#just putting those tags because im not about to bait hp fans onto my post (bc i hate them)

[dyketubbo]

i've been thinking about the subject of characters with identities or traits that would inherently diversify a work but are also in a sort of constant state of both being canon and non-canon. whether because the author confirmed it only after the source ended, or because its only word of god even if the series was/is still going at the time of the staff member saying so, or because its only shown in some versions of the media, or because its just coding and isnt explicitly said, or because its something the author is alright with it being depicted or not depicted. and theres a big discussion about whether these traits are important to celebrate, to portray even if they dont align with headcanons or even if they dont fit with the story itself.

or even if these traits are "hard to draw". hard to write in. hard to accomodate for. hard to change for. hard to envision. hard to see as Canon.

it ranges from transfem june egbert (doesnt align with many peoples headcanons, was confirmed only after proper homestucks end and has not been shown in extended media despite the og story having strong hints), to wheelchair user c!goodtimeswithscar (author is alright with it being depicted but also alright with it not being depicted, wheelchairs are considered to be hard to draw and hard to adapt to a world like minecraft).

fat terezi (depicted only in pesterquest, fat bodies are considered to be hard to draw and to adapt to certain art styles) to, for the sake of putting an objectively kind of shitty rep here, gay dumbledore (confirmed after the series ended. also jkr is a piece of shit whose writing shouldnt be supported in any form anyways, but this is here to show a low of this behavior).

even in adaptations like with annabeth chase being played by a black actor, even if shes not necesssarily described as black in the original media.

you could argue on and on about whether its more proper or respectful to just go by the original media only. or if its actively disrespectful to just go in favor with whats easier. whats more common. whats more "relatable". to keep making transmasc egbert because june is just a fictional character and transmasc people have been relating to her for ages so why should they have to change? to keep depicting c!scar as either a different form of disabled such as a cane user or using back braces because wheelchairs are hard to draw and its hard to think about adapting minecraft to wheelchair users and besides, the cc doesnt care and its a way to keep that separation so why change the design to be more like him? annabeth wasnt meant to be black, so why bother changing the minds vision of her, its not like shes really canonically black, why not keep depicting her white anyways?

and i guess every time ive been faced with this sort of problem ive always gravitated to just.. depicting those characters like that anyways when i can. make june transfem because fuck it, its interesting and transfem fans relate to her and have been keeping up this headcanon for ages, and its just a nice thing to do. depict terezi as fat anyways because if your style cant handle fat people then thats something you should work on, diversity shouldnt be left out of a style.

depict scar with a wheelchair and oxygen tubes anyways because disability cant just be traded out for whats easier to accomodate for and thinking about disability accomodations is good worldbuilding! wheelchair users deserve to be seen in fantasy too. make annabeth black because little black girls deserve to see themselves in a character that theyd love and admire and want to be like.

people will go on and on about projecting onto the characters they like and making all the headcanons they want, but as soon as one is made canon (in a way that isnt actively disrespectful or genuinely disingenuous to the story) or even just soft canon, people pussyfoot around and stutter and mumble and make multiple reasons about why they just Cant. or, they even just ignore it. dont think about it at all.

but iunno, i think in the case of "would doing this, and thus adding more diversity to my work, make other people happy in the same way im made happy when i see people like me in media?" with the answer being yes then.. just do it. and of course, always be careful that youre not just adding diversity for brownie points, that on some level youre thinking about how you come off and whether youre being respectful or not. but in the end i think making others happy is always a good reason to do something with your creative work