Wayhaven Hall of Fame @twc-unitbravo - Tumblr Blog

Statement on recent events

I would never condone any behaviour that would cause someone harm, not ever, as I said on my post on bullying, as well as the post I made against white-washing. But I’m also not on social media all the time as I cut down on it to focus on writing the game that I hope we can all share and love.

I didn’t realise people were using all that has happened as an excuse to harass others. How dare you do this! Wayhaven was created to be a safe space for everyone, and I mean everyone. I have met such an incredibly diverse range of people through writing Wayhaven and it’s an incredible thing! That is something that should always be celebrated!

Anyone who is harmful, racist, or homophobic to another person in this fandom is not welcome in it. Not ever.

Wayhaven is a project created from love and released with the intent of spreading that joy and safety. It is a story to get lost in and find a space away from the awfulness that can be the real world. I want this blog to be the same.

I can’t control what other people say or do. What I can do is ensure you that I hear what is being said, and I agree that things need to be done.

But in order to ensure that we can move forward and that everyone can enjoy Wayhaven on this blog without fear, we will begin some changes.

The replies to that post have been deleted and replies have been turned off on future posts (we didn’t know this was a Tumblr feature until people advised us of it recently). We will also be going back to posting appropriate fan art for us all to enjoy and share in!

But as I said, I cannot control what other people create or do on their own blogs or in their own spaces. As much as we will ensure that this blog remains a fun space for all to get away from the world, and we will never support anyone creating harmful content, I still can’t stop them producing it as much as I seriously wish that I could. But we never support it.

I also want to note that I will always write diversity into any content I create not just because it’s important, but because it’s a true representation of the world we live in—minus the vampires, of course. I won’t be scared away into not including it. But my poc and queer readers and testers help me ensure that I do it in the right way, advising me on anything that needs to be changed or brought to my attention. I am straight, and I am a white woman, so it’s important I have that diverse support around me to ensure I write all characters in the best light and learn how to write them better.

I hope I can continue on creating Wayhaven with my enthusiastic team following this new path and enjoy the journey with you all as we go. I really do appreciate you all and the support you have given me. I want to return that in full.

lilas

For real change and growth, Mishka and Nai, I would again like to echo and encourage other ideas I’ve seen concerning the issues brought up with of The Wayhaven Chronicles.

Will you invest in hiring sensitivity readers? Not beta testers who happen to fall into marginalized groups, but people who actually have diversity and inclusion training.

Will you invest in bias awareness training for yourselves? Bias awareness is the first step in unpacking and addressing unintentional bias. Bias is what we grow up with, we can’t help that, but we can be aware of it. And that awareness makes it easier to address and correct.

Please seriously consider these recommendations.

Thank you.

seraphinitegames

We are already looking into sensitivity readers! Definitely something we will be including as a part of our process from now on.

I hadn’t actually heard of bias training before, so that certainly sounds like a good step to go in!

Also, the skin colour tone palette will now be constantly linked in the left hand links of this Tumblr blog for fan artists, and we will be trying to expand that page to include a range of useful references for all people who want to create using Wayhaven. I will also be putting a statement there that will always be up about our position on these issues.

We are serious about taking the right steps forward.

lilas

That’s great to hear! There are many great courses on LinkedIn Learning like this one that discuss unconscious bias.

Understanding bias and being aware of it is only the first step. It takes time and commitment to be effectively anti-racist, but I and the greater community it seems, hope you put the time and effort into this.

And of course I always recommend looking through writingwithcolor and their excellent insight and resources when it comes to stereotypes and writing characters of color.

Thank you for your time and for listening.

#twc #important #resources

winterkeys-deactivated20231218

I tried so hard not to get involved in the fandom discourse but okay. That's enough.

People saying "tanned" greek doesn't mean poc, literally attacking black people by using n[redacted] is just fucking disgusting?? Do we have to go round about this every two months??

Whitewashing is not okay. Incorrect representation of poc characters is not okay. Saying "it's not a big deal" is NOT OKAY. Don't try using your brains if you don't have one. Things which are not okay means they are NOT OKAY. People get hurt whenever comments like such are made. When the characters with the same colors as them are not represented correctly. You don't have the right to hurt them.

It wasn't JUST a "MISTAKE" it was a VERY big one. M!shka cannot afford to make mistakes like this if she has a fanbase which has people of all colors, who enjoy her content.

If you are creating content, where more than half of the protagonists are Poc, then you even need to learn how to represent them correctly instead of "stereotyping" them.

I am so tired of this message being constantly repeated but so many people constantly ignoring it.

Whitewashing is NOT OKAY. Incorrect representation of poc characters is NOT OKAY. And yes, this is a VERY BIG DEAL.

And PS: Making Racist comments when you don't know about anything IS NOT OKAY as well.

#twc #important #decided to revive this blog for a short period of time to boost important info

whowhatifs

so while we're unsubbing from m!shka's patreon, what if we spent that money on ko-fis/etc of the wonderful poc in this fandom? thank you for being here, creating, and for all the love yas have for the universe and characters!!

please do make suggestions and/or drop your info!! 💕

becky's ko-fi @masonsfangs

pap's ko-fi @palestinianbitch

nabulsi

I appreciate the shout out! I really do not need the ko-fis but any you do send my way are going directly to the Palestine Children's Relief Fund!

Please consider sending the money you won't be spending on patreon to the PCRF or to the UPA in their Ongoing Nakba Campaign.

losingface

thank you roo for the shout out, i greatly appreciate it as well!

in light of england’s euros defeat yesterday, there’s been an outburst of racist abuse, verbal and physical, targeted at black players and poc across the uk. i’d prefer if your money went towards SARI instead, a uk charity that supports victims of hate crimes -- thanks!

