about for Daario. If he loved you, he would come and carry you off at swordpoint, as Rhaegar carried off his northern girl, the girl in her insisted, but the queen knew that was folly. — ADWD, Daenerys VII

Another proof that Snowstorm shippers just see Daenerys as a self insert and don’t really know, like, or enjoy her character. Daenerys is NOT a warrior woman. She’s never had the privilege of being militarily or martially trained or given weapons to duel with. She likes brushing her hair and keeping it clean and bathing, things Jon seems to take issue with women doing.

Daenerys is willowy and tiny in stature as well, not hardened and tall. Yet more proof she isn’t Jon’s type and is exactly the type of feminine woman Jon reviles and is repeatedly derisive and misogynistic toward in his POV.

And I hate Jon’s line because Daenerys is a vulnerable and young orphan girl who suffered severe abuse from her brother. She wants to be rescued and protected. I don’t care about what Jon wants, except when it conflicts with what Daenerys wants.

This is an actually pretty good point to consider. Has there actually been some evidence that Jon would "make an exception" towards Dany or otherwise value ttis aspect to her for jonerys/snowstorm fans?

[theflagscene]

I feel like it’s very important to point out that in 12 hours, Mhok and Day are going to have emotional (steamy?) beach vacation sex, so ya know, just keep that in mind if you need something to get you through until tomorrow lol.

[snekdood]

idk but the way evangelicals talk about the anti christ, he kinna seems like a dope dude. cares about equality... nature... helping people..... reeeally struggling to see the issue here

[cursingtoji]

summary: clan leader!gojo needs a favor from your clan but as the leader you refuse, so he proposes to give you a child since your husband is unable to.

"and what am i to do when the child comes out with a white head of hair and blue eyes?"

“if that happens…” he undoes the knot that holds your kimono together and pushes the material down your arms with no resistance from you, “…then i’ll kill your husband myself and marry you.”

nsfw ahead cw: historical au, infidelity, pregnancy, creampie, child birth, satoru is pathetically in love. featuring samurai bodyguard geto and toji.

“i thought we had solved all our business with the gojo clan” your husband says from the door he leans on.

“and i did” you emphasize the i since the head of your clan is you and only you went to the clan meetings that got things solved. you tapped your lips a little bit more to place the reddish pigment looking at the mirror, “but satoru summoned this meeting and gave no details.”

“satoru huh?” your husband points, not letting go unnoticed the fact you used his first name without formalities.

“all right” you take one step back checking if your kimono is proper, “see you tonight” you peck his lips lightly to not ruin the tint on yours and proceed to the carriage outside.

for years the gojo clan and yours avoided each other due to some very old beef that no one remembers or even was alive when it happened, so when your mother passed and you assumed as the new head you soon decided to reach out to make peace with the current head of the rival clan and a friendly relationship was restored. more often than not you two met, sometimes with other clan members or even other clans when necessary, but today gojo insisted on being just the two of you.

toji, your bodyguard, opens the carriage door when you arrive and give you his hand for you to step out.

to avoid any issues the place of the meeting was always the temple middle way your residences. from time to time your families attended the prayers there, that’s when your husband saw satoru for the first time.

“where’s his wife?” he asked the first time you pointed the white-haired man as the clan head after you made peace.

“he doesn’t have one.”

“fiancée then?”

“i don’t think so” you both watched discreetly as he greeted the monks.

“i find that quite odd. what about the black-haired man?” he pointed to geto, gojo’s bodyguard, “could they be involved romantically?” geto leaned to whisper something to his master, a little bit too close if you might add, a few more inches and his lips would be touching satoru’s ear. his romantic life was no business of yours but you didn’t like the idea of him having any partners, didn’t seem right, though deep down you knew it was very unlikely for a handsome man like him to be alone. both men somehow found your curious gaze.

“geto” you greet the known bodyguard as you enter the temple, and he bows to you, your bodyguard nods at him as well and you’re guided to the secret room.

the conversation went on for almost an hour, satoru served you tea when he noticed you finished yours, which was unusual for a clan head to do such a mundane task but he always insisted no servant join on your private meetings. you always thought he was particularly paranoid about spies, but that suspicion was dismissed when you had your first meeting with other clan heads and he didn’t oppose the people that stayed in the back of the room waiting for their master’s orders.

“satoru we went over this on the last meeting, why am i here?” you are getting impatient, satoru always seemed relaxed when he was at the temple like it’s the one place people don’t come to him with problems, so he tended to do things without any rush at all.

“so impatient…” he smirks, “i was getting to the point but fine. i need your doctors for a few weeks.”

because of the many wars and the necessity to heal mainly the samurai your clan became specialized in healing techniques and remedies instead of combat.

“is someone injured?” you raised your eyebrow, it wasn’t likely for satoru to ask for something like this when he could’ve sent a letter.

