hey kal!! want to start pff this by saying that im a big fan and i love your work. i was curious if you were aware of the discussion around giving poc unnatural eye and hair colors in fantasy settings. basically one of the criticisms most (particularly white) writers get with fantasy settings is giving poc different eye colors for no reason other than for it to look cool or make them seem different (while they don't always feel the need to do that with their white characters, this suggests that poc have to be made to look different to be cool, desirable or special, stuff like that) of course it's possible for poc to have any eye and hair color but it's also rare for there to just be good rep that looks like most people do. because good rep is already so rare especially in fantasy i think that it's a good idea to give underrepresented people characters they can see themselve in. i noticed it first with tkh especially with evaine and then noticed it again yesterday with rascia. just something to maybe keep an eye out for and have a conversation about.
Hi, dear! I think it's fair for you to bring this up and since I have too recently been reflecting on this I will share my thoughts on the matter.
Actually, I too saw the discussion about poc characters with unnatural eye/hair colors, and I have skimmed through some of the comments under one particular post that was addressing this. I wholeheartedly agree that there is a real issue that needs to be considered, and while some people explained the reasoning behind some of the characters taken as an example being not that problematic, the point still stands.
For my characters, I feel like Rascia is a separate case, if only because of the universe they live in. Most of their fellow kaehans share a similar skin tone as them (that is, coral, dark red or lighter red), while the hair and eye color vary from yellow to blue to green. In general, characters in TCO have predominantly unnatural hair/eye/skin colors, as does the MC themself (most of the choices are unnatural colors).
This is why I don't find Rascia problematic, though it should be noted that my perspective is that of a white person who grew up and is living in a predominantly white country. So if anyone has any kind of motivated criticism about them I will gladly hear and reflect on that.
Now, about Evaine. I'm going to agree with you that Evaine's character does indeed have unnatural eye color and eye color. And while they live in a somehow fantasy world, this argument does not completely justify them like it does Rascia because in the TKH universe there is a lot more realism in terms of appearance.
But also: I myself have been thinking over this for a while, and you're giving me the perfect opportunity to bring this up. In particular, I feel like Evaine's hair texture should be changed. (You might have seen that I've removed their hair texture from their description a wile back)
Evaine's (and Gwyar's as well) eye color may be in my opinion justified by the universe and the fact that unnatural eye colors are pretty common. Their hair is another matter, though. As a person with straight hair, sometimes I fall into the implicit assumption that my characters too reflect that while writing or coming up with ch. designs.
I'd like to say that I've been educating myself more and more since creating Evaine's character, especially about cultures and ethnicities different than my own. Lately I've been reflecting on this and I've come to the conclusion that Evaine's hair should be coily and maybe a bit darker (like dark auburn or dark brown).
I have postponed a definitive decision because I feel bad for changing things halfway but I also feel it's important to aknowledge our previous doings/mistakes and right them if it's possible.
