arcaneraven

[arcaneraven]

I was wondering what kind of female black characters do people want to see more of? Like, them being soft or selfish?

Black Girls & Women: Representation We Want

As a Black woman reader, I definitely want to see more soft Black girls and women in literature. Girls with their own self-interests (caring about oneself isn’t necessarily selfish) and not always someone else’s caregiver is great too.

Note to writers of all races: By all means use this list as inspiration for your stories! 

More Black girls…

In love.

Interracial relationships (Black X White, Black X BIPOC)

Black love. Healthy parental bonds (Bonus: dark skin Black mothers!)

With close family bonds and healthy relationships and support systems (that don’t require enduring abuse, fixing their partner, or overall emotional labor to earn domestic happiness)

Being protected

As main characters, heroines and anti-heroes

On adventures

In fantasy and magical settings

In historical settings as peasants, upper-class society, and royalty. NOT always slaves.

Descriptions of Black Afro hair, skin, features as a normal thing in books (see this compilation) and not in an Othering way

On the other hand, vibrant, sometimes hyped up descriptions that allude to their beauty (see this ask. Or this one). Not Othering, just appreciating! 

Put us in fancy dresses and give us a sword and let us dance at the balls and have admirers!

Experiencing complex emotions not necessarily in reaction to racism or racist violence

On the book cover! And with an accurate, not light or white-washed model

~Mod Colette

Responses:

@madamef-er

Soft Black girls and nerd girls who like cute things. 

Shy Black girls not just in situations with boys. 

More lgbtqia+ Black girls. Studs! Femmes! 

Gender fluid and non conforming constantly changing their style because they like it!

Spies and not just as the ‘sexy bait’ or ‘weapons master’ let us sit behind the computer for once and be hackers and stuff

@tanlefan

Black girls who are just…people.

I want a fantasy escapism adventure that isn’t a thinly veiled discussion on slavery or racism or any other aspect of The Struggle. I am tired. 

Can I just have a happy Black girl who believes in fairies or something?

@esmeraldanacho-1776More autistic Black women/girls! I don’t care what genre really; just have them in there!

@briarsthicketAnd enby black people!

@mattiekins

Def soft Black girls. 

Energetic and playful. 

Or shy and quiet.

I want to see more Black girls who are nerds and not just mommy mommying or nanny nannying everyone. 

I want Black girls who want to be a ballerina, or a talk show host, or a game designer etc. 

I want a Black girl who gets to be happy. 

Who doesn’t have to act older than she is and be the shoulder for everyone, always.

@xiiishadesofgrey

I want more Black lady nerds, if we’re talking modern settings!  

More Black ladies who have a sporty/playful nature! 

Who aren’t afraid to get dirty and make chaos, without being dirty or frowned upon!

Strange as it sounds coming from me, more Black princesses! Brandy as Cinderella in the 90s was my first Cinderella, and I LOVE that.

Please, god, more Black wlws.

@daintythoughtswritersblock

I want to see tropes exercised 

Black women of all shades and tones

@hazelnut4370

Tbh just fellow Black people being happy, like I rarely see that,

Or enjoying hobbies

@rivergoddessdream

Happily childless Black women

Black women traveling the world

Fat Black women in happy, healthy, poly relationships

Black cis and trans women having a true sisterhood

Autistic black women

Black women in period pieces that aren’t about slavery and don’t take place in the US

Black women thespians

Black women painters

Black women revolutionaries

Black women front and center in the narrative

Black women healers and storytellers

Non christian Black women stories

Black women rockers

#complicated black women characters #tell those stories

@missnancywrites

More Black Girls…

With diverse cultural and social backgrounds!

That are nerdy, girly, intelligent, ditzy, all the personality types that white girls in literature get!

That are fragile, shy or anxious. Almost every single Black woman I’ve seen in media or otherwise are wise and adult. Let us be an absolute wreck, or an anxious mess!

In science! Characters like Shuri, Moon Girl and Iron Heart in Marvel revitalized me, cuz young Black girls only get two types. Both these girls are in intellectual and in science, but have bery different personalities.

In interracial relationships, and not because they hate Black men or something along those lines. They just happen to be dating outside their race, black women get hate for that in real life and it’s unfair. Let us have relationships outside our race! That said…

In platonic relationships with Black men! I think that’s important, cuz I don’t often seen Black solidarity unless it’s for the purpose of showing how diverse the writing is. Let them share interests, daily frustrations that they would only understand, but don’t force a romance.

In solid friendships with other Black girls! For some reason, we’re pitted against in each other inside and outside of writing! Write some sweet wholesome friendship!

With different sexualities! Let there be some that are ace, others are gay, bi or pan! Just be sure you don’t sexualize them, or turn em into a robot.