“no. but we are expecting a conflict soon and—”

“let me stop you there satoru” you raised your hand and for a second you saw a glimpse of annoyance cross his features, “we don’t get involved with battles anymore, the healers go through extensive training and i can’t risk losing them in battle.”

“so instead of putting their knowledge into practice you rather keep them locked in a room reading books?”

“they are busy with research at the moment” you raise your chin unwilling to budge on the matter.

“is that so?” he tilted his head smiling “and how many people does it take to figure out your husband is infertile?”

you widened your eyes, this is way too personal of a matter for someone else, especially another clan head, to know.

on the other side of the door, geto and toji guarded the room, they were close enough to listen to the conversation and without turning his head geto looked at toji with his eyebrow raised, to which toji only nodded confirming the rumors.

“you’re not the only one with little birds across territories, sweetheart” his smile only seems to grow.

“that is no business of yours. besides, lending you my healers will only harm my clan and, as i said, put them at unnecessary risk” you managed to find your composure back and avoid the infertility topic.

“don’t you trust i have the best warriors? you seemed to when we came to your aid” he reminded a time you asked for their men.

“i paid for that.”

“and what makes you think i won’t?”

“we don’t need money.”

“i’m not talking about money” he drops the volume of his voice.

“listen, satoru—” you rise to your feet sensing the tone of this conversation is off.

“i’m listening, for a very long time i’ve been listening” he rises as well and takes a few steps in your direction, “you know what i listen to? the rumors about your family threatening to make your brother head of the clan if you don’t bear an heir soon.”

you take a step back.

“or the resources you’ve been spending to research a treatment for your husband. tell me, darling, can he even get it up for you?” he is too close now, you can see all the details of his insanely blue eyes.

“he— that’s not a problem” you accidentally confess.

“of course it’s not, look at you” his finger brushes your cheek and the touch makes you burn under your skin, “i could give you a child” he lowers his head to your ear, running his lips on it, “a healthy, smart, beautiful child” he presses his hand on your belly over the thick material of your clothes, “and it wouldn’t even be an effort” he presses his hardened member on your hip.

“and what am i to do when the child comes out with a white head of hair and blue eyes?” you look into his eyes challenging him to a solution.

“if that happens…” he undoes the knot that holds your kimono together and pushes the material down your arms with no resistance from you, “…i’ll kill him myself and take his place as your husband.”

you gasp, not expecting such an answer from the man you always watched trying to find a way to avoid violence.

satoru kisses your jaw then your cheek and when he gets close to your lips you turn your head, your conscience only now, in this intimate act, attacking you.

“he’s not fulfilling his duty” he whispers, letting go of the knot on his kimono, taking your hand and putting it on his chest. you open your eyes, not even aware you had closed them, and see his sculpted torso, so close to you, so warm…

“it’s not your fault, can’t you see?” he raises your chin, “it wasn’t meant to be, unlike us” you know he’s just telling you what you want to hear, but in his voice everything made sense.

“you’ll see” he picks you up and lowers his body with you back to the mat in the middle of the room, his kimono is still around his arms while yours was forgotten somewhere else, leaving only the very thin, dress-like, white undergarment that pretty much showed everything.

satoru lowers his head to your chest, his tongue wetting your nipple over the material, “i bet you’ll become even prettier” he replaces your breast with his hand, big and hot, and goes to the other nipple, “with your breasts heavy and a big belly” he sucks on you, hardly, you put your hand over your mouth.

satoru raises your legs over his shoulders, “your feet will get tired” he kisses the inner thigh, “but you’ll still come and see me” you thought it sounded like a question, it was a statement.

his head goes down, as he kisses your folds your back arches, he licks a stripe ending on your clit and flickering it.

satoru starts to lose himself, he gets too intoxicated by you, almost forgetting time is running against him here. he doesn’t have much longer until your bodyguard gets suspicious and calls for you, and by the way your hand is tight against your mouth he doubts you’ll be able to give a proper response.

he wants to make you cum before he shoots his load, suguru’s intel told him you asked one of the doctors if the woman needed to come to increase the chances. it doesn’t take much medical knowledge to interpret that question.

you cum on his tongue pulling him out of his dreams where he imagined himself doing that every night after those boring fucking meetings he has to attend at every slight inconvenience in his clan.

“it’s gonna be okay, just relax for me” he pushes his length slowly before you get the chance to see his size. you whisper his name behind your hand and he can’t stand not seeing your whole face, so he takes your hand out of the way and kisses your wet lips pushing his tongue and swallowing your moans as he goes deeper and starts to pick a pace.

satoru holds back a curse, reminding himself he’s in a sacred place and although anyone would say that’s ironic given what you’re doing in the temple he would argue that’s even more sacred than what most people prayed for.

you start to feel his weight down on you as he trusts get sloppier, he’s still kissing you, holding your lips with his when he twitches and fills your insides, in your drunk mind you think it’s so much more than what you’re used to.

after he catches his breath he pushes himself up and out of you, you allow yourself to close your eyes for a brief moment but you open them wide again when satoru pushes his cum back into you with his finger, “keep it deep and warm for me, yes?”

one hour later you pass through the door your bodyguard slides open for you to enter your chambers. on the way there you realized there’s no chance he and geto didn’t grasp on what was happening inside the room.

