#me as an asian i don't want to see us just being background characters

[nerozane]

i didn't know isobel's VA was asian! what's weird is that it isn't like the game is afraid to show off representation of non eurocentric features. p sure even karlach is meant to have asian features 🤔

Yeah Isobel's VA is Mia Foo! According to her IMDb, she's only done short films and one episode television appearances until Baldurs Gate 3!

Also sadly, I disagree with Larian not being afraid of showing off representation. They are great with queer rep! But for stuff like character creator in baldurs gate 3, it's very limiting, esp for shorter races and masculine body types (male gnomes, dwarves, tieflings and half-orc do not have Asian or Black facial options). Even with the asian faces on offer for the other races, they are distinctly east asian faces, when asia is diverse! (sadly a lot of people forget south east asians, indians/south asians, turkish asians up north.)

With Karlach, I have mixed feelings about her Asian features. Initially, I didn't notice Karlachs Asian features until I saw the no makeup mod for her and I'm like "bby they were hiding her monolids!!!!?! 🥺" And even then, Karlach in early access and in concept art (as appeared in the head concepts part) she had black features which while I love release Karlachs looks and I'm glad for her to be Asian. But at the same time, they took away black rep, especially with the EA placeholder and concept art, which sucks (esp since karlach's VA is black herself). However, this is a very simplified set of feelings to a complex issue. It's actually been discussed by Alissa Stockwell who is black about the changes with EA/concept art karlach to full release Karlach.

Still, at the end of the day, there's still an issue of lack of bipoc in baldur's gate 3, either as character creator options, to prominent npcs and companions. The only prominent players/characters in the game who aren't white are Karlach, Wyll, Duke Ulder Ravengard and Cazador (ew no). And your tav/durge, if you make them a person of colour. There are tons of minor npcs who are people of colour as questgivers, people who live across faerun but idk, with the host of tons of white people in the cast and played a huge part of the story, you'll think they would be able to add more prominent bipoc to the story.

And it's not like in the early 90s of racism and lack of representation, it's 2023... :/

[peridot-tears]

Hey MDZS fandom. I want you guys to be careful interacting with this person.

If you don't already know, Chinese people have had a long history with cultural erasure when it comes to taking on English-language names. It started with imperialism, and continues as a way to "assimilate" and avoid mockery of our language in western countries.

For Chinese diaspora like myself, it's another form of racism we face, to the point where some of us are reclaiming our names in everyday life. Here's an article about this movement happening across Asian diasporas in the United States -- just to name one instance out of many.

The responses to this post reflect that:

You can see that my comment assumed "good faith." However, OP deleted these comments and blocked me. (That didn't stop other people from calling it out as well, though I have to assume that if OP was so offended by my comment, the next few people will receive the same treatment.)

I honestly didn't like whipping up the diaspora statement -- that I wrote with multiple Chinese diaspora fans of MDZS, all of us hailing from multiple different countries and backgrounds, our ancestry coming from completely different regions of China -- because it meant that we were encountering another microaggression.

If you ever wonder why MDZS and danmei fandoms in general seem to be so bereft of Chinese diaspora voices, that's absolutely because of these microaggressions: Someone makes a joke, writes a story, writes some meta, that is culturally ignorant at best, offensive and harmful at worst, and when we gently correct them, explaining why it's racist, the person in question shuts us down, dismisses us, gets defensive, or worse.

Regardless of where you are -- fandom, social media, on the street, at work, at school -- as long as you are interacting with other people, your words matter and affect other people. That includes being racially offensive, even if you didn't intend to be. It's how you respond to the people you've insulted that reveals your character, how willing you are to be complicit in their mistreatment.

My rule of thumb has always been this -- if multiple people, including those of the culture you've just made a microaggressive joke about, find it unfunny, racist, or harmful, then you listen. Dismiss or ignore them, then yes -- you absolutely are racist.

[befuddledcinnamonroll]

Top 10 Things I Love About the QL Tumblr Community 2023

I'm loving everyone's end of year lists, and decided to make up one of my own.

I haven't been on Tumblr for very long and was originally just lurking. 2023 marks the year where I finally started posting, after I read a take that made me feel compelled to come to a fictional character's defense. (Saengtai, my poor little blorbo).

So in commemoration of my first proper year of active tumblring, I present what I love about this community (in no particular order).

(Side note - Technically I know this is still primarily a BL community, but I like to say QL because I am trying to manifest more lesbians for us.)

1) The Gifmakers

Y'all are a good 70% of the reason I joined Tumblr in the first place. There are so many show moments that I want to relive, but without having to search through videos. Sometimes I want to appreciate the aesthetics. Sometimes I want to remember adorable or goofy moments. Sometimes I just want to see cute boys eating each other's faces. Our gifmakers give all of that to us, with the addition of so much creativity and style.

There's too many amazing ones to mention everyone, but I have to shout out @sparklyeyedhimbo, because the way your brain works makes me so happy.

2) The expertise

The other part of why I joined Tumblr was to learn more about what BLs were out there and what I might be missing. And holy hell. Y'all are putting in the work. Not only lists and resources for finding all kinds of QLs, like these fabulous monthly breakdowns by @gunsatthaphan, but also amazing posts that add additional context, like @absolutebl's incredibly helpful breakdown of Asian honorifics. There is so much research people do, for fun! And then they share it!

3) The meta analysis

I frickin love reading people's takes and analyses on series. I love learning, I love seeing perspectives from people with different cultural backgrounds to my own, it's all so fascinating! There's so much context we can miss due to our own privileges, or lack of knowing about various cultures, or due to whatever bubbles we've been living in. People here are just so smart, and nuanced, and willing to reflect and think about things, and also push back at each other, but generally with respect (except when you call out the dumb shit you see, usually on Twitter or TikTok, where people are being reductive and dumb about gender and sexuality).

And I've seen a few takes where people complain about analyses, and say that the director/production doesn't do everything deliberately, and we're all reading too much into it. To which I say, eh, lighten up. How people connect to and relate to media has relevance beyond what was intended. The point is we get to think and discuss and learn and grow. That doesn't happen if we don't analyze.

Special shout out here to @respectthepetty because colors mean things!

4) The wild theories

The other side of the analysis coin, the clown cars y'all drive around in with the wildest of theories. I have happily climbed into an occasional clown car, and usually I am utterly wrong (*cough* Saifah *cough*). But it's a super fun ride. I love seeing how people's brains work. I love it when y'all are wrong. I love it when y'all are right. It's beautiful.

5) Immediate acceptance

I am one of those people who knows that I have a lot of good qualities, and also, always kind of expect rejection. Blame the childhood bullies, I guess. Anyway, whenever I delve into a new space, I still feel like a total dork that no one will want to talk to. It's kind of a fraught way to move through the world, but I manage.