Who are dark-skinned! This can be seen a lot in tv or movies, but when you want a black girl in your stuff don’t just hire a light-skinned Black girl or a biracial black girl. It’s not the same.

Who get to act their age! Black women have a long standing history of being adultified, starting from a very young age, and it’s extremely harmful. Little Black girls can wear what they please, the problem is people sexualizing them. Let the teen black girl be a teenager, she can look out for her siblings but she isn’t the keepern the house or their lives. Young adult Black girls are not ideal housewives or capable working machines, they mess up and mess around just as much as any young adult.

With mental/physical disabilities or illnesses. Alongside with being forced to be more mature than they are, disabilities/illnesses are never taken seriously and we’re forced to just deal with it. Having Black girls who happen to have these issues, but also have a healthy support group is always good!

@ink-and-roses

Seen as beautiful and desirable and NOT in a hypersexualized way

Interracial relationships are wonderful because Black girls are beautiful and lbr everybody sees it

Sensitive and allowed to feel something other than righteous anger

Some Black girls are skinny! Some are big! Some are slim and some are curvy! There’s no mold!

Dark skinned!

A YA protagonist out to save the world from something other than racism

Superpowers or magic that doesn’t come from generational trauma or slavery

Black characters who support other Black characters. None of this token crabs in a barrel business.

Black girl nerds and punks and goths exist. I promise.

And this may be a personal preference but I’m not against the idea of a damsel in distress. We are always being strong. Let her be soft and delicate and cared for. Let her be princess carried and rescued from the tower and the dragon.

[Note from Mod: It’s not just you! I love a Black damsel being saved and protected. What is progressive for one woman varies due to historical and present depictions and is why intersectionality in feminism is so important! -Colette]

@nightlyswordswoman

As a writer, I write a lot of my Black female characters like this because I rarely ever see Black women being represented in these ways! ESPECIALLY on the covers of books, unless the author themselves is a Black woman and even then its rare. 

Too often Black women are stereotyped as strong protector types that are always rough, tough, and don’t need anybody in books (and real life), when that’s honestly just dumb and inaccurate–Black women are as vulnerable as anyone else (in some cases, even more vulnerable, but that’s another topic). 

So yeah, this list is 100% accurate and I encourage those who are interested in writing Black female characters (whether you’re a Black woman or not) to consider writing them like this, because the stereotype needs to die lol.

But wait, there’s more!

@just-a-swsh-fangirl As an anime fan I kinda want to see a white male protagonist be paired up (romantically) with a Black female at the end of the series. It would make my Black self happy to see a girl like me in an important role like that.

@tgingwe

Black girls in STEM, pleaaase

Black girls with ADHD, depression, and other mental health conditions! 

Black girls with supportive families! 

Pan Black girls! 

African Black girls, with cultures that impact their lives and with complex relationships between their specific identities/cultures and the idea of being perceived as just Black outside of Africa! 

Happy Trans Black girls!

@starcrossedrose

Love triangles where a Black character gets to be with the guy or girl in the end.

Love triangles revolving around a Black character.

Black retellings of fairy tales

Black characters in royal positions (King, Queen, Princes, Princesses, etc.)

@superviza

Soft, reserved, emotional, shy, spirited, spunky, bubbly, corny, weird Black women

a Black woman in a healthy relationship with a Black man who has a healthy obsession with her

little Black girls

modest black women

Black women without a criminal to success backstory

Black women they were raised in a healthy family with both Black parents who are still living

Black women in interracial relationships that aren’t necessarily white

No tokens; Several Black women together with no beef

Black women in fantasy

Black women in friendship with ppl of other races and ethnicities

Black women who get to feel and express emotion with it being a threat

@sappho-of-etheria

Black girls who don’t live in the US

Black girls who are daughters of immigrants and have complex relationships with both their homeland and the land their family is from

Black girls with healthy relationships with their parents

Black girls who are indecisive about their lives and struggling to find their place in the world and the reason not being racism

LGBTQ+ Black girls with families that accept them and celebrate them

More Black witches/magic users who don’t fall in the magical negro type.

Quirky Black girls who have endearing and unusual interests

Black girls who both love sterotypical and non-stereotypical Black things

Black girls having supportive friendship groups and not being the one who constantly needs to support the others

Black girls saving the world

Black girls having a love interest who loves them and cherishes them not because they think they are weak but because they want them to be safe and happy

Black girls being the cherished love interest

Black girls being thought of the most gorgeous girl and not being overly sexualized

Black girls and their siblings/friends going to another world a la Chronicles of Narnia

Black girls being the chosen ones and saving the world

Black girls in medieval fantasy stories and not just being a slave or the handmaiden of the white princess

Black girs with different and complex relationships with their womanhood and how they express it

Black girls with different hair textures

But above all else I just want Black girls to be able to have the same range in character as their white counterparts. I am tired of never being able to relate to characters that look like me

Black girl rep wishlist continued

@just-an-anime-fangirlI kinda want to see a white male protagonist be paired up ( romantically) with a Black female at the end of the series. It would make my Black self happy to see a girl like me in an important role like that.

