Marina drawing!!
biblically accurate, semi-realistic candace or kandake, who was a nubian queen
image renders:
Incoming yap about the current genshin problem:
As a Chinese person swarmed by western media, Liyue means so, so much to me. Seeing the culture that I've been taught to be ashamed of all my life being represented so accurately and positively makes me incredibly happy. It was the first time I saw the famous landscapes that I've visited in person and recreated a fantasy game. Seeing characters wear clothes with similar designs to what I’ve worn and eating similar foods to what I’ve eaten, is indescribable. The euphoria I felt when I first climbed atop of Qingyun Peak and heard the music is something I wish I could experience again.
That being said, Sumeru was a mess, and Natlan is just depressing. What I would give to have people from SEA/SWANA, Latin America, Africa, and Indigenous groups etc. to feel the same way I did when strolling through Liyue.
HYV’s colorism isn’t just stifling their character designs; by whitewashing real-life people, real cultures and even their deities, they are inadvertently whitewashing history. They are taking from actual ethnic groups: learning their history and struggles, then retelling these narratives after replacing their people with bleached protagonists in orientalist clothing.
All this because of what? Out of touch beauty standards? The possibility of lower sales? Dehya is extremely loved in China and her fans donated thousands to a children’s charity in her name. Other Chinese companies like Lilith Games and Bluepoch don’t have this problem. Dislyte is able to consistently pump out gorgeous character designs with varying skin tones and Reverse:1999 makes accurate designs and does in-depth research into the cultures of their characters.
It’s a basic lack of respect.
I've heard that Iranian players were extremely happy and touched by their representation, and that's amazing. And most European, Chinese, and Japanese players are fine with theirs. I just wish this extended to the representation of people with skin tones that are darker.
HYV has shown that they are capable of making characters with darker skin tones and interesting designs, but they will only do that for npcs and enemies. Orientalism, culture mash-ups and inaccuracies across regions is unfortunately common in the game, but the problem with the unchanging pale color of playable characters reflects an obvious and sinister bigotry. I do personally believe that a lot of this has to do with the meddling of higher-ups; many playable characters look like they’ve been white-washed at the end of the process, and just from an art/design standpoint, they fit darker skin-tones much, much better.
It is impossible for Genshin to be a fully “fictional fantasy game” because they chose to bear the responsibility of incorporating real life cultures into their world-building. The criticisms about Sumeru and Natlan are what they brought upon themselves. If you don’t want to represent properly, don’t do it at all. You cannot take everything from a culture and leave their people out of it. They deserve the same respect and research as the region representing your own nation.
For the people who have seen themselves represented in media over and over again, or for those who do not care about being represented at all: even if YOU don't care, others do, and they have a damn good reason for it. This is a big deal, it isn’t too much to ask for, and I will be blocking racists. Peace.
here r all of my avatar girlies’ profile portraits - without the procreate taskbar 😋 feel free to use them as icons or wallpapers 🩷
It's easy, and there are MULTIPLE things you can do! I recommend doing each item on this list.
The petition will be delivered to the appropriate cultural reps, in order to complain to the CCP about the negative impression this is leaving on Chinese companies. Genshin Impact is highly favoured by the government for the positive press it gives the country, and putting pressure on the 'big daddy' is FAR more likely to make Hoyoverse buckle.
As of right now, the petition has nearly 38k signatures.
Email them directly at genshin_cs@hoyoverse.com to state how this has affected your desire to continue playing their games.
Genshin Impact has frequent update surveys, and there is a permanent option to give feedback at any time. You can find it in the Paimon Menu.
Rate Hoyoverse's games, particularly Genshin, with one star on the app store. This has already proven in the past to have an effect, when this caused the team to review the anniversary rewards.
Here is a guide on how to do this!
Do not be silent! Speak up about your displeasure. It's important that these comments outweigh the rest! Show that we are the MAJORITY.
Use the tags!
#BoycottHYV #WhyAreTheyWhiteHoyo #GenshinImpact #FixNatlan
Be relentless.
The following actions should NOT be taken:
DO NOT spend money on Hoyoverse games.
DO NOT sent threats, to voice actors OR customer service staff.
DO NOT engage with trolls or racists. Block and report.
