#except to whitewash the poc a bit

[the-way-astray]

genuinely don't believe they will get that far, but if they do, i hope the kotlc moviemakers don't do the thing with tam and linh's hair. and maruca's

[iodrawsandtalks]

Criticism of Penacony and why i think HYV shouldve quit while they were ahead.

//vent towards the end, references to suicide while those references are quest spoilers Recently I've been doing world quests and grinding out the new region and been repeatedly finding myself walking straight into microagressions and slights to the point where it's been jarring enough for me to put my game down. As a black dude playing HYV games i know well enough not to act like the stupid billion dollar game company cares about appealing to minorities but its 2024 man.

First off, the obvious issue. Penacony has been repeatedly mentioned by the devs themselves to be based off of the Jazz Age from the U.S. a few decades ago.

The Jazz age was a period of time in American History between the 1920's and 1930s where the popularity of Jazz just boomed from being like an indie type of music to one of worldwide popularity. Obviously, Black people in that era are wholly responsible for Jazz itself.

So yeah, Penacony takes its origins from a key black history movement. Penacony, the region that released at the start of February. Black History Month. Star Rail is arguably one of the most popular games right now in terms of outreach because it's free, its new, and its colorful/futurisric etc.... And yet....

Just like with the rest of the HYV games that take real world inspirations, they fucked over black people and their stories.

In Honkai Impact 3rd, basically we had this one black girl who's like sandpaper brown and complains about how much her DARK SKIN ruins her look and how she bleaches her skin using various products to keep it lighter. She is ashamed of her DARK SKINNED mother who's a military woman. Her father is absent. Her mother is also a grown adult who is a B-rank soldier(main character white teenagers are S-rank for reference). Carole Peppers is her name if you want to go further down that rabbit hole.

In Genshin Impact, besides the fact that people with different skin tones are CLEARLY sectioned into certain regions(no seriously there's no real reason why i shouldnt see a black person in any of the existing regions.), and besides the unnecessary amount of whitewashing and besides the perpetuation of the idea of melanin NOT being natural, every single brown/black character in the game has awful playstyles and/or poor matching with weapons/artifacts, inaccessibilty, and they NEVER make it to the top of any meta tierlists. I'm not outright saying they're bad they're just harder and almost never get specialized weapons.

The only previously relevant example in Star Rail was Arlan, a lightning/destruction character. He chews through his own HP and unlike characters like blade/clara, does not have resistance or healing to handle that. Serval, the other lightning 4 star, out-dps's him veryyyyyyy easily. So yeah, the ashy black person character basically dies if you use him for too long and is never relevant TO ANY quests except where he needs to be the sidekick.

sometimes these games have dragons, animals that can understand and process english, or magic.... but then not black people...

Penacony has no black main characters. No black stories of relevance. Yesterday found an NPC whose name was detracted from chocolate and the player had the option to let commit suicide.

yeah ill get to that 💀. This large mass of at least 4 supernatural looking characters and yet no black person. NOT EVEN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM penacony itself are black.

so yesterday I was grinding clockwork quests and had to help out some apathetic shopkeeper named Cocona. Her story was almost a bit sad but midway into going through her background i realized her name is one letter off of cocoa. now imagine being on a creative team coming up with a name for a melanated NPC and somebody decides on fucking CHOCOLATE with an extra letter. before anybody implies that one was something i shoehorned, think about how itd go if i had a bunch of POC characters and one white girl named crackerella.

Cocona and her once again sad backstory reach a hard tipping point as the player follows her to the edge of a building and can either grab her to stop her from jumping or simply let her end her life jumping off the building.

Yes we've seen how this game lets you make choices and watch the consequences of your actions, but there have been established rule-breaking predecents. Take Ruan Mei's quest where you have no choice but to eat the cake she offers you and once again lose the ability to make a choice on saying anything related to her. or any time the trailblazer gets pushed into a fight and cannot de-escalate. ....with this in mind consider why was saving the cocoa girl from killing herself NOT a forced option.

normally id be the kind of silly person looking for lore bits and stuff and making theories, (like how clockie is from the path of elation :v)but as a black dude this whole region is disgusting. THEY ARE GENTRIFIYING JAZZ AND COVERING UP ITS BLACK ORIGINS idk who said HYV cared about their audiences they fucking dont.

wouldve posted this on reddit but whoop dee do i am NOT getting doxxed today.

[baobhanlore-art]

*Across The Spiderverse Spoilers*

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I'm just gonna rant a bit about whitewashing Miguel O'hara and how people don't know the difference between race and ethnicity.

Disclaimer: I am not poc. I'm white passing (Jewish whiteness is complicated) and if you are poc then I'd love to hear your perspective. I'm just repeating the views and teachings of poc figures and their analyses of media and representation.

So there's been a lot of crackering towards Miggy. It's happened to most of the poc characters, don't get me wrong, but I feel like Miguel's has fallen under the radar for the most part. But Miguel is often drawn with very light skin even though the movie has portrayed him as having light brown tan-ish skin.

This is a screenshot from the train scene. As you can see he is still very much a light skinned person, not pale but a light skinned poc. And yet somehow people still make his skin way lighter than this. Practically the same colour as me and I'm Scottish and have ridiculously sensitive skin that makes me avoid harsh sunlight. Like it's not even that dark. And the train scene is bright as hell anyways, harsh sunlight and the white train exterior reflecting onto the characters, everyone's skin was lighter so I'd say his skin tone may even be a bit darker than this.

And often the excuse is that he's half Irish. But like, do you realise how terrible of a justification that is? Zendaya is half white. Barrack Obama is half white. Halle Bailey is half white. Are they perceived as white? No. Lukas Arnold is half black. Halsey is half black. Are they perceived as white? Yes. I'm not arguing Miguel doesn't have white heritage, but Miguel, at least in ATSV, is Latino passing. Just like I'm half Jewish and half British White but look more like my white mother, with the exception of my warm undertones and dark hair, meanwhile my Dad, Aunt, Grandad and Uncles are very explicitly Jewish/Middle Eastern passing. Nobody is arguing I don't have non white genes in me and according to eugenics I'll never technically be white, but I'm white passing. Similarly, Miguel has white genes in him and his Irish heritage could very well be part of his identity (I haven't read the comics so idk) but he's Mexican passing. He has Mexican phenotypes and you are erasing them by lightening his skin.

In short, if you want to know if a character or person is white or not, ask yourself how cops or airport security would profile them. That will give you your answer.

This is something Harriyanna Hook touches on in some of her videos, she's a queen, but I think the main reason why whitewashing Miguel isn't as openly critiqued as whitewashing other ethnicities, including light skinned ones, is that light skinned and white passing Latine people are overrepresented in Hollywood and the media to the point where people who aren't even Latine can be cast as Latine characters. Case in point: Ronni Hawk. It's incredibly rare to see anyone in mainstream Hollywood who doesn't pass the paper bag test unless they're a black man, which has its own history of fetishism and abuse (Watch F.D. Signifier, he talks about this in his colourism video.) Race and ethnicity are not the same thing but they influence how you're perceived.

(This is not me saying that they don't deserve to be represented, every culture deserves attention and representation, but dark skinned Hispanic and Afro-Latine people often get erased. Miles Morales is the exception, not the rule.)

So people don't tend to pick up on the erasure of Latine features and skin colours because it's so normalised.

I don't want to call out any artists in particular, that's not cool, but if you do see an artist who lightened the skin, I think it's important you let them know that it's an issue. They're more likely ignorant than intentionally harmful, but I feel like education around this issue is still very important.

Also idk if this is an ethnic thing but please stop giving him a K-popish soft boy face. This isn't an ethnic issue, it's an artist's having same face syndrome issue, but Miggy is hot enough without you erasing his sharp facial features. Istg if it weren't for his suit half of his fanart would be unrecognisable.

[fandomshatewomen]

So, I have a novel recommendation. 👀

It’s The Grimrose Girls series by Laura Pohl. It’s very similar to Pretty Little Liars in that it’s about a group of girls who investigate on the death of their friend and are targeted by something ominous that they can’t seem to escape, except that there’s magic and supernatural! The protagonists are all reimagined fairytale characters who study at a boarding school in a castle!

It takes a bit long before something truly mind-blowing happens but let me tell you that once it happens, it gets more and more intense! I’ve only read Book 1 but I’m definitely going to buy Book 2!

In terms of representation, I would say it’s great! Two of the main protagonists are POC! And one of them is a half- Black, half-Native Hawaiian girl with dark brown skin and curly hair, who is casually described as « fat » and it’s so refreshing to see this word being used as simple adjective and not something negative! And she’s not reduced to her fatness! She has a whole, complex, likeable, sweet personality, a sense of fashion and she’s not the « funny » one in the group! She’s also not insecure about her weight and literally nobody cares about it! It’s stated that the only reason why she feels like a she’s a bit of an outsider is because it’s a private school for rich people and also because she’s one of the few Black and students but I liked that there’s no arc or something where she has to deal with racism. The students are only intrigued by her because she’s the « new » girl. Also I love how it’s casually stated that she has a Hawaiian accent!

