#not just black but when poc in general

[snekdood]

welp id say the only new thing i actually learned on tumblr university in this span of time where ppl are patronizing me acting like I need to relearn feminism- is more about the history of antisemitism, which i desperately needed to learn (and yall do too but refuse to and assume you already do know), otherwise everything else ppl think they're teaching me is shit I already know.

[my-castles-crumbling]

Hi guys!

Okay so I've gotten a lot of asks about JKR, since she's been extra terfy lately. ( @lonely-parrot @mushroom-enby and many anons) Basically asking me what I think about the marauders fandom, talking to people about it, etc.

I think that we have to acknowledge that being part of the Marauders fandom does cause some harm.

Why? Because we are, however unwillingly, talking about and giving popularity to characters created by a horribly bigoted and harmful person.

We can't just stick our heads in the sand and pretend that isn't true. Not in the days of algorithms that respond every time you search 'Sirius Black.'

However, I also think this fandom, and fandom in general, has been helpful to many queer people in ways I can't even begin to describe. For so many queer people, fanfiction and fandom is where you begin to explore those feelings you think are 'weird' or 'different,' and the people you meet through fandom are the first people you meet like you. The way characters are depicted in fanfiction can be the first time you see a character that you truly relate to, and I know that I am not exaggerating when I say I owe my life to fanfic writers, because I used it as a coping mechanism as a teen when I had nobody to talk to at all.

I think that we just have to be conscious of consuming fandom, especially Harry Potter fandom, ethically. And I have to say that I am NOT perfect at this. I have been to the Harry Potter theme park. I own Harry Potter merch. In my childhood, my entire Christmas list was Harry Potter things. So please know that I'm not speaking from some holier-than-thou position here.

But as things get worse and worse, we need to be even more conscious about what we are consuming, and how we are consuming it.

So here's my opinion on things we need to do:

Do not consume any new content by or related to JKR. This includes the new TV show.

If you want old content (the books), buy them secondhand. Do not give your money to the bookstores that give money to her. Give back to local secondhand shops.

Etsy has a lot of amazing independent artist-created merch, look there!

When people talk about the books, do NOT shrink away from their flaws. Mention them. Talk about the issues. Talk about the house elves and the goblins and the ridiculously racist names.

Same with JKR. When people talk about the books, the TV show, the videogame, etc, TALK about JKR's transgressions. Don't let people be willfully ignorant.

Make fandom a safe space. The world is an awful place right now and I think one of the reasons I, personally, am okay with being part of this fandom is because it is a safe place for me and so many others. DO NOT change that by becoming part of the problem and spewing hate. Cut the shit with the ship wars and the transphobia and the 'I don't like when writers...' Just stop.

Keep making your characters gay. And trans. And ace. And POC. And all of the things JKR is so scared of.

Yeah. These are just my thoughts. Feel free to comment (politely) below!

[solitaryearthperson]

Weak

Summary: This couldn't happen. She promised herself she wouldn't be weak again.

(The reader is 18+ and is gender-neutral. The ethnicity/race is preferably Black/POC.)

You were a plaything. A toy. Nothing more than a small distraction for Ambessa. Something to play with after a long hard day of being a General. Nothing more, nothing less. Yet as she looked down at your sleeping form, tangled in her blood red sheets, she could feel her heart skip a beat at how soft and peaceful you looked. After a night of rough lovemaking, usually Ambessa would give you simple aftercare, then send you on your way, but tonight she couldn’t find it in herself to do it.

Is it happening again, she wondered, sitting up against her headboard, letting her cover slide down her body. She watched the slow rise and fall of your chest as you slept, the small twitch of your nose, and the soft little snores that left your mouth and felt another skip of her heart beat. Am I becoming weak again? Has this little creature made me weak and sentimental? 

She remembers feeling this before. It had been years ago but she remembered feeling it only two times in her life, both being for her children. 

She swore to herself that this wouldn’t happen again. She told herself that as she worked hard to protect Noxus and continue to spread their power, she would not make herself weak again. Then here comes you, slithering into her heart and making a home there. What will I do with you, she asked herself, softly caressing your cheek, making sure to not wake you. 

I can’t be weak again. She knew it was bad but somehow she had already grown attached to you. But I won’t leave you. I can’t be away from you. 

She had responsibilities, things that were more important than some plaything. But you were no longer just a plaything to her, she realized. You made her weak. You made her hardened heart soften and beat strongly for you. 

