First off, I’m not in the Yaelokre fandom. I think the music is nice and the world building interesting, but I’m not a diehard or anything like that. However, I’ve been in fandom long enough that I’ve encountered a shit ton of discourse.
Now, while I think an author/creator can do and say whatever they want in regards to their own creation, sometimes they also just need to back the fuck off.
Fandom is not for the creator, it’s for the fans. You can interact with your fans all you like, but you don’t get to control or dictate how someone gets to *be* a fan.
I repeat:
FANdom is not for the creator.
Especially when you’re in the position of a creator like Keath, who has openly stated time and time again that the Yaelokre characters are HEAVILY based on themself. Keath and Yaelokre are very intimately connected.
The fans obviously do not have this connection. They see a product they consume and enjoy and perceive in whatever way they wish, even if that perception doesn’t align with canon.
That’s not to say Keath can’t have feelings about it. It is entirely common for authors to admit that they don’t like certain perceptions of their works. For example, pro-shippers. But you can’t do anything about it. If you hate it, stay away. Because when you are a creator, the fandom is not made for you in YOUR image. It’s made by the fans, for the fans, in THEIR image.
This is all the more reason for Keath to stay away. If Yaelokre Fandom not going exactly the way they want hurts their mental health, then they need to not interact with the fandom (which is not the same as interacting with fans in general, btw)
Every time Keath says they don’t like something, people who like those things double down, which only hurts Keath’s feelings and their reputation more. Keath owns Yaelokre, but they will never own the fandom, and I hope they can figure that out before returning to social media.
We have a saying in fandom:
Don’t like, don’t read
Typically used for fanfiction but it applies to ALL fandom content, and it ESPECIALLY applies to the creators.
If people want to age up Cole and Kingsley and have them bang it out, that’s their business. If people want to ship Clemente and the Bellringer, whatever. Complaining, “I don’t like this,” or, “their relationship isn’t like that,” is not going to make people stop, it’s just going to piss them off. An author who tries to control their fandom will very quickly find themselves unwelcome in fandom space, and that always opens up a whole new can of worms that Keath will not want to touch with a ten foot pole.
To end on a lighter note: I hope Keath keeps working on the project and comes back in future because they want to, not because they have to, and I wish them good health during their hiatus.
Concepts for an Avowed/Pillars of Eternity extended universe
*SPOILERS obviously
- (Avowed) Star Wars Prequel style tragedies from the perspective of the Terbaru Senakis (Godless/Ekidan godlikes).
Could be a known Sapadal godlike (example: Kishimaal) or someone new that Sapadal forgot about. We know how this story will end, but just like in the Ancient Memories in Avowed, there are many paths to the same conclusion.
Featuring: Sapadal as a true newborn god, knowing from the start which god is yours, experiencing the wrath of Sapadal knowing it was them — are you awed? Are you furious? Do you turn to Woedica as Nandru eventually did and *welcome* the Maegfolcs’ destruction? Do you do everything in your power to save Sapadal and fail anyway?
- (PoE) Another prequel tragedy but the Engwithan. More along the lines of Knights of the Old Republic.
This world is… almost familiar. Perhaps the most devoted fans will know it from first glance, but otherwise this place is new. I could see it being advertised as its own original thing, only to reveal in the end that we are still here in Eternity… at its very beginning
Featuring: the creation of the gods. Are you a jaded warrior? A determined scholar? A desperate politician/leader? Everyone is at war. There are religions everywhere, but who is right? You and your people set out to answer the question. There are no gods. If there ever were, they are long gone. Your people decide to make gods. After all, would the world not be united under a single religion’s law? Are you a champion for these new gods? Do you willingly sacrifice yourself to their creation? Do you remain behind to spread the word of Woedica and her pantheon? Or perhaps you try to stop the Engwithan, only to ascend into an unwilling godhood. Is it your never-resting soul sowing the seeds of betrayal, leading to Woedica’s dethroning, and setting Eothas upon the Deadfire Archipelago to destroy the machines that created him? Or do you (and the others like you) become a Quiet Slave to the machine, enraged by the betrayal of your people, the god Skaen, he who never forgives?
….. can you tell I’ve been reading some Harlan Ellison?
Anyway, on to more lighthearted mini-concepts. These are more Avowed focussed since I’m literally playing it (again) right now
- (Avowed) The rise of Ryngrim. Learning how a hella bad bitch Archmage came into power? Sign me up. Would be a book or comic.
