Last extra one for a while. Ruby Palace Poll! Looking for reader input. · 7:10pm Apr 11th, 2021
Not that kind of pole Rarity!
This is a poll to feel out your thoughts, not a guarantee. Simply put, going with canon skin tones for the EQG7 can cause color balance issues. While the poll is focused on Ruby Palace, it isn't just about that story, so my other readers, feel free to fill it out. It is a quick poll, only with one required question, and the rest doesn't take long.
For example, in Aincrad, I couldn't put Sunset into gold/yellow armor because with her amber skin tone, it would wash out both her and the armor. I wanted to inverse her with the Wondercolts, like Heathcliff as the KOB leader, but it didn't work with her pastel amber skin. Hair color would stay canon. If I use natural tones, I highly doubt it will be mentioned more than once or twice, just enough to set it so that the reader knows they are not in their pastel colors.
As stated in the poll, it uses the Fitzpatrick scale, which is used by dermatologists to asses the risk of prolonged expose to the sun, as well as some other medical considerations. I give you the scale and the information in the poll. If I use natural tones, I don't want them all to be the same and neither do I think they should be. Skin tones are beautiful and unique and so are the characters. I would want their natural skin tone to reflect their character and beauty, just like their canon pastel tones do.
Click the wing banner to go to the poll. Only the first question is required. It is a google form. I am not taking emails or names. It is anonymous. Feel free to share this poll, because other readers input is important, even if they don't read my work.
Disclaimer: I hate that we live in a world where I have to even state this, but none of this is an attempt to place race and/or discrimination on the characters or anyone else. Grad school has me in a Race and Ethnic Relations class, so I know how slippery of a slop I am standing on. All I am interested in is logical application of skin tones on the EQG7 if I were to use natural tones.
I don't think it's that odd a question to ask. If you have characters who don't look like humans, set in a story alongside other humans, then it's natural for characters to ask: "Hey Rainbow Dash, why are you blue?"
5495539
Exactly!
I only have one request:
Please find a way to work in that wing image you always use! It's gorgeous!
5495597
While it is a classic, I have a total of 13 wing banners I will be using! I had more made because y'all loved that one and I loved it. That is Bladescape, but I have them for the others girls and a few surprises. And more art as well. I've got some custom page breaks too.
It's not really an odd question. I've seen some other crossovers that state that characters have natural skin tones for the sake of consistency. There was one story I read that also mentioned that the odd naming conventions was just a Canterlot thing to glaze over the Aerith and Bob trope.
I'd say go in either one direction or the other. You could make the EQG stuff more in line with SAO, but you could also switch it up by adding Equestrian elements to SAO instead. Rather than change the Canterlot characters, you could re-imagine Kirito and co. It depends on how interested you'd be with tinkering with SAO's established worldbuilding.
One compromise could be that once they're in the game, the character creator could allow for unnatural skin tones, and the Wondercolt make use of that, in a sort of meta way.
I think you should have the skin tone be in line with normal humans. I never really liked the weird skin color.
Do what you feel is right for your story. Be it right or wrong it's what you think is the best way to go that will make you happy.
Well...... I think for a SAO/EqG crossover like Ruby Palace, it'll be more fitting if their skin tones are normal and within SAO examples. However, their EqG hair colours could be retained as it's more closely associated with EqG and Japanese anime/manga weren't afraid to give their own characters exotic hair colours too. At least when it comes to hair colours, I think it's better that you follow EqG examples since anime/manga provide similar exotic colours.
I'm going to agree with those present and say that the weird colored hair is appropriate for SAO while having them be normal skin color. That being said I wouldn't be adverse to a meta joke of the Humane 7 having their EQG skin tones before the big ceremony in the first episode one. They would then revert to their skin colors that they actually have in the 'real world'.
5495923
I don't know, which is why I put the poll out, to hear from others.
5496023
5496067
Hair absolutely stays canon. This is on skin tone only.
5496095
Well, can we also consider the environments the girls would normally be in?
Applejack and Rainbow Dash most likely spend a lot of time outdoors so their skin tones should represent that.
Rarity's skin tone should match with her hair and her life as a fashionista+tailor, while Twilight's previous life prior to Friendship Games should suggest fair skin tone perhaps? I think the same should most likely apply with Pinkie, Fluttershy and Sunset too.
