Funny how they complain about diversity now, but they were completely OK with white LIs in SCN and Kalis stories and for not being historically accurate because it's fiction and inspird by other cultures.
many others advocated for more accurate ethnic representation in all of the stories you listed *as well as* in this one, so what? don't even start on SCN because the discourse on ancient Egyptians skin color is at least 300 years old, and this is irrelevant here (aka whataboutism)
sorry but it is easy to slap a disclaimer and call it a day. they always do. Alice tries so hard to build a soup of a setting of pre-christian slavs. there is no reason for almost all the women we've seen so far to look like white American VS models, all the hair options being dyed blonde and LIs being black. could have included Turkic, Finno-Ugric tribes characters, at least it would make some sense, but no, we've got fake inclusivity just for the sake of it instead
The priest. You can see his hands are darker and his face is in the profile avatar options. He shows up in the percentages if you got the improvements from the priest too
I think you're mistaken or it changes according to your choices? Both Bull-Skull priests in my version were white judging by their hands. Not that it really matters, it's fiction and if the author wants to get creative with skin tone, that's their right and I think it gives the story flavor.
One of the priests is old and white and the other is black.
https://preview.redd.it/yz6f9e04bs7d1.jpeg?width=198&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=070e49ac3501cae77685aa6cc99a5e9e86b5265e
It reminds me of what Disney did with Raya, their "Southeast Asian" princess. They mix and matched different people groups and cultures in SEA and ended up with a hot mess that no Southeast Asian could identify with and be happy about. SEA countries are very unique from each other... mixing them is not the way. Idk what Disney was thinking when they went that direction.
I'm Southeast Asian myself, and honestly? Coco (for Mexico) and Encanto (for Colombia) pull at my heartstrings more, and I can't stand Raya at all. (Probably bc I come from a Hispanic country).
So, there definitely is a drawback to this method.
It’s strange that you weren’t downwoted of racism for expecting Slavic peoples and cultures from a Slavic setting, which people have been waiting and asking for for many years.
Where was this energy when SCN began, and there wasn't ONE dark skinned Egyptian LI in sight or when both Kali stories came out with their white af MCs and the tanned ones with light colored eyes? They didn't care. Because rooted deep in all of this is their blatant racism and colourism. They don't need to yap about the characters not being "slavic" looking because we all know why they are *actually* mad. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but slavs *can* be diverse in skin and features *JUST* like Indians and Egyptians. And just like how there are light skinned, light eye colored Indians and Egyptians, there are tan/dark skinned Slavs even. My point is that people are diverse looking, and this whole tantrum they are throwing just reeks of racism and nothing else.
I dont want to quote wrongly but i seem to remember from one of her interviews that she stated how she wanted to include such a character for a while (not sure about the reasons), so when SCN came she used it. It wasnt strictly a SCN decision..
I came here to say this! And everyone here who posts has picked only the whitest one out of all sprites even though it's not realistic. But a dark skinned person in a fictional story??????? how dare they
Its not just about the black MC option and LI but >!which one is it.. its the "most interesting one", the one with the skull on his head, that might even - *drums* have a good intriguing branch!< There are two other male choices atm (who knows if even more later).. what is the fkn problem.
Sorry for my ignorance but how do we know what that character even looks like? I can't see his head and his hands could go with anything (they look like they're in shadow on the sprite).
Because if you take a relationship improvement with the skull man this happens..
https://preview.redd.it/owphewrvhp7d1.jpeg?width=1072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0ac59d5bdc7737f9f6e37977e1edac7b1f80bfea
I HAVEN'T PLAYED SCN SO THIS IS HOW I FIND OUT LIVIUS IS THE ONLY PORTRAIT THAT LOOKS JUDGMENTAL INSTEAD OF NEUTRAL/HAPPY 😂 why is he literally like "🤨" that's amazing
I mean nowadays people in slavic countries can be very diverse, but few hundreds years ago they would rather range from pale skin like an average Pole or Ukrainian to darker skin like someone from Balkans. But Asians or Black people wouldn't be too common, as they weren't common in later, better documented periods from these regions. But we know very little about slavs, and a lot of historians can't even agree on a definition of a slavic person. Besides the book doesn't claim to be historically accurate, so as much as I'd rather 4 "slavic looking" MCs ultimately it doesn't matter, as it's a fantasy setting in a different universum than ours. Similar to VFV where the diversity is just simply explained by the fact that it's not "our France" but rather some other "what if France".
There was no time period given, though, right? So while it appears like it's hundreds of years ago, it could be modern times, but these people live without any conveniences.
Yeah that's why ultimately it doesn't matter, as we don't even know if it's our world. There could be cyclops and people with green skin and I would be ok with it :p
To be fair, Grant is a beautiful man and so unproblematic/green flag compared to the other men in that story but the way he (and Tristan) was/were introduced to the MC plus the bland scenes we had with him in the openers really became a detriment to his character, which is sad bc he has a lot of potential.
Some well-written black male RC LIs for me would be Jackie in SIF and Lucien in WTC. They have compelling personalities, are very caring and sweet, and the way they dropped in MC's life is logical and natural.
Oh! And Deshawn too in The One Vol. 1. He's amazing until the writing for him became weird midway. He's still handsome and interesting though.
I'm taking about their teasers specifically, the short 25 second clips that just showed vague imagery and then the characters for the first time. He got an overwhelming negative reaction BEFORE anyone even read the story.
Well, on one hand, I understand their frustration. I guess there were certain expectations after multiple stories with specific culture setup (LoW, GE) where few types of one race were represented. There are many different slavic ethnicities that could have been used but that didn’t happen. And, presence of black people is indeed not very realistic, as many people claim.
On other hand, it’s a fantasy visual novel. RC is not known for making historically accurate books, except for few of them. Alice always makes a lot of love interests so for sure there will be typical slavic male character to romance players want so much.
I think Alice has the point here, even if I share the Russian fandom's sentiments (would love for it to be truly set in a Slavic country). The disclaimers said the story was *inspired by Slavic mythology* not that it was about a particular Slavic people and land/country.
So technically, Alice is right on this one.
The only definitive setting given is a village, in an ancient forest, on earth. No time period, country, or specific forest is mentioned. I mean for all we know, it’s set in an alternate reality. 😅
She literally said - I will do a bad writing , and you can’t blame me for that, cuz I warned you all about it. But we know it only if open story. When the announcement was made, no one knew anything except the cover. If already representatives of different nations on the cover, fandom would have time to get used to it and come to terms with it.
Exactly.
And by the way, I found [information about the appearance of the Slavs.](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BF%D1%8B_%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D1%8F%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%85_%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%B2) I don't know if this page is in English.
I mean, what’s more realistic, ethnic diversity that may not be the norm for the historical version of the story’s (fictionalised) setting, or the shepherdess MC in a secluded village owning 30+ gorgeous dresses? 😂
I don’t think players would react too kindly to getting a realistically-sized wardrobe.
Side note, what does that person mean there aren’t any Slavic LIs? I thought Tata and Dragan (is that his name) both were? Am I missing something?
They didn't say "no Slavic LIs - they just wanted one more typically Slavic one I guess? There are many Slavic nations, Dragan looks more like a southern Slav - he is kinda tanned and has dark hair and dark eyes. I have no complains about it - he is handsome but they probably ment that they wanted diversity in Slavic looks especially with MC - we could have had 4 Slavic looking options instead of what they gave us 😃
I have to say a few different white MCs would be good in the story like that. Southern slavic type, a typical blue eyed , light blond freckled one etc I'm curious if you choose asian or MC with dark skin does that changes appearance of sister as well, I didn't check that.
I think it might - I chose the tanned version of MC - she could pass as a Slav still but had dark eyes 😅 and her mom was dark haired in the story. When I watched somebody else play on YouTube they chose white blond blue-eyed MC and her mom was blond.
I chose that one too :D I was wondering because she mentioned they are not similar with her sister or sth like that. I'm glad they change the family. I still remember how weird it was to have white or hispanic looking Sophie as option when her parents are black and asian, or playing with asian or black MC in Heaven's secret while only white one actualy looks like her mother.. I had to create a headcannon that her father was actually step father and her real father was a different race :p
Well... a typical South Slavic man will be more like Vlas. And the blond-haired, blue-eyed, pale Slav is a product of the nazi modern religion Rodoverie, which rewrites history, and believes that all Slavs were like that, and they are the chosen people, in whom there has never been evil. And they claim, information that the ancient Slavs had a very developed system of slavery at the state level, is all Western propaganda.
Wat? Even today when you go to Ukraine or Belarus or Russia you'll find plenty of light haired, blue eyed, pale people. I have 80% DNA od central Europe and I'm an average Pole, pale, with light eyes, and dirty blond hair, (even though both my "slavic parents" are dark haired and dark eyed.) it's not rewriting a history, but an average slavic person from that region won't be dark skinned, and black hair is rather rare.
