#even more so because i am darkskinned

[c1trvswurld]

Being bigender or just multigender period is so funny because both in queer and non queer spaces you are ostracized. Your womanhood only recognized when someone wants to be infantilizing and demeaning, wants to put you on a pedestal for different selfish reasons. Your manhood only recognized when someone wants to demonize and push you out of queer spaces, make you a threat that has to be squashed.

[tariah23]

His videos are always so…

[leikeliscomet]

Heartstopper's Aspec Representation Isn't For Me - And That's Okay (Mini Essay)

Spoilers for Series 3!

So I just finished series 3 and I feel conflicted. I don't hate Heartstopper at all. I think it's a very cute show. I'm happy queer baby gen z and gen alpha have something to see themselves in, I love how Tara, a darkskin Black lesbian girl is happy in her relationship. I'm happy Isaac makes my fellow aspecs happy. I'm happy Charlie tore Ben's singlet in series 2 and for once the victim/survivor is allowed to not forgive their assaulter. I like Heartstopper's little moments but I've felt like something was missing overall and now we're on the third season, I think I know what it is now. There's comments on BL and yaoi by Alice Oseman I don't fully agree with, some of the acting in the show could be a bit better I guess, most of the characters are comfortably in the British middle class and I am a grown adult now so my interest in school/teen dramas has dipped a little bit (but not you Waterloo Road ily <3). So to an extent, there were always gonna be limits on how much I enjoy this show, but nevertheless, I still think they're worth pointing out, especially if we're claiming Heartstopper for the next gen of queer rep. Because honestly having watched shows like Heartbreak High and Koisenu Futari plus being a massive Selah and the Spades fan, I feel a bit robbed in terms of quality.

Isaac still feels underdeveloped and for a show that's been going on for 3 series now this feels disappointing. Like obviously Nick and Charlie get all the screentime as they're the main characters. Tao and Elle got a lot more juicer storylines from s2, Tara and Darcy got more to work with this series even if it was rushed (oh I miss you long series 2010s shows), but Isaac still feels leaps behind everyone else. He didn't really get anything in series 1. In series 2 we saw him coming to terms with his identity which felt like a good starting point but I was still waiting for the 'big asexual plans' Alice Oseman promised and... nothing. I liked his comment about googling aromanticism to Charlie because the representation by PowerPoint style of aspec writing can get tired. I also liked his moment of feeling left out by his friends plus still wanting to know Nick and Charlie's tea, giving him sexual agency whilst aroace instead of feeding into infantilisation. But apart from that... nothing. I wanted to feel more moved by the aquarium scene, but it felt tacked on because whilst Isaac's upset was justified, Imogen just wanted to chat about gay fish, so Isaac came across as a little passive-aggressive instead of what was supposed to be his moment. Plus it feels a little backhanded how much effort series 1 went to in how big coming to terms with your identity is, plus the gorgeous way Isaac's aroace revelation was filmed in series 2 was filmed just to have him blurt it out in an aquarium and have barely any of his friends actually support him like he supported them. But life imitates art I guess. This whole season we've seen characters talking about university plans, gap years and going through the post-16 struggle. But what about Isaac? We never find out what uni he wants to go to or even if he wants to go. What subjects does he like? What job does he want post-school? What's his relationship like with his family? The people need to know! I always found it weird how Isaac was left out to the point where straight characters, whilst still bearing in mind that Tao x Elle is an interracial pairing between two POC and one of which is a trans girl and this is very rare and deserved representation too, had gotten more screentime than him. Imogen, Sahar, Mr Ajayi and Mr Farouk had all been introduced for bigger storylines but Isaac, despite being in the main group, still had to wait for his share. This series was such a huge moment for everyone but Isaac... again. And whilst I'm happy if everyone else is, I genuinely feel like we all deserve better.

Tori was given bigger moments this series and that was great because I was waiting for my introverted slurping sister to come through. Her concern and care for Charlie and jealousy of Nick were great plus with the introduction of Michael, it was all leading to the big reveal of Tori being ace, right? Right? Wrong, because this scene was cut from the ferris wheel moment and I have no idea why. Oseman confirmed it was because Tori's storyline will continue in s4 and she didn't want to rush it but like, what? Series 3, at least in my eyes, did an alright job at building up her coming out. And again, if Nick could get his bi awakening in a one series arc, why can't this asexual character then too? They also covered Darcy's non-binary transition and coming out in this series too so I don't know why there wasn't room for Tori apparently. There was plenty of room for an 'I'm asexual' within those 5 minutes. Waiting to develop her in series 4, which is yet to be confirmed and likely to be the show's last series so it will already have a lot to do with wrapping up the Nick x Charlie saga seems like a poor decision. This is the second time we've had to wait till next season for the aspec character's arc by the way.