“toji?” you call before he can close the door and go to his personal room, he stops, indicating he listens although he doesn’t respond with the formality others usually do, “i trust you won’t share with anyone what happened today” you speak firmly looking the tall man behind you over your shoulder, his scar stretches slightly with his smirk, the man bows and closes the door.

they said it was a road accident, the horse got spooked and ran, by the time they found it there was no rider so they searched your husband and found his body down the mountain.

the ritual was long, you wore the traditional widow clothing, accepting the kind words of the clan members and the prayer of the monks. though you really were sad, all this pity was making you sicker than…

“at least you didn’t have kids, no child deserves to grow up with a dead father” an old lady says to comfort you while holding your hands.

“excuse me” you turn around walking slowly to not raise suspicions and as soon as it is just you on the other side of your home you bend your torso and throw up all you’ve eaten before the funeral.

you cough and when a tissue enters your field of vision you immediately take it and clean your mouth.

you feel your stomach empty but the light volume below it reminds you of whose fault it is.

you raise with the tissue on your lips to say thank you and the sight of the white-haired man makes you choke.

“shh, it’s okay, i’m here as an ally, to give my condolences to a friend in grief” there’s absolutely no seriousness in his tone.

“what about the war?” you ask through heavy breathing.

“that was child’s play, don’t worry, your healers will return safe and sound in a few days” he puts his hand on your shoulder to calm you down, you do.

satoru takes a second to drop his sight to your belly, it has been a month since your last encounter, and by your sensitive stomach he knows that one time was enough for you to get pregnant.

“do you think you can hide it for another month until the wedding? then when the child is born we’ll just say it was a premature birth” god, your former husband’s body was barely cold and gojo is already planning the wedding and what to say about the baby.

“why now?” you look up at his mischievous eyes, he knows what you’re asking truly.

“i don’t know what you’re talking about, it was an accident right?” he touches your face, brushing away a tear that came out, more of a natural body reaction of your gagging than a sadness reaction.

“satoru, tell me” you demanded.

“i just reflect a little you know? when i said i would kill him you never asked me not to. besides, i don’t want another man to think they own what’s mine” his eyes are darker, you think he’s talking about the child in your womb but by the intensity of his gaze, you realize he’s talking about you. “if you need anything tell suguru, i’ll have him staying in the village until we announce the wedding.”

“no, i have toji, don’t want anyone suspecting geto’s intentions” you defend.

gojo doesn’t seem to like it, but he doesn’t argue either, “either way, i want to see you. meet me at the temple in five days, we’ll talk about the arrangements” he leans in and kisses your forehead before turning away and then back “i almost forgot” he reaches for something inside his sleeve and pulls out a shiny golden bracelet with gems and puts it on your palm, you know you can’t wear it now but god it’s gorgeous, “came from the west especially for you” he puts his hand on top of yours and leaves it there for a long moment as you look into each other's eyes. satoru is fighting the urge to kiss you, if someone catches you he can’t say he’s comforting his recently widowed friend, so he forces himself to let go of you and go head back to his village.

the midwife instructs you to push harder as her helper dabs a wet cloth on your forehead. you’re squatting, on your knees giving your all to push the baby out.

finally one last push is all that it takes for the little one to come out, you want to lay down and close your eyes, but you need to see the baby first so you mumble something with your arms open, the midwife cleans baby’s face through crying and screaming.

“it’s a boy” she whispers putting him in your arms. satoru enters when he hears the cries and kneels in front of you. behind him are both suguru and toji, who aren’t allowed to enter but the men are also very eager to see the child they can’t help but try to peek.

you balance the boy in your hold for a little bit till he stops crying and when he opens his eyes you see the blue sky.

“give him to the father, we’re not over” the midwife says.

“what?” you, satoru, toji and suguru ask. the last two get an angry look from the midwife and remove themselves from the scene.

“the next one will come out soon” she puts new towels below you.

“two children? at once?” you ask in disbelief then look at satoru who can only smile apologetically.

after god knows how long you’re finally allowed to rest as the babies were cleaned and fed. the second one was a girl, with identical blue eyes as her brother and father.

“i can’t believe you put two kids in me” satoru is outside the wooden tub, breaking all tradition by helping you bathe after the birth.

“can’t say i’m sorry for that” he rubs your shoulders, “you were incredible” he confesses now that there’s only the two of you. satoru refuses to even let your feet touch the floor, he takes you out of the tub once the water starts to cool down, placing you on a dry surface and getting on his knees to dry your feet, you reach out to touch his face.

