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hi friends! this is my quick take on what's happening with hoyoverse, the general design of sumeru, and the stream of racism allegations that have resurged recently. i think it's worth trying to analyze why hoyoverse designed sumeru the way it looks like so far (and because i want to add my two cents to the discourse lol).

here are some context:

hoyoverse is a chinese game dev company

sumeru is inspired by the people, religions, architecture, and cultures of south asian countries (india, nepal, pakistan, etc.) and countries in SWANA* (egypt, iran, the UAE, turkey, etc.)

we are only getting a portion of sumeru and 3 new characters in the 3.0 update

here are some of the main problems players have with the current status of sumeru:

the combination of the different countries and their cultures and religions

the lack of diversity

the general lack of effort put into sumeru's design, given the release of the fatui harbingers and the outstanding quality demonstrated in the interlude teaser

in order to address these concerns, i think it's important to think about hoyoverse and the stances its employees have on this issue. this does not mean i am playing devil's advocate or excusing the company's ignorance, but i think it's critical to understand the potential root causes.

because hoyoverse is based in china, their standard of diversity is much, much lower compared to that of other countries, such as the US and canada, which experience decades worth of immigration and are known as melting pots. coupled with east asia's internalized colorism and xenophobia, mainland folks simply do not get much exposure to POC. this means two things. first, they might not understand why global players are so adamant about POC representation and diversity – the developers may not even know how to go about bringing diversity because what they think is diverse is different from our understanding. second, hoyoverse will prioritize its east asian, particularly its chinese, fanbases, and let's be real, any character that's not flour-pale will not be as popular with the latter.**

the lack of popularity then becomes a financial issue for hoyoverse. hoyoverse generates a large portion of its money from the wishing system. it's thriving because so many people whale for 5-star characters and C6-ing them. if hoyoverse's largest community stops pulling for characters, they won't be able to keep up and maintain high quality with future productions (both for genshin and other games).

i promise y'all that there are at least a few designers and staff members in hoyoverse who want diversity in the same way that we do, who want unique characters with intricate lore, and who are willing to put in the effort. but at the end of the day, they are just designers and many of them will be forced to revise darker-skinned character drafts.

besides literal money, another currency that hoyoverse is limited to is time. one thing that i think hoyoverse hasn't disappointed fans in is the consistency of the game. there is always new content, and even during its hiatus in response to the shanghai mass quarantine in may, they provided mini events and extended the banners to make it more accessible for F2P players. while having constant releases is wonderful and retains interest, that means quality will be compromised in other aspects.

in this case, it means the design and intention put into sumeru. to elaborate, by design, i don't just mean character designs (though this is debatable because the community has a pretty bad habit of hating new characters, especially 5-stars, but then growing to love them) but also the geography, architecture, and personality of sumeru.

as sumeru is marketed right now, its concept is that it is a collage of all the aforementioned countries and their respective cultures. unless sumeru is separated into geographical sections to represent the distinct cultural influences, to mish-mash these countries' religions, peoples, and traditions together is disrespectful and reinforces harmful monolithic stereotypes.***

sumeru will be a literal game-changing region because it has so much information to bring: in-depth lore, the dendro element and everything that entails, etc. this is a pivoting point, so that's why it's frankly saddening and anticlimactic for hoyoverse to not put in the effort. i understand that in update 3.0, we will only be getting a taste of sumeru, so while it's hard to judge the production of the region with the limited information we have right now, it's important to push for diversity and representation while we still can and also give hoyoverse time to make the necessary changes correctly.

to summarize: i don't think hoyoverse is being intentionally or actively racist. i think it comes from a place of ignorance, so i personally think it's better to approach this problem with constructive criticism than to send hate messages to hoyoverse staff members who work so hard regardless. if we don't tell them why and what they're doing is wrong, then the game developers won't know how to resolve the concerns. furthermore, sumeru hasn't officially come out yet, and what we have seen in the teasers will be more refined and polished in the released product. i don't think we need to panic or retaliate, i just think we should remind hoyoverse so that they don't put representation on the back burner.