I'd like to see some aroallo POVs on this but this season put a lot of emphasis on linking love and sex together and it felt a bit strange icl. Yes, they're linked socially/societally and it's great to have sex with someone you love and love someone you have sex with etc etc etc but the first 2 series made a point of separating the two by showing love without sex and how it was just as meaningful. Almost every time a character was sexually attracted to another e.g. calling them hot or started making out because they wanted to have sex in that given moment there would be a dialogue from one of them going 'it's okay we're in love 'it's normal you're in love' 'well that's what people in love do!' and these are all correct statements but like... we get it! You don't have to be head over heels in love to find someone sexually attractive or just want to have sex with them. It's okay if you're not in love too y'know? I'm not sure what that constant reassurance was for because depicting sex without love isn't as pearl clutchy as it seems when all parties are safe, consenting and comfortable, or, if you've ever had any knowledge about aro(allo) spaces tbf. Nick and Charlie are not aspec and are very much sexually attracted to each other so the conclusion of them having sex isn't surprising at all, especially when I already knew from tweets back in series 1 that Heartstopper the comic already had a storyline later on of the two having sex for the first time. Plus the other characters aren't aspec either so their sexual debuts are also unsurprising and deserved. Plus, I'm actually glad they included Tara and Darcy having sex because many 'sex positive' shows seem to leave out the lesbians. But for a show with an aroace creator and aspec characters, the depictions of romance and sex don't feel like they were written from an aspec lense or for an aspec audience. It's normal for people to be romantically and sexually attracted to each other and then date and have sex. But if you're aspec, you know this. We all know this. This is the mainstream and default depiction of human (hetero)sexuality. We're watching the queer shows to see something different from that. When romance without sex can only hinge on the characters being below the age of consent plus a supposed 'innocence' due to their young age and sex without love is non existent, plus when you factor in how there are no aroallo or alloace characters in the show with 'groundbreaking' aspec representation, it makes for a bit of a headscratcher. Heartstopper may be made by an aspec, has aspec characters and aspec fans, I don't consider it an aspec show. Bit sad, but it is what it is.

It's honestly strange how despite this fact, asexuality and aromanticism is barely mentioned in the main discourse about this show. Antis claim Oseman is a cishet woman despite being non-binary and aroace. They blame the sexlessness of the show on puritanism despite Oseman being aroace. There's constant arguments about how 'unrealistic' it is for teenagers to not have sex despite Isaac being a whole teenage aroace and how some people just didn't have sex in their teens... like aspecs. People are annoyed the show keeps giving Isaac aromantic and asexual storylines because it's 'not as important' and they 'don't care' as if he's not a main cast member and again, the creator is aroace! If you look at the promo pictures of the show, it has the main three pairings, Nick and Charlie, Tao and Elle and Tara and Darcy and no Isaac. Despite the fact it's supposed to be 'for' us and made by one of us, it's not. And a lot of non aspec queer fans watching the show don't see it for us despite being made by one of us either. And that's a real shame.

I'm fully aware Oseman knows about writing aroace characters from the book Loveless, which has an aroace MC. But I think Netflix choosing to adapt Heartstopper over Loveless was intentional. I think Netflix creating Isaac instead of Aled, a demi gay non-binary character from the og comic, was intentional. I think all the decisions Netlix made with Isaac and Tori are intentional, the same way bringing Yasmin Benoit to the Sex Education writers room to cut half of O's storylines was intentional. Netflix has fumbled the bag with asexual and aromantic representation several times now (Cash Piggot and Todd notwithstanding) so at this point, I'm not surprised anymore. Again, I'm happy for anyone who really likes Heartstopper, but I've finally accepted that it's not for me. And that's okay. When someone makes the predominantly aspec, slightly more grown, queer show with fully fleshed out arcs for its's asexual and/or aromantic characters or hits up Lovie Simone for the scrapped Selah and the Spades TV show, I know where I'll be.

We deserved our moments too. We deserve our Heartstopper.

[haechvn]

What’s your opinion on dating with this generation of men ..I just turned 20 and I’ve never had a boyfriend before because I feel like men are scary and I also got bullied a lot by men bc I’m a darkskin woman and I feel like black men sometimes hate women especially my color lol but the more I observe I feel more depressed the dating game is sick and men are literally evil and I love being alone but sometimes I feel like we as women have been fed a lie of romance

First of all, damn. you are literally 20. Breathe please, it's okay to not have had a serious boyfriend at your age. You can't even legally drink yet so not having a man now is absolutely fine. I'm 24 and I am just now engaging with men that are what I've been dreaming about. Dating has been great for me because I know who I am and the black men I interact with fall in line. I have definielty dealt with colorism and boys that feel the need to project their anti-blackness and insecurities on me before. I have to remind you that those are boys though. All men aren't inherently evil the same way all women aren't. "We" as women have not been feed lie about romance. It's true and it exists. I am experiencing it now as are tons of other black women and women in general. Maybe you haven't seen/experienced first hand but that doesn't mean a man will never want you in any capacity or treat you like the queen you are.

I'm gonna get a bit woo woo here but the way we see the world is the way we experience it. If men are evil to you and don't appreciate women, can you really be shocked if that's what you see? There are thousands of black men that love black women and everything about us all over the world. I know that for me when I was in uni, I didn't meet those type if men until I changed my environment and the way I saw people. People fall in and out of love everyday. Black women are loved on and are appreciated. Social media, teenage boys and those that are underage are not the true representation or measure to the love that many black women are met with on a daily. If you look at celebrities and youtubers as a standard, then stop. Look within, know that all things are possible and don't take nasty comments to heart. You are beautiful and more than deserving of the type of love you wish to have. You are also 20. Don't beat yourself up about being in a relationship right now. Continue to grow and learn yourself. That's the most important thing. Sending you love babesss.