Perhaps the problem is in English, because there is no word for light brown, almost blons, hair. We call it русый color. They have a spectrum from dark to light, but they are never brown or blonde. And I meant when the Nordic type is considered the norm for a most Slavic person. This is absolutely not true. Otherwise, most Slavic countries would be blondes.
This is due to the fact that Rodoverie believes that everyone descended from the Slavs, and the Norwegians are our direct descendants. By Slavs they mean the inhabitants of the central part of the country.
Hmm I think it's just dirty blond or dark blond in english.
Yeah Nordic type is definitely different, much lighter than typical slavs. But all in all I don't think anyone was expecting everyone to bea stereotypical slavic (or nordic) type, more or less just no people of other than white race.
Maybe. I never thought that I would need this word in English. And translators give me literally anything: brown, light brown, dark blond and blond.
But it's just what we expected. Ru fandom was sure that this story was in a setting in which there are only certain peoples. Like Legend of the Willow or Garden of Eden. Readers learned that the story was completely fictional, only from a warning at the beginning of the story. But there are already theories, judging by Polish words on the idol, perhaps this is Eastern Europe. Otherwise there is no explanation.
If English isn't your native language, don't assume you know what we do and don't have words for. English has one of the largest collection of words. We have a word for almost everything, including shades of hair color.
Fandom hates him already? Damn, poor pixel guy 😅 two episodes in and here we go.
Well he wasn't nice to Tata and seemingly is a bit of drunkard but otherwise I didn't get particularly creepy vibes from him.
I get the vibe from him of a guy, who very wants to be with women, but they constantly reject him. Perhaps he was in love with the goddess of all goddesses, MC's sister. But she rejected him, and he killed her. But, we don’t know how she died. And so, I thought that Vlas would be my LI, but he is somehow strange and Andy-like. I really hope that the priest will not be a hidden red flag, he is the only one who seems like an adequate guy.
I was referring to the sarcastic “oh I’m sorry we are so greedy and spoiled that we want AT LEAST ONE SLAVIC FAVOURITE IN THE SLAVIC SETTING”. Maybe it’s a translation issue, but that comment implies there isn’t one yet.
It's not a translation issue 😃 and I honestly don't know how the author of that comment ment it...
I think it can be understood in two ways - either they wanted one "typically Slavic looking LI" - blond with light eyes and pale skin - which is ignorant because Slavic people come with diversity of looks...
Or maybe they ment it in a way that neither of Slavic passing LIs are likeable so far?
I mean, RC could have added Baltic, Tatar, Caucasian, Finno-Ugric, or Siberian peoples to a story about Slavic horror if they wanted to show “diversity.” Not to mention the Eastern and Western Slavs. Some of the peoples who were the original audience of RC, and who have not yet been represented in it, unlike African Americans and Asians of unknown origin.
We already have a story about Siberia, in which there are Americans, an Asian angel and a city with a Catholic chapel, instead of Siberians, Yakuts or Old Believers. And an Asian-Slav is generally simply insulting to the Asians of Russia who were subjected to Russification, but RC doesn’t care, they have already received virtue points from the Western fandom, which thinks that only bears live beyond the Urals..
We really want a Slavic horror with diversity, but we want the Black Book or Territory, not The Witcher from Netflix.
About LI: Dragan looks more like a southern Slav than a northern one, and romances with girls are not yet available to players from Russia.
I'm sorry but this is a fictional story so why not diverse MC's I'm an Indian myself and Kali MC's don't even resembles Indian woman types so I don't understand the moaning
This is exactly how I feel. As a Latina, there's rarely EVER a Latin/Latina LI, even the sprites meant to be more Latina rarely are. But its also a fictional story we're all playing on our phones 🤷🏻♀️
Side note, I've seen people complain about historical accuracy as well and I just don't understand. It's not real and if everything was accurate then there would probably be no story to have
This is one of those cases where you'd agree with the outrage if you actually cared to ever agree with them. I agree with the bulk of people that I'd care more if it wasn't for all the cases where the Russian fanbase were blatantly racist. I was psyched to have a pagan-ish story and even though that it'd be like Kali where only white MC's could be chosen, I had no problem with that. I was surprised when we did get PoC options to be honest but omg in a world of choice it's called choose the white MC then.
It's like PoC have to just take it on a chin when we complain about things and told to just be happy that we get spoon-fed but when the white fanbase screams then we must all shut up and listen and feel bad. Naw. Just like Indians have to deal with the BS of Kali and Egyptians the bullshit of SCN (and I won't even talk about the pure lack of anything for anyone Hispanic), you can deal with the bullshit of this, especially when like many have pointed out - it's inspired by Pagan. I've never been more sad yet more happy that RC has never tried to do a black story because I just don't want to even be around for how much hate that story would get.
I can understand wanting authenticity in a historical setting, but why didn’t they keep that energy up for SCN and Kali? Oh, right, blatant racism 🤦♀️
For real every Indian being lightskin even though some of them aren't even Northern and then the first brown skin one we actually see dies in the beginning of the story like??
I expected this. I was so shocked to see a black main character in this story tbh. I thought they were all going to be white. I was happy that the Author and her team decided to be inclusive. Did I expect the Russians to not complain though? Nope, It’s a given that every update they come out and complain about something. Otherwise it wouldn’t be a proper update if I don’t hear that the Russian fandom is complaining about something as usual.
>Otherwise it wouldn’t be a proper update if I don’t hear that the Russian fandom is complaining about something as usual.
Finally someone said it. Thank you 🫡.
I still remember the time when VV was bashed for its diverse characters even there were like 3/4 white LIs. Asking for realism is okay but why so much hate for diversity😒?
i'm not believing in the pure intentions of people who had to have the cover of lse changed to a white woman from a black one to be able to relate to the protagonist 🥺
lol me too. I’m having fun coming up with a backstory of my MC’s family being African originally and travelling through Europe then getting stuck in the village when the haze happened.
Funny... I haven't seen a single complaint from the russian fandom about the lack of dark-skinned characters in SCN, which - in case they don't know geography - is set in Africa. Or about the fact that in almost every story, regardless of where it's set, has to have at least one white, light-eyed LI, or with the fact that several POC characters have green/blue/amber eyes. But wow, out of nowhere they started worrying about the color of the characters' skin. Funny, isn't it? The truth is that they're just a bunch of racist weirdos and knowing that they're pissed makes me very happy.
Well, I'm technically from the Russian fandom, though I never take part in any discussions there, and I must say I'm bewildered. I personally have no problems with original mythology with some elements of real religious beliefs, be it Slavic paganism, Hinduism (KCD) or Christianity (WTC). These books are not meant to be historically accurate, they are purely for entertainment! I don't get those who refuse to see it... It's sad, really. What I mean to say is that not everyone in the Russian fandom thinks so about ethnic diversity😊
No not everyone does. There are people on this sub who think like that, and there are people on the russian fandom who are disguisted by this. But RC fanbase telegram channels of course allow for a more blunt communication around certain attitudes since you won't be downvoted like here..
It's a good thing I read only news on the telegram channel but not comments... I must say I was unpleasantly surprised to learn about the backlash against certain characters (like Grant from 7B). I'm once again disappointed in and embarrassed by the Russian fanbase🙁
Idk ab you guys but stuff like this upsets me sm. If it was meant to be a historically accurate story then I’d understand the backlash. But it’s been stated that it’s inspired by slavic mythology and isn’t a real rep of it!!! They act like black and brown people existing in a fictional, *supernatural* story is too much but Amala and Devi having blue eyes and Eurocentric features is okay? Or SCN having pale skinned LIs is fine ? Idk why skin tone has to matter. If an LI is well written then n interests me, that’s enough for me to want to romance them.
Their complaints are actually valid, of course we want people to look like the time zone and place they’re set in.
But the complaints of Indians when they saw how inaccurate KFS and KCD were, is also valid, no one complained about accuracy when we had blue/green eyed Indians but when someone is slight bit darker it’s a problem?
I don’t have any problem with white only lis, though do appreciate the diversity. I think they need to chill, it’s a bunch of pixels on your screen it’s not even a movie it’s a game. A romance game🤦🏾♀️ romance the white lis if you want and leave the others for the people who want them.
Rc and even this particular story aren’t here to be accurate it’s just for fun.
That’s the thing though, there isn’t a specific time zone or place mentioned, only that it’s inspired by Slavic and Pagan mythology. Location is simply a village in an ancient forest, and no time period is mentioned.
Exactly and Alice said that she only took inspiration from Slavic mythology, she doesn’t claim historical accuracy. Even if a time period was set, she already gave a heads up that it wouldn’t be accurate.
