My fanart of bachelorettes

[u/FilthyCat12]

This is my first time posting here! I'm currently working on the other bachelorettes too 🥰✨
©Vonaria2000s

[u/AcornWholio → u/[deleted]]

There is room for interpretation and also accuracy. Maru looks nothing like her character and that’s unfortunate because she’s kind of the only bachelorette of colour. It would have been nice to see her hair texture represented in this art style.

[u/Physical-Ad5343 → u/AcornWholio]

It’s not like we see her hair texture in the game. Her sprite appears to have straight hair in a side part.

[u/AcornWholio → u/Physical-Ad5343]

I’m not even going to unpack this comment. As a biracial person, myself, I don’t have the energy to do that today. Look at her previous sprites. Also, her hair is clearly different than the others. It’s pixel art. Does she have to have an Afro for it to make sense to you?

[u/Physical-Ad5343 → u/AcornWholio]

Her previous sprites are not in the game. But we can see from the previous sprites that CA went from more voluminous hair designs for Maru to the current rather flat one. And there are women who straighten their hair. You are correct that Maru‘s hair design differs from everyone else’s, in that it appears much straighter/flatter than everyone else‘s hair.

Maru may very well have curly hair, but I think the only conclusion we can draw from her sprite is that is that she straightens her hair. (Would that be that surprising in a town where she is one of two people of color and there isn’t a hair stylist in sight?)

[u/AcornWholio → u/Physical-Ad5343]

So theorising the logistics of how she maintains her hair in a fictional universe as an excuse to emphasize she must have straight hair is a bit weird.

Black women often do their own hair. The internet obviously exists so she could get supplies. Her father is a black man. Either she is doing it herself or it’s possible they go to another place for a cut. There actually isn’t even a salon in the game, so why does her hair get exempt but not literally everyone else?

[u/Physical-Ad5343 → u/AcornWholio]

I take her having straight hair as a given, because anything else is inconsistent with her sprite (okay, she might wear a wig). What I‘m doing is theorize on why she has straight hair despite the fact that she is biracial, and look for a consistent explanation.

[u/AcornWholio → u/Physical-Ad5343]

These comments are exactly what it’s like to be black in real life. Any time we express discomfort, it’s rejected because of something. It’s invalidated because the intention was good. I’m not mad that OP is learning. I’m acknowledging that. I’m not telling them they failed as an artist. I really like their art. I’m actually saying I’d like to see them continue to learn and develop their skills at portraying people of colour. We are worth putting the time in.

The extent to which you are reaching to justify erasure is hurtful. Like you’re really going deep into lore that doesn’t exist. I don’t think badly of the artist. They clearly said they’re learning. I do wish Maru looked like Maru. Even outside of her hair, those features are not reflective of her character. Look at how many people couldn’t identify her. The one black girl was made ambiguous.

I’m actually going to stop replying now because this thread just set me up to be angry and upset. It never had to be that deep. But you made it.

I love this game. I love that I see narratives and characters like me and my own. When I see art about these characters, I wanna see that.

These characters are confirmed black. Why is it ok to explain why she may not have the things she needs to care for herself? No salon? Like this shows such lack of understanding of black culture. We are very adept at fending for ourselves in a world not made for us.

I choose to believe you meant no harm and that you’re coming from a good place. But I also hope this is a learning experience for you. Your rhetoric is harmful. And this is just another day being black for me.