[bi-hop]

I’ve been thinking about something and my blog is the best place to get those thoughts out, so here I go.

My gf and I are what I’d like to call temporarily long-distance. I go to university in a different time zone than her, she’s stayed at home for university. Right now I’m finishing up my last year while he studies for law school. (He’s very dedicated and graduated early in 2024.)

Because we like hanging out, we do virtual dates. We drop what we’re doing and watch stuff together. Sometimes I pick, sometimes Adri picks. If we hate something we stop. We have an endless backlog of stuff to try or finish so we’re never really bored.

Anyway for context we’ve both recently started liking reality TV shows. Specifically dating shows. I have no idea why bc they fill me with second-hand embarrassment, but I can’t stop watching them. So we decided to try out Singles’ Inferno together. To briefly explain, it’s this Korean show where hot singles are left on a deserted island that’s ‘hell’ (Inferno) and have to try to get to Paradise (an island with a fancy hotel and room service) by pairing up with someone. There’s survival games and drama.

I should say that I’m enjoying the show so far. I like the use of hosts in the show bc they watch alongside the viewer and they give a lot of commentary that helps me to understand what is viewed as ‘normal’ in terms of flirting and pursuing a girl. (It turns out that I still cannot parse the distinction between friendliness and attraction, but that’s whatever.) what gets me though is the colorism.

It’s not that I am unaware of colorism. I’m Black for one. I’m not darkskin but my mom and brother are. My grandma wasn’t taken in by a few relatives when her parents died because her and her siblings were ‘too dark’. It’s something I’m intimately aware of bc it’s a very powerful force in Jamaica and Haiti that shaped my family. And it’s something my brother and I have endured (though myself to a far lesser extent) in the States. But sometimes I forget. Like skin color is a beauty standard anywhere, and it’s not like any one place is exceptional in that regard. It’s not even as though Americans avoid mentioning it in terms of their types - my mom has said before that she’s been dumped over it. But sometimes I’m just not expecting to see it so blatantly in a show.

Light skin in the show, at least in season 1, is continually conflated with delicacy, brightness, purity. It’s just seen as an inevitability. One of the girls I really like in the show is more tanned, and it’s so far been a struggle for her to effectively pursue guys as they keep going for her far lighter counterpart. For countless reasons, I will never be on a show like this, and I’m pretty light in a Black context, but it’s jarring knowing from the dialogue in the show over the course of many episodes that my skin would be an instant disqualifier. And I have to kinda just accept that as the truth, even if it appalls me how ‘unquestionable’ it is presented as

[fandomshatepeopleofcolor]

do you plan on watching the hunger games prequel? it's got rachel zegler and viola davis, though it sees like the latter is playing the antagonist

I am planning on seeing the sequel even though I don't agree with casting Viola Davis as Dr. Volumnia Gaul. Like don't get me wrong here because it's been two years since I read the book but I don't remember her being Black?

The problem with Dr Gaul being Black imho is that she's basically the one that mentors Coriolanus Snow. Like I'm not saying she makes him the monster he is in the later series... that's all on Snow.

Like here's my headcanon on how Dr. Gaul got to be so cold and calculating. She's a scientist right? Got her doctorate and everything. To me she seemed more like Johanna Mason where she'd already lost everyone and then you add the civil war to the mix maybe she just lost all sense of compassion???

This is gonna get long and there's gonna be discussions of spoilers from the book and the movie below the cut. Please know that there's discussions of torture and child murder appropriate to the hunger games franchise also below the cut.

I'll start at the beginning here. the wiki describes Dr. Gaul as being the indirect creator of the Hunger Games because crassus snow and casca highbottom only came up with the proposal for the hunger games as an assignment. (I'm not getting into specifics here please reference the wiki if you want to place blame on just one person), Like the hunger games were a group effort to be sure.

The real problem here is the phrasing of the ask. Dr. Gaul may be partly responsible for the Hunger Games and for mentoring Coriolanus Snow but she's not the antagonist. The real antagonist was and is the state which implemented and continues to perpetuate the hunger games.

To phrase Dr. Gaul (Davis) as the antagonist washes Coriolanus Snow of his instincts which are entitlement and believing he deserves the good life. its what leads him to cause the death of his friend and take his place in his family.

we know that Dr. Gaul is called a cruel woman but we don't know what makes her cruel or how she arrived at that cruelty. She's certainly not evil incarnate and it's actually Crassus Snow who turned in that assignment he didn't have to you know? I'm not absolving Dr. Gaul at all but I know people are going to woobify Coriolanus because the actor is white and blond.

They're going to blame everything Coriolanus Snow does on Dr. Gaul's mentorship. But like... Corio was already messed up and he could have chosen a happy life in district 12 with Lucy or run away even but he didn't want that he wanted a life of power and wealth.