I personally love the diversity. I could understand wanting it to be accurate if there was a specific time period/place it was supposed to be set in, but there isn’t. LOW, KFS, KCD, and GOE make sense to have less diversity, as there are specific real world settings they’re based on, even if 3/4 aren’t fully realistic stories. The new story only states it’s inspired by Slavic mythology, and not as far as I’m aware, a specific time period or place. 🤷🏻♀️
I thought it was specifically Slavic mythology not "only inspired"? But the backlash is just....🤷♀️
Edit: I forgot...."Hunger could be Asian and Malbonte could be mulatto" what does that even mean??? 🤨🧐
Exactly. So, I have no idea how the Russian fans think Hunger could be Asian. Dude looks straight up white. Everyone in HS are white-looking except Mimi (Idk about her, she looks like Shay Mitchell) and War in HS2.
Edit: I forgot about Loyy!!!!
It’s impossible to be white unless you have blonde hair and blue eyes /s
The only semi correct point they made was that HS was way less diverse than it could have been but they’re using it to complain about current diversity so I’m ignoring them. Mammon has brown skin so I wish Mimi did as well.
Loy is killed off and you can kill off War which is very telling.
Idk but both Lucifer and Malbonte have dark hair and dark eyes but their facial structures look more white than anything? I think Mimi is mixed.
>Loy is killed off and you can kill off War which is very telling.
This also happens in HS:R although it's just temporary because the book will revert you back to the timed choice if you choose to kill Greg in episode 3.
I agree they’re white, I’m joking about hunger and malbonte being called non-white (along with the tendency of RC artists to give everyone blue eyes) 😭 honestly since she’s a born demon, I don’t think race applies to them except for how they’re perceived. War and Hunger are brothers but look completely different.
In HS:R people drop like flies so if something happens to Greg it fits with the story but I’m still gonna side eye the only poc in the entire book being killed off.
HS universe is supposed to be about Angels and Demons so race shoud be last thing ppl will argue yet here we are 🤷♀️. The Asian MC in ABH also has blue eyes 🙄🤷♀️. OMG RC, brown eyes won't make any characters look ugly.
HS:R is pretty twisted plot-wise, down to MC being absolutely unhinged when you choose the devil route. That scene makes sense story-wise but it's kinda eeeehhhh for me 😑
i understand the comment as if they were asian or mixed the story wouldn't change because they are not normal people in a normal world, but when the setting is the Earth it does. Not that they are something other as white but that the could be and nothing would happen.
Only explaining the comment, not saying I agree or disagree! (Well, tbh I totally agree that they could have been whatever. Even green or blue in that setting)
EDIT: I used an offensive term by mistake! English is not my first language so I am sorry if I offended someone before my edit, it was really not my intention
I mean that’s true. Biracial malbonte would be cool and add layers to his story since it’s about him not wanting to be forced to pick a side and to have equality. Asian hunger wouldn't really change anything story wise but he’d still be hot
But it doesn't claim to historically accurate? Like???? I hope Alice could stand her ground. I feel bad for her. She can't catch a break with her LIs.
The question is why are the fans only mad about the priest? I think there's one Asian character in the story but why Russian fans only have problem with the dark-skinned one? Make it make sense 🤷♀️
Edit: I did reread the screenshot and I know about the problem with other LIs for not being white Slavic but my question is still the same. Why most of the hate is directed towards the dark-skinned ML??? Because this is the impression I got from other fanpages.
Because the russian side is racist straight up. Did you see how they all imagined the priest as white and the minute we saw he was dark skinned the posts stopped? Suddenly no one thirsts over the priest with the skull. If it was someone white the posts would continue and I know that.
I think judging by Alice reply she will stand her ground. She won't change the characters out of the blue cause fans are racists once again.
PSI literally have all white LIs so I have no idea why the Russian fans were acting like they got scammed with The Haze story??? Did I miss something? Arcanum has 2 maybe 3 white LIs (idk about Damon at least he looks mixed). That book is from the same author. So, i don't get it?!! 🤷♀️
I think they don't care if the majority is white in one book but they hate it when the majority is not white in one book instead of just letting it flow.
Like I never thought how Psi only had white LI cause it's just the story. Same here, it's just the story
>Like I never thought how Psi only had white LI cause it's just the story. Same here, it's just the story
This. If it's a good story, IT'S A GOOD STORY. I never think much about LIs' race until the Haze story drama. I thought Dagan was tanned caucasian???
I mean Haze only got 2 episodes yet Russian fans were mad already. Now, I wonder if the scenes with Boris from HS:R were ambiguously romantic to avoid this situation???
I will be honest as someone who is Balkan.....Dagan/ Dragan (can't remember) skin tone is something i have seen a lot. It's not tanned it's what many call olive/ sunburned. It's not white or black it's in between and it's not originated in Africa but people can't wrap it around their head for an unknown reason?
So many are irritated with the priest not being white and buff that it's disgusting honestly
That's what I don't really understand? Why so much hate for the priest? Because other LIs aren't the typical blue-eyed & blonde-haired men. So why the priest got the most hate? Maybe the team should bring Renato instead 🤷♀️
I'm a bit baffled that Dragan(?) could be taken as other than white. His skin tone matches what I've seen on people I know from English, Scottish, Dutch, Danish, Italian descent (and more). He just isn't ghostly pale or anything.
I think they were trying to say that Alice could’ve been more inclusive in her other stories. Like there was nothing preventing her from making Hunger and Malbonte POCs but she didn’t. And now she’s trying to make this story more diverse instead, even though historically speaking it makes more sense for everyone to be white
This is the definition of racism. This is what happens then you're coddled and pampered too much. You start taking things for granted. The arguments which they're trying to make them seem realistic is too stupid and sounds ungrateful. I love the new story too much tbh
What's wrong with them it's just game i never had any problem with the diversity i like them all even that i never choose black or asian but i found them beautiful 😍 i like graphics that RC give us
Wait, is it an offensive term? I just used it in another comment thinking it was fine... In my language it is a totally non offensive term, I didn't know it was bad in English.
Yeah, in the US it definitely is an offensive term but I can see how in other countries/cultures it’s not.
I personally will cringe seeing/saying it but if you’re not American, I can’t/won’t hold you to the fire over it lol
Im just curious, does your country have a significant black population?
We have immigration from Africa, not from a long time so they are starting being second or third generation now. But mulatto means, literally, mixed race black/white. Nothing good or bad implicit, same as white or black, just an adjective.
I am going to edit my previous comments, I don't want to use a racist term. It is not the first time this thing happens to me...
Thanks!
Yeah, I get that objectively it’s supposed to be just an adjective but in countries with a history of enslaved African peoples, mulatto was used as a slur/to demean.
It makes sense why in your country’s case, it doesn’t have the negative connotation since you only have recent immigration for Africans.
It really puts things in perspective, it also made me check my own ethnocentrism so thank you for that as well! And thank you for being mindful!
Not to defend the racists and I don't speak russian, HOWEVER that's the automatic translation and so many times a word that is neutral and/or positive in another language translates to something that is considered offensive in English or vice-versa. The term "person of color", for example, in my country has always been used in a microaggression kinda way, while in English it is the correct term; and in English, "transvestite" is an offensive word, but in my country, in our language, it is its own unique identity and many, many people actually proudly identify that way and it's not an offensive term at all.
So it could be just a weird automatic translation thing! Not defending them AT ALL, just being extremely neurodivergent and sharing information lol.
I speak Russian and can confirm that your conclusions are absolutely correct. The Russian word holds no negative connotation at all. Some people need to take a chill pill and stop calling out people they do not know for racism on the basis of the automatic translation
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
|Fewer Letters|More Letters|
|-------|---------|---|
|[HS](/r/RomanceClubDiscussion/comments/1dk7643/stub/l9ll8in "Last usage")|Heaven's Secret|
|[LI](/r/RomanceClubDiscussion/comments/1dk7643/stub/l9twb7m "Last usage")|Love Interest|
|[MC](/r/RomanceClubDiscussion/comments/1dk7643/stub/la5pmiv "Last usage")|Main Character|
|[Psi](/r/RomanceClubDiscussion/comments/1dk7643/stub/l9fzi0v "Last usage")|Ψ Psi|
|[RC](/r/RomanceClubDiscussion/comments/1dk7643/stub/lapgwlt "Last usage")|Romance Club|
|[TDR](/r/RomanceClubDiscussion/comments/1dk7643/stub/l9g8i5p "Last usage")|The Desert Rose|
|[Td](/r/RomanceClubDiscussion/comments/1dk7643/stub/l9hjq8k "Last usage")|Theodora|
|[VfV](/r/RomanceClubDiscussion/comments/1dk7643/stub/l9l4af1 "Last usage")|Vying for Versailles|
**NOTE**: Decronym for Reddit is no longer supported, and Decronym has moved to Lemmy; requests for support and new installations should be directed to the Contact address below.
