#Romani tropes

[writingwithcolor]

Romani character portrayals in fanfiction

Rroma Dick Grayson, batman fanfiction

endoftheworldhere asked:

I wanted to write a fanfiction about what Dick Grayson’s life would have been like if he wasn’t adopted by Batman. It was going to have him dealing with the bad parts of Gotham City and interacting with various criminals and rouges, But I was worried that could come off as stereotypical or racist since he’s been portrayed as at least part Romani and I wanted to include some connections to his heritage as a way he clings his parents after they died so traumatically. Any advice?

The thing about Dick Greyson is that he was retconned into being part Romani, and the writers did so in a very stereotypical way. A lot of Romani people have talked about this, especially on Tumblr, and opinions do vary about how he should be written. Many think it’s best to ignore his “heritage” and just write him as white, while others disagree and think that his heritage is important representation and should be written, but more respectfully.

I honestly don’t know my personal opinion on this, but I will say that there is a huge stereotype about Romani people being criminals. If you do plan to write him as part Romani, make sure to avoid these tropes. Otherwise, I would just nix his Romani heritage.

-Mod Tess

Romani woman, curses and Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Anonymous asked:

I'm struggling a bit with a piece of fan work right now, and I was hoping you could weigh in. In Buffy season two, there's a character named Jenny, who we first meet as a techno-pagan computer science teacher, who helps Buffy and co deal with fighting demons and stuff. Only the thing is, she's Rromani. She's there to make sure a family curse stays on a vampire who killed someone beloved to them a century ago (mostly to protect people from him if Angel/Angelus gets uncursed), which everyone gets mad at her for not telling them when he loses his soul and goes on rampage.  Ordinarily, it's not hard to write her, because until that arc, she's a fun character who happens to be a Rroma woman, and as other characters use magic, that doesn't stand out. But the whole curse thing, and the depiction of her family we're given, (and the way a canon redemption arc for Angelus I can't stand starts with him getting a soul as a punishment for killing a Rroma woman in 1898), and the everyone being mad about deception all just feels like many negative stereotypes.  What would be your thoughts on depicting Jenny, and on what to keep in mind trying to rewrite how she was shown in the show. [Ask redacted for length]

Let me just start out by saying that I am not very familiar with Buffy, so thank you for the context. I think your best bet here would be to drop the curse plot line altogether, as that’s a huge stereotype about Romani people. I think it’s ok to have her do magic, as long as other characters also do, and although I do think the vampire stuff is also a stereotype (a lot of vampire lore is supposedly taken from some Romani folklore, and Romani people are often associated with vampires in pop culture), I think it’s fine given the context of the show.

-Mod Tess

#Romani #Romani women #Romani men #fanfiction #Romani stereotypes #Romani tropes #asks

[jasontoddssuper]

Transmasc!Dick-verse Jason:My older brother is super annoying and a walking disaster but he's family so what can you do🙄

Transfem!Dick-verse Jason:Can't relate.My older sister's the coolest person to ever exist and has never done anything wrong even once in her entire life

#not dick hate i've just noticed that tends to be characterization for the first by large.the second isn't popular enough to have tropes😔 #dick and jason #jason todd #dick grayson #dick grayson:trans woman extrodinare #trans jason todd #batfam #robin #nightwing #the boy turned girl wonder #red hood #star sapphire jason #romani dick grayson #black jason todd #latino jason todd #afrolatino jason supremacy #team mom dick grayson #dadhood #< not ship tags #teen titans #rhato #ntt #the titans 1999 #outsiders 2003 #ditf #lost days #utrh #transmasc 4 transfem and autistic 4 autistic found family realness #💌 #letters from summer

[grandorderconfessions]

#fate grand order criticism #tw loli mention #tw lolicon mention #to be fair I think it's less people forgetting and more people applying Romani's Law #like I personally used to really dislike Medea because of the Saber stuff in UBW but like #ultimately it feels more like 'takeuchi wanted to draw saber tied up and nasu incorporated it into the story' which is a thing #that happened more than once #The blackbeard thing is super yikes tho Idk when that happened but I don't doubt it knowing some of the writers :grimace: #but yeah I think a lot of people intentionally disregard this part of medea's characterization because it does Nothing for her character #and seems to be born as an extension of Certain People's obsession with Saber #also it's literally just the Predatory Lesbian trope like I'm sorry I can't fault anyone for opting to just completely ignore that #BUT ALSO you're valid for being grossed out anon it's ok if you can't ignore these aspects too everyone has a limit!

