Surf Crazy

It wouldn’t be historically accurate for my story to include BIPOC!

This is an argument often made about European-style fantasy media like Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and Disney’s Frozen. Audiences, often white, assume that due to the majority-white setting, adding any visible number of BIPOC to the story would be unrealistic.

What these critics fail to realize is that BIPOC do in fact live, and have lived, in these settings, and records of BIPOC presence in places assumed to be majority-white have been buried, written out, or not taught due to white supremacist and/or colonial bias in the field of history. There are historical European settings that were far more diverse than is often portrayed. Consider:

The Moorish Empire exerted an extensive influence over life and culture in Southern Europe from Spain from 711 to 1492

The Ottomans were heavily involved in European affairs up until the treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, but still considered a part of Europe even through the 19th century

The sheer size of the Roman Empire ensured the continued movement of people from various backgrounds within the Mediterranean well until the end of the Byzantine Empire.

“Historical accuracy” should not be used as an excuse for media to be exclusively white in its casting. While there are places which are or were predominantly white, there will always be factors like global trade and immigration that bring multiculturalism to their doors.

And even if the presence of a certain demographic is unrealistic for a certain setting? Consider that we’ve accepted far worse inaccuracies in historical fiction in the name of artistic license. Consider that our understanding of human history is, and will always be, incomplete.

Further Reading:

Historically Diverse London, “Historical Accuracy,” and Creator Accountability

Making a Black Pride and Prejudice Resonate

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This Q&A is an excerpt from our General FAQ for Newcomers, which can be found in our new Masterpost of rules and FAQs. If you're new to Writing With Color and/or want more writing resources, check it out!

-Writing With Color

ahaha hi guys I might’ve done more spto saiibo au screenshot redraws

(REGULAR SAIIBO SLOP WILL RETURN I JUST COULDNT HELP IT RAUHGHH THESE R SO FUN)

I explained some things abt this AU over on instagram if anyone’s truly interested!! typing it out again does not sound appealing right now LMAOOO

so, i just hit max approval with deacon again, and maybe it’s just because i know more about deacon and that i’ve explored the world more now, but i think i might actually believe the story less.

(spoilers below, obviously!)

the first time i did it, i only went through one tree of the conversation – i was hesitant to believe him, and ultimately told him it was a lot to process. i didn’t ultimately support him and deacon took that fine.

the other dialogue branches are interesting, especially if you insist it’s a lie throughout and ultimately condemn him. you still get the perk, the relationship still maxes out, but man, deacon shows way more emotion when you condemn him than perhaps you ever hear him otherwise. (i also strongly agree with the analysis here.)

particularly worth mentioning is this:

SS: The Railroad let you in? Even though you were in the Deathclaws?

Deacon: So many years had passed I don’t think anyone, well except for the Claws, knew that. All they knew is someone fought back.

there are a lot of things about deacon’s past that are … well, murky at best. could he have been involved with a violent gang at university point? i keep going back and forth on this, and it’s all because of the huge unmarked quest at university point.

the unmarked quest takes place entirely through terminal entries and recordings, and is dated 2285 – which, according to pam’s terminal is long after deacon was part of the railroad (at least 2273, but i believe he’s johnny d, so that’d be 2266). when you take him to UP, he mentions offhandedly that mass state used to be a big player in the commonwealth, but that that was a long time ago, and the way he says it implies personal knowledge. paranoia against synths has reached a fever pitch in 2287, when the game takes place, but how bad was it in those days? we don’t know.

(in the unmarked quest, it seems that UP has a decently sized community, enough to have a mayor and council meetings, but since it’s all after the fact we can only guess at how large the settlement actually was. there are ruins, though. side note: highly recommend the quest, it’s one of the best parts of the game.)

so– yeah, there are hints that his story is true. and yet… and yet…

i dunno. the thing about deacon is that it’s so easy to go back and forth with him. you can read his story as an allegory, a story he’s telling for a purpose. or, you can take it at face value, and accept that for the first time in what is probably a very long time, deacon is opening up and letting someone else see his past.

i suppose what i get stuck on is the why. why you? why should he finally tell this truth to the sole survivor, if he hasn’t told anyone else? (the answer tends to be “because you’re the player character,” and that’s not an answer that sits well with me. i suppose that’s part of why it keeps making me lean away from it.)

but then, that’s the problem when you establish a character as a liar. how can you tell when they’re crying wolf?

not ignoring canon nor strictly adhering to it, but a secret third thing (taking the small bits and crumbs canon barely spent time developing and running absolutely hogwild)

an illustration for seraph, who asked for post-apocalypse saiou! there’s warmth to be found, even in the wreckage of the world…

Perjury!

redraw of a 2017 piece

Vorpal Blade + Lucid Blade

OTHER THAN A VAMPIRE OBVS i think he would be a hamster! not bc i think that's what he would dress up as for halloween, but bc that's what i want him to dress up as for halloween :) lmao here's also a bonus doodle of him dressed as a bat <3 bc i think he's cute <3

i love when i discover things about the characters i like