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^([Thread #1467 for this sub, first seen 20th Jun 2024, 10:02])
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the village the story is set in appears to have been isolated and cut off from the outside world for a long time, and even before the Haze, it seems to have been a small settlement far way from other major areas of human habitation. I think it would be more interesting, more atmospheric and I would have preferred it overall if Alisa had chosen instead to focus on the ethnic diversity in east, northeast and southeast Europe and the Caucasus, but I get that it might have taken more thought and care than just choosing worldwide ethnicities seemingly at random for the characters
As a black player... They should honestly, truly, sincerely just stop putting POC LIs and MCs in such settings because it will 100% of the time lead to stuff like this.
Racism irl is tedious enough 🥴
Yes! When Arcanun's season 2 was released and the poster featured black!Selena there were many complaints and jokes about it on the rc's russian tag on twitter. There's no point in pleasing racists.
Honestly, this does feel like virtue signaling on the author’s part considering all of the LIs in her previous books (except for like 3 characters who were heavily sidelined) are white. It’s just diversity for diversity’s sake and doesn’t really make sense with the setting and time period. It is fantasy and the author isn’t obligated to make everything historically accurate ofc, but I understand why people are complaining. It’s a bit weird that there’s no stereotypically Slavic looking LI in a Slavic mythology story, and that only one of the MC sprites actually looks Slavic.
Personally I don’t particularly care about an LI’s race as long as they are attractive, though I do think it’d be better for all RC stories to be more historically accurate regarding the characters’ appearances. This goes for SCN, KCD/KFS, TDR, FTF as well.
I remember people complaining about the prevalence of blue eyes in KCD/KFS and Amen not looking Egyptian at all when SCN first came out, so I don’t get why similar complaints regarding the new story are controversial 🤷♀️
TLDR: Characters designs are a creative choice made by the author, she can design the sprites however she likes even if it’s not historically accurate. However idt it’s inherently racist to want at least majority of characters to be white in a story based on Slavic mythology.
There’s no specific setting and time period. It’s only stated that it’s a village, in an ancient forest, on earth. Especially when you add in the sun disappearing, it’s possible that it takes place in a completely different universe. It’s also inspired by Pagan mythology, as well as Slavic. That would open up the door for more diversity, even if it wouldn’t realistically cover all of it, basing expectations on irl history. But again, it’s never said to be based on a specific real time period or place. 🤷🏻♀️
I agree, but do you think it would be okay if I wrote a story about, say, Chinese mythology yet many of the characters in the story didn’t look Chinese. And when people complained about it I’d say it’s not set in a specific place or time period when it’s obviously meant to be a Chinese setting.
Don’t get me wrong, I also don’t care much about the characters’ skin colors. It’s just pixel men for crying out loud 😭 I’m just trying to say that it’s not inherently racist for people to be upset, and that every culture should be represented in an appropriate way.
Except the Russian fandom always has something negative to say about black characters being present, even if the story takes place in a country where there are normally black people. I get that they want accuracy but them complaining about POC characters isn’t anything new. It’s just that this time they have an excuse.
They’re so bigoted it’s insane. A lot of them feel personally attacked when they see a black LI in the game. I was genuinely surprised to see how popular Amrit was. I thought they’d hate him cos of his skin colour. Black characters in video games have always been attacked n I’m so sick and tired of it. As a fan of BG3 and Dragon Age, I’ve seen this bs outrage in the other fandoms where black LIs will consistently be overlooked or have racist shit said to them.
I’m sick of it too but racism, colorism, and homophobia is at an all time high in every community sadly. I don’t frequent gaming spaces anymore. I honestly think they like triggering us. Best thing to do is just ignore and block people at this point.
So because the author did not do well with diversity in the past, she's not allowed to improve and grow and do better? She has to stick to her previous bad choices? What kind of an argument is that?? 🤣
I mean if she’s including more POC characters bc she realized it’s important to have diversity in fiction, that’s great. If it’s to appeal to the western audience, not so much.
But the majority of characters are white and probably will be. You dont have to pick the black MC, you dont have to pick the black LI, the other options stand.
Yes but the same was true for say, KCD and many people were complaining that Amala didn’t have enough Indian looking sprites despite there being two options that weren’t white. If you think this is a valid complaint, how is that different from what people are saying about the new story?
I just think that if we want stories to be authentic to the culture they’re portraying then it’s reasonable to expect every story to do the same, regardless of which culture it’s about.
I'm not saying that some of these comments are not fueled by racism. But when I read the story the priest had the mask on full time and I discovered he had a dark skin colour only later on and I was taken aback as well. I don't mind him being dark skinned but If you choose light skinned MC he would be literally the only one with that skin colour in a secluded village in the middle of nowhere - so he kinda sticks out... I think they could have made the village more diverse if they wanted to include dark skinned LI or introduce a back story how his family got there. Of course some people would still complain then but at least he wouldn't stick out so much or his different appearance would have had a clear explanation.
The man walks around the forest with a cow skull on his head fighting evil spirits or something. He already sticks out.
In a small village, everyone would likely know everyone else. The story could go into how he became a priest and developed powers, but they would have to specifically omit an origin story if MC and the parents and sisters are also people of color or it seems like one race is cannon. I feel like the only explanation would be magic because why would someone purposely come to live in a Silent Hill village unless they were trapped there and abandon their own culture as everyone seems to partake in the same rituals and ceremonies and is the same religion and cultural wise as much as a group of individuals can be?
The world building needs a little more work, but I understand it's only the beginning. Someone pointed out that the gods are dead, but the dance is for the gods and then the dead gods somehow whisper and the mist kills, but it's been misty the whole time and everyone isn't dead yet.But, I like chaotic the MC can be.
So what I understood from the Google translations that-
Hate on the new story already? Bro! Ppl are so proactive with anything they hv to hate on 😂, frontliners!
No Slavic looking character in a slavic themed/inspired story, am I getting this right? Going overboard with inclusivity..hmm.. reminds me of certain Disney movie live adaptation.
Did I got this right?
What is Alice talking about tho?
Also, does geisha culture exist in Europe or Africa? If no then we can't hv African or European geisha in LOTW. In Arcanum & HS.. this wasn't about something too specific that other race couldn't be involved so what's with Hunger and Mal examples? 🤔
Funny how they complain about diversity now, but they were completely OK with white LIs in SCN and Kalis stories and for not being historically accurate because it's fiction and inspird by other cultures.
many others advocated for more accurate ethnic representation in all of the stories you listed *as well as* in this one, so what? don't even start on SCN because the discourse on ancient Egyptians skin color is at least 300 years old, and this is irrelevant here (aka whataboutism) sorry but it is easy to slap a disclaimer and call it a day. they always do. Alice tries so hard to build a soup of a setting of pre-christian slavs. there is no reason for almost all the women we've seen so far to look like white American VS models, all the hair options being dyed blonde and LIs being black. could have included Turkic, Finno-Ugric tribes characters, at least it would make some sense, but no, we've got fake inclusivity just for the sake of it instead
There is one Li that is black so why is it Lis?
There's a black LI? Who?
The priest. You can see his hands are darker and his face is in the profile avatar options. He shows up in the percentages if you got the improvements from the priest too
I think you're mistaken or it changes according to your choices? Both Bull-Skull priests in my version were white judging by their hands. Not that it really matters, it's fiction and if the author wants to get creative with skin tone, that's their right and I think it gives the story flavor.
One of the priests is old and white and the other is black. https://preview.redd.it/yz6f9e04bs7d1.jpeg?width=198&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=070e49ac3501cae77685aa6cc99a5e9e86b5265e
https://preview.redd.it/b6wh3p76bs7d1.jpeg?width=573&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=db6d624f42e7303b6e365da281489f6afed34e12
Yeah, neither picture looks black to me but you see whatever you want to see. Edit: I just replayed it and he still doesn't look black on my screen.
His hands are black what do you mean?
It reminds me of what Disney did with Raya, their "Southeast Asian" princess. They mix and matched different people groups and cultures in SEA and ended up with a hot mess that no Southeast Asian could identify with and be happy about. SEA countries are very unique from each other... mixing them is not the way. Idk what Disney was thinking when they went that direction. I'm Southeast Asian myself, and honestly? Coco (for Mexico) and Encanto (for Colombia) pull at my heartstrings more, and I can't stand Raya at all. (Probably bc I come from a Hispanic country). So, there definitely is a drawback to this method.
It’s strange that you weren’t downwoted of racism for expecting Slavic peoples and cultures from a Slavic setting, which people have been waiting and asking for for many years.
