#btw: whenever i make these for POC character

[margokesses]

I feel like whenever white people say things like "this character listens to taylor swift!' And the character in question is a poc... they're trying to make these characters more palatable to themselves.

Like miles morales is not listening to Taylor when it has been shown in his movie, ps4 game, and comic counterpart that he is a rap/hip hop fan.

Hobie brown aka spiderpunk is not listening to her either. He canonically (in both the film and the comics) listens to punk artists!! And it's not just the white ones either btw

Or pavitir (I have yet to read his comics) but I would imagine a person being born and raised in India would listen to the Indian music that's popular there.

Like I don't think white people understand the cultural impact that music has on poc.

Like poc are gonna listen to the people they're parents and grandparents grew up with. And 9 times out of 10 you're not gonna listen to a white artist until you're like 12 when you're able to branch out and discover other music on your own.

Hell, I didn't even know who taylor was until the whole Kanye incident at the vmas bc I grew up listening to rap/hip hop from my mom and 70s/80s soul/rnb from my grandparents!

[archiveofliterature]

anyway i have Thoughts™ about how ramy is perceived to be just a mouthpiece for rf kuang's anti-colonialist views

at this point i'm genuinely gonna have to reread babel for a 3rd time to see what that means bc. huh?

of course disclaimer preface whatever you are allowed to have your own views you're allowed to feel what you feel you're allowed to not like a book

i just feel like – it's the way a queer character just exists in fiction and in the real world, where they happen to experience prejudice in regards to their identity, but cishets just perceive them to be making "queer" their entire personality

it's the same thing here? when you see a brown character talking about how he feels about britain settling in india (britain, who ends up murdering 100 MILLION indians during this settlement btw!!!) and therefore witness how that naturally results in his strong-willed anti-colonialist views – how is that just his personality? how is that just all that he is? is that all there is to pay attention to whenever ramy opens his mouth?

from what i recall, ramy loves reading and translating, loves cooking even though he's bad at it, loves his religion and okay maybe there is a reading on colonialism in those bits too but when you are literally living in a colonial world, i don't know how you expect none of it to link back. that's how writing works and that's what it means to be a poc in a white man's world

again, just some thoughts lol

[blackfilmmakers]

We should NOT pirate the Wish movie from Disney. We should support it because it’s original and the lead character is a person of colour.

There's literally (multiple) genocide(s) going on, and Disney is actively supporting one of them as far as we know (poc are suffering btw, since you wanna bring that up)

I don't give a damn they are making another mixed quirky Black girl the lead of a medicore looking movie that can't do the bare minimum of representing the cultures accurately

If they didn't care for Tiana to the point of purposely tanking her movie so they can move on to 3D, I don't care to see more mediocrity out of them whenever it comes to Black girls

[andreal831]

Hi! I love your posts and would like to hear your opinion on this:

Is it just me or does the fandom seem to have different standards between Caroline and the rest of the female characters?

Like, for example, Caroline is allowed to have her flaws (Like being unnecessary mean at times, insensitive slut-shaming, etc) and the fandom praises her and loves her for it. But whenever the any of the other female characters (Elena, Bonnie, Hayley, Liv, etc) behave similarly they’re bashed for it.

This isn’t bashing Caroline, btw. I do like her, this is just something I’ve observed.

First, thank you so much! I'm glad you like my posts <3

Second, I'm going to try and answer this in a way that I offend the least amount of people possible. But remember, these are just my opinions and interpretations of the show. You can like/dislike whatever character you want. My opinion doesn't need to matter to you.

The fandom in general has a lot of misogyny in it and I do think we can blame a lot of it on the writers for encouraging it. But, yes, each of the women in the show are treated very differently for various reasons.

I like Caroline, but I'll talk about my feelings on her more in another post. I know there is a lot of discussion in the fandom of Caroline being a self-insert for JP and it allows others to have her be a self-insert for themselves. Therefore, the fandom tends to be more understand with her because they see themselves in her. I agree with this to an extent. I do think that Caroline is easier for the audience to understand because her problems feel more human. Most people can understand being an insecure teenager or feeling left out by her friends, a girl who has boy drama and fights with her mom. Season 1 really cemented Caroline as the teenage human girl. While Bonnie and Elena were dealing with supernatural problems. While, as an audience, we can appreciate them, we can't fully understand what they were going through.

This plays a part throughout the series for a lot of people. I see fans often forget the struggles of other characters but hold on to Caroline. To me, it's because they related to Caroline on a personal level they just aren't able to do with the others. A lot of girls are watching Caroline struggle through the same issues they are as they are struggling through them. While I don't necessarily think it's in a self-insert type of way, Caroline does represent the average teenage girl, even after she is turned. I don't think this is a problem per se, people will always find ways to relate to a character. It's the point of media.

I hate discussions on who is the better friend between the three because they all have moments where they are amazing friends and moments where they had issues to different extents.

We also can't discuss how everyone is treated without mentioning race. Bonnie is constantly held to a higher standard because of this. As the only black/POC character for the vast majority of the show, Bonnie has to represent the whole community. She's not allowed to be angry or loud or rude because then it furthers stereotypes. And when she is, people jump on these stereotypes and write her off as a character in general to make it seem like it's not just their racism.

Now for the rest of the women, I have seen hate for every single woman on this show get unnecessary hate. Including Caroline. I do think Caroline stans let her slide on a lot and will defend her like their lives depend on it, but so will Katherine stans and Elena stans, etc. We tend to want to see our favorite characters as perfect and any critique is seen as an attack on their choice of favorites instead of just that, a critique. There is not a single character alive that cannot be critiqued.

Caroline sleeping with Klaus after everything he did was wrong. Just like Elena sleeping with Damon after everything he did was wrong. Caroline was wrong for murdering 12 witches to save her friend just as Hayley was wrong for helping get 12 hybrids killed to find her family. These things don't cancel each other out or make one alright.

Bonnie is perfect and has never done anything wrong.

I do think Caroline stans tend to make up a very large and vocal part of the fandom so it does come across that Caroline is allowed to do anything without critique, but I feel like I've seen a shift in the fandom (or maybe just the side I'm on) where she does get called out. And this is coming from someone who has gotten some nasty inbox messages from Care stans. But some of my favorite mutuals are also Care stans. I've seen so many people love the villains but criticize the teenagers for absolutely everything they do. People just want their faves to be perfect and for everyone to love them. Don't let the problematic, toxic stans represent the character or the fandom as a whole.

Thanks for the ask!

[moonys-bf]

let’s talk about fanfiction surrounding racism!

strange that this even has to be said, but here we are.

