Last extra one for a while. Ruby Palace - The Question (and answers) about Skin Tones · 9:10pm Aug 2nd, 2023
Some of y'all might remember that I ran a poll about skin tones for Ruby Palace, as it is a crossover, and I have been asked since releasing Ruby Palace about it. The first question on the poll was if they should have the canon skin tones, or natural tones. It was overwhelmingly polled for natural tones. It is set in Japan, so it makes sense. I meant to have it mentioned previously, but failed to. It has been mentioned a few times from Sunset's point of view, and Pinkie Pie has had a few comments made, but most have been ignored because skin color is not a focus of the story, shouldn't be, and really only matters for what can be done with armor/clothes colors. Skin color is often tacked immediately to "race." I'm well versed in the topic and there is a reason why kids shows love pastels for skin tones, because it avoids the potential pitfalls.
If you don't agree, so be it, but below is the scale and where I have lined the girls up after long consideration, including factoring the poll results.
None of this is about race, but ethnic heritage may be used to help illustrate things. The scale used is the dermatological Fitzpatrick skin type scale for skin protection.
Type 1 – Very Fair
White skin color, blonde or red hair, and green eyes, always burns in the sun, has freckles. Common ethnic background: English, Scottish.To give you a clearer picture, celebrities with type 1 skin type are Nicole Kidman, Emma Stone, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Prince Harry, and Ed Sheeran.
Type 2 – Fair
White skin color, blonde hair, and green/blue eyes, always burns, has freckles and is difficult to tan. Common ethnic background: Northern European, Norther Asians.To give you a clearer picture, celebrities with type 2 skin type are Lucy Liu, Jennifer Anniston, Drew Barrymore, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Zac Efron, and Hugh Jackman.
Type 3 – Medium
White skin color, blonde/ brown hair, blue/brown eyes, tans after several burns, and may freckle. Common ethnic background: Darker Caucasians, Asian, Hispanic.Some celebrities with type 3 skin type are Taylor Lautner, John Stamos, Nicole Scherzinger, and Zendaya.
Type 4 – Olive
Brown skin color, brown hair, and brown eyes, tans more than average, rarely burns, and rarely freckles. Common ethnic background: Mediterranean, Southern European, Middle Eastern, Hispanic, Southern AsianCelebrities with type 4 skin type are Halle Berry, Freida Selena Pinto, Jessica Alba, Eva Mendes, Dev Patel, and John Legend.
Type 5 – Brown
Dark brown skin color, brown/black hair with brown eyes. Tans with ease, rarely burns, and no freckles. Common ethnic background: Southeast Asian, Indian, some African, some HispanicCelebrities with type 5 skin type are Tyra Banks, Beyonce, Kanye West, Gabrielle Union, and Craig David.
Type 6 – Black
Black skin color, black hair, and brown/black eyes. Tans, never burns, deeply pigmented, and never freckles. Common ethnic background: African and Indigenous AustraliansCelebrities with type 6 skin type are Naomi Campbell, Michelle Obama, Usain Bolt, and Lupita Amondi Nyong’o.
So where does that leave the girls? Their hair color is staying. People dye their hair all the time and some, like AJ, don't need it.
Sunset: Type 4. Olive with gold undertones. Think Mediterranean, like Spanish, Italian, or Greek.
Twilight: Type 3. Asian heritage.
Applejack: Type 2. However, that would be for an untanned part of her skin where the test is performed. She has a darker tan from working on the farm. She is basically that in the pastels.
Rarity: Type 1. Scandinavian heritage.
Rainbow: Type 6.
Pinkie: Type 1. Typical Irish girl with freckles and red curls.
Fluttershy: Type 2. She is basically that in the pastels.
Like I said, the question is asked and answered simply because it's a crossover, putting the girls into Japan, which means natural skin tones. The main characters where it actually is discussed/mentioned is Sunset and Pinkie (more to come with her), although AJ basically is unchanged.
Again, if you don't agree, this is not something to argue over.
Thanks for clearing this up
5740462
It's a bit overdue. Oops.
Meh, not really. I hadn't actually thought about it. In my mind, the girls are always human tones, even in EQG settings (which tones is kinda irrelevant to me). Pastel people are for cartoons.
5740482
I can understand that. If I think about it, I don't think I picture them with anything but natural tones.
The choice of skin colors is just beautiful and suits the characters just fine.
* takes his eyes off Rainbow*
Glad there was no misscast. *♪ shuddering at the artwork of the black Arab Rarity *
5740516
Yeah. Rarity does talk about her porcelain skin/coat, so there was no other viable option for her. Lol. It's not that ebony would be a bad look for her, it just clearly goes against what she has said, both as a pony and a human.
And honestly, just fine is where I want it to line up with for the readers, because it's a passing fact, with very little relevance on the story.
Pinkie as a freckled red head? Be still, my heart...
5740558
It's good that you take such details into consideration, because it hurts to see such abuse of the characters' images. But the question is. Why did Dash become a black woman?
5740566
Logic. Have you looked at the land speed records? In all categories, both sprinting and long distance? There are clear genetic trends for runners, African heritage, but that does not rule out culture or personal preference. The Olympics are great to observe the trends. Of course, if you have others around you in your community who excell in certain athletics, you are more likely to go that route for competition, because athletes thrive on competition; like the heavy focus on eastern Europeans for weight lifting. They have tailored a culture around what is likely some genetic advantage for lifting heavy weights. These genetic advantages would all be slight, not observable in the general population between ethnic groups, but they are enough for top athletes to out compete others.
Understanding genetics is still a long way off from proving, or disproving, the current theories, despite how much many geneticist would argue against that. Getting full genetic profiles is expensive and time consuming, plus getting worldwide samples adds in another difficulty. Yes, I have studied genetics. At one point I could tell you when a gene sequence started and stopped by the alleles. I keep up as much as I can. I don't view genetics as the be all end all many do, a date people can't escape, but they certainly are powerful building blocks of our bodies.
5740562
Oh, it will get better in later chapters! Lol.
5740566
5740570
To be honest, my headcanon for Dash if she were to be categorized ethnically has always been Hispanic. Not really sure why beyond cultural bias I guess. I don't mind any of these choices though, and like 5740562 said I vibe with wild Irish Pie hard.
5740674
That is the reason I went with the Fitzpatrick scale. Most ethnicities fit two or three of the skin types. I know plenty of Hispanics who are skin Type 6.
I could see Dash as Hispanic, especially with her love of soccer/football. Of course, I live in south Texas. The ones that always get me are the blond haired, blue eyed Mexicans. I've known a few and the only way to tell is their last name. Usually they are 50/50 with the father being Hispanic and the mother being European. I have a Costa Rican American friend who is hard to tell unless he speaks because his mother is Costa Rican and his father is from Wisconsin. Yes, every so often he has that Midwestern pronunciation of English words, with a Spanish accent, making this fun.
I love culture and people and studying the colors of humanity's societies.