I'm basically seeing this movie in theaters because I want to see if the movie makes the misogynoir implicit in Dr. Gaul's casting explicit. And by that I mean, will the movie absolve Corio of his own motivations for turning on his friend and Lucy and instead make Dr. Gaul responsible for it? because I can already tell you that's what the fandom is gonna do.

anyways its gonna be a shit show and the casting directors shouldn't have cast a darkskinned black woman as Dr. Gaul even if I forgot that she was written that way. (which tbh I'm not sure if she is Black in the book), Its a very colorblind racist way of casting.

mod ali

[hellorai]

Okay so it just me who feels so like dizzy about their sexual identity rn?

Like for me I feel a whirlwind of emotions rn because for the longest I identified as bisexual (not that bisexual is a “gateway” sexuality it’s very valid) but late last year I realized I’m a lesbian and demisexual. I’m not use to labels outside of physical or hobbies (black woman, artist etc…) I just kinda knew who I was and that’s how I go on about my day but now it feels like I fell flat on my ass.

The idea of me being demisexual is still very new for me because I thought it was people who really didn’t like touch or sex and physical touch is like my main love language (romantically I’ll get into that) and I like sex but as I researched it more it all clicked from my trauma and how I processed speech and touch when I did date I liked the chase more than relationships emotionally but in my head I liked the relationship over chase because it they can’t touch me emotionally and physically? I’m still struggling on how I define this for myself because I am quite touch starved and love touch but it also makes me feel indifferent and I need to KNOW you or it feels like a violation!

Now on and off for years I’ve thought of the idea of being a lesbian. I felt more comfortable with girls, I dated girls more, I imagined myself with girls more etc…I feel like I held onto the idea of liking men was i like masculinity and at the time I equated masculinity=man. Then I didn’t feel as comfortable or attracted to girl because I forced myself into fem4fem and had inner biphobia at the time so I thought if I dated a masculine girl I just want men so I yearned for men more and it was “easier” to be attracted to like fictional men or celebrities but in real life I’d like girls I hope that makes sense😭 As a darkskin midsize black woman I felt like if I only like girls I’d be masculine and that made me uncomfortable because I’m very feminine. I felt like this because I use to equate heterosexual dynamics into homosexual relationships and I never say girls that look like me be the feminine one in lesbian relationships whether it was based on size, skin tone or race in general.

All of these insecurities and misguided views left me so confused and hurt + trauma of very bad relationships and being so young when all this was happening I continued to just have bad relationships or attached myself to people even though my mindset is nothing like it was because I didn’t have any real grasp of who I was and what I identify with.

So with all this I’ve been trying to educate myself especially with having more knowledge and older mutuals that really taught me what certain terms are like what a butch really is and butch culture.

I’ve always prided myself on knowing myself and presentation but with the stereotypes in certain labels I feel like I just don’t belong. I battle issues with I know it but I don’t feel it therefore it’s not valid. To call back when I mentioned physical touch is my main love language then I put romantically in parentheses because I think I’m a pillow princess. I’m trying to understand myself with and without labels and the guidance of them but when I research into what it means to be a pillow princess and femme I feel it but I don’t know it? Especially since I know and feel like I’d like to be with a stone butch. I’m also open to even like dropping labels if they don’t even go together I’d hate to think I’m just throwing terms together but when I research eventually my head feels dizzy and my stomach hurts like I’m just gonna get it wrong? I want to figure this stuff out because it leave me feeling bad and uneducated in my own culture (and like I’m never gonna be well enough to be in a relationship) but I just have a hard time seeing myself in roles or labels primarily cause I haven’t experienced much of anything!

I hope this makes sense and that someone just as confused but determined to figure themselves out like me can feel some warmth and maybe someone who went through this or knew someone could respond and help (which would be very appreciated)

🎀

[pigeonfancier]

I hate how the darkskinned indigenous-coded man with more "nonwhite" features is written with no characterization other than being violent and abusive while the more light-skinned native man with light hair is shown as gentle and understanding. The scene where the indigenous women are shown staring in awe at Shuna drawing a bow feels particularly bad, I feel like it promotes the idea of white women being the ones who can introduce change and "save" women of color.

I got some hate on the elfquest forum for posting my criticism, ppl were telling me my opinions are "ill-conceived" and "dont like dont read".

This was sent November 2023, and I'm replying now, because I just remembered.. I wrote a response and then drafted it for all of eternity? I am truly a paragon of communication.

But yeah, everything about Shuna's books and plots is just shit. I was a bit more mealy-mouthed about this last year, but: the Pini's love their blonde, blue-eyed saviours, and the Sun Villagers' position as a rare exception feels largely like they were just trying to make their product stand out among other comics of the time. Once it did, the job was done, and they got to lean back into the white saviour shit. Antagonists look more ethnic, protagonists look more white (or will gradually shift to looking more white over time).

I'd add more analysis but you caught it basically on the nose. Shuna's entire narrative is not great, and it is an example of why having an editor to rein in creatives is generally a good idea. Most people need someone who is not invested in your story or your characters to produce objective criticism, because that editor is a hell of a lot closer to how your readers will perceive your work. I don't think the Pini's think of any of their writing preferences as racist, nor do they really care if they are - they are in their mid 70's. But it might have been a different story back in the 90's or 2000's.

Or might not have! Who knows?