Anyway, I started posting my thoughts as they came up, and people are just totally cool with it. People even follow me sometimes. Even my silliest thoughts and dumbest jokes get at least a couple likes. It's so validating.

And my very silly joke about gay mafia in Kiseki has over 800 likes. I feel very seen.

6) Mutuals

I still kind of can't believe I have any. This ties in to the dork feeling above, but seriously - they are soooo cooooool. They're smart and awesome and funny, and they somehow find me worth following back, which is baffling yet wonderful. I want to squish their faces and give them many kisses (if they're into that kind of thing).

7) The self-exploration

I really appreciate how it's become more talked about how a lot of people are discovering queerness through BL, because that is so the case for me. I think it's both that I was in a bit of a hetero bubble before, and also that I'm evolving a bit as I age. I had figured out I was demi, and maybe a little bit gay, before getting in to BL, but being in this community, and seeing so many of you share so openly and freely, has made me realize it might be more than a little bit.

Either it was a new realization, or being around y'all has made me more gay. Win win, either way.

8) The weirdness

I'm weird. Y'all are weird. I love it.

9) The thirst

So many in this community are thirsty as fuck, and as someone who is in that same condition, I love that it's not just me. There are not many places where I can freely admit how horny I am as a part of my general existence.

Here? I could post about wanting to lick some random BL actor's face, and it would get a bunch of likes and some tags like #lickable, and it's just not remotely a big deal.

Also the gifmakers understand this, and give us beautiful cuts of our spicy scenes. They are genuinely too good for us.

10) The communal watching experience

There is absolutely nothing like watching along with people in the community. It is so worth the torture of having to wait week to week for new episodes. Seeing the show trend, watching the theories fly fast and furious, or the way everyone collectively loses their minds over particular moments. In a world that can feel very isolating, it's a very warm experience.

So there you go. Thank you all for being you. Here's to another year of QL shenanigans and losing our collective minds!

[i-yap]

omg you are also south indian!!!! i find it really hard to find south indians on here, could you do the batboys reacting to reader wearing traditionally indian clothing for a wedding they are attending???

Im north Indian with a little spanish in me shifting to NY actually but yea the indian dc fanfic community is smaller. I love the idea of a traditional indian s/o with Jason particularly. Dick with someone spanish , tim with an African American, Damian with caucasion and bruce with someone asian. Idk why Thats just How I imagine it. Its in no way a canon to their character or a generalization of people from a culture but the cultures ,and norms and values of these cultures really suit the batboys. Hope this isn't offensive. So Im just going to do batboys x reader in a family event .

Batboys(tim, dick, jason , bruce)x y/n - At a family event

Dick Grayson

is also dressed in your cultural's traditional clothes. Dick has traveled all over the world and he likes seeing you in your traditional clothes. Being comfortable in your traditional wear, being in "your element" . He charms up all your family members, no-one even calls him the white boyfriend anymore . The women also hit on him( of all age groups srsly) He is part of the family by the end( or within 5 mins) of the night . Dont be surprised when you find him and your family laughing about what jokes your parents are going to make at your wedding. He isn't even nervous before going. He is a real charmer and you couldn't be prouder.

Jason todd

doesnt want to go. Really thinks your family wont like him and they probably wont the first time they meet him. Will still wear his leather jacket but at least he wore a white shirt and clean jeans? He even agreed to take the car rather then the bike. Will stop complaining the moment he sees you in your element. Like goddess pro max what even , so ethereal ,the world is shaking . Staring dialed up to 100/10 . plus his complaining was never serious to start with. He wants you to have a family, be connected to your background,. Its just one of the things that make you you and he wont change a single hair on you. Will probably get insecure ( I get set up or marriage proposal talks when I go to family functions - just indian girl things I hate it tbh. And I've noticed its a thing in a lot of cultures) because he'll think that you deserve that traditional life with people who 'get you" but no one will ever get you the way he does and you just need to remind him of that. He is a bit broody , tall and just kind of sticks by you . The men and boys of the group are probably fascinated by him so as the night goes he starts getting more comfortable around them. The kids lowkey like him a lot so its cute and you may get baby fever. And the older women of the group are poking at him( why the jacket? whats with that scar) and you'll have to rescue him. He'll do it all over for you though.

Tim drake-

time to put on that practiced facade. He is used to putting on a fake winning smile at those galas so imagine his surprise when his old tricks don't work at your family function. Personal space? privacy?? fake formalities?? don't exist. Bonus points if it isn't a fake rich family. But he gets to see you In a pretty clothes and he is simping, teasing you on how you look like a real girl now(but he lowkey prefers you in the geeky shirts you guys share) . he did research so like ask him the They are still very impressed by your respectful young man ( who is super rich and smart). He gets by tbh, a bit shy because he is just so not used to all this. But keep him near you, show him how to dance properly and get a few drinks in him and its a party. He loves it, your family loves him and your cousins are now his besties (don't ask when that happened). He loves having a family and it just leaves him with wonder. He is in awe of this and so grateful that you let him into your life.

Bruce wayne

does a lot of research . He knows exactly how to act, what to say and what to do. A bit cold and aloof . Still surprised by the whole chaos . But unlike tim he keeps his cool. your family is impressed by you "bagging" the rich billionaire boyfriend. If this is batman with robins ver then they are worried about the huge amount of kids he adopted and what that means for you. So uh..just mention the billion again? They ask really personal questions but bruce prepared and is so ready for it. He loves seeing you in your traditional clothes, probably encourages you to wear them casually too. As if anyone can stop you, go to galas in traditional clothes or just wear home traditional in the mansion. Over all he loves getting a peak into your life and what experiences shaped you to be the woman he loves so dearly now.

If there's anything offensive about this let me know and I will change the content or even delete the whole thing. Ive based it a little of the four different cultured families I have and the common stuff I've noticed in all of them. But I've tried keeping it as general as possible tbh. So I'm sorry if this is offending anyone.

[nalyra-dreaming]

I'm a black fan and I tend to get a little annoyed when another black or poc fan makes assumptions on how I feel by making generalizations and saying things like "the reason black/poc fans..." I for one am actually excited to see the books play out and I don't want them to significantly deviate from the canon relationships because then it isn't color conscious casting, a facet to IWTV that has made it a standout against other media, but right back to color blind casting that we have seen in other movies and shows that to me, is lazy storytelling. I want the complexity that comes with being an interracial couple in the 1900's. I want the struggles of how one partner doesn't understand the other because they can sympathize but can't relate to the other's challenges. I want to see multifaceted black and ethnic characters make morally ambiguous decisions. It makes the reward of choosing each other despite the hardships that much sweeter for both Loustat and DM relationships. I don't want some lazy "they have to be a happy couple and the heroes of the story because they are nonwhite characters". What would we watch if we changed the dynamics of these characters because of their race? What would be their motivations to do the things they did? How would the story progress? Do we really want a story where Armand and Louis are just sitting in Dubai discussing their day over a couple of cups of blood tea because they are now a generic, non-problematic, happy, beautiful melanin homosexual couple without a care or struggle in the world just to appease some? How painfully dull and boring would that be? We would have no show.

