#i am not a racist

[badbreed1111]

This is MURDER

They are disgusting people who call themselves men...😡🤬👇🏾

[helaenadream]

the hotd fandom’s reaction to gwayne hightower has been nothing short of baffling to me so far. it’s no secret that people’s love to hate criston cole has been prone to making them miss the point in a major way but this to me is kind of a new level. the idea that he is “slay” or “serving cunt” or even that he legitimately sees through criston and resents him for being a bad person is a stunning misinterpretation of what the show is obviously saying. which is that gwayne hightower is racist. he talks to criston that way because criston is brown. and poor.

[brw]

I think the most surprising thing about reading Cloak and Dagger comics is how much Cloak is a shy, inexperienced, weird off-putting autistic little boy (said with deep, deep affection). Like he'll CONSTANTLY go on these internal tirades about how awful he feels for feeling desire towards Dagger, how much he resents his own dependence on her because he feels like he is leeching off her, his physical wants and desire for her and his romantic love for her which he feels taints her, like he's somehow dirtying her with his desire, and obviously this is a super weird, racist thing to depict with these two because of the inherent baggage of having a a black man and a white woman have this kind of dynamic, but it's kind of fascinating to read because when he does touch her it's like a very gentle touch of the hands or a chaste hand on her shoulder or a kiss on the forehead.

There's just something kind of insane about reading a man convinced that his own desires are poisonous and dirty and wrong and then all he does is occasionally try to hold her hand or touch her shoulder. Like he doesn't seem to be able to even conceive of doing anything further than that and yet angsts over it like he's actually ever encroaching on her boundaries or personhood. I guess it's the natural consequence of them constantly finding random Catholic priests in New York to live with but damn...

[haventacluewhatimdoing]

A theme of this week's episode which I really think more people should take away is this:

You are not immune to being racist.

The signs are there. The microaggressions are abundant. And can you honestly say that you didn't notice them? Or did you notice them but make excuses, and only realise at the end what they truly were? Because that's what I did. With the exception of the 'I thought you looked the same' comment, I made excuses for EVERY SINGLE ONE unconsciously.

She immediately rejects the Doctor? Oh, that's just because he's not on her friends list. She's shocked that Ruby and the Doctor are in the same room? Oh, that's just because she never sits in the same room as anyone else (despite it LITERALLY JUST BEING SHOWN that she works in the same room as other people, this is where my brain went). Her looking forward to the Doctor being punished? Yeah well she's just a dick, right? Even when she saw them face to face at the END, and walked away from them, I didn't clock on as to why. And not once did it occur to me that Ruby, who was in exactly the same position as the Doctor, didn't get this treatment.

So yes, one of the most important takeaways from this episode is: you are not immune to being racist.

[fae-morrigan]

Y'know, I see a lot of people argue that like, Jay is ugly. Why does Jon like him? And I've made it clear I disagree, because, like, cmon:

That is OBJECTIVELY a handsome man, and I'm a lesbian, lmao.

But like. If he was. ... So?

I actually think it's pretty cool that DC was like, yeah, Superman fell in love with a guy who cuts his own hair with dull scissors and dresses like oscar the grouch. He's a little weird to look at, maybe he's not the most conventionally attractive dude, but SUPERMAN found him wonderful and wanted to kiss him on the mouth.

That's... great? Like that's great. There's no universe where that reading of the text isn't awesome and empowering. Queer love should transcend looks and social status, and a huge part of queerness is finding beauty in the 'odd', anyways.

[xianjaneway]

This is weird, but after reading so many Marvel fics, I'm surprised that most of them show Tony (& less often, Wanda) being the ones who worked to remove Bucky's trigger words.

Friends, in canon, that was Wakanda.

As white creators, why do we shy away from this in our fics?

I can at least make a couple of guesses. We don't want to appropriate black culture. We don't want to *get it wrong*, or do something that would dishonor the original creators.

We don't want to colonize it.

We don't want to fuck it up.

The thing is, I've read over 1200 Marvel fics since June of 2024. (Yay for hyperlexia, an audio reader, & a lot of boring repetitive work that compels me to find new fics to listen to every day!). I select them by kudos, completion status, & date. My primary ships are Stucky, Stony, Stuckony, & I would read almost anything interesting involving Bucky Barnes.

Guess how many have explored Bucky's time in Wakanda, beyond a passing reference, or a longing for his huts & his goats?

Zero.

Seriously.

Folks, I understand not-wanting to fuck it up. However, as white creators, there ARE a few things we can do that don't involve any appropriation, & drastically reduce our chances of fucking it up.

For starters? We could talk to black creators. Invite them for a collaboration. Ask them questions.

We could re-watch the Panther movies, & the Falcon/Winter Soldier series, with an eye towards, "If I were Bucky Barnes, how would I react to this environment?"

The gender questions ALONE are fascinating AF! A WWII vet being healed in part by a Dora Milaje? How would he respond? How would he interact with an elite group of female warriors, who are in every way better fighters than he is? What would he have to overcome to exist alongside them?

And remember, in Wakanda, Bucky is NOT the main character.

We could argue that he never wanted to be, but if we know men from this era, we know that they lived & moved in a world that *expected* them to be. There's muscle memory & manners & a lifetime of reflexes involved here.

How would Ayo or Xoliswa react to Bucky opening doors, or pulling out their chairs? That ALONE is worth a few one-shots.

And fellow white people, we aren't even asking that question.

I genuinely think we're missing out.

I KNOW, fics are supposed to be for joy & escapism.

However, all of us know that fics can be a form of education, & a form of therapy. If we're serious about decolonizing our minds, our habits, & our viewpoints, this is a REALLY GOOD sandbox for us to practice in.

Just imagine how your version of Bucky Barnes would react here, & give this idea some thought:

[kuyanh]

Racist dl

N yeah i CANT draw fork:')