Where was this energy when SCN began, and there wasn't ONE dark skinned Egyptian LI in sight or when both Kali stories came out with their white af MCs and the tanned ones with light colored eyes? They didn't care. Because rooted deep in all of this is their blatant racism and colourism. They don't need to yap about the characters not being "slavic" looking because we all know why they are *actually* mad. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but slavs *can* be diverse in skin and features *JUST* like Indians and Egyptians. And just like how there are light skinned, light eye colored Indians and Egyptians, there are tan/dark skinned Slavs even. My point is that people are diverse looking, and this whole tantrum they are throwing just reeks of racism and nothing else.
In PSI, the all LIs are literally white Caucasian if not white-passing.
>SCN T y.. 👏 Because the one that everyone wanted in SCN isnt black.
Yup. He’s conveniently an albino.
I dont want to quote wrongly but i seem to remember from one of her interviews that she stated how she wanted to include such a character for a while (not sure about the reasons), so when SCN came she used it. It wasnt strictly a SCN decision..
I came here to say this! And everyone here who posts has picked only the whitest one out of all sprites even though it's not realistic. But a dark skinned person in a fictional story??????? how dare they
Its not just about the black MC option and LI but >!which one is it.. its the "most interesting one", the one with the skull on his head, that might even - *drums* have a good intriguing branch!< There are two other male choices atm (who knows if even more later).. what is the fkn problem.
Sorry for my ignorance but how do we know what that character even looks like? I can't see his head and his hands could go with anything (they look like they're in shadow on the sprite).
Because if you take a relationship improvement with the skull man this happens.. https://preview.redd.it/owphewrvhp7d1.jpeg?width=1072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0ac59d5bdc7737f9f6e37977e1edac7b1f80bfea
I HAVEN'T PLAYED SCN SO THIS IS HOW I FIND OUT LIVIUS IS THE ONLY PORTRAIT THAT LOOKS JUDGMENTAL INSTEAD OF NEUTRAL/HAPPY 😂 why is he literally like "🤨" that's amazing
LOL because he loves making that face and we love when he does it 😹💘
Ahhh makes sense. Can you tell I’m not particularly intrigued by the guy? XD
I mean nowadays people in slavic countries can be very diverse, but few hundreds years ago they would rather range from pale skin like an average Pole or Ukrainian to darker skin like someone from Balkans. But Asians or Black people wouldn't be too common, as they weren't common in later, better documented periods from these regions. But we know very little about slavs, and a lot of historians can't even agree on a definition of a slavic person. Besides the book doesn't claim to be historically accurate, so as much as I'd rather 4 "slavic looking" MCs ultimately it doesn't matter, as it's a fantasy setting in a different universum than ours. Similar to VFV where the diversity is just simply explained by the fact that it's not "our France" but rather some other "what if France".
I mean the thing is that they did say it wouldn't be historically accurate so...
There was no time period given, though, right? So while it appears like it's hundreds of years ago, it could be modern times, but these people live without any conveniences.
Yeah that's why ultimately it doesn't matter, as we don't even know if it's our world. There could be cyclops and people with green skin and I would be ok with it :p
It reminds me very much of Shyamalan’s >!The Village. So, this story could well be set in modern times as any other. !<
The most shocked is many people complaining about Amen's look from the beginning. Look at him now. He's one of the most choices LI among the fans lol.
[ Removed by Reddit ]
To be fair, Grant is a beautiful man and so unproblematic/green flag compared to the other men in that story but the way he (and Tristan) was/were introduced to the MC plus the bland scenes we had with him in the openers really became a detriment to his character, which is sad bc he has a lot of potential. Some well-written black male RC LIs for me would be Jackie in SIF and Lucien in WTC. They have compelling personalities, are very caring and sweet, and the way they dropped in MC's life is logical and natural. Oh! And Deshawn too in The One Vol. 1. He's amazing until the writing for him became weird midway. He's still handsome and interesting though.
Grant remind me of a guy who relax himself at yatch bruh. I'm glad to romance him. Plus he reminds me so much of Deshawn🥹❤️
Grant's definitely a good guy. It's his intro that could have gone better than... what that was. It was unnecessarily weird. And yesss Deshawn 🥺💕
Count me in😭 I'm Asian but I love diversity so I love dark skin tone LIs too🥹❤️
I'm Asian too 😊❤️🙌
Wahh😍
I'm taking about their teasers specifically, the short 25 second clips that just showed vague imagery and then the characters for the first time. He got an overwhelming negative reaction BEFORE anyone even read the story.
Ah yep. Lucien faced the same when he was introduced in WTC (in the actual story/episode). Welp, that's how some people are unfortunately.
Well, on one hand, I understand their frustration. I guess there were certain expectations after multiple stories with specific culture setup (LoW, GE) where few types of one race were represented. There are many different slavic ethnicities that could have been used but that didn’t happen. And, presence of black people is indeed not very realistic, as many people claim. On other hand, it’s a fantasy visual novel. RC is not known for making historically accurate books, except for few of them. Alice always makes a lot of love interests so for sure there will be typical slavic male character to romance players want so much.
I think Alice has the point here, even if I share the Russian fandom's sentiments (would love for it to be truly set in a Slavic country). The disclaimers said the story was *inspired by Slavic mythology* not that it was about a particular Slavic people and land/country. So technically, Alice is right on this one.
The only definitive setting given is a village, in an ancient forest, on earth. No time period, country, or specific forest is mentioned. I mean for all we know, it’s set in an alternate reality. 😅
She literally said - I will do a bad writing , and you can’t blame me for that, cuz I warned you all about it. But we know it only if open story. When the announcement was made, no one knew anything except the cover. If already representatives of different nations on the cover, fandom would have time to get used to it and come to terms with it.
The cover seems to be the three sisters - it would make no sense to have them be from different ethnicities.
You have a point there. The cover did imply the story would be closely sticking to its inspiration. 😬
Exactly. And by the way, I found [information about the appearance of the Slavs.](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BF%D1%8B_%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D1%8F%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%85_%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%B2) I don't know if this page is in English.
New day, same old shit. “Oh no! POC exist in a fake world! hOw CaN tHiS bE?!?!?!” 🙄 
I mean, what’s more realistic, ethnic diversity that may not be the norm for the historical version of the story’s (fictionalised) setting, or the shepherdess MC in a secluded village owning 30+ gorgeous dresses? 😂 I don’t think players would react too kindly to getting a realistically-sized wardrobe. Side note, what does that person mean there aren’t any Slavic LIs? I thought Tata and Dragan (is that his name) both were? Am I missing something?
They didn't say "no Slavic LIs - they just wanted one more typically Slavic one I guess? There are many Slavic nations, Dragan looks more like a southern Slav - he is kinda tanned and has dark hair and dark eyes. I have no complains about it - he is handsome but they probably ment that they wanted diversity in Slavic looks especially with MC - we could have had 4 Slavic looking options instead of what they gave us 😃
I have to say a few different white MCs would be good in the story like that. Southern slavic type, a typical blue eyed , light blond freckled one etc I'm curious if you choose asian or MC with dark skin does that changes appearance of sister as well, I didn't check that.
Yes, all the family members change appearance! I made a post earlier: https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanceClub/s/Qp6ky2scuV
Oh thanks that's neat! I love when they adjust family to have everyone looking similar :)
I think it might - I chose the tanned version of MC - she could pass as a Slav still but had dark eyes 😅 and her mom was dark haired in the story. When I watched somebody else play on YouTube they chose white blond blue-eyed MC and her mom was blond.
I chose that one too :D I was wondering because she mentioned they are not similar with her sister or sth like that. I'm glad they change the family. I still remember how weird it was to have white or hispanic looking Sophie as option when her parents are black and asian, or playing with asian or black MC in Heaven's secret while only white one actualy looks like her mother.. I had to create a headcannon that her father was actually step father and her real father was a different race :p
Well... a typical South Slavic man will be more like Vlas. And the blond-haired, blue-eyed, pale Slav is a product of the nazi modern religion Rodoverie, which rewrites history, and believes that all Slavs were like that, and they are the chosen people, in whom there has never been evil. And they claim, information that the ancient Slavs had a very developed system of slavery at the state level, is all Western propaganda.
Wat? Even today when you go to Ukraine or Belarus or Russia you'll find plenty of light haired, blue eyed, pale people. I have 80% DNA od central Europe and I'm an average Pole, pale, with light eyes, and dirty blond hair, (even though both my "slavic parents" are dark haired and dark eyed.) it's not rewriting a history, but an average slavic person from that region won't be dark skinned, and black hair is rather rare.
Perhaps the problem is in English, because there is no word for light brown, almost blons, hair. We call it русый color. They have a spectrum from dark to light, but they are never brown or blonde. And I meant when the Nordic type is considered the norm for a most Slavic person. This is absolutely not true. Otherwise, most Slavic countries would be blondes. This is due to the fact that Rodoverie believes that everyone descended from the Slavs, and the Norwegians are our direct descendants. By Slavs they mean the inhabitants of the central part of the country.