1. first and foremost - this is not a “who can write what” argument. obviously, people can write about experiences that they themselves will never face. this is the basis of fiction. however, the real issue lies in how this is being done. whenever approaching a controversial or nuanced subject, doing your own research is pretty important. personally, i would want to make sure i understand the topic fully before putting pen to paper, and i would want to treat the subject with care. yes, i may not go through something personally, but when you are putting something up for consumption, there is always a chance that someone who does go through it personally will read it. which brings me to my next point:

2. yes! this is fiction! but fiction can always have real life consequences and will always evoke real life feelings. even if it’s not for monetary gain, the whole point of writing and posting writing is to largely evoke real life feelings from other people. especially on difficult and sensitive subjects, portraying things like this accurately is important.

3. some things are not as surface level as they seem. “white savior” does not always mean literally saving poc. when handling racism in fics, i would genuinely suggest looking at it and wondering if implicit bias is shining through, or what it’s really focusing on. if it’s centered on a white character figuring out that yes, racism exists and yes, they do have privilege AFTER a poc they were close to has been a victim of a racially targeted attack (whether physical or not), i would take a second look at it. a character saying they understand they have privilege is one thing, but i would argue that they have not reached a genuine understanding unless they begin caring outside of marginalized people that are directly close to them.

4. “people can write what they want” yes! however, when it’s framed specifically as a piece of work advocating against racism or the author has made it very clear that this is not meant to be a racist work, it’s important to make sure that it’s not secretly coming across that it is. writing anything on racism in general is making a statement. writing something against racism is making a statement. when doing so, it’s more important than ever to be informed and to take the struggle off the white character who’s just somehow discovering racism exists.

5. the use of racial slurs in fiction writing has been long debated for longer than i’ve been alive, and i’m not here to get into this argument specifically, as this is explicitly about fanfiction. is it really necessary in fanfiction? is it absolutely necessary? typically, the answer is no. it is one thing to include racial slurs for the sake of hurt/comfort (WILD btw), it is another to talk in the notes about how the author hated writing them. nobody is forcing you at gunpoint to use racial slurs.

6. this may be a little more controversial, but being poc also does not absolve you of doing your research. i myself am poc and wrote multiple papers on nuanced topics surrounding racism (yellowface, cultural appropriation, microaggressions, etc.). i still had to and wanted to do my research. research in general strengthens your argument and enhances writing quality! more importantly, it makes you know what you’re talking about.

-

thank you for reading ! this is a subject i do feel the need to touch on because i’ve been seeing quite a bit of it lately, and this is purely my opinion as a writer and an english student. you are welcome to hold your own.

[eastgaysian]

hii, so. i've been thinking about it as a woc living in the third world myself but um. the critique of succession on like, neglecting race, don't make a lot of sense to me for a number of reasons like okay it's def a laugh whenever someone says "i wanna imagine what a black character would look like on succession" but it's not really an Elephant In The Room wrt to appraisal of the writers' room imo? bec from where i'm coming it's not so much an implicit thing that they've avoided dealing with race and maybe i'm wrong? but like stewy and lawrence were very important characters in s1, and marcia was too atleast till s2. we got shiv getting someone to look into marcia's background and the deleted scene from the s3 finale where they talk about their past. and everything that you talked about kendall after ep8 imo. employing jess and lisa and marrying rava (jewish) and telling sophie he loves her only to walk all over them. connor mentioning how poc and women were not allowed on the upper floors (decision-making rooms) of waystar when he was young. a black woman being one of the people who voted against logan in the coup in s1. other instances come to mind too (roman asking "is he a jew btw", shiv's implied backstory w lisa esp how sanaa lathan talked about it) etc but overall i feel, it's not like a sidelined thing as much as them hyperfocusing on the family as the show has gone on. i think they're conversation on gender gets more screentime since almost half the characters are women, and it's layered in with nuances of class and race but also how sexism just sometiems pervades those institutions as well. maybe i'm completely wrong though, idk :/

i generally agree with what you're saying, and this is what i'm referring to when i say that i do believe race is a concern for the writers. there's a demonstrated awareness of how race and class intersect in several instances throughout the show, there's some amount of thought put into it. but it's clearly not a central concern that gets intentionally, consistently explored and critiqued in the way succession deals with capitalism, familial abuse, misogyny, sexual violence, etc. the recurring characters of color aren't in the main cast, they've all been sidelined or written off for various reasons. while there's plenty to read between the lines about how race affects the way stewy or marcia or jess move in the world, this hasn't been explicitly brought up in the show until s4 (the direct comments about race are all from white main characters usually speaking in a general sense), and in s4 sophie and jess's responses to racist rhetoric have ultimately been in service to kendall's character.

this is kind of an inevitability of how succession is constructed. it's about the roys, an obscenely wealthy, privileged, white family. their space in the world is overwhelmingly occupied by white people who have insular worldviews and do not care at all about the people of color they interact with or the oppression they face. the people of color who work for them aren't real people to them, and the people of color they work with or hang out with or marry are only people to them as long as they don't really think about their race. despite all the jokes i make about What if the roys were wasian, the roys can't be nonwhite, and when the focus of your show is this kind of white family and their viewpoint you have very little space to meaningfully talk about race.

but like, if sidelining characters of color and never being able to meaningfully address race is an inevitability of how succession is constructed, then that doesn't make it above criticism, it just means that the object of criticism is how the show is constructed. (monster of a sentence, sorry, i'm not getting graded on this so i can't be bothered to edit it to be actually coherent.) stealing from caden romanroydinnerparty's response to an ask here:

i think the... strain? limitations? of succession's format and its ability to comment on race are more exposed in s4 due to its increased political focus, which requires acknowledging the racism + antisemitism within fascist rhetoric. given these constraints, there is at times visible effort to talk and think about race, but this is inherently limited and often awkward because from the start, the show wasn't 'designed' to do that. constructing a show that can't talk about race doesn't happen without some degree of racist bias on the part of the creators and, maybe more relevantly, in-built racism in the entertainment industry as a whole. i think succession could be better with how it handles race, but it could also be a whole lot worse. flawed as it is, there is still plenty of interesting stuff to me in the way the show does address race. i don't know that a show like succession - or any mainstream tv show really - could ever be devoid of racism or 'anti-racist.'

