#i think that's enough alien physical characteristics and traits don't you think

[eorzeashan]

Headcanon that some Echani have folded/floppy ears; these ears saw a rise in popularity among their population because folded ears in potential mates are seen as cute and youthful, which also means sharp ears are a trait in general. (folded ears are a genetic mutation of this due to softening of cartilage). ancient Echani ears resembled the triangle-shaped ears of predators but over the course of evolution, became smaller and now rest on the sides of an Echani's head; some theorize ears became folded over time to filter out noise, which can be seen in the design of Echani clothing that greatly emphasizes hoods and headwear to protect the species' sensitive hearing.

Often, human hybrids of Echani gain the ears of their human parentage instead.

[florelia12]

do you have a fancast? like perfect irl people that remind you of florelia (and the rest) not necessarily actors but people in general. tbh it's hard to find the perfect tan girl with green eyes. sometimes it's easy when people aren't in your ear telling you flora is latina bc she might be but it's hard to find latinas with flora's physical traits. and helia to me he's not asian he just has cat eyes. though I have to admit I like it when in fics people say helia and musa are cousins.

okay there is a lot to unpack here.

First of all, no, I actually don't have the perfect fancast for Florelia or any of the Winx characters really and its not something that really bothers me. I don't want a live action (not everything needs to be made live) or a reboot, I want them to fix the mistakes they've done in the actual show and bring back quality content.

Secondly, I am that person in your ear telling you Flora is a Latina and that Helia is Asian.

Not because she might be, but because it has been explicitly said since forever that Iginio was inspired by Jennifer Lopez when creating Flora. The WHOLE POINT of the characters Musa, Aisha and Flora being designed the way they were was to include diversity.

The proof is coming out with the original designs for Musa and Flora where they are both clearly white. What other reason would Iginio have to change their features and the colors of their skin if it wasn't to be inclusive? And what is wrong with him doing that?

When people say Flora is Latina they obviously don't mean she is a Latina, Puerto Rican girl living in an alien world. Her character is inspired by a Latina woman. Hence, her features and skintone (when doing art or fancast) and possible stereotypes (when making hcs or writing fanfics) need to be taken into account.

When you say it's hard to find Latina's with Flora's traits, it's not because Flora's not a Latina or girls who look like her don't exist, it's because there is not enough representation of darker skinned Latinas. THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT. Especially if you're looking for it on pinterest, like you search girlhood in there and all you get are white girls?? Where the hell are the rest of us?

Also Flora having green eyes is directly related to the fact that she is the Fairy of Nature (they literally glow when she powers up) but that doesn't mean Latinas can't have green eyes. One simple google search will show you.

You can argue for Linphea since it doesn't look like Puerto Rico but it also a realm of Nature and that doesn't leave as much room for them to work with as they got to with Musa and Melody (even that has its issues of lumping in all the different cultures) and lets be honest we barely got a glimpse into Linphea's actual culture as it was.

Then we have Helia. Yes his character wasn't explicitly said to be Asian. But his design doesn't leave much doubt, especially the moment someone points it out. His features are inspired by East Asian features, he shares similar design characteristics to Musa and other asian characters.

The fact that you said he just has cat eyes already proves how you view Asian features. And also the fact that you identify he has Asian features but don't want him to be Asian is because of whatever prejudice you are holding onto.

The joke is so fucking old, it was never, ever funny.

Also I want to pose this question to everyone, not this person since they didn't say they think he's white. Why is it that if a light-skinned character's inspiration isn't explicitly stated, they are just by default white?

And anyone pointing out the possibility of them being otherwise makes people think they have the free-reign to just to ignore because the character is light-skinned?

When Helia's background is left for interpretation it makes more sense to explore the hundreds of Asian cultures that exist instead of ignoring all of that and jumping straight to him being white. Like there are East Asians and there are Southeast Asians and no these aren't just two cultures they are a number of different countries with different cultures.

I am South Asian. No, I do not look like Helia or Musa, I look like Nabu.

Hell, I thought Flora was Indian and Helia was white when I was NINE. It took one person casually pointing out "hey they're not" to realise oh ya they actually aren't.