@bubblyjaay-blog

Don’t pull a Henry Danger.

I want Black girls to be loved and fall in love. 

Not just be perpetual straightlaced, sassy side characters who’s only there to be straightlace support.

@igotloki

Yes! All of this! 

I’m so tired of seeing people who look like me only playing the side kick or supportive friend at best. 

There is no reason we can’t be the main character in every genre.

@mutantgurls

Dark skin Black girl as main characters in romance, Rom-com, fantasy, science fiction

Black girls starring in romance, fantasy, or syfy. (Not just drama)

Black girls following other religion such as Judaism or Islam or they’re atheists

Black girl getting to be soft, goofy, silly

Magical Black girls who get to transform into their superpower alter ego

Magical beings Black girls (Black fairies, mermaids, aliens)

Black girl being in relationships with non-humans ( I’m a teratophilia fans) like werewolves or aliens and being protected by them.

[arcaneraven]

Guys I dont own a cat but he visits me daily and jve named his spork. This might become a spork fan account

[arcaneraven]

Can you give ways to describe a voice? When I write, I want to give my characters a distinct voice that readers can kinda recognize, but I have no idea how

Sound of Voice vs Character Voice

The trouble with this question is I’m not sure what you’re asking. You first ask for “ways to describe a voice” which to me sounds like you’re asking about speaking voice, but then you say you want to “give your characters a distinct voice that readers can recognize” which sounds like you’re talking about character voice.

So, let’s tackle them both! :)

Sound of Voice

Typically, the word “voice” refers to “speaking voice” or the sound produced in our throats when we speak. A good way to think about this is “vocal quality,” or the quality of the sound coming out of one’s throat.

Vocal Quality Words:

sing-songmelodicnasalthroatygrittygruffbreathygravellygratinghigh-pitcheddulcethuskyhoneyedshrillwheezy

Character Voice

“Character voice,” on the other hand, refers more to the way the character’s personality comes out in the way they speak. It includes things like:

whether they talk a lot or very little

whether they speak loudly or softly

whether they talk fast or slow

whether they interrupt a lot or wait their turn

whether they use a lot of slang or have a catch phrase

whether they use poor grammar or proper grammar

whether they use a lot of foul language

whether they have any verbal or vocal tics

whether they have any speech impediments

whether they speak with an accent and how strong it is

facial expressions, mannerisms, and gestures used while speaking

and yes, things like tone, quality, and pitch of their speaking voice

My post Giving Your Characters a Unique Voice has some tips for fleshing out character voice. :)

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[arcaneraven]

So I was never spanked. But instead strangled like fucking bart Simpson. To say I have a hyper sensitive neck now is an understatement! Dont harm your kids! I now have ghosted my mum, never talk to that hag. Now have had to spend to fucking long trying to get used to my own fingers touching my neck without flinching at myself let alone others.

Good.

[arcaneraven]

Helpful things for action writers to remember

Sticking a landing will royally fuck up your joints and possibly shatter your ankles, depending on how high you’re jumping/falling from. There’s a very good reason free-runners dive and roll. 

Hand-to-hand fights usually only last a matter of seconds, sometimes a few minutes. It’s exhausting work and unless you have a lot of training and history with hand-to-hand combat, you’re going to tire out really fast. 

Arrows are very effective and you can’t just yank them out without doing a lot of damage. Most of the time the head of the arrow will break off inside the body if you try pulling it out, and arrows are built to pierce deep. An arrow wound demands medical attention. 

Throwing your opponent across the room is really not all that smart. You’re giving them the chance to get up and run away. Unless you’re trying to put distance between you so you can shoot them or something, don’t throw them. 

Everyone has something called a “flinch response” when they fight. This is pretty much the brain’s way of telling you “get the fuck out of here or we’re gonna die.” Experienced fighters have trained to suppress this. Think about how long your character has been fighting. A character in a fist fight for the first time is going to take a few hits before their survival instinct kicks in and they start hitting back. A character in a fist fight for the eighth time that week is going to respond a little differently. 

ADRENALINE WORKS AGAINST YOU WHEN YOU FIGHT. THIS IS IMPORTANT. A lot of times people think that adrenaline will kick in and give you some badass fighting skills, but it’s actually the opposite. Adrenaline is what tires you out in a battle and it also affects the fighter’s efficacy - meaning it makes them shaky and inaccurate, and overall they lose about 60% of their fighting skill because their brain is focusing on not dying. Adrenaline keeps you alive, it doesn’t give you the skill to pull off a perfect roundhouse kick to the opponent’s face. 

