bl3d1ts

[bl3d1ts]

Can I use your edits?

Yeah, just credit me, and don't use them for any racist bullshit.

Can I request a character?

No, sorry, I'm not really confident enough in my editing skills to take requests.

What do you use to make your edits?

ibisPaint X on my phone.

It looks bad.

Ok. Don't use it, then. Do it yourself or something.

You missed a spot.

C'est la vie.

[creatingblackcharacters]

Forgive me if I’m wrong about this, and you’ve probably heard about this, but there’s this new indie pilot called Planetronika, and in general I really liked the animation and it seems like there’s a lot of love in the project… however, one of the main character’s designs is really racist imo. He has the “donut lips” thing. Which is obviously really unfortunate, but still the creator’s fault and like, the character is obviously meant to be black coded, so it’s definitely really fucked up to design him like that?? (It would be regardless but him obviously being meant to be black makes it somewhat worse imo) it definitely makes me not want to watch or support the show.

It seems like the creator is a poc based on his sona and the pictures of him, but he’s clearly not black (not that that changes all that much. A racist design is a racist design. But still). I’ve seen people make the argument it’s supposed to be a parody of how that type of stuff would be in early the Cartoon Network shows it’s meant to invoke, but idk, I don’t think that’s an excuse?? Also people are way more mad about the “fanservice” than this.

then again I’ve seen people just say it’s not racist and it’s not donut lips cause he’s a slime creature, which I don’t think is true at all. But what do you think? (Sorry if this ask is overzealous or I’m wrong about this, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to)

pictures of the character, Freestyle VVV

It's real easy to just... NOT do that, though. Especially when no one else has those lips. Sew.

[talentlesshuman]

🍒Black Cherry Miku!

Based off of the very popular black miku design by ironicnotsavage🩵

[r41nyd4ysworld]

Why is it that when racism occurs in fandom spaces, in independent media, that y’all keep calling people weird for reacting strongly to it? Y’all really think you’re doing something when you pull that dingy “there’s real world problems to deal with” excuse out your ass just to shut up people rightfully wanting justice and feeling comfortable with their media.

It was real when y’all dressed up in cosplays, and made fan art, and went to conventions, and got to interact with your faves through their social platforms…but suddenly when bigotry is involved, it’s not that big of a deal.

Let me rephrase what y’all are trying to say: POC don’t get to have fandom. We don’t get to have media. That part of the real world is something we’re not allowed to touch. It’s the one space that discrimination and prejudice will always thrive, because you refuse to acknowledge the layers of racism for what they are.

I think people should be just as critical of fandom spaces and their bigotry as they would the real world. You should treat these scandals of people saying slurs, of outright refusing to hire POC for certain roles, and whatever the fuck else these companies decide to facilitate and be complicit in as hate crimes, as segregation, as RACISM. You should see these behaviors and patterns of behavior as indicative of something in the real world, because we all exist in the real world, and these things don’t leave us just because we put on a quirky username.

[communist-hatsunemiku]

Cameroon Miku 🇨🇲 - l33oh

[communist-hatsunemiku]

Central African Republic Miku 🇨🇫

[communist-hatsunemiku]

Angola Miku 🇦🇴 - l33oh

[communist-hatsunemiku]

Beninese Miku 🇧🇯 - l33oh

[communist-hatsunemiku]

Chad Miku🇹🇩 - l33oh

[momomochiaf]

Drew this for Gabriii.art on insta after her black Miku post got taken down, it's nice to see so many artists supporting her and fighting against the censorship u v u

Commissions are now open~~ TYSM for all the support!! T u T<33

[mysteriousbeetle]

How to look for indie comics from Black creators!

As you may know, there was recently a DC Comics boycott as a part of the DCSoWhite movement since DC has not had a mainline ongoing solo with a Black lead for over 1200 days. You can read more about this here, here, here, and here. The boycott has been cancelled (link), but that doesn't mean we can't still show support for Black comic creators!

One of the things the movement called for fans to do was to "[Support] Black creators through independent and creator-owned projects." So this post is meant to provide tips on how to do this.

Check out other works of Black creators you're already familiar with

The Black comic creators you're already a fan of who have made comics for DC or Marvel have likely also made comics for other publishers too. You can usually find out about other comics they've worked on through their Wikipedia page, social media pages, and their own website if they have one. And it's a good idea to follow their social media to learn about any of their projects in the future!

Look through indie publisher websites

A great way to find out about indie comics is to check out indie publishers' websites. There will almost always be a page on their websites with all their comics so you can easily look through them and the creators will be listed so you can look into the creators too. This is one way to find out about Black comic creators who you might not already be familiar with.