All of the protagonists are LGBT+! Amongst them, there are two Lesbians and one asexual character! And there’s a trans girl as a love interest! She doesn’t have to deal with transphobia and everybody respects her! It’s even implied that she’s quite popular for being pretty and flirting with many boys! And when she came out, the school quickly changed her name on her papers and she at some point that the school is supportive of trans rights! Her character was very mysterious and intriguing! I can’t wait to find out more about the way her story goes (especially considering which fairytale character she is)!!

I absolutely love this idea of a story that is set in a remote place in Europe with a very medieval vibe where you’d expect to see mostly racist and conservative people but there’s actually people of the global majority and LGBT people living peacefully because while that place is still grounded in reality, it still exists in its own bubble, unaffected by the outside world and its oppressive ideologies and stuff! It’s kind of like Storybrooke from Once Upon a Time (the series is described as a mix of OUAT and PLL, by the way).

I’m really hoping that someday, we will get a TV show based on this series (and that they will cast everybody right because people keep whitewashing Nani, the Hawaiian character, even though she’s literally described word-for-word as Black and dark-brown-skinned multiple times in the book and I’m pretty sure that the people who do that are the same ones that are the first to scream « Make your own characters! » whenever a POC is playing a role that is often white by default)

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[magentacravat]

@nogurlstoyThinking more about it, i should put this disclaimer on the first part, you guys need to separate this as Northuldran and Sami thing in the first place. Yeah Sami is the race part that heavily inspired the Northuldran, but at the end of the day Northuldran is a fantasy native race that they used as representation, so i'll pass the topic about "Diverse Sami" because that's pretty much already out of context. Because i've typed it several times at this point, it is NOT the Sami people that i brough up to but i criticized more on how Frozen 2 brought up Native and/or POC representation in their franchise. So bringing up the topic "Sami people are diverse, some has lighter hair and skin, wide eyes, etc." are not relevant simply because it is clear in Frozen 2, Northuldran are depicted as dark haired (Brunettes), tan skin, high cheekbones, wider nose, and a bit of slanted eyes. Which those are not on Iduna, except the HAIR COLOR. So in Frozen 2, it is as clear as day, that the native Northuldran they shows to us were NOT supposed to be diverse. Those pictures showing Northuldran having lighter hair are mostly just because they were under the sun lightning and my black hair also turned red when i was under the sun, but that doesn't mean i suddenly turned white lol You can't say it's iduna's appearance that can be brushed as an error, because she is an "Already there" character. It's an animation, not an actor being casted for a movie, they decided on concepts and makes them from scraps. Even if Iduna's background was an afterthough, they had several safer routes, but they choose this route, which i find insensitive. Why? Because i view it as in they are making iduna seems like the whitewashed acceptable Pocahontas. And it's not only Frozen 2, i noticed that this things often happens in movie production in Hollywood. I just find it shocking that they are doing it in animation too, and it's Disney. Also, YES, child Iduna was THAT dark. Iduna was as pale as Elsa, lighter that Agnar. She was completly different from her younger look. Child Iduna skin is darker than Agnar. If Iduna's skin could be lighter, even pale, when she got an adult, logically we should see some of the Northuldran has the same shade as Anna or Elsa. Added that they didn't even able to get the sunlight for 2 decades. But none. They are all tanned. As i said above, even Iduna's has none of the Northuldran features except the hair. The diverse that i only notice between the Northuldran are their eyes colors. We can't use the Dangerous Secret book as an argument too, because several reasons like, 1. the book came out much much later after the movie, 2. not all audiences read the book, 3. if it's that important enough then it should be explained in the movie and not the book, 4. the book could be not canon, and 5. this post was made before the book got released. So Iduna being "Different clan" is out of this topic. And i don't mean to phrase it as "I don't want to accept Iduna as Northuldran" but just pointed out how peculiar they designed those Northuldran and made Iduna seems like doing the race-bending here lmao Just look at the picture i put above of Iduna and Honeymaren. They look completly from different race/ethnic. God, 5 years after i posted this and i still have to explain the same thing over and over. I feel like crying is pointless at this point lol

“PART OF THEM”

It still absurd to me whenever i read articles or when Disney said “Idunna is actually native Northuldran”. Like…. Wheeeere?

They portrayed this Northuldran have their own characteristic like higher and prominent cheekbones, wider space between eyes, almond and upturned eyes, wilder nose, stronger jawline, and DARKER SKIN.

And then they show Idunna who is looks like nothing resemble and Northuldran. They tried to show her part of “native” with her darker skin while she was A CHILD like that even not making more laughable.

She have this pretty princess normal Arendelle type face, extremely pale, nothing like the Northuldran. Does our appearance can drastically change depends on where we live? Will i be suddenly have caucasian’s characteristic if i ever move to North Europe?

“Skin can be lighter when you grow up.”

Yeah, then at least we can see some Northuldran have skin as light as Elsa then, especially since they never got the sun touch all this time.

I also find it so ridiculous for the part when Elsa and Anna said they are part of them and the Northuldran suddenly just accept them and be like “the past is in the past, forget that they betrayed us and tried to colonize us” despite they just reach there not even 10 minutes ago.

It’s make me thinking, is that how westerners still see native people? Especially to the place they was trying to colonize?

“We are part of you.” Yeah. I think that’s the magic words it seems. At least that’s what they seems to show in the movie.

Maybe because it’s the easiest way to make a community suddenly fond of you and accepting you (althought it’s tacky indeed.)

If they stuck like that because Idunna’s face already default from F1, they can make the Northuldran’s face looks more like Idunna instead. Or maybe making Agnaar’s mother as the one from Northuldra considering we never saw her and they have more freedom to create new character. Or just not making them related and completly making Arendelle have redemption arc towards the Nortuldran.

Not like making Idunna as part of the Northuldran despote she doesn’t resemble anything from her tribe. What is this? Avatar live action by Night M. Shyamalan?

[polyolefinprince]

Shoutout to my senior year of high school where I made and gave a 40-slide presentation on queer history for the 3 people in my GSA

[opinated-user]

It utterly baffles me how racist LO can be on some subjects (see: Anything made in Japan that is not KH or Pokémon) and massively reverse racist on others (her hatred of "emo white boys, fetishism on POC, ect.)

Her latest bit where she said "Look for non-white authors" just rubbed me the wrong way just now. I get wanting to boost POC, but wouldn't recommending specific POC authors be a much better way to make that reccomendation than dismissing ALL white authors when that list likely has good ones too?

God I really hope I don't come off as racist by being upset by that comment. I'm a white author that writes white characters because that is what I know. I don't like my writing being automaticly dismissed over something I have no control over.

i think you're missing the point of her post. she wasn't just saying to look for non-white authors as some form of "reverse racism", she was saying that non white authors don't write tropey "abusive" romance and that's why you should choose them.

not because racism in fandom exist. not because non white author don't get in average any of the mainstream attention afforded to white authors. not because non white main characters don't get as much attention as they should. not because there are excelent, brilliant POC authors out there that you should check out because they make good art. she's right that a good literature diet should include author from different perspectives. she's right that social media around books make very little effort to be more diverse on their literature (if you have been around spaces for Booktok, booktube or similars you can't keep missing the videos/posts of people talking about this). but her reasoning is still being "POC would never write the crap nasty white women do", which is both untrue and also a massive misogyny stamp being passed off as progressive somehow. you should want to read POC authors because many of them are brilliant and you'll benefit from reading their works... not because you hate white women and what they do. not because you hate tropes. not because you think fandom and everything it does is gross. POC authors are worth reading without including any "white woman" in the discussion. on top of that, if the only reason you come out to read POC authors is because "they won't do this kind of romance" then you're bound to be miserably dissapointed. because POC are people at the end of the day, they aren't incapable of writing something bad too. at that point it's not really about POC at all. it's about primarily disparring "white women" (or people you assume are white women without any actual data, wich does result in misgendering or whitewashing people) more than anything else, a thing that LO just keeps doing about everything. she won't hear what SEA people have to say about their own culture and it's representations, because she hates a white woman more.

she won't hear what a black trans woman has to say, because she hates what a white woman does more.

she won't talk about real instances of fandom racism, because she wants to hate on a white boy more.

more than that... LO has no leg to stand when it comes to tropey and abusive romances, when she's the one who keeps creating weird power dynamics between characters that never are challenged except on the most uneffective ways possible on the narrative. on top of that... do you actually believe that LO actually tries to diversify her media intake? when all she talks about is disney and how much white girls and white women and white fictional boys ruin everything? again... you should look for POC authors, just like disabled authors, neurodivergent authors, because many out there are amazing and deserve praise. not because you're like LO and think braggin about never reading fiction outside of fanfiction for the last decade is some kind of win, instead of the reality of making you look fully inadequate to talk about literature at all.

[chimerathewriter]

Oh my god is 2023 and I have seen a lot of delulus this year I will list yall a bunch

Billy Hargrove stabs who hoped that he would have come back even if we saw his racist abusive should live that fine body he didn't deserve. And about him being racist...

Stranger Things stans who started to throw racial slurs when Lucas showed up in the trailer playing basketball and thought that he betrayed the gang.