[emmcfrxst]

ngl i kinda wanna hear your analysis on arthur whenever u have time bc as much as we love this man- i think we sometimes forget that this man is canonically racist and sexist even tho he is considered progressive and better than most men during that time (looking at u micah😒).

examples of this being like during his antagonizing lines for the women around the camp or him not rlly caring when other racist gang member make racist comments towards lenny, javier or charles.

idk if this wording made any sense but i’m too lazy to go over it too much😭 i love your works btw!! just wanted to see your own analysis on our man🫶🫶

(don’t know if u need age for anons but i’m 19!)

i quite honestly don’t really have an analysis on this because i hadn’t really thought about it like that before (which. you are SO right. my bad) and i honestly think that this part of his character is kind of held within the boundaries of the game itself because when it comes to the antagonizing comments it’s a personal choice of the player’s whether or not they wish for arthur to treat women with respect and i think that despite the boundary of the player’s choice, there’s still moments where you can see that arthur is definitely not like the others when it comes to feminism/the rise of suffrage because he does, whether in low medium or high honor, accept to drive the carriage for the women in Saint-Denis and keeps them relatively safe during their speeches— he also mentions not minding the idea of women voting in a conversation with the leader of the suffragettes (although his answer ends up being kind of cynical, he’s still open to the idea)— and even in low honor, arthur makes sure to protect tilly and sadie multiple times throughout the game. the racism part is kind of tricky because we firstly as players don’t have an option of stopping the others from making comments or defending the poc members’ honor (i think? i could be wrong) so that part of arthur’s mindset isn’t shown and isn’t malleable throughout the game, he does mention not caring about skin color multiple times and also threatens the eugenicist and the kkk members upon meeting them, but as for his true, genuine personal beliefs (since it’s still the 1800s) i don’t know and i’m not exactly comfortable theorizing and discussing it in detail because i am Very Much White and i feel like it’s not my place to tell people how to feel about the content presented in the game; that’s really up to personal interpretation i think

[sanjuwrites]

hello on this day of nice asks i would like to ask about the love of my life aishwarya. how did you come up with her, misc trivia (what’s her favorite ice cream flavor, what dish is her absolute weakness, what kinds of books does she love) things you’re going to include in the series and things you’re not i want to know everything pls

oh my god i could go on for ages about her, i love aishu to pieces. i have an entire "aishu begins" style fic in the works, but i am happy to feed you until i finish that one (which wont be for a while lmao)

okay aishwarya rajesh is a heavy combination of people i know in my life, and some of my own personality traits thrown in there. there's a lot to be said about the lack of queer poc/brown women in hollywood, and that was definitely a driving factor of in the creation of her character. she was originally someone i would just write these little scenarios about in the margins of my notebook, going as far back as my freshman year of high school with a couple of other OCs.

ironically, i've always had the same face claim and profession for aish - anupama parameswaran (who is absolutely stunning btw) and paramedic. She evolved as I did, fleshing out into a fully fleshed character over the years.

when i restarted lone star and started engaging in the fandom, i realized that this was a safe space for this character i had shaped into someone i loved so dearly.

anyway enough about how i created her <3

favorite ice cream flavor: has to be haagen-dazs coffee-chip or talenti's chocolate peanut butter cup gelato. she's literally obsessed with chocolate and peanut butter, it's a sureshot way of getting you to forgive her.

favorite dish: aloo paratha, oh my god it's pani puri. whenever tk and carlos did something really stupid, they'd go begging Aparna to help them make aloo paratha so she'd forgive them. once carlos started picking up cooking, carlos started making it himself, picking up so many other recipes. it's a bonding thing for the trio now, where they all go to one of the three houses and make one of aparna's recipes. they absolutely carry this into their adult life, and it's one of aishwarya's favorite traditions that was carried from their childhood.

books she loves: crime thrillers. she's obsessed with them, she thinks there's so goddamn interesting, and she will make carlos read them with her and send him her insane theories (she's right almost 95% percent of the time and it drives carlos nuts) (he doesn't know she reads ahead and actually knows how it ends, and she just likes his reaction) (tk does know this and watches the chaos unfold with his cider every. single. time.)

okay so i've alluded to an aish/iris relationship before, but never really discussed anything, buuuut aish's got an ex-boyfriend, rahul. thye broke up on good terms because rahul realized aish was in love with iris but wasn't ready to confront it yet. they stayed friends and i have not decided yet, but i think they hooked up on and off throughout college, after which iris and aish reconnect again romantically (they do repair their friendship, but they both wanted more)

i'm cutting myself off, because i could tak about her for hours and still have more to share. she's so special to me.

send me more asks about her, please. i love talking about her.

[envoyartsguild]

Rambling to thoughts get off my chest

I’m starting to have to accept the fact some of my friends do not see representation in the same way I do. 

I have two friends who are also PJO fans and they had a more negative reaction to Annabeth being cast with a black actress. (One of them is black btw). I reacted positively. I think it’s cool and potentially great representation. I’ve also seen some compelling arguments on Tiktok by some black female creators I follow. 

My friends are Neurodiverse and they like familiarity, they’re nostalgic (same here), and sometimes it’s difficult to convince them of new ideas or to change ideas or see things from a different perspective. One of them really thinks in terms of black and white. It’s good or bad.

Sometimes it’s frustrating for me personally to see something and be hype for it and they’re either ambivalent or completely opposed. They like the familiarity of blonde grey eyed Annabeth Chase. This live action adaptation probably isn’t meant for them exactly and will probably pull in new readers of PJO which is awesome. Also the new show could address a lot of criticism and aspects that didn’t age well within the Percy Jackson universe. They don’t always see it that way.

Whenever someone argues forced diversity my red flags go off in my head to approach subject with caution because forced diversity has just become a trigger into my head of someone’s going to say some kind of Anti-SJW shit where it’s just some misogynistic echo chamber slogan where some guy on the internet had a problem with a woman existing in a movie/video game/comic or insert thing here. Most of the time when someone makes the forced diversity argument it’s an inarticulate and inaccurate portrayal of what feels like the root of the problem. The problem that is capitalism and commodification of social justice as clout. 

Like yeah, diversity should be done well but like we can’t make impossible Goldilocks standards for creators for a black woman to exist in a universe, or make up an in universe reason why a minority is here. The female character can’t be a virgin but she can’t be a whore, she’s too nice but she can’t be too mean. She’s a mary sue and skilled at everything or she’s useless and does nothing for the plot. None of these arguments work with each other but I hear them all the time for the same characters. 

I agree raceswapping certain characters is a bad idea because sometimes it’s very important to who they are as a character. Like bad idea to make Mulan a white person. However, I also feel sometimes it’s a missed opportunity if you change a white person into POC and part of their thematic journey or character arc involves oppression sometimes in certain contexts if would be proper and make the story deeper if you included that new aspect. Not every POC has to address racism as a systemic problem. Just like how not every queer person has to have a coming out plot line. I understand why some people want there to feel like effort and care was put into representation.

Some people feel like that can only be done with new characters. Like the Stan Lee approach of maybe not have Peter Parker be black but hey we got Miles Morales. Yeah that’s true in some scenarios but it feels like drawing a boundary, like this invisible line, where POC can’t have certain characters. You can’t have my toy go make your own. Tries to make own but doesn’t get funding, marketing, or attention it deserves. You can’t really replace Peter Parker with Miles Morales cause Miles will always be associated with Peter but Peter won’t have to be associated with Miles. 

IDK it all gets so complicated so fast. IDK solutions or how to feel about all this stuff. I just try and understand how I feel about things, how other people feel about it, and self-reflect whether or not I need to change or add to my opinion on how exactly we can make better stories. 

One way is to dismantle capitalism.

