#monoracial thanks

[punkeropercyjackson]

Sally,Poseidon and Percy vibes tbh

#ms fushiguro #toji fushiguro #megumi fushiguro #sally jackson #poseidon pjo #percy jackson #black percy #latino percy #monoracial thanks #transfem percy jackson #bigender percy jackson #autistic percy jackson #team parent percy jackson #punk!percy #perseo jackson #trans megumi #autistic megumi #trans toji #pjo #hoo #tods #jjk #💌 #summerposting

[writingwithcolor]

Japanese Q Speedround: Google Is Right There

Hi, it’s mod Rina. It’s time to speedrun some asks. 

@troublsomeidiots​ asked: 

I'm writing a character who is both black and Japanese and lives in japan in a primarily Japanese area and wanted some help in writing a person who is biracial who lives in primarily homogenous society? Like what kind of struggles she would face, especially as a person who has never met anyone who is black other than in passing?

Open Youtube. Hit search bar on Youtube. "being black in japan" "half black half japanese in japan" "black hafu in japan". Try different combinations of keywords. Bon voyage.

(neither Marika nor I are Black. We will not be speaking to experiences we do not have.) (we can outsource to some of our friends if you ask a specific question. These are not specific questions.) 

(Black Japanese readers--please feel free to comment if there’s something you want OP to know!)

@layzeal​ asked: 

Hello! I have a question regarding family/last names in Edo period Japan. My story takes place in 1816, my character was born in 1796 from a commoner family (that she gets separated from a few years later, and in a different country).

I've read that regular people in Japan didn't adopt the use of family names until Meiji restoration, but I'm not sure how true that is. Would a family of commoners in that period carry a family name, or would they only use their first names? And any idea if that family would have to present a last name when moving/passing by a different country that does use them?

It's important for me to know, since the existence of a last name or not would quite heavily influence how hard it'd be for the family to meet again, and which means would be used. Thanks in advance!

When I gave Google some keywords from your query, the second result explained how pre-Meiji commoners without family/clan names used bynames to distinguish themselves, and gives additional data on them. Maybe give it another Google? 

@weavefeather asked:

Hello, I am a writer and I really need some advice. I am wotking on my book since a few years, maybe 2 or 3, and I finally got the points together how it could begin. My plan is that my MC (named Nanami Kudo) is an lawyer of the FBI and has to go to her homecountry Japan, beacuse they send her to foreign investigations about a syndicate of people.....  And the some things happen, like her brother who still lives in jp doesn't really welcomes her, some complications with the police and so on... 

But thats not the point! Im really struggling to take in words how she gets to the other country, leaving her home behind and her partner she worked with. Do you have any advice on it, maybe how to structure it, some words or scenarios that fit?

How she gets to the other country: …..She flies there.

How US government agents/workers relocate and what the experience is like: That's your job to google. We are not government agents. Try anecdata on reddit, reddit AMAs, and Quora.

It’s unclear what her relationship/proximity to Japan is. What kind of nikkei is she? Is she mixed race or monoracial? How much Japanese can she speak? So many unknowns. Go read our Japanese tag and appreciate just how many ways one can be a Japanese person. Until then, you are nowhere near close to being able to write a nikkei homecoming plot. 

Lastly, you are the author. Give us scenarios yourself and come back to us.

In Conclusion

Guys, you all gots to google some more. It’s beneficial to both of us: not only do we get to help with more specific things and have enough info to do so, but you don’t have to wait months until your ask comes through the backlog only to receive an answer you could have researched in anywhere from a couple days to 3 minutes. 

~ Rina

“But Rina, I don’t know how!” 

You’re in luck!

First, try one of our own post on Google shortcuts. 

Second, stay tuned for some very relevant posts...

COMING SOON: WWC’s A Beginner’s Guide to Academic Research

#japanese #mixed race #japanese diaspora #research #asks

[shinidamachu]

As someone who is mixed, I really relate to Inuyasha’s character and the theme of the series as a whole. Inuyasha both the character and the show/manga allowed me to embrace being mixed and love and accept all parts of myself rather than listening to others and attempting to fit myself into a Monoracial/Monoethnic box.

I think this is the whole point of his character and the main reason why I love him so much! Thank you for sharing your story with us! It made me very emotional.

#Inuyasha is just THAT character #Like talk about a perfect male protagonist #Because he's a hero who pretends he doesn't want to be one #He isn't nice but he's just genuinely good #He's strong AND vulnerable #He's tragic but also relatable and funny #He's flawed but he has amazing character development and growth #He's just so charming cool and charismatic without trying at all #And he's a complex character as well #I could talk about him for HOURS because it IS that deep #Sidmailing

[destinyc1020]

Yeah you can tell that last anon. was a troll for saying that majority don't like Zendaya's portrayal of Chani or as they wrongly said "chain" lol. Majority of reviewers have been praising everybody in that film. Now you do have some people who may not like where it seems Chani's character arc is going based on the end of the film because it differs from the book, but they aren't blaming Zendaya for that. I will say though that at the end of the day Z is a mixed black woman. Unfortunately she doesn't have the luxury to flop like Timmy, Sydney, and Dakota, cause they won't get half the backlash she will get. People let "Malcolm and Marie" slide because it was streaming. Like you have people waiting to see if Challengers will flop so they can have those negative engagement thinkpieces ready. Also people are just harsher on POC and WOC more especially if they have been praised majority of their career.

Majority of reviewers have been praising everybody in that film. Now you do have some people who may not like where it seems Chani's character arc is going based on the end of the film because it differs from the book, but they aren't blaming Zendaya for that.