Stranger Things stans again who made fun of Lucas Sinclair hair, as if is not the most time accurate

Again Stranger Things stans who made racist jokes so that Caleb could notice them. And the ones who tried to invalidate Caleb's expurience with racism.

House of the Dragon stans saying that Targaryen incest is better that Lannister incest bffr, and if you tried to say that Jamie raped Cercei yes even Aegon

Aemond Targaryen stans, trying to completely victimise him, if Jace died that night with that rock yall would be silence

Team Green stans saying that team Green is morally better than team black, nope the writers cut a lot of things

Alicent and Rhaenyra shouldn't be idolise as iconic feminist. Because Alicent was indeed a victim of the pathriarchy but she still let his son be a rapist and become King. Rhaenyra wanted the crown and power not because she's a woman she just want to have power just for herself.

Alicent stans who think she never wanted Rhaenyra's demise, delulu as hell if the writers followed the book 100% yall mouth would be shut

Aegon Targaryen stans

Team Black stans who completely ignore how Viserys ignored his other children for his grown ass daughter. And think that Luke shouldn't have a little bit of accountability

Team Black stans who think that Daemon is a good person

Team Black stans supporting blood and cheese

Writers who decided to change some parts of the story

The bitxh who told me that house Martell is white

People who are racist to the black cast of Hotd

Genshin Impact stans

Stans who think that the representation thingy is not a big deal but poc players have to look at their culture being whitewashed

Stans who say Sumeru isn't inspired from North African, Middle Eastern and South Asian culture

Stans who say that the adultificatiom of little girl character is not weird

Ppl who simp for the 1000 Yr looking boy

Miracolous Ladybug stans who hate Marinette beign a stalker (and becase she rejected Chat many times, but we ain't gonna talk how chat is 2 persistent? OK just close your eyes) and praise Cloe even if at this point she's an irredeemable character and the new episode ugh

Girlies who say that Selwyn is the better love interest when Nick is standing right there

The white reader who didn't like Babylon because she didn't related with the main character

Quentin Tarantino stans

MCU stans

White Wanda Vision stans

TVDU stans

The bros who says woke

American Psycho stans

Jk Rowling stans

Hp stans who say there aren't racist undertones in the book

Some yt Encato Stans

Lore of Olympus Stans

Kpop Stans

I Army that tries to put their opinions in Korean politics

Defending Stephanie Meyers racist writing just because she's mormon

Holland Roden stans

Harry Potter stans who ignore the Maruder girls for new gen of Harry potter

People who fancast darkskin black Maruders biracial

People who cast Peter skinny

People who get angry at poc Maruder fancast

People who say that they don't like the new interview with the vampire series, they like everything except Louis and Claudia casting

Now we all know why don't yall like the casting, go and Stan your non canon white movie, and live us queens alone

And lastly

White one direction stans who say that the guys were under contract is for this they couldn't defend Zayn against racism and islamophobia

I still have alot probably I will do a fandoms slander series

[smp-boundaries]

List of boundaires: Ponk

• Cosplay: Ponk is supportive of cosplay of himself.

• Shipping: Ponk has said he doesn’t mind being shipped with Dream SMP members, except when fans take it “too far.” When asked about Awesamponk (Ponk/Awesamdude), Ponk said he doesn’t care. In a later clip, he asked fans to “tone it down,” stating that he and Sam find it a bit weird when fans make “very detailed” stuff. This indicates that he is not okay with suggestive or NSFW ship content.

• Pronouns: Ponk uses all pronouns.

• Fanart: Ponk has said that he does not mind fanart of his face.

• Names: Ponk has asked fans not to call him “Drops.” (part of his Twitch username, DropsByPonk)

• Whitewashing in cosplay/fanart: When asked, Ponk said that if fans are drawing fanart of his character it should reflect his skin color as he is mixed race, but that it doesn’t bother him if he is cosplayed by people who don’t match his skin tone.

• Feminine depictions: When asked about being drawn in a dress, Ponk said fans could do what they like, indicating that he doesn’t mind being drawn in feminine clothing.

Evidence cosplay: 42:04 - 42:25 of this vod about shipping about Awesamponk asking fans to tone it down about being okay with all pronouns Instagram bio that says all pronouns about fanart of his face: 46:20 - 46:27 of this vod about being called “Drops” about whitewashing and cosplay: 48:27 - 49:41 of this vod about being drawn in a dress

[Image ID: Ponk’s Instagram account named dropsbyponk. The bio says “Pronouns: any” followed by his Twitch link. /End ID]

Clip transcripts below cut

about cosplay (from YouTube video “Ponk | Dream SMP F for F run !audible #ad (2021/01/30) | VOD”) Ponk: Chat, I think cosplay is awesome, just so you know. There’s this really cool cosplayer who does me - um, they’re a POC as well, on Tik Tok - and it makes my day every time I scroll. And I’ll see their content like, occasionally, like, most days, and I’ll be like “ayyy.” It is lit. It’s lit! And it’s just like - it brightens up my day, y’know?

about shipping TTS Dono: Ponk, Ponk: Hello! TTS Dono: may I know your opinion about shipping between you and other Dream SMP members? Ponk: Ey? Um, I don’t really mind it. It’s all good fun. I mean, we’re all friends here. So, I mean, eh? I don’t really know. I don’t have a problem. Um, but it does get weird when people take it a bit too far. Um - that’s about it.

about Awesamponk TTS Dono: Hey Ponkie just wanted to make double check your boundaries, are you okay with Awesamponk being a ship? Rom slash platonic, or shipping in general? Ponk: To be honest, I don’t think me and Sam really care, right. Right? Like - I’m sure it’s mostly platonic and stuff, correct? But chat, we don’t - we don’t really care. We don’t really care. Well, I know I don’t care - you might (unintelligible) have to ask Sam. That is - that is all.

asking fans to tone it down TTS Dono: Hello Ponk, just wondering what your boundaries are regarding shipping. Ponk: I’m sure Sam talked about it yesterday. TTS Dono: How do feel about being in ships like Awesamponk? Ponk: I’m sure Sam said it, like, yesterday. But me and Sam are very, very good friends, like, outside of streams and whatnot. And it makes it a little bit weird when you guys are making very detailed - very, very detailed shit. Alright? I’m not even gonna explain it. Okay? (laughs) But we do have a laugh about it. Um - but yeah, just, maybe tone it down, chat. Tone it down. Cause my God, some of the stuff me and Sam saw - oh, lord. Yeah. Yeah, chat. [...] I’m sure Sam spoke on it yesterday, I’m pretty sure. So, yeah.

about pronouns Ponk: (singing along to music) TTS Dono: Also are you okay with they/them? Hey guys Ponk: I am okay with any pronouns. I do not care, chat. I mean, I am me. You can see me as anything you like. I honestly don’t care. Alright? As long as you’re not mean to me. As long as you’re not being mean to other people in my community. You do you, I’m doing me, you can use any pronouns you like. I simply don’t mind. I simply don’t mind. Okay?

about fanart of his face TTS Dono: Ponk bestie are you okay with fanart of your face? I wanna double check. Ponk: Um, I simply don’t mind.

about being called “Drops” Ponk: [...] Adrians! Thank you so much for the raid, appreciate it! Welcome to my stream. I am Ponk, also known as Ponk, also known as Drops sometimes, but don’t call me that. I don’t like you if you call me that, alright? Uh, but welcome! Thank you so much for the raid. Hello, I’m glad you raided me. Appreciate it. Um -

about whitewashing and cosplay (from YouTube video “Ponk | Dream SMP I am still Late (2021/03/26) | VOD”) TTS Dono: Hey Ponk Ponk: Hello! TTS Dono: are you okay with people cosplaying your character? Even if it’s [white] people? Because you have said before for people to draw you as long as they don’t draw you white, but I don’t know if that counts for cosplayers. Ponk: Um, I - I honestly don’t mind. Like, for me, when I see my - like the character Ponk, it’s - it’s shown as someone in that mask, if you know what I mean. Like, that’s all I care about - is like, it’s the mask. It doesn’t really matter about skin color, and all. But, at the end of the day I am mixed race. I ain’t changing from that. Um - if you are drawing me as a character you can do that but if you’re cosplaying it’s fine, it’s just the mask, y’know. Just - don’t put like fake tan on or something like that. Don’t do that. That ain’t cool. But everything else, yeah, that’s - that’s cool. Ponk: There are some people who cosplay on Tik Tok. Um, and, they are - they are very very good. Very good. I, like, recommend you looking at them. Cause - I’m surprised how well they got like the mask and stuff down. So, yeah.

about being drawn in a dress (from VOD “Dream SMP --> Clean up! !Merch”, July 12, 2021) TTS Dono: bestie I’m making fanart can I draw you in a dress? Ponk: (overlapping) If you want- TTS Dono: (overlapping) cause drawing people in really fancy nightgowns is really fun. Ponk: You can do what you like.

