Absolutely Well Said!! POC Readers And Writers, Including Myself, Have Had To Either Imagine The Reader

Absolutely well said!! POC readers and writers, including myself, have had to either imagine the reader or Y/N through a Eurocentric lens. As wonderful as some fics are and how talented the writer is, seeing ourselves represented in some way makes us acknowledged in a space that may otherwise leave us behind.

Write us with our fros and our braids. Write us speaking our first languages. Write us with cellulite and stretch marks.

Write. Us.

While we’re on the subject on inclusivity:

Inclusivity in your mood boards is just as important as inclusivity in the fic itself. Please try to include poc and curvy images in your mood boards as well! Please!

Your moodboard is the introduction to your story and sets the mood and the vibe. When you only have skinny white girls in your moodboards, you’re communicating a message that’s all who you thought of while writing and that’s the only type who is attractive and desirable to the characters. Poc deserve to feel seen too and feel like they were thought of while writing. Especially so when you’re writing for characters of color!

You don’t even have to use *only* poc or curvy pictures for your mood boards. Including different skin tones to show that you made the effort is much appreciated. You could also use shadow images or fully blacked out silhouettes to hide the skin tone altogether. There are plenty of resources and images out there that you should be able to find more than just skinny white girls. I know is it takes a little extra digging but it’s very much worth it to show inclusivity!

I know Pinterest is the bane of image finding, but it can be a good resource to find poc images. Just search (whatever aesthetic you’re looking for) + dark skin or person of color or something similar and you’ll find plenty of images. And the more you save the more images will show up in your feed. I constantly collect images to have references later when I need them.

Unsplash is another good resource to find poc models and images. And there’s also models of color pages right here on tumblr! There are resources out there it just takes a little effort to find the right images!

And as an ending note: using only skinny white girls in your mood board and then putting a disclaimer like “images do not represent reader they’re just fitting the aesthetic” isn’t the work around you think it is. I understand it’s not done in purpose and you most likely don’t realize it, but saying that says poc don’t fit your aesthetic and it’s still alienating and hurtful. Just something to keep in mind.

No thoughts, just HIM.

Being a fic writer who can't draw is a beautifully frustrating experience. You can have the coolest detailed story for an original character. It can be perfect, flawless and just ✨️chef's kiss✨️. But whenever you try to translate that OC in an visual way, it ends up like this

by zeewipark

Ah yes, Swindle or "The Money Man with the Money Plan" as I like to call him.

Random TFA Headcanon of the Day

Optimus listens to lofi music to calm down and it helps him recharge. Our boy is stressed out 24/7. He probably has issues recharging because of his spider planet trauma and needs his rest.

Mainly so he doesn't have to use the Cybertronian equivalent of caffeine to stay awake. The Lofi Study Girl channel is the reason why Op even has a decent sleep schedule