as for solutions, sending messages through different media platforms, emails, etc. has worked in the past (e.g. during genshin's 1st anniversary).**** but it doesn't stop there. just like every other region released so far, sumeru isn't just limited to the 3.0 patch; we will continue getting content for it for the rest of the game, so unless we see results, we have to be consistent with the feedback. that looks like continuing to send messages until we see tangible, permanent change, not being complacent in the lack of POC representation, and more.

i probably missed a lot of great points out there, but this is all my last brain cell can come up with. please repost and add your own thoughts because the more ideas, the better! (if you want to repost this onto other platforms, just make sure you credit me!!)

hope everyone gets their kazuhas, heizous, and yoimiyas in 2.8!!!

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*i recognize that the name "the middle east" has colonial roots, but because the region is so popularly known as such, i'm using it so that no one gets confused. edit: thanks to @najmaviper for pointing this out, but a decolonized term that is often used is SWANA. you can find more information at the initiative's website: https://swanaalliance.com/about#:~:text=S.W.A.N.A.%20is%20a%20decolonial%20word,contain%20and%20dehumanize%20our%20people.

**this is not to say that all individuals from south asian or SWANA are darker-skinned, but it's crucial to push for change to help gamers who are tan, brown, and black. this is especially important to do with games as popular as genshin impact because it can cause ripple effects.

***here's a tweet that states this argument eloquently: https://twitter.com/timelysumeru/status/1546500639970435072

Dan & Swampy are incredibly kind men who wanted to create a show that was easy for kids to recognize and participate in, while having fun antics for anyone of all ages.

It’s not even that ugly, it’s got funny shapes sure, but the colors and character designs are bright and fantastically fun, and the show’s writing was completely clever.

I detailed in a long post once how they left most of the dialogue up to the animators: they had a basic outline of how each episode would go, and as the animators would draw it out (they didn’t use puppets folks, they used cintiq tablets and drew everything, I saw it first-hand) and as they were drawing they’d think “what would this character be saying while making this gesture?” and that’s how the dialogue was created. The animators also worked in pairs, so they always had a companion to talk to, work with, and help with dialogue as they went. This is how most of the jokes were created, and as they had multiple animator teams, they were able to keep jokes and dialogue very fresh so the show never stagnated from using only the same couple of writers like most shows do.

For the songs Dan & Swampy themselves would pull a guitar off wall, go into the meeting room and gather anyone around, and just come up with songs on the spot right there. They would sit for a couple of hours messing around gathering input from anyone and everyone. This kept the songs fun and fresh and also kept them from stagnating or becoming boring.

Phineas and Ferb was made in a very rewarding, fun environment. Everyone who worked in the studio seemed very happy, and they loved having visitors and getting to show off and explain every aspect of the show. Everyone was kind and fun and just loved their job. I genuinely can’t accept seeing anyone saying negative things about a show that was intrinsically meant to be gratifying, fun, and wonderful for kids and adults of all ages, and stuck to that mindset throughout its entire creation process.

Take the school interview. Getting furious on Anya’s behalf when the asshole makes her cry and storming out was objectively a pretty bad move for the mission. Operation strix could have ended right there. But at the same time, showing their decency and care for their daughter won over henderson and things worked out. Plus, because they acted like a real family in that moment, it puts them beyond suspicion. Imagine if someone later tried to convince henderson that loid was a spy, and they only enrolled anya to infiltrate the school. He’d laugh in their face! He’d say let me tell you a story about how they nearly didn’t get in because they loved their daughter so much, theres no way that family are spies.

Another great example is Anya’s relationship with Damian. Punching him in the face on day one… not a great move for operation “get close to Damian and use that friendship to get info on his dad” But in the long run, this again puts Anya above suspicion. If someone later tried to tell Damian that his friend Anya just got close to him to spy on him, he’d think it ridiculous. He’d say of course thats not the case, we hated each other when we first met, if she wanted to spy on me she’d have tried to suck up to me like everyone else.

But since I’ve gotten too disabled to fight anymore, I… find myself coming back to that maiden in a tower. It’s that funny thing, where subverting femininity is powerful for the people who have always been forced into it… but for the people who have always been excluded, the powerful thing can be embracing it.

