Fantasy Veiled World (OOC)

[Alien222]

With all due respect I'm also black and this is simply a case of role-playing and creative freedom. I don't find it as cultural appropriation at all I've known someone adopted by a black family and not being of the same race and wanting to be like their parents isn't "cultural appropriation" it's a bit much to ascribe such a thing to something so innocuous don't you think? I don't believe masky is someone you should be worried about in regards to those things. I mean sure you're right about the hair structural integrity thing but eh that's more suspension of disbelief kind of thing most characters aren't already fully human so whatever.

Also for suspense of disbelief, no. I'm sorry but no. This doesn't relate to her powers in any way and even if it did relate to her being non human, do you know it would sound like? It would sound like the justifications MHA gave out for all the fanservice. It would sound like how that one dragon anime tried very hard to use 'suspension of disbelief' to explain why this girl would have a chest twice the size of her head. Heck, it sounds like the very foundations of the arguments ppl use to justify the existence of suspiciously child like 'fully grown women' in anime
What I'm say is, it's a bad argument for cases like this. It simply doesn't work cos again, subtext and history

 

[EMIYAman]

Well, yes, I see your point and I wouldn't bring this up if I thought Masky was someone I had to worry about cultural appropriation with. I only did this because I thought they were unaware. But see the problem here is:

1) Subtext
2) History behind this subject
3) There are simply other ways to do this e.g learning his native language, dances, wearing clothes, etc

And, while yes, you can argue there is creative freedom in stuff, there's also subtext whether you want there to be or not.
Were lovable robot characters ever made to be caricatures of autistic ppl and thus bring up questions about whether or not we see autistic people as human? No. But it still did. Were ALL flamboyant villains created with the intention of being gay coded and thus having weird implications of how ppl saw ppl who acted 'gay'? No. But it still did.
The problems here are subtext and history and while, yes, I would like to live in a world where I can ignore that, I can't. The subtext is going to be there and it's not going to go away.
And yes, I am aware it's a bit much, it still is that. It's not going to stop being cultural appropriation even if there was good intent like how statements 'I wish I had a gay friend' are never going to stop being inherently homophobic even if you didn't mean it like that.

Also it brings up very strange questions about how she feels about her hair, which again are not intentionally there, but are still brought up

I understand that and to a degree yes you are right about subtext I can't already think of a few examples. But if we spend all our time looking for 'phantoms' of racism and ignorance in all our media and words then you'll find it everywhere for one reason or another. While I believe in the good intentions of your words I just think it leads to a veritable witch hunt where everythgin ends up being linked to something negative if we desire it to be. This is one of those cases where I think surface level reading is for the best cause that's how most people try to imagine these things. In the end as you said the subtext is there, so how are you going to get rid of it? Is the plan to punch at every idea or mention no matter how innocent that seems to elude to it? How do you decided what's fair use and whats problematic? There have been arguments of Orcs being stand ins for black people or indigenous people should we not allow use of those characters ever again? And in regard to cultural appropriation where did the idea that clinging to fascimilies of your culture and not allowing anyone else to partake in it come to be? Unless someone is outright mocking the culture with malicious intent what's the harm? Sure don't get me wrong white women who dress and try to act like black women may be strange to see and maybe even frustrating but I'm at least in a nation where culture is meant to be shared and appreciated by all. Accuracy can vary greatly sure but you can't ask an outsider looking in to get all of it right the first time. Most people like for example with Asian culture usually just appreciate that others are trying to see the value in a foreign style that isn't their own. I guess essentially I wonder if this is really the hill to die on when their are greater and real injustices going on compared to our little forum meant for creativity and a shared community.

 

[MintyMaskedGhost]

I'll change her hair to wavy/curly. It's all fine! I'll even possibly try braids. I'll try different things for my character and see how it works out. I'll update it tomorrow or at least try to.

 

[CHUUYAS_HAT]

You won't necessarily need to change something just to aligns with someone else's preferences. Even if there are good points the other two brought up, I'm 100% sure you made the character, and you have authority over it. Your the GM, so you decide if it's accepted or not

 

[MintyMaskedGhost]

I don't want to offend or disrespect anyone. And if changing her hair can help not offend or disrespect anyone then I'll change it.