Swords WILL bend or break if you hit something hard enough. They also dull easily and take a lot of maintenance. In reality, someone who fights with a sword would have to have to repair or replace it constantly.

Fights get messy. There’s blood and sweat everywhere, and that will make it hard to hold your weapon or get a good grip on someone. 

A serious battle also smells horrible. There’s lots of sweat, but also the smell of urine and feces. After someone dies, their bowels and bladder empty. There might also be some questionable things on the ground which can be very psychologically traumatizing. Remember to think about all of the character’s senses when they’re in a fight. Everything WILL affect them in some way. 

If your sword is sharpened down to a fine edge, the rest of the blade can’t go through the cut you make. You’ll just end up putting a tiny, shallow scratch in the surface of whatever you strike, and you could probably break your sword. 

ARCHERS ARE STRONG TOO. Have you ever drawn a bow? It takes a lot of strength, especially when you’re shooting a bow with a higher draw weight. Draw weight basically means “the amount of force you have to use to pull this sucker back enough to fire it.” To give you an idea of how that works, here’s a helpful link to tell you about finding bow sizes and draw weights for your characters.  (CLICK ME)

If an archer has to use a bow they’re not used to, it will probably throw them off a little until they’ve done a few practice shots with it and figured out its draw weight and stability. 

People bleed. If they get punched in the face, they’ll probably get a bloody nose. If they get stabbed or cut somehow, they’ll bleed accordingly. And if they’ve been fighting for a while, they’ve got a LOT of blood rushing around to provide them with oxygen. They’re going to bleed a lot. 

Here’s a link to a chart to show you how much blood a person can lose without dying. (CLICK ME) 

If you want a more in-depth medical chart, try this one. (CLICK ME)

Hopefully this helps someone out there. If you reblog, feel free to add more tips for writers or correct anything I’ve gotten wrong here. 

[arcaneraven]

Man

[arcaneraven]

So uh. I took a break from this fandom but now I'm back I cant add more to the current issue tha what others have already said. Fuck the racists and shit.

But to add to the steamy pile of shit. Can sera higher some editors? Please. If I ness to read the word chuckle 6 times in the same paragraph again I'm just gonna write wayhaven myself.

Also is mason always carrying around a side table with him??? Like how is he always leaning on one?

#twc critical

[arcaneraven]

Imagine Adam with a personality man.

#the wayhaven chronicles #twc #wayhaven #the wayhaven chronicles adam #wayhaven detective

[arcaneraven]

I'm not really drawing for the wayhaven anymore I apologise

But my current hyperfixation is rping and heres a scene I illustrated brr

[arcaneraven]

Have some more art of my leader of unit canary! Otto Tuffin! Unit Canary are a specialised group focus on scouting and mapping areas. They dont typically get involved directly with other supernatural or hand to hand combat. They simply lay out information, maps and give warnings to the agency.

Otto Tuffin is their leader. He cannot disguise his wings or talons as many supernaturals can so stays at their base and formulates tactics for other units to utilize ~☆ Him and N have little disagreements over how to treat their books (otto likes to write on his and dog ear the pages)

#the wayhaven chronicles #twc #wayhaven #wayhaven fanart #detective otto tuffin #original character #wayhaven oc

[arcaneraven]

Why is nate not real

[arcaneraven]

So I thought. Huh. What if my wayhaven detective was a full harpy and worked at the agency in idk unit Canary and well. That sparked an obcession I love him sm-

#the wayhaven chronicles #twc #wayhaven detective #wayhaven #wayhaven fanart #detective otto tuffin #original character

[arcaneraven]

Ha im very gay

Brrrrr pretty ladY

[arcaneraven]

two very straight men

they are very straight and not gay I swear 

panel from my very straight comic for uni. Yes that’s Nate and Otto.... I just put them in as I needed two very straight men for a panel 

(comic has nothing to do with wayhaven but I have wayhaven brain rot)

#the wayhaven chronicles

[arcaneraven]

My brain never left the "childhood obsession phase" ans doesnt know how to enjoy more than one media at a time. Right now it cant get over wayhaven even though it's too depressed too read so now I'm just stuck in a void of not enjoy any form of media 🤟 love that brrr

[arcaneraven]

is being into coffee an older sibling thing bc everyone i know who loves coffee is the oldest child

#im the youngest #I have black coffee straight from the bean 🤟 #my older brother hates coffee and tea

[arcaneraven]

Sneak peak at my uni comic. This is just 2 panels hh text still needs to go on it but I like how this came out