I get it. Cinema has not always treated black and ethnic characters with care, but we have to think about what we are asking for here. They are giving us a show were we have fully fleshed out, enriched characters of different backgrounds (black, white, south asian, biracial, etc) and the writers actually made the effort and did the leg work to actually make it make sense. Several are represented and it fits into the story without coming off like a ploy. It's a beautiful thing.

Nothing for me to add here. Thank you.

[hobiebrownismygod]

Let's talk about Desi representation again!!

I don't talk about this stuff often but when I do, I have some strong ass opinions

and yes I'm gonna be talking about none other than Pavitr Prabhakar at the end cuz he's just special to me <3

Hollywood is lagging behind on Desi representation

You'd think one of the biggest film industries in the world would be able to represent us properly, considering the fact that we make up the largest group of South-Asian Americans and the second largest group of Asian-Americans in the US, but instead-

Western Television forces Indians to conform to harmful stereotypes

Some of the most popular Desi characters on screen are Raj Koothrappali from the Big Bang Theory, Devi Vishwakumar from Never Have I Ever and Kelly Kapoor from the Office.

Indian men are almost always portrayed as robotics engineers and computer whizzes, but with terrible social intellect, making them seem like awkward nerds.

Indian women are almost always portrayed as "whitewashed", or wanting to appear more western, with zero understanding of their own culture or language along with an unrelenting need for attention from white friends/colleagues.

These are both based on stereotypes that Indian culture is "toxic" and "too traditional" and that Indians are only interested in studies.

Most Desi characters in western media have stories that are solely based around their ethnicity and/or racial stereotypes.

British television actually showcases a lot more representation than Hollywood does

I was watching Polite Society, a movie starring two Pakistani characters as the main leads, and there was a dance scene where both the leads are wearing traditional desi attire. My mom turned over, looked at me, and asked, "Is this Hollywood? It can't be."

And she was right. It's a British movie with British-Pakistani actors.

The reason she didn't believe that it could've been Hollywood was because the dresses the two leads were wearing were traditional and beautiful and the song playing in the background was authentic Hindi music, not some random westernized DJ version of it.

A Hollywood movie would've never dressed up their Desi actors in actually flattering attire (*cough cough the Patel twins from Harry Potter) or have used real, popular Desi music in the background.

You see my point?

It is so uncommon to see well-thought-out Desi representation in TV nowadays, where to see real diversity we have to watch movies made by the same country that colonized us.

Ironic.

British movies/shows with desi leads have far better South Asian representation than anything I've seen in Hollywood recently.

The Hollywood movies starring Indian leads, like Slumdog Millionaire or Bend it like Beckham were filmed in the UK, and because they were filmed in the UK, they had fantastic South Asian representation.

Not only does Hollywood refuse to create shows and movies about real problems that South Asians face, but they also don't cast South Asian actors in good roles.

When's the last time you saw a South Asian actor playing a character that wasn't a walking stereotype? When's the last time you saw a South Asian actor playing a character that was a genuine part of the story rather than just comedic relief or a random smart kid in the classroom?

Not often, right?

Me, personally, I didn't grow up with a lot of South Asian characters or actors in shows/movies that I watched. In fact, every time someone even close to my skin color showed up on TV, I was on the edge of my seat because it was just so rare to see it.

This is why representation matters.

You've heard about all the young girls with braids being so excited when the new little mermaid with Halle Bailey came out. Well, us desi kids wanted that too.

I wanted to see a Telugu speaking girl with wavy hair and dark skin who would wear traditional clothing to Desi get-togethers and parties, go to the temple with her family, eat vegetarian Indian meals, etc...

I wanted to see a character who was a representation of me and my experiences as an Indian-American. I wanted to see a character that was at least a representation of Indians or just South Asians in general.

Instead, we were given characters that ridiculed their own culture, were extreme stereotypes and furthered the existence of casual racism in western society today. So many Desi kids experience small acts of racism on a daily basis because people have been so desensitized to the existence of these stereotypes.

Telling South Asians that their culture is a joke and feeding non-asian children media which pokes fun at other cultures is harmful, not only to us South Asians but also communities that could end up being targeted next.

Pavitr Prabhakar; Representation Matters

If you've been following me or if we're mutuals, you probably know I have a tiny obsession with Pavitr Prabhakar. But why?

Because of all the reasons I just listed.

There are few South Asian characters us Desis can look up to these days, and Pavitr Prabhakar is one of the maybe two or three characters who have great writing, magnificent representation, and overall a fun vibe.

He's likable, funny, smart and best of all, unapologetically Desi.

He's just like all the other side characters, with a little bit of his own culture mixed in. He's not being shoved down our throats to further an agenda about fake diversity, he's not a walking stereotype and best of all, he was designed by Indian creators.

He's refreshing and exciting to follow in a world full of a demand for half-hearted representations and the people who created him were obviously putting their hearts and souls into it.

He's awoken a love for Indian culture amongst, not only Desi children themselves but also among westerners who, prior to this, had thought of India as a "3rd world" country, because that's the agenda that Hollywood pushes onto many South Asian countries today.

WE LOVE PAVITR PRABHAKAR!!

This was kinda all over the place but I just had to get this off my chest <3

Sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/06/10/discrimination-against-indian-americans-happens-more-than-you-might-think/

[peonycats]

So I was recently informed that my latest post caused someone to accuse me of posting Chinese imperialism apologia, specifically for my tag comment that says: "If you accuse me of being hypocritical because I'm so anal about tying the nations to their states when it comes to the West but shy away when it comes to China, 1) you clearly don't know how Sinophobia works and 2) I ain't no coward."

Now, it may perplex you how people can accuse me of being a CCP apologist for a post where I called China a slut and specifically noted China's poor treatment of Uyghurs, but unfortunately, it's not the first time I've received accusations of being pro-CCP despite no supporting evidence.

I know I don't talk a lot about my personal life or internal goings-on on this blog, but I want to say this- I'm not completely unaffected by these frequent accusations. It hurts to see me being reduced to my Chineseness. My Chineseness being weaponized to discredit me as a wumao feels incredibly dehumanizing, and it hurts even more to see people believe those accusations. 