[mcustorm]

In Defense of a Black Cyclops

In case my username didn’t make it clear, the single most anticipated visual project for me is the MCU’s interpretation of the X-Men, which hasn’t even been announced yet [officially]. And ladies and gents, I have found your Cyclops:

Good ol’ Alfred Enoch, who we all know from Harry Potter and How to Get Away With Murder. If you’re not familiar with HTGAWM, know that his character goes from the de facto leader of the ragtag (murderers) and most cherished protege of Viola Davis’ Professor X to taking more of a grimdark turn after his girlfriend’s death. Sound at least somewhat familiar?

Enoch also embodies the physicality of the character well, seeing as to how he’s “slim”, 6′4(!!), black, and notoriously lanky. Wait, one of these isn’t like the others.

In general I hate fancasting. Everyone generally picks from the same pool of about 30 actors (Peeps, neither Taron nor Daniel is a good Wolverine choice. Argue with your mother!), and most all of it is based on physicality, except when it absolutely should be (like say, choosing a ~5′10 dark-skinned black woman for Storm).

And I think there’s some malarkey afoot. I think there needs to be some serious consideration on part of fancasters and actual casting agents alike to rethink race when it comes to the [white] X-Men, especially since they’re the X-Men of all teams. So I’ll make the case for a black Cyclops: 

1. There is no quota on Black X-Men: There’s a bug in your ear that’s been whispering lies to you for years, it says something to the effect of “We need a black person on the team for diversity. How bout Storm?” And you’ve gotten complacent. Storm does not have to be the only black person on your X-Men roster.

2. The X-Men represent diversity: Iceman is gay, Cyclops and Prof. X are disabled (sorta), there are plenty of women, oh and everybody except Storm is white. Of the A-List X-Men, there is only *one* POC character. I’d argue that an MCU X-Men needs to champion diversity like never before.

3. The X-Men represent minority struggle while being mostly white: There’s a cognitive dissonance in the metaphor that has always been there, and for the most part, nobody cares. To appeal to the white readers of the 60′s, the X-Men were all initially white. That way, the message of the mutants could be related to the audience with a familiar face. We don’t need to approach the problem that way in 202?

4. Just because that’s the way it’s always been, doesn’t mean that’s the way it should be: The first line of defense. Sorry, that will never be a good justification for literally any idea. It’s time for some more critical thinking.

5. We don’t all want to be Bishop: So say you’re white and you have a kid who for his birthday having a costume party. You’ve bought some X-Men costumes and you want each kid to pick one. 9 white kids and one black kid show up to your house. As the kids deliberate who gets what costume, be it Cyke or Wolvie or whatever, you yell at everybody to “STOP!”, point to the one black kid and tell him “You’re gonna be Bishop. That’s it, end of story!” 

We don’t all want to be Bishop. The black child could have the best Cyclops interpretation within him, but you’ll never know if you don’t let him try. And that’s no different from the Black actors of Hollywood. There’s no reason why all of the black talent should *have* to compete for the role of Bishop or Storm, which I’ve discussed, while Joe Schmo can walk up and audition for literally anybody he wants.          

Jharrel Jerome is 23 and has an Emmy to his name. He needs to be in the MCU in some capacity, period. Stephan James is another. How bout Damson Idris. Ashton Sanders. But no, no, let’s fancast Dacre Montgomery or Ansel or Joe Keery again as [Human Torch, Wolverine, Iceman, Angel, I’ve literally seen it all.]

6. Nobody wants to see the B-team if it comes down to it. The next line of defense from your racebending naysayers after “That’s the way it’s always been!” is “Well, what about Psylocke, Bishop, Forge and Jubilee?” who are otherwise known as B-tier X-Men. The problem is, we’ve got limited time and limited spots.

So since the X-Men is all about wonky metaphors that make half sense, let me give you another: Let’s say somebody approaches you and says “Hey buddy, I got two free concert tickets for ya! You can either see Michael Jackson Sings the Blues, or you can go see Justin Timberlake. Free of charge!”

Now, are you used to MJ singing the blues? No! Do you have a problem with going to see Justin Timberlake? No, he’s fine on a Wednesday! He had that one little diddy we liked that one time. We’d love to see him eventually! But are you gonna say, “fuck that, I’m going to see MJ Sings the Blues” regardless? Hell yes, because that’s still Michael Jackson. He’s gonna give the same amazing performance he always does, it’s just gonna be the blues. And speaking of blues...

7. Black is not Blue, Brown is not Blue: Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard this one: “I don’t care if you’re black, white, purple, or green, I’m going to treat you all the same!” I will not say all have this intention, but some fancasters have noticed that the racial diversity is kinda low within the A-List X-Men, so they oh-so-generously give the following roles to a black or brown person: Iceman, Nightcrawler, Beast. 

Notice the pattern? It’s a microaggression, and it’s bullshit. What these fancasters are implicitly telling you is that, yes the actors will be black or brown, but when the action starts we can ignore that. They’ll be blue by then. In other words, you in fact do care if they’re purple or green. Nobody will cry foul if Dev Patel gets to play Nightcrawler (because that’s a common one I see), but should Anna Diop be Starfire or Michael B. Jordan be Human Torch, I bet there’d be backlash. Oh wait. If that’s you, please stop acting like you actually value diversity. You don’t want to see black or brown skin, period. Unless of course, it’s Storm (refer to point #1).

But wait, there’s more! When brown characters get whitewashed in these movies, it’s crickets! So eventually it’s revealed implicitly that proclaimers of point #4 only care about it one way.

8. Professor X should not be black if you’re not willing to change anyone else: The next line of defense is that some people say the professor should be black, if anybody HAS to be racebent. Something something MLK Jr., Civil Rights or some shit. Number one, I’m not reducing Professor X to being a magical negro for 9 white people (and Storm!) who for all intents and purposes get to have all the action. Number 2, the Professor X/MLK/Magneto/Malcolm X comparison is an oversimplifying disservice to ALL FOUR of those people. I hate that line whenever I see it, please watch a documentary my friends. 

9. The Candidates for Racebending: For me, the A-List X-Men are Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Angel, Beast, Wolverine, Storm, Gambit, Rogue, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Kitty Pryde. Now, who should be exempt from the racebending? Storm, she’s our designated minority. Gambit, he’s Cajun and they’re white (generally speaking, that’s a fun bit of research). Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler, because their nationality/ethnicity was the whole point of the Giant-Size premise in the first place. Angel, because his character embodies a privileged white male. Beast and Iceman, I don’t care one way or another (Point #7).

That leaves Cyclops, Rogue, Jean Grey, and Kitty Pryde. Now Jean Grey is a redhead, and we all know that every time a redhead is racebent people sharpen their pitchforks (Mary Jane, Wally West, Iris West), so I will cede the ground on Jean if only so that my ginger friends can get their rep. Kitty Pryde is Jewish, but Jews of color exist. Rogue is from the South. And Cyclops is, well, just Cyclops. That makes those three characters good options for more diversity. But allow me to make the case for Cyclops, specifically.

10. It’s not just diversity for diversity’s sake: If you had to pick who the main character of the X-Men is supposed to be, most would say Cyclops. And so in a series that highlights racial discrimination in society, it makes sense that our main character be black. While changing Cyclops’ skin color should not change who he is as a character, it *should* recontextualize it. Now, as an eventual increasingly radical leader of the X-Men, Cyclops would evoke real life figures such as Colin Kaepernick or, shall I say, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Not that most X-Men fans and writers truly think about what it means to be black anyways. Storm’s minority status is almost always put through the lens of her being a mutant and not her being a black woman. In other words, you can’t argue that making a character black will fundamentally change his or her character when you haven’t even analyzed the racial context of the black character(s) you already have. Another concept that the MCU X-Men should tackle: intersectionality.

11. Representation matters: I have to say it: Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther hit different. And now he is tragically gone. At the end of the day, the MCU moving forward is down its most prominent black male superhero. Which has implications beyond just the movies themselves.

The women are in good hands. Shuri, Okoye, and Nakia are badasses in Wakanda, Valkyrie is ruling Asgard, Storm is almost assuredly on the way, RiRi Williams has already been cast, and Monica Rambeau is here and she’s not even at her most glorious yet. That doesn’t even include variable Δ, or the number of characters who can and will be racebent. And I’ll note again that to me, Gamora doesn’t count, because she’s green (#7 really pisses me off because it’s so blatant. I hate it). Of course from a behind the camera perspective we love black women getting work.

The men are a completely different story. Imma just go out and say it, I can’t stand Falcon and War Machine [in the MCU] because they’re not characters, they’re just two of a slew of MCU minority sidekicks who have essentially been at the beck and call of Captain America and Iron Man, respectively. You cannot tell Falcon’s story without mentioning Cap. The reverse is not true. There’s a whole essay that could be and have been written on “Minorities in the MCU, pre-Black Panther”. Remember, there’s a reason BP made so much noise in the first place.

So excluding those two we have, let’s see, M’Baku, Blade, and Fury who aren’t exactly the most superheroic superheroes, Eli Bradley is proooobably coming, I doubt Miles Morales is coming (because he’s just Peter Parker in the MCU), Luke Cage(?) Bishop(??), Sunspot(???), Blue Marvel(????). Not only are they not A-List, I would not put money on any of them being in the MCU any time soon.

