Alive?

So I’ve been binge listening to @jointhepartypod Season 2 and I had to give my take on the main PCs!

Story of my life people. You know what’s real ? The struggle.

[id: bea casely and brenda bentley from arden. the two women are facing one another, brows furrowed but smiling as if in friendly bickering. bea is on the left; she’s shorter, wearing a pale blue dress shirt, and her long red hair is pulled into a tight braid. brenda is on the right; she wears a red tank top, her dark hair in a messy bun, and she has an earring shaped like a lemon wedge. behind them are capital letters reading, “arden.” end id]

I was hoping I’d get an ask like this so I had an excuse to go all out like this! Artfight is an annual art event that surrounds giving and getting art for a whole month!

once you make an account you can upload all your ocs and their information on your own page! This should include stuff like references and small bits of character info (enough for someone to draw them accurately). You need to have at least one OC uploaded to participate so people can draw art for you during Artfight (although i would say upload about 3 so people have choice.)

All people who sign up for Artfight that year get separated into two teams once the event begins (I’m using red and blue as an example but they are usually stuff like sun vs moon, technology vs nature, coffee vs tea etc)

Once that happens people can make art of your OCs in exchange for points for their team! Yep! You get free art of your OCs!

But that means your team is now down a good few points so its not without consequence.

By drawing an OC that belongs to the opposite team for more points than the piece you were given your team is able to stay on top of the game and you also put some good out in the world in the process.

if you draw something for the person of the opposite team and they attack back you can get extra points for your team by starting a “revenge chain” its one of the best ways to get a point multiplier going and to start a friendship with someone who has cool characters!

So what happens when your team wins?

Your team all get a nifty little digital trophy, all the art development that comes with drawing competitively, the knowledge that you’ve put a lot of good and happiness into the world by drawing peoples ocs, and complete ownership of bragging rights! (I personally developed my art style a whole lot during artfight last year! it was super fun!)

So what about when your team looses?

Well the reason why the other team won is because they gave your team the most art of your teams characters! So statistically you just got a whole bunch more free art than they did! Even if you don’t get all the celebration and bragging rights you now have so much more amazing art of your characters!

So basically…

I totally implore everyone who loves to do visual art to participate in artfight! It’s an amazing event that challenges you in a great way and you get to be introduced to a lot of really amazing artists and make alliances with people on your team!

Here’s the link to the website

Here’s the link to my account on art fight if you want to check me out!

Black Girls & Women: Representation We Want

As a Black woman reader, I definitely want to see more soft Black girls and women in literature. Girls with their own self-interests (caring about oneself isn’t necessarily selfish) and not always someone else’s caregiver is great too.

Here’s my list!

More Black girls...

In love

With close family bonds and healthy relationships and support systems (that don’t require enduring abuse, fixing their partner, or overall emotional labor to earn domestic happiness)

Being protected

As main characters, heroines and anti-heroes

On adventures

In fantasy and magical settings

In historical settings as peasants, upper-class society, and royalty

Descriptions of Black Afro hair, skin, features as a normal thing in books (see this compilation) and not in an Othering way

On the other hand, vibrant, sometimes hyped up descriptions that allude to their beauty (see this ask. Or this one). Not Othering, just appreciating! 

Put us in fancy dresses and give us a sword and let us dance at the balls and have admirers!

Experiencing complex emotions not necessarily in reaction to racism or racist violence

On the book cover! And with an accurate, not light or white-washed model

~Mod Colette

Responses:

@madamef-er

Soft black girls and nerd girls who like cute things. 

Shy black girls not just in situations with boys. 

More lgbtqia+ black girls. Studs! Femmes! 

Gender fluid and non conforming constantly changing their style because they like it!

Spies and not just as the 'sexy bait' or 'weapons master' let us sit behind the computer for once and be hackers and stuff

@tanlefan

Black girls who are just...people.

I want a fantasy escapism adventure that isn't a thinly veiled discussion on slavery or racism or any other aspect of The Struggle. I am tired. 

Can I just have a happy Black girl who believes in fairies or something?

@esmeraldanacho-1776 More autistic Black women/girls! I don't care what genre really; just have them in there!

@briarsthicket And enby black people!

@mattiekins

Def soft black girls. 

Energetic and playful. 

Or shy and quiet.

I want to see more black girls who are nerds and not just mommy mommying or nanny nannying everyone. 

I want black girls who want to be a ballerina, or a talk show host, or a game designer etc. 

I want a black girl who gets to be happy. 

Who doesn't have to act older than she is and be the shoulder for everyone, always.

@xiiishadesofgrey

I want more black lady nerds, if we’re talking modern settings!  

More black ladies who have a sporty/playful nature! 

Who aren’t afraid to get dirty and make chaos, without being dirty or frowned upon!

Strange as it sounds coming from me, more black princesses! Brandy as Cinderella in the 90s was my first Cinderella, and I LOVE that.

Please, god, more black wlws.

@daintythoughtswritersblock

I want to see tropes exercised 

Black women of all shades and tones

@hazelnut4370

Tbh just fellow black people being happy, like I rarely see that,

Or enjoying hobbies

rivergoddessdream

Happily childless black women

Black women traveling the world

Fat black women in happy, healthy, poly relationships

Black cis and trans women having a true sisterhood

Autistic black women

Black women in period pieces that aren't about slavery and don't take place in the US

Black women thespians

Black women painters

Black women revolutionaries

Black women front and center in the narrative

Black women healers and storytellers

Non christian Black women stories

Black women rockers

#complicated black women characters #tell those stories

@missnancywrites

More Black Girls...