I don't know if this was a targeted ask because I have posted in this account about how i find the Helia and Musa being cousins hcs uncomfortable.

But yeah, I find it uncomfortable because where I'm from (I can't speak for every single Asian country though I don't think this is an isolated experience) it is a joke to ask any new Asian person you meet if they are related or if they know this other Asian person that you know. Again it's an old joke, it's not that funny, it never was.

It is also a joke to say yeah all Asians are related, or they all cousins. It may seem harmless, but I'd say it has deeper roots of incest accusations/stereotypes like marrying your cousin or whatever. Even if I'm wrong about that (if i am please someone who is a poc correct me, white people shut up), it's still a stereotype you are perpetuating. (and no I'm not just talking about older fanfics that were probably written by 11 year olds where everyone is always related, i'm talking about the ones written by adults.)

Why is it never Sky and Stella being cousins? Or Riven and Tecna? They have similar features. Why not them? Why is it always only Musa and Helia?

But that just brings us back to you saying you don't think Helia's Asian. Musa is clearly Asian (if you're going to say she's not then you are just plain ignorant). But, Musa's Asian and her "cousin" Helia just has cat eyes ???If you like that hc then why can’t you accept that he is clearly Asian?

Before white people get defensive about poc calling out racism that you claim isn't intentional, stop and think WHY. It has been said time and time again, racism is not always inherently overt or 100% intentional. It can come out in even as something as 'small' or 'not as serious' as cartoon characters. But it is serious because we poc exist in these spaces too.

Also you can be POC and still be racist. Funnily enough, that was the very first direct interaction of racism I experienced in this fandom. That also does not mean white people get a pass (it's sad I even have to add that as a disclaimer)

I don't even know if you bothered to read this far, but I hope you've learned something.

[em-writes-stuff-sometimes]

https://www.tumblr.com/em-writes-stuff-sometimes/753733902331445248/em-i-need-to-let-you-know-that-terms-of-endearment?source=share

Hi Em! I'm glad my message was nice for you to read <3

I totally agree with you on reader insert fics. I think that's why I usually avoid them too (the clunkiness of them) they just usually don't feel as though they flow as well and the actual stories being told don't really capture my attention as much as they tend to lack depth (This isn't me yucking anyones yum tho! I hope everyone reads whatever they enjoy!!) Also I hope your real-life obligations are going well despite being more demanding than they used to be!

It did flow being read all in one hit! I liked the sound of the, I think it was the third fic that I saw first? Noticed it was part of a series so was like I should probably read it in order then I noticed the dates and was going back and forth on reading it in the order you wrote them or the order they you had placed them like chronologically and decided to go chronologically and there was no indication that you hadn't written it in that order. I did love going to the comments especially of the prequel and people being like "I can't wait to see her with the cannibal for the first time" and I was like witH THE WHO??? Also yeah there's a lot of chapters but they're needed!! I really love the way you have created a character that really does feel like they could belong in the canon and the edits you make to the story to fit her character feel so realistic (There's never enough chapters of this story and I'll be reading them all hehe)

I'm genuinely really happy that my silly little anon post made you feel reassured. There most definitely are so many people who really love the story you're telling and can't wait to see where it goes. Anxiety and doubt are always going to be present when sharing any form of art, any part of yourself that come through when creating something to be shared will be make you nervous but it doesn't mean it's not worth it!

As always the new chapter was amazing! (They're a little family of 3 now ToT) and I can't wait for what's next <3

Hello again, nonnie! What should I call you? You’re cute as a button! So nice to see ya!