As I’m disabled, as I say to groups of friends, “I can’t walk that far,” as I’m in too much pain to keep partying, I find myself worrying: I’m boring, too quiet, too stationary, irrelevant. The message sent to the disabled is: You’re out of the narrative, you’re secondary, you’re a burden.

The remarkable thing about the maiden in her tower is not her immobility; it’s common for disabled people to be abandoned, set adrift, waiting at bus stops or watching out the windows, forgotten in institutions or stranded in our houses. The remarkable thing is that she’s like a beacon, turning her tower into a lighthouse; people want to come to her, she’s important, she inspires through her appearance and words and craftwork.  In medieval romances she gives gifts, write letters, sends messengers, and summons lovers; she plays chess, commissions ballads, composes music, commands knights. She is her household’s moral centre in a castle under siege. She is a castle unto herself, and the integrity of her body matters.

you really dont get that on twitter or other websites without having to scroll through a bunch of tweets to find a users art. once its posted, its basically dead because other tweets are flooding in.

user customization is non existent on those sites, you are forced to use the same layout as everyone else. constantly being advertised to if youre using their mobile apps.

web 2 is joyless. you’ve been turned into a product. too much focus on likes & views. you’re perfectly fine with companies stealing your personal info & make money off of you for the sake of convenience. web3 is being envisioned by the biggest assholes on earth.

“The indie web, it’s these thousands of websites delivering millions of pages, built up with passion, opinions and information by Net users assuming their rights as citizens. The indie web is a new type of link between people, it’s a free and open space of shared knowledge where vanity has no place. ” - the indie web manifesto, 1997

i encourage you to check out neocities. here are some webpages that might inspire you: https://dokodemo.neocities.org/index.html https://sukiyaki.city/ https://adilene.neocities.org/ http://lu.tiny-universes.net/index2.html https://mystsaphyr.me/ https://cinni.net/index.html https://entranceorexit.net/about.html https://msdos.neocities.org/ https://koinuko.neocities.org/index.html https://faiyubu.neocities.org/home/ and you can check out more here!

here are some guides to get you started on making your own website. it really isn’t too hard if you’ve messed with tumblr themes in the past. i’d say its simpler since you dont have to deal with tumblr’s backend stuff & different post types.

https://learn.sadgrl.online/sitemap/ - great tutorials on html & css, plus neocities specific tutorials

https://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp - has a css section too, easy to follow & understand

google - chances are someone has had the same issue as you, and has had their question answered on stackflow already

brushing rainbow glitter on my latest print

translifeline.org

US: (877) 565-8860

CANADA: (877) 330-6366

Pacific time: 8am to 2am

Mountain time: 9am to 3am

Central time: 10am to 4am

Eastern time: 11am to 5am

Alaska time: 7am to 1am

when i was a little kid and both my dad & i were being actively abused by my mom, he was familiar enough w her gaslighting that he instructed me at elementary school age to write down all the horrible things she did/said to me. it would be useful in court when custody was being argued and it would be useful to ME, years later, when my mom would try and convince me none of it happened. i had the proof, often word for word, that it did--and there was no hope in convincing my mom but a lot of hope in convincing myself and holding my stance against her. it was pivotal to advocating for myself and my feelings and eventually leaving her in my dust!

for the first reason, nothing will happen to you, a foreigner, for supporting filipinos. theres nothing to be afraid of, youre not in this country and wont suffer any consequences. many of us, however? we’re afraid. especially artists and creators who rely on commissions to support themselves and their families

for the second reason, you are not hurting our oppressors at all. you are hurting filipinos, majority of which did not want this to happen and are actively speaking out against the looming dictatorship. dropping filipino creators does nothing but hurt us. our inflation rates are predicted to rise, and money is fast becoming an even bigger issue for so so many

so if youre looking for art, dont give up on us. commission filipino artists and/or boost commission posts! 1 USD is literally enough to buy a meal here, it really helps. here is a link to a thread of filipino artists posting their commission rates. and here is another thread of filipino commission rates. tips and donations outside of comms to these artists help even more.