Other ways are varied and will always differ between people. *sigh* I’ll just do my thing and they’ll do their thing in the end. 

[theowlhousesucks]

Hey, I’m a huge fan of TOH, so can you explain what’s wrong? I’ve been scrolling for a bit, and I’m a little unclear on what’s wrong with the representation and writing of the show? Btw I do want a legit answer cause I’m a little confused and always up to learn somebody else’s viewpoint! As a former SU fan I want to know when a show is being problematic. Reply whenever!

Multiple things. Here's a few highlights.

Luz being an Afro-Latina with no black features.

Willow and Gus being majorly sidelined in favor of developing a white former antagonist. Willow is doubly fucked over as a victim of said former antagonist who is made to instantly forgive said antagonist and is suddenly back to braiding hair with said antagonist without even getting an apology for all the abuse.

Luz, a WOC, is constantly paraded around as an "oddity," in the Boiling Isles, even being called a "pet" on more than one occasion. This mirrors real life exotification of POC in colonizer cultures where they were paraded around in zoos, shows, or otherwise kept against their will.

Lumity is a ship that contributes further to the current trend of relying heavily on interracial relationships where a POC has to work hard for the betterment of their white partner to be rewarded with decent treatment or affection.

Amity doesn't face proportionate consequences for her first appearances where she tries to kill or harm Luz multiple times.

The Blights lean into an obvious abuse allegory, only to then hand wave it away and have Amity forgive the abuse and maintain a relationship with her parents.

Raine perpetuates the trope of having brown characters who have white, untextured hair.

Lilith contributes to the rule of a facist, colonizer emperor and is instantly forgiven with no consequences.

Both black main characters are from single parent households. This isn't bad on its own, but it's a problem with the context that non-black humanoid characters (aka besides King and Hunter, who are an animal and a clone) all have two living parents, making Luz and Gus' family's feel like a reflection of stereotypes.

Gus as a whole encapsulates the "inoffensive and harmless black best friend" stereotype.

I've been meaning to go ahead and finish making full length analysis posts on the rest of these. Kind of hard to when white 30 year olds are leading block crusades against you or telling you you're a bitch for not respecting racists in your ask box, all because you criticized a kids' show they like. Eventually, though.

[noco7]

Who are your favorite TD characters and why? :]

Thank you for the ask. And I have 3 main favorites.

So Noah, Cody, and Courtney. NoCoCo. Lol

Let's get into it:

Noah:

When I say Noah is me, I mean he manages to encompass a lot of phases that I had in my own life.

When I was in middleschool, I was the "smart kid." And I was also bad at sports. So Noah's dodgeball elimination is like... uncomfortably familiar to me. I don't think his actions were "stupid" or "bad writing," nah it’s truth in television. As a kid I was TOLD to stay on the bench whenever possible, and let the real athletes perform. So Noah staying on the sidelines... nah that makes sense. He's internalized the message.

#NoahDidNothingWrong

Even his tantrum at the end of the episode is familiar. Although I've never been that bad, there was a moment when I was playing badminton in gym. I lost a match, and I thought to myself "Well, I know more about X then he ever will. So who's the TRUE winner?"

It's so juvenile, lmao. Taking the "everyone has different strengths :)" and making it into “my strength is the Best.” 

Another thing that I like Noah for is for his... "vibes." He's always acting unimpressed, always like 'who cares' turning up his nose at joy. And that's how I acted my first year of college! (I was 17, so only 1 year older than Noah lol). Because I thought it made me cool or something. But it's just overcompensation, really.

And Noah being "smart," but never actually doing anything useful. Yeah... it happens. That was me junior year of college. Everyone is like "oh you were so smart in highschool," "you're the smart one," But you have nothing to show for it.

God, he's relatable. He's a mix of all the things I dislike in myself, including the "laziness" aspect. So by the very act of liking him, by writing stories where he is comforted, understood, told it's okay to be vulnerable - it feels like I'm loving myself.

Oh, and also Noah is funny af? I decided he was my favorite character before I watched Total Drama. I was watching compilation videos of "funniest lines," "most saveage combacks," or "TD being gay for 5 minutes" and Noah was popping off! Noah has some of the best dialogue.  And that appeals to another side of me I dislike - my judgemental side. So like.... 5/5 on the relatability scale.

Also, I think its funny I've not mentioned Noah's role in TD *at all*. Because he doesn't really have one? His job for TDI and WT is for him to comment on other people. That's it. And that’s fine, that’s the side-character life. No complaints.

I know some people say "Noah warned the guys about Alejandro." And like yeah, he did. But I'm pretty sure Owen and Tyler lowkey already knew. And then once Noah is gone, Owen does nothing about Alejandro? He has to be coaxed by Duncan into doing anything. And then Alejandro just flatters and hypnotizes him? And Tyler gets used for the Gwuncan plotline? So his warning does NOTHING for the show? Lmao.

I'm not even mad at this, btw. Because it doesn’t matter to me whether his sacrificed worked or not - I like Noah because I like me, not because he’s important. (Also Noah’s POC background appeals to me because I’m also POC, and I can project my ‘child of immigrants’ upbringing onto him.)

Cody:

Like a few days ago I explained to someone in dms why I liked Cody despite also hating him and thinking he's whats wrong with men in media. So gonna copy and paste my main points:

1) Although a lot of the things he does is bad (follow Gwen around, not take her NO's seriously) they do indicate some positive qualities: He's persistent, he's optimistic, and he's okay with setbacks. These are all good qualities that I do not have, and would make my life a lot better. And don't we all wish we had the confidence of a mediocre white man?

While Cody needs to learn how to STOP, we could all stand to be a little more shameless, and a little more willing to take risks. 

2)There's also smth really sad about him, and I'm not necessarily talking about his parents. There's a scene in TDI, where he asks Gwen out/about her bra. And she hits him in the dick with an oar. Which... fair, lol.

#GwenDidNothingWrong

But Cody's reaction is interesting to me. He apologizes, (deserved.) And then asks *again*.

WTF? That's weird to me. It doesn't just signal entitlement. It signals that he's okay with physical harm - from the person he loves,  all in the mere hope that he'll end up with said person. And that's pretty fucking tragic imo. At least that's how I interpret it. Because I think most guys at that point would be like, "What's WRONG with you i was just COMPLIMENTING you, you should be FLATTERED!"

But Cody just goes with it?

And for futher proof for my interpretation, Cody ends up telling Sierra she's his best friend during WT. Despite everything she did - multiple cases of sexual harassment, drugging, forced marriage, etc...  Cody is still willing to keep her in his life, to keep her close. Because, think about it, she was the only person who consistently tried to help him. The only one who ever gave him any real compliments.

And that's sad. And also interesting.

Why would a guy like Cody, who in canon is presumably canonically cis, white, and straight, be so willing to take abuse in search of love?

Why is he so lonely? Who raised him to chase after affection like this? And what could his tale say about the problems of public society, and the potential dysfunctions of the private family unit?