I can definitely understand what you mean. Reader insert fic is, incredibly generally speaking, not designed to be sustained long enough for any kind of extensive plot, given that this inevitably requires the protagonist to develop personal characteristics in response to scenarios and choices made in-text. I love that Reader fic provides an immersive experience, but it is only really fully so if it is kept as neutral as possible, to prevent a breaking of said immersion. Giving the Reader a canonical family member, a physical characteristic, even a personality trait can arguably alienate parts of the prospective audience to different degrees (some of which are very much valid and pertinent critiques of reader-fic that diverge from neutral territory). Thus, it is not a mode that people intent on keeping strictly to form will use to write a long-fic. And thus—it can be argued, though agreement is obviously a personal choice here—Reader fic doesn’t generate the same possibilities for storytelling compared to your traditional OC fic, and therefore not as much audience attachment to original characters therein. I’ve had a fair amount of anxiety over the way I’ve chosen to write my own work, given that it is essentially an OC fic using no name and told in second-person POV, which diverges from the standard of acceptable reader-fic. It was largely an experiment that grew uncontrollably and now I’m in too deep to change it, haha. I have been very fortunate that this has accepted by the vast majority of my possible audience, or at least it has not been made a significant point of issue; I try to make it clear as much and as often as I can that I bear no ill intention in assigning identifying attributes to the MC, nicknamed ‘Babey’ to help further separate her from the ever-divergent-from-‘Reader’ vibe I’ve created.

The way I wrote it was an absolute mess, so I am beyond glad it reads chronologically, lol! I think I started with the second chapter of the third instalment, went back and wrote Chapter 1, went to Chapter 3 and continued, got halfway through and switched to the second instalment, wrote that, went back to the third instalment and wrote the second half, wrote the fourth instalment, fifth, then rewrote the second instalment (changed pacing, edited and added three extra chapters for better plot), wrote the first instalment, and now onto the sixth instalment. Absolutely ridiculous of me, I know. I’ve tried very hard to make sure it all fit, and I did have to retcon a few things as I went along. Luckily, from here on out it should be pretty much all chronological, thank feck. I’ve always been very much aware that my fic is a spin on the classic “added OC to canon” trope, and so I’ve tried where I can to not always show the exact same scenes playing out as they do in the show; where I can I will make adjustments or diverge slightly or cut away from the ‘main scene’ to focus on Reader’s inner dialogue. It’s not inventive, no, but my thought is that if it is canon adjacent and well-written, it can serve as a sort of coping mechanism for the fuckery I see on-screen. Reinterpreting The Horrors for my fanfic will definitely help me deal with the inevitable depressing ending of the Dance, lol, and potentially it might do the same for any readers? I’ve always personally liked canon adjacent fics, even if some rag on them. It is important to me that Babey feels like she is part of the universe, and I like doing that by building on existing scenes and events in the show to further enmesh this new character into the world and make it seem like a possible reality. That is not to say everything will happen exactly the same, clearly! But I want my fic to echo similar themes so that it really feels like it could have been an ‘alternate interpretation’ of the in-world history. If that makes sense! I’m writing this at 1am, lol.

I really do appreciate your messages so much. It can get a little lonely out here in the mean streets of Tumblr.com, haha, and there is a small delicate part of me that still squees and gets weepy and full-of-love-and-sunshiney at scraps of praise and validation. The anxiety is real, but ultimately I’ve gotten to a place in my life where I’m no longer willing to sacrifice my own source of happiness to seek universal approval; I love writing, I love my little universe, in my head it is real and thriving and my personal canon because it’s what came from my head and I love that I’ve done that. My life has gotten so much healthier from it. I have suffered from binge eating disorder and insomnia and clinical depression for a very long time, and I am so enthused and distracted by my writing that it has curbed my obsessive tendency to stress/comfort-eat, and so exhausted after clacking at my keyboard in the evenings that I fall right to sleep. Overshare. Yikes. But still, these things are true, and it is just really a super cool bonus that people happen to enjoy what I write! Your support means a helluva lot to me. Thank you.

I’m working on the next update, bit by bit! Hopefully I will have something for everyone soon.

Take care, and thank you again! ILY ❤️❤️

[theropoda]

I have a question — a post on intersex you shared said you can’t transition to be intersex. Why not? If mtf, aka male to female, and ftm, female to male exist why is it not possible to identify as intersex, and to do so without being “biologically” intersex? Isn’t it just as bioessentialist to demand people be born with the sex traits medically assigned or recognized as intersex to have an intersex identity? This isn’t a casual question to me. I have been questioning my gender identity and forming my transition goals for a while and it is actually coalescing around a specific intersex amab masc but with some seen as femme physical characteristics identity. I see myself as transitioning to intersex as well as to male as I go ftm. The characteristics and lived experience I will have will fit a number of intersex conditions just as well as I will fit male, and so if we don’t question one identity why question the other? Why act like it’s bigoted to identify as trans intersex when we don’t see it as evil to say be mtf even if afab people have unique struggles from the physical aspect of being afab that TYPICALLY happen? We know it’s wrong to alienate trans women and anyone else mtf or mtnb/mtx just because they can lack those experiences same as it is wrong to alienate cis women and trans men and other ftm or ftnb/ftx people who lack those experiences. In short just because my experiences as trans intersex aren’t the same as a natal intersex person doesn’t make that part of my identity invalid or my connection to an intersex identity false or a lie. It seems very transmed and transphobic to say otherwise.