#signal boost #donation #decided to revive this blog for a short period of time to boost important info

lucas-koh

Hi all! I asked around on Reddit a while back but it’s been so long and I never got around to reaching out to anyone. Anyway, I’m currently writing two WIPs which have characters of colour in main roles, and I was wondering if anyone would be a sensitivity reader for me? It’s important to me to be able to portray these characters in the best way I can. One of these MCs is half Nigerian, and while her heritage isn’t the main focus as it is a romance fanfic, she is close with her family and I do want to include aspects of culture if I can. The other character is South African and the fic does not have any focus on her family at all really, so it would mostly be making sure descriptions and personality are okay.

Please drop me a dm if you’re interested, it would mean so much to me!❤️

#not twc #signal boost #sensitivity reader

milaswriting

Honestly I think I’m in the small minority when I say I kinda feel bad for Mishka. I definitely believe she needs to address the racism issue that’s been happening in the community, but I also feel that that’s not enough and it will never be enough mainly because she’s white. She doesn’t have the experiences of POC to relate to, she can’t use the “I have POC friends” because everyone knows that’s wrong and doesn’t mean anything, all she can really do is denounce whitewashing in the community, but what then?

There’s always more that could be done or should have. An apology is not enough and what sort of actions should take place, but at what point do they deserve forgiveness? This isn’t just an issue with Mishka to be completely honest it’s just an issue in general on the internet. At what point can a person be forgiven if they address the issue that’s out of their hands?

Of course it’s not great for her, she’s written a story, put it out into the world, has a huge following… and now people are criticising her portrayal of characters of colour. But it’s completely fine to hold people accountable!! Especially when what they have done has hurt others.

Like I said, it’s not about cancelling her as an author, or hating her (I’m sure she’s lovely) or cancelling her work - her story is enjoyable and people care. People want her and her team to do better because they care - and from what’s been said by those in the fandom, this isn’t the first time this has happened in twc, and there’s a lot more than just racism that’s been pointed out.

She won’t experience racism but this is why you hire sensitivity readers, you ask your friends who are poc to give your writing a read, you do research about the harmful stereotypes that poc face in the media!! You will never be short on research! This blog right here gives you tons of information. And, importantly, listen to the people, your fans, who read your work. The criticism an author gets isn’t always nice, I know that from experience, but if the criticism can help you become a better writer or ensure that people don’t feel hurt or offended by what you have written - then do it.

People feel like the apologies have been empty. People want action.

(Please read my tags alsoo)

#twc #important #decided to revive this blog for a short period of time to boost important info

nabulsi

@seraphinitegames

please understand that it has gotten to a point where people of color in your fandom are being harassed and sent violent racist messages by other people calling themselves your fans.

and by not taking a firm stand and saying "these characters are people of color. whitewashing is unacceptable." and instead dancing around the issue, it's emboldened these racist harassers.

I've directly addressed you before about the whitewashing in the fandom and the whitewashed art you used to reblog onto the seraphinitegames tumblr. and your response was positive at the time. You told us you cared about the people of color in your fandom and you promised to put out the color palettes for the ROs

and since then you haven't reblogged a single piece of art of the ROs onto the seraphinitegames account almost as though afraid to make a mistake. and it has been jarring. whether it was your intention or not, it comes across as though you cannot trust yourself not to reblog art of the characters that isn't whitewashed, even though you created and have drawn them, you should know their correct skin tones

it comes across that you believe no matter what you post, the mean people of color of the fandom are going to riot, like you're afraid of us to an extent?

and this (even if it's unintentionally done) puts out an aura of white fragility that causes the racists in the fandom to run to your defense, victimize you, and in the process villainize the people of color in the fandom

and the lack of art on the seraphinitegames account with the correct skin tones for the ROs also emboldens racists. people look to your account to see what is canon and what is not — they look to it for guidance on how to create fan content. and by being vague, you've allowed for a culture of fans who believe ignoring canon skin tones is acceptable

that's not to mention how new fans don't even know the color palette exists unless older fans tell them, and even then it is not in the FAQ or anywhere easily accessible

mishka, we are already being alienated from the fandom. it's not fun for us to be here anymore. it's far more stressful than it's worth.

#twc #important #was the official statement already rb? yes but this post is (in combi w/ the linked one)is a vital addition

lalizah

Here's one last thing on this matter:

Someone is defending these actions by saying "we can imagine them as anything we want bcs this is fandom and fandom owns them". Ok. You know who this fandom is made up of? You know how many poc/lgbtqia+ members create absolutely amazing content for ur privileged ass? Y'all don't contribute unless it's ass kissing. This fandom thrives bcs of these people. Who take out time out of their day to write, to draw, to create these characters into much more beautiful forms. I can say it without the slightest doubt that this fandom would not be as amazing, as fantastic if these people stopped creating. And they will and they should. Because they got attacked today, they were picked on, their blogs were invaded by hateful, racist people just because what? We want representation done the proper way? Sexuality, ethnicity, race, color, etc. aren't some sort of toppings u can take off. If ur gonna write a character, u have to do it right. This character isn't real, but what this character represents is very much real, very much alive.

All you prove is that you are disgusting and racist and phobic and nothing more. Someone's blog isn't ur "comfort space" that got "ruined" bcs they "bitched" about "fandom drama". That blog is their representation, their space, their stand. And if you consume their content, than you should damn well appreciate them and stand with them rather than shitting in their askbox.