Dr. Carmel Harrington, the lead researcher for the study, was one of these parents. Her son unexpectedly and suddenly died as an infant 29 years ago. (...) Harrington explained what she was told about the cause of her child’s death. 

"Nobody could tell me. They just said it's a tragedy. But it was a tragedy that didn't sit well with my scientific brain.” 

Since then, she’s worked to find the cause of SIDS, both for herself and for the medical community as a whole. She went on to explain why this discovery is so important for parents whose babies suffered from SIDS. 

"These families can now live with the knowledge that this was not their fault," she said.

HERE IS THE ORIGINAL THREAD. Please spread.

(link one, two, three)

more under the cut

Marcos’s ‘Special Degree’

According to the university’s Information Compliance Team, Marcos “did not complete his degree, but was awarded a Special Diploma in Social Studies in 1978.” “We can confirm that a Ferdinand Marcos matriculated at the University of Oxford in 1975 to read for a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. According to our records, he did not complete his degree, but was awarded a Special Diploma in Social Studies in 1978,”

source: here

Tax Evasion

As Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr evades questions on his family’s P203 billion estate tax debt, his supporters muddle the discussion by spreading false claims about Philippine tax laws if only to defend the non-payment.

Over the past days, Marcos’ supporters have amplified a comment from a political analyst that to charge the Marcos estate of tax would be to concede that it is not ill-gotten.

“That’s wrong logic, and a wrong understanding of the law. Because under the tax code, it doesn’t make a distinction whether the property is legally acquired or illegally acquired such as ill-gotten wealth. So as long as that property is yours at the time you die, [that’s included in your gross estate and will be charged an estate tax],”

source: here

Skipping Most Presidential Debates

“[I am inviting Mr. Marcos to debate with me, to give the people a chance to face him and ask about the controversies surrounding him. We owe it to the people and to our country. If you would accept, I will come anytime, anywhere.] Robredo added.

Marcos participated twice in a debate organized by SMNI News, the media outfit owned by fugitive preacher Apollo Quiboloy. Quiboloy, who is wanted in the United States for sex trafficking charges, has endorsed Marcos for president.

None of the other leading candidates attended the debates organized by SMNI, deemed to be friendly to Marcos and has acquiesced to his demands to skip the hard questions.

Of the 10 presidential candidates, only Marcos has snubbed the past two debates organized by the Commission on Elections (Comelec). Marcos also did not join the debate mounted by CNN Philippines.

source: here

First Person Account of Torture and Imprisonment under Martial Law

Am I saying “we need to stick to the original story every time” no of course not, but like. It’s the fact that people are reinterpreting something that isn’t there. Cinderella isn’t about “woman needs man to save her” it’s about “an abused girl who has no way to escape her horrible home life remains nice and hopeful and eventually her kindness pays its way back to her even if the fucking universe has to send her a fairy just to give her a night off and start a domino effect that ends with her being happy and safe.”

Every Cinderella remake or retelling nowadays is about how she doesn’t need a man and can rescue herself, or about how her falling in love with the prince too fast was a mistake and he’s actually a dick, and it’s just clearly missing the point. It just. I honestly feel like most, if not all of the people misinterpreting the story never had to grow up in a toxic home environment that you literally cannot escape because there is no system in place that can help you, and you dream that one day all your problems would get magically solved with a wave of a wand and a few singing mice. Cinderella didn’t dream of getting married she dreamed of being happy, marriage just happened to come with that. She dreamed of not being abused 24/7 in a situation she couldn’t escape from and despite being treated like garbage since she was a child she remained a good fucking person and that’s why she gets rewarded at the end.

No, I do not hate Gail Carson Levine’s book Ella Enchanted that is a masterpiece

No, I do not like the 2015 Disney Cinderella remake that film is a two-hour middle finger to the 1950s film stop recommending it to me

I’m not trying to take this post away from women and make it about Black men but I want to point out that wether it’s patriarchy or white supremacy; those who feel as if they have power over you HATE to see you not smile. They are so used to people like you smiling to gain their approval that when you don’t there’s a cognitive dissonance that makes them extremely uncomfortable.