Lilly

sixth for the truth over solace in lies

we don't even make it to chapter 1 book 1 before we get that nugget!

-Why not me, Ianthe ?

You know, the warrior maidens who took the dead on the battlefield. They did not take part in the battles personally, but guided the fallen.

Morella looks like a guardian angel but she doesn't guard, rather the opposite. She gathers her friends into battle, accompanies them on their last journey.

Tis a sketch I’m not entirely sure I will finish but I did like how it turned out…mostly

Oh dear art block has truly been kicking my a-

They say that Duke was basically lynched because he was trapped behind a wall by his rivals during a death game, and that Eulalie is a harmful Asian stereotype because she's ditzy/quirky (?), and that the series is problematic for not making their backstories focus on racial trauma. And I wanted to pose the question, what would happen if the opposites were all true?

Imagine for a moment, that Duke was winning the death game. That he was the one shoving Montresor behind a wall. Wouldn't you say that scene was harmful because it demonstrates a black man being overtly violent? Or say that Eulalie was stoic and intellectual all the time. Wouldn't that make her a much more common Asian stereotype? What if all the POC characters' stories were filled to the brim with racial trauma and abuse? You could make a very good case that the authors were cashing in on real life historical tragedies and refusing to focus on moments of cultural pride, just to center white people as the villains in their stories.

And in my opinion? Nevermore is pretty good at representation! For instance, Duke is the romantic lead's best friend. He's one of the most central characters, and the plot consistently portrays him being correct and competent. The man who wanted to put him behind a wall is a clear antagonist, putting Duke firmly in the position of protagonist. He's self-made, successful, and charismatic. There is so much about Duke's portrayal that is refreshing and a subversion of harmful tropes, but some of you are making the argument that if he was destined to be Fortunado'd then RNF should have made him white. I can't be the only one who feels like that would have been a terrible loss. And if he needs to be made white because of that, who can be made black in his place without running into similar bad faith arguments? Not Ada. She's a housekeeper for a wealthy family. Not Pluto, he's impoverished and a victim of domestic abuse. The bully, Montresor? I think not. If either Annabel or Lenore were swapped, there'd be loads of criticism about power imbalance and white privilege in their relationship. Would Will be better? The cowardly henchmen, desperate for the approval of a white man? None of this would satisfy you. Do you see what I'm saying? The only thing that would be completely unproblematic by your standards, is if the entire cast were white.

When allegations of racism in media become this bad faith, this much of a stretch, and this much about "optics" over substance, what you're actually doing is telling authors that there is no correct way to represent people of color. That the only way to be safe from accusations of racism is to sidestep including POC characters entirely. Despite all your good and woke intentions, what your arguing for is erasure.