“i love you, satoru” you blurt, overwhelmed by your feelings for the man who was once your rival.

he looks up from his position, taking the hand on his face and kissing your palm, then your pulse, he kisses inch by inch of your arm until his lips are on yours, “i love you.”

"pay up, pretty boy" toji approaches geto.

"excuse me?" suguru looks up from the sword he's polishing now that gojo dismissed him for the rest of the night.

"i said it was gonna be a boy."

"yeah and then a girl came out right after so the bet was invalidated."

"there's no such a thing, the boy will inherit it all anyway" toji crosses his arms, geto laughs, fishing a coin from his pocket since he knows toji will say anything to win the bet.

"and what makes you say that? there's two clans and now two heirs" toji snatches the coin as soon as he sees the silver glow.

"that's just how it has ever been" he turns his back to geto who drives his attention back to his sword.

"things are changing old man.

dividers by @/cafekitsune

[nothingenoughao3]

I will say this forever as long as there is breath in my body, and couching my observations with love for Titan AE overall:

This movie's first two acts feel like Draft 3, but the final act feels like Draft 1.

There is a stark difference in quality and characterization. This is true across the board, although the biggest sins were committed against Korso. Here, let me count the ways:

Cale's arc from a cynical dope to a hero feels like it's missing a vital beat to tie it all together. I understand that Bluth and Goldman were experimenting with "less is more" storytelling, and overall I respect the approach, but this one comes off as an omission of editing and not a deliberate storytelling choice. They did remove a bit where Cale visits a human drifter colony for the first time. That is, I think, where his turnabout was supposed to happen. The "my brother has a photograph of Earth" scene is a poor substitute for him being surrounded for the first time by other people he's previously dismissed as scum. Those people welcoming him in would make him feel shame for his prior behavior. Unlike the bit where he tries to skip the human line and flat-out deny his own humanity, he embraces it. There's your impetus for him to transform into a full hero... an impetus that isn't really there in the finished film.

Gune feels stupider in Act 3, and does things we never imagined him doing based on the first half, such as piloting the entire fucking ship AND operating weapons (two separate systems that required two operators before) while screaming "WHO'S YOU'RE DADDY". it's korso btw

Stith has more lines in Act 3. She spends most of the movie growling, grunting, and being borderline nonverbal compared to Preed's snark--then she starts snarking along with everybody else. I don't mind this change, but it is a change, an inconsistency which points to a major change having been made in earlier parts of the film unreflected in the later parts. (I assume Joss Whedon was responsible for this.)

Akima's job in Acts 1/2 is different than in Act 3. Assume for the sake of argument that the inconsistencies are not "because her job is to be the girl" and are from the same issue as the rest of this list. Akima starts out hanging around the pilot's area of the Valkyrie, but only while Korso's not there--which is consistent throughout Acts 1/2. She CAN pilot but it's not her job; I'd say her job is probably supposed to be a medical officer (which is why Korso leaves Gune and Preed to watch the ship, why would you NOT leave your best pilot to keep the engines warm, and also why she recognizes the Gaoul when nobody else does--because girls have empathy she's into biology). All of the above goes away in Act 3, where they lean super-hard on her being the pilot to end all pilots and forget that she's supposed to be a medical officer. This all points to Akima's job having changed at least twice during the script editing process, and said process was arrested before they really settled on her purpose. Also she's a girl who serves any purpose so long as she has purple hair and flirts with the MC.

Hey remember how Gune built this device with a button on it that he didn't know the purpose of in his very first scene? Remember how he tries to run an analysis of this device in his next big scene? I do and you probably do, BUT THE MOVIE JUST FORGOT ABOUT IT. We had a Setup scene, a Reminder scene, and no goddamned Payoff scene. It should have come up when Gune was blasting at Drej ships! He should have hit the button and launched it into space and taken out a bunch of Drej! Or hey, what about it being used in an attempt to kickstart the Titan, only it doesn't work and they have to engineer the Drej Energy idea by the seat of their pants? But it never comes up again, because they didn't finish editing the script and forgot about including the Payoff!

And now Korso. Oh Korso. Look how they massacred my boy.

There is the shape of something great here. Korso being a nihilist pretending to be an optimist has great dramatic potential! Him melting down because he realizes that Cale's taking all this rah-rah New Earth bullshit seriously could be great. There are even other tacks they could have taken up where this could still conceivably make sense.

What if Korso thought he could manipulate Cale into going along with the mission, then appear to agree with what Cale's been saying this whole time just as Cale changes his own mind? Imagine that conversation! Korso quietly saying that Cale's right and there's no hope and maybe they should just give up, Cale having to fight against his boyfriend mentor and his own words being thrown back in his face. Great fucking cinematic potential.