It's easy to dismiss this in the face of 'more important' issues in the world at the moment, but Genshin Impact (And by extension, Hoyoverse) is a very influential game and company. It is extremely popular, and directly influences MANY other games and players through this popularity.
This isn't an issue of 'just stop playing'- This is not anger for a game's decisions, it's anger for a precedent. It's a demand that not only should Hoyoverse care about representation, but other, smaller, companies too. If Hoyoverse can get away with it, so can others- But if Hoyoverse is held accountable for their exploitation of culture, then it sets the precedent that other companies have no chance of doing the same.
Like it or not, Hoyoverse has a lot of influence, and the CCP itself values the company for giving China a positive image in other countries. This is bigger than just being mad at character design.
EDIT: It was also pointed out to me that if POC were to simply stop engaging with hostile content, they would have nothing left. 'Just stop playing' isn't fair, plain and simple. POC deserve to play the things that they enjoy WITHOUT being ostracized.
They listen if there's no money lining their pockets, they listen if their reputation is damaged, and they listen if the CCP gets involved. We have direct evidence of this.
Review bombing alone caused Hoyoverse to reconsider the first anniversary rewards.
The CCP forced Hoyoverse to reskin various characters to comply with their laws, which HYV did. (This isn't necessarily a good thing, however, it is still evidence that CCP has influence over them.)
This is by far the largest outcry the company has seen so far, and MANY of HYV's voice actors have spoken out in support for the movement as well. This is not just playerbase complaints, but staff, too.
I recommend following AvenOfStrats on X/Twitter for further updates on the petition's progress, and on other ways to contribute. They also share plenty of resources on why this is important, and guides on how to complain.
The way that Pearl and Marina are NOT ONLY holding hands, but it is the CENTRAL POINT OF THE COMPOSITION and they TIGHTEN THEIR GRIP ON EACH OTHER OHHHH IM SO SICK
Pearl and Marina the type of couple to eat and post a video on social media with agent 8 in the background third wheeling…
hello lovely! could i pretty pls request a disc layout of jinx from arcane? ♡( ◡‿◡ )
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤJINX (ARCANE) DISCORD LAYOUT!!
ㅤㅤㅤㅤꔫㅤ ༽ ㅤlikeㅤ+ㅤreblogㅤ2ㅤuseㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤunless requester.. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤnotes !ㅤィㅤahh im so very sorry!! thid is like my ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤfirst time EVER editing anything from arcane. requested by : anon
hello, my name is equinox. i'm a multiply disabled intersex trans person who deals with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, hypermobile ehler's danlos syndrome, arthritis, IBS, and other health problems. i am currently saving up for august's rent- due to my disabilities, i cannot hold down a 'formal' job. it has been dangerously hot where live, being routinely in the 90's, getting up into the 100s which has made it difficult to do just about anything, let alone work.
i am recovering from a 6 month period of homelessness where 2 months were spent living in a motel. between having to pay for 2 month's worth of nights in a motel and having to attempt to furnish my apartment has been very financially draining- it's been very difficult to keep up with the expenses that come with setting up a new place. fortunately, my rent is cheap due to being based off of my earned income:
pay pal: glittergraphicnightmare @ gmail.com cash app: $glitterGraphix venmo: equinoxian chime: equinoxian
So, the Natlan trailer is out and honestly… I'm disappointed.
I waited 3 years to see my culture represented but these character designs tell me nothing about pre-Hispanic culture or Latam culture as a whole and it's heartbreaking because the map and soundtrack are lovely.
Also, it's sad that some other Latinos are just like "there are white Latinos too." "At least we're getting represented." It's almost like they don't know their own culture. Seriously, do they think that just because a character is named "Citlali" (star in Náhuatl), that's enough?
Also this doesn't feel like genshin at all, why does nations like liyue, inazuma or fontaine have beautiful designs and are inspired on 1 or 2 countries while Natlan is based in TWO CONTINENTS is just like if hoyoverse said "Africa and Latam? Let's mix them together, they are both tropical continents after all"
And it makes me sad because i was planning on doing 2 OCs for natlan both dark skined and based on mexica/aztec and maya culture but seeing those hoyeverse designs… My OCs wouldn't fit their "aesthetic" and i refuse to see my culture used as an "aesthetic" once again from foreigners that don't even care to know and respect it.
Anyways, that's my rant for tonight, sorry but i had to share my thoughts