- (Avowed) Post-game webcomic of Sapadal using the Eothas statue, split into fun mini stories similar to Bat Family Adventures. Shows Sapadal growing and learning to control their emotions/power, exploring the true end to all of the Dreamthralls everything after.
Big plot decisions from the game that I think the comic would follow:
Fior Mes Iverno isn’t razed to the ground by the Steel Garrote
Naku Kubel is saved to provide a conflict of Sapadal trying to make amends with Thirdborn.
Solace Keep is also saved to provide conflict between the dwarves and Sapadal/their oath to the Garden/Nandru’s traditions. Purely because the game should’ve spent wayyy more time on it and I hate that the decision to keep/destroy Solace was rushed, especially with the Nandru reveal
The revitalisation of Galawain’s Tusks as a lush paradise by not killing the delemgan. The game talks a lot about loopholes in the Solace oaths. Imagine how much more they could get from life by turning the Tusks itself into a Garden to protect
I think it’d be fun if Ambassador Hylgard and Paradis severed themselves from the empire. I mean, just look at what Lödwyn did to them on behalf of their Queen! They’re not Aedyrans anymore, but they’re totally unprepared, having spent their time forcing Aedyran belief and policy onto the Lands instead of adapting… perhaps the locals can teach them what it means to get a second chance at life? Oh, how the turn tables!
- (Avowed) Stupid non-canon campy visual novel dating sim. Genuinely romance Kai! Have a fling with “balarok in the bedroom” Yatzli and her gorgeous human Quilicci! Become an animancer with Giatta and prove the benefits of applying essence to male genitalia (elite lore reference)! Become an animancer with Giatta and prove the benefits of applying essence to male genitalia… FRANKENSTEIN STYLE! That’s right, ya freaks, go get your Revenant boyfriend! ROMANCE THE FUNGUS GOD SAPADAL! Into yandere’s? Never fear, we have a Lödwyn!
0. Sensitive skin - Vol 16 bonus
1. When he tries to look cool, his weaknesses show - Ch 3
2. He is surprisingly quick to panic - Ch 3
3. He’s petty - Ch 3
4. His punches are weak - Ch 5
5. Boobs - Ch 8
6. He is humble and subservient to his superiors - Ch 12
7. He has no patience for wire puzzles - Ch 12
8. He gets motion sickness - Ch 16
9. He can’t sleep on a pillow other than his own - Ch 16
10. He’s worried about appearances - Ch 17
11. He can’t handle hot food - Ch 18
12. Getting wet - Ch 23
13. Juicy gossip - Ch 23
14. Hackneyed plot developments make him cry - Ch 28
15. He gets taken in by rumors - Ch 29
16. The time right after molting - Ch 31
17. The time right after regeneration - Ch 31
18. His body goes rigid when bathed in a special beam of light - Ch 31
19. When he returns to normal after a serious situation, he gets embarrassed - Ch 32
20. He can only draw simple pictures - Ch 37
21. Heat fatigue - Ch 43
22. He’s very strict about poolside manner - Ch 43
23. He can’t swim - Ch 43
24. Easily gives up on his dreams - Christmas Special
25. As expected, he is weak against the occult - Ch 74
26. When he can’t gather people, he feels worthless - Ch 76
27. Tone-deafness - Ch 78
28. He sucks at hiding - Ch 79
29. Gets carried away by official positions - Ch 82
30. His heart - Ch 88
31. Not related but acts like a doting parent - Ch 91
32. Gets insurance to avoid getting hurt - Ch 97
33. He doesn’t really know what “your own football” means - Ch 100
34. He sucks at reporting - Ch 109
35. He suffers from road rage - Ch 114
36. Restructuring - Ch 124
37. If we all grab him at once, we can hold him in place - Ch 126
38. Rubs salt in wounds - Ch 156
39. Is completely oblivious to the mood in moments in high tension - Ch 177
Anime Weaknesses
1. When he shows off, things get shaky - Episode 2
2. He has an unusually short fuse - Episode 2
3. He’s petty - Episode 2
4. His punches are weak - Episode 3
5. Boobs - Episode 4
6. Subservient to higher-ups - Episode 6
7. Metal ring puzzles freak him out - Episode 6
8. Prone to Motion Sickness - Episode 7
9. Can’t sleep without his own pillow - Episode 7
10. Worries about keeping up appearances - Episode 7
11. Heat-sensitive tongue - Episode 8
12. Loves gossip - Episode 8
13. Cries at cliched scenes - Episode 10
14. Prone to dampness - Episode 11
15. Falls for rumors - Episode 11
16. Right after molting - Episode 11