Cyclops is thee Captain America of the X-Men. He’s the frontman. He’s the poster boy. He’s the “boy scout”, which in other words means he’s the hero, if there has to be one. It would mean a lot right now, and specifically *right now*, if he were to be black. The MCU needs it. It NEEDS it.

12. The X-Men is the Summers Story: I’ll even make the case that if just one character needs to racebent, then it should be Cyclops, because that of course implies that other related characters need to be black because half of the X-Men universe is in fact a part of the Summers family. 

So now Cable is black. Corsair is black. Havok is black. And one of the most central stories in the X-Men mythos, the Summers family drama, is now a black family drama set in space or the future or where the fuck ever. The concept is boundary pushing. When white families have drama in the media, it gets to be Game of Thrones or Star Wars, while when black families have drama in the media, it has to be black people arguing in a kitchen or living room about their various earthly traumas (I’m @’ing you, Mr. Perry). I mean, that’s all fine and good often times, but I want my black family drama in space, dammit.

And again, this is the X-Men, the series that’s all about *minorities* and their struggle, so again, why not?

Oh, and I’ll even throw out a Havok fancast for you: How bout Jharrel Jerome?

[shadowmaat]

Live action, smive action

There's always a lot of heated discussion about turning cartoons/anime into live action. My feeling is that, generally speaking, it's absolute shit and a very bad deal.

Animation lets you accomplish a lot of stuff that would be impossible- or at least very difficult- in "real world" settings. What we're willing to overlook in a cartoon looks a lot weirder and less "realistic" in live action. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it's harder to accomplish in a way that makes audiences believe it and without making it uncomfortable. Jerry flattening Tom's face with a skillet looks funny in a cartoon. An actual mouse flattening an actual cat's face would be horrifying. What works in animation doesn't always carry over without a big change in perception.

Now add in that "live action" versions of animated things tend to be very... Hollywoodized. They flatten out or remove the elements that made the cartoon charming and overcompensate on making stuff look "real." Look at the first version of Sonic that the studio insisted upon and that was so reviled by audiences they were forced to go back and redo all the CGI/animation to make him look more cartoony.

The compulsive need to whitewash everything is also a huge issue. Whitewash, lightwash, anything they can do to make an anime look less """ethnic""" so that it's homogenized for a broader audience. And "homogenized" will always default to white where Hollywood is concerned. They can't imagine that white audiences might actually like to see characters who look authentic to the original version. Although given the rampant racism in America (and other "first world" countries) I could almost understand that thinking. Almost. Except for the bit where, if having POC is such an issue, maybe stop stealing their stories, culture, and history if you aren't going to respect them.

There's also an undercurrent of treating animation as "less good" than live action stuff, which is why some producers feel a need to turn cartoons into "real" movies. Which is a garbage take and insulting to animators across the world and through history who've poured their hearts and souls into making some flipping fantastic movies and shows. Hollywood needs to stop treating cartoons/anime as a lesser form of entertainment when it's on equal footing with everything else. They also need to recognize that A) just because something is geared towards kids doesn't mean it has no value to a wider audience and B) children's media has value all on its own whether it appeals to a broader audience or not.

ANYWAY! I've also been seeing a lot of stuff on my dash lately about a Spirited Away theater production and let me tell you: I would fucking LOVE to see that. Theater still remembers that letting fantastical elements remain fantastical is part of why people love them. They don't try to go for hyper-realism, but instead pay tribute to the magic of the original. I love that. It's a lesson Hollywood should learn, but I doubt they ever will.

[hellothere-generalangsty]

I HAD A BRAIN WAVE MOMENT

DO YOU REMEMBER WAYYYY BACK WHEN EVERYONE HATED ASOKA? DAVE DID THAT ON PURPOSE SO HE WAS IN CONTROL OF WHAT PEOPLE HATED ABOUT HER. OK NOW THIS MIGHT BE A LONGSHOT THAT HOPEFULLY DOESN’T END UP LIKE LONGSHOT THE CLONE, BUT, IM HOPING THATS WHATS DAVE IS DOING WITH TBB. BEING IN CONTROL OF WHAT THE FANDOM HATES ABOUT IT AND THEN IMPROVING IT SLOWLY BIT BY BIT.

PLEASE IM DESPERATE FOR A EXPLANATION!

(also where’s my explanation about why the clones are white washed, dave? hmm? where is it dave?)

OMG LOOK.

It wouldnt excuse the whitewashing or the weak scenario, because he got us used to some good stuff now (tcw s7, Mandalorian, that kind of things)

But it would make sense - to a certain extent - to work that season as a "cliché team in a cliché scenario" and see how people react to be able for a second season (if there's a second season) to improve it

_

Disclaimer: I'm a white, abled person so I'm not trying to speak on behalf of poc/disabled people, but I think it's important to support them and listen to the critics they make about SW and it's content

Also this is quite long I got carried away but worth it it is!

I linked some of @rebekadjarin 's post here because I read a bit through her blog today and agreed with her posts; and I invite you to check out the "#whitewhashed tbb" if you want more extanded and developed information about that matter! (As my knowledge on the matter is still quite limited/ incomplete due to my privileges, and this post is more of a summary than a real analysis)

_

So here, we know that the fans are unhappy about:

- the whitewashing of the Bad Batch (especially since they proved they could animate dark skinned people/ more generally poc with the first seasons of tcw, Kanan in Rebels and the Separatist in the latest TBB episode)

It is a real problem and it shouldn't have happened in the first place. Even if they are different, the Batchers are still clones and it's really not that hard to show their enhancement while keeping Temuera's features and skin colour (I mean, look at all the artists who did and do it everyday on this app; no excuse here)

Star Wars has wasted a lot of potential on numerous occasions because they keep doing stuff like this; and it's quite ironic (and very sad) to see that racism, ableism and stereotypes are prevalent in a universe where people fight for equality and peace...

Here and here are two posts about it (if you're the author of these posts and want me to delete them from my post please tell me so; I took the liberty of adding them because I think they highlight quite well the issue and do a clear job at showing the whitewashing in SW/ around the clones)

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- the way Crosshair is treated; both by the Batchers and the writers, he's manipulated by the chip yet no one is talking about rescuing him and we see nothing about the effect of his absence on the Batchers (they don't mention him, don't try to save him, and Hunter is more distraught by Omega's absence than by his own brother's)

And don't get me wrong, Omega is a kid and she's nice, of course they have to take care of her and protect her

But they also don't know her purpose; why is she here? She could be a bad omen (maybe she doesn't even know it! The Kaminoans probably didn't tell anyone about her real purpose and I stand by the idea that the infos they got about her are all wrong and purposefully misleading) and I have the dark feeling that she will be the end/ death of the Batchers by the end of the serie, even if she didn't wanted it that way

But Crosshair is never mentionned, except for when he's needed in the scenario. Which is a shame, because he's a Batcher too even if he's mind-controlled and (for now) working for the Empire. He's supposed to be a main character, and he's a key element to the plot; yet out of 10 episodes we saw him in only 3, and only the moments where he was acting bad (i'm excluding the lonely moment at the end of ep2 because it had a lot of potential about him fighting the chip but that was all we had and i'm still bitter about it lol)

Here is a post about it

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- speaking of plot; I feel like it's always the same disk playing since episode 2-3: They have a mission given by Cid, they do it, things go wrong, Omega saves the day and they get the money.

Crosshair is doing bad guy stuff so no need to tall about him (haha right?)

Now. I'm a good public. I know when to activate the Dummie™ in me and enjoy a show about a found family doing crazy jobs for a criminal and raising a newly adopted daughter at the same time. It's fun, it's sweet, sometimes it get emotional and the animation is beautiful (the lights are amazing I am always in awe)

I can enjoy it and be in awe and see Echo sniffing food and Tech smiles and Wrecker playing with Omega and feel happy about it.

But I also expected more. I hadn't any clear idea because I didn't wanted to set expectations (how ironic) but I can't help but feel sad about the wasted potential around Empire! Crosshair and the rise of said Empire.

If you want to antagonize one of the main character, do it, but do it fully and do it well. Show us Crosshair getting really invested in a plan to catch the Batchers and suddenly making a scene for a tiny detail that could blow it up; show us Crosshair and Hunter fighting each other hand to hand after they disarmed each other, and Crosshair getting the upoer hand until something holds him back; just enough for Hunter to take control again

Show us a complex character who suffers but doesn't fully realise it, and show us brothers mourning yet hoping to get the family back again you know?

~

- the way Echo is treated by the Batchers. And as much as it saddens me, they do him dirty in the show.

Echo is a war veteran, an ex- prisoner and a disabled character. He went through a lot; first he lost the Domino squad, then he lost brothers on Kamino (including 99 who was close to his squad), then the Citadel happened and he lost both his legs, an arm, his freedom, his brothers and probably any hope to be saved.

Then they found him in that freezer, and he probably realised that, if Fives wasn't here to save him, it meant he lost him too.

Then he left Rex to go with a team of 4 because he probably didn't feel like he belonged with "regs" anymore; he chose strangers over brothers because he thought he couldn't find his place there. Which in itself is sad and problematic.