Also, yeah, that's the Elfquest forums for you. The Father Tree Holt one born after the closure of the original might be better, but I doubt it - I know I joined when it began and was not impressed. It's a lot of the same people from the official forums, and subsequently, it's largely just a continuation of the same problems. The problem with older fandoms tends to be people largely wailing 'don't like, don't read' when it comes to criticising works. Which I almost understand, when you've been reading a series for the last forty five fucking years: for some people, that level of investment will come with a certain amount of defensiveness. I do not have that with media, but I can understand where it comes from.

But it seems very silly to me. Not everyone likes analysing media, and that's perfectly fine! Forums are great for that conflict, because instead of trying to shut down a discussion, you can just simply not click the thread. You don't have a feed that'll try to shove shit at you, you can literally just not click the fucking thread.

I still side-eye the fact I made a thread on the original forums discussing the biomes of Abode as a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed teenie, full swing into my obsessive EQ stage, and was promptly told by multiple people that I was overthinking it, I shouldn't bother, and it was silly to focus on shit like on the feasibility of biomes / speculate on how the biome could've ended up in the canon way over how it would appear irl. But that was the response to almost any variety of genuine analysis of the material on the forum, tbh, even down to things as relatively easy as "is Strongbow an asshole?", or "how long do the wolves actually live for?", or "do you guys think that the narrative has a weird take on consent?". I'm still slightly salty over that years later, obviously, haha, so not surprised that "but WHY are you trying to engage with the material instead of just fawning over it?" mentality carried over to the new forum.

[hammerhead-jpg]

Ok so @bi-polar-geminii already made a post about this and had fruitful discussions about it but I feel like what I have to say might be too long to fit in their asks but

I definitely agree that SOME redacted artists seem to be unable of drawing diverse characters, keyword SOME because this fandom is one that definitely has a majority of lovely designs

And before I continue I want to point out that I am a snow cockroach myself so maybe I shouldn't be the one discussing this but obviously diversity is not just about race, it's about everything on a person like sexuality, ethnicity, nationality, body type, facial features and structures, hair textures and overall small features and accessories that differentiate the person

Honestly this is something that I've been thinking about for a long while and I won't name drop anyone because this isn't a call out post and I'm not looking to start drama (even though there is a certain someone that comes to mind but we won't talk about that) but I was scared that people would get really pissy.

I know that diversity is something that could be classified under artistic skill and I believe that not every artist who posts on social media can't just draw for fun and as a hobby without having the goal of improving but I do also think that diversity is not only a type of skill in character design but also a small gift to anyone that doesn't fit the the perfect beauty standards and when you seemingly refuse to draw anyone that doesn't fit that standard and like, only draw tank, Milo n Alexis as brownskin then that just kinda seems icky

And btw I'm not saying that it's bad to draw those three as poc (hell my tank is darkskin) but there's a difference between drawing a good chunk of the characters as brownskin/darkskin (obv including characters that don't fit/go against the racist stereotypes) and and those three just kinda end up being part of that group and then like all of your characters being crackers and only them being poc

I'm just saying it wouldn't kill you not to make all of your listener designs the same pretty faced preppy saltine sister and every male character the same dorito back webtoon guy but just with different hairstyles, clothing styles and maybe sometimes body types (but never even slightly chubby cuz god forbid)

And also, can we get some listeners that are male/masc?

This is something that I was kinda scared to talk about because like 90% of the fandom will draw like 90% of their listener ocs as women or very fem presenting and I definitely have quite a few listener designs that are very feminine or could be assumed women on first glances and again, the listener characters are gender neutral for a reason and they are at the end of the day supposed to be self inserts so the redacted fandom being majority fem/women it makes sense that they would make majorly fem/women listener ocs but like... If you're already making ocs would it kill you to make at least ONE of them masc/male? Like at least one you don't care about?

And I know saying that people should make more masc/male listener sounds kinda???? misogynistic???? But I'm not saying that because I think that male representation is a thing but because I think queer representation is a thing

I just think that maybe just maybe a little gay people wouldn't hurt??? Pretty please???with a cherry on top????

And damihux doesn't count!!! You don't get to draw them once and be the ultimate gay ally but ofc only on gay month because any other and you might get sent to hell!!! /hj

Just saying when naive little may 2022 me just finished watching freelancer and Gavin team tag Lasko (but not really because I'm literally a mineral and don't have the Patreon) and then went on social media just to see that the fandom was full of STRAGGOTS my jaw hit the submarine

And just, as we close off I know I'm not the ultimate master of diversity, my designs still fall under the pretty face fluffy hair m shaped bangs that definitely look too young for their age but I'm still working on making my character designs look distinct and diverse, and I will be actively working on it for like forever but I definitely won't lie to myself and say that I haven't improved from my dolphin smooth same face syndrome anime boy faze when I only ever wanted to put facial hair on a character when they were past the age of 27 but only put it on the jaw so they just ended up looking like Abraham Lincoln- so I know that I will get better at it eventually

I too look at more talented who are way better at making distinct designs and making designs for characters who don't have to rely on beauty standards to be absolutely gorgeous and feel bad, especially when basically the whole fandom simultaneously descides that a character is poc, a decision that I missed out on and then the fact that my design is seemingly the only one that is white makes me feel like those people that turn objects into people but just end up making them the same breed of sexy anime boy that nobody likes

So if you're insecure about your designs not being distinct enough the best advice I can give is to step out of your comfort zone and actively look for little details that might make a character unique and you'll get there

In conclusion, people who descide to be a conformist (/j) and draw Gavin with a human skin tone but then make him as pale as an uncooked chicken breast when he's specifically described as tan are kinda weird<3333

Also UNPOPULAR OPINION ‼️‼️

People who make their Lovely oc fem/a woman are DELUSIONAL ‼️ and are LYING TO THEMSELVES and are going to miss out on all the sexy fanfiction I'm going to write about Vincent riding their girthy monster cock ‼️( SLASH J EVERYBODY!!!!!!)