To give you my background, I was raised in a fairly nationalist household; my grandfather was born as an illiterate peasant and consequently came to hold very pro-Mao beliefs. From an early age, I often came to verbal blows with my parents (and my extended family) over these beliefs and argued frequently with them over Taiwan, Tibet's annexation, and China's policies towards minorities. I remember representing Kazakhstan for Model United Nations and was assigned to write a paper on the Kazakh reaction towards China’s unlawful detention of Uyghurs. Just mentioning this simple fact to my parents sparked a heated “debate” where they accused me of being brainwashed by Western propaganda, and that I was incapable of understanding China’s actions because I was born in the US.

I haven’t brought up any of this because I’m a private person by nature, and I felt that my posts should speak for themselves about my political beliefs. And yet, I find myself in the position of where I need to bring this up in order to defend myself from accusations of supporting Chinese imperialism, for disagreeing with another person, or calling something sinophobic/promoting sinophobia.

Sinophobia overlaps with other forms of racism, especially anti-Asian racism when other Asians are mistaken to be Chinese. However, we have to recognize that the specificity of China itself in "mistaken to be Chinese" is also what distinguishes Sinophobia from the more general anti-Asian racism. It indicates a designation of China as a prominent actor on the world stage, and most importantly- an inherently antagonistic one. The symbolism of China being inherently antagonistic is what justifies the conflation of Chinese people with the Chinese state; if China is by nature antagonistic then Chinese people must subsequently be extensions of the Chinese government, and every action they do must be politicized.

What are the implications when the fandom gives the okay to depictions of America hanging out with countries that the actual USA has fraught history with, but as soon as China does the same, questions and concerns arise about “making light” of China’s irl actions? That China can’t be disassociated with his state the same way other imperialist powers are in the fandom?

Bear in mind, I am saying this as someone who personally interprets all the nations as inherently political entities. China is no exception to this- my most recent post was parodying an Onion article about Biden and Xi, where Alfred and Yao literally take on the roles of their heads of state. I am the last person who shies away from politicizing all the nations. 

Rather, I am pointing out how China is being exceptionalized from wider fandom trends of depoliticizing the characters; I find this pattern troubling, as over-politicizing a Western nation (like America) does not have the same implications as over-politicizing China. 

The latter reflects dangerous trends on how Chinese people, especially Chinese communities abroad, are perceived, how we’re expected to answer for and answer to the Chinese government and its actions, and how, at best, we’re dismissed as being simply brainwashed, and how at worst, we’re seen as enemies of the populace, threats to national integrity. When we are seen to be “acting out of line,” we are viewed as perpetual outsiders, agents of a foreign regime. The same judgment is not levied towards white Americans, even those who live in America, vote in America, and benefit from American imperialism. 

I witnessed the dramatic rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and Sinophobic rhetoric during the COVID-19 pandemic: I was living in Atlanta during the 2020 spa shootings and I didn’t leave my dorm room for a week afterward. I worried over my mother, who every week, went to shop at local Chinese grocery stores in the area. I heard people spread conspiracy theories about how the virus was engineered by the Chinese government and spread by Chinese in the West as part of some grand conspiracy to ensure Chinese global dominance. All of this, led me to become conscious (in a way I hadn’t been before) of how conflating Chinese people with the Chinese government was frequently employed by bigots to mask their violent prejudice under the guise of “being anti-CCP.”

As a result, being Chinese diaspora is an emotionally fraught experience. Not only are we under constant scrutiny by others, but Chinese Mainlander diaspora specifically like myself face rejection when we choose to go against our families’ beliefs. But despite that, despite me being born and raised in the United States and living with this sort of bigotry all my life, it still cuts me deeply to see someone so quickly accuse me of supporting Chinese imperialist actions, despite me never posting in favor of the CCP in the past, simply because I pointed out how sinophobia manifests. It cuts even deeper to see people, people I know, agree with that assessment, and how I have to go out and publicly reveal details of my personal life to try and exonerate myself. 

It really does hurt.

[catesartworks]

hi! i just wanted to say, i'm a huge fan of this isekai maid is forming a union, especially the way you handle real-world issues like classism and racism through the fantasy worldbuilding in the comic

i know it's been a while since it was the focus of the story, but i really loved the dynamic between anette/iseul and bridgette irt their different experiences as isekai-ers. especially because i feel like i can see a lot of my own experiences as a (specifically east) asian american with relative privilege and discrimination in that dynamic

i don't know my reading of that dynamic is something that was intentional or not, but it makes it especially satisfying to read parts of the story like iseul wanting to reconnect with/return to her home world (something which i feel like is often underrepresented in isekai stories like these, especially through the lens of culture/cultural differences!), and to see characters like lady soo and post-character-development anette acknowledging their privilege in this world and using it to be better allies to the people around them

whew that was a long message. anyway i hope you are having a good day and thank you for putting such a well-thought-out story into the world

Thank you so much! It's great that you like Isekai Maid, it makes happy to know that you related to it. As someone who is black, I am also light skinned, and there are privileges that I have too in regards to how I am treated compared to black people who have darker skin than me.

This experience played a big part in how I approached Isekai Maid's racial dynamics in universe and how reincarnators who come as themselves are treated, vs. those who are reincarnated or possess people in this world.

I've read a lot of Otome Isekai, and the differences between characters isekai'd as themselves and those who reincarnate into the bodies of the people who already live in that world is so interesting to me. In a way, Isekai is metaphor for displacement and the immigrant experience, and how people from different backgrounds are treated based on how well they pass or don't pass within that world.

I noticed that characters Isekai'd as themselves, such as protagonists' like Jieun from Abandoned Empress (who is meant to be a deconstruction of protagonists like Empress of Another World) tend to have a much more difficult experience than say characters like Melissa Foddbrat/Prodbrat from Beware the Villainess, who are instead reincarnated into and possessing an already existing person. They have different challenges.

Personally, I think people should be allowed to be connected with their homelands without being forced to sever ties and forget their homes like what happens in Otome Isekai. They should be able to miss their friends, want to see their loved ones, grieve for what they lost, and go freely back and forth between their homes. It doesn't have to be the end, or just one or the other.

Thank you again for reading This Isekai Maid! :D

[scarlet--wiccan]

Finally someone else who doesn’t like the House of Harkness book!!!! Personally, my least favourite part of it is that Wanda doesn’t seem to be in character AT ALL, like there is nothing about it that feels distinctly her, like you could’ve put almost any other character in the exact same scenario, literally just draw that character instead of her and change a couple names, and it would’ve worked just as well, and I hate it. 