[jennycalendar]

btw it is actually insane that my dream job is to be a librarian and that that's like legitimately totally not connected to the calendiles thing (have wanted it since i was ten/watched btvs for the first time at fourteen) BUT that their tech vs. print debate is something that actually interested me in them MORE BECAUSE I WAS THINKING ABOUT IT AS A TINY LIL CELIA. like i'm writing stuff for grad school and talking about how cool it is that the library is in a constant state of change and my brain just went "someone made calendiles in a lab for you specifically"

#musings #like ??????? what????? #also jenny's ambiguous ethnicity (played by a white actress; romani identity retconned in thru racist tropes) #just the whole thing she has going on where she Is and she Isn't and she isn't recognized as the ethnicity that she is #i was literally doomed 2 be like this. it's insane

[constantvariations]

V9C4

Finally here after several hours of a dnd session zero, so this whiplash is going to be interesting

Post Ep: not as infuriating as the last episode but still missteps at pretty much every turn. At the very least we can say there’s been character “progression”

God Ruby’s voice is so damn bad I thought it was a literal child calling for a cat. Why does she sound more mature at 15 than 17?

Did we really need a close up of the cat piecing itself back together? We already know it can do wacky things with its ugly gradient body, so why the emphasis here? I doubt it’s foreshadowing for a permanent bisection

“Nothing we’ve tried has gotten us any further.” Ruby. Darling. Babe. You’ve tried walking to the tree. Nothing else. It’s not the cat’s fault you can’t think of something else besides Scooby Doo hijinks with the looping sections

What the hell is Yang now? She hasn’t been fun or quippy since Beacon but now (and that one spot in V8) she’s suddenly Joss Whedon with a dash of Hulk rage? And I can’t recall Weiss ever having these kinds of facial expressions. Judgmental commentary, sure, but this feels like she’s 3 seconds away from saying something into the camera like this is the Office

“Just because [the cat] doesn’t want to go back to the tree doesn’t mean we can’t lure them there.” That’s... a curious choice of words. Why “lure?” You lure someone into a trap or an ambush, not ask someone to be a guide. Why wouldn’t Blake use the obvious direction of “we can make a deal with the cat because they’re curious and want information we have.” You can’t really call someone a hero when their instinct is deception of a potential ally who’s already saved their asses for no real reason

Are they going to be losing the cat the whole damn episode? Is that going to be the running gag? I fucking hope not. Ruby’s voice is absolutely obnoxious this episode

She’s talking to the cat like he’s a literal toddler. And it’s acting like a toddler with an ipad. Someone put me down like Old Yeller please

Which of these idiots thought lampshading was a good idea? Like, congrats! You recognize the flaws in the story you wrote! How are you going to fix them 10 years too late? You can’t wink, wink, nudge your way out of shitty writing that you so desperately defended and clung to despite all the people giving actual constructive criticism

Why are all of them so tired of the questions? Surely, each of them have something they’d be ecstatic to talk about at length? Ruby with the progression of weapon development, Weiss with her plans to improve the SDC, Blake with other stories she’s read or how the White Fang came and fell, Yang with stories about Ruby when she was younger. There’s so many possibilities when you have a genuinely curious audience, yet they went the lazy route of “har, har, no one cares about anything” again

Was that bridge made of legos?

Okay, this is the second time the roles of acres have been mentioned. Exactly what does that mean? Do these roles serve a central purpose? The tree seems to be at the center of Wonderland, so are the acres serving the tree in some way? Is harmony throughout the different factions pivotal in keeping Wonderland in wonder instead of despair? What could this possibly mean for any themes or character arcs? It doesn’t seem like the areas thus far have resonated with any of the team, and they left behind Penny’s halo sword, the only thing that’s been even somewhat emotionally compelling, so I’m struggling to understand why Wonderland is set up like this

Love how literally nobody asks the obvious question of “are you okay?” All we get is Yang’s “Rubes?” (has she ever called Ruby that before? I can’t recall) and Blake’s logical deflection and Weiss whining yet again. You’d think for a season that cut away from the bloated cast to focus on the main characters they would, I don’t know, focus on the main character

This is the least Little has talked the entire season. Please keep the cat around more so this shithead will shut the fuck up. Also, Little deadass pointed to where the cat went and y’all don’t immediately follow? Are you trying to get lost?