Or, or! Korso thinks he's saving humans from the Drej by destroying the Titan. What if he sincerely believes the best way of helping humans is disarming them so the Drej have no reason to kill anyone else? That would be in line with the caring, heroic man we met in Act 1 and saw throughout Act 2. And it's always more interesting to have an antagonist who thinks they're virtuous or heroic.

What if Korso doesn't view his betrayal as a betrayal? What if Cale and Korso are fighting over who is the proper Savior of Humanity and how humanity should be saved?

Great shit. Dramatic. Delicious fodder for ficcing. And tragically not what happened. Instead Act 3 kicks in and suddenly Korso only cares about money and grabbing what he can. Okay. Who do I sue for whiplash.

There's still a decent story to tease out of this--his "World blowin' up changes a man" line highlights that it's not so much money motivating him as trauma. This feels like the direction Act 3 leans into by the end. Korso telling Cale that it's fine if Cale kills him, Korso running to rescue Cale when he really didn't have to, Korso sacrificing himself (whether you think he's dead or not)… these are the actions of a reckless man who does not care about his own life. A traumatized man still haunted by the Earth being destroyed, feeling responsible for said destruction in ways he can never actually make up for, okay, also delicious, good stuff, but.

But that's Korso on the Titan, who feels very different from Traitor!Korso on the Valkyrie. Traitor!Korso punching Gune, threatening the the crew, talking casually about murdering Stith, fistfighting Cale, abandoning Cale and Akima at New Bangkok, being so determined to murder Cale and Akima that he risks everyone's necks and his own ship in the Ice Rings… this feels like a guy who is in fact just motivated by grabbing whatever he can and fuck everyone else.

We can and should apply whatever Watsonian explanations we can devise for Korso's inconsistency here. But the reality, I think, a Doylian one: Korso's inconsistent because his character arc was supposed to have a major editing-related alteration, riiiiiiiight around the point when they stopped editing the script and had to put it into production.

I'm probably totally off-base with this claim but it sure does feel like it's true.

Brought to you, exclusively, from me and my “still-bitter-about-the-shitty-writing-for-Korso-in-the-second-half” ass!

[creatingblackcharacters]

No, That’s Not ‘How Color Works’. - Whitewashing

Whitewashing, as defined by Merriam-Webster:

"to alter (something) in a way that favors, features, or caters to white people: such as a) to portray (the past) in a way that increases the prominence, relevance, or impact of white people and minimizes or misrepresents that of nonwhite people and B) to alter (an original story) by casting a white performer in a role based on a nonwhite person or fictional character"

In fandom context, we know it to include:

Making someone’s skin lighter

Making someone’s hair a thinner texture

Changing someone’s nose to be thinner

Shrinking their lips

Changing the character in their entirety to be someone else

The Normalization of Whitewashing

Remember how I mentioned last lesson that despite the nature of poorly drawn Black characters, most audiences are not turned off enough to discourage the action in professional works? Similar idea with whitewashing. Not the same- unlike the Ambiguously Brown Character, which claims to have plausible deniability, overt whitewashing is usually enough to make fans speak up! But that’s the key word here- overt! It has to be “bad enough” to make enough people speak up, but as we’ve seen many a time, “bad enough” seems to have a much higher threshold for nonblack viewership (sometimes the limit doesn’t exist!)

Some visual examples

This is a link to my personal thread on a Netflix show I was watching- Worst Ex Ever. Now, while the show itself was quite enlightening, there was something I could not get over. I thought I was going crazy. And that was that no matter how dark the person of color would be in real life, the animated portions would draw this light pinkish-brown. Every. Single. Time. It's like they couldn't fathom scrolling down the color wheel. And this is a Netflix original! Netflix has plenty of money for someone to have caught this in creation. But... it was produced. And put out. And they're making more of it.

I asked all of the Dragon Age fans about the series, and uh… I didn’t know things were this bad, guys! Apparently this is a man of color, but it doesn't seem like the creators want you to know that 🤣. Jokes aside, as I’ve discussed before, the noticeable whitewashing- and that was one of many racist things I was told- was not enough to prevent sales... so why would they stop? I can only hope this new game, with all the updates, is enough to turn the tide. But the series has gone on for a while now, that if they’d chosen to do ye same olde… there clearly would not be a lack of financial support to prevent it.

Colorism as a Tool

Even when actors of color are cast, colorism often plays a role in normalizing whitewashing to audiences, even to Black audiences! People think “oh well at least they’re Black!” as if that is the only important part. It is not.

While Aaron Pierre, the actor cast for John Stewart of Green Lantern fame, is a GORGEOUS, STUNNING man, he is not the dark-skinned man that John Stewart is supposed to be and should not have been cast! To me, this is overt colorism, but clearly for many people this is not “enough” to warrant concern or even prevent the casting itself- including the studio behind the movie! Black fans have plead for years for the character of Storm to be played by a dark-skinned, preferably African, woman, and it has never happened.

