TRACK THREE
⟨ SWEAT ⟩

This topic comes more often as mentioned in applyfics rather than OC books, but it's featured in both anyways. This specific chapter is also part of a bigger segment that will go on for a few parts of this book, all related to OCs' ethnicity.

And unrelated but I'm writing this while nervously waiting for my doctor's appointment ❤️❤️❤️ so for any typo or anything of the sorts blame my non-existent carefulness on how nervous I am right now ............ !!!

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Personally, I love seeing ethnic diversity in OC books: who wouldn't want to feel represented at least in fiction, if not in real life? For this reason, both me and many other authors play around with our OCs ethnicities a lot: that allows us to express ourselves and, especially for POC, to feel accepted where we typically wouldn't be. The world is racist, man... This is a little perk we get to make up for it.

However I often wonder: how far can we push it?

Ethnicity bending is the practice that allows us to give an OC a certain ethnicity despite their faceclaim being of a totally different one. Now, I think that partially changing the faceclaim's ethnicity to fit a narrative is absolutely great and not much of a big deal ❪ when done respectfully ❫, but fully changing it? I find it rather... Odd.

I understand more if it's, let's say, a Korean faceclaim turned into another ethnicity because in the K-Pop community there's plenty of them while other ethnicities are underrepresented, so it's difficult to find the perfect one for what we envision; however, taking a Thai faceclaim for a fully Korean character? Yeah... No. It irks me, I really can't bring myself to enjoy anything with this kind of change.

There are a few cases in which I understand this more, maybe with faceclaims that have specific features which are more rare within their ethnic group... But even then, I feel like only making them half something else is enough.

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This is all! I hope no one takes offense in this, and may I remind you I don't want people to change their ways just to accomodate me so ─ unless my words actually resonate with you ─ don't feel like you have to do what I say. I promise this is just me saying whatever I want in my own space.

What about you? Do you agree? Let me know your thoughts on this! Or ask any questions, I don't mind... As long as you're polite (⁠✿⁠^⁠‿⁠^⁠)