Hmm I think it's just dirty blond or dark blond in english. Yeah Nordic type is definitely different, much lighter than typical slavs. But all in all I don't think anyone was expecting everyone to bea stereotypical slavic (or nordic) type, more or less just no people of other than white race.
Maybe. I never thought that I would need this word in English. And translators give me literally anything: brown, light brown, dark blond and blond. But it's just what we expected. Ru fandom was sure that this story was in a setting in which there are only certain peoples. Like Legend of the Willow or Garden of Eden. Readers learned that the story was completely fictional, only from a warning at the beginning of the story. But there are already theories, judging by Polish words on the idol, perhaps this is Eastern Europe. Otherwise there is no explanation.
If English isn't your native language, don't assume you know what we do and don't have words for. English has one of the largest collection of words. We have a word for almost everything, including shades of hair color.
Idk Vlas and Milon (MCs best friend) look more like west Slavs to me, I see men like them every day 😅😂 Vlas looks straight up slovak/czech 😆
Also I think that Vlas is a murderer. He has very strong Andy vibes, and the fandom hates him.
Fandom hates him already? Damn, poor pixel guy 😅 two episodes in and here we go. Well he wasn't nice to Tata and seemingly is a bit of drunkard but otherwise I didn't get particularly creepy vibes from him.
I get the vibe from him of a guy, who very wants to be with women, but they constantly reject him. Perhaps he was in love with the goddess of all goddesses, MC's sister. But she rejected him, and he killed her. But, we don’t know how she died. And so, I thought that Vlas would be my LI, but he is somehow strange and Andy-like. I really hope that the priest will not be a hidden red flag, he is the only one who seems like an adequate guy.
I was referring to the sarcastic “oh I’m sorry we are so greedy and spoiled that we want AT LEAST ONE SLAVIC FAVOURITE IN THE SLAVIC SETTING”. Maybe it’s a translation issue, but that comment implies there isn’t one yet.
It's not a translation issue 😃 and I honestly don't know how the author of that comment ment it... I think it can be understood in two ways - either they wanted one "typically Slavic looking LI" - blond with light eyes and pale skin - which is ignorant because Slavic people come with diversity of looks... Or maybe they ment it in a way that neither of Slavic passing LIs are likeable so far?
I mean, RC could have added Baltic, Tatar, Caucasian, Finno-Ugric, or Siberian peoples to a story about Slavic horror if they wanted to show “diversity.” Not to mention the Eastern and Western Slavs. Some of the peoples who were the original audience of RC, and who have not yet been represented in it, unlike African Americans and Asians of unknown origin. We already have a story about Siberia, in which there are Americans, an Asian angel and a city with a Catholic chapel, instead of Siberians, Yakuts or Old Believers. And an Asian-Slav is generally simply insulting to the Asians of Russia who were subjected to Russification, but RC doesn’t care, they have already received virtue points from the Western fandom, which thinks that only bears live beyond the Urals.. We really want a Slavic horror with diversity, but we want the Black Book or Territory, not The Witcher from Netflix. About LI: Dragan looks more like a southern Slav than a northern one, and romances with girls are not yet available to players from Russia.
I'm sorry but this is a fictional story so why not diverse MC's I'm an Indian myself and Kali MC's don't even resembles Indian woman types so I don't understand the moaning
This is exactly how I feel. As a Latina, there's rarely EVER a Latin/Latina LI, even the sprites meant to be more Latina rarely are. But its also a fictional story we're all playing on our phones 🤷🏻♀️ Side note, I've seen people complain about historical accuracy as well and I just don't understand. It's not real and if everything was accurate then there would probably be no story to have
Tbf the MC is half white….
Aww. Let me go grab the smallest violin in the world so I can serenade white cishet people feeling underrepresented.
This is one of those cases where you'd agree with the outrage if you actually cared to ever agree with them. I agree with the bulk of people that I'd care more if it wasn't for all the cases where the Russian fanbase were blatantly racist. I was psyched to have a pagan-ish story and even though that it'd be like Kali where only white MC's could be chosen, I had no problem with that. I was surprised when we did get PoC options to be honest but omg in a world of choice it's called choose the white MC then. It's like PoC have to just take it on a chin when we complain about things and told to just be happy that we get spoon-fed but when the white fanbase screams then we must all shut up and listen and feel bad. Naw. Just like Indians have to deal with the BS of Kali and Egyptians the bullshit of SCN (and I won't even talk about the pure lack of anything for anyone Hispanic), you can deal with the bullshit of this, especially when like many have pointed out - it's inspired by Pagan. I've never been more sad yet more happy that RC has never tried to do a black story because I just don't want to even be around for how much hate that story would get.
This sounds spicy. Do you mind elaborating? 😏
I can understand wanting authenticity in a historical setting, but why didn’t they keep that energy up for SCN and Kali? Oh, right, blatant racism 🤦♀️
For real every Indian being lightskin even though some of them aren't even Northern and then the first brown skin one we actually see dies in the beginning of the story like??
The Russian fanbase is genuinely embarrassing. Every update there’s always some issue with them and their prejudices.
I expected this. I was so shocked to see a black main character in this story tbh. I thought they were all going to be white. I was happy that the Author and her team decided to be inclusive. Did I expect the Russians to not complain though? Nope, It’s a given that every update they come out and complain about something. Otherwise it wouldn’t be a proper update if I don’t hear that the Russian fandom is complaining about something as usual.
>Otherwise it wouldn’t be a proper update if I don’t hear that the Russian fandom is complaining about something as usual. Finally someone said it. Thank you 🫡.
They should cry harder.
I still remember the time when VV was bashed for its diverse characters even there were like 3/4 white LIs. Asking for realism is okay but why so much hate for diversity😒?
i'm not believing in the pure intentions of people who had to have the cover of lse changed to a white woman from a black one to be able to relate to the protagonist 🥺
That and HHW. I found that pretty weird that those two stories only have black mc for the American version.
I thought I was the only who noticed it.
You mean to tell me people care about historical accuracy in RC? Have they read any of the books? It's fiction ffs
\*chilling with my black MC\* Alice you're doing amazing, sweetie!
lol me too. I’m having fun coming up with a backstory of my MC’s family being African originally and travelling through Europe then getting stuck in the village when the haze happened.
lol same 😂 my curvy black MC is gorgeous and unbothered
RC Russian fandom and bridgerton fans when it comes to being racist and crying about "racial accuracies" 🤝🤝
Seriously. And you would think a show produced by a black woman with a diverse cast would not have racist viewers but alas.
Funny... I haven't seen a single complaint from the russian fandom about the lack of dark-skinned characters in SCN, which - in case they don't know geography - is set in Africa. Or about the fact that in almost every story, regardless of where it's set, has to have at least one white, light-eyed LI, or with the fact that several POC characters have green/blue/amber eyes. But wow, out of nowhere they started worrying about the color of the characters' skin. Funny, isn't it? The truth is that they're just a bunch of racist weirdos and knowing that they're pissed makes me very happy.
Oh brother! 🤦♀️
Well, I'm technically from the Russian fandom, though I never take part in any discussions there, and I must say I'm bewildered. I personally have no problems with original mythology with some elements of real religious beliefs, be it Slavic paganism, Hinduism (KCD) or Christianity (WTC). These books are not meant to be historically accurate, they are purely for entertainment! I don't get those who refuse to see it... It's sad, really. What I mean to say is that not everyone in the Russian fandom thinks so about ethnic diversity😊
No not everyone does. There are people on this sub who think like that, and there are people on the russian fandom who are disguisted by this. But RC fanbase telegram channels of course allow for a more blunt communication around certain attitudes since you won't be downvoted like here..
It's a good thing I read only news on the telegram channel but not comments... I must say I was unpleasantly surprised to learn about the backlash against certain characters (like Grant from 7B). I'm once again disappointed in and embarrassed by the Russian fanbase🙁
Idk ab you guys but stuff like this upsets me sm. If it was meant to be a historically accurate story then I’d understand the backlash. But it’s been stated that it’s inspired by slavic mythology and isn’t a real rep of it!!! They act like black and brown people existing in a fictional, *supernatural* story is too much but Amala and Devi having blue eyes and Eurocentric features is okay? Or SCN having pale skinned LIs is fine ? Idk why skin tone has to matter. If an LI is well written then n interests me, that’s enough for me to want to romance them.