 Now when she made plans, whether it was for her army, to help Mel, or even to simply entertain herself, she felt she had to include you no matter what. She couldn’t be separate from you for too long. 

Congratulations, Ambessa, she told herself, lowering her body back down to the bed and gently pulling your body close to hers, wrapping an arm around you. You’ve officially become weak again. Surprisingly, she didn’t mind it that much. 

[demigodsanswer]

But seriously. It used to be very, very common (and it still is to a certain extent) for fans to hc Percy as a boy of color. And when that was the most common poc headcanon between Percy and Annabeth, there were so many posts about how dumb Percy was. That was all people did was talk about and make fun of Percy for being stupid to the point of extreme hyperbole.

But now, with the show casting a Black girl for Annabeth and a white boy for Percy, meaning the most common poc in fanworks is Annabeth, suddenly people are aggressive to the point of hyperbolic about how smart Percy is, how disrespectful and ignorant Annabeth is of his intelligence, and how abusive and toxic Annabeth is generally.

And I just think that's .... telling.

[jewreallythinkthat]

One of the reasons I think there has been such a breakdown between the "progressive" left and the Jewish community is actually something that I've watched before fostered in left wing spaces for well over a decade and that is looking for offence.

When someone says something antisemitic, that does not mean they are an antisemite. I remember when the BLM marches took place, people rightly pointed out that there is a lot of unconscious bias against PoC and that being called out for eating something you didn't realise was problematic does not mean you are actually racist, just that you need to think a bit more when talking about a subject which in many cases, doesn't affect you as such. The same principle should apply to antisemitism.

If I say someone has said something antisemitic, their first reaction (on the left wing - because the right will proudly nod that yes, it was antisemitic) is often "you're calling me an antisemite and trying to silence me, Zionist". This is not true. What I am saying is that you are saying something that is discriminatory, invoked blood libel, accused Jews of ruling the world etc etc. I fully believe most people do not realise they are doing this. The point of dog whistles is that you are not supposed to recognise them, that's how they propagate. Anti-jewish racism is one of the oldest forms of hatred and it stretches back multiple millennia so it makes sense that it's literally inside the common vernacular. That doesn't mean everyone using it is an antisemite.

Instead of immidiately jumping to the defensive, I wish people would take a moment to ask, in good faith, "why would a Jewish person find this antisemitic?" Take the opportunity to learn, to better themself. Do not assume every Jew is trying to silence you - assuming the worst every time of Jewish people is a type of antisemitism so please try and put yourself in their shoes and maybe even ask them to explain so you can do better in the future.

Just a general overview, here's a couple of ones to look out for (a non exhaustive list).

1. Replace the word "Zionist" in what has Ben said with "Jew". If it sounds like something leeched out of Nazi Germanh or the Soviet Union, it's probably going to be antisemitism.

2. Saying you don't think any country should exist but focusing exclusively on the destruction of Israel. The only thing that makes Israel unique is that it's a Jewish majority country. So why is that the only county you actively want to get rid of?

2.1 Holding Israel to a higher standard than any other country is antisemitic as laid out above in point 2.

3. Assuming the worst of Jews and Israel every time is antisemitism. It's no different to assuming Black people are always out to get you or all Muslims are terrorists. If it's racist to do this to one minority group, it is racist to do it to any.

4. Tokenizing extremists in a community (Ben Gvir and the West Bank settlers on the right wing in Israel, the Neturi Karta by the progressive left when discussing I/P) is racist. If you only listen to Jews who prove your point, you are actively excluding the majority of a community so you can beat them down, this is racist.

I don't like calling people antisemitic because most people are not actually that, what they are is uneducated on antisemetism because the majority of that education is not being done by Jews - let alone Jews who represent the majority of the community.

But if you refuse to talk to Jews in good faith when they try to explain why what you have said is antisemitic, you are running the risk of moving from "ignorant user of antisemetic language" to "antisemite" (also a note, ignorant not meaning stupid but rather that you do not know something).

[writingwithcolor]

Diversity Win: Is "Crazy Rich" POC Representation Necessarily Empowering?

sodapopsculptor asked:

I’m writing a story with two sets of protagonists: A trio with a Black girl, a Latino, and a Vietnamese-American boy who all come from middle-upper class to ridiculously rich families, and a pair of white working-middle class sisters. They’re all heroes of this story. I’ve seen way too many rich white people and poor poc people in fiction, and I’m kinda getting sick of it, but I’m worried that by having the poc kids be rich and the white girls not so much, I’ll be reinforcing the idea that poc somehow rule the world. The only time the rich kids use their status as leverage is when the Asian threatens to sic his cop dad on a bully (race unstated but I imagined him as white) picking on a freshman, and during the Black girl’s birthday party, when she pays the biggest jock there fifty bucks (And later says offhandedly that it was just what she had in her pocket) to chase off a creep hitting on her.