Okay. Not gonna lie. The caterpillar’s design is dope as shit. The triple eyes in that gorgeous green. The pointy mouth that moves like a skeleton’s jaw. The two-toned wings. The antennae and little spikes. The collar and vest. That ~voice~ Fucking A+ The only thing I’m side-eyeing is the accessories. Hopefully I’m wrong - I’ll be the first to admit I’m not well versed in Indigenous cultures - but the coloring is very reminiscent of turquoise which was an incredibly significant mineral to Southwestern Native American tribes, most commonly associated with Navajo, and Caterpillar’s jewelry designs reflect this as well. My quick google search for this specific design mostly ends up being “hippie aesthetic” which does take inspiration from Indigenous aesthetics, so I can’t really say for certain which one crwby looked at for the design. Given the Medicine Man trope and the herbal smoking in the OP, I’m not holding out much hope

“Growgurt” sounds so damn gross please never say it again

They are really hammering this “who/what are you” thing directly into your eardrums aint they? I’m not entirely sure how this answer affects a recipe, but go off I guess Also, note how Caterpillar gets just the bit exasperated and Yang’s immediately in a fighting stance. The others are afraid, for some cocksmith of a reason - all homeboy did was grumble, what y’all scared of? Did y’all suddenly develop RSD? - but this bitch at half a foot is ready to throw down

Caterpillar is speaking philosophy 101 and these idiots are acting like he’s speaking ancient greek. I hope he poisons the lot of them

“This is how a king winds up a prince.” Does that imply that the prince was genuinely the king that played Alyx but he’s somehow reverted back to a toddler? That raises way too many questions I have no care to even ponder

This far in and we have no idea who or what Caterpillar was to Alyx. Not even a whispered expo-dump, which would be stupid easy given that most of them are tiny. Yet Blake, upon seeing the smoking, is like “we gotta dip” which so par for the course in every episode thus far. This better not be crwby’s attempt at an anti-drug message or I swear I’m gonna toss a fridge into space

Oh christ on toast the Beacon outfits don’t deserve this slander

“You could just be human or just a cat.” Once again, weird phrasing. Like, yeah, it’s clarified that it’s about trying to bring peace between humans and faunus, but why wouldn’t you phrase it in a way that sticks closer to that sentiment rather than acting like she has the Yamato and can carve out what she doesn’t like? What would it even mean to Blake to “just be a cat?” Would that mean living in Menagerie forever with no worries about humans? Would she turn into an actual cat? She just has fucking cat ears man, this is so overblown

Wow, these “I know who I am” speeches suck ass. They’re so vague and InSpIrAtIoNaL I’m wondering if this is supposed to be a mature cartoon or a reading of those posters they put up in school halls of cats in trees with the quote “hang in there!”

“I’m the granddaughter of a hero” bitch who? Who is this mysterious hero? If someone doesn’t know or watch the Remnant expo-dump series, they don’t know who you’re talking about Weiss! You can’t bring up something in the main story if the context is shoved in a spinoff! Also, “daughter of a villain.” Babe, your father was a clown at best and a business major at worst. Villain is not a title he deserves “I will not be defined by my name because I will be the one to define it.” Uhhhhh exactly where in this redefinition is compensation for the lives stolen by your family company? Have you thought of that, Miss Heiress? When your name has that big of an impact, I don’t think you get to be the sole decider. Also, you have siblings who might want a say in it too

Still pissed that the whole “Missing Summer” arc was shoved onto Ruby, who was what? 2? 3 years old when she left? Ruby talks to her gravestone, sure, but as for memories or stories, she hasn’t had a single one. This entire thing falls flat because there was 0 buildup

“You’re supposed to be helping others find their way, but you’ve lost your own.” WHAT WHAT WHAT THE FUCK. Jesus on a toaster strudel can you not villainize every single person who slightly questions uwu precious Ruby? He literally helped the other 3 cement themselves, why doesn’t that count? Sure, it was against their will and all, but these girls clearly need some goddamn help if they can’t answer a basic question like “what is a huntress?”

There are so many questions about those last 20 seconds that I don’t even know what to do with them. Let’s just sum it up with “what the fuck”

#rwde #i know who nicholas schnee is i just dont care #this one didnt actively piss me off but it did make me look up a bunch of stuff related to native culture so i wouldnt be reaching #its hard to trust the online stuff tho since so many folks wanna pretend to be native so they can sell bullshit #if anyone has any trustworthy sites please let me know! ive been meaning to learn more about the cultures #i want to be able to write indigenous characters without falling into the harmful tropes or misinformation #still not sure if im reaching on the caterpillar or not but given rts history... :/ #we already had a racist romani stereotype this season #we could make a bingo board of all the racist shit these idiots pull lol #gotta say tho i do like the multi colored leaves. those are really pretty and not oversaturated #the cat keeps getting uglier the longer i look #if the caterpillar is gone do they still need to find the growth yogurt? #guess ill find out next monday lol