 

[CHUUYAS_HAT]

You won't necessarily need to change something just to aligns with someone else's preferences. Even if there are good points the other two brought up, I'm 100% sure you made the character, and you have authority over it. Your the GM, so you decide if it's accepted or not

this to no offense for Alien222 and EMIYAman I hope, it's just...a weird thing to 'argue' over. It's still potentially reasonable why you guys say what is what is.

 

[Alien222]

I understand that and to a degree yes you are right about subtext I can't already think of a few examples. But if we spend all our time looking for 'phantoms' of racism and ignorance in all our media and words then you'll find it everywhere for one reason or another. While I believe in the good intentions of your words I just think it leads to a veritable witch hunt where everythgin ends up being linked to something negative if we desire it to be. This is one of those cases where I think surface level reading is for the best cause that's how most people try to imagine these things. In the end as you said the subtext is there, so how are you going to get rid of it? Is the plan to punch at every idea or mention no matter how innocent that seems to elude to it? How do you decided what's fair use and whats problematic? There have been arguments of Orcs being stand ins for black people or indigenous people should we not allow use of those characters ever again? And in regard to cultural appropriation where did the idea that clinging to fascimilies of your culture and not allowing anyone else to partake in it come to be? Unless someone is outright mocking the culture with malicious intent what's the harm? Sure don't get me wrong white women who dress and try to act like black women may be strange to see and maybe even frustrating but I'm at least in a nation where culture is meant to be shared and appreciated by all. Accuracy can vary greatly sure but you can't ask an outsider looking in to get all of it right the first time. Most people like for example with Asian culture usually just appreciate that others are trying to see the value in a foreign style that isn't their own. I guess essentially I wonder if this is really the hill to die on when their are greater and real injustices going on compared to our little forum meant for creativity and a shared community.

First of all, I'm not guarding the culture, I even said, wearing clothes, dances, etc would be a better show of her appreciation that actually involve her learning about the culture. Also no, those white women have no intentions of appreciating black culture, they simply want to look 'cool'. It's not inherently malicious but it's the reducing of a culture to simply an aesthetic which is bad in every case.
And yes, while culture should be celebrated freely, again, there are better and simply less history packed ways to do this.
And this isn't a 'phantom' of racism. I'm not claiming that Masky had any intentions of being racist.

Also for the argument of reading things at a surface level when it comes to media, it's a bad idea every time. I get where you're coming from but subtext is always important. Subtext has always been the beginnings of bigotry, and it shows. J.K. Rowling's books had subtext of racism, queerphobia and lots of other things and she turned to be all of those things. Wilbur Soot's music had all the subtext of being an abuser but nobody read too deep into it and look where that got us. The list goes on and on, MSI, Melanie Martinez, etc. Every bad person doesn't put all their bigotry out in the daylight for everyone to see, they would get immediately stoned that way. They put in the subtext. The subtext that Zootopia had was copaganda, the subtext of Princess and the Frog shows how much people love black culture but dislike seeing black protagonists on screen, Disney has shown itself multiple times to not care about diversity and be just weird about the government, states, etc. Subtext will unfortunately always matter and there just isn't a situation where it's not going to. Even in speech there is incredible amounts of subtext. It's a tool for communication, and has helped groups (bigots and minorities alike) hide themselves and to not look for it is to fail only yourself.
Also for the bigger problems issue, where exactly do you think bigotry starts? A lot of it starts in subtext and then it becomes these bigger issues like what you're talking about. People don't wake up and become fascists, they're slowly fed fascist media until they become that. Most of society didn't wake up and think 'I'm homophobic' they were spoonfed homophobia. Nobody was just outright told toxic pro-capitalistic ideas, they were fed them slowly and learnt them. Because again if bigots went out in the street and said their views outright, they would be stoned and hanged

Again, Masky, I don't ever believe you had bad intentions. If I did, this would have started in dms and with a lot of negative intent behind it.