With diverse cultural and social backgrounds!

That are nerdy, girly, intelligent, ditzy, all the personality types that white girls in literature get!

That are fragile, shy or anxious. Almost every single black woman I’ve seen in media or otherwise are wise and adult. Let us be an absolute wreck, or an anxious mess!

In science! Characters like Shuri, Moon Girl and Iron Heart in Marvel revitalized me, cuz young black girls only get two types. Both these girls are in intellectual and in science, but have bery different personalities.

In interracial relationships, and not because they hate black men or something along those lines. They just happen to be dating outside their race, black women get hate for that in real life and it’s unfair. Let us have relationships outside our race! That said...

In platonic relationships with black men! I think that’s important, cuz I don’t often seen black solidarity unless it’s for the purpose of showing how diverse the writing is. Let them share interests, daily frustrations that they would only understand, but don’t force a romance.

In solid friendships with other black girls! For some reason, we’re pitted against in each other inside and outside of writing! Write some sweet wholesome friendship!

With different sexualities! Let there be some that are ace, others are gay, bi or pan! Just be sure you don’t sexualize them, or turn em into a robot.

•Who are dark-skinned! This can be seen a lot in tv or movies, but when you want a black girl in your stuff don’t just hire a light-skinned black girl or a biracial black girl. It’s not the same.

Who get to act their age! Black women have a long standing history of being adultified, starting from a very young age, and it’s extremely harmful. Little black girls can wear what they please, the problem is people sexualizing them. Let the teen black girl be a teenager, she can look out for her siblings but she isn’t the keepern the house or their lives. Young adult black girls are not ideal housewives or capable working machines, they mess up and mess around just as much as any young adult.

With mental/physical disabilities or illnesses. Alongside with being forced to be more mature than they are, disabilities/illnesses are never taken seriously and we’re forced to just deal with it. Having black girls who happen to have these issues, but also have a healthy support group is always good!

@ink-and-roses

Seen as beautiful and desirable and NOT in a hypersexualized way

Interracial relationships are wonderful because black girls are beautiful and lbr everybody sees it

Sensitive and allowed to feel something other than righteous anger

Some black girls are skinny! Some are big! Some are slim and some are curvy! There’s no mold!

Dark skinned!

A YA protagonist out to save the world from something other than racism

Superpowers or magic that doesn’t come from generational trauma or slavery

Black characters who support other black characters. None of this token crabs in a barrel business.

Black girl nerds and punks and goths exist. I promise.

And this may be a personal preference but I’m not against the idea of a damsel in distress. We are always being strong. Let her be soft and delicate and cared for. Let her be princess carried and rescued from the tower and the dragon.

[Note from Mod: It’s not just you! I love a Black damsel being saved and protected. What is progressive for one woman varies due to historical and present depictions and is why intersectionality in feminism is so important! -Colette]

@nightlyswordswoman

As a writer, I write a lot of my black female characters like this because I rarely ever see black women being represented in these ways! ESPECIALLY on the covers of books, unless the author themselves is a black woman and even then its rare. 

Too often black women are stereotyped as strong protector types that are always rough, tough, and don’t need anybody in books (and real life), when that’s honestly just dumb and inaccurate--black women are as vulnerable as anyone else (in some cases, even more vulnerable, but that’s another topic). 

i’m speechless

This is how the system of white supremacy  operates. The media is used 2 create stereotypes like blk on blk crime.They need black men to fill jail cells for the Prison Indstrial complex

You know what? I’m tired of this. I do not know what exactly they are waiting for. I mean our government comes up with “reasons” to invade other countries, such as Syria, like their government is allegedly violating human rights or something like that. but… I mean for other countries, they do not even have to go deep to bomb the fuck out of this place, they can just look at our media. And this has been happening to people of color since the media has existed.

I’ll never forget this 👇🏾

WHAT THE FUCK

THIS IS FUCKING BLACK MAGIC AND I NEED TO KNOW JUST

this literally is just how the women of India wear traditional clothing. The cloth itself is maybe a slightly different dimension, it looks bigger maybe, I’m not an expert by any means, but I do have some additional information for you.

The saree, or sari (or sometimes shari) is simply a panel of textile that has over 80 recorded methods of draping or wrapping – its origins date back nearly 5 thousand years, and the word itself is based on an old sanskrit word meaning “strip of cloth”

there are many instructional booklets and video tutorials and things on how to drape them various ways

Saris are usually woven with one plain end (the end that is concealed inside the wrap), two long decorative borders running the length of the sari, and a one to three-foot section at the other end which continues and elaborates the length-wise decoration. 

they are often very colorful and vibrant, and can be deigned so that when you wrap them different ways, different colors and patterns are featured. They are usually worn over a sort of bodice/shirt called a choli, which is what is on the top half of this mannequin

Famously worn in India, this same or similar style of attire is found in many other countries also, such as Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, etc

all the female characters are dressed up, or not, however they want. most notably MOST of them ARE NOT wearing makeup. that shouldnt be as note worthy as it is, but in most “formal event” episodes if female characters dont usually wear makeup they always do. its a “transformation” moment. literally the only characters that were makeup here are Scorpia and Mermista

and even then scorpia is just wearing full lipstick, and mermista is just wearing eyeshadow.

these 3 while getting dressed up all wear casual flats, with glimmer wearing her every day shoes, being the equivalent of wearing high-tops with your prom dress. (this was the only clear shot of perfumas shoes i tried).

and of course, catra and many background female characters wear suits, and entrapta chooses not to get dressed up at all feeling comfortable in her everyday wear.