#marginalized characters

[amaliazeichnerin]

Writing is political.

January 20, 2025 To some extend, everything is political - wherever people get together, live together, build communities, all of it is political, because there are so many things influencing each other. Also, your private life is political. Don't believe me? Think about health care. About care work for children or the elderly. Who does household work? Who works and under which circumstances? Also think about relationships, even these have political aspects to some extend, just think about reproductive rights in the US and other countries. Think about other human rights which get threatened all over the world.

Even saying you are not interested in politics is a political decision in one way or another. This is mostly done by people who are so privileged that they do not have to care about politics much, because the political system works in their favour.

Likewise, stories are political, because they are reflections of the human experience, of societies, of private life and public life in communities. The existence of queer people and other marginalized people is political, because while there is equality for everyone on paper (or it used to be), reality looks very different. Queer and marginalized people get discriminated, bullied, gaslighted, manipulated, and worse. There is a growing right-wing backlash to progressive politics.

Lately, I have written two fanfictions and I couldn't help myself but bring politics into these. "Beau and the Beast" has anti-monarchist ideas in it and a bit of a queer, inclusive utopia. In "The Story of Alexander Lemtov", which is set in 2024, the Russian protagonist starts to question what to do with his immense wealth and cuts ties with his home country because he can't tolerate and accept the war against the Ukraine.

I often write queer or otherwise marginalized characters and I am going to keep doing that, showing their joys but also their struggles.

[pebblegalaxy]

Exploring Marginality and Love in Lahore: The House Of Clay And Water by Faiqa Mansab

Exploring Marginality and Love in Lahore: The House Of Clay And Water by Faiqa Mansab #Lahore #PakistaniLiterature @FaiqaMansab @PenguinIndia #Sufism #GenderIdentity #SocialJustice #ContemporaryFiction #AwardWinningNovel

The House Of Clay And Water by Faiqa Mansab is a debut novel by Faiqa Mansab, a Pakistani author who has an MFA in creative writing from Kingston University London. The novel is set in Lahore, the city of saints, and explores the lives of three characters who are marginalized and alienated by the society they live in. Nida is a wealthy but unhappy wife of a politician, who seeks solace in the…

[grand-line-shenanigans]

For those of us who cannot comprehend big numbers (me) I have done the math. FOUR FUCKING YEARS. SECUNIT WHAT THE FUCK.

[finleycannotdraw]

Charles: I like your new pants!

Edwin: Thanks, they were 50% off!

Charles, flirtatiously: I’d like them better if they were 100% off.

Edwin: The store can’t just give away clothes for free.

Charles: No, that’s not what I-

Edwin: That’s a terrible way to run a business, Charles.

[ms0milk]

thinking about mithrun dunmeshi who could incapacitate most opponents in hand-to-hand (update: he’s a trained knife-fighter!) but chooses to use extremely fastidious teleportation magic without blinking at how easy it would be to accidentally blow himself or everyone involved, friend or foe, all the way up

(and finding something in all of his lackthereof, to smile about here which only ever happens one more time SPARE me SPEAR me anything love this guy forever)

[ambrosiagourmet]

I dunno, I kinda think that describing an often-viewed-as-autistic character as relatable to everyone is fun and rad actually. I think that the idea of autistic people being relatable to neurotypical people is cool as hell

[jzargo]

Never has "you praise a male character for the same traits you hate a female character for" been more true than with how fans react to Astarion vs Minthara

[the-meme-monarch]

what if there were little guys. what if they were flowers but also vaguely animal shaped. what if they were like the smurfs or perhaps fraggles

edit: hey i drew more of them :]

[canisalbus]

Nervous Machete from my class notes!

we were learning about the spread of christianity.

.

[shivroy]

season 1

[jesncin]

I really hope this doesn’t come across as rude, but why did you decide to make Lex Luthor, whose motivation is basically racism and xenophobia from my understanding, a person of color? This isn’t like, a criticism, more just, I really like your JL remix stuff and you usually have cool reasons for the stuff you change, so I was surprised by this one

I understand the curiosity! But I have to point out that "you usually have cool reasons for the stuff you change, so I was surprised by this one" made me laugh, haha. Long answer coming because I have a lot of feelings- but the point in the very end is worth it, trust me.

So for one, Lex is Afro-Greek in my version. This comes from the popular headcanon that STAS/DCAU Lex is Black (and his design is based on a Greek man). His character design, skin tone, and Clancy Brown's enigmatic performance became unintentional perceived representation for Black fans (and even DC writers). And now in the Harley Quinn show, that's become canonized! For why they like it, that's not my place to say as a non-Black person- so I listen!

I don't agree that Lex's motivation is "basically racism and xenophobia"- his themes are much broader than that. It's the desire to be the Man of Tomorrow, his jealousy of Superman, the way his intellect alone is a match against Superman's strength. Sometimes that jealousy is expressed through bigotry, but it's all a means to an end for Lex. My approach is: if Lex being Black is something we want to integrate more into his character, what opportunities does that open up narratively? Because there's rich potential for him and the characters connected to him.

When discussing MAWS I talk a lot about how when you're writing a bigoted marginalized character, there needs to be specifity with where that internalized bigotry is coming from. So a change like that for Lex Luthor could, for example; discuss how privileges like wealth can assimilate otherwise marginalized people into the kind of power that harms others in their community.

The ripple affect this has on a character like Superboy/Conner is that we get to see how -even though they're both Luthors- Conner is profiled, othered and further marginalized as a Kryptonian and a Black homeless teen because he doesn't get to benefit from any of Lex's privileges. This is just part of the many reasons why I think Conner would be infinitely more interesting if he didn't look like Kal El despite being a clone. You get to see a new intersection of how the Kryptonian identity intersects with Blackness on Earth. The potential ripple effect for a character like Lena is also really fun! What if she's struggling with her own model minority pressure when she's making up for her brother's crimes? It's all very compelling!

And MOST importantly, in a 3 trillion IQ Lex Luthor-style move-making Lex Luthor Black means that some version of Matt Fraction & Steve Lieber's Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen arc exists in my au. Which famously hinges on the twist that LEX LUTHOR AND JIMMY OLSEN ARE DISTANTLY RELATED. THEREFORE!!! We have now found a convoluted way to have Wacky Renaissance Artist Jimmy Olsen connected to The Manifestation Of Black Excellence Evil Edition Lex Luthor in this au.

[bookwyrminspiration]

Dex's initial response to the Song twins has always bothered me. I understand how Sophie reaching out to them shows her different background and the mindset she brings, but Dex is the son of a bad match, his father is talentless, and his siblings are triplets.

While Tam wouldn't have trusted Dex enough to take him along for that first real introduction, his later defense of ability discrimination (Neverseen pg. 432) and his silence when Sophie's trying to arrange something for them (pg. 458-459) feels out of character. Like it's ignoring that in favor of making Sophie look extra special and different.

I'm not opposed, of course, to exploring how Sophie's upbringing changes how she interacts with the elven world. I think it's critical to explore. I just think lumping Dex in with Biana, Fitz, and Keefe in this instance downplays how his upbringing changes how he interacts with the elven world. He's not the same as Sophie, but he's not the same as them, either.

I think he should've stood by Sophie in defense of them--Tam's ability, helping how they could. We can make Sophie's human upbringing stand out without sidelining the negative experiences of those from the elven world to do so

[reminiscentrainclouds]

They infect my art history notes once more.

[fishdiva]

feeling nostalgic

[snapythecroc]

I know it's supposed to be a classic corpse flower but justin had already introduced the corpseanthemum pun and it's such a fun flower to draw

[abyssalzones]

stanford motherfucking pines