And now he's with the Batchers, and they don't seem to grasp the importance of his trauma. I mean; they always had the 4 of them and never lost a brother (apart from Cross; which is another wasted potential here because they could have exploited that trauma and made a parallel with Echo being so used to losing brothers and them experiencing it for the first time on such a personal level you know) and they do some crappy stuff to him.

Selling him as a droid? Not cool.

Brushing off his trauma for a mission and some credits? Not. Cool.

And Echo can't say anything because he chose them, and now he has nowhere to go anyway because Order 66 happened; and he probably doesn't want to be a burden to Rex, and he probably doesn't want to abandon his brothers especially now that Cross is gone and they have a child to take care of

But yeah there are a lot of things happening - or NOT happening - around Echo and his trauma and his disability that are wrong and people are right to talk about it

Here is a post I read and I agree with it

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- Overall, the way the show and the characters are handled; they often feel very stereotyped/ cliché and the basic plot doesn't really help for character development or improvement

I read a post about it and it was really interesting; they linked the whitewashing of the characters with their abilities/enhencement

Tech and Crosshair are the smartest and the whitest in the group (which is bad)

Wrecker is portrayed as the Bid Dummie™ and he's the one with the "darker" skin and the features closest to Temuera/ Maōri features (also very bad)

Hunter is straight up a Rambo with a face tattoo, and Echo - and you guys know I love him - is whiter than a sheet of paper (all so bad)

Not only this, but there is no improvement in their personality or thinking

They don't seem to evolve, and just like their mission, they end up playing the same song over and over again

Hunter is the broody soldier and though people enjoy talking to him as a Dad (count me in) but he's not a good dad for Omega (he calls her soldier and is always acting awkward and uncomfortable around her)

Wrecker could be a better dad for her; but again they display him as a big dummie and give the impression he couldn't take well care of her

Tech is here to be the smart one, we only see him when they need someone to do the smart speaking and the complicated computer things

Echo is the grumpy reg, the "more droid than man" and sometimes the Mom™ but they never show him talking about the Empire or the trauma or how the I am not Freaking Out™ I did came back for this Shit™ he's just here to... Be here and be grumpy and bring the oldest clone wars fans to watch TBB

And Crosshair is almost non-existent.

Here is another post about it

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What could it be then?

So either Dave is pulling a Ahsoka on us; but he'll still have a lot of things to correct and explanations to give because I can excuse a bad plot but I draw the line at blatant racism ans ableism (especially when they KNOW the fans and they KNOW what people want and they KNOW it would probably bring more people to enjoy and get invested in the show)

- If he's doing this, he will probably work with the animator to correct the whitewashing (because it really is the only really wrong thing in the animation, the rest of it is quite good to be honest like the light, framing and all)

- Understand that Tbb and Mandalorian are two different shows and cannot be treated the sale way; so he'll get back to the main plot and hopefully work on Crosshair's arc and hos his absence/ him being controlled by the chip affects him/ the Batchers/ their relation

- He'll probably work more on displaying the effect of their trauma; collective and personal, and see how it reflects on their relations (and give Echo the healing he deserves)

- By extension, give the characters more depth and complexity, dig their stereotypical surface and reveal their true nature (show me a ruthless yet easily overwhelmed Hunter; a smart but constantly anxious Tech, a very emotional Wrecker playing the big explosive dummie to protect himself, etc.)

Well, that's what I would do

Or he's just... Doing this and not planning any changes; in which case I'll probably do what I did with SPN s15: stop watching, scroll through tumblr to get some infos and gifs and tell everyone about how dirty they did the characters, and they did us.

~

But I really hope he's hearing us and taking our remarks into account; the show in itself had a lot of potential and I'm still hanging on the thin hope that the ending could "save it"; but I also have no expectations and am in fact waiting for a disappointing ending

On a brighter note, I'm glad the fandom exists because I see artists and writers and gif-makers and theorists and all kind of people creating and sharing their own content, headcanons, art, writing and they all feel right and better than the canon

Like yes, give me a in-character dark skinned clone who deals with his trauma and the sudden changes around him in a realistic way

Tell me about the real effects of the war on soldiers, and the truth behind the corrupted government taking over the galaxy, and the efforts everyone has to make to survive, exist and live together

If Dave and his team cannot do it, I know you guys can and that's why I'm glad to be here too; you give me hope when they fail to do so 💙

~

I hope I like... Answered this correctly? 😂 I got carried away but yeah, though I'm usually not vocal about it and try to enjoy it with my Dummie Energy™ I still see and read about what you all think, and usually I agree with you; the show deserved better and we deserved better

Now back to ignoring the canon and writing a fic about my very much alive and beloved Fives 🥰

[burnedbyshoto]

One last unpopular opinion cause I need to get it out. tell me if I’m wrong pls. Whitewashing POC characters is 100% wrong. Why is it okay to change the race or ethnicity of a POC character? I’m talking about stuff where one of the characters isn’t Japanese anymore and they’re mostly black or occasionally some other race. If they’re making a dark skinned Japanese version I get that. But why change race/ethnicity. Isn’t that wrong too? What’s your opinion on this? Not trying to start shit I swear

I guess... hm, I will try to break down my thoughts and opinions on this. i’m not claiming i’m right, i’m merely stating this as someone who literally over thinks literally everything and anything I can. please let me know if i’ve said anything wrong or offensive as i’d like to correct it because i’m not trying to offend anyone here.

when it comes to anime specifically, westerners have this very quick ability to start saying that these characters are white. as we are all damn well aware, anime is created mostly by asian creators (japanese creators to be exact) and are often depicted to be happening in japan or in some fantasy land where terms like white, black, asian reallt don’t apply. there are some anime that take place in america, & we have anime like yuuri on ice that has multiple different countries represented, but i’d say for the most part all characters are japanese.

issues come into play when, typically seen as white people on twitter who are able to pass easily as anime characters appearance simply due to skin tone color and hair color. personally, I think anime tends to throw in funky hairstyles and hair colors and eye colors not because they’re trying to claim characters as white but because japan is a largely homogeneous country and with that they tend to have similar attributes (in which I mean hair type, eye color, and hair color). the lack of color diversity can lead media to look especially dull, for lack of better words, so mangaka & anime creators make these characters have every colored hair, eyes, and sometimes make them bipoc in the world and hair type to create visual contrast, engagement, and highlight important characters.

however, we westerners are quite self centered & think if a japanese character has blonde hair and blue eyes it makes them white! meaning that should white people cosplay this blonde hair and blue eyes character it’s okay! and due to racism, whenever poc individuals — especially black cosplayers — attempt their own version, they’re attacked with how the character isn’t whatever race the cosplayer is and are overall scum bags. the character isn’t even white the mass majority of the time either so I don’t understand the anger they have over that detail except they’re racist pigs.

now, about the race bending, I think it’s because we westerners want to see ourselves within these characters. they’re like headcanons, if you will. just like you might headcanon bakugou to eventually become hard of hearing or deaf, or how you headcanon that midoriya izuku will lose all his limbs and need a robot arm and legs, these are just personal headcanons that make the character more tuned to how everyone wishes them to be.

now this is a western issue so i speak largely for america.

the underlying issue, I think, is racism. white people, whether they like it or not, have a social advantage over everyone. things will always sort of be for them, look like them, accept them. white people will never have to wonder if the newest movie coming out will have a poc lead because they tend to have it be white people. white people never have to worry about if their foundation color is in stock or even exists in the first place because the system makes it so that it’s there for them, or if not, it’s just two blocks away. white people don’t have to worry about if they will see a face that looks like them on all forms of media because european standards are whats it. we are curated in a society where we should want the lighter hair, the lighter skin, the lighter eyes, the button nose, and thin figure. & I understand that beauty standards and ideas are shifting, but if you’re unable to see that people used to shame, put down, and harass other people for having such traits before (and even still right now harass people for having the features they want as well), I guess you’re one of the naive few.

now, because in western countries, not being able to see yourself in any characters on the tv shows (with real people or animated), some people choose to simply take it into their own hands. so they take their favorite characters and decide that they’ll give it a spin to make it look like them. I don’t think anyone really bends the race and goes “damn they should really be fucking latino, what a waste they’re not!” because I really don’t think anyone’s that...intense???? that’s not the right word, but I can’t seem to find it rn. it’s simply for fun and to show other people who also don’t see themselves in these forms of media a way in!

most importantly, I think, is that when characters are turned into different ethnicities it’s other people who come out and say they’re doing it wrong & taunt them with how they would feel if they turned someone white. if i’m being especially honest, most anime characters could definitely be white in my eyes had I never known it originates from japan simply because of the way they’re drawn. they’re putting down people who are simply expanding their creativity and wanting to see a familiar face because western media continues to fail in serving its largely ethnic population.

personally, I don’t think we westerners have the right to demand more black, latino, arabic, whatever characters in anime because the fact is japan owes us nothing. we should be demanding and continuing to harass america to include poc characters because we aren’t involved in japan. (& i’m not saying that japan should just continue to serve only pure japanese characters because they do have their own intermixed population that isn’t just of japanese decent, but I think if they want us to aid their voices i’m here for it, but I won’t be the one demanding anything from a country that isn’t mine when it comes to this form of media. )

so, to me, the reason why it’s okay for poc to change the race but not white people is because racism in america lol. white people got it good on screen & the fact that it really really bothers some people is a bit scary considering the stats on how many movies and tv shows involve main white casts.

my unpopular opinion to all this, however, is I really dislike latino!sero because the spanglish people use for him makes me think that no one writing him is actually any type of latino & i’m sorta tired and a bit offended by the sexy latin lover thing. plus it sorta seems to me that my fellow latinos only use that trope because white people think it’s hot & since they carry more weight then they think; creators keep it up to seem cool or whatever idk. so it’s not my cup of tea as a mexicana 😗✌🏽

edit:

I also think when people race bend characters to other forms of poc it’s a positive expression and something done to make people happy! but typically when the characters are bent to be “white” it’s done as an attack in a way towards poc people & not done because they want to be included in a world, ya know?