OP, have you ever seen the “diversity win!” meme before?

I understand that your motivation for these narrative choices is to give POC a chance, if you will, to be the rich characters. But it is evident from this ask that you have not asked yourself what this entails. I want to ask you to critically examine the race and class intersections you’re creating here, as well as these kids’ roles in oppressive systems.

You explain that these rich POC are heroes and only have righteous reasons for leveraging their power.

But is your Black girl character aware of the potential disciplinary and/or legal consequences her jock accomplice might face while she has the resources to keep her hands clean? Are you?

Is your Asian character aware of how much of an abuse of power it is to “sic” a cop on someone, and the sheer amount of harm a criminal record or incarceration does to a juvenile with behavior issues? Are you?

So you want to put POC in positions of power for #representation.

Does it resonate with the group you’re representing?

Do you research and portray the unique ways race, ethnicity, class, and majority vs. minority status come together?

Or are you putting these characters in oppressive hegemonic roles for the sake of a power fantasy, on behalf of a group you're not even in?

To your question, you're not reinforcing the idea that "POC rule the world" because such a generalized belief does not exist. Instead, you're reinforcing:

The idea that society has “winners” and “losers.”

The idea that the problem with disproportionately powerful people is the lack of “equal opportunity” as opposed to the power imbalance to begin with.

The idea that those in oppressive positions of power need only have the right intentions to justify their use of it.

To be clear: that is not to say that you can't have jerk aristocrat billionaire millionaire crazy rich POC. Evil or mean rich characters are fun! I have some myself! You can even have rich characters who are gentle-hearted and well-intentioned, but you have to know the ways in which they’re privileged and decide how aware of that your characters are. That’s no problem.

But if you think that wealthy and powerful POC would have the same values and priorities as their poorer counterparts, you’re deluding yourself. There’s a reason why the quote “power corrupts” exists. There’s a reason why no matter where you look on the globe, there are historical dictators and tyrants.

If you want bratty rich POC who lack regard for the consequences of their actions, because you want bratty rich characters, great! If you want them because it would be uplifting or empowering representation? You’re doing it for the wrong reason.

~ Rina

I fully agree with Rina, and truly want to emphasize the last paragraph.

If you want bratty rich POC who lack regard for the consequences of their actions, because you want bratty rich characters, great! If you want them because it would be uplifting or empowering representation? You’re doing it for the wrong reason.

I don't think you need to aim to subvert or purposely make all the BIPOC rich and powerful and the white people poor and suffering. Add diversity and include upper class rich and class privileged BIPOC, sure thing! And you can avoid your fears of intentional subversion message by including rich and powerful white characters as well, even if they're not the focus of your story. Just their existence helps. You could also include middle-class characters of Color as well.

More reading: Black in upper-class society

~Mod Colette

[snekdood]

ppl follow black creators expecting them to give them the perfect correct takes on black issues and then sees their favorite black creators disagreeing and go BWWUUUHHH?? as if they didn’t realize they’re all individual ppl with different experiences and viewpoints ._.

[k3n-dyll]

maybe because not everyone has to cater to black and brown readers? if i feel excluded then talk to ur black and brown writers bc why tf would (for ex.) white writers write black readers when…when they aren’t?? yall aren’t victims write ur own shit if u care so much like idk what to tell u but not everyone has to bow down and write the way you want them too.

The fact that this is what you got from me saying that POC feel excluded from fandom is...insane.

I hesitate to even answer this because you sound stupid as hell, but since I think other people need to get this shit through their skulls as well:

If you are a writer, and you claim to be writing an "x reader" fanfic for a character you like, the general consensus is that "reader" in this situation should be neutral for the most part. Sure, there's different versions of that ( "x fem reader", "x masc reader", etc.") , but generally, the idea is that "reader" in this situation could be anyone, yes? A lot of writers on this app and others, write "reader" as if tiny white women are the default.

And you know what?

If you wanna write that way, fine, but say that. If you so desprately want to write about Abby Anderson fucking a 5ft nothing white girl with blonde hair and green eyes - write that. But don't call that shit an "x reader" when you know its a self insert meant to exclude everybody that doesnt look like you. Dont claim to be a safe place for all readers if when POC say they feel excluded from the things you write, you say stupid shit like what this anon just did. If your shit is labeled "x reader" with no other warnings, one should be able to assume that they arent going to see any specifics about body type, hair textures, skin color or eye color - but no. Thats not the case.