THANK YOU! I've been seeing nothing but AWESOME praise for the entire cast for this film! 👏🏾 And if some people don't like the way the film differs from the books, well then they know that they can blame Denis and the writers for that lol. 😅 The actors are just doing what the Director WANTED.

I will say though that at the end of the day Z is a mixed black woman. Unfortunately she doesn't have the luxury to flop like Timmy, Sydney, and Dakota, cause they won't get half the backlash she will get.

I do think that people are harsher on woc. And Zendaya is a biracial black woman in the industry. Can you imagine how much harder it is for a monoracial black woman in the industry? There's even LESS room for "mistakes" and "flops". The DIFFERENCE though, is that Hollywood LOOOOVES Zendaya. They love her more than Sydney and Dakota (just spitting facts). So, I actually think Z will be just fine. 😅

Zendaya is Hollywood's Darling right now. If she weren't so popular and likable in the industry then maybe I'd be more worried, but literally EVERYONE in the industry loves her and loves working with her. That's who really truly matters anyway. Not stupid Film Bros on Twitter. I think fans think that Film Twitter controls an actor's career, and they just don't! LOL 😅 They don't have that type of power. The power is in Hollywood, and Zendaya is just fortunate that she has a loads of costars, directors, industry giants, and people who just love her....love her as a person, love her and her talent, and love to work with her. When you're a hard-working, kind, down to earth person, who's likeable, you will have people in your corner in the industry....whether you are having blockbuster box office numbers or not.

[zupawama]

i get that it's easier for monoracial people to refer to multiracial/biracial people by whatever race they appear as but it's also served as a sort of form of erasure for many of us. there are so many important people in society, in history, in politics, even, that i had no idea were also multiracial because people just kept referring to them by whatever race they most closely resembled. thanks guys

#race #biracial #multiracial #racism? #monoracial

[hotpocket-fucker]

I don’t know anything about the origins or dynamic or anything …. Tried looking it up and found a variety of arguments that don’t all work with each other so idk which one you agree with. Most likely the idea of “breeding out” racialized people into being white, due to passing? Which yeah is horrific. I just want to know is there any room for a discussion of passing with race? Because i mean it just plain facts does happen. Obviously passing isn’t being. Just because someone in one context passes for white doesn’t mean that person passes in all contexts, and also doesn’t make that person white. Not necessarily legally, not necessarily in how that person was treated or the context they lived in (their family history still had people who didn’t pass, which has affects) and doesn’t at all mean that person can’t be self aware of not being white, or engage in the culture of the racialized ethnic groups they descend from. Ig im wondering if in a reasonable context the term could be useful even if it’s abused elsewhere.

Woowee, let's divide this for a better understanding:

Let's start by saying that colorism is terrible, and I think we all can agree upon that. The people who go around with the whole "bettering the race" or "breeding out x" ofter either 1. Fetishize certain races 2. Have a HUGE race guilt/inferiority complex that forces them to reject and discriminate their own race and even degrade themselves.

The only way that I, personally, as a non-american biracial person, only use that term is to describe someone, period. Other uses of the same term are often used (redundantly) to decimate and demean people who don't look "POC enough" (a.k.a: they ain't stereotypical-looking enough) either they be biracial or monoracial.

I mean.. if you pass, you pass, nothing to do, its genetics, we simply CAN'T blame people over something they have no control or choice.

Hell! l've had people implying that I'm not fully biracial since latinos tend to be very mixed (because somehow to these race obsessed freaks US blacks and whites are "purer" and therefore more "real" than non-US ones and I can't see how that's nazi rhetoric at all! /j) and that's not only me, I've seen others being reduced to that dumbass term.

Also, not to mention the tiny little detail that this term is largely USELESS outside of the US (so please, try not to use it outside of a US context...)

Leaving that aside, thank you for showing legit curiosity over my thoughts on these terms instead of using it as a "gotcha" or being just outright malicious. Is honestly a very refreshing sight.

With that being said, if you have more doubts, please do come back and ask away!

#admin ask #racism #colorism

[initiumseries]

Second part

I'm in love with Pavitr Prabhakar since I laid my eyes on him. Everything is so fuxking perfect in Mumbattan. The happy go lucky spiderman whose Canon event was disrupted. By miles. I loved that story so much. Hobie and Pav being friends. Traffic everywhere (cause like..... TRUEEE??!!??) CHAI TEA!!! NAAN BREAD!!! Foreigners can be annoying. There is a fuxking brand of tea called Chai. It defeats the purpose of Chai being just chai. I loved his design too. It's just great seeing indian characters not 'smelling like curry' or 'obsessed with bindis and education'. I mean we are obsessed woth education and marks but it doesn't have to be like that.

Your blog is so pretty. All the art you post is amazing! I've followed so many artists on tumblr and a lot of recs are from your blog.

I read your astv review and I agree with everything!

1.) Gwen left a bad taste and I really liked her in the first movie. Ever since the first movie Gwen had subtly let miles down and people still ship them. I mean whatever honestly but it's weird to ship then after two movies of her rejecting him and now lying to and betraying him. I liked the ending sequence of her putting a group to save him but for some reason it felt underwhelming as fuck. I was already overwhelmed by miles in another universe and it didn't register enough.