..... im gonna be honest anon, i genuinely didn't understand a lot of what you just said. but as for your first statement on "why can't perisex people transition to intersex?", i will say that, as a perisex person myself, that... is a question i don't think i know enough about to answer. but always i will listen to the voices of intersex people first and foremost, and ive seen quite a few of them find the idea of "transitioning" from perisex to intersex as very harmful. I can see why.... it must be really damn offensive to go through life being intersex, going through so much struggle and difficulty because of how society has treated you so cruelly, and someone who's never experienced any of that and go "wow, i would like to be intersex", bc what do they know?

if any of my intersex followers would like to add onto this and answer anon's question absolutely feel free.

[philosopherking1887]

I wonder what you mean with "Loki’s Jewish-coding". Loki is a Norse god, of Scandinavian origin, not Jewish/middle-eastern. I hope I just misunderstood your fandom tropes because making him a Jew all of a sudden seems extremely weird. Scandinavians can also have VERY curly hair and straighten it because we don't like it.

Um… I’m sort of confused by the assumption that I’m an idiot that seems to be underlying this question. Pretty clearly, I hope, I was talking about Marvel’s Loki, not the original Loki of Norse myth. In fact, in the post you’re talking about, I referred to it as “[MCU] Loki’s Jewish-coding.” The reason “MCU” is in brackets is that I didn’t want to exclude the Loki of the classic Marvel comics—who, I think I recall @fuckyeahrichardiii​ telling me, is even more intensely and problematically Jewish-coded than MCU Loki. I read and write fanfiction about MCU Loki primarily; writers do draw on the myths that inspired the comics and films, but for the most part the more recent fictional representations are the basis.

Because I am not an idiot, I do know that Loki is a Norse god of Scandinavian origin, and it would be absurd to claim that the Loki of myth has Jewish or Middle Eastern characteristics. I have read, in connection with the controversy about the origin of Loki’s name, that he may be a holdover from an earlier, perhaps pre-Indo-European pantheon that was replaced by the Norse one. The Jotnar in Norse myth, like the Titans of Greek myth, do seem to play the role of “old gods” that might represent the gods of the pre-Indo-European populations that were conquered and/or displaced by Indo-European settlers just as the Jotnar/Titans are conquered and displaced by the Aesir/Olympians. Loki is unusual in being a Jotun who is accepted into the community of the Aesir – perhaps an older native god being borrowed into the invaders’ religion? So Loki is already an Other, an outsider relative to the rest of the Norse pantheon.

Despite the fact that Marvel was using Norse gods as the basis for their Asgardian characters, the comics originated in 20th-century America, which was, ineluctably, subject to a number of other cultural influences. Mainstream American culture has been primarily shaped by Christian European culture, and the Other par excellence of Christian Europe has always been the Jew. In European culture, Jewish men have been feminized and, especially around the turn of the 20th century, have been compared to or associated with gay men in light of their shared status as outsiders, as an alien and inscrutable Other, and presumed untrustworthiness. (This is brought out in an especially poignant way by Marcel Proust, a gay man and the son of a Jewish woman, in In Search of Lost Time, particularly in his treatment of the Dreyfus Affair, which was THE political event of the 1890s and left a deep scar on French society that still hadn’t healed when Proust’s books were published 20-30 years later.)