17. Right after regeneration - Episode 11
18. Hardens upon exposure to a special beam - Episode 11
19. Embarrassed when recovering after a serious scene - Episode 11
20. He can’t draw - Not Yet Aired
21. Heat Fatigue - Not Yet Aired
22. Super strict about pool rules - Episode 14
23. Can’t swim - Episode 14
24. As expected, spooked by the supernatural - Episode 23
25. Thinks a poor turnout means he’s worthless - Episode 23
26. His heart - Episode 26
27. Not related, but acts like a proud parent - Episode 27
28. Not quite sure what “our soccer” is – Episode 29
29. Gives terrible play-by-plays – Episode 30
30. Gets testy when driving - Episode 31
How to create a character for an online or tabletop RPG (also a good guide on creating characters in general)
Royalty/nobility TV Tropes page
Basic character profile
OC masterpost
Random character generators - (1), (2), (3), (4)
D&D Character Building Tool
Character Design Ideas:
How clothing affects a character’s personality
Character Design Inspiration blog
Concept art, fan art, cool art to be inspired by
Character design references and inspiration
Sources for POC character design ideas and models
Create your own character model using HeroForge
For horned characters
Body and hair types guide
Random outfit generator
Naming Help:
Amazing site with an endless amount of naming resources
General advice on avoiding naming appropriation
Hispanic Surnames
Gothic Victorian names
Huge master list for character things in general
Masterlist of names of all types - including but not limited to ancient/old world names, Celtic, African, Northern European, Southern and Central American Native names, Japanese, Chinese, Mongolian, Polynesian, and more
Another name masterlist
How to pick a character name guide
Yet another names masterlist
Creating Background/backstory:
Character Sheet/Development Sheet
Another character development list
In-depth character personality, motivations and traits sheet
320 talents and passions for characters
On writing likes and dislikes that aren’t frivolous
Why you should write non-human characters non-conforming to the gender binary
Stereotypes, tropes, and archetypes
Random backstory generator
Assassin and thief character tropes to avoid
Character Interactions and putting your character into your world/story:
Comparing character height/height references
Characters who are scientists and writing about them doing science
Describing what different voices sound like
Describing skin tones
Writing friendship interactions that are platonic
Why having one character knock their friend unconscious to prevent them from doing something is a bad idea
Advice on shipping OCs with canon characters and what to avoid doing
Sweet Polly Oliver and Sweet on Polly Oliver situations (think of Disney’s Mulan for an example)
How to write multiple viewpoints/juggling a main cast of more than 4 to 6 characters
How to make readers care about your morally gray hero/anti-hero
On platonic OC and canon character relationships
How to avoid Godmodding in RPs
When it’s cheap to kill off a character
Writing dialogue
Things you shouldn’t do to canon characters
Avoiding purple prose in writing and RPs
Slang resources
Dialogue tips
Websites to chart your story/plot/character relationships
i love this poll so much. i 100% respect the ~15% who don’t want to talk about it that’s real we’ve been there. but i am also so in love with the ~85% who dgaf and put their searches in the tags. i’m obsessed with us all sometimes the world is good
I just discovered foodtimeline.org, which is exactly what it sounds like: centuries worth of information about FOOD. If you are writing something historical and you want a starting point for figuring out what people should be eating, this might be a good place?
I might've added the BG3 Art Book to my dnd assets stash
It' 100% does not have things like the 5e players' handbook + 5e’s character sheet, several gm guides, critical role's explorer's guide to wildmount, baldur's gate and waterdeep city encounters, 101 potions and their effects, volo's guide to monsters, both of xanathar's guides, a bunch of other encounters, one shots, and class builds
In no way are there any pdf’s relating to any wizard who may or may not be residing on any coast
(Edit that I’ve moved the folder to the new link above! So if you catch a different version of this post that link won’t work anymore!)