5496096
Which is why I set up the poll the way I did, using the Fitzpatrick scale, a dermatological scale used for determining things like risk of sun damage and quite a few other things.
5496097
I'm afraid I don't know about trying that as I'm unsure about myself on trying it.
5496100
I give all the info on it that you need in the poll. The use of the Fitzpatrick scale is to remove as much of racial issues as possible, because this isn't about race, but given are regions/ethnicities who typically fall into each category on the scale. I wouldn't mind locking in some ethnicities for the girls. A fun discussion. But I really don't want to give the girls all one skin tone like that is the norm.
5496130
True but the problem is the voice actors give them very distinct......... US accents which kinda narrows things down mentally.........
5496690
Statistics for the United States show that the third generation of immigrants can't speak the language of their grandparents. While they maintain certain cultural and ethnic ties, language is one of the first thing to be lost by following generations when immigrating. That includes accents. I live in south Texas. I know white girls with blond hair and blue eyes, the perfect picture stereotype white girl, who are at least half Mexican, and the only reason you know it is because of their last name. I also know people who look entirely Mexican, but can't speak anything but English. I know all of the spectrum. The beautiful thing about the United States, is that it is a place where people can come for a better life. Yes, there is conflict and right now that is at a record high, but many people are working towards a unified nation that sees the value of life, not the color of skin, and celebrates the heritages of the world. Even if you no longer speak the language of your grandparents or great grandparents, that doesn't remove you from your ethnic heritage. Culture and people shift and change but that is the beautiful thing about the United States, while its founders were much more narrow in certain aspects, it still is a nation that has been built upon by various cultures and ethnicities from around the globe. Each one adds to the nation.
So yes, they all sound "American" but that doesn't mean they all have the same background and/or ethnicities. How people speak a language is really a mute point if all they have grown up hearing is one language. The only defining characteristic is really a cultural one, and that is Applejack and her speech patterns. Not just the "country accent" but the order and formation of words and inflection. And still, that is a huge area of the United States where you will find that, even at the top of some Texas corporations. I've lived in other states, so my accent isn't as obvious, and my parents are from Michigan and New York, but I have some very southern characteristics in the way I choose my words, inflect, and even type.
My graduate class spent at least three weeks on assimilation theories. At then we had an assignment on it and 2/3rds of our midterm... or was it all of the midterm? The point is, I've been studying this stuff in depth all semester and what a person sounds like isn't something that is racially or ethnically bound, but rather a product of the language environment you grow up in. Language and skin tone do not go together. Brazil is a great example of a blended culture that speaks predominantly Portuguese but comes from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and socioeconomic backgrounds. You would recognize that it is Brazilian dialect of Portuguese, if you know Portuguese, but that is really all you could pull from if you were just listening to voice. The same for the EQG7, just by voice, it is "American" but that tells us nothing about skin tone or ethnic background.
I feel like I am diving into some race stuff that I don't want to or mean to be. The United States has a real racial identity crisis, and by that I mean that race/skin color is bound up very tightly in a person's identity. I did have class this evening, so it is fresh on my mind. I just want to find the best natural skin tone for each girl, and then decide if I go with their canon pastel or with the natural skin tone.
If any anger or frustration is in the words above, it isn't directed at you or anyone reading. If anything, it is at me and my indecision about the topic, hence my question, as well as a few things related to the graduate class that while I am thoroughly enjoying it and learning a lot, its also shown me a lot more facets to "american life" than what I thought existed. And I thought I thought pretty wide. I'm tired, I'm in the process of heading to bed, and I think I am going off into tangents that may not have been there to start.
Finally did the poll.
I can't wait for this to become available.
5560734
I've been working on it.
5496709
To be fair with Brazilian Portuguese you'd also have a "from where in it" factor. But yeah, it's quite easy to know when someone's from another speaking country.
I've been wondering on when the rewrite would be a thing
5602089
I think I am on Chapter 31. It is a thing, it is working its way though the story, but they are on the first floor for a lot of chapters. A lot of really good, deep, fun. It is a massive story. I'm not skimping on the drama, the adventure, or the slice of life. The Aincrad story was capped at 100 chapters. I cut material to cap it there. Ruby Palace is probably going to go beyond 300.