I swear, every time we bring this shit up you bitches act like we killed your fucking grandma. If you dont wanna write in a way that everyone can consume, fine, but dont make it seem as if petite white girls are just the default human in every scenario. Theres a content warning over every fic, if you dont want to see how problematic it is to write as if whiteness is the default then the least you could do it leave a big fat warning in that little "CW" section to let us know that you didnt write this with the existence of people that dont look like you in mind.

Oh, and I do write my own stuff btw. Don't ever come in my inbox with this bullshit again. Pissing me off first thing in the morning😒

[traumatizedforthebit]

My Mauraders era headcannons!

Starting off strong- Ships:

• Platonic moonwater and/or fake dating to make James & Sirius jealous (and vise versa for prongsfoot)

• Bartylus was 100% a “horny teenagers figuring shit out” type of relationship, basically fwb with strong platonic love. Regulus also played a huge part in Rosekiller getting together

• Wolfstar being incredibly PDA for the bit, being obnoxiously all over each other in public, I’m talking aggressively horny & absolutely filthy, but in private being gentle & slow

• Jegulus where James never really got past the butterflies faze, being married for years and still freaking the fuck out when Reg flirts with him. Transmasc Regulus being confident/demanding and cis James absolutely melting for it

• Rosekiller but it’s needy attention whore Barty and Evan who will completely ignore him just to make him more needy, but also soft and snuggly when they want to be

• Enemies to lovers Dorlene

General character HCs:

• Trans masc reg ( @my-castles-crumbling ‘s clandestine my beloved)

• French Black brothers

• POC Rosier twins

• Tattoo artist Evan

• Tattooed af Barty

• POC James

• Peter is 100% a girls girl, incredible taste in fashion and a huge gossip

• Lily is not the Hermione 1.0 geniuses character, she’s a good student but not really outstanding

• Reg and Sirius have a healthy relationship

• Bi James

• Aroace spectrum Peter

• Chronically ill/ mobility aid user Remus

• Barty is an incredible artist (seriously if you haven’t read choke chain by amandarin_orange21 you haven’t lived)

• Literally anyone being trans masc (I’m transmasc, any transmasc character and you’ll see my feet kicking)

• Rosekiller open relationship and/or just flirting with any and everyone

• Sirius & James tell eachother absolutely everything, no matter how personal, Same with Dorcas & Reg

• Regulus, Barty, Evan Trio

• Hopeless romantic James

• Pandora is a cat person okay this is just fact

• Dorcas is the Skittles mom friend

• platonic Jilly but James is just a dumbass and Lily makes sure he doesn’t die

I definitely have more I just can’t think of them right now

Okay now just random stuff not necessarily HCs:

• Im such a sucker for a collage AU, Barty, Evan & Reg roommates

• Truth or dare type confessions oh my god yes

• surprisingly I like streamer AUs a lot where Chat is shipping them (cough cough, feel free to recommend some)

• again trans Regulus black getting the respect he deserves

• skittles being absolutely feral

• Best friends brother/ Brothers best friend Jegulus

• Roadtrip AU

• Rosekillerstarchaser or Barty/Evan/Regulus

• Study buddies moonwater

• Texting/groupchats

Okey dokey that’s all that comes to mind but prepare for more (and please ask questions I could talk about this forever)

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

I think Gwen calling Miles parents by their first names really show the difference between white and black culture.

Gwendy girl I love you but get your shoes off the bed. Have you lost your goddamn mind

Idk if it's just me, but in a lot of wider (white) culture the idea is that a host must cater to the guest, making sure the place is inviting and the guest is taken care of. It's the hosts responsibly look after their guests

However in a lot of POC cultures, it's the inverse. To us, Guests must cater to the host, because we understand it firstly as their space.

In our culture, we as guests are there as visitors. And it is on us to act appropriate towards the host. Rather than the host acting appropriate to us.

When we walk into a house, we talk off our shoes.

When she comes over she sits cross-legged on Miles bed with her shoes on.

When we enter someones house or space as black kids we're told to go to the adult of the house and introduce yourself, shake their hand.

When Gwen comes to the cookout, Miles parents have to approach her first and ask who she is. And then she calls them their first names!!!!!