[sayitwithsarcophilus]

I do wish, when people are talking about "racism in fantasy media," they would specify whether they're discussing:

A. Racist depictions of groups of humans that exist in real life, or a recognizably close fantasy equivalent B. Depictions of fantasy creatures that rely on real-world racist tropes C. The text seems prejudiced against an in-universe group of people in a way that doesn't have a direct real-world equivalent, but still feels unfair. ("Why is the third-person narrator always making nasty little digs about how complacent and unaccomplished halflings are? Buddy, this is your worldbuilding! They only suck because you decreed they suck! And since every 'ambitious' species in this setting went through a period of genocidal imperialism, is being a boring little turnip-farmer really so unforgivable?") D. The depiction of in-universe Fantastic Racism (morally and aesthetically neutral in itself, but people sure do have strong opinions about the execution!)

#tropes #like is the issue 'the writers treat romani people like a kind of fantasy creature'? #or #'it makes me rather uncomfortable that the rock people take a penalty to INT checks in hot weather because their silicon brains overheat?'

[aloeverawrites]

#colorism #tropes #sterotypes #romani

[music-for-them-asses]

I'll be straight up honest, I do not understand the cult of Eli Roth. Watching Cabin Fever for the first time like.....*uncomfortable Martin discord emoji*

#I have a lot of friends who live him and I don't understand it tbh #like his movies seem to have a lot of racist and anti-Romani tropes?? #idk about him as a person but I'm just not really impressed with his movies

[myurucrie]

ye xuan of other possibilities…

#I don’t like that #I should just #delete twitter for the sake of my sanity #stupid time lines time loops etc #reminds me that fgo the only timeline who survive the bleaching are the timeline where romani existed #I hate and love this trope istg #myu’s rambles

[leidensygdom]

Okay, I will try to explain this topic as well as I can. I will preface this with the fact this comes from personal experiences, and that they may not apply for everyone who has ties to this culture, but let's get to it:

What's the issue with Fortune tellers / "Exotic" circus performers, sexualized belly dancers and other forms of orientalism/Romani depictions?

So, as someone in the TTRPG world (specifically, the DnD community), this sort of trope is seen quite a lot. From the portrayal of Vistani (which has been tried to be fixed, but not... too well), to player characters in home games, as well as popular canon characters and podcasts, it's got quite normalized. Most of these tropes are based on Romani, which is a widespread ethnicity present all across the globe. Now, it feels almost strange to call it orientalism, given how Romani have been in Europe since the Middle Ages, even though they do have roots outside of Europe.

Romani face one of the biggest diaspora in the world: You will find Roma people under many names in very different countries, with cultures and traditions that can clash heavily. Their numbers can range from few hundred in some countries, to over a million in those they have a biggest presence. My own experience is tied to Spanish Roma, known as Gitanos, which is where my mother's side family comes from.

Gitanos are a widespread group, although they're most numerous in the southern part of Spain, Andalusia, where their presence has shaped the culture. Flamenco is thought to have been born from Gitano culture, and it has been adopted as a staple of the Andalusian identity, and the whole of Spain. Gitanos are hard to understand as their own ethnicity in Spain: There's been centuries of Gitanos and Spanish people mixing, and the average Andalusian is quite tan to start with (given Muslim presence there has also been pretty firm). It means it can be hard to "clock" a Spanish Romani person from a non-Romani one. It means you can find Romani people most would consider white, at least by Spanish standards. Most of the discrimination Gitanos face is cultural (and the whole ordeal can be a bit harder to explain from a more US-centric view).

Now, even when Gitanos have influenced Spanish culture a lot, they still face plenty of discrimination. They are one of the most marginalized groups out there. Laws have discriminated against them for centuries, on and off, which have put them in poverty. And poverty often develops into criminality, which has only seeded the idea that Gitanos are criminals, "lowlies", the bottom of society, "uncivilized", etc. Now, here comes a bit of my own experience with this.

My entire family is Andalusian, but both sides moved from there (the south) to Catalonia (north-east) in order to find a job during the Francoist (fascist) dictatorship. I won't get much into the specifics of the Catalan vs Andalusian beef because that's a bit of a massive topic too, but the important thing here is: My mother's side is Romani. My grandma faced some horrifying forms of discrimination, including the theft of her first child during the fascist dictatorship, which was taken from her by nuns (who ran hospitals at the time) to be placed into a "proper" family. (This is something that happened repeatedly at some hospitals during these times).