The publishers that are listed as examples in the webpages linked above are Image Comics, BOOM! Studios, Vault Comics, Ignition Press, and Stranger Comics.

Check out existing lists

There are already lists online that specifically recommend Black creators to check out and comics by Black creators. You can also find recommendations and lists on social media. This is another great way to find out about Black comic creators you're not yet familiar with.

Speaking of lists, I would like to point you to this post by @bimboopo which includes a list of many Black webtoon creators which you can go check out!

Hopefully this guide will help people find out about more comics by Black creators. Support these creators by reading, buying, and talking about their comics. And even if the boycott is over, still make sure to sign the petition.

[creatingblackcharacters]

If you like stories with:

Female rage

BLACK female rage

Child rage at abuse

Rage at domestic abuse

Stories about burn victims

Vengeance and the internal conflict that comes with it

Rage against misogyny and the violence that comes with

A "was it worth it" narrative

Good soundtracks

Greek tragedies

Kill Bill

Supporting Black women writers

You're gonna LOVE

[creatingblackcharacters]

1) I've been told it's burn survivors, I apologize and will remember this in the future

2) movie leaves theaters TOMORROW MAY 29TH (or so I heard) so if you haven't seen it yet and you want to, and it's available near you, go do so!!

[wolfcat-hybrid]

My experiences with a smell disorder, for writers

Hello howdy hi! I’ve maybe mentioned it before, but I have congenital hyposmia! That means I have an extremely reduced ability to smell things (basically nonexistent except for once in a blue moon) and have been like this for as long as I can remember. For reference, having no sense of smell is called anosmia. Smell disorders gained some publicity during the height of the COVID 19 pandemic, but anosmic characters are still pretty rare. I reached out to @cripplecharacters and they encouraged me to write out some of my own experiences for folks interested in writing anosmic characters, so here we are!

As a caveat, I am but one person with one perspective and can only talk about my own experiences. For more information, you can also visit the r/anosmia community on reddit; though, as of writing, the latest post was published a year ago. If you have any other questions, feel free to shoot them my way, I'd be happy to take a crack at them (though I am in no way a medical expert, haha)!

Growing Up

Ah yes, a sense of smell, a thing we all definitely have…

I fully just accepted that everyone was exaggerating about being able to smell things. Entirely convinced we were all just in on the same lie. Haha, right, sure, you “smelled” that. 

In my defense, I also thought everyone was already exaggerating about things like “having a gender identity that aligns with their assigned sex,” “getting crushes,” “mentally picturing things,” “not being in pain after standing too long,” or “liking meatloaf” (turns out I’m transgender, arospec, and have aphantasia and high arches. There’s no reason for the meatloaf one, I just hated it so much that I genuinely thought people were lying about liking it). Adding “being able to smell things” to the list of things that we’re all pretending to do/be/have wasn’t too big of a leap in logic for me.

“Wait, you guys are actually smelling things?”

Eventually it became apparent that other people genuinely were smelling the things they said they were smelling, and that I was the odd one out. Some of the things that tipped me off were when my family was able to tell our dog had pooped somewhere in the house, that something in the oven was burning, or that someone had silently farted, which all seemed like some sort of witchcraft to me. I don’t remember the exact conversation I had with my parents about it, but I do remember finding out they had already been fighting an uphill battle against my body odor for me for my whole life ^^’

Safety Concerns

Gas leaks

Typically, oderants are added to natural gas lines, so if there is a leak, then people will be able to smell it and evacuate the area. This is, obviously, useless if you don’t have a sense of smell. There are gas detectors that function like smoke detectors, but they are less widespread, and generally, unless I have been explicitly told otherwise, I assume any given building has none. Being alone in a building can be a bit nerve-racking.

Kitchen Mishaps

Being able to smell what you’re cooking is pretty handy when it comes to not burning dinner. My smoke detectors, for example, will trigger if there is actually a fire, but food can start letting off smoke well before that point, which I don’t always notice. Some recipes will specifically say to “do [x] until it gives off a(n) [adjective] odor,” which is basically useless. Additionally, because of the impact smell has on taste, it’s entirely possible for me to make a dish that I think tastes fine, and everyone else thinks tastes terrible.

Spoiled Food

There are some foods, such as milk, that develop bad odors when they start to spoil. Unless the flavor, texture, or appearance also clearly changes, there is a very real possibility that I will not notice and eat it anyways. If something is suspect, then I usually have to get someone else to check if it’s still good or not. If there’s nobody there to check for me, then I have to toss it, or risk food poisoning. I have accidentally eaten a lot of spoiled food before learning this lesson.

Hygiene Concerns

"Do I smell okay?"