We're even told that as guests we have to ask to get water or open the fridge - or the host can get it for us for their privacy.

Gwen comes in and rips open one of Miles' collectables and don't even think about it after.

And Miles is SHOCKED because he's probably never had a friend act like that in his house before.

As POC we see ourselves as guests given the privilege of being in the space. Whereas general culture sees guests as someone to invite in, and that the guests experience - not the hosts' space - is the primary focus

Gwen is probably acting that way because in her culture the idea is that "Oh - I'm at a friend's house. Let me get comfortable."

Whereas for a lot of us its "Oh - I'm at a friend's house and I want their parents to like me enough to let me in their house again lol"

Idk I just found that interesting

[androdetective]

As a poc, I have a complicated relationship to vbros. On one hand, the world is really immersive and the characters can be really great, on the other hand it is a very white show and has a racism problem. Many of the white characters have done racist things when characters have gotten punished or killed for less. There's also barely any side characters of color. And even then, many jokes get made at them regarding their races, because they're not seen as the norm. Also because it's an adult swim show made by white guys.

Off the top of my head, there are 4 side characters of color (Orpheus, Jefferson, Kano, and Dr Z). If we want to be generous, we could include Al. Maybe even Triana with her being biracial, albeit entirely passing as white. Even with those characters, Orpheus became whitewashed over the years.

However, ironically enough, he's the best written character of color. He's a very nice, multifaceted character. He's even become a fan favorite. He's also had no racist comments made towards him in the show. Which was a pleasant surprise. Especially since he lived on the compound with Rusty of all people. As happy as I am with that, it feels off because why did they spare only him but not others? I'm not sure if his race was ever figured out as the writers. It never got brought up, unlike other characters. I won't lie, that gives me a feeling they didn't write him as a brown man in mind. If they did write him with that in mind, he probably would've been written worse. It feels like they could only relate to him and made his character good by thinking he's white like them. Hell, they even projected their weird breakup feelings onto him.

With Jefferson, his character is a mixed bag. He's a cool character and very capable. He's a solid character, all things considered. It's just that he gets racist jokes thrown his way. And just, the show has one black side character, and they can't even act right. Why is racism, the hatred and otherness of one's entire existence, so funny. I noticed that each episode except one that he was in had at least one antiblack joke. That's an insane ratio. The worst joke was in the Halloween episode, where he was at the party. They specifically made his character open the door to a side character, red mantle, doing blackface. It was to make a shitty reference to some niche movie and just oh my god, can you stop being shitty white nerds for a second? People who think shit like this is funny makes me want to project years of racial trauma into their brains so that they could finally Get It. Again, this is the best black character they have, but they to make him go through cheap antiblack jokes.

At least with Kano and Dr Z their skin tones stopped being yellow. The other times we see characters of color are when they're background characters. They're either there to make a scene feel full or they're labor workers. The worst is when they were what I'd describe as background antagonists. One-off antagonists that aren't really villain villains. Moreso regular criminals. These tend to be depicted as black and latino. This was more common in early seasons and stopped happening over time. Which obviously great albeit bare fucking minimum, still doesn't change that it happened.

For a world that critiques the old mentalities from previous generations and even specifically denounces generational toxic masculinity. They don't say shit about the blatant racism of the Johnny Quest times they parody. And the times they try to, it's just showing racism and doing nothing about it. Princess Tinyfeet is the worst example of this. She's a blatant racial stereotype. Who for whatever reason, used to be married to Sgt Hatred, an American soldier. And Sgt Hatred is a whole can of worms.

With Dr Z who was apart of the Quest era, at least they tried to give him a character. The thing I will say is that he's voiced by a white guy (Publick) doing a stereotypical vaguely Eastern Asian accent. Something I wished when watching the show was for Dr Z to mention the old racist era he lived through, and maybe even how the present is still rough. The toxic masculinity of the era got mentioned, so why not that too. It would've been so obvious too.

I won't lie, a part of me is glad they didn't try to handle the racism because it would've been a horrible train wreck. I can get why they didn't delve too into it, they're white after all. I just wish there were more poc in the team and sensitivity writers because they were desperately needed. But for a show that can't even handle white women, I'm not surprised they can't handle people of color. For a show whose best thing they were able to tackle was toxic masculinity, I find it ironic how misogynistic they still were. Like quick, why were the side effects of misogyny that affect you 🫵 handled the best.