Now, she had two other children: My mother and my aunt. My aunt remained closely knit to Romani culture, and took part in it, which included marrying a Romani guy. She always did her best efforts to be part of it. I know she was into some culturally-related dances, which included some forms of bellydancing (which is also partially tied to Roma culture). But my mother decided she'd rather cut ties with her culture and become "civilised", by abandoning said culture.

This isn't too uncommon for Gitanos, to be honest. I've met a few people who come from similar backgrounds through my life. One of them was in university, where a fellow classmate gave an oral exposition about how his family had done a great job at "becoming civilised" by cutting ties with their own Roma roots. My university was a fairly progressive space, but no one batted an eye at that: The sheer hatred of Roma culture runs so deep even people who normally abhor racism and xenophobia consider Gitanos to be worth the hate.

There's a social pressure to do that, too. Everyone "knows" Gitano are criminals. I can't really even begin to explain how deeply does this sort of discrimination run. Roma are amongst the most hated minority groups in all of Europe (as well as most of the world). You will find that even in very leftist circles. People will try to erase the fact Roma have their own culture, and just make the world equal to "criminal", call them gy***** (which is a slur, btw), and detach them from being an actual culturally (and often racially) distinct group.

Now, this is only empowered by how media has taken our culture (it is almost hard for me to call it "our", given how much my mother ensured to take that away) and made it into a bad trope. Growing up, I was told my aunt was a sexual deviant who partook in indecent dances. Bellydancing is often seen as something very sexual (Wasn't, in origin), very unfitting. In media, bellydancers veer on the side of being a f*tish, and the common trope is the "bellydancer who seduces people in power for their own benefit". There's also the whole idea of shady fortune tellers and other magical tropes, that sort of weird mysticism that falls rapidly into orientalism. The idea that Roma will hex you, curse you, place an "Evil Eye" on you. And also the idea of travelling circus, people who perform in them being again full of that alluring exoticism, but beware! For they will enchant you, steal from you and run some massive criminal schemes on the way.

Now, when every tie a culture has on media is portrayed in a negative light, it's much harder for that culture to recover any sort of respect from the general populace. And that includes even people who are part of said culture, or people who have been removed from it. It has taken me so many years to unlearn a lot of these biases and realize where it has come from, and now I'm far too distant and far away from my grandmother to actually ever significantly connect to my heritage.

I've had the opportunity to witness what Romani culture is actually about, as I used to live with my grandmother during summers. A lot of the "mysticism" she took part of was actually about wards and protection. A lot of them were actually medicinal in nature, even if others were more superstitious. Red thread in the forehead for sickness and protection to curses, parfums (which contained alcohol or other antiseptics) on wounds, that stuff. My aunt was never a "sexual" deviant, she was keen on recovering and partaking on traditions from a culture that is slowly disappearing. The entire "promiscuous" idea is bullshit, Gitanos place a massive amount of power to marriage and loyalty. I had the luck to witness my cousin's marriage, which was a festivity like none other I had seen in my life, a colorful spectacle full of the most delightful attires, and my mother was whining the entire time over about how it was all an "uncivilised circus".

Now, this is why representation in media is key. Roma culture is broken into a thousand pieces and lost with every passing day. When someone decides to write an ambulant circus performer/fortune teller clad in exotic clothes full of golden jewellery, writes them as a criminal and makes the entire thing extremely sexual, they are feeding into the negative stereotypes about Roma.

Now, there's a lot of people who aren't even aware what culture does that trope even actually come from. I've seen people draw characters clad in Romani attires (often in, uh, rather pin-up or sexual contexts) and claim they're inspired by "x piece of media", where the trope is portrayed in the first place. I literally saw someone make a drawing in that way and call it "inspired by x (non-Roma) artist" instead of acknowledging where does all that come from.

I'm not asking people to not portray Roma people in media. Far from that. I just wish representation was better. Good representation is key towards making a culture seen in a more positive light, and teaching other peoples about it, and making people from said culture resonate with it. The very few times I've seen positive representations of Roma I've felt a bit of that connection with something that was taken from me. I want people to do a bit of research before giving a try to a Roma-coded character. Make an effort to not make Roma always the morally dubious fortune teller, the exotic alluring circus traveller, the bellydancer seductress. It's hard for Romani to produce widespread mainstream media because of how impoverished most communities are (because of the systematic discrimination Roma face all around the world), so the least non-Roma people can do is to be kind when they use their voice to talk or represent us.

I know this is a massive post, and I'm tagging it as "long post" for that reason, but I hope it is helpful for people. Feel free to ask or add your own experience if this is something that resonates with you too. Ask away if you want. I've been wanting to tell a bit my own personal experience, as this has always been a hard spot for me, and even if just a handful of people read this and understand what is this all about, I think it will have been worth it.