It naturally happens in fan spaces as well, which is another indicator that colorism as a tool for whitewashing is quite effective for audiences. If I see one more Zendaya fan cast for Kida from Atlantis, I will scream. It’s been happening for years, and I don’t think any of the people who just want to see her and Tom on screen either understand or care that Kida is a dark-skinned character. Zendaya doesn’t look anything like Kida- it doesn’t matter if she’s Black too! Just because someone is Black does not mean they can play every single Black character! I’ve even seen people fancast Emilia Clarke of Game of Thrones fame, to which… I don’t have the words. I can’t fathom what would cause these decisions other than racism.

The Common Excuses

I must be honest. I don’t really feel like re-iterating how certain things are not okay and how to fix them, because I’ve already discussed these things in massive detail. So I’m just going to direct the excuses I regularly hear to my lessons, where you can read up on them.

“Their hair/eyes are like that because they’re biracial so-”

Relevant Lessons: 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 8, 9, 10

There is nothing wrong with having biracial characters with a range of features. I am not saying that! Because yeah, genetics do happen!

But I mentioned this in my last lesson, and I will re-emphasize here, that using biracial identity as a way to whitewash is a sinister form of racism. The intention here- the real intention- is the issue here! The idea that somehow this character can only look the way you want them to look by "diluting" their Blackness… I don’t know how you can explain yourselves out of that one.

You don’t get to use us as an excuse for diversity while still trying to maintain your preference for Eurocentric beauty standards. Black biracial people don’t always look light skinned, thin-haired and ambiguous, and even the ones that do don’t deserve to be treated as your fetish for pretend antiracism. If you just want to draw a white person with a tan, do that. But don’t change a character’s entire look just so you can work in some whiteness. If you want to claim that canon Black character’s mother was white, then I guess they inherited some of her personality because their features should not change.

“It’s my style/It’s the color-”

Relevant Lessons: 3, 4, 10

I hate all excuses for whitewashing, but I’ve grown to despise, hate, abhor and loathe this one the most as I’ve become an artist. I wish there were stronger words to describe just how much I hate the “style” and “color” excuse.

Are style and use of color oft intertwined? Absolutely. I’m not saying they aren’t. But out of everything, there are two things I want artists to understand:

1. Style does not cancel out racism! No style forces you to choose ashy greys and to change peoples’ features. That’s you! If you look at something, and it looks offensive, you change the style. You grow as an artist!

2. “Everyone who is brown will look ashy so I just-” if you recognize that your Black characters look strange in comparison to your nonblack characters, then it’s time to try something else! I don’t understand this sudden need for “realism” when it comes to color and lighting, but not when it comes to hair, for example. No one cares about realism when giving every and all Black characters wavy tresses they probably wouldn’t have, but suddenly milquetoast watercolor attempts at brown and off-putting lighting is “how it works”. That’s not fair.

The color picker is an available tool! I use it often!

Dead giveaway of purposeful whitewashing: if someone gets the outfit color palette right via color picking, but the skin color is multiple shades lighter. That means they were looking at that character and chose not to proceed.

Dead giveaway of purposeful whitewashing: if the white characters in the show are completely correct in their palettes. Again, that means they cared enough to look at everyone else… and not the Black characters.

If you use the color picker and the color picked is… disrespectful, you do not have to use that! You can simply choose a better color that is still similar to the brown that ought to be depicted!

“It’s the lighting-”

Relevant Lessons: 4, 5

If your white characters do not shine like snow in the sunlight because of your lighting, then your lighting does not make your Black characters suddenly light tan.

If your Black characters look bad in your lighting of choice- for example, putting a very dark-skinned character in electric white lighting can be ghastly- try changing the intensity or the color of the lighting. DON’T change your character’s skin color!

I'm going to show you some pictures of South Sudanese model Nyakim Gatwech. Pay attention to the choices of light, color, and makeup.

Look how BEAUTIFUL she is! Look at the choices of intensity and color of light, and how they make her look different in each image.

Now look at this image in comparison:

In this image, whoever did her makeup and took this picture did not take into consideration her skin tone. She's also under this really intense lighting. This is an example of "increasing the lighting does NOT make an image "better"". She didn't need to have lighter skin or "more lighting" to look good. She needed BETTER lighting, lighting that worked with HER.

To see this as an example in drawn art, @dsm7 makes an excellent argument for proper lighting and color, why it is an issue to use it as an excuse, and how to solve that problem.

‼️DISCLAIMER FOR NEXT EXAMPLE‼️

Okay. I am about to show y’all a fan-created example from my personal experience. It is a TEACHING EXPERIENCE ONLY. I am not including the artist’s name in this image. It happened a couple years ago, and it’s over- they’ve chosen to be who they are despite me kindly confronting them about it. The only reason I’m including it at all is because I feel like it would be remiss to have such a clear-cut, multi-level example, and not teach with it. That said, no, I am not telling anyone to act out towards them. Again, that is not what I’m telling you to do. The last thing I need is a literal lynch mob of angry nonblack viewership for trying to teach you all, and y’all sitting there watching it happen to me. Every example of whitewashing is not going to be so obvious, but I hope you learn how to spot the examples in the art you see and share.