Marvel’s Loki hits many of the points associated with the figure of the Jew in European culture. He is the eternal foreigner in Asgard, his loyalties constantly in question. He is portrayed as sly and manipulative, always pulling strings from behind the scenes, forever plotting to take power from the rightful rulers of Asgard. He does tend to be queer- or feminine-coded, which on its own isn’t necessarily evidence of Jewish-coding, but reinforces the rest of the image. Aside from having dark hair while most Asgardians are blond/golden-haired—a standard trope for emphasizing the “Oriental” origins of European Jews, though many (like myself) are blond or (like my mother and grandmother) red-haired—the Loki of the classic comics also tends to have a hooked nose. (Which is pretty common among cartoon villains, especially sly and conniving ones…)

I first became aware of the implicit Jewish-coding of MCU Loki—which might have been unintentional, or just a consequence of the adaptation from the comics—when I happened across a couple of videos setting footage from Thor and The Avengers to songs from The Prince of Egypt, including “All I Ever Wanted” and “The Plagues.” I realized that Loki’s position as member of a foreign enemy group, rescued from death as a baby and raised, in ignorance of his heritage, as the second prince of the society that conquered the society of his origin, was very similar to that of Moses in The Prince of Egypt. (That movie doesn’t adhere exactly to Moses’s story in Exodus; Moses did actually know where he came from because his sister Miriam volunteered his birth mother as a wet nurse for him. But then, in some versions of the comics, Loki does know that he’s either adopted or Odin’s bastard, so that doesn’t necessarily spoil the parallel.) Then I noticed some of the other characteristics that set Loki apart from Asgardian society at large and his adoptive family in particular… I actually had Loki comment on it in my first Thorki fic, Desert Flowers, which takes place after Loki visits Berlin in the 1920s. (I doubt Antagonistic Anon will care, but some of my other followers might be interested.) It’s easiest for me just to quote that passage. Here Loki is explaining Midgardian racism, including antisemitism, to Thor:

“There are a few characteristic physical traits, though they’re not consistent. Long, arched nose; dark curly hair.” Loki stopped short, his lips pressed tightly together. “In general, they don’t look any more different from other Europeans than I do from you,” he forced himself to say good-humoredly. “In fact, I was given rather shoddy service at a few restaurants—and even turned away from one inn that I was certain still had vacancies—which was very puzzling until I realized that they thought I was Jewish… a member of this group, I mean.”

“Huh,” said Thor disgustedly […]

Loki cleared his throat. “At any rate,” he continued, “the animus toward them centers on their supposed character: greedy, ambitious, deceitful; physically weak, but clever and devious enough to gain power through indirect means.” Me again. Too interested in scholarly pursuits, not enough in manly physical activities; prone to neurosis. All too quickly, the list of antisemitic stereotypes that he had heard tossed around in Berlin had turned into a catalogue of Loki’s own inadequacies. While Thor is the very embodiment of the ‘Aryan ideal.’

Pretty obviously MCU Loki’s hair is naturally curly because Tom Hiddleston’s hair is naturally curly and they can’t always keep it under control. But in combination with its unusual color, the unusual texture and his apparently intense desire to slick it into submission spoke to me. I’ve struggled with the frizzy texture of my own hair, and a lot of other Jews I know try to tame it in various ways, while others go natural and embrace the “Jew-fro.” I’m sure Scandinavian people can have curly hair, and I’m not ruling out an interpretation of Loki’s dislike of his curly hair that has nothing at all to do with his status as Other. But for me it just fits in with everything else that I’ve mentioned.

Jeez, I kind of can’t believe I wrote that much in response to what clearly was not a friendly question. I’m honestly kind of puzzled as to why Anon was so bothered by an offhand comment about Loki being Jewish-coded. (Like, is there a problem with Jews “appropriating” Scandinavian culture…? Don’t worry, folks, Jews have absolutely no interest in replacing you.) Actually, this is the second hostile anonymous “question” I’ve received in the past two weeks, both with decently good grammar (unusual for anon hate) but premised on a wildly uncharitable, deliberately obtuse interpretation of something I wrote (my response to the first is here). If the second didn’t regard a pretty widely shared post of mine, I might suspect a single unfriendly blog-stalker. This is kind of weird, since I never used to get obnoxious anonymous comments; I guess the cost of gradually increasing exposure is assholes.

@darklittlestories, @incredifishface, I thought you might find this whole thing mildly entertaining… Oh, and @andreashwood, because you're a "Prince of Egypt" fan.