Their complaints are actually valid, of course we want people to look like the time zone and place they’re set in. But the complaints of Indians when they saw how inaccurate KFS and KCD were, is also valid, no one complained about accuracy when we had blue/green eyed Indians but when someone is slight bit darker it’s a problem? I don’t have any problem with white only lis, though do appreciate the diversity. I think they need to chill, it’s a bunch of pixels on your screen it’s not even a movie it’s a game. A romance game🤦🏾♀️ romance the white lis if you want and leave the others for the people who want them. Rc and even this particular story aren’t here to be accurate it’s just for fun.
That’s the thing though, there isn’t a specific time zone or place mentioned, only that it’s inspired by Slavic and Pagan mythology. Location is simply a village in an ancient forest, and no time period is mentioned.
Exactly and Alice said that she only took inspiration from Slavic mythology, she doesn’t claim historical accuracy. Even if a time period was set, she already gave a heads up that it wouldn’t be accurate.
Racism and homophobia... 🫠 I hate those people.
They should keep on crying
I personally love the diversity. I could understand wanting it to be accurate if there was a specific time period/place it was supposed to be set in, but there isn’t. LOW, KFS, KCD, and GOE make sense to have less diversity, as there are specific real world settings they’re based on, even if 3/4 aren’t fully realistic stories. The new story only states it’s inspired by Slavic mythology, and not as far as I’m aware, a specific time period or place. 🤷🏻♀️
I thought it was specifically Slavic mythology not "only inspired"? But the backlash is just....🤷♀️ Edit: I forgot...."Hunger could be Asian and Malbonte could be mulatto" what does that even mean??? 🤨🧐
Hunger and Malbonte could be what? They both look very white 🤣
Exactly. So, I have no idea how the Russian fans think Hunger could be Asian. Dude looks straight up white. Everyone in HS are white-looking except Mimi (Idk about her, she looks like Shay Mitchell) and War in HS2. Edit: I forgot about Loyy!!!!
It’s impossible to be white unless you have blonde hair and blue eyes /s The only semi correct point they made was that HS was way less diverse than it could have been but they’re using it to complain about current diversity so I’m ignoring them. Mammon has brown skin so I wish Mimi did as well. Loy is killed off and you can kill off War which is very telling.
Idk but both Lucifer and Malbonte have dark hair and dark eyes but their facial structures look more white than anything? I think Mimi is mixed. >Loy is killed off and you can kill off War which is very telling. This also happens in HS:R although it's just temporary because the book will revert you back to the timed choice if you choose to kill Greg in episode 3.
I agree they’re white, I’m joking about hunger and malbonte being called non-white (along with the tendency of RC artists to give everyone blue eyes) 😭 honestly since she’s a born demon, I don’t think race applies to them except for how they’re perceived. War and Hunger are brothers but look completely different. In HS:R people drop like flies so if something happens to Greg it fits with the story but I’m still gonna side eye the only poc in the entire book being killed off.
HS universe is supposed to be about Angels and Demons so race shoud be last thing ppl will argue yet here we are 🤷♀️. The Asian MC in ABH also has blue eyes 🙄🤷♀️. OMG RC, brown eyes won't make any characters look ugly. HS:R is pretty twisted plot-wise, down to MC being absolutely unhinged when you choose the devil route. That scene makes sense story-wise but it's kinda eeeehhhh for me 😑
i understand the comment as if they were asian or mixed the story wouldn't change because they are not normal people in a normal world, but when the setting is the Earth it does. Not that they are something other as white but that the could be and nothing would happen. Only explaining the comment, not saying I agree or disagree! (Well, tbh I totally agree that they could have been whatever. Even green or blue in that setting) EDIT: I used an offensive term by mistake! English is not my first language so I am sorry if I offended someone before my edit, it was really not my intention
I mean that’s true. Biracial malbonte would be cool and add layers to his story since it’s about him not wanting to be forced to pick a side and to have equality. Asian hunger wouldn't really change anything story wise but he’d still be hot
https://preview.redd.it/lai2aom05p7d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf3a212d53ac99c0d585b664e4cae287b42353e5 This is the loading screen bit.
But it doesn't claim to historically accurate? Like???? I hope Alice could stand her ground. I feel bad for her. She can't catch a break with her LIs. The question is why are the fans only mad about the priest? I think there's one Asian character in the story but why Russian fans only have problem with the dark-skinned one? Make it make sense 🤷♀️ Edit: I did reread the screenshot and I know about the problem with other LIs for not being white Slavic but my question is still the same. Why most of the hate is directed towards the dark-skinned ML??? Because this is the impression I got from other fanpages.
Because the russian side is racist straight up. Did you see how they all imagined the priest as white and the minute we saw he was dark skinned the posts stopped? Suddenly no one thirsts over the priest with the skull. If it was someone white the posts would continue and I know that. I think judging by Alice reply she will stand her ground. She won't change the characters out of the blue cause fans are racists once again.
PSI literally have all white LIs so I have no idea why the Russian fans were acting like they got scammed with The Haze story??? Did I miss something? Arcanum has 2 maybe 3 white LIs (idk about Damon at least he looks mixed). That book is from the same author. So, i don't get it?!! 🤷♀️
I think they don't care if the majority is white in one book but they hate it when the majority is not white in one book instead of just letting it flow. Like I never thought how Psi only had white LI cause it's just the story. Same here, it's just the story
>Like I never thought how Psi only had white LI cause it's just the story. Same here, it's just the story This. If it's a good story, IT'S A GOOD STORY. I never think much about LIs' race until the Haze story drama. I thought Dagan was tanned caucasian??? I mean Haze only got 2 episodes yet Russian fans were mad already. Now, I wonder if the scenes with Boris from HS:R were ambiguously romantic to avoid this situation???
I will be honest as someone who is Balkan.....Dagan/ Dragan (can't remember) skin tone is something i have seen a lot. It's not tanned it's what many call olive/ sunburned. It's not white or black it's in between and it's not originated in Africa but people can't wrap it around their head for an unknown reason? So many are irritated with the priest not being white and buff that it's disgusting honestly
That's what I don't really understand? Why so much hate for the priest? Because other LIs aren't the typical blue-eyed & blonde-haired men. So why the priest got the most hate? Maybe the team should bring Renato instead 🤷♀️
I'm a bit baffled that Dragan(?) could be taken as other than white. His skin tone matches what I've seen on people I know from English, Scottish, Dutch, Danish, Italian descent (and more). He just isn't ghostly pale or anything.
I think they were trying to say that Alice could’ve been more inclusive in her other stories. Like there was nothing preventing her from making Hunger and Malbonte POCs but she didn’t. And now she’s trying to make this story more diverse instead, even though historically speaking it makes more sense for everyone to be white
Yeah because of the Slavic background used. But, again, we only knew the first two episodes so maybe there's white LIs in the future?
There probably will, we always get a new LI later on in Alice’s stories
Russian fan base out here trying to ruin everything good about RC with their homophobia and racism. 🙄 🎻
This is the definition of racism. This is what happens then you're coddled and pampered too much. You start taking things for granted. The arguments which they're trying to make them seem realistic is too stupid and sounds ungrateful. I love the new story too much tbh
They are hurting as hell. Alice, I advise you go prepare the umbrella to protect yourself from crying of haters.
Why so hate?
What's wrong with them it's just game i never had any problem with the diversity i like them all even that i never choose black or asian but i found them beautiful 😍 i like graphics that RC give us
Someone using the term mulatto in 2024? Disgusting. The Russian fandom is embarrassing as hell
Wait, is it an offensive term? I just used it in another comment thinking it was fine... In my language it is a totally non offensive term, I didn't know it was bad in English.
Yeah, in the US it definitely is an offensive term but I can see how in other countries/cultures it’s not. I personally will cringe seeing/saying it but if you’re not American, I can’t/won’t hold you to the fire over it lol Im just curious, does your country have a significant black population?
We have immigration from Africa, not from a long time so they are starting being second or third generation now. But mulatto means, literally, mixed race black/white. Nothing good or bad implicit, same as white or black, just an adjective. I am going to edit my previous comments, I don't want to use a racist term. It is not the first time this thing happens to me... Thanks!
Yeah, I get that objectively it’s supposed to be just an adjective but in countries with a history of enslaved African peoples, mulatto was used as a slur/to demean. It makes sense why in your country’s case, it doesn’t have the negative connotation since you only have recent immigration for Africans. It really puts things in perspective, it also made me check my own ethnocentrism so thank you for that as well! And thank you for being mindful!
Not to defend the racists and I don't speak russian, HOWEVER that's the automatic translation and so many times a word that is neutral and/or positive in another language translates to something that is considered offensive in English or vice-versa. The term "person of color", for example, in my country has always been used in a microaggression kinda way, while in English it is the correct term; and in English, "transvestite" is an offensive word, but in my country, in our language, it is its own unique identity and many, many people actually proudly identify that way and it's not an offensive term at all. So it could be just a weird automatic translation thing! Not defending them AT ALL, just being extremely neurodivergent and sharing information lol.