Second part

Hahaha yeah, I liked the anti-imperialist little jabs they took with Pavitr and that such a happy go lucky guy got to stay that way because of Miles, and in turn wanted to help him out in the end. It was definitely a refreshing take on a south asian character, I also liked that his gf was also, obviously, south asian. We never see monoracial couples anymore. Yeah, I think the thing with Gwen for me is that, her forming the group at the end didn't mean anything to me, because after everything she's done to Miles up until now, helping him is literally the least she could do, and it wasn't even HER idea. It was Hobie's. He left the machine with her. So everyone acting like Gwen is so awesome is like okay, lol. Is she awesome or is she just white

Also, thank you! I'm glad you like the art I reblog and I guess sometimes post. It's nice to hear it helped put you onto a few new artists you hadn't known before. Yay! Support human artists! :)

[thisismisogynoir]

So I'm 75% black, (my father was half black/half white, mom was monoracial (black)

And whenever I see something like "oh I didn't feel black enough, the black community alienated me" I'm just like...huh? I'm lightskin asf (I do have afrocentric features tho, like my nose, lips, hair) and I've lived in black communities all my life, I've gone to school with (monoracial) black people, and everyone was very accepting of me. Like no one ever tried to tell me I wasn't black. No one was ever mean to me on the account of my light skin or anything. I don't really understand the whole "I wasn't black enough" thing I see all the time. Idk it's just weird and it feels like people are finding excuses to hate on the community, like there's some standard of blackness to fit in. Like black communities are exclusive country clubs or something.

I'd just like to ask, is it ok for me to identify as black? Because I certainly don't want to co-opt black spaces or contribute to the rampant monoracial black women erasure (like biracial girls getting casted all the time instead of dark skin black women for dark skin black characters).

I've tried researching, and I can't really find anything aside from the whole "biracial self-victimization" thing. Thank you!

That's because you are Black. I think you can identify as such considering that 75% Black is literally majority Black lmao dw. If you were only half-Black that would be different.

I recognize that I can't tell people how to identify but I would really appreciate if biracial people had a little bit of sensitivity and didn't try to co-opt Blackness only when it suits them while ridiculing and marginalizing Black people for their own issues whenever it suits them. Especially since like you said most Black people will accept you with open arms even if you're not fully Black, as long as you're either half or more due to the one-drop rule sadly(in the case of half). I'm glad that your experiences don't match up with what other people are saying(especially since lots of those complaints aren't even true, they're just Black people asking for their experiences and voices to not be trampled over by biracial people and being met with "omg how dar eyou exclud meeee!!! !1! >:(" honestly.).

Rest assured in your identity, and take care!

#black women #misogynoir #black female erasure #mixed women #mixed is not black #one-drop rule #sublimecrimetime #nice username by the way!

[punkeropercyjackson]

Came up with a Jercy take/au so i remembered those hcs i promised @kitkatperce LMFAO Here you go Sar🤟🏼

Black4Black obviously-Percy's monoracial and Jason's mixed because Sally's afro-dominican third gen inmigrant and the gods are black.Jason's a natural dirty blonde and has brown eyes and lightskin swag /lh

Certified t4t couple.Jason's a wolfgirl turned werewolf-adjacent trans man who's the walking embodiment of positive and healthy masculinity and is fully transitioned with top surgery scars and Percy is a pastel punk trans woman who canonically acts extremely femme eggy so she's a blue hair and pronouns mermaid-esque gamer girl and her new full name,Persephone,was chosen because the og gave her Metamorphose,food that's been blessed by Aphrodite to give the eater their ideal apperance so it's basically hrt for trans people,as a gift and Percy wanted to thank her

Also transhet4transbi demi4demi and autistic4autistic but Percy's got no masking game and Jason's got all of it but he don't play with her ever

They were kinda meant to have a spark in every way-Tons of similarities but a few significant contrasts that don't lead to toxicity but instead them being complimentary and good for eachother,the beef between Zeus and Poseidon and how much Percy fucking despises her dad and Jason wanting to be completely free of Jupiter,Percy's severe older men trauma and Jason's defiement of what men are 'supposed' to be that's influenced by his transmasculinity but also a genuine effort on his part and connection with Percy that women are inherently better caused by the misogyny he also faced pre-egg cracking and even some afterwards from particularly big jerks and Jason being Hazel's pseudo-dad pre-Hoo and Percy being Nico's pseudo-mom before All That Fuckshit.Obviously they're not perfect together based off that last part alone and Jason's mostly a hc but it's certainly better than adultifiying Hazel!!

Percy's tgirl ass was glad to be friends with a guy who was taller than her for once and Jason found her 6' height hot on sight and immediately wanting to shock himself for because JASON THAT'S INNAPPROPRIATE,SHE'S A LADY AND YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HER!!!!!!(There was minus zero nsfw thoughts going on and he's just a prude)

'She's Lois Lane........But with Aquaman's powers.Does that make sense?'-Jason telling Piper about his Percy love epiphany and she rightfully laughed at him for it and he fumed in humiliation

Piper is a false romantic lead but there's no jealousy on Percy part and none on Piper's part either actually because she never actually liked Jason and only used thinking she did as a heterosexual allusion to avoid confronting her internalized lesbophobia(which is the general term for anti-sapphic in case y'all get mad,i know she's canon unlabeled and mspec)and Jason realized he's transhet instead of bi transmasc like he thought and just had envy of Piper's butch swag so they were on great terms afterwards

Huge on physical touch,quality time and words of affirmation.Percy can't keep her hands to herself once she really falls in deep for him and he's loving every second of it but is completely oblivious to the change,they do parallel play on a daily basis but also share a few special interests now thanks to infodumping and participating in them together and they're training partners and aside from direct verbal validation,they also leave sticky notes with sweet messages('Even if you weren't perfect today,you're still my Superman'-Your Blue Kryptonite/'Hey,the sea may not liked to be restrained but i heard she likes this'-Bolt Boy')and talk good things to others even when they're not around

