I want you to stop bullying me, please.
Someone left a comment on one of my posts about Dionysus, and when I checked it, they were criticizing him for having light skin. I was taken aback and tried to explain my intentions—especially since very few of my Greek god designs have light skin—and showed them my Hermes design. They then told me that his coloring was wrong too and that I needed to study how to paint melanated skin. I was shocked, so I apologized to them like this.
I didn’t mean any harm, but I know that doesn’t excuse what I did, and I want to apologize. I’m Asian myself, so I hope you understand that I didn’t intend light skin to mean Northern European or white. Once you’ve seen this, I’ll delete all my posts. I’ll delete this account as well. I would appreciate it if you could tell me how I should have handled the coloring instead. I’m sorry.
Then, without responding, they suddenly blocked me. I had apologized politely and “genuinely” asked them to explain how I should approach the coloring, but after blocking me, they portrayed me as a racist.
I’m Asian, and all the Greek mythological characters I had encountered were depicted with light skin in Asian cultures, (I absolutely do not think that is correct interpretation!) In fact, when designing my own versions of the Greek gods, I deliberately gave almost all of them darker skin tones, with very few exceptions. Among the Olympian gods, only about two of my designs have light skin.
My DMs and ask box are both open, so I’m confused as to why they suddenly chose to approach me publicly in such a mocking tone. From now on, I will delete or report hostile replies like this instead of engaging with them outside private spaces such as DMs or my ask box, where an actual conversation can take place.
If you want to give me feedback on my art, please offer sincere advice instead of mocking me and abruptly blocking me. I’m extremely shaken and confused right now…