2009-03-05 "Bani = One of the Best Characters in the Story"

[BandMan2K]

Awww...how nice of her Papa to go to bat for her. Of course, I would be concerned too if my daughter was "pallin' around" with Scary Lil' Devil Girl.

[Neko7]

How "black" is Bani, really?

I always imagined her somewhere between "Nesquik milk-chocolate drink" and "sweet honey" skin color, but it seems it shade is much darker than what I was thinking.

So, exactly, how "black" in Bani skin?

[Michael Poe]

Yeah... this one's more a personal joke than anything else, I'm afraid. I was rather annoyed when I realized, after finishing the chapter where Bani had been introduced, that I had inadvertly made her into a stereotypical 'Black Best Friend' type character...

...well, actually my exact words at the time were 'Magical Negro', but 'Black Best Friend' looks a bit less offensive in print (though probably less funny given the setting) and mostly describes the same damn trope.

And as for Bani's ethnicity, it’s a rather confusing mess. Tsuiraku started out as 'Anime Japanese people' then I switched to a slightly more realistic 'Eurasians with access to relatively easy permanent hair colorization and cosmetic surgery'; and I pictured Farrel as being various degrees of Hispanic, Black, and Caucasian. So I suppose Bani would be officially classified as Extremely Mixed Race.

I really do keep meaning to write an essay on this subject...

[zanntos]

Awww...how nice of her Papa to go to bat for her. Of course, I would be concerned too if my daughter was "pallin' around" with Scary Lil' Devil Girl.

But it's "scary lil devil girl" who's granddaddy runs the city, totally down with having your kid buddy up to that kind of power.

[Graybeard]

Yeah... this one's more a personal joke than anything else, I'm afraid. I was rather annoyed when I realized, after finishing the chapter where Bani had been introduced, that I had inadvertly made her into a stereotypical 'Black Best Friend' type character...

...well, actually my exact words at the time were 'Magical Negro', but 'Black Best Friend' looks a bit less offensive in print (though probably less funny given the setting) and mostly describes the same damn trope.

How times have changed. Anyone else here old enough to remember "Ugh. You betchum, Red Ryder"? (He asks as one with significant Indian, or if you prefer, Native American, ancestry -- and, I must say, no particular resentment of Little Beaver. Of course, I only was around for the very end of the Red Ryder trope, and was a very tiny kid at the time.)

And as for Bani's ethnicity, it’s a rather confusing mess. Tsuiraku started out as 'Anime Japanese people' then I switched to a slightly more realistic 'Eurasians with access to relatively easy permanent hair colorization and cosmetic surgery'; and I pictured Farrel as being various degrees of Hispanic, Black, and Caucasian. So I suppose Bani would be officially classified as Extremely Mixed Race.

That would certainly work, but India might be a good model, in more ways than one. My boss is the son of a real-life Indian Freedom Fighter, one of the guys who helped Gandhi get the Brits out of India from 1947 to 1950. His skin tone is almost identical to the way Bani's is presented in one of the wallpapers or bookmarks. Her mom and bandit Jim seem to have similar skin tones as well. The Indian subcontinent might provide a pretty good analogue for the way ethnicity develops in Farrel.

Anyway, Bani is hawt, and that's the most important thing.

[RubberBandMan]

And rage against Poe excluded, I don't think Bani has any real hang ups about it. She may of bonded rather well with Meji over being somewhat outcast and different, but even with all the subtle racism she may of dealt with she still went and joined the army. Even though I doubt it was the only choice for someone like her. (If some farm girl from farrel can get in, I doubt that Bani is in the special forces or the ES counterpart of the CIA)

[Sareth]

Anyway, Bani is hawt, and that's the most important thing.

Quoted for Great Truth.

[Graybeard]

And rage against Poe excluded, I don't think Bani has any real hang ups about it. She may of bonded rather well with Meji over being somewhat outcast and different, but even with all the subtle racism she may of dealt with she still went and joined the army. Even though I doubt it was the only choice for someone like her. (If some farm girl from farrel can get in, I doubt that Bani is in the special forces or the ES counterpart of the CIA)

You might be surprised. In the real world, military people in one country who can pass transparently for citizens of another, hostile country have a distinct tendency to get recruited as special-ops or intelligence "specialists." If Bani hadn't pulled this little stunt (which would be detected if the Tsuirakuans tried hard enough), she might have a career in exactly these areas if she wanted it.

Of course, there are always risks that not only does the body look like it belongs to a different country, so does the soul ...

[Sareth]

And rage against Poe excluded, I don't think Bani has any real hang ups about it. She may of bonded rather well with Meji over being somewhat outcast and different, but even with all the subtle racism she may of dealt with she still went and joined the army. Even though I doubt it was the only choice for someone like her. (If some farm girl from farrel can get in, I doubt that Bani is in the special forces or the ES counterpart of the CIA)

You might be surprised. In the real world, military people in one country who can pass transparently for citizens of another, hostile country have a distinct tendency to get recruited as special-ops or intelligence "specialists." If Bani hadn't pulled this little stunt (which would be detected if the Tsuirakuans tried hard enough), she might have a career in exactly these areas if she wanted it.

Of course, there are always risks that not only does the body look like it belongs to a different country, so does the soul ...

Hell, this little stunt of hers may actually be active resume materials. "She pulled this off without training? Recruit her." "But sir..." "Recruit her now."

[Labrat]

Hell, this little stunt of hers may actually be active resume materials. "She pulled this off without training? Recruit her." "But sir..." "Recruit her now."

Why am I having such an easy time seeing such words coming from a Gendo Ikari ripoff sitting in some dark hole at the center of the Tsuiraku floating island? And why is it so awesome?