 

[Alien222]

this to no offense for Alien222 and EMIYAman I hope, it's just...a weird thing to 'argue' over. It's still potentially reasonable why you guys say what is what is.

At the end of the day, Masky, they're also right. I could bring up good points and I can't stop you doing whatever you want. It's your character not mine

 

[strawberryspiral]

Uhhhh not to be off topic but I’m NOT ghosting my bad!! I will have my post up soon I promise .

Also I’m black and a hairdresser, this could be addressed by just saying that is just their hair type? Seen plenty of people of all backgrounds have curls/afros naturally. I did do the hair of a white woman with very tight coils and textured hair naturally.

What I am getting from this is: having an afro and not being black HAS to be cultural appropriation.

But Cultural Appropriation is the act of taking elements of another culture that and using them in a way that is disrespectful or removes their original meaning.

In cosmetology we define an Afro as a hair style not a hair type. It is a style that can created by combing out natural growth of textured hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair.

This is where my own opinion comes in- Afros are possible to do with chemical products and for some can be seen as problematic. To me, some people do it in a way to mock black ppl and our culture. BUT intention is important. I don’t think mocking a culture was Maskys intention though- just a nod to their loyalty and dedication to the character’s father.

Also, just a fun fact:
Curls and texture are two different things and all ethnicities carry the curly/textured genes. It is not just us who have curls and texture.

No hate to anyone genuinely just trying to inform people.

 

[Alien222]

MintyMaskedGhost Question: Can witches make other witches? Like not turning someone into a witch but like making a robot or some sort of Frankenstein-esque that's a witch?

(Sorry for the weird topic change, I just wanted to ask)

 

[MintyMaskedGhost]

MintyMaskedGhost Question: Can witches make other witches? Like not turning someone into a witch but like making a robot or some sort of Frankenstein-esque that's a witch?

(Sorry for the weird topic change, I just wanted to ask)

There are objects that witches can connect their magic to and to allow the magic stay connected to the object even after they die they'll put enchantments onto said object. This wouldn't work with a human, but would 100% work with a robot! :3

So to answer your question. Yes!

 

[Alien222]

There are objects that witches can connect their magic to and to allow the magic stay connected to the object even after they die they'll put enchantments onto said object. This wouldn't work with a human, but would 100% work with a robot! :3

So to answer your question. Yes!

Thanks for the info Gonna be using it very well

 

[MintyMaskedGhost]

I'm going to be gone for a good minute. Hopefully not long. I'll probably still be online but I'm not going to be able to respond to things as quickly as I usually do.

 

[CHUUYAS_HAT]

this up?

 

[scarmynethelast]

 

[scarmynethelast]

why does my profile say unlucky member what does this mean

 

[CHUUYAS_HAT]

why does my profile say unlucky member what does this mean

it says new rn
I think I saw u with unlucky on your subtitle before, not sure if it was u, so maybe it was, idk

 

[scarmynethelast]

it says new rn
I think I saw u with unlucky on your subtitle before, not sure if it was u, so maybe it was, idk

yeah that’s what happened

 

[MintyMaskedGhost]

How is everyone doing?

 

[Alien222]

How is everyone doing?

Fine and you?

 

[CHUUYAS_HAT]

How is everyone doing?

goooooood

 

[MintyMaskedGhost]

Fine and you?

I'm okay

 

[MintyMaskedGhost]

I'm going to start sending DMs to those who haven't responded to see how they're doing.

 

[EMIYAman]

Dearly beloved I come to you today to say that we should probably start putting hard deadlines and a reliable schedule if we wish to revive this wonderful idea for a story from its necrotic state. Thank you for coming to my tedtalk.

 

[MintyMaskedGhost]

Just in case.

Those who didn't put in anything for character sheets or the rp have until the end of the month to reply for character sheets and the beginning of next month to do a response for the roleplay. Exact dates:
Character Sheets: 4/30/25
Roleplay: 5/5/25

Those who just need to respond to the roleplay and not character sheets get until the end of the month to respond to the roleplay. Exact date:
Roleplay: 4/30/25