Outcast gf x Popular bf but they cut the bullshit and go straight to best friends with zero judgement and only sunshine and clear rain.Them getting together by Boo would be forced asf so instead they're a Ghostflower situation:Besties with implied subtle crushes > Significant seperation period causes their hearts to grow fonder and they're fullblast soulmates by choice > They settle into it for a long while so they can be a real couple and true true love.This includes Percy having a Jason tributed hairstyle change as she dyes her faded from gray to white streak sky blue and Jason asking for tons of Percy sculptures to be made in her honor and she's as flattered and flustered and teasing about it as Gwen was and Jason has the rizz Miles does too

Back to the Percy older men trauma thing,i think we all picked up on how Weird And Unnecessary Luke is towards her in canon and i won't get into it so it dosen't get triggering but even though he never dated her,his frequent and looming presence combined with his again canon pedophile status to her own best friends(Annabeth and Thalia)and another friend of hers she felt awful for not keeping an eye on(Silena),he left scars on her regarding manhood that only fueled her transfemininity and hatred of the gods and Apollo in particular due to his treatment of the Hunters and 'history'.Jason's entire Percy appeal is despite the looks,he acts nothing like how boys are taught to and punished if they don't and the closest exception is how gentlemanly and chilvarious is he but even then that's black dude swag specifically

Percy is 4d,Jason is 4c.Her usual style is comics!Starfire hair i.e down to her hips and BIG FLOOF,his is shoulder length and his natural very thick curls.They have wash day together and Percy's uses fruity shampoos and gets Jason to do the same and they try out different looks together-Percy's favorites are butterfly locs,a blk version of mermaid waterfall and jumbo ponytail and Jason's are twists,afropuffs and at one point he got an afro fade with a lightning bolt and Petcy damn near forgot how to breathe

Nico's also black(Maria was black-italian)so cute lil found black family sitch.He could NOT stand Jason's ass at first for no reason,he's just a posessive brat over his big sister slash mom but Jason proved himself not too much into it by defeating Cupid before he even got a hint of what he was tryna get out of him and Jason telling him that he only cared Cupid was forcing him into something earned him lifelong trust.They're an official quartet as off Hoo finale and Jason makes regular trips to the Familia Jackson household and they have both quests and normal adventures and they can be found doing just about anything together from wholesome down to earth activities to buck ass wild supernatural shenanigans

Hazel's also a lesbian and pastel goth so her and Jason's semi-normie ass have a lot of fun getting to know eachother again /gen /pos.Naturally they talk about their gfs with Hazel's love life being as Mabel Pines-esque as she is by herself and Jason is goofy black dad from a sitcom-coded and supports her in her nonchalantly macabe nature and you can just feel the rekindled familial love there like you can Nico and Percy and when Jercy finally have their bio kids,Nico and Hazel become the best Tío and Auntie ever

Jason is Percy's All American Boy in a black biracial kinda way and Percy is Jason's Girl Next Door in an afrolatina kinda way

Something something The Man with his head in the clouds and The Mermaid who keeps her head above the water meet where the sky and the sea do and their worlds are forever transformed by it as they become just one united

And since this is a ships trend with me at this point:Jercy-coded images

#t4t jercy #percy jackson #persephone jackson #jason grace #black percy #latino percy #black grace siblings #trans jason grace #autistic percy jackson #autistic jason grace #pastel punk percy jackson #werewolf-adjacent jason grace #team mom percy jackson #nico di angelo #hazel levesque #black nico di angelo #group:yes when i'm with you i'm at home #lesbian hazel levesque #pastel goth punk hazel levesque #trans nico di angelo #autistic nico di angelo #autistic hazel levesque #trans hazel levesque #pjo #anti luke castellan #pjo gods slander #antilukercy #anti percy x gods #💌 #summerposting

[dear-indies]

hi ! hope everything is well <3 i really could use some help trying to find a darkskin monoracial black male fc in his early to middle twenties. idc about gif icons but i would like for the fc to have some photos and gifsets just bc i like making manips ! thank you

Chris De'Sean Lee (1994) African-American.

Kedar Williams-Stirling (1994) Black British.

Karim Diane (1995) African-American.

Aubrey Joseph (1997) African-American.

Here you go!

#fc help #rph #rpc

[writersmeadow]

Do not write about social issues you don't understand

A root of so many problems. Just as I believe that utter confidence in topic may create a counter-productive effect (J Maas really fucked up with "feminism" in her series), I believe that it can be wrong to force inclusion (even feed your writing for marketing purposes) of a social problem, when you clearly have no idea how. Let me explain by showing you how I dealt with ethnicity and race in my WIP.

As a white Slavic female, I understand the issues of ethnicity or misogyny, but not racial discrimination issues. This does not give me a right to disregard issues of people of colour - but because Slovakia is quite a monoracial country, it would be a very complicated topic to deal with in my writing. I have never had friends of different races and ethnicities until I moved to the Netherlands, and even there, I did not have a chance to deeply connect with e.x. African Americans. I may understand this issue from an outsider point, but unless I will have a community of people who suffer because of racism, I cannot understand it fully.

I have dealt with ethnic discrimination and stereotypes throughout different media and life experiences. I know what it is like to be portrayed as an evil mafia “rashan gopnik” Jurij the assassin, as well as plastic gold digger Anastasia, to feel like I have no right to be in an independent nation (Slovakia-Hungary, Russian Occupation), or that "I only know how to drink vodka" and be a "poor brainwashed pretty Slavic girl" etc. Thanks to my Indian friends in Europe e.x., I know how common it is to be labelled as “the cheap migrant” who should “return to their country”. Same does not go for social issues of solely racial discrimination in the country with history of racial injustice.

I would not recommend authors to write about problems they cannot understand deeply.