And that's the beauty of Cody. Noah allows me to talk about myself, but Cody allows me to talk about the world around me. About sexism and entitlement, about classism, about societal expectations around "love," and "family," and how damaging they can be.

A lot of people see Cody as an "average white man," and if so... then the average fucking sucks and I want to talk about it, lol. I understand why others would be tired of it (and also I don’t think it’s women’s job to Make Men Happy btw. A big reason I don’t ship Cody with women.) But as writer, it’s really rewarding to explore his psyche while also providing a possibility for growth, a way out, and a happy ending.

Cody's also rlly adorable, especially in Total Dramarama. Like he's impossible to hate in that show. There's an episode where Cody risks life and limb to be considered cool by his classmates. There's one where he says "Now I have to live in the sewers *again*." I don't say this lightly, but he's the best character there. He's so funny.

Courtney:

Courtney, I got attached to via the actual show. I watched Action before Island... and she's just really cool? Her entrance is cool, and as I said repeatedly, I love evil woman. But beyond "wow girlboss😮," what else do I like about her?

I like her story. Her actual fucking story. Wow. I might be one of the only Courtney stans who likes how Total Drama handled her. Skdjsdk.

So in Island, we see her battle her class-monitor upbringing, and learn to break the rules. This is done through her BF Duncan. And overall, this is pretty standard "good girl meets bad boy and loosens up" faire. It's nothing special. (I watched Island when I was 20. So I had plenty of time to see that same story in YA romances. So... yeah. Like I said, nothing special.)

But in Action? We see her on the warpath. We see her take charge. She had taken charge in Island, but it was kinda innefectual. The joke was that she'd give orders, but things would go wrong. That she would barely be useful herself? But in Action? She takes thing in her OWN hands. She revitalizes Trent's team. She is also bad to Duncan.

And I think this could have worked, if she blamed Duncan for Harold's actions. Because Harold eliminated Courtney BECAUSE of Duncan. So she wouldn't be far-off. And also slide in a moment where her parents hate her new BF, or like. Imagine if Courtney told her parents she lost, because Harold rigged her out, but it wasn't her fault. He hated Duncan. And her parents are like "What did you expect? You date a delinquent and get suprised when trouble appears at your door?"

And so she's mad at Duncan for dragging her into his fight, for drawing her parent's ire.

No wonder she tries to "fix him." She wants to make him fit for approval, and also prove to HERSELF that she's the one with the control. That she can FIX him.

Some people hate how Courtney has no self-awareness and thinks she's a good person all the time. I fucking love it.

Courtney thinks she's HELPING. After all, she wants to be the best. So why shouldn't others? Why would Duncan have problems with a list of instructions? Courtney LOVES instructions. She loves bettering herself.

C.I.T. Counselor-in-Training. She wants to be a COUNSELOR. She wants to help people, she wants to be a Leader. But she's really bad at it! Because of instead of wanting people to accomplish their goals... she kinda wants them to accomplish what she decides their goals should be. She's not a mad scientist, she's a mad therapist.

This is why I think Action is her best season. Because that's when she goes OFF and really shows her worst potential. And I'm into that, because it gives me a lot to discuss - how the drive for success and efficiency can leave people broken. Can kill personal relationships.

I kinda LOVE that every positive relationship Courtney builds she ends up breaking. Duncan. Gwen. Scott. Gwen *again.*

I'd love it too, if she learned her lesson and developed but like. Out of context, it's so fitting. (In my fantasy rewrite of TD, she realizes something is off in WT, gets better in ROTI, and cements her character change in All Stars)

In WT, Courtney doesn't get to do much. She has the love triangle thing, which doesn't do much for her character because she doesn't learn anything from it? But she's still very funny this season. I don't like her thing with Alejandro. I don't mind CourtneyXAlejandro btw. I'd just rather them team up temporarily.

In All Stars, Courtney gets a new BF. Scott. She's mending her relationship with Gwen. It's looking good, maybe Duncan was the real problem all along. And then it collapses.

I read somewhere that TD writers just thought she couldn't be redeemed. Which is funny to me. Maybe All Stars was to show "no matter how kind to her people are, she will always put money first." It would explain alot, and if that's what they're going for, they succeeded. And ... I'm okay with that. I just wish it was more a struggle for her, or that it was better foreshadowed. But I'm not mad at the direction they chose.

So overall, Courtney is character who started out a good girl with a bad boy, turned out WORSE than the bad boy, and kept going. She did everything to *win*, yet never was a finalist. She burned three friendships for cash, yet never got it. That's poetic, honestly. She tries so hard to be a girlboss, but she's a girl-flop at the end of the day. And I like that. I really do.

Tl;dr: Noah's me, Cody's society, and Courtney is the industrial complex. Not really, because Courtney has never been profitable. She's like a failed start-up company.

BONUS: How I view their possible dynamics

I obviously ship Noah and Cody, as a kind of two losers with opposing strengths learn from each other, but also get on each others nerves. If you want to know more about how I view their dynamic, just read my fic.

Courtney and Noah are my "Do it right or don't do it all," duo. I don't care what their relationship is. Like they'd make great twins who hated each other. Science Olympiad rivals or partners. They'd even be a fine couple (if you're not writing them as related, that is EWW).

I like to imagine Courtney writing a long winded plan, handing it to Noah, and he just rips it in two and tells her he's not doing all that. Which is pretty mean tbh. I also like to imagine Courtney stepping on Noah's back while she forces him to do push ups. I imagine Noah and Courtney standing over a desk in class, asking you 'What grade did you get?" with identical smug smiles. I imagine them gossiping over Gwen together, being roommates, dissing each other's man. "You're dating trash you dug out of the gutter." "At least I'm not settling for a fun-sized McDonalds toy."

I imagine them interacting a lot, actually. I want them to be worsties who grow into besties.

Courtney and Cody is like... I'm split. They would make a really good Hallmark movie. Courtney the busy worker, and Cody who loves the Holidays. The story writes itself. But at the same time I love how they dislike each other in canon. Cuz Cody's a gwen stan and Courtney thinks Gwen should DIE. joking. And also because Cody keeps on being annoyingly sexist. Like in the Greece episode, despite having no athletic ability, he's like "let ME do it, *ladies*" and Courtney is NOT having it. So I guess they also have the range.

Maybe they don't get along until someone's like "Let's get the TWO best World Tour singers up on staaage!!!" And both Cody and Courtney stand up.