Yeah, I wouldn't say that I, like, hate it, but I am genuinely surprised that it appears to be garnering such overwhelmingly positive responses. It's visually unappealing and, thus far, the writing is deeply uncreative. The second installment was definitely a slight a improvement, but so far, House of Harkness has done nothing to justify itself. It's done nothing original with the magic academy premise, and has not put a fresh or compelling spin on any of its characters. It feels kind of like... Marvel characters if they went to Monster High or Ever After High-- and I really like those franchises, but part of what makes them so charming is how fully they commit to their own bit. So far, HoH's magic school and eclectic cast feel like a very flat backdrop. I'm not sold on this world yet, but I want to be, so I'll keep reading-- but only because it's already available to me. If this was a print comic, I would not want to buy monthly issues.

As for Wanda-- I can see traces of her personality, but I don't think that the role of blushing shoujo protagonist suits her very well. What little we've seen of her background and unique magical abilities seem shallow, and not very well-considered. Issue #2 gives us a peek at her life with Pietro before enrolling in the school, but it felt like a reductive, flippant take on what is, in the main continuity, a very grim story.

I'm being very harsh, and I realize that part of the problem here is that I'm just not the target audience. Like many entries on the Unlimited platform, House of Harkness feels like it was written for a much younger reader. I respect that, and I know well enough that superhero comics do not always take themselves seriously as rich text, as much as I wish they would. There is room, in the genre, for light-hearted, middle grade fare-- just as there is room for derivative manga knockoffs. And, hey, at least this one's actually written and drawn by Asian people.

[mistchievous]

Hey! I saw your post about pururing's account, and that your post has been reblogged by lots of people who I pretty much always agree with (including you). So I went to the account's posts and scrolled down, expecting to roll my eyes, shake my head, etc.

But as I read the artist's and others' most recent responses, I started thinking about art forms like Kathakali (I'm South Indian) where face paint of different colours is used as narrative devices and to represent characteristics. If I were to represent a 9-1-1 scene in Kathakali style, I'd need to depict faces of certain characters with colours like white, yellow, black, red, etc depending on the character and their role in a particular arc. So an actor who is portraying someone of Asian descent might be shown with yellow paint on their face to depict not their race, but their gender.

The Western-gaze would see this as "yellowface" and offensive. But shifting perspectives and taking into account the background of the artform and the artist would clarify that this is a difference in context.

I don't know if there is a right or wrong here. If a show began in a Western context and depicts the Western context, does that mean Western audiences can demand that it never be depicted in contexts they're unfamiliar with? Do artists have to stay true to the context of the artform, or do they stay true to the context of the subject being portrayed? Even if this question doesn't have a binary answer, what's the difference between acceptable and unacceptable practices, and who gets to have a say in deciding that?

I just think that these are the more pertinent questions that need to be asked and discussed in this situation. By narrowing things down just to whether that artist was right or wrong without considering such nuances, I feel like we're all risking being smugly superior without realising that we're actually in a bit of an echo chamber.

Hi, anon! I want to thank you for this message. Truly. I do think we sometimes find ourselves in an echo chamber. It’s for that reason that I try to be careful when I make posts like that. I rarely reblog callout posts, and I rarely make them. This is the third one I think I’ve ever made, and I can’t think of any I’ve reblogged off the top of my head.

Callout posts to me only become necessary when you’ve exhausted all other options. And in this case, I only made it myself because it seemed as though those speaking out were being ignored – including people of color. I know that a lot of that has to do with how heavily some of those blogs block and how much they’ve been blocked in the past. So, I chose to make a post under my own name because I knew more people would see it. From what I understand, while a few people do have me blocked, I’m not widely blocked in this fandom. All that being said though, posts like this can still be incendiary and dangerous, and I don’t make them lightly. It’s why I tried to keep my explanation and language as mild as possible while explaining the issue at hand.

That being said, because I approached it in that manner, there’s a lot that the general public isn’t privy to just by scrolling that person’s account.

I’ll start with what you are privy to and how I think it’s different from the Kathakali style you refer to in your message. The defenses this person gave to their coloring choices have little to do with culture and more to do with style and perception. They pulled stills from the show in an attempt to explain the color palette they used, but as an example, in this picture here, Jee is clearly lighter than Maddie, her white mother. And you can see in real reference photos using these actors that this is not the case. That is just a fact.

They didn’t explain away this issue with cultural artistic differences. They explained this issue using pictures and color picking and defending their perception with some alarming messages in DM.

That brings me to some information you were not privy to. This is an example of one of the messages I was shown in private by someone who was trying to talk to this person one on one about everything going on here.

They state that they drew Jee that way because she’s lighter than her parents, which is just a bizarre and untrue statement to make - particularly in reference to Maddie. But then they went on to say she’s going to get lighter as she grows older. Even if that is true (which I don’t see why it would be because what?), it has nothing to do with her skin color now.

A lot of this artist’s work is limited to black and white sketches. But if they’re going to choose to add color to their work, it should accurately represent the people of color they're choosing to portray regardless of the artist’s own skin color.

I understand this is a different style of art than the art we normally see, but I don’t see how that would change the fact that twins that play Jee should not be portrayed as whiter than Oliver Stark and Jennifer Love Hewitt who are both white actors. It’s kind of a manga style from what I gather, but from everything I know about that, it shouldn’t have an effect on coloring choices.

And again, the artist themselves says they colored Jee lighter because they perceive her to be lighter and think she will become lighter. That is… problematic to say the least.

It is still complicated though because I think you’re right about Western vs. Eastern art forms and gazes. I really do. I’m a white woman from the West, and that skews my perceptions immensely. I try to understand things as best I can, but I’m not perfect, and I know I’ll make mistakes. But I do not see how the art form here makes the work immune to criticism.

What I know and what I knew before making that post was that there were enough people who were upset by it that it deserved being looked into. And then so many of those voices were being lost in the void that I wanted to do what I could to help. That may not have been my place. What I knew was that my voice would have a greater impact though, and so I used it.

I personally believe this artist to be in the wrong, especially after being shown some of the messages they sent in DM, but the question of what’s acceptable and unacceptable and who gets to have a say in deciding that is a complicated one. I normally wouldn’t feel I personally should have shared an opinion here at all because I’m white and from America, but when other voices are getting lost, what do you do? Do you stay quiet? Maybe I should have, but that’s not the choice I chose to make.

I do encourage everyone to look into the situation for themselves and make determinations for themselves, even if I put a bit of a spotlight on that person’s blog and voiced my own personal opinion. But everyone should definitely realize that what you’re seeing on the public blog isn’t all there is. Not by a long shot.

I really hope I answered some of your questions and that this made some amount of sense.