You can, however, gain a deep understanding and do your research before addressing these issues in your writing.

Example: As a university Japanese minor, I dig deeply into this country, study language and history and directly communicate with members of the country. Do not make a large inclusion of Japanese culture unless you are exposed and educated about the history and social issues, know Japanese people and respect their opinions on the topic. It will, more often, end up in J.K. Rowling ethnicity disaster (Viktor Krum and Cho Chang????). Mind that with more inclusion, your responsibility to do more research comes.

Ways to solve this

To deal with a complication like this in my socially-motivated writing, I decided to build the world on made-up ethnicities, where discrimination is represented by portraying it in different sources of magic. Some users of one source believe that their magic is better, even to the point of colonising and enslaving the others. This is an important aspect in my book. I believe that by making sure I will be able to portray discrimination issues whilst making sure (!)I am not stealing ethnical and racial history and culture(!) will be the best solution for someone who was not exposed to certain aspects of it.

(!) It also does not mean my book will be full of white people. I include various races in my book, this is out of question (you should also mind the stereotypes and remain respectful in your writing - not using terms "sexy chocolate skin", "smart almond eyes" etc, lack of exposure does not excuse ignorance - it is also highly uncreative). But races do not play the same role as on Earth, you ethnical identity is linked to imaginary sources.

I definitely plan to include topics of human race (and ethnicity) as an important social aspect in my next works, when I will be able to communicate with those to who it concerns - digging into other cultures, whether that will be Indian, Ethiopian or Latvian one, or racial issues of African Americans, Asians or Latinos,... For now, I do not feel brave enough to portray those topics correctly and mindfully. Therefore, I will not feed my novel off those issues - out of respect for the culture I have not been exposed to and cannot fact-check properly with.

To close this miserably long essay with, if you want to address a social issue in your WIP, dig deep, make sure to be exposed, connected and educated, beware of stereotypes and don't be J. K. Rowling and Sarah J. Maas. Na zdravie!

#female writers #social justice #book #authors #wip #writing in progress #author ramblings #social problems #inclusion #reformation of writing #writegram #book author #fantasy #writing tips #writing

[destinyc1020]

Hi 👋🏽 lurker here. I love your page but honestly feel too grown to comment on tumblr most of the time 😂

just wanted to chime in to say the biracial/black women convo is important and I really appreciate your perspective. I’m around Zendaya’s age, (slightly) older and I’m also a (biracial) light skinned black woman. Same foundation shade as Zendaya actually 😂. I can tell you this discourse was not a thing growing up. We were black, considered black by society, etc. it wasn’t until the past 5 years that I’ve seen people feel the need to distinguish us as “biracials” and honestly it has been a little hurtful and neglects our experiences as biracial black people. Yes we have privilege, absolutely. Now that I live in a city, I feel that more readily. I was also raised around a lot of white people so I can adapt fluidly in white spaces, which has been immensely helpful in my career. But all grass isn’t always greener on the other side, if that makes sense.

For example, I grew up in a rural sundown town. Guess what? I was the only black person many of them had ever seen, and on top of that being biracial made me, and I quote, an “abomination”. Can’t tell you how many times I heard that growing up. And I imagine even in hollywood there are remnants of some of that (less harsh) sentiment there. Is Zendaya privileged and does she have access to more roles because she’s lighter? Yes. Is she still probably fighting off “stereotypical” castings, being met with executives who say “a black star won’t make us money in China/Korea/europe/whatever”, is she offered less than her white counterparts, probably also yes. I think it’s important that we can acknowledge that Zendaya (and light skinned black people) is more privileged but I get so salty when I see people try to strip her of her identity or overly criticize her because she’s “not black enough”. I feel like the discourse around biracial people in particular has been on fire in recent years. I can understand the frustration people feel with society around light skinned folks and I absolutely admit that some light skinned folks abuse their privilege or don’t give back, but the discourse is really stripping us of our identity as BLACK people. I’m a black woman, society sees me as such and I am PROUD to be a black woman. Having one white parent doesn’t erase that from my identity.

hopefully people don’t take this the wrong way, but thanks again for your take. Love your blog!

First off, thank you so much for your sweet and kind words about my blog Anon. 🥰 I appreciate it!

I also wanted to say thank you so much for providing your views and your input as a biracial black woman. As a monoracial black woman myself, I can't personally know first-hand how it feels or what biracial black women experience in this country. It's nice to hear the "other side of the coin" for a change.

You and I are probably around the same age, and you're right, growing up there wasn't such a huge demarcation line btwn who is "black" and who is "biracial". Back then, everyone was just considered "black" if you have "one drop" of black blood lol. 😂 But over the past few years or so, there's really been a strong desire for some to classify. I get it... I think biracial black women (especially) do get a bit more favorable treatment in society and people tend to treat them differently, and they're deemed more "beautiful", etc. Not always, but a lot of times the underlying current is there, and it can be frustrating for those of us who are monoracial black to constantly see society uplifting ONE type of beauty over the other. I can see why some want to "clarify" or put certain people in a box.

I think everyone's experiences might be unique just simply due to their skin tone, or even how someone looks, attractiveness levels, size, region of the country they're living in, etc. So, there are a LOT of factors, so I totally get it.