[bookishfeylin]

Hi. First of all, I wanted to apologize for my rant. I was not angry at your or anyone, but the just the constant whitewashing that's been happening recently in the fandom, like a recent whitewashed art of Yrene. Anyway, my anger was directed towards artists in the SJM fandom who for some reason choose to make male characters brown but when it comes to female characters they whitewash them. I'm brown btw and I read so many diverse books from diverse authors with POC as the lead like The City of Brass for example and that series still gets whitewashed btw and it's all just so frustrating. The author will explicitly describe a character with brown skin and she will still be drawn paler. The golden tan characters in SJM's books like Bryce for instance is constantly drawn paler and it's just like why?? I don't understand it. Also, my anger and rant was not directed toward you I just needed to vent I guess. I honestly really apologize for that lengthy rant, i didn't mean for it to be hurtful or anything.

Like The City of Brass is one of my favorite series, the way the main character is described is exactly how I look like. Brown skin, curly black hair, but the countless whitewashed art I've seen of her is really triggering. They make her paler, give her straight silky hair instead of curly. It frustrates me to no end. I've had this pent up for a while and I wanted to rant (not at you though) at the whole whitewashing thing. I promise I won't flood your inbox again, I know it was uncalled for. I think your blog is great and really enlightening so I apologize.

Thank you for clarifying. I don't mind long asks or anything, I just assumed you were angry at me, so I'm sorry if I came off as rude or curt. You are welcome to flood my inbox 💜 And I appreciate that you took the time to further explain how you feel, and that the root issue isn't Bryce/SJM, but is the fandom's depiction of darker skinned characters, exemplified in how Bryce is depicted.

It's good that you read many diverse books by diverse authors, but you're right--if fandom doesn't step up to properly support these authors and do justice to the characters, then the impact those diverse series have is minimal.

Whitewashing is a huge problem, and for that artists are 100% responsible for choosing to ignore canon and for choosing to depict characters of color as Eurocentric as possible. Skin bleaching to lighten our skin and relaxers to straighten our hair and colored contacts to give us light eyes and nose jobs to give us European noses--these all exist, and are popular, because society and the media constantly tell us that only whiteness is beautiful. That only whiteness is valuable. That only whiteness is human. So people who stray farther from whiteness are dehumanized, and are treated worse by society.

And that's why representation and why diverse works are so important, because they challenge that idea. Representation allows for people of color to be seen as beautiful, and valuable, and human, when we historically haven't been seen as such. It shows that we deserve to lead our own stories, and that we deserve escapism too, because we're human and we deserve breaks from the real world like everyone else. So when diverse characters are whitewashed, it's like a slap in the face. These characters are meant to challenge Eurocentricity, and whitewashing them simply adheres to it. Your feelings are perfectly valid, and it hurts whenever a character is whitewashed because it's simply perpetuating the message that's been shoved down our throat since we were children--that only whiteness is beautiful, that only whiteness is valuable, that only whiteness is human, and therefore, characters can't look too non-white, much less be non-white.

I do have a lot more thoughts on whitewashing and how it differs from racebending in response to some discourse™ in the Little Mermaid tag, and I do want to make a longer post about it, but I will leave you with this:

a) Your feelings are very valid. Whitewashing diverse characters perpetuates Eurocentricity, and fandom has a racism problem.

b) Representation matters. Now and forever.

[freakygirlie]

welcome to my blog💘 this blog is pure chaos but regardless i hope you have a great time on here <33 before you follow please just go through this post once so y’all don’t scream at me later mwah <3

hi! my name’s avery <3 i’m bi and a POC, pronouns are she/they and this is my smol little space to scream and obsess over my interests!🥳

-im a freaky girl. its in the Name. be warned 🖐️🙏🏼

-multifandom. i am in MANY fandoms and they’re all varied. so many shows and so many characters from different shows and movies i kin and many real people i adore to the moon and back too. it's all on my blog🙏 i ship many problematic ships like wincest, sylki, hannigram(? idk im just being careful) and have dipped my toes into j2 tinhatting as well. it’s way dialed down now tho but uhhhh those men r weird. anyways so yeah! eyes peeled for that!!! also there is um larry too. its real besties idk what to say

-i stan SO MANY characters. be prepared at any time for massive reblogs of them whenever i’m missing them.

-i make gifs very rarely, edits sometimes, memes and write dialogues. <3

-i am A HUGE taylor swift fan <3 fave artist !!! who i believe is bi as fuck. also i just adore music so much!! faves are taylor swift, michael jackson, louis tomlinson, harry styles, olivia rodrigo, sabrina carpenter, hozier, one direction, freddie mercury, britney spears and SOOOO many more <3

-i love bollywood movies 💞 IVE SEEN SRK LIVE!!! best day <3

-i ramble so much in tags and all of it is necessary to weave a rich tapestry of me in ur mind.

-i really do not care what you ship or who you like. im a v tolerant person. asking 4 u to do the same 🙏🙏🙏

-discrimination of any sort will NOT be tolerated here. 

-i know how to separate a character from an actor or fiction from reality. if u do not that is a YOU problem. 

-send me asks or messages anytime! i love talking💘

-HUGEEEE EXTROVERT. if jt wasn't obvious

-i hv ADHD 👍😃 love that btw

-i am a very romantic person so the moon, poetry, stories, books, stars, nature, everything is here in abundance. mwah

-my fave thing in my blog is my dialogues!! tagged under 'avery's dialogues'. they're all just incorrect quotes from the various fandoms im in !!

-ive been very lucky to have few, select posts of mine hit 1k and MOREEE!!! tagged under '1k' !

-anything else is in my description <3 love u guys have fun ily all sm <33

was: his-fragile-love ➡️ gogethemcowboy ➡️ darceth ➡️ wwxsslut ➡️ ryoceann ➡️ freakygirlie✅

enjoy loves! :D

[aresrl]