I don't think the Netflix Avatar show likes women very much. It's a great show for fans of Aang, Sokka, Zuko, and Iroh specifically. All four of those characters get a ton of great material. In fact, it's super great for Sokka stans, because the show takes him ultra-seriously and can't go five minutes without one character or another (usually a woman) praising him.
But the way it handles its female cast is troublesome.
Katara
So, all three of the main trio got some changes made to their stories. They changed Aang's story so that he wasn't running away from his responsibilities; He was just clearing his head and somehow accidentallied himself into a tsunami. Whoopsy-dooodle. Aang did nothing wrong.
They changed Sokka's story so that him being a leader of his people and a great guardian warrior is treated with complete seriousness. Multiple times, characters stop to talk about how brave and noble Sokka is for taking on such an intense responsibility, and tell him to his face what a great warrior and a wonderful leader he is. Also his misogyny is erased.
And they changed Katara's story so that she directly got her mom killed because she sucks at waterbending.
Katara tries to waterbend to attack the Fire Nation soldier but couldn't manage it, provoking the soldier to start actively searching for her and forcing her mom to fake a waterbending attack and draw his fire. They changed Katara's story so that her bad decision making fucking got her mom killed.
This is treated with the same level of severity as "Sokka was bullied by mean kids and also his dad doesn't think he's good enough to be a leader."
"I hoped Sokka would do better but not everyone is meant to have people's lives in their hands," Sokka's dad says of him.
Yeah, you're right, that's totally comparable to watching your mom get barbecued because you tried to waterbend in a situation you shouldn't have and then failed.
In fact, they give Sokka's greatest trauma more weight because it gets examined again with Yue next episode, while Katara actively getting her mom killed isn't brought up again at all. We get traumatized glimpses of it throughout the season leading up to the reveal, but after this scene in episode 5, it never comes up again.
But to be fair, Katara was a child. An event this significant would surely have motivated her, driving her to become the great waterbender she is now, right?
No! Katara sucks at waterbending and needs men who aren't even waterbenders to teach her how to waterbend. She requires instruction from Aang in episode 1 to learn how to waterbend, then from Jet in episode 3 to learn how to waterbend better.
And unlike the show, her relationship with Aang isn't a give-and-take; Katara doesn't teach Aang a single goddamn thing. He never learns to waterbend. She is a strictly a pupil throughout the whole season. Though she at least gets officially labeled a master in episode 8, so there's that.
In any case, the whole traumatic memory thing isn't even the only time she's directly compared with Sokka. Episodes 3 and 4 see Katara and Sokka bicker over whose morally dubious side character is better. Sokka likes the Mechanist and Katara likes Jet.
Ultimately, Katara is forced to eat crow when Jet turns out to be the worst, while Sokka is vindicated when the Mechanist sees the error of his ways and reforms. But not before two separate arguments where Sokka calls Katara childish and accuses her of acting like a little girl.
Arguments ultimately resolved when Katara apologizes to Sokka for not adequately respecting his very serious and ultra important role as village protector and leader. Gives him a whole speech about how great and glorious he is. And Sokka... appreciates Katara learning to respect him properly, I guess, because he never offers any similar sentiments back to her.
The show just... They need you to know how important Sokka is, okay? It's very important that you respect Sokka.
Suki
Suki suffers tremendously from that whole "Sokka's misogyny was removed" thing. Y'know, because they need something else to do with that episode. The show is deeply aware that Suki is Sokka's love interest, so they just do that right off the bat. Suki falls madly in love with him from the moment they meet, and spends the entire episode making goo-goo eyes and trying to get him to Notice Me Senpai.
They still do the "Suki Trains Sokka" stuff. But Sokka is a serious, dignified manly man worthy of the deepest respect now, so of course they don't make him wear the Kyoshi uniform. Instead, the main purpose of his training is to allow them to flirt some more. It's less martial arts training and more an excuse to grope each other and near-kiss.
Suki's just a waifu now. She still fights real good, but all of the stuff that made her relationship with Sokka interesting has been erased.
Yue
Yue, similarly, leaps straight to shipping from the word go. They write out her fiance, Hahn, by having Yue briefly meet Sokka earlier in the season. She spends one minute talking to him in the Spirit World about Spirit World lore; In that time, she falls so desperately, madly, unfathomably in love with him that she breaks off her marriage to Hahn and devotes herself to waiting for him to one day come to her.