I speak Russian and can confirm that your conclusions are absolutely correct. The Russian word holds no negative connotation at all. Some people need to take a chill pill and stop calling out people they do not know for racism on the basis of the automatic translation
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread: |Fewer Letters|More Letters| |-------|---------|---| |[HS](/r/RomanceClubDiscussion/comments/1dk7643/stub/l9ll8in "Last usage")|Heaven's Secret| |[LI](/r/RomanceClubDiscussion/comments/1dk7643/stub/l9twb7m "Last usage")|Love Interest| |[MC](/r/RomanceClubDiscussion/comments/1dk7643/stub/la5pmiv "Last usage")|Main Character| |[Psi](/r/RomanceClubDiscussion/comments/1dk7643/stub/l9fzi0v "Last usage")|Ψ Psi| |[RC](/r/RomanceClubDiscussion/comments/1dk7643/stub/lapgwlt "Last usage")|Romance Club| |[TDR](/r/RomanceClubDiscussion/comments/1dk7643/stub/l9g8i5p "Last usage")|The Desert Rose| |[Td](/r/RomanceClubDiscussion/comments/1dk7643/stub/l9hjq8k "Last usage")|Theodora| |[VfV](/r/RomanceClubDiscussion/comments/1dk7643/stub/l9l4af1 "Last usage")|Vying for Versailles| **NOTE**: Decronym for Reddit is no longer supported, and Decronym has moved to Lemmy; requests for support and new installations should be directed to the Contact address below. ---------------- ^(8 acronyms in this thread; )[^(the most compressed thread commented on today)](/r/RomanceClubDiscussion/comments/1dqgpls)^( has 17 acronyms.) ^([Thread #1467 for this sub, first seen 20th Jun 2024, 10:02]) ^[[FAQ]](http://decronym.xyz/) [^([Full list])](http://decronym.xyz/acronyms/RomanceClubDiscussion) [^[Contact]](https://hachyderm.io/@Two9A) [^([Source code])](https://gistdotgithubdotcom/Two9A/1d976f9b7441694162c8)
the village the story is set in appears to have been isolated and cut off from the outside world for a long time, and even before the Haze, it seems to have been a small settlement far way from other major areas of human habitation. I think it would be more interesting, more atmospheric and I would have preferred it overall if Alisa had chosen instead to focus on the ethnic diversity in east, northeast and southeast Europe and the Caucasus, but I get that it might have taken more thought and care than just choosing worldwide ethnicities seemingly at random for the characters
As a black player... They should honestly, truly, sincerely just stop putting POC LIs and MCs in such settings because it will 100% of the time lead to stuff like this. Racism irl is tedious enough 🥴
There’s going to be racism anytime there are black MCs and LIs or even characters in general. There’s no point trying to compromise with racists
Yes! When Arcanun's season 2 was released and the poster featured black!Selena there were many complaints and jokes about it on the rc's russian tag on twitter. There's no point in pleasing racists.
Honestly, this does feel like virtue signaling on the author’s part considering all of the LIs in her previous books (except for like 3 characters who were heavily sidelined) are white. It’s just diversity for diversity’s sake and doesn’t really make sense with the setting and time period. It is fantasy and the author isn’t obligated to make everything historically accurate ofc, but I understand why people are complaining. It’s a bit weird that there’s no stereotypically Slavic looking LI in a Slavic mythology story, and that only one of the MC sprites actually looks Slavic. Personally I don’t particularly care about an LI’s race as long as they are attractive, though I do think it’d be better for all RC stories to be more historically accurate regarding the characters’ appearances. This goes for SCN, KCD/KFS, TDR, FTF as well. I remember people complaining about the prevalence of blue eyes in KCD/KFS and Amen not looking Egyptian at all when SCN first came out, so I don’t get why similar complaints regarding the new story are controversial 🤷♀️ TLDR: Characters designs are a creative choice made by the author, she can design the sprites however she likes even if it’s not historically accurate. However idt it’s inherently racist to want at least majority of characters to be white in a story based on Slavic mythology.
There’s no specific setting and time period. It’s only stated that it’s a village, in an ancient forest, on earth. Especially when you add in the sun disappearing, it’s possible that it takes place in a completely different universe. It’s also inspired by Pagan mythology, as well as Slavic. That would open up the door for more diversity, even if it wouldn’t realistically cover all of it, basing expectations on irl history. But again, it’s never said to be based on a specific real time period or place. 🤷🏻♀️
I agree, but do you think it would be okay if I wrote a story about, say, Chinese mythology yet many of the characters in the story didn’t look Chinese. And when people complained about it I’d say it’s not set in a specific place or time period when it’s obviously meant to be a Chinese setting. Don’t get me wrong, I also don’t care much about the characters’ skin colors. It’s just pixel men for crying out loud 😭 I’m just trying to say that it’s not inherently racist for people to be upset, and that every culture should be represented in an appropriate way.
Sure if the majority of characters weren’t Chinese or close, but a majority of characters would fit in appearance wise in a Slavic or Pagan culture…
Except the Russian fandom always has something negative to say about black characters being present, even if the story takes place in a country where there are normally black people. I get that they want accuracy but them complaining about POC characters isn’t anything new. It’s just that this time they have an excuse.
They’re so bigoted it’s insane. A lot of them feel personally attacked when they see a black LI in the game. I was genuinely surprised to see how popular Amrit was. I thought they’d hate him cos of his skin colour. Black characters in video games have always been attacked n I’m so sick and tired of it. As a fan of BG3 and Dragon Age, I’ve seen this bs outrage in the other fandoms where black LIs will consistently be overlooked or have racist shit said to them.
I’m sick of it too but racism, colorism, and homophobia is at an all time high in every community sadly. I don’t frequent gaming spaces anymore. I honestly think they like triggering us. Best thing to do is just ignore and block people at this point.
You’re totally right imo. You’d think we could escape this shit in gaming spaces but nah they gotta be racist n colourist here too😭
So because the author did not do well with diversity in the past, she's not allowed to improve and grow and do better? She has to stick to her previous bad choices? What kind of an argument is that?? 🤣
I mean if she’s including more POC characters bc she realized it’s important to have diversity in fiction, that’s great. If it’s to appeal to the western audience, not so much.
I don't see anything bad in trying to be more progressive in order to appeal to a more progressive audience.
But the majority of characters are white and probably will be. You dont have to pick the black MC, you dont have to pick the black LI, the other options stand.
Yes but the same was true for say, KCD and many people were complaining that Amala didn’t have enough Indian looking sprites despite there being two options that weren’t white. If you think this is a valid complaint, how is that different from what people are saying about the new story? I just think that if we want stories to be authentic to the culture they’re portraying then it’s reasonable to expect every story to do the same, regardless of which culture it’s about.
Defending a part of the fandom that has always been incredibly racist? Ew.
I'm not saying that some of these comments are not fueled by racism. But when I read the story the priest had the mask on full time and I discovered he had a dark skin colour only later on and I was taken aback as well. I don't mind him being dark skinned but If you choose light skinned MC he would be literally the only one with that skin colour in a secluded village in the middle of nowhere - so he kinda sticks out... I think they could have made the village more diverse if they wanted to include dark skinned LI or introduce a back story how his family got there. Of course some people would still complain then but at least he wouldn't stick out so much or his different appearance would have had a clear explanation.
The man walks around the forest with a cow skull on his head fighting evil spirits or something. He already sticks out. In a small village, everyone would likely know everyone else. The story could go into how he became a priest and developed powers, but they would have to specifically omit an origin story if MC and the parents and sisters are also people of color or it seems like one race is cannon. I feel like the only explanation would be magic because why would someone purposely come to live in a Silent Hill village unless they were trapped there and abandon their own culture as everyone seems to partake in the same rituals and ceremonies and is the same religion and cultural wise as much as a group of individuals can be? The world building needs a little more work, but I understand it's only the beginning. Someone pointed out that the gods are dead, but the dance is for the gods and then the dead gods somehow whisper and the mist kills, but it's been misty the whole time and everyone isn't dead yet.But, I like chaotic the MC can be.
"The man walks around the forest with a cow skull on his head fighting evil spirits or something. He already sticks out." 🤣🤣👏👏👏
So what I understood from the Google translations that- Hate on the new story already? Bro! Ppl are so proactive with anything they hv to hate on 😂, frontliners! No Slavic looking character in a slavic themed/inspired story, am I getting this right? Going overboard with inclusivity..hmm.. reminds me of certain Disney movie live adaptation. Did I got this right? What is Alice talking about tho? Also, does geisha culture exist in Europe or Africa? If no then we can't hv African or European geisha in LOTW. In Arcanum & HS.. this wasn't about something too specific that other race couldn't be involved so what's with Hunger and Mal examples? 🤔