#my little hedgehog; maeve

[shinymisty-blog]

How would you implement the unintentionally problematic characters in Underground into a continuation story?

As someone who is writing an ending to Underground with what we were given with the imposed rule of using the pre-existing characters before introducing new ones, I realized that...some characters are bordering the "problematically designed" line. Some...may have even crossed that line already.

I'm a dumb white female who doesn't know a lot of the harmful stereotypes and depictions some characters in Underground could have, but I know that some are there. Some are even bad enough for artists I commissioned for a project to draw the line at them due to how uncomfortable they were drawing them. I know that the ice is REALLY thin with these characters.

This problem wouldn't exist if I chose to rewrite the whole thing...but I don't want to do that. I want to use what was given and make something with it. This is a little more fun.

I could just exclude them completely, and I was very close to doing just that. I plan to mention Speedster Island a few times but never have the hedgehogs appear there ever again on "screen," for example.

...But the more I wrote the story, the more I realized that Raphi (from the episode "Who Do You Think You Are") would play a decently important part in a character's growth due to his lower body being robotized (which, by the way, I will go off on a totally different rant over that on a later date), making him suddenly more important to the story. But the problem doesn't stop at Raphi, as, from the VERY START of my ORIGINAL drafts, Ifyoucan (from the episode "Dunes Day") becomes a vital part of the story, which would mean the rest of his tribe of nomads as well. While I could write Raphi out of the story and try to use another character for the points Raphi was needed for, there is no other character like Ifyoucan in the show. We KNOW this! He became a LEGEND among the other Resistance members due to him getting caught by Robotnik and ESCAPING! He was the only character we see who was starting to be Robotisized but managed to escape WITHOUT the help of the hedgehogs like Raphi. He has become vital to the story I have written. Without Ifyoucan, everything starts to fall apart.

So now both Raphi and Ifyoucan -two of the characters that the artist I commissioned did not want to draw, mind you- are really important to the plot. It'd be hard for me to write Raphi out, and near impossible to write out Ifyoucan.

Other characters I could see being on thin ice on the problematic scale could be Hothep from "Mummy Dearest", who would play a decently important role in future plot points, and apparently, Doo-Bot from "Haircraft in Space" (I personally didn't see a problem with her, but I've read here that it was) who also plays some important rules in future plot points. Both of these characters, while won't be important in this story, WILL be important in a continuation if I feel people are interested. Maeve from "The Pendant" may also play a role in this story.

Now, aside from Ifyoucan and his whole being the chief of a tribe of nomads being decently important to his character to begin with, I have thought of ways of not ever hinting at the problematic sides of these characters. (the parts that I THINK are problematic, mind you).

Raphi's whole point in my story is about him and his robotisized lower body and that not every mobian is willing to forgive someone for their wrongdoings and that is perfectly fine. (I'm trying to explain well enough without spoiling plot points).

Ifyoucan's plot is...well, a lot. He's good at being a leader, and understanding. He understands firsthand how it feels to think you can't let anyone know your troubles because you fear it'd make them think differently of you. He also knows, again firsthand, how to escape Robotnik without the help of the hedgehogs. Sure, he may have had help with Jamal and Amir, but that is different than getting help from the Queen's own children, I feel. And he knows how to function with half of his body robotisized. While, yes, Raphi does as well (again...I'll go into that on a later day), it is JUST his lower half, and is still a child/young adult. Ifyoucan have had time to adjust to his half robotfication. The strengths and weaknesses of having one arm, leg, and eye taken over by robotic parts.

What I'm saying is...who they were designed to portray isn't important to their overall story, which is why I didn't see a problem with them when I had started plotting them into the story. Nothing in the words would indicate anything malicious to the people who share a likeness with them. But just KNOWING about that could be problematic enough. Or, if I wanted to have this story be given some illustration or amvs in the future (Just throwing spitball ideas), then it really might become a problem.

I guess...what I am trying to ask is this:

how would you handle writing unintentionally problematic characters in a story? Mainly Raphi and Ifyoucan and his nomad tribe?

[gq-fen]

I changed Maeve into a super cute camping sleeper tonight. It was a little chilly. She’s so sweet with her new hedgehog paci. We got some good cuddle time in tonight after we picked our partner up from work. I love this little one with my whole heart.

[primesonic]

Tagged: 10 Characters/10 Fandoms/10 Tags

Tagged by @madalyn-maeve. Thanks for all your efforts to revive what made Tumblr a fun place to meet people.

So here's some picks of mine.

Nanoha (Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha) I was 18 at the time and this character and series would touch my heart forever and reminded me how sometimes it's not about saving the world, it's about saving one life. Her magical staff, Raising Heart, lives with me in my profile picture.

Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog) My 7th birthday was Sonic themed. And I was 14 when I played Sonic Adventure 2 (perfect timing). The blue guy who showed me you can be cool and a hero. He's lived in my internet handle since I was 12 and signing up on the GameFAQs forums.

Optimus Prime (Transformers) I was a little kid, growing up on reruns of Transformers G1/G2. In those days, Optimus was like a second father to me (and like a first father to many). A role model from the start who taught how to 'be strong enough to be gentle'. He's also lived in my internet handle since the days of dial up.

That's the big top three out of the way. The rest is all gravy.

4. Kirby That happy, pink little guy with more power than the elder gods who just wants to eat cake and have a good time. I have Kirby on my t-shirt right now actually.

5. Asuka and Homura (Senran Kagura) Ninja girls from rival schools that would develop a powerful bond and friendship. This series, which sadly will never see the final game it deserved, was some of the most exciting and happy gaming times I had in that era. Just when I thought we couldn't have pretty girls in gaming anymore, SK delivered.

6. Strong Bad (HomestarRunner.com) The original king of the Flash cartoon era of the old web. I've kept up with this masked wrestle man ever since the 10th grade. The whole cast on that website makes for a good time.

7. Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool, Detective Pikachu, & others) The man who got me excited to watch movies again. And yes, Ryan himself is basically a living cartoon so he counts.

8. The Doctor (Doctor Who, specifically the 10th Doctor played by David Tennant) I watched the first 5-6 seasons of the 2005 reboot. This show, and specifically David's Doctor, was there to see me through a lonely time in my life.

9. Zelda (The Legend of Zelda BotW/TotK) This version of Zelda was one that really got me feeling in a video game again. 10/10 would rescue again.

10. The Lord of the Rings Just all of it.

And now I get to tag people to keep the game going.

@vanquishedvaliant @chibiwriter @flyingbatteries @flyingfudgenuggets @starry-perception @unicodepepper @rinlanddess @shadowsaiph @supershadsy @child-of-oerba

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