With that said, I totally agree that while it is definitely frustrating to see certain ones in the "Black Community" being given opportunities more than others, at the same time, we really don't know what some of these "lighter-skinned" actresses have had to endure, what they're being told, or how they can be made to feel like an "other" or a "token" for some of them. 🤷🏾‍♀️

My main gripe with Hollywood is that it seems as though monoracial YOUNG black women are constantly being ignored in the industry. 😔 Growing up, I used to at least be able to name some popular monoracial black women who were famous/popular. We at least had Keke, isn't Raven black? lol..... But now days?? It's very hard to even see monoracial black women (young) who are given lead roles in mainstream films.... We're RARELY playing the lead, or even the love interest. 🥴

A lot of roles meant for "black women" are going to biracials lol. Again, I'm not mad (I love to see a fellow woc getting some shine), but it would just be nice to see some black women onscreen who look more like ME, and who are around my age. Yea, it's nice seeing Lupita Nyong'o (for example), or Angela Bassett (who I LOVE!), Kiki Layne, Janelle Monet, etc.... but every now and then, it would just be nice to see some younger monoracial black women who look like myself on the major screen again. 😔 Anyway, let me stop rambling....

#sorry for the dissertation #good points!

[saintsir4n]

Hey girlie,

Those latest chapters have been 😩❤️, and since the trailer drop for HOTD season 2 I’ve been hyped. Till then though the have rewatched The boys on Amazon and it’s so good. I love their take on the superhero genre and their shoots at current Hollywood woke agenda, etc.

However, I wanted to talk about the spin-off, Gen V. I really like the show, and can speak endlessly about Jordan Li❤️❤️ if you haven’t you should definitely watch it and if you have what did you think?

I usually roll my eyes when I see either a bi racial or light skinned girl being placed as a replacement for an unambiguous or monoracial black girl, but I bit the bullet since I’ve always wanted an x-men sort of show where the black girl has viable love interest and is powerful as hell and not a walking stereotype.

-🐜

Hey girlll

I’m glad you’re enjoying the fic, can’t wait to start publishing the second act! And to answer your questions, I have watched the Boys, one of my fave shows atm, however I’m confused on why they didn’t let Karl Urban just speak in his normal accent considering most people thought Billy Butcher was supposed to be an Aussie and not from Hackney, London. (His accent is terrible in the show, this coming from a Londoner)

I really liked GenV, even if it was kinda fast paced at times or the episodes were too short. The show was a good spin off for the original and I’m thankful that they decided to set the show in college instead of high school. Jordan was a fave character of mine even though at the start i didn’t like how they treated Marie.

I’m glad they allowed Jass to have her hair however she wanted and showcase her personal issues by focusing on her history, trauma and how it does play into her race considering the show is satirical. Also very happy that the show runners explored Marie’s powers, the fact they based desirability less on looks but also on the school rankings (plus if Marie didn’t have people falling at her feet I would’ve been confused as if she isn’t one of finest members of the cast). Jordan’s relationship with Marie was cute to watch even though at times (not their fault) the show was kinda fast and I wish they had more episodes to flesh out more the general themes.

#riptide #riptidefic #riptidehouseofthedragonfanfic #daenys the determined #daenys targaryen #daenys #daemons daughter with Laena #genv #the boys

[royalintown]

I’m a black monoracial woman, and I have one monoracial black friend. I feel like MM’s talk around race are valid because she, as a biracial, wasn’t accepted in either white or black spaces so she wasn’t “treated” as black because people didn’t see her as one of them. It wasn’t until she got to UK where racists don’t care how little black ancestry you have that people began seeing her as black. I really don’t see anything wrong with acknowledging that, and as a friend to a biracial woman, I really don’t think any amount of black friends could’ve prepared her for that.

Hi! Thank you for your perspective.

I am all for biracial people wanting to be biracial. I don’t think that they should be pigeon wholed into either race. However, when someone who is biracial is passing like Meghan, my only fear is that they have no problem being in white spaces and around numerous white people even if like you said she wasn’t accept by both white and black people because she was mixed.

I see what you’re saying. I just am suspicious of such instances because some biracial and/or white identified black people can breed resentment for Black people and Blackness that can become borderline anti-Black.

She can acknowledge her life experiences because it’s her experience. But I’m not going to coddle her because she has an umbigious Black mom and lived in around LA in the 90s when there were instances of mass incarceration going around and there were the LA Riots. Since she was younger then, I put more onus on her mom for not having those conversations with Meghan.

So yes while her relationship with her Blackness or lack thereof has to do with people’s treatment of her, I also think that she does have an attitude of - it may have been if I don’t have to address it then I’m not going to - which is a choice.

[talesfromaurea]

I posted 2,266 times in 2022

224 posts created (10%)

2,042 posts reblogged (90%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@elytrians

@talesofsorrowandofruin

@the-finch-address

@magic-is-something-we-create

@ashen-crest

I tagged 1,287 of my posts in 2022

Only 43% of my posts had no tags

#other's art - 471 posts

#other's work - 170 posts

#pathfinder talk - 114 posts

#it's rambling time - 91 posts

#guild wars 2 - 70 posts

#my writing - 61 posts

#tag games - 51 posts

#positivity - 43 posts

#my art - 31 posts

#dnd - 29 posts

Longest Tag: 136 characters

#truthfully i kind of just see the wip as various shades of blue but i wanted to make the colors section a bit more interesting than that

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

@copper-dragon-in-disguise​​ - a tiny friend...

Thanks for the request! 😊

40 notes - Posted February 21, 2022

#4

Fina Foxglove and her fern hound Missile enjoying some fishing in the Seitung Province 🐟

43 notes - Posted April 4, 2022

#3

Writing Mixed Race Characters

Mixed race characters in media - it’s something I haven’t seen many people talk about so I decided to make a post about it. I go over some common tropes and some very basic things you should think about when writing mixed characters

Disclaimer: these are my personal opinions and observations based on my background as a non-Black mixed person in the USA. Remember: like everyone, mixed people are not all the same and this is not meant to be representative of the feelings of all mixed people. Please be sure to listen to and take into account a variety of mixed experiences and opinions if you’re looking to write mixed characters and/or better understand our lives.