I cannot smell my own body odor. As a kid, this meant skipping showers and not doing anything about my bad breath. Now that I know other people actually can smell me, it means I have to do my best to maintain an undetectable standard with no idea how well I’m doing, or risk social isolation. As a result I often have to ask people I trust if I smell okay. Most people will default to the polite answer, which is nice, but if I’m asking it is because I genuinely cannot tell and need to know if I have to go shower.

Overcompensating

I know there are some garments that can be worn multiple times between washes without starting to stink too bad, but since I can’t tell, I assume everything I wear becomes stinky after being worn once. As a result, my options are either ‘do laundry more often’ or ‘own more clothes’ in order to not run out of clean things to wear, each option coming with its own drawbacks. 

Common Questions

Flavor versus Taste

Scent plays a huge role in the flavor of food, so sometimes people will ask if I’m able to taste what I’m eating. The answer is... kinda? Flavor IS heavily reliant on scent, but the taste buds on the tongue can detect sweetness, sourness, saltiness, bitterness, and savoriness with no smelling needed. So, I can tell if something is sweet, or sour, or savory, etc, but I can’t really differentiate similar-tasting things—plain chocolate ice cream is more or less the same as plain vanilla ice cream. As a result, texture is a big part in what makes a food "distinct." (Fun fact, Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is anosmic, which is why their ice creams are so full of mix-ins!)

When do I tell people I can't smell?

Well, it’s not something I usually bring up in casual conversation with strangers. For new friends, I might bring it up in conversation if it's relevant to an anecdote I'm sharing or, more often, when they ask me to smell something and I have to explain that's not a thing I can do. However, if I'm going to be in close proximity with someone for a while, I usually have to bring it up sooner than I'd like. When I lived in campus housing, I’d usually let my new dormmate(s) know early on, because I needed them to tell me ASAP if there was a smell, either because I needed to clean something or because there was a leak in our building. That’s a lot of trust to put in a near-stranger.

"No, it's not COVID-19 related"

When I do mention that I don’t have a sense of smell to someone that didn’t already know, I usually have to clarify right away that it’s not because of COVID-19, because that’s become most people’s first reaction. I don’t really blame them, and it’s nice that more people are aware that smell disabilities are A Thing, but it’s not fun that most people first associate anosmia with the pandemic.

"What do you mean [thing] has a smell??"

Logically, I understand most, if not all, things have a smell. However, I am still regularly caught off guard when someone says “it smells like [thing].” Like, what do you mean, a “cucumber” smell?? A cucumber is like 99% water. What next, water has a smell???? And you expect me to believe this isn’t all some big scam?? …I mean, I do still ask my family to describe scents for me. Mostly because it's funny to watch them try to come up with comparisons that don't rely on other scents or flavors.

(Hyposmia-specific) Once in a Blue Moon...

VERY occasionally, for seemingly no rhyme or reason, I am able to actually smell something. I'm sure I'd be able to find a common thread if I really tried, but it happens rarely enough that I haven't bothered to.

Anyways. When I can smell something, it is basically guaranteed to be an unpleasant experience. I have had to leave rooms before because a sudden scent (which didn't bother anyone else) overwhelmed me to the point that it felt painful. I've yet to experience a "good" scent.

Thanks for reading! Again, feel free to send me any questions you may have, and I'll take a shot at it.

[standwithdaanes]

To Öcalan, there are two rivers flowing throughout all of human history. One is the river of Capitalist Modernity (state), and the other the river of Democratic Modernity (society). No matter how long or how much Capitalist Modernity remains dominant, the river of Democratic Modernity flows through every act of personal and community resistance.

Unlike other models of socialism, Öcalan does not believe society needs to "evolve" to a certain point to reach Democratic Modernity. It is always waiting within us, and it can rise up at any time.

Recommended further reading (all free):

In Defence of Öcalan’s Vision of ‘Democratic Society’ (article)

The Theory of Democratic Modernity as a Guide for Building a New Internationalism (PDF, 32 pages)

The Main Principles of Democratic Confederalism (article)

World War III Has Begun – There Is Another Way (PDF, 18 pages)

The understanding of fascism in Öcalan’s concept of democratic modernity (article)

Reflections on the Palestinian and Kurdish Resistance (PDF, 36 pages)

The Bond Between People’s Power and Democratic Confederalism (article)

World Women's Democratic Confederalism (PDF, 50 pages)

The roots of the conflict and the Sudanese vision of democracy (article)

More links here

[sometiktoksarevalid]

[m9lia]

We (yes we) LOVE black characters in anime.

[nanaluvbug]

Dungeon Melanin 🤎 Afrolatino Designs

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