"Never have I known such joys as that time you let me explain the spirit bear Hei Bei to you. Truly, we are destined to be together for life."
Like with Suki, they go out of their way to have Yue and Sokka already be a ship from the word 'go' so they don't have to spend time developing any kind of meaningful attraction.
They just. They really want you to know that Sokka is the manliest and most desirable man ever to walk this earth. It is very important that you understand how great he is. Women hurl themselves into his arms with zero effort whatsoever, because he's just so goddamn irresistible.
Fortunately, Hahn is super okay with this turn of events. He's the most chill guy ever, he gets along perfectly well with Sokka, and he completely supports Yue's right to dump him! In the famously misogynistic Northern Water Tribe, no less! What a swell guy. Aren't men swell?
June
June gets hit with that "rewritten as hollow waifu" stick too, but her eyes are set on Iroh. They rewrote June to be super attracted and flirty towards the man who was her unwanted sexual harasser in the source material. So that's fun.
Also, she barely does anything. Zuko hires her to find Aang, she succeeds, and then she fucks right off out of the show - But she manages to find time to express how unbelievably sexy Iroh is twice during that time.
She seriously just dropped into the show to flirt with Iroh and leave. She is unbelievably inconsequential.
Kyoshi
And then there's Kyoshi. They really want you to hate Kyoshi. She's constantly shot from below, as if looking down on Aang and the audience. Her voice takes on a demonic echoing reverb at one point as she's screaming at Aang that "THE AVATAR MUST BE A MERCILESS WARRIOR!!!"
She despises Aang, calling him a coward for running away from his responsibilities - Which, I remind you, is no longer a plot point because they unwrote that flaw from his character. So she's just a complete and utter asshole, shot from the asshole angle, yelling violently at him with asshole sound effects. They want you to despise this woman.
Azula
Awkwardly, they do not seem to want you to despise Azula.
There's a lot to be said for how Ozai treats Azula in the original show. The way the favoritism he shows her is every bit as cruel and manipulative as the unfavoritism that he shows Zuko. Ozai does not love Azula. He loves the reflection of himself he sees in her eyes, and his encouragement urges her to polish herself to ensure his reflection always shines through.
This is not that. The show instead erases the favoritism entirely. Ozai doesn't really care one way or another about either of his kids. He plays them against each other, bragging openly to Azula about how great Zuko is and unpleasably writing Azula off as weak and useless.
They've rewritten the dynamic between abusive father and his two abused kids in order to take Azula's pride away. Reimagining her from a gifted prodigy who excels at imitating the toxic behaviors of a father who doesn't truly care for her, to a put-upon overachiever tearing herself in knots to live up to the standards of her unpleasable father.
This results in a truly wild portrayal of Azula as insecure and jealous of Ozai's seemingly love for Zuko. Here, she is simply a browbeaten child constantly complaining to her friends about how mean her father is and conspiring to get one up over Daddy's Golden Child Zuko.
Which she fails at, because she backs Zhao. Zuko deftly defeats her without even realizing they're in competition.
Conclusion
The season ends well for some of these women. It ends promising that maybe we'll see Katara teaching Aang some day. It ends with Zhao bragging that Ozai just used Zuko to train Azula so maybe we'll see the more confident and misguidedly proud Azula some day. Yue becomes the moon like she's supposed to. June's still out there so maybe she'll get to do something again some day.
Katara gets to fight Pakku and lose, but she looks pretty cool. She gets to fight Zuko and lose, but she looks pretty cool. Azula learns to lightningbend because she's just so mad about Ozai's contempt for her and favoritism for Zuko, which isn't how you lightningbend.
But promises of future content fall flat when the content that exists is so underwhelming. This season made its feelings on these characters pretty evident, and it's unwise to expect better material from creators who've disappointed you with the material they already made.
The women of Netflix Avatar simply do not get to shine, outside of superficial moments like the "Women of Northern Water Tribe demand the right to fight and then fuck off and don't do anything for the entire rest of the episode" bit.
"In the midst of battle, we demand that you stop being sexist and give us permission to fight! This is a way better idea than convincing you to teach us to fight before the battle begins."
The characters of this show feel as if they've been reimagined to glorify the boys at the expense of the girls. The boys are treated with a great amount of care. They're dignified and made important movers of the plot, with their rough edges sanded off. While the girls are molded around them.