At the end of the day, people can draw whatever they want, but people can also say whatever they want in response to it, so you can't be mad if someone that's not even talking about you directly says that they find it strange that some people act like drawing a person that's not completely cis, white, straight, able bodied and a super model without it being some sort of subconscious stereotype will give them the plague

[sirensplayhouse]

Hey siren so I’m a black girl and I’m like brown skin maybe borderline darkskin, but I keep hearing ppl talk abt light skins and all that. And how light skins are on top. And I didn’t rlly care at first but now it’s bothering me a little bit. When I manifest my appearance change I kinda wanna make myself light skin but I also don’t bcs I feel like I should be more confident in my skin color. I was thinking of manifesting that I’m everyone’s type but then I started thinking as that would feel fake and like that’s not how the world actually is. Idk..

first off babes fuck and i do mean FUCK what everybody thinks , you are a beautiful black girl and ima need you to embrace that to the fullest mmhk ? mmhk . society can be cruel and it would be shit advice for me to say “just ignore it” because coming from a once insecure person i’m well aware of how degrading it can be and feel. it can take time for you to actually love yourself the way you deserve that’s why self care + self concept are so important. people think self concept just relates to how you manifest but it doesn’t. self concept is how you see yourself and how you want others to perceive you. it’s no secret i’m well against changing race /skin color and allat stuff so i’m not gonna agree that you should make yourself a lighter shade because i think your brown skin is absolutely gorgeous and i want you to learn how to love yourself and see yourself how i love see you🫶🏾

so here’s some homework from big sis/mother siren whatever it is you enjoy doing (i use this example all the time but deal with it✋🏾) i love music so i have like ten million playlists that correspond to my different feelings. create a playlist (if you want) filled with songs that make you feel good and get you lost in the words (i will even make a pro black skin playlist for you if you want , yes i am that extra✋🏾but i am that dedicated into showing you that you are worthy of all the love in the world) .

and as far as the manifesting goes you can just manifest that anybody who doesn’t like you for you stays the HELL away from you.

anyways i’d love for you to keep me updated mamas, and my dms are always open if you want to talk so from here on out you’re gonna be my ‘👸🏾’ anon (because look at that lovely shade of black ) WELCOME TO THE FAMILY LOVE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU🕺🏾🫶🏾and i know you will get all the love and happiness you are looking for and if nobody else is rooting for you just know i’m #1🩷

[cosmic-walkers]

I saw your post about there not being enough black/darkskinned Sansa in got poc fanart and was wondering, maybe there should be a black/dark skinned woc sansa day? I agree, I love looking up poc of the starks but notice people are too afraid to draw sansa and even catelyn dark skinned and I'm not sure why. Well, I am!

Hello! So i was actually thinking of an asoiaf woc week, and I wanted to do something like that! A woc week focusing on various skin tones and during that time, i wanted to talk about colorism in the stark family when it comes to people drawing certain ones dark skinned, but refusing to draw the others - like sansa and catelyn darker! Im actually working on a couple more dark skinned sansa pics as well, so this is certainly a thought for me. but also a stand alone day for sansa would be interesting.

i actually have a blog - @asoiafwoc where i am working on a couple of projects! a woc asoiaf week is one of them (but also i wanna do a project for emily and olivia). however, that blog is under construction.

but nah a black/woc sansa day would actually be cool?? so i may think about that. because i'd love to see MORE dark skinned woc sansa (and catelyn). it's so upsetting and telling when people make 'poc fanart' of the starks, and they refuse to draw sansa or catelyn dark skinned but they draw arya and the men/boys dark skinned. i don't know why people are so afraid to draw more feminine characters dark skin. well i DO know and that's an issue we need to address with sansa and kate in poc fanart.