The thing is, if they did try to critique the racism, they'd alienate the audience, and it'd also be strangely hypocritical of them. Venture Bros'/Adult Swim's main audience is white cishet men. The ones least affected by bigotry. They're able to laugh at bigoted jokes, and they're the most marketable people. White guys will appeal to other white guys. In the early 2000s, white creators were able to get away with much more. Not because it was alright but because it was easier for them to shut down minorities calling them out. Despite how "normal" it was, that doesn't change how that fed into a very toxic, bigoted culture. Despite today still being hellish for minorities, it was even worse just a couple of years ago.

Venture Bros obviously did not invent racism/bigotry. The show is very much a product of their time and environment. And whenever I think about that, it feels draining. Especially having had to live through the 2000s. The show can be amazing when it wants to be. There's so much potential and a lot of charm and character. I really enjoy it, and that's why I'm so critical of it. Not only because I want it to be better but because I want something better for fans of color. We barely get anything, and the least we should get are characters that look like us and are respected. Just like their white counterparts. It's like, how am I supposed to feel when Sgt Hatred gets redeemed and made a main character before we got a character of color that didn't face racist jokes/got whitewashed. Or even before we got a female character whose existence didn't hinge on their relationship to a man. Obviously, the show doesn't hate people of color. They've tried to better over time, which again great. But it barely felt like they respected poc enough.

With the movie, despite its own problems (not helped by Adult Swim screwing them over), you could tell they were trying. And it was really appreciated. Jefferson had a big spotlight, and there weren't jokes against him. We even got to know a bit more about him. It was genuinely his best. Ignoring Orpheus still looking like he's in a perpetual state of winter, that aspect of the movie was alright.

I'm very glad to see fans who are critical of these aspects. It makes me more happy seeing them vouch for poc. However, there's still a large majority that ignores or even excuses the racism. Unsurprisingly, these tend to be the white dude bro fans. But I've seen even the more liberal fans excuse/ignore stuff. The fanbase is very white, just like a lot of other fanbases. I can get why a supportive white person feels they wouldn't be best to call out the show's shit. I just wish they'd mention it more with a simple "oh there's xyz in this episode and it wasn't alright." Something as simple as that carries a lot of power in very white environments. Also, of course, uplift other fans of color, especially when they talk about or face racism. Things as simple as that make me breathe sighs of relief. It personally encourages me to interact with communities more.

I'm unsure of how to close this off. This feels like a topic you could talk about all day. All I wish is for things to be better, you know? Hopefully this all makes sense. I just wrote shit off the top of my head. I'd love to hear thoughts expanding or adding on to stuff. Really hope this reaches the right people

[solitaryearthperson]

I Belong to You

Summary: Who do you belong to?

(The reader is 18+ and gender-neutral. The ethnicity/race is preferably Black/POC.)

“I suggest we start making reinforcements, General. The guards at the borders are plenty, but we don’t know what tactics the enemy will soon use.” The lieutenant looked up to Ambessa, waiting for her response to his suggestion when his eyes caught you again, and quickly he began to stare like before.

Shit, you thought, your body urging you to try to cover up the mark again, but you fought it off. It was against Ambessa’s orders for the day: “Unless I tell you to, you will not cover up my markings, little one. You will proudly display them.” Standing at her side, you tried to appear as professional and unbothered as she was, but you were quickly failing at it. 

By ‘markings,’ she meant the obvious hickeys she had left upon your body. She had been in a particularly ravenous mood the night before and chose to leave them on your neck, shoulders, arms, wrists, and even on your chest and stomach. Thank goodness that your outfit covered a large amount of your body; the only skin visible to others were your neck, shoulders, and wrists. 

“Lieutenant,” Ambessa said, looking down at him, a look of pride visible on her face. You didn't have to be a mind-reader to know that she was enjoying this.

“Yes?” The man responded, trying to ignore the dark bruises on your visible skin.

“Is there something wrong with my (Y/N),” she asked, her lips quirking up into a faint smirk. You tried to ignore it, but the sound of her calling you ‘My (Y/N)’ had butterflies fluttering in your stomach and a hot feeling stirring in your nether regions. You saw a familiar look in her eyes, one that was present the night before, and the hot feeling grew 10x times hotter.

“No, ma’am,” he answered, finally lowering his gaze down to the ground, hoping he hadn’t angered her. 

“Then what are you staring at,” She asked, looking back at the man, while bringing a hand up to caress the side of your face. Before you knew it, you pushed your face into her hand and nuzzled it, like the  desperate puppy she called you last night. 

“Nothing, General. May we start the reinforcements today?” he questioned, a bead of sweat beginning to roll down the side of his face in fear. Everyone knew how possessive the Warlord could become with her lovers.