#roma #romani #gitano #romani culture #representation #culture #folk #tradition #people #spain #spanish #romani in media #bellydancer #bellydancing #fortune teller #dnd #vistani #long post

[sitp-recs]

Hi Liv!

Do you know of any fics where draco is really heroic during the war? Like fics where he fights for the light side, kills voldemort, fights in thr battle of hogwarts, etc

I think its a really interesting trope

Thanks!!!

Hi anon! That’s a great ask, personally I love these. Most are spy!Draco fics so he’s usually helping behind the scenes:

Paper Dolls by cupiscent (M, 5k)

In the final year of the War, Draco gets a letter, makes a choice and pays the price.

Speak (and may the world come undone) by @shealwaysreads (E, 26k)

The war is on in earnest, and the hunt for the Horcruxes has begun. Harry receives help from the least expected person, and must decide whether he can trust the enemy he knows best.

In The Hand by aideomai (T, 28k)

Two months after Harry went missing, when Hermione was frantic with fear and panic and sleep deprivation, Draco Malfoy cornered them outside the Great Hall before breakfast.

9 ½ Days by magpie_fngrl (E, 69k)

After the events at the Manor, Harry and Draco find themselves stranded in the countryside with a broken wand and Death Eaters on their tail. This is the story of an uneasy truce, featuring faerie forests, seaside caves, Romani camps, kind old ladies, and a shared bed in an attic. Or how two boys fell in love in the midst of a bloody coup.

Walking the Line by SilentAuror (E, 179k)

Sixth year is over and Draco Malfoy is on the run. The war is on and an unwanted assignment is forced upon him by the only people he trusts - and a one-time arch-enemy just may be out to kill him.

Temptation on the Warfront by alizarincrims0n (E, 180k)

Draco Malfoy is forced into hiding with the Golden Trio and dragged into their search for horcruxes. What ensues is a journey of redemption, unexpected friendships and an unwanted, turbulent romance with Harry Potter. Warnings for swearing, sexual content, and dark themes.

Eclipse by Mijan (T, 287k)

Draco swore his revenge on Harry for Lucius's imprisonment, and Harry all but laughed at him. But Draco is planning more than schoolyard pranks this time. The old rivalry turns deadly when Draco abducts Harry for Voldemort. It's the perfect plan, guaranteeing revenge, power, and prestige, all in one blow. But when Draco's world turns upside down, the fight to save himself and Harry begins, and the battle will take them both through hell and back. If they come back.

Twist of Fate by Oakstone730 (T, 302k)

Draco asks Harry to help him beat the Imperius curse during 4th year. The lessons turn into more than either expected. A story of redemption and forgiveness.

#asks #anon #Drarry reclist #spy Draco #war hero Draco

[writingwithcolor]

I'm homebrewing a D&D world that has the technological and cultural starting point of the 16-17th century Europe. It has fantasy races, but a focus in that each is diverse; there are majorities in certain regions, but no monolithic cultures, nations, or races. I am interested in adding a semi-nomadic people of artisans and merchants, largely elves, that utilizes covered and caravan wagons. My inspirational starting point is partially Romanisæl Travellers, as a few of my ancestors were such. 1/2

However, as it is a small part of my heritage and as none of those traditions were passed on to me, it's not something I identify with. As such, I'm unsure if I should even include this "traveling merchant" group. The largest Elven-dominant cultures I currently have are analogous to the pre-revolution French monarchy and Creole peoples outside of the continent. However, this group would be a much older ethnic group that adapted their semi-nomadic herding lifestyle to a more artisanal one. 2/2

Fantasy Romani travelers

To be quite honest with you, I think the trope of Romani-inspired traveling cultures in fantasy is a bit problematic, but that’s just my personal opinion. Yes, a lot of the Romani diaspora does travel, but it’s not usually due to a choice. It’s often to escape persecution or to find seasonal work, the later being less of an inherent negative. You did mention that this group has a more artisanal lifestyle, which does mirror some Romani-diaspora groups, but I think it should be ok as long as there aren’t any other stereotypes involved.

My worry is that this will become another “magical Romani-inspired fantasy culture”, although I am less worried since, as you say, you have some background and probably more knowledge than the average non-Roma. My advice would be to proceed with caution, and write this group respectfully and with as few stereotypes as possible.