[yippieitsarvensart]

GRAAAAHH savanaclaw and pomefiore appearance hcs :3

leona- he is obviously muscular but also is kind of bigger bodied because he eats a lot and intentionally puts on weight like a lot of athletes do. he has a flat nose (like a lion/feline) but also because hes BLACK.. I HEADCANON leona has sharp teeth like the tweels because lions do, its just those two canines happen to be a bit sharper. also he has wicks and maintains them well. theyre not in a specific style or anything he lets his hair do what it wants, so some are super thick and some are super skinny! his eye with the scar is almost completely shut and he cant see out of it at all. also hes darkskin OH ALSO has long nails

ruggie- super skinny and lanky. skin and bones. he did put on some weight after joining NRC, i also think he has super slow metabolism!! lightskin with a lot of freckles like a hyena., also has a flat nose. same as leona all of his teeth are somewhat sharp, the canines are just bigger. he has a LAZY EYE because one of the hyenas from the lion king had a lazy eye, and also a bite mark in his ear. he has dark circles under his eyes like a hyena aaaand uhhh has curly hair he can twist. its not 4c but its curly maybe 4a idk :3 has a buncha scars from various fights and activities and like stuff (and cracks on his arm from leonas OB)

jack- muscular but not too muscular. i hate muscular teenagers what r u doing with all those muscles. you are 16. stop that this instant young man. but anyway i think hes pretty toned but i just dont like muscular teens i think theyre uhhh. unattractive(?) personaly. nothing against them. anyway. same teeth as leona and ruggie blah blah blah ALSO instead of that fuckass confusing hair he has he has white locs and stuff :3 his nose is darker than his face like an actual dog. i also think hes a husky so his hair and tail and stuff get super puffy in humidity. has a supr long tongue like a dawg blehhh uhhh yaaa ^_^ i also think he has monolids. has.. very few scars from like tripping and falling during track maybe. brownskin

vil- WHITE WOMAN with a hooked nose. i said this on twitter buttt she has a pudgy body to account for the beauty standards of the 1950s, which i mainly base her off of due to me also basing her off of marilyn monroe :3 nnnd she has a pear shaped body kinda curvy also a thigh gap. she has sharp downturned eyes and kind of curly hair which she straightens. blonde is her natural hair color!! she has sharp bow shaped lips!!! i hc she has bad back acne that she covers up LOL.. uhh also lots of moles! and stuff. she has sharper than normal canines :3

ILL FINISH TOMORROW ITS FUCKING LATE

Goodness GRACIOUS Chef you are COOKING. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥AUGH🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥ciel....🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥you and your🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥beautiful mind🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥thank you for giving me these hcs🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥I lobr you🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Honestly these'll help me so good with whenever I get around to drawing like, any of these bitches. I'm so bad at thinking of my own hcs I gotta steal from all'a'yall XDDD

I gotta say I am so so in love with your vision of Vil... She's an icon she's beauty and grace... Vil oh Vil I love you so... Idk man idk what to even say you cooked you slayed you ate you buried me alive you massacred my family WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME

[magical-glimpse]

I agree with all of you ! Even among black people, especially in football ! Black men don’t hang out with black dark women but rather light skinned ones. As it’s seen as a sign of success…

I hope one day things will change and for the better, i’m tired of seeing my black dark women being thrown down just because they’re darker and by extension « uglier »

When i saw that for dating apps they were the least chosen even by black men i was so sad.

Black women suffer a lot, but i’d say dark skintonned women suffer !

:(

I saw this in my life as well ! I am mixed and more light skinned, but i find it disgusting when people try to put me above black darkskinned women. They are my sisters and they deserve better.

[sxnshxnxxnddxxsxxs-fics]

And your heart, love // has such darkness

desert island discs: point and kill

here’s the playlist

i don’t even know how much analysis i can do for this one.

this song is sipho black.

like it’s not even subtext the literal lyrics are just this girl.

“I do as I want, I do as I like

I no watch face, I no fear nobody”

literally the opening lines of the song, there are no rules for sipho black to obey, the standards for man are not the standards for her. she doesn’t get told no. now i am not nigerian so any nigerians feel free to come correct me but “i no watch face” basically means i’m not afraid of anyone, i don’t care about who’s looking at me or what they see, let them chat because that’s got nothing to do with me.

“Point and kill

If I want it, it's mine

You can't stop me”

in its most literal meaning sipho and the house of black are literally just so powerful and important that they literally just have to point at something and the rest of society are falling over themselves to accommodate them.

and these two motifs being the core of the chorus of this song i think really reinforces the way that the world revolves around sipho both in her mind and in actuality because people act as if the world does revolve around her. also the fact that she is very aware of it, there’s no bashfulness in sipho black she knows she’s the star of the show, she acts like it and she lives it.

“Family no go suffer, oh, inna my lifetime

Dey be fine, do am proper, no lie, lie”

one thing that sipho cares about is family. she’s been raised in a way that she is fully aware that she is the future of her house. she very much intends to live up to the expectations put on her.

“Snakes in the grass, no trust am

Point and kill any impostor”

this speaks to sipho’s bigger plans for the future (re chapters 9 and 10). now whether or not she’s right she is trying to get rid of what she perceives as a genuine danger to her community because she does truly care about her community and its future.

“Can't stop greatness, what's the point in tryin'?”

this type of endless self confidence is something that that i really wanted to imbue sipho with on a more meta level because it is the direct opposite of what society wants for black women especially darkskin black women. so she is self confident to the point of arrogant and quite a bit passed it. and what?