A chuckle left her as she stood in silence, her hand still caressing your face. Even though she wasn’t looking toward you anymore, she knew you probably held the cutest desperate puppy look in your eyes.

“Yes, you may,” she told him, moving her hand from your face down to your shoulder. Nodding, the man hurried and left, Rictus following soon after him, and standing outside the door, already aware of the events soon to take place in the room.

It was silent for only a second before she pulled you close to her body, wrapping an arm around your waist and cupping your face with her other hand, smirking down at you. “You wear my markings beautifully, little one.”

“Bess, please. Can’t I cover up just a little?” 

“Absolutely not. I need others to know who you belong to? Understand?” She lowered her face towards yours, and you immediately moved yours closer, your lips almost touching hers. 

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

“Then tell me, darling, who do you belong to?” 

The hotness inside you grew even more and you knew that tonight there would definitely be more ‘markings’ covering your body. 

“You, Ambessa. I belong to you.”

[sexybread-png]

its weird as hell to barely draw black women and when you do you make them more masculine each time……….. on BHM

do better

hello anon! i hear your complaints and i would like to discuss, if ur amenable, as i can only really listen if i can understand

firstly, to address my lack of drawings of black women, i will not argue. its true i could stand to draw more black women. most art i make is fanart and most media i get interested in lacks black women to make fanart of. therein lies my issue. ill be sure to expand my taste in tv shows and look for medias that include more black women and poc in general. /srs

now, on the issue of drawing them more masculine, i will need you to elaborate. is it the pants? the muscles? is it the hairiness on my most recent post?

assuming its the latter, i will have to disagree. insinuating hair on a woman's body is more masculine than none is in of itself a statement that reeks of misogyny, racism and transphobia.

women have body hair. some women have a LOT of body hair. it does not make them any less feminine/any less of a woman.

heres an article on the history of shaving, and a reddit post of a woman's relationship with her body hair.

id like to highlight this part of the article:

now, ill admit these are not from the point of view of a black woman so i'd be interested to hear that perspective. however, i've received many comments that were happy about the representation of hairy women in my art and i will always take into consideration the way my art makes people feel. this art has made ppl feel seen.

you'll notice, ive also drawn galinda with a happy trail. i just like drawing hairy women.

on another note, here are some drawings ive made of black women:

could you point to me what makes them more masculine ?

or was it the fact that i drew elphaba with a bush

[deaddee-anime-brownfanlady]

The World maybe be on Fire. But Black People are going to countine thriving like always!

Seeing White people and White Leftists and other non-Black POC pick-me's on social media getting so upset over Black people or Black women doing our thing and simply taking a breather after being FUCKED over during the 2024 election is so freaking funny to me.

Especially from those who refuse to vote for Kamala cause of either " PaleStine" or some other bullshit excuses they try to tell themselves on why they couldn't vote for the Black woman, but are totally okay and cool with a convicted rapist criminal felon D-list celebrity who is also a major bigot.

At this point, I had enough of these performative Rat-fuckers that have shown their true color's towards Black democrats and Black democratic women or black women in general both during and after the election.

Yet, still except us to fight and protest for ya'll when ya'll didn't have our backs.

Ya'll Fuck-up and Fuck around and now it time to deal with the consequences of ya'll in-actions or asinine refusal to take any responsible action.

Now it's time for Black women and other Black people to just enjoy ourselves and take a step back until midterms come around.

As said, get somebody else to protest and do ya'll shit. Ya'll got it! Leave Black people, especially Black women the FUCK alone.

[creatingblackcharacters]

hey there! so, im making a character who's Black, anddd i need help with them. badly so.

(sorry in advance bc this character isnt That developed or at least not as much as other OCs i have)

alright, they're an afab teen under the non-binary umbrella (im not sure on what gender i should give them). they're in a friend group with two other teens, one of whom found out she's trans, and that made them go like "wait maybe im not cis". they live in an extremely conservative christian town, and they're one of the few black kids there (it's an awful place to live, i make that very clear), which makes it so that they're not very connected with LGBTQ not POC communities - which is why their friend was the one who introduced queerness to them. they're the quietest of their friend group, quite autism coded but i dont think I'll really specify it, and they're a pretty normal kid all things considered (a bit of a self-insert personality wise lol)

when i first thought this character's gender arc, as the story will be very visual (animatics probably), i thought of them experimenting with gender by trying on their older brother's clothes. seeing they like how it looks, they decide to pick up a pack of scissors and cut their hair themself.