5602272
Bloody hell that is long....
5602458
I'm going all the way to the top, so that's 25 floors I have to make up, plus a ton of space not covered in any material at the moment between 1-75. lol.
Lots of fun. Lots and lots of fun.
It's your story. You should do what you feel is right. I am really looking forward to Ruby Palace.
5603689
Thanks! I am enjoying writing it. It is a massive story. It is fun though, despite the hard work.
Are you going to make up more unique skills?
5605320
I'll be sticking with the 10 Unique Skills. Several are not known. The list:
1: Battoujutsu - unlocked by completing the Katana Skill first.
2: Darkness Blade - unlocked by killing the most players.
3: Duel Blades - Given to the player with the fastest reaction speed.
4: Divine Blade - Given to the strongest player*.
5: Infinite Spear - Unlocked by completed the two-handed spear skill first.
6: Kaishingeki - Unlocked by being the first to accumulate a total of 10,000 True Critical Hits.
7: Shurikenjutsu - Unlocked by completing the Blade Throwing Skill first.
8: Unknown. **
9: Unknown.
10: Unknown.
*AJ won't be eligible for Divine Blade because while she will be stronger, she doesn't have the right weapons. Strongest isn't just about raw strength or ability to withstand a hit.
** I plan to keep Fencer, the Unique Skill Doombunny picked up, for being the most fearless player. It was designed for a player with a rapier and allowing either a buckler or a main-gauche (parrying dagger).
It looks like I will need to devise two more Unique Skills, but I will be sticking with 10 and the canon 7.
5605356
For my question, filling those spots counts as yes.
What about a skill for the fastest movement speed?
Most damage survived
Most swords broken
Most lore found
5605363
Yes, it did, but I wanted to make sure everything was spelled out clearly. I also wanted to make it clear that I was staying with 10. You said "make up more" so I wanted to ensure I covered any and all meanings were answered.
1: Fastest movement speed isn't a bad idea, but I am not sure how a Unique skill for that would work.
2: No, because breaking swords is an "outside system skill" that Kirito and maybe only a few others can do. Kirito developed it.
3: Most lore would go to Argo, because she crunches through so many quests.
4: I first read it as "most loot found" which also is another thing I don't know how to develop a skill for that.
I'm not against these, but my question is always how would these unique skills work? What types of sword skills or non-combat skills would they provide?
5605373
I meant most swords I you are wielding that you broke
5605474
That would be a negative. If it breaks while you are fighting, that is a bad thing. Plus, a fencer with rapiers will win that. Asuna always has 3-4 spare rapiers on her and usually uses them in dungeons, rather than risk breaking Wind Fleuret, Lambent Light, and her other primary rapiers.
Again, how would that be lead to a Unique Skill and what would that Skill do?
5605512
Asuna was one of the characters I was thinking of when I mentioned it
And maybe some kind of damage boost on the last attack a weapon makes along with a sense of your weapon’s durability
5605514
You don't want your weapon to break, especially in like a boss fight, or even in a dungeon. It isn't quick to change weapons and it isn't safe. So a damage boost is bad mechanics. Likewise, it isn't much of a skill, unlocking things for a player.
Good thoughts. It is helpful to have ideas pitched and worked back and forth.
5605517
… how hard is it to switch?
5605560
To pull up the menu and add Dark Repulser, it takes Kirito about 10 seconds in the middle of fight The Gleam Eyes.
5602272
Out of curiosity, are you planning to finish writing the entire story first before publishing it?
5605735
No, that is not my plan. I plan to write enough and edit far enough ahead so that I can release it weekly, without missing a week, as I continue to write the rest. It is too big of a story for me to write it all before releasing it. Just like what I did with the Aincrad story.
5605740
Fair enough! That also makes me quite happy because I'm greatly looking forward to this story and can't wait for it to be released!
Keep up the good work!
5605790
Thanks. I've got about 30 linear chapters written. I have non-linear chapters. Lots of fun, adventure, drama, and slice of life. High quality is the goal, over quantity, but it is a massive story. It is a lot of fun to write. Thanks for the encouragement!