Does my concept for these characters sound/look racist? How to improve it?
First of all, English is not my first language, so I apologize for any mistake or spelling.
I have a fantasy/adventure story I've been working on, but I feel stuck with two of the main character for fear of how it may be interpreted.
There's a white female character that has a black butler. Both of them are mythical beings in disguise, and I thought of this specific role as a butler before thinking about their origins and what they are behind the cover - same thing for the woman.
The idea is that he's the first man ever created, but I really wished to go closer to the historical depiction of the first man, it being dark skinned, instead of the biblical white Adam. In the story, it's told as the god that created him getting inspiration from the dark, fertile soil that grew life ont he planet.
The woman on the other hand is white and pale, being the first being to ever exist, born out of stardust alongside the planet they're in, her pale color being a reference to the starts in the night sky, her "siblings". She's disguised as a rich lady to justify her wealth and power to buy or do whatever she needs or pleases.
The god that created humankind is one of her sons, but unfortunately is not amongst them anymore. They have a strong bond, and he watched over the humans in her place as she secluded herself from grief for a long time. I also feel like it parallels well with the lady/butler thing, as she stays "in her high chair" far from things and he's actually the one to "take care of the household".
So, this explanation of their origins is not coming early in the story, as is a major part of the plot... and what also worries me is that she can be quite unhinged sometimes, from being isolated for too long, always having been in a place on top of hierarchy and not connecting much to humans before and having a creationist view over them (which I don't wish to romanticize, it's meant exactly as a flaw and to depict a less perfect view of a god).
I am afraid it might be interpreted as a racial problem, instead of a flawed creator/creation interaction. I do ponder over them in this way at times, like a reference to colonization and ownership from white countries, but since the two do have a good bond I don't want to actually state that it *is* based on that because I feel it would romanticize these wrongdoings done in the real world as "oh, but the colonized still like the colonizer" sort of way, so I keep those parallels at arm's length - though I fear some people might interpret it like this.
TLDR: White star god lady has the first human created (dark skin, historical inspiration) as the one to do things for her. When disguised in the human world, they are thought to be a rich lady with her butler - a parallel on how things are done between them, he's the one to "care for the household". Is it problematic and racist? How can I improve? What are your views as outsiders?
Posted Apr 5, 2026, 10:10 AM UTC