-Mod Tess

#Romani #Romani stereotypes #Romani traveler #Creator responsibility #asks

[anawrites3]

I’ve been lurking around the sladick fandom for a good few years and I just wanna know what’s your favorite trope to write them in… or like favorite head cannons you’ve got of them.. (one of mine is Slade takes terrible care of his hair and Dick always washes it and cuts it for him)

I don't actually think I have a favorite trope to write them in, I enjoy them in all situations and all the flavors 😌 Oh, I don't know if that counts as a trope but I love writing Slade going "Shh" and Dick immediately being quiet. It's a mood, honestly haha

But headcanons! I can talk a lot about headcanons! And I love yours, it's so adorable 🥺💕 Dick taking care of Slade, so lovely

Here are a few of mine:

Slade's favorite place to kiss is Dick's hands. He loves placing kisses on his knuckles, on the palm of his hands, the top, wrists, fingers, everything

Dick's favorite place to kiss is Slade's jaw. He's at the perfect height to just press his lips there and it's the compromise since Slade doesn't like to have anything at his neck/throat

In turn, Slade likes to wrap his hand around Dick's throat or his nape. Just casually so, they're watching a movie and Slade puts a hand there.

Slade had a trapeze built in a special room in their house

Dick loves to hang upside down from things, the higher the better. Slade had almost had a heart attack the first time he saw him with his legs hooked on the roof

Sometimes when Slade gets jealous he just picks Dick up and walks away with him (he doesn't do it too often because Dick makes fun of him because of that a lot)

They both have uniform kink (I don't make the rules)

Dick starts speaking romani when he's mad. Slade secretly loves it.

There is a fist shaped hole in the wall in their kitchen. They don't talk about it

When Dick has too many cups of coffee during one day, Slade drinks him some of it. Sometimes it results in Dick getting annoyed and making even more coffee, which in turn results in Slade drinking even more of Dick's coffee

Slade has a cup that says "I love your personality but that Dick is a great bonus". Dick was the one who bought it. He loves that it's both a true statement and a pun

They slowdance, all the time. I want them to be disgustingly in love, dancing together in their kitchen at 4am

They buy each other weapons for Christmas and birthdays

Alright, maybe that's enough 😂 I got excited haha I could be going for hours. Thank you for asking, sweet anon!

#my reply #anon #headcanon #sladick headcanon #sladick #my headcanons

[wolvierinez]

i kind of feel like dick grayson is in a very weird place rn just from what ive seen when ive dared venture outside of my circles

like.

hes sexualised a lot, something i can trace back to devins run on him that sexualised him and his romani identity (which she introduced and then stopped wanting to research after a few issues) and how it's still prevalent in fandom spaces for people to characterise dick as some kind of hot blooded "gypsy" to objectify. and sometimes people are obvious about what stereotypes about us they're reducing us down to but sometimes its a lot more covert until it hits you in the face and you realise this person is racist and doesn't view your people as anything other than something "exotic" to fantasise about while ignoring us and our struggles irl.

but in those same spaces there are people saying he's white/gadjo/not romani at all, Actually, and his sexualisation Totally isn't linked to ideas introduced by a very racist writer. that No One is sexualising him because of his heritage and its purely because of his ass or something, or because he's good looking and implying that some of it just might be linked to racism is wrong and bad. that he's "bad romani rep" because writers refuse to give us anything Substantial about his heritage or DC doesnt hire romani editors or writers or sensitivity readers to make sure they're doing things okay. i dont even necessarily think he's bad rep like ive seen some people say i just think he needs an actual arc or a substory addressing how hes disconnected from his heritage but is working to find out more or something.

but it's just kind of. frustrating to exist in this fandom as a romani nightwing fan because there are some people who think he's also good rep! great rep that you aren't allowed allowed criticise At All when we're literally getting crumbs. "beautiful romani smile" .

i just think dc should do more in a respectful manner and fans should stop stereotyping him as some kind of seducer because its weird and as someone who's read comics the only place i can tell where you could possibly get that from is devins run or fanfics written by people who don't read comics and reduce the characters down into famously incorrect tropes.

CANNOT BELIEVE I HAVE TO SAY THIS BUT I DONT WANT PROSHIPPERS INTERACTING WITH THIS POST.

#g slur #dick grayson #dc comics #nightwing #idk how well this is worded but im sick i napped i woke up mad at the world. #and most of these opinions i mentioned are from people who. arent romani! is anyone surprised.

[scarlet--wiccan]

There are people on social media arguing that Wanda while Wanda and Pietro are Romani, they are white Romani and so people calling out the lighting of their skin tones are just "tokenising" or "fetishing" them. Is there any truth in this? Or is are these people just trying to say anything they can to argue the twins are white?