Anyway, with that out of the way, let’s examine a few of the common tropes we see in media that feature a mixed character!

Trope #1 - The Tragic Existence

This trope is #1 for a reason, as it’s by far the most common one applied to mixed race characters. We’ve all seen it - the character who doesn’t belong anywhere, who is rejected by everyone, who is “too x for y and too y for x”. Being mixed is used as a catalyst for angst and trauma and, quite often, the mixed character is an orphan and/or actively shunned in their community. There are countless mixed characters this applies to, including Shadow and Bone’s Alina Starkov (the show not the book - I’ve never read the books but I hear Alina is white in them which makes a ton of sense considering how hamfisted Netflix is when handling her race) and Inuyasha, the half-human, half-demon from the anime of the same name (yes, fantasy “races” count but more on that later). In fact, this trope is so overused that I’ve heard many mixed folks wonder if it’s not some sort of propaganda - cautionary tales about having mixed race children, who will only grow up lonely and confused

Trope #2 - Our Race Is Only Used To Traumatize Us

Sometimes you’ll be watching a show and a character’s mixed background is never mentioned until another character is suddenly racist towards them. This happens a lot with monoracial characters of color as well and can be really damaging to viewers when they see their race used purely as a weapon to inflict harm. Again, I go back to Alina Starkov for this because, at least in Season 1, her being mixed is exclusively brought up when other characters are being racist and malicious towards her. There’s not one instance where Alina’s race is brought up in a positive, or even a neutral, way and it really just feels like Netflix changed her race from the books in order to write in racist insults to further emphasize her alienation from society - which is a messed up thing to do to both mixed viewers and Asian viewers alike. Hopefully Netflix makes some changes in future seasons but… not holding my breath

Trope #3 - The White Parent Raising The Mixed Child

Usually presented as a “feel good” story - you have a single, white parent raising their mixed child, sometimes alongside white half-siblings. It’s normally used to insert racial discussions into predominantly white stories and feels very much like it’s supposed to mollify white feelings rather than genuinely explore mixed experiences - not to mention the casual shadiness of slipping in the “absent parent of color” (often a Black parent) trope. The “white parent raising the mixed child” is the least outwardly malicious trope of the three I’ve listed here, but it’s still painfully obvious that these aren’t meant to be mixed stories. Instead, the inclusion of a mixed character is merely a way for the white parent, white siblings, etc. to grow and learn

While all three of these tropes can be reflective of our experiences, they are often portrayed in an incredibly reductive way and, more importantly, they reinforce this pervasive idea that being mixed is an inherently traumatizing and negative experience. Most of the time, the best mixed folks can hope for is a character where being mixed “doesn’t matter” i.e. a message that reeks of “benevolent” colorblind racism. 

In fact, I racked my brain trying to think of a *single* positive story about being mixed race in mainstream media and literature and came up with nothing. I’m 33 years old and have never seen or read a story about someone like me who has a mostly positive experience being mixed, who is proud of and uplifted by their heritage. But I can think of countless stories where being mixed was a source of trauma and shame, and an obstacle the character has to “overcome”. That’s really horrible! 

So now that I’ve gone over how mixed characters are commonly portrayed and the issues surrounding it, what are some things you should consider when writing to avoid falling into these harmful pitfalls?

If you want to show negative aspects of being mixed (like the examples above), consider also showing some positive aspects. Being mixed can be lonely and isolating (almost entirely because monoracial people like to exclude us), but it can also be fulfilling and give you a unique and valuable perspective

Consider having a variety of mixed race characters with different opinions on and experiences with their backgrounds. The “tragic mixed person” trope isn’t inherently bad - it’s only bad because that’s basically the only story we ever get about us. Throw out the formula and get creative! Show us different kinds of mixed characters

If you REALLY want to be radical, write a character where being mixed is an important and positive part of their lives and trauma doesn’t factor into it at all. Sad that that’s radical but here we are

Avoid the idea that mixed people are “half and half”, as in somehow lesser/diminished than their monoracial peers, especially when writing a character who is white mixed. This reinforces the white supremacist notion that heritage and the cultures of POC can be “bred out”. We aren’t diluted, we are whole and full members of our communities

For fantasy and sci-fi writers out there - take these ideas into account when writing characters who are part-human, part-fantasy creature/alien (or characters of any mix, really), especially when “fantasy racism” is a thing in your world. But even when it isn’t, the experiences a half-elf character has with their heritage is still going to be closely adjacent to the experiences of real life mixed people so it’s good to be aware of these things. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with Balto because a wolf-dog was the closest thing I got to representation in media so yeah

And that’s all for now! I’m thinking of making a second post where I talk more about the actual lived experiences of being mixed, as a sort of general list of things you could potentially explore to make your mixed characters more believable and relatable to mixed folks. Let me know if you’d like to see that and thanks for reading! I hope some of this was helpful to someone out there. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to shoot me an ask

218 notes - Posted May 2, 2022

#2

🦖 Dinosaur-themed Writeblr Ask Game

New writeblr ask game: reblog to get dinosaurs and share passages from your WIP(s) 🦕

Megalosaurus - share an scene that begins a chapter/story arc/etc

Spinosaurus - share a scene that ends a chapter/story arc/etc

Therizinosaurus - share a scene that you’ve put a lot of work into

Parasaurolophus - share a scene where a character is/gets embarrassed or flustered

Triceratops - share a scene where one character is protecting or caring for another