I'm obviously a Hades fan, particularly of Patroclus- despite my disdain for the lack of effort in his canon character design. So I've seen a lot of things. That said:

“Well it’s just MY design of them-”

Relevant Lessons: ALL

The sepia coloring did not do this. The lighting did not do this. The design is the exact same as the Hades version, even down to the shape of the hair curling in the back. The only thing that is different… is the man himself.

Y'all. Y'all! You CANNOT take a pre-existing Black character and say “oh well this is my design of them” …and the design is of a whole white person. Because if the rest of the fit is the same, and the only thing that changed is the Blackness… Racism. If you’re going to “make up your own design”, then do that!

“Blackwashing”

Speaking of: I’m sure someone edgy out there thinks they’re so smart as they retort to the screen: “but if that’s not okay, then why is Blackwashing okay?” To which I say- shut up. 😐

The “definition” by fandom: making a nonblack character Black, usually an anime character, but characters in general.

Funny enough, the actual definition in the dictionary (or closest to) is “to defame”, in contrast with whitewash (as in whitewashing history). Maybe racist fans ARE using it correctly when they say you’re blackwashing their characters, when they mean you’re making them “less likable because they’re Black now”. 🤔

Anyway: Blackwashing is not real for the same reason reverse racism is not real.

Me painting these characters brown is not going to take away from the fact that there are far more of you in media than there is of me. Me saying that I ‘headcanon a character as Black with 4C hair’ is not going to make the studio go “oh! Well they must be Black with 4C hair now!” Me saying “oh I think I’d like this character better if they were Black” as a beta tester (less overtly, obviously, because I’m not racist!) will never make a studio change that character. Black viewers have minimal value in comparison to the power of the white viewer’s dollar. I could draw white characters Black every single day of every single game media… and they would still produce majority white characters. There has not been centuries- if not millennia, when we consider Jesus Christ himself, even- of purposeful “Blackwashing” with the intent of removing the original ethnicity- and thus importance- of white people. No one has ever been allowed to forget when someone is white. No one has ever been allowed to forget or not acknowledge white people.

How it could be "solved"

Personally, I love Black edits and I welcome them here. I find them creative and fun. But if you really, REALLY didn’t want us to make those edits, then naturally, we need more Black characters in all of our media!

I wouldn’t have to make edits if I saw more of me to begin with in the things I like to watch- but when we have those characters, racists act an ass about them. We’re not allowed to even be present! I’ve seen too many gamer bros mocking the existence of Yasuke in Assassin’s Creed, and he was a real ass man. But if we made a game about African peoples in African societies, how many of the gamer bros would actually play those games? Do you think there’d be as much support, when we hear so much about Black characters that are treated so abhorrently? How many games do we have where people would love their faves just as much if they were Black? I even learned that Solas was apparently supposed to be a man of color. IMAGINE how many people would not have liked that man, with the same exact plot and characterization.

Something I’ve noticed recently: apparently "Blackwashing" is not a thing when White fans “allow” it. Take this recent trend with Miku. International Miku was beloved! But if you draw any other character as Black on any other day, there will be people that are horrid about it. Ask any artist, Black artists and Black cosplayers especially, who’s ever done it what their comments are like. I’ve read entire missives akin to white supremacist drivel on how it’s somehow morally wrong to make characters Black. Meanwhile no amount of “hey maybe you shouldn’t do this” prevented the movie Gods of Egypt from being created, with a cast full of British White people.

Solutions to Avoiding Whitewashing!

1) Using References!!

Do I think you should know what Black people look like? Yes. We’re humans. It’s 2024. Everyone knows what we look like when it’s time to hate and discriminate against us, so you know what we look like when it’s time to love and depict us. If you’re on Tumblr, you have access to the Internet. ESPECIALLY if you’re in the U.S., as Black people are the source of damn near every piece of online pop culture. If you can find my dialect to make my jokes, you can find pictures of me.

Would I rather you use a reference every single time so that you can only strengthen your depiction of my people? ABSOLUTELY.

Anyone on the Internet telling you not to use a reference or that you shouldn’t need a reference? Unfollow them. You don’t need that negativity in your life. Why would you deprive yourself of a tool to create? The greatest portrait painters in history had to look at their subjects! You are not getting paid nearly as much to do this as Hans Holbein, and he had to stare at Henry VIII correct else lose his head- you can pull up multiple references. I’d far rather be judged for using hella references than be judged for being a racist!