I hihi I am!!! A little nervous w/ doing this bc I've never done this b4 so please bear🐻 w// me💦 May I request a match up? A vision, a romantic partner and maybe a friend and/or enemy? If that's too much feel free to just assign me a vision + partner, ehe/// Preferably male for a romantic match-up, but either gender is fine with a friend and enemy match-up^^ I tried to be as detailed as possible but I think I ended up just ranting, so im v v sorry if it's long! I sort of fluctuate when it comes to being an introvert/extroverted. W// strangers and irl, I'm very introverted and shy!! Rarely speak and if I do it's just the usual "Hi how are you? That's good. I'm good too, thank you for asking:)" yeayea I'm not too. Keen on social interaction irl. But I always do my best to be very nice!! I never wanna come off as mean bc wow what a bad first impression that would be. But with friends / ppl ik online?? Whew I am very very friendly n chatty ^^ Either very high energy or very chill, there's rarely any inbetween. Sometimes I like to jokingly tease my friends but I'd never go too far / make them uncomfortable!! And if I do I always apologize right away!! I like to say that I'm affectionate?? My strongest love language is def physical affection, if not quality time. Idk man there's just something about vibing with someone or hugging them that just aaaaa/// Although I usually display affection w// words of affection bc. Literally most of my friends are online friends so I can't actually hug them, sad times. Idk if this is needed/important info but I just remembered: I'm 5'6 around??? Need glasses bc. Whew i am blind (near sighted), I'm poc (specifically black) anndd, hm. Actually I think thats it for this section, aha. As you can see I'm, not really all that organized. Also I don't have the best attention span - while writing this I'm circling between 4 different apps - and I'm a bit of a mess. And also a little stupid. Just a smidge dumb. But I have my moments - I solved like. 2 puzzles in Inazuma by myself so I think that counts for something. I also find that I tend to talk a whole lot when I have an idea or smthn to say abt a thing I'm super interested in!! That's info-dumping. I info dump. Yes. I also really like to listen to other people talk abt things they like!!!! Its so nice :) I'm protective over people I care about!! I've never done it but 100% would bark at someone who messed with someone close to be. Arf arf yaknow. I tend to he impulsive. I'll do something, and be all "YEAH>:D" and then regret it later. And then I'll do it all over again in a fun little cycle :) I consider myself an optimist, but quickly turn into a pessimist whenever it concerns myself. Fun funfun. Should probably mention that I am. A very insecure person w/ dangerously low self esteem, which is super fun esp when you mix that with the fact that I'm rarely ever motivated to improve. Yayayay Also sort of a pushover?? Like most often than not I'll be convinced to do something, even if I'm not too keen on doing it. Also afraid of confrontation when it comes to my friends and strangers (that is, if it's concerning me!! I'll order smthn for my friend but if I need to order for myself?? uhh stutter time aha). I'm also a mega simp ahah! Srsly though if I fall for someone/get infatuated with someone I. Will be so obvious abt it even though I try very hard not to be. Would gush over that person probably. I don't really like mean people tbh. Like yes I'll be nice and civil with them but!!! I cannot stand!!! Rude people!!! Esp when they're mean for no reason like sir??? maam??? homie??? chill pls ty<3 People who aren't necessarily mean, but moreso have bastard energy and are just really "hehe>:D" but playfully are p poggers tho!!! I think I get along with kids!! I have a little sister,, around like. Nine? And we get along really well!! I also try and match a kid's energy whenever I'm tasked with looking after them. I take pride in the fact that kids like me >:].... even if they sometimes scare me-- Ok, interest time!!

I like art!! Quite a bit!! Less of a realistic artist and more of a cartoonist!! Idk there's just something fun abt drawing cartoons, hehe. I also like self ships - I have quite a bit of them, actually ! Idk its comforting drawings your fictional crushes loving you idkidk. I like writing too! Both original stories, and one-shots or personal fics that are associated with already created media!! Writing character backstories and personalities and stuff is also fun too! I've even made my own fictional world with a full fledged backstory n everything! It's very fun to think about. I'm a day dreamer!!! Yea remember when I said I write stories? I day dream abt potential stories even more. Mmm daydream world so nice so warm so fun I read aswell!! Mostly fantasy books, or stories where animals are the protagonists. Think Warrior Cats. But my favorite book series has got to be Guardians of Ga'Hoole. Fantasy owl books, anyway! X Readers are also things I enjoy reading :) Again, s I m p Also gaming!!! Is something fun I do sometimes!!! Although it's usually Genshin Impact, or Wii Sports/Resort w// my little sister. Oh, also pokemon! I rlly like Primarina, Vaporeon, Sylveon and Vulpix/Ninetails! I absolutely adore sweet foods, and baking is smthn I'm def interested in! Don't like foods w// weird textures though, like beans or mashed potatoes. Also I. Love spice so much. Mmm love it when my mouth burns so bad. Don't have a favorite animal but I've had three cats in my lifetime (btw not important but my current cat is named Sylvester and. He's my baby boy) so I am. A very big cat fan. Probably not needed but I really like sword and claymore characters. Literally all of the characters I main are either sword or claymore users. Although I did get Diona, so I miiight start forcing myself to learn how to aimmm. I see that I tend to like people/characters that are a little more extroverted than me. Upbeat, happy type beat!!! Nice sunshine babies, :) I think thats it! I hope this was good enough? Again, first time doing this (at 2am nonetheless) so forgive me if I got too rambly or did anything wrong ^^ Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this! And I hope your day is good / you had a good day, depending on when you read this, ehe!

Hey! Sorry if the wait has been long! I also love Warrior Cats (I promise myself, one day I'll finish it.)

You received... A Pyro vision! Optimistic, enthusiastic, impulsive, reckless, and a lot of energy are the general characteristics held by the Pyro vision. • I hesitated between the Pyro and Hydro vision, but your energy distinguishes you from the Hydro vision. • You said you were impulsive, always doing something you might regret later but still doing it. • You react quickly: as you said, if somebody hurt someone you love, you won't think twice before barking. Your partner would be... Xingqiu! “This feeling was unexpected.” • At first, you were just friends, and Xingqiu really loved to tease you. Actually, you both teased each other. But eventually, a feeling of love towards you grew into Xingqiu. And that was reciprocated. • Your relationship is filled with teases, jokes, and good/funny moments where you mostly share what you commonly appreciate. • He also knows when to get serious: for example, he does everything to support you during your moments of struggle concerning your self-esteem. Your friend would be... Childe! “Luckily, I'm here!” • You two also share funny moments, especially during situations where your “stupidity” is overtaken by his insight. • Sometimes, he finds you cute. • He likes the fact that you get along well with kids. It leads you to great moments with him and his siblings. • You're quite the opposite in terms of self-esteem. I think it's a good thing because it makes you complementary. Your enemy would be... Albedo! A misunderstanding. • You wouldn't hate each other, but I think Albedo wouldn't like the way you use your energy, and when you're more in a chill mood (meaning you're more available for him to talk), he could get pissed at how much times he'd have to repeat himself for you to understand something. • He's very patient, but he understood quickly that his interests would maybe not be within your reach. • You would just be too different. Worth to mention • You and Venti are like drama queens in Mondstadt. You are good friends. But you both know that you can't be more, as it would eventually both drag you down (because of similar problems). • Klee is also your best friend: both of you share decisions that you definitely will regret later. Or maybe not. • Hu tao and you are kinds of silently competing over who's the best tease, and she beats you. My goal is definitely not achieved. I hope I can catch up tomorrow. And don't worry, it was surprisingly good for a first description!