now, i remembered "oh fuck, POC usually don't like to have their hair messed with do they?" (i have read a bunch of posts abt that so im 99% certain lol-), then noticed how white the whole arc looks (i need more contact with POC i live in White Hell i have no other reference ;;), and that kinda discouraged me from writing them to the point i almost scrapped the whole character arc and even the concept- which is also why they're not as developed as they should be.

now, the actual question! how to write their transition arc, while also remaining respectful and realistic? also, have you noticed anything in this ask that's kinda fucked up, and how can i fix it if so? im doing my best to represent many groups of ppl with my OCs and i want to be accurate sorry if this ask is very long ;;

thank you so much for answering, and thank you for this blog!! you're very cool :)

So first, I deeply want to apologize for how late I am on answering this. I didn't want to answer without being informed, but I also know how much you want advice.

First, if this character is Black, say "Black" not "POC". Even in your head, start making that decision to be specific every time. We have a specific identity, we are not every man, and it's annoying to be referred to so generally when we have an identity.

For the hair part, check out this lesson. If your character decided to cut their hair off themselves, then it's not exactly an issue- it's their hair! It'd be different if it was someone they didn't know and trust touching their hair. You may feel free to refer to my entire syllabus if you want to do the reading to see if there's anything else you may have missed!

As for your question on their transition, this is the part that I was wavering on answering, because I'm currently doing the reading myself for a lesson I'm writing. So at the moment, all I can really say is to read narratives about and by Black trans people, and what that meant for them! That's a cool list I just found, I'm gonna save it for later as a reference.

It's not going to be received the same way as a white person transitioning, no; perception of gender identity and expression are going to be different depending on who's looking. For example, what does 'Black androgyny' look like to white people if they already believe that we have 'masculine' features? Thus the existence of the term 'stud'. Or how long hair is deemed feminine, but there are plenty of Black and Indigenous people whose hair growth is essential to their identity and has nothing to do with "making them girly".

I think what I plan on getting into more detail on in my lesson- and what you'll need to understand- is that following or even subverting gender "norms" is dependent upon what those cultural norms are, and how they might conflict at times. So to write a respectful narrative, you're going to have to understand what it means to live at that intersection. I hope this all made sense 😅 this is why I'm not confident in that lesson yet.

[gb-patch]

Saw an ask about an apparent problem of people drawing Qiu whiter than he is and whitewashing. With that in mind, I think you should hold the same standard for Tamarack for artists that draw her darker than she is to outright black. Tumblr and Twitter in general have an obsession with coloring traditionally white/pale characters the complete opposite race or adding details like kinky/coiled hair and see no issue with it but raise hell the moment a poc is one hue lighter. It erases their identity just as much as everyone says whitewashing does but everyone constantly falls back on the "only whites can be racist so changing their identity in art is okay!!" pipeline

Tamarack comes from a German family and is white, so please take the same level of importance when artists "blackwash" her or any other character in your series.

You know generally, I don’t like to use this blog to as a place to act like I’m the best, most correct person in the world and respond to things where I’m simply telling an anonymous person they’re wrong. I’m just someone who has people following me because they like the stories this company makes.

However, this is something that people should know. If our POC players draw our characters having a darker skin tone than they do in-game and/or give them a different hair texture, that’s alright. I’ve fallen off on reblogging stuff on Tumblr but it’d still be liked or reposted on Twitter.

Whitewashing means far more than the literal act of a single individual making someone look white in a fanart. If a trans player wanted to headcanon a cis character was trans, that’s one thing. If a cis person decided to take the only trans character for miles and insist they are, in fact, cis, well that’s another matter entirely. Your experience with your race and your experience based on sexuality or gender aren’t the same things, it’s not a one-to-one comparison at all. But can people who don’t get it at least start to see how there can be a difference in impact here?

The people who are oppressed in this country aren’t hurting you by trying to enjoy the media that most of the time intentionally excludes them. POC weren’t the ones dehumanizing white people in horrific ways. The overwhelming majority of stories and representations of heritages out there have been and still are white people’s already. Anyone reading this who was thinking along the lines of what’s in this ask need to get comfortable understanding and accepting that. And if you don’t, maybe you should find another game because I’m not going to “protect white identities” from being drawn as people of color. In fact, I think it’s actually really nice if our characters are fun and comforting to people of color so much so that they’d like to imagine those characters being included in their own culture. I think it’s strange that someone would be angry about it.