Part of the issue is people draw what they’re used to, what they’re comfortable with (thus last lesson). But if what you’re used to is not what someone will look like… That’s not okay. Their features are not the issue, your skills are the issue. Learn! Practice! There is no rush. No one is rushing you to be perfect at drawing Black characters, and no one is rushing you to post them. You can just practice! If you’re not a professional, you can take as long as you need to draw! If you need to draw that piece of hair over and over until you feel like you have down the shape, you do that! If you need to use a tool that would draw the hair for you, you get that tool!

If you want to post, you can say you are practicing! If you make clear you are practicing, then be willing to accept that people may have feedback. I’d far rather deal with someone saying they’re unconfident and practicing, than someone posting a whitewashed caricature and closing their ears because “well at least I’m trying!”

2) Empathize! Care about actual Black people when you create a Black character!

Imagine, if you will, in the Twilight Zone: you went to an artist, and you asked for a white character (I typed in “regular looking white dude” on google). There’s hardly ever any white characters, you’re so super excited about this one! You paid good money, because you’ve seen just how amazing this artist creates! They’re so good at drawing characters of color! But no matter how many times you ask, they send you back an image of… Assad Zaman.

That man might be fine as hell! Gorgeous! Beautifully done! Chef’s kiss. Stunning! But… He’s not white. That’s not what you asked or paid for. You can’t even fathom how they mixed this up, they don’t even look alike! And when you confront them, they gaslight you, they call YOU the issue for not understanding how you can’t tell that this is a white man! They would never get this wrong! They have white friends, you’re the racist! But you’re not stupid, and you have functioning eyes- you can SEE what this drawing looks like! And… It’s not you.

It’s dehumanizing. It’s being told that there’s a “better way” to look like you, and that’s by… Not looking like you. You, as you exist, are what’s incorrect. Your identity is incorrect, not their drawing. It’s better to have thinner hair instead of an afro or locs, it’s better to have lighter skin, it’s better to have a straighter, thinner nose over a round one, and smaller lips.

And what makes it worse is knowing that people who don’t look like you? Probably won’t care. They won’t be willing to see- not unable, but unwilling- that playing with this caricature is harmful, that they’re propagating harm by not acknowledging it. They’re letting you know that your humanity means less to them than the clout received with a whitewashed or half-assed Black character, and that people will applaud them for that ‘attempt at inclusion’. And people will applaud! They will be entertained by the mere performance! And that hurts.

I’m going to say this, and it’s awkward and I try not to say it directly on here, but… Having Black friends and/or being around actual, real life Black people would help. I can tell from some of the questions I receive that Black characters and their traits- especially things like our hair and our cultures- are being treated as… alien concepts. But even if, for whatever reason, you legitimately don’t know any Black people, you do not need to know us individually to care about our humanity as a whole! Even if you do not know we’re there, we are, and we could possibly see your work!

By acknowledging Blackness and making room to understand what it means- and that includes how we can look- you are doing the bare minimum of acknowledging our personhood. If you cannot do even that, you don’t need to be drawing us.

Conclusion

Here’s the thing: if you want to draw a white man with tanned skin, do that. Just do it! You do NOT have to erase me to have more of you! There is not a single fandom where the majority of the white fans ever said “gee, not another white guy!” It simply doesn’t happen. God knows we wish it did sometimes. You will always have an audience for white characters. There’s no danger to any of you of “being erased”.

(Without putting on my political hat, I will say that a lot of white people who consider themselves to be far from white supremacist will express beliefs in line with great replacement theory if you push them hard enough. It is unfortunately not as uncommon an idea as you might think. I would do some self-evaluation.)

People are going to notice that you only ever draw white people, but… To be frank, that has never stopped anybody from being successful. Again, Jen Zee, at Supergiant with the terrible dark-skinned characters… Still has a job. at Supergiant. A professional studio. Dragon Age. Multiple games of consistent whitewashing and racist writing. Still going. If racism prevented creation and popularity, I wouldn’t have to have this blog. Alas, that is the society we currently live in.

But if you ACTUALLY want to depict Black characters, if you ACTUALLY want to do right and be respectful- not because you want the clout, but because it’s the right damn thing to do- then you need to commit! This means drawing them as they are meant to be! Accept that you’ll likely lose some fan base, who was there (whether they were aware of it or not) for the white and lighter skinned characters. Accept that this means that trying to appeal to those people by whitewashing characters is 1) wrong, 2) racist, which is 3) something you chose to do when you could simply have just… Drawn more white people.

I’ll say it again: antiracism is hard. It’s hard doing the right thing in a society that rewards racism so easily. It’s really hard knowing that people will stop supporting you or caring as much about your work when you start including Black characters as actively as you do white ones, especially if you start talking about the importance of it. But in my honest opinion, I’d far rather be someone that cared about others, with genuine fans, than someone that was racist for the fleeting internet clout of strangers. And that may be less ‘hopeful’ than I normally am in these lessons, but… People make choices. And people who have been informed- as you are now- are aware of the choices they are making. It’s the thought that counts, but the action that delivers- let’s choose better actions.