[martinmotherfckingfreeman]

oh this fucking bullshit again

“I DON’T KNOW BUT” let me air my bullshit, uninformed and unsupported opinions again.

let’s start with the racist part first.

1. BETWEEN BC AND MF, ONE OF THEM ACTED IN A MARVEL MOVIE WITH A BLACK DIRECTOR, AND MAJORITY BLACK CAST AND CREW, THE OTHER ONE ACTED IN A MARVEL MOVIE WITH A WHITEWASHED MAJOR SUPPORTING ROLE. CAN YOU GUESS WHO ACTED IN WHICH? Hint: Not the one you stan, 177ABleeckerSt.

2. I guess all these people must be stupid then hanging out with a racist asshole who secretly hates them. Except for yellow hat lady the rest aren’t even people who worked on black panther with him.

3. During the black panther press tour, Daniel Kaluuya and Winston Duke were asked “what was the blackest thing they did off set”. Their answer: “Martin Freeman on the drums.” In another interview, the same two guys again say “Martin Freeman is a G”, “He’s gone native. Ask for his password”, then agreed with the interviewer’s statement that Ryan Coogler had only directed one white guy (Andy Serkis) in the movie and not two.

4. THIS interview with Danai Gurira. I guess for a “racist” he didn’t do a very good job of raising his son to think like him. (gif source, video source)

5. In his own words “Two-tone and Catholicism were my twin religions” What is two-tone? “Two-tone or 2 tone is a genre of British popular music of the early 1980s that fused traditional Jamaican ska music with elements of punk rock and new wave music.” often represented by:

Its name derives from 2 Tone Records, a record label founded in 1979 by Jerry Dammers of The Specials, and references a desire to transcend and defuse racial tensions in Thatcher-era Britain; many two-tone groups, such as The Specials, The Selecter, and The Beat featured a mix of black, white, and multiracial people.

6. Says he spent his teenage years “finding fault with everybody and accusing every single person of constantly being a racist homophobe.” OH THE FUCKING IRONY.

7. THIS BLOG POST covers this topic and a bit more.

“So saying a word to point out that you don’t like to hear it and there was a time when people knew that it was an inappropriate word to call people; that’s not racist. If anything it’s the opposite of racist. What he’s saying is, “as a white man, I find this word to be inappropriate, and yet there it is.” He probably shouldn’t have called it “gangsta rap” and using the word was inappropriate, but that’s all it was. Inappropriate, not racist... This is primarily because it’s white people saying these things about him while ignoring actual PoC who are telling them that what he’s saying is not technically racist. It would be one thing if he were saying that word to someone, or was saying that that word was okay to say. He’s doing the opposite and saying that he finds it annoying that it’s there.”

so anyways moving on.

8. I guess Sir Ian Mckellen doesn’t know how to judge a person’s character since he considers Martin a friend. Or MF is such a great actor and pretender that he can fool him. Look at that little homophobic bastard SNUGGLING up to a gay man who’s been out since the fucking 80s.

9. On one of the Hobbit red carpets, Stephen Fry tickles his neck when passing, Martin just turns around to blow him a kiss. Thought a homophobe would have been more likely to throw a punch instead but what would I fucking know right?

10. Let’s all look at him being phobic with Mark Gay-tease(???)

11. Again another infamous MF quote. “We’re all are a bit (bi) aren’t we... Don’t give me labels.” Among whole other bunch of “Proof that Martin is Bi” posts which I honestly can’t even be bothered to search and link.

12. Has NEVER ONCE cringed or criticized or complained despite being shown very graphic and very gay fanart on talk shows NUMEROUS times. Has also been sent/given physical copies of fanart, has admitted to looking it up himself online, and has also shown said fanart to Benadryl Cumberpants. HE LITERALLY DOES NOT MIND THE GAY.

I’m sure some geniuses might bitch about these not proving anything. Yeah sure, fine, don’t believe me, what the fuck do I know JUST I’m a biased fan anyway. It’s still a fuck load more evidence than people bother to bring up while they’re slandering him.

[winxlava]

Where Fate: the Winx saga fails

As a winx fan of 14 years (in and out), this fate thing is really scandolous. I’ve seen lots of ups and downs the winx fandom. As I’ve watched all of the development that fate had, I've had some thoughts, but I’ve waited until I watched everything.

This is going to be a reaction to all 6 episodes of Fate the Winx saga. This is coming from a fan of the og show so expect lots of comparisons.

If this bothers you, please don't keep reading. A lot of this is only my opinion. If you like it and think its great, that’s good! I’m not here to ruin it.

There is a list of what I liked most near the bottom of this post. Spoilers Ahead!!

Anyway, back to the post.

What made the Winx work

Lets start with the basic idea of Winx. Bloom, a normal girl, finds out that she has magic powers and is from another dimension. Seems like a simple concept? Well, Seasons 1-3 (and 4?) expanded this idea to the max.

Likeable characters galore and lots of fun, fashion, and magic.

For a lot of us that’s what sold the show. 

So lets talk about tone and why its so important 

The idea that teenage girls were exploring a world we could never see or experience. And the darkness that came with it.

Remember when Daphne, bloom’s dead sister, clung to life to help bloom figure her life out? When bloom became evil and nearly killed all of her friends? When Flora drowned to save her sister, only to get enchantix? (Actually all of enchantix was like this). When Musa gave up seeing her dead mom to save the world? When nabu died?

The show was full of these small, intense, dark moments. That’s what made winx special. The light came with dark.

By making the show dark and “eDgy” it takes away the impact of the dark moments. I’ve been saying this since the beginning. 

Point of view and how Stella is affected 

Stella was very misunderstood in the remake and it shows. The thing is, Stella was the first entry point into the magical world in the original show. She carried Bloom and her parents to Alfea. She was the transfer point to a whole world for the audience.

Her spunk and optimism and snark made her a fan favorite, but that’s not what made her character work.

She was Bloom’s first friend, and because of the that, we saw her in a good lens. She was reckless, but a pure heart nonetheless. She was confident, cunning, and powerful. 

It was because we saw the good in her first that made us like her. She was good before she was bad in our eyes.

The remake takes all of that away. She’s just a generic mean rich girl now. To be honest, Stella is accurate, but the way she was introduced put her in a whole new light. In this version, she is annoying and trifling, seemingly taking the place of Diaspro in her liking for sky.

Also she hates her mother? Stella would never! She loved both of her parents dearly and was mad simply because she felt they never loved her as a result of their divorce; they never talked to each other and she felt split between the two of them. (See Stella’s nightmares sequence season 1 :https://youtu.be/wuvyw0OHA6A?t=129). She was lonely and her father, though he loved her, spoiled her with gifts instead of the love she desired. 

You see this side of her when Chimera comes in and tries to take her place in season 3. Her worth is tied to what she has and looks like. Her title as a princess rules her.

Not only that, Stella learns about “commoners” through her friends. She was spoiled and never saw people who couldn’t afford things; it was new and she was a bit rude about it, but can you blame her, she was always put above everything else in her home country.

https://www.youtube.com/post/UgzCfOQ696rvwa51Z_J4AaABCQ?lc=UgzCDSxfcNaP9XogBSB4AaABAg

https://www.youtube.com/post/UgzCfOQ696rvwa51Z_J4AaABCQ?lc=Ugxl_sOsUSGBXEwagxJ4AaABAg

^^ These are comments of people saying similar things.

Stella also vents to Sky a lot in the remake. She seems like she is chasing him pitifully, something og Stella would never do.

Edit: Check the “liked” section; she has been upgraded to sort of like in episodes 5 and 6.

Aisha

They did Aisha dirty as well. (Just like Bonnie from Vampire Diaries, why am I surprised?) I would write a lot here, but someone else summarized it well:

https://rainbow-whitewashing-jar.tumblr.com/post/639787632624369664/its-just-there-is-so-much-background-on-aisha.

https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugx4WL5rIPTS1suGOed4AaABCQ

Tldr: Aisha was a very lonely princess of Andros. She only had one friend growing up but then they moved away and she was lonely all over again. She copes with her princess duties by being great at sports and even beating some of the men! She stood up to her parents when they wanted her to be arranged married, until she fell in love with Nabu HERSELF. She decided her own future from that point on.