Deinonychus - share a scene with banter

Allosaurus - share an action or combat scene

Stegosaurus - share a humorous scene

Troodon - share a scene that is really important to a character’s development

Brachiosaurus - share a sad or tragic scene

Velociraptor - share an ominous or scary scene

Iguanodon - share a character introduction scene

Gallimimus - share a happy or lighthearted scene

Pteranodon - share a peaceful scene

Maiasaura - share a scene full of love between characters (platonic, romantic, familial, or otherwise)

Ankylosaurus - share some of your favorite descriptive text

Apatosaurus - share some of your favorite dialogue

Carnotaurus - share a scene that contains some cool worldbuilding

T-rex - share a scene that you're really proud of

283 notes - Posted July 4, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

You guys ever see a character that just makes you go like “damn I hope I can write a character like that one day”

680 notes - Posted April 24, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#honestly surprised that two of my top five posts are my art lmao #this was interesting to see

[writingwithcolor]

The White-Presenting Mixed Japanese Experience

@horse-faced-activist-gay​ said:

Hello! I have what I fear is probably a stupid question. I have a character whose great grandmother was Japanese. Everyone else in his family is white. Is he a poc? Not in a breaking him down to a percentage type of way, and there are other characters in the story who certainly are poc, and his mother was close to her grandmother's culture, he isn't so much. It just feels like I should know to capture him properly. Thank you!

Neither Japanese identity nor POC status can be assigned purely by blood quantums. There are a fair number of individuals in the US who identify as mixed/ Japanese/ Japanese-American who fit the above description. What is more relevant for the purposes of your story is how this character views their Japanese identity, how they interact with white culture in the US, and how both of these concepts affect their interactions with family and friends. Please research the concept of “white presenting” for further insight. 

- Marika.

While in some ways, sometimes, I am white presenting, I’ve been pretty connected to my culture since childhood, so I’m pretty solid on my own POC label. I’ve reached out to other white-presenting Japanese peers for their experiences! 

It’s a complicated relationship. My respondents were split on whether or not the POC label was right for them individually, although everyone identified as Japanese/Okinawan. The POC label is very much a matter of personal choice and how you want to be perceived. As Marika said, sometimes it’s less productive to talk about “who is POC” and more productive to consider how someone’s racial or ethnic identity changes how they interact with the world. 

One common thread was how quickly they were racialized or invalidated the moment they opened up about their heritage. 

A: [Regarding physical comments like “oh, I see it a bit now in your eyes”] I've always seen it as ego soothing, like “damn sorry I misread your ethnicity here's something.” In the Western mind Asian people have particular eyes. Either that or the way people look at me shifts when I mention my ethnicity.

B: I recently had an experience where a professor said I couldn't be a person of color because I was lighter than a paper bag and it caused a whole discussion that was frankly humiliating. I feel weird claiming the identity of POC because I can evade a lot of racism just based on looking white. I've noticed a lot of my experiences with racism are based on disclosure. I generally get treated as white until I mention being multiracial or Asian specifically, then people get weird.

Another common thread was feeling as though monoracial white people didn’t see the utility in identifying with the non-white culture at all, and pressured them to “embrace whiteness”: 

A: I never got put into the Other category by white people. To white people it's always been, “why are you so weird, just accept you're white and move on.” I'm stubborn so people pushing against me meant I pushed back harder. My identity as an Okinawan-American is much greater than my identity as a European-American these days.

C: [It] made me feel so off-put. “Embracing” my whiteness was all me, on my own terms, using my own realizations. I'm fairly fine to say that I feel like I was bullied out of saying I'm Japanese openly. 

They also noted that monoracial Asians also gate-kept them out of the community (an experience I share with A as well!). 

A: When I mention something about my ancestry [to someone in the Asian-American community] to connect as a fellow Asian-American, I always get like, "wow really? I couldn't tell, you must've taken more after your [white] Mom" or some shit. So it can be a sensitive topic for me. It does feel like the second I drop the fact that I'm Asian on another Asian person it's like a test, like they gotta measure my Asianess." 

On a more hopeful note, they mentioned that they’ve worked to find ways to connect with their heritage or find a supportive community, and that it’s been rewarding. 

A mentioned that the local Vietnamese-American community was welcoming, and also found that learning Japanese in university meant a lot for cultural connection. 

B found that taking Japanese classes, going to Japanese cultural events, and sharing Japanese food with friends helped them connect. 

C mentioned having a great time exploring traditional dress and kimono workshops, as well as buying old/vintage Japanese items to learn about them. 

All of them mentioned that online nikkei communities have also been a great space to connect with each other, although they said there was a certain je ne sais quoi about in-person interaction that they greatly missed. 

So, OP, I hope you can see from this that cultural connection and community are going to mean a lot to someone like your character, and you should represent that by giving him an interest in keeping up with his Japanese culture, even if it’s through the little things. 

Also from my wonderful respondents is this message to any white-presenting Japanese person struggling with their identity (and this can apply to other white-presenting mixed folks too!): 

C: I think you'll build some confidence as you get older and that confidence includes not just your personality, appearance, but who you are. I fought to get into those Asian student clubs (failed), went on dates with some Asian people (failed), tried to make friends with certain Asians on the basis we were both Asian (failed), went to Japan and tried to connect with people (failed). You shouldn't have to do all this to prove to others or yourself that you are who you are. All my Asian friends have entertained the "come over I want to make this recipe" or "let's go see this Japanese pottery shop." Find people who want to support you.

~Mod Rina White-presenting & mixed Japanese followers, please feel free to use this as a space to share your thoughts. Your experiences are very welcome here. 

#mixed race #mixed experiences #white presenting #Japanese #identity #identity issues #culture #assimilation #characterization #POC #asks