[piduai]

what do you think of western/american fandom in general (esp in comparison with asian/japanese fandom)?

fandom culture is different in japan compared to the west, and there are also differences between japan and the rest of eastern fandom, and the west and russian fandom. i think both japanese and western fandoms can be very cancerous at times, and at times pleasant experiences.

the most striking difference is i guess the attitude towards consumerism. japanese audience pays for everything without batting an eye and is the one to whom the industry is catered. westerners are used to everything being served on a platter for free. i’m not excluding myself from that btw, i love piracy and opt for it whenever i can, and only pay for stuff that i really like as a gesture of supporting the creator (for example i do buy the golden kamuy volumes as they come out since i started reading it, but i won’t go out of my way to buy the previous 22 ones even in a second-hand shop for cheap because they’re available online). western audience doesn’t like spending money on stuff but tends to have the same, or even higher level of entitlement towards the media they consume. they think of it all as art and free expression, not an industry that has its rules and regulations. for example i keep seeing people in gk fandom complaining about the anime, about how it didn’t animate this or that frame and about how the creators “don’t understand the characters”, and this level of entitlement and disrespect is just baffling to me.

western audience can also be extremely culturally insensitive and forget that things don’t exist in a vacuum and everything is both culturally charged AND mandated. it’s not a secret that am*ricans think they’re the center of the world and project their values, history and culture on everyone else, but it would be nice if they learnt to shut the fuck up once in a while. whenever i see discussions about feminism or lgbtqwerty+ in anime and how sailor moon is actually subversive and yuri on ice is actually gay representativity and japan is actually #woke for having BL as a genre my hairs stand on end. these are the most obvious examples but there’s a lot of more subtle things. making fun of weird “engrish”. saying there should be more poc in anime and acting as though more tanned skintones depict other races. being completely oblivious of traditional tropes and how they work. excusing bigoted behavior by saying “oh it’s the culture” when convenient. also western weebs tend to either weirdly idolize or weirdly alienate japanese as a people; countless times i’ve met people who think that the japanese are a supernation incapable of wrongdoings and everything they do is inherently superior, as well as people who think the japanese came from another planet and aren’t fully human and don’t function as literally any other society on earth. both are dehumanizing and frankly, kind of racist.

however while i do like taking jabs at woques because it’s funny and they’re annoying, sometimes they DO have a point. japanese people think that just because they pay for shit they’re allowed to exhibit insane behavior in public without repercussion. my go-to example is this one artist who draws a lot, and i mean A LOT of l*li p*rn as “artistic expression” or whatever while simultaneously having a small child, whose photos they post on twitter regularly. as in they’ll make a tweet advertising their p*rn doujinshi where a 11 years old fictional girl is getting hammered in all holes and 2 hours later they’ll post a picture of their 3 years old, very real human daughter on the same account, to the same audience. call me a prude but i don’t think this kind of shit is normal, and i don’t think these people should be allowed to have children. anime industry in general has a huge problem with pedophilia that nobody likes to address because again they sweep it under either the “it’s their culture” or “they’re all weirdos anyway” excuses. like don’t get me wrong, most people are normal and against depictions of child rape. but sh*ta/l*li/rape artists have way too much freedom because the industry DOES cater to them, and consumers DO bring money. as long as stuff as comic LO is legal there will be no solution to this issue.

also this is something pertaining to gk fandom only but i wish westerners knew better and stopped being comfortable in depicting the rising sun flag in their artwork. personal opinion but this is just not okay. a couple of years ago i went to kamakura with a friend and just by the daibutsu, in an extremely touristy zone, they had it displayed in several gift shops and i’m still shocked at the audacity. history is taught different in different parts of the world depending on national bias and all, being ignorant is not a sin, but it would be nice if westerners used their brains and avoided doing that just because the japanese don’t.

[holy-fate-worse-than-death]

Dick Grayson is "camp" in its purest form

Did you know:

The word "camp" comes from the cant language Polari, a crypto-lect spoken in 19th century Great Britain (though it was spoken in other centuries in GB as well, just less frequently). It was primarily spoken by gay men, cross-dressers, sex workers and Romani people.

In fact, Polari has a lot of its roots in Romani dialects of that era, though it also incorporates words from Thieves' Cant, Mediterranean Lingua Franca, Yiddish, romance languages, and Cockney Rhyming Slang.

Other words that are from Polari include:

Drag/drag queen (from the Romani word "drataka", meaning "skirt)

Naff (dull, boring, hetero)

Ogle (to stare at)

Butch (masculine)

Notably, Polari is related to an almost identical language, Polyaree, which was (and still sometimes is) spoken by Roma people, predominantly those who travel e.g. in circuses, merchants, immigrants, etc.

Romani people (and especially Romani LGBT+ people) are still oppressed throughout Europe. They are often targeted by the type of xenophobia that is levelled against immigrants, even in areas where Romani people have lived for centuries.

In Spain (especially Madrid) Roma LGBT+ folks have taken to calling themselves "sexual dissidents", as they feel it's more inclusive of poor LGBT+ people and POC LGBT+ people (especially Roma)

While Roma people have lived in Spain for over 600 years, they still face discrimination and are labelled as outsiders and g*psies, who have had the vast majority of their culture stolen. For instance, flamenco dancing actually has Romani roots. Yet, to most westerners flamenco is seen as quintessentially Spanish.

And don't even get me started on how many people don't know that "gypsy" and "gypped" are racial slurs. (Romani people are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group btw.)

Anyway, my point is: "camp" LGBT+ identities, specifically that of gay men, are intrinsically linked to Romani culture, language and history. To me, this is something that should be present in more fics, and should definitely be mentioned whenever Dick Grayson is portrayed as LGBT+

IMO it's also a very compelling reason to make Dick canonically LGBT+, because there's so much Romani/LGBT+ culture to draw from and write meaningful stories about.

It was disappointing to see no mention of Romani folks at the 2019 Met Gala, and to see other groups (e.g. white cis gay men) as the focus. Even some of the well-intentioned intersectional messages neglected to mention the historical links between "camp" and Polari. Which in turn has historical links not only with Roma, but also with countries through the Mediterranean Basin (especially Greece, Cyprus, Morroco, Libya, Lebanon, etc.)

Polari also has significant roots in cross-dressing and transvestivism (most often an early expression of transness from before there was common terminology to describe transness) and sex workers.

I really feel like this is a part of Romani LGBT+ heritage the fandom is sleeping on despite one of the most frequently shipped characters being Romani in canon and LGBT+ in fanon (and sometimes implied to be bisexual in canon as well).

I think this is partly a product of US-centrism, because I've seen a lot of articles that mistakenly pinpoint the origin of "camp" as being in 20th century America, primarily in the black community. While I think that modern camp has absolutely been shaped by black America, and black LGBT+ folks in the US have been particularly influential in transforming camp into what it is today, the origins of camp are much older and much more culturally diverse, and I think it's important to honour that.

I appreciate that this might sound like an attempt to whitewash camp, because obviously I'm centring Dick Grayson in this subject, who is usually portrayed as white-passing. But the reality of racism and xenophobia against Roma people is quite severe, and many Roma people are brown (and occasionally black, though many more were black in the 15th century when they first came to Spain).

I'm not going to compare the struggles of black Americans and Roma people in Europe, because I don't think two different marginalised groups should ever be compared, but I do think both should be included in this subject, and the history between Polari language and Romani culture should be respected and discussed more than it's being discussed right now.

Also, if you need more evidence that Dick Grayson is the most camp human on earth, just take a look at his mullet era:

/end rant