Please feel free to message me again on or off anon if you want to discuss it further or if you think I've made a mistake. That goes for anyone. My DMs are open.

[damnfandomproblems]

I agree with 4119 for the most part

But the thing with race is that it is almost always done with the intent of erasure or "fixing"

It's never "I wanted to explore this character as if they had a different ethnic background in this setting"

It's always "this character would look BETTER with this specific skin color and that's all I'll add to them and ignore all other culture aspects I could give the character relating to their skintone because I actually don't care about representing different people. I just want to be viewed as inclusive and unproblematic by my peers and I do that by changing the characters skin and nothing else because all I care about it what skin color people have. Also I attack others for calling me out on this by telling them all they care about is the characters skin and asking why they care so much that I made the character with *x* skintone. Ect. Ect. Ect."

Listen we wouldn't have so much problem with this if people were actually creative about it.

There's nothing and I mean NOTHING wrong with wanting to explore a character with a different skin tone or culture or whatever.

It's when people have this attitude about it like the character is somehow better in someway for having an either lighter or darker skin tone. And yes I'm talking about both. Because both whitewashers and blackwashers do the exact same thing and have the exact same arguments as to why they think it's acceptable to racewash when they are both wrong.

It's supposed to be like race bending. It's supposed to be a fun way to explore a character in different ways.

It is NOT meant to be a way to "one up" the "Whites/Blacks" OR to belittle the original design. Not even "edits" are good because there's actually zero thought or research going into them. I've seen a significant amount of edits for middle eastern characters who are paler or tanned being made to look extremely dark even though alot of middle eastern countries and ethnicities are pale or lighter in color making the characters original design accurate actually.

People get so mad at characters like that because of their moms basement preception of reality that they don't even know what people from other countries even look like.

Never have I seen an actually well thought out redesign of a character where they actually explore said character with a different ethnicity and culture. It's always "wow *x* looks a million times better now and is so accurate to real life"

And hell this 8snt even touching upon the fact that some people mistake tan characters from somewhere like Europe or America or east and south(south east?) Asia as black. Not even Indian or Spanish or even Mexican. Not even native American or anything else. Just black. And if that's not telling how horrible people who blackwash are. Literally no better than white washers.

Or the fact that so many people assume Asian characters are automatically white because they don't have "Asian eyes" or yellow toned skin. (or the fact that alot of people will redesign pale Asian anime characters with yellow skin and slanted eyes to make it more "realistic" which as an Asian myself I consider that to be damned fucking racist)

There are ways to explore race in characters. There are ways to do so respectfully and without belittling the original ethnicity of the character. But that's not what people do. People just want to express their internal racism and prejudice and narrow and ignorant views on the world and it's people without being criticized by their peers.

Trust me I would not mind if someone took a character and decided to explore how their life would unfold and how characters might treat them (depending on how the world and it's people view such ethnicities) under a different ethnicity or culture. I would not mind if someone just wanted to see how they could design a character and their meanings but using a different culture. (like how two different flowers could have the same meaning. Or how different colors have different meanings. A character with the colors meaning passion might be designed with a different color of the same or similar meaning in a different culture), or how a character might choose a different path in life due to their culture or how they chose the same path despite their culture. there is just so much you can do but all people care about is the fucking skin and "how much better the character is now" with a different skin.

I hope that makes sense.

Posting since this is a reply to a previous problem.

[lylylylyy]

As a Touya stan I'm frustrated with the new chapter because Enji still mainly saw Touya as some kind of responsibility, not his kid wanting his attention from the very beginning.

When Enji faces Touya, the first thing we know about him is that he notices phosphor, which leads to the question of asking about Shouto's well-being.

Enji's question is rather reasonable since Touya made it clear that killing Shouto is his goal, and it's natural for Enji to be concerned about Shouto, the kid he showed to care the most in the series who could be dead. However, what annoys me is that he showed no concern about Touya's health-I mean, looking at Touya. The whole fandom and the characters in the manga are all wondering how he could be alive. He is basically on his last legs yet Enji here showed zero concern about this fact.

Contrary to Enji's concern for Touya in the previous chapter, he chose to ask the rather triggering question related to Touya's whole trauma of being thrown away by his parents for his younger brother, which is not beneficial for Touya's overall health state at all. Seeing this, I couldn't help but feel that some people in the fandom are way too optimistic about Enji's parenting skills. He is trying, yet his attempt is far from a good try, so I don't think the worries and frustrations are unsupported in the text.

Also, I noticed the final words, "父に課されたのは…" after the last panel. It's not Enji pov but still represents the author's attitude towards Enji's emotions.

父 means father, and 課された is not a very good word here. It means be imposed on, usually used to describe a burden or loan. Thus it gives me the feeling that the next chapter will not be the heart-to-heart conversation about Enji's love for Touya when he was young, just a talk about the responsibilities Enji had to take. No potential affection or caring parents vibes, only some obliged resignation.

I understand that Enji's reactions would absolutely make sense, since Enji was never a kind person in the past and he's not used to the thought of caring for Touya as a parent for 10 years. But as a person whose supposed redemption arc of becoming a decent father is receiving so many praises, Enji in this chapter feels pretty lame and upsets me because he failed to reach that bar again.

Horikoshi's been pretty busy, and I hope he could get the rest that he deserves. I understand that this chapter is short due to his alarming health condition and we will get the next chapter where meaningful things would probably happen between Touya and Enji. However, judging from the text, their upcoming interactions seem rather dim and uncertain to me.

We know that Enji thinks his mission(my translation of 使命, the word he used in the chapter) is to keep eyes on Touya, but keeping eyes on Touya now won't just magically remove the pain of being rejected for over a decade. I pessimistically think it would be just another battle shounen fighting scene, where Enji takes damages from Touya and fails to say anything that would be impactful enough to stop Touya from his self-destructive mental state. It might make a difference as Shouto and his Phosphor did, but it won't be strong enough to totally chill Touya. I just hope the next chapter will prove that I was wrong.

Considering the cultural background, the typical harsh East-Asian father Enji would not suddenly become a person that has no shame in acknowledging his affection and worries towards his son. Like the scene with Natsuo getting kidnapped, I strongly doubt that he would give the interactions western society considered the right things to do.

As for the Todoroki endgame, I can't help but think about Shouto, who genuinely desired to know his brother despite the sad fact they probably shared 0 good memories in the past. Touya 100% knows that his crimes would be a burden for his father, but as a person with very low self-worth, he won’t anticipate his family to want him back as a beloved member. I feel it pretty unrealistic if Enji turns out to be a loving A+ parent and solves Touya's issues all by himself, so I believe the narratives won't just go that far.