“It's the fact that everything I want is in front of my eyes”

there’s something to be said for the fact that sipho really does consider all her goals to be achievable because the girl dreams big. she’s aware that she will have to work hard and put in effort for the things she wants but never once does she consider that she might not get there.

there are actually more lines i can break down but i’ll leave it there for now because i want to talk about the song beyond just lyrical interpretations. sometimes i might be introvert is a phenomenal album and it’s one that plays with genre a lot to its absolute benefit. and the way point and kill balances rap with afrobeats it’s the sharing and merging of two cultures in a way that i think speaks to characters like sipho tracey and dean in a very important way. the instrumental of this song is so west african with this drum part underpinning the entire thing. the song is made for dancing for celebrating the instrumental says come and join us in celebration and the lyrics say we’re celebrating that i’m the best. then you add the trumpet melody that comes in at the end and trumpets in music generally represent triumph and victory and jubilation. this is a song that just says i am amazing and everyone loves me for it.

[miss-bigpapa]

i keep thinking i want to go home and it’s like where is home exactly? it’s not nashville. it’s sure as fuck not columbia. thus, it doesn’t exist nor do i want to.

i kept crying today and i love being darkskin because as long as i make sure to get all of the tears stuck from my lashes, no one can tell. then at some point i got irritated because being sad is vulnerable. so i got pissed instead. at… myself. which was super healthy.

i am sad because even though he’s hurt me so freaking bad , i am worried about him. i want to reach out but him not reaching out says enough i think.

i have a deep desire to give up on everything. just because i can if i want to. no more phd program or therapy or church or grocery shopping or exercising. just drop off the face of the earth. honestly, im not adding much to it anyway.

i haven’t had one of my car screams in a couple weeks and i need it. what are my hobbies? oh going screaming.

i haven’t drank alcohol in a whole month and have no desire to. i do like being high though. i don’t slut shame vices.

[multifairyus]

okay @cqcophobiq inspired me to be brave and stop camping out in the tags. I’m a real stream of consciousness kinda gal so hopefully this makes sense and not *too* rambly! Ahem:

🔥🔥🔥AUTISTIC HOBIE RIGHTS 🔥🔥🔥

This makes SO much sense @gutsygremlin! The fact that being cisn't is is very common for neurodivergent people also makes me nod vigously to this post. Hobie Brown is built different. Blackness, queerness, and neurodivergent paint such a specific picture for the type of person you end up being and how you interact with the world.

I got formally peer reviewed and therapist referred for autism like, last week?Also never masked—what you see is what you get. And since I didn’t KNOW something was “wrong” with me, I didn’t realize how bold of a statement I was making by simply being myself. Subconsciously for 25 years I’ve more or less communicated to people “…oh, am i not picking up on cues and making social faux pas? You want me to get back in the kitchen and cook up another personality/demeanor for you? This ain’t build a bitch hoe. What you see is what you get.” And it wasn’t intentional, but makes me a very polarizing person! I really relate to the concept “autistic rizz” (charisma). Tons of it—harder to realize i had symptoms cuz i love people! However, with autistic rizz comes autistic “puls”, (repulsion).

So, brining it back to Hobie being autistic and it’s like…yes he’s already cool but so much cooler cuz even without a diagnosis or peer reviewing, he knew he was polarizing, thought different. I feel like being a tall, darkskinned person with very afrocentric features set him up to be “intimidating” and gawked at WITHOUT the punk aesthetics. This wonderful Tik Tok by Chris Whoa talked about how he felt cosplaying Hobie. He felt empowered because Hobie “doubles down” on taking up space being black and alternative, and that people who would treat him differently/get scared off by his aesthetic aren’t people he needs around him anyway. If him being himself is repulsive, in his own words…”Good.” And to baby autist me that’s SUCH an inspiration like wow 🥺 that said, while we’re talking about masking…people have pointed out that Hobie a lot more animated/upbeat/physically affectionate in his suit whereas with his mask off, he’s more reserved and serious. Huh. Imagine that…

Onto the gender bit: I saw non-binary Hobie a mile away. The fuck does that man looking like adhering to not just gender roles but the concept all around? I think he'd be annoyed at how the term “non-binary” is being treated like a third gender rather than a category, and thus just another label. But in general? Yeah fuck that binary shit.

That said personall, regardless of if he’d define himself as such…I get gender-fluid/genderflux vibes from him. Obviously, you don't need fashion as a way to express gender. But I think Hobie could and would.

He has SO much gender?? Genderful even! Why I love AUs/headcannons/timelines where he has the time/housing stability to have an interest in fashion and makeup and playing with expectations. he's so pretty and handsome like if a man and a woman had a baby 🥰

I wish people stop overemphasizing the one “punk” trait from Hobie…because forcing all of his fashion and music etc to be ONLY punk is not punk and I for one adore the inconsistency he swears by. If we can’t pin down a gender for him how can you pin down a genre you can’t, exactly.

Hobie is such a silly goofy guy tho. Like he’s absolutely the type of queer to, when asked for pronouns or how he identifies, say something like this:

“”Gender?” Y’need me to put a little sticker on m’ forehead of what I am so you can work out what it “means” when y’get an eyeful of all this, yeah? Cute! All you *actually* need to know if that you're into me you are not straight. Yup. Don’t make the rules—don’t believe in them actually. But that rule is the most help you’ll get from me to figure that out. Not my problem l'm universally appealing innit?”

i want some more heavily analytical headcanons of Hobie brown (from black queer ppl)

what are ur thoughts. give them to me