Also, her relevance to the plot has been dwindled to being Bloom's right hand man; the black best friend sterotype! What a let down for one of the PRINCESSES of the original!

She had her own goals, drive, and motivations in the original! She did things for all of her friends; she definitely wasn't only driven by one person!

And she was closer to Musa than Bloom that's for sure!

Bloom

The fact that bloom transforms before everyone else gives bad vibes, considering that one of the reasons she was insecure about magic was because everyone of her friends was better than her and could transform. Why would she feel insecure when they are all around the same level?

The theme of sisterhood

Ever notice that none of the girls had the same taste in guys?

Bloom liked goody guys like Sky and Andy. Stella liked guys who were fun and flirty like Brandon.

In fact, none of the girls ever fought over a guy, they fought over things that actually mattered like someone being rude or a mission gone wrong.

That's what made them relatable. They weren't petty about guys and they mostly respected each other's relationships.

https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugz6TEOmGRV2Cfqy12F4AaABCQ?lc=UgwhLsToVbhLDYpFphB4AaABAg

^^ Look at highlighted comment

Not only that, but the winx represented a positive sisterhood. They stood by each other and respected each other; they never let men come between them and shared their power with each other.

Only the trix, the bad sisterhood, fought over men and power. The trix were foils to the winx and what they stood for! That's what made them some of the best villains in the series!

Instead of that, we get useless relationship drama! 😒

And that brings me to...

Stella/Sky/Bloom & Riven/Dane/Terra

What was the point of Dane? I'm still asking myself that question. He doesn't really do anything except act as relationship fuel for a love triangle.

Don't get me wrong, the representation is needed. But he adds nothing to the real plot at all except that Terra thinks he likes her, and he has a crush on Riven.

In terms of the Stella and Bloom love triangle with Sky, apparently she BLINDED someone because they flirted with sky. What?!? Stella isn't that cruel at all. The show clearly flanderized her to a cruel mean girl so....

Edit: Check the “liked” section; she has been upgraded to sort of like in episodes 5 and 6.

Lets not forget about “diversity”

Male fairies did exist before Fate:

https://www.youtube.com/post/UgziTWMf44kv0fkDt8x4AaABCQ

https://www.youtube.com/post/UgxWAFZRmqt_k3iBMhZ4AaABCQ

Flora/Terra, Musa, and Whitewashing

Terra and Musa are wonderful! Their actress' do a great job; their personalities are so similar to the original (except for musa's mind abilities and Terra's talkative personality)! Whenever one of them interacts with the other main cast, you feel actual friendship chemistry between them!!

But there is an elephant in the room: the whitewashing. If these characters were the correct race, they wouldn't be in this critical review.

Terra isn't flora, but her character was clearly based on her! Also, she has a cousin named Flora, so Flora is clearly in this universe.

??

Why change her race and swap her out! The personalities are spot on, which makes it even more disheartening to know that they would rather replace two POC characters with white characters who essentially are the same people and have the same plot importance.

What a shame and low blow that is! Especially since I am a black woman myself!

Sky and Riven

Them being bros make no sense really. Before they were more like enemies who were forced to work together.

Why are they friends?? What's the backstory?

Other than that, sky is pretty spot on. He's the pretty boy with good intentions. Not interesting but not very boring either.

Riven is cringy like I feared. He was also sort of cringe in the og but because of the darker setting in the remake he just feels even more so.

Other Criticisms:

- we gets some pretty cringy dialogue (mostly from riven). Some of the clingy dialogue (not from riven) ironically could have worked in a lighter setting and become "campy".

- The fact that there are no wings for 5 whole episodes, just makes the entire thing feel like Witches or something...

- why does everyone have the dead parent trope??

- no tecna

Things I do like:

- bloom missing her parents and feeling left out

- Musa and Sam before Musa and Riven (hopefully)

- Terra in general

- Terra’s dad and brother

- Musa in general

- Stella funny quips

- the scenery is gorgeous

- Stella's clothes are so fashionable! She has great outfits!

- Sky and Bloom taking during the party and/or being friendly with each other

- the magic cgi looks good 👍

- the rooms of the girls dorms and the castle looks great on the inside

- Aisha's personality

- Farrah Dowling is good as well

- Bloom is pretty spot on

- Stella's mom's powers are awesome

- imagine the genocide plot but with the happy fun show vibe and with the trix. The trix want to get revenge on faragonda for killing their cult, who wanted to revive the ancestral witches or something💥💥💥

- Stella in episodes 5 and 6 is cool

- the inclusion of the witches of aster dell (Beatrix said she was born there = witch)

- the inclusion of musa’s mother’s death

-Her transformation was lackluster to me, but I appreciated the effort to include it.

Conclusion

The pacing was all over the place to me; it felt like some episodes lasted forever and all of them seemed to have the vague theme of : be careful who you trust.

By trying to separate the winx from the og and have them have "their own lives" (which they already had), they ruined the intriguing backstories the characters already had in the og. Some were somewhat kept, but others were kind of left in the dust *cough*Aisha*cough*.

They took away with made them special: the teamwork, love, and friendship that brought them together and made them stronger. *They try it in episodes 5 and 6, but to me it just falls sort of flat.*

That said it isn't completely bad, it's mediocre at best, but it isn't Winx and that's that.

Edit: I know that it’s not supposed to be winx per say, but it has characters from the og and even the “winx” name in the title!

Credits: WCD channel on youtube, rainbow whitewashing jar on tumblr, and Youtube videos by the official winx club youtube channel.

[princess-of-the-corner]

What do you think of the Netflix reboot of the Winxs?

It’s bad Jim. 

Seriously I’m gonna ramble a little bit on both the trailer and yes I did read the preview of the tie-in novel. 

Okay, first. Let’s discuss the obvious: the casting and whitewashing.

Winx had 3/6 of the Main Characters be poc. And while the series does have it’s problems with that, this is a new level of clownery. Especially Flora. They just replace her with a white lady and call her ‘Terra’ as if it’s not.... I don’t even know what they’re thinking with that. 

I am white af though, so I’ll leave the discussion on that to actual poc and just say I agree.

Now to the characters they deleted or changed completely:

They got rid of Tecna which fucking sucks. Probably because they’re making this bootleg Hogwarts and Tecna’s thing of Technology Magic doesn’t fit with the old fantasy ‘we still use quills and ink on parchment’ vibe they’re going with. 

Speaking of bootleg Hogwarts, even Faragonda wasn’t spared as she got a name change and is more.... sketchy Dumbledore. 

Icy, Stormy and Darcy are being replaced with a single girl called ‘Beatrix’. Who wants to make bets on everyone nicknaming her ‘Trix’? Anyone? 

Sky and Riven are the only Specialist that made it, but there will probably be other Specialists that are just. Renamed versions of the other ones. Sky probably going to be just romance drama but Riven.... what did they do to my boy??? Some edgy white boy with a knife. They hammer in the fact that he does drugs too. Like it’s his first pov scene and he’s like ‘yeah I spent summer vacation getting high and I’m gonna skip class to go in the woods and get high again’. 

And as for the main five Winx that made it? Oh boy. Oh boy oh boy oh boy. 

Idk what to say about Terra because she’s trying to be Flora but really isn’t. Musa is kind of a bitch. Stella is also a bitch in that ‘popular prep’ way. Bloom is the epitome of ‘I’m not like other girls! I don’t want to be popular and preppy!’. 

Aisha seems to be the only one who’s decent so far, but I don’t have much faith. 

Now to some other notes!

No wings???? Really???? The show is called Winx! They’re Faeries!!! Why would you get rid of the wings????

God the fashion. Even if you’re making it dark and edgy can you please look good? And let the girls keep their color schemes! Bloom should be blue, not red. Red is Musa’s color. Purple is Tecna’s but she’s not here. Aisha got the green and Flora was pink. 

Bloom discovering her powers in the reboot is.... getting in a fight with her mom and burning the house down and now she’s all guilty. It also seems like the twist is going to be that she’s one of the evil ‘burned ones’ that did some scary shit and disappeared years ago but ‘I guess she’s good but we’re gonna be scared of her and others will discriminate’. 

But you want to know what pisses me off most about the ‘Edgy, Dark and Griity Reboot’?

They didn’t have to change so much because Winx is dark af anyway. 

Let’s look at Bloom’s original backstory from the series! The planet of Domino was attacked, all it’s people trapped in a void dimension except for Bloom, who was a baby sent to Earth, and Daphne, who was cursed to be some kind of Spirit. The planed itself is now a frozen wasteland. 

You want to make it darker? Focus on it more! Focus on how an entire planet was wiped out less than 20 years ago. How there are a handful of survivors who mourn those they lost. How Daphne is traumatized as FUCK for being a cursed Spirit for years! Bloom feeling guilty despite having been a literal baby and couldn’t have done anything! If you really want to darken it up, don’t trap everyone in a void dimension, just kill them(which to be fair I did in my reboot but you know).

And that’s just Bloom’s backstory! That doesn’t even touch what actually happens throughout the series! 

Basically if you want to reboot Winx Club, don’t make it ‘dark and gritty’. Just make it more mature and have them explore the darker themes that already exist.