Therefore, I assume the father-son fighting scene would end with Shouto interfering. However, another scene of stopping Touya with ice again would be pretty unnecessary. My guess is AFO would do something stupid and Toga would be convinced by Ochako to stop the parade and help her friends, and Shouto might come to help Touya take AFO.

PS: I am not a native English speaker so I might end up writing weird or offensive sentences while not knowing about them. Please tell me if I was wrong or being rude _(:з」∠)_

[raayllum]

yeah my bad, honestly forgot that he was half asian (I have not interacted w the show or fandom in a while, so thats on me tbh), but I definitely agree with your input. I know that Callum is the main character, so he’s going to get more love and attention, same as Rayla, especially since Rayllum is the main couple (not dissing on them or the ship ofc) but it really upsets me when I look for art/fics of Ezran he’s either A) with Callum or B) in the background of something Rayllum related and in fics i rarely ever see solo fics of just him, he’s either in the background of rayllum or being their therapist or something like that

TDP has done a good job when it comes to portraying their characters of color, and its nice to see POC in positions of power for once (Harrow, Ez, Janai, Anaya, Kasef, etc), I just wish that the fandom as a whole would do the same thing yknow?

I’ll get out of your askbox for now, but this was definitely something that was weighing on me for a while lol

Omg you're all good! That's actually why I've run two Ezran Appreciation Weeks (although I still need to finish my fics for the second one, but life got unexpectedly super busy) and why I use the tag Ezran centric for fics that well, focus primarily on him and his relationships, rather than him being in a supportive or background role. I still wanna write a fic about him and Janai (maybe I can work it into a speculative S5 piece, since it seems like maybe we'll get to see them on screen together, and they had a Lot of parallels in S4).

But yeah there are definitely people in the fandom who aren't open to critique in how they treat Ezran. I once pointed out that hey, most of the time when his character is incorrectly tagged in a post, it's almost always in relation to his brother. Did not go over well, but I don't really care. It was still worth saying (and hopefully people will think a bit more thoughtfully about it too).

We could definitely all do more; I do my best to put dents in it when I can, but with varying degrees of success I'm sure

List of Ezran focused fics for anyone who wants em! (to the dashboard, i know i've missed some, so please feel free to add 'em)

Ezran appreciation week day 1: animals

3 shot collection on AO3

Ezran dealing with possessed Callum (post s4)

Opeli & Ezran drabble 1

Ezran & Rayla oneshot

Opeli & Ezran oneshot + future oneshots

Chessmaster Ezran oneshot

i hope i wake up young again: Soren is the “best crownguard,” ten years in the making. Ezran&Soren, 3.7k

if i am the king: then you have to let me go.“ Ezran and Corvus make their way back to Katolis, times three. 3.2k

ezran contemplates viren’s death

ezran and ethari’s first meeting (pre s4)

will not be denied: Per the monarchs of old, King Ezran is visited by Lady Justice in a dream. 1.5k, Ezran centric

can my eyes rest: otherwise known as how many autistic Ezran headcanons can I fit into one ficlet

Other relevant tags perhaps: autistic!Ezran, let Ezran be messy, chessmaster ezran, ezran's council, ezris (for ezran/ellis) and ezran x aanya, ezranedit

Upcoming Ezran projects:

Canon divergent Ezran & Kasef focused oneshot

why is it a monster: Ezran finds Aaravos' mirror first.

Ezran oneshots/drabbles about missing Rayla during the timeskip; feelings about his mother's death; bonding with Ibis in 3x09; etc.

Aforementioned Janai&Ezran parallels piece

great responsibility: Modern AU. Ezran gets bit by a radioactive spider. feat. Rayla as his boxing trainer and Callum as an overprotective big brother while he becomes the superhero he's destined to be

[powderblueblood]

hello, i hope you are well and having a nice day! you recently made this post (https://www.tumblr.com/powderblueblood/743847014582943744/any-additional-thoughts-on-fandom-and-writing-i) about fandom and writing and i wanted to say that i agree with lots of it and, if u didn't mind, share some of my thoughts about ur thoughts, if that's okay with you, because you brought up some points that i agree with a lot but never bothered to put into words.

firstly, omg dialogue is sooooo crazyyyy its the hardest part for me to write personally (in personal projects, i haven't really used this blog for writing yet) but also the most satisfying. i love the feeling of writing something that i feel a real person, and a specific kind of real person would say, and it's definitely the most interesting for me to read, especially in fanfiction because it's where fun relationships between characters can be explored, but t's also the trickiest because it takes me out of the story very quickly if i don't like the way it's written, both in fanfic and original works as well.

also, while i don't really mind shy readers or badass/snarky and sharp readers, my favourite is but reserved and cautious readers a lot.......like.....they aren't shy.....they are suspicious......they are friendly because that's the polite thing to do but they're not gonna freak it with randos who are weirdly hush hush about what they get up to in their free time. also yeah trying to get a middle schooler to think ur cool is the kind of herculean task that humbles you to the ground and i do think it's a little strange sometimes how quickly a very tight knit group of friends would accept a stranger in their midst, as established with max in s2

and yes omg more characters of colour PLEASE, and for stranger things specifically, imo, i want to just say about the show (which i'm not really watching anymore due to various reason amongst boycotting), i was always sort of put off by how they handled their non-white characters, specifically women of colour like kali, who i think is the only notable woc other than erica, and the way the showrunners handled her character rubs me the wrong way, esp as a desi girl. i also think it would be fun to just write like explicitly characters of colour, both oc and y/n/readers, Black readers, Asian readers, Desi readers, Hispanic readers, that are involved with their specific cultures and backgrounds instead of like, very generalised readers that still do, frankly, tend to come off as white, because of that non-specificity and the unfortunate reality that a lot of "blankness" does tend to get filled up by white norms (i really hope that made sense im so sorry if it didn't)

tbh i also don't really see haringrove because billy freaks me the hell out, but omg....what you said about steddie being any two guy syndrome.......tysm for giving me a word for it, i never knew how to put it other than like, not just that i *personally* don't think they had very good chemistry (not saying their not good actors, just that i don't think they had chemistry), but also i did not see it making thematic sense for either of them and their individual character arcs, as well as a little bit of "get the girl out of the way"-ness that a lot of these specific ships (specific as in the trend of any two guy-ness that can arise in fandom at times) tend to have.

also i never thought about it before, but yeah, having a best friend date your ex that you guys broke off on sort of bad, or at least awkward terms, would be a stressful experience to have to ANYONE in that dynamic. i think i like the idea of nancy and her issues with that, but i think exploring robin and the side of oops i like by bff's ex would be fun and the sort of hurt and weirdness that that could bring to a friendship that has been so far very positive and supporting for both steve and robin.