These arguments are completely baseless, and they are not being made in good faith. "White Romani" is an oxymoron. I don't believe that anybody actually identifies that way, and anyone who understands the history and circumstances of the Romani community should understand why it is an inaccurate and unproductive way to articulate the identities of mixed-race and/or white-presenting Romani people. You can be a white-presenting Romani person, or a white person of Romani heritage, but at the end of the day, we are talking about a racialized community that is not, and has never been, of white ethnic origin. That is a hard fact, and it is not up for debate.

I am a white-presenting person of Romani descent, and I don't feel the need to be prioritized above Romani people of color-- and I can tell you right now that the folks who're crying out "what about the white Roma" are not actually advocating for people like me. We could have a conversation about the diversity of experiences and identities within this community, and what it means to occupy different positions of proximity and privilege, but that's not what's happening here. There are other characters who are more well-suited than Wanda and Pietro to explore those subjects, but that's not what they want to talk about.

Because I have critical thinking skills and I understand history, I am able to recognize the modalities of anti-Romani racism in Western art and pop culture. The broad whitewashing of the Romani population-- by which I mean representing the entire community as virtually indistinguishable from white Europeans-- is a pervasive and harmful pattern which erases our history and origins, thus obscuring the racial element of our treatment by the white Western majority. That is what has been happening in American superhero media for the last 60 years, so when people in this fandom, including actual Roma, push for more inclusive representation, that is what we are trying to combat. Specifically, with Wanda and Pietro, we are pushing back as a direct reaction to the active whitewashing in the movies.

To be clear, the objectification of darker-skinned Romani people/characters is also a pervasive issue in media. When we look back at Western art history, "gypsies" are often the exploited subjects of orientalist works, and you can see those particular tropes and signifiers carrying over in things like Disney's Hunchback, and every Esmeralda archetype that's followed. This does happen in comics, but it often manifests as a distinct form of colorism-- the more exotic, morally dubious, or overtly mystical a character is, the more likely they are to have ethnic features, while the heroes and innocents are more often given fair skin and light hair or eyes. Amanda Sefton and Meggan Puceanu are prime examples.

There are ignorant, but typically well-meaning, people in this fandom who sometimes play into those tropes, and Marvel itself tends to be very tokenistic with Black and brown characters, so the representation is never going to be perfect. But this change is happening for a very good reason, and I believe that it is a net positive.

#whitewashing

[ihopesocomic]

I’m gonna mention. I feel like the Travelers are p Romani coded. there are lies spread abt them abt infantacide (or in the case of Romani ppl, kidnapping), the slur used in place of their actual name, and their beliefs. So far it hasn’t been too offensive, which is a breath of fresh air, since SO MANY stories that take inspiration from Romani ppl do it the most horrible way possible. Some seem like they went down an itemized list of harmful stereotypes and tropes. I just want to let you know that even if this wasn’t intentional, it seems really baked in there, and if you’re worried abt anything, getting a Romani sensitivity reader could help! There’s also lots of literature written by Romani ppl detailing their history of oppression, and how it’s been used in pop culture (What We Do In the Shadows, for example, was an incredible anti-romani show)

That said, thank you for the kind representation. I really like Storm, and her being a butch gnc maned lioness just kind of rocketed her to the top of the fav list lol.

Ahh thank you so much, it's so good to hear these kinds of asks where we're doing OK with this kind of cultural representation because it's obviously something we're quite passionate about showcasing. Without buying into stereotypes, of course. The whole Traveller culture actually draws inspiration from Irish travellers, as they are also subject to the same discrimination you're talking about, especially in the UK. I mean, that's not shocking considering they're Irish or of Irish descent.

They are stereotyped as being thieves and basically leeches of society over here, except their "thieving" is actually them going around and asking for any items that are broken and useless so that they may take them and either repair them or use their parts to fix something else entirely. Extremely useful if you need something getting rid of for free and it's just something that's always been a thing for as long as I can remember.

They'll also contribute other things to the community such as tuck shops (basically selling candy from a moving truck) and handymen services. Like I say, they've just always been a presence around me and I went to school with some of their kids.

They're basically just about getting resources from honest labour and reusing materials and they get hated on for it, purely because it's "different" and "weird" and it's truly not right. Especially when we as individuals outside of their culture take advantage of these services anyway.

There's plenty of media over here written by Irish travellers detailing their childhoods growing up so I'm also drawing inspiration from those sources.

But yeah, Irish travellers are subject to similar discrimination as Romani so completely understandable why you're getting those vibes. c: - RJ

#ask #ask us stuff #travelers #rj answers #worldbuilding