i am so so so sorry for the disjointed nature of this ask as well as its length, you just brought up some points well worthy of discussion and i wanted to talk to you about it. i'm sorry you feel alienated that's not a fun thing to experience, but if it's worth anything, i think it's nice that a (slightly) older person is still passionate and stuff about something i'm interested in. i feel like especially when your a teen it gets easy to imagine that people in their thirties, forties, fifties have lost all the sort of spark and passion that youthfulness is known for when that's not true! it just changes and evolves and maybe you discover new stuff (me rn as i'm sort of over st and not planning on watching s5 and am largely participatory based on joe keery/djo and maya hawke and caleb laughlin and sadie sink) or re-discover things you'd forgotten about, but idk, i hope i'm able to dedicate some time to my hobbies and such as i grow older which can get tough because of life. happy to hear your thoughts and excited to hear back if you choose to respond. have a pleasant day <3!

sanjana love, I hope you don’t mind me posting this but I think there’s some lovely and valuable bits here and I’m glad some of what I was yappin about resonated with you! big love to you pal

[vexedwritings]

Advice wanted for writing Desi James

I'm working on a new AU-marauders fic. I love the fan-canon of James being Desi but I want to keep it accurate to histories of migration and reflective of a specific culture. After looking at migration patterns to the UK, I've decided it makes most sense for the James to be Punjabi. I am not sure about religion, most Punjabis as a whole are Muslim but it looks like most Punjabis in the UK are Sikh. If anyone has knowledge and can advise on this (and anything else that I've word-vomited below) I'd appreciate it!! I see two options for explaining his family history in a way that makes sense and allows for exploration of Punjabi/British Desi cultures:

Option 1 is that Fleamont is the son of some type of British serviceman/colonizer + his mom was Punjabi and they had Fleamont after going back to the UK. Euphemia may be white, may also be Punjabi. I don't know enough about the day-to-day history of British colonization in this region to really detail this option.

Option 2 is that Fleamont is white and has a wealthy family in the UK. Euphemia is Punjabi, they meet in the UK after her family migrates during the 1950s-1960s.

Currently I'm leaning towards Option 2. One problem: WHY WOULD HER NAME BE EUPHEMIA?! I think that name just has to go. I'm deciding between Fahima or Faajal. I wanted something that may have been shortened to "Effie", although I really feel uncomfortable doing that if the whole point is to actually write a Desi character and not just "add diversity for internet points".

And for our main man: James Falak Potter. I think they would have liked sharing a first letter and would have wanted to include James in that. I did look and it seems like James is a name used in Pakistan, India, and other South Asian countries. But the very prestigious site of "baby names direct" could have lied to me, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

This all feels important to think through because of the histories of racism in the UK, the very structure of immigration/commonwealth, and the fact that in the 1960s-1990s, there were lots of social and cultural movements led by ethnic and racial minorities in the UK that have had a lasting impact. Ex. Bhangra music!

For background, I'm white and from the US. Mistakes are made out of ignorance and I welcome feedback!!

[imperiuswrecked]

Hilarious when the dudebros say stuff like where's Namor??? "That's not him" "they didn't use the source material". Recently I saw a dude claim that the design is fine but he thought they would use someone "greco-roman" and I was like. Now you're just being racist with different words. I'm not that familiar with Namor but I learnt a lot of things about the character and boy did he quickly became one of my favorites. But even *I* can tell he's not a white dude. Tenoch looks amazing as Namor, comic accurate with a new design/twist. He has the little wings! And people saying they look silly but aren't they comic accurate? Like, are you going to complain about his design because it's comic accurate now?? pick up a struggle.

Comic Dudebros Opinions aren't worth our time, lol.

I am SO HAPPY about the ankle wings, it's exactly like I always pictured it would be and it even has that Hummingbird motion I always headcanoned and wrote into my fanfics.

So many people said Namor's wings were stupid and they shouldn't put them in a movie so it's more "realistic" (he can lie for hundreds of years and breath underwater but wings were too unrealistic? :/ ) but they don't understand the history behind them or why it's so important to his character.

I have an old post here and more recent twitter thread here talking about the Biracial Coding of Namor's comics but I will have an updated version out before the movie is released so I can talk about the Tenoch casting since so many people have taken me pointing out that in the comics Namor isn't white and has had East Asian coding in his past as me saying "Only an East Asian actor can play Namor" and are trying to use my meta out of context when I even say that any actor of color could play Namor.

I never thought that Marvel would ever cast/see Namor as a non white character and the idea that not only did Coogler do this but also make all the Atlanteans non white is so wild to me because I was just trying to get people to see that we should at the bare minimum make sure we have a biracial/non white actor for Namor in order for it to be true to his character. This was like asking for a small slice of cake and someone handing me the whole thing, and I'm so pleased it's happening.

I know a lot of people like the Greco-Roman Aesthetic and it is a part of Namor's background but his original creator, Bill Everett, never made Namor Greco-Roman, the only inspiration he had for that was Namor is Roman backwards as his name because he like how regal it sounded and the ankle wings being a nod to Hermes. The original Sub-Mariner and his people were literally Original Characters from the Antarctic waters and the Atlantis stuff wasn't mentioned until later and then finally cemented in the Silver age. I will have everything laid out with examples in a better post later even though it will sound like I'm repeating myself but then again I feel like I've been on the same loop of this topic for years. lol.

I know it's hard to believe but I actually mentioned the idea of the Atlanteans reminding me of the Mayans back in 2019 on the Namor CBR board. It was just such a good idea that I never pushed it or tried to convince others because I never ever thought it would happen. I'm not trying to brag that I came up with these ideas; it's so there within the underlying context of the comics that anyone who reads into Namor comics could come up with the same conclusions, Coogler certainly did and went with the Mesoamerican inspiration.

All these Comic Dudebros want is the "White Male Self Insert Power Fantasy" they pushed on Namor's character and something that Fanon!Namor is full of because no one actually takes the time to read his comics and know his actual character so just go off what they think it should be. Namor has never been what they thought he was.

I think if this was a few years ago I would be angrier and getting into more arguments with those fans again, but I try to not let Fandom be a negative place for me or other fans if I can help it. After all where were all these fans all these years when I would promote Namor's comics? Or when I created fan events like Namor Week and other fans joined in and put their time and effort into making fanworks for? I won't let them ruin this for us like they have ruined so many other characters and fandoms. Nothing makes a dudebro angrier than not getting the attention they want. lol.

Right now I'm just smugly scrolling through posts as they whine and cry because in the end I was right and they were wrong and Tenoch is going to be so amazing as Namor!!!