On Red Eyes and White Hair...

[jialingjin]

...for all you Albino wannabes. I'm tired of the white hair and the red eyes.

Albinism

Albinism (from Latin albus, meaning "white") is a lack of pigmentation in the eyes, skin and hair. Albinism is an inherited condition resulting from the combination of recessive alleles passed from both parents of an individual. The gene which results in albinism prevents the body from making the usual amounts of the pigment melanin.

About 1 in 17,000 people have some type of albinism, although up to 1 in 75 are carriers.

Melanin helps protect the skin from ultraviolet light coming from the sun. Organisms with albinism lack this protective pigment in their skin, and can burn easily from exposure to the sun as a result. Lack of melanin in the eye also results in problems with vision.

The eyes of a person with albinism occasionally appear red due to the underlying blood vessels showing through where there is not enough pigment to cover them. In humans this is rarely the case, as a human eye is quite large and thus produces enough pigment to lend opacity to the eye. However, there are cases in which the eyes appear red or purple, depending on the amount of pigment present.

People with albinism are generally as healthy as the rest of their species, with growth and development occurring as normal. The largest problem people with albinism face is social, as the condition is sometimes a source of teasing during adolescent years.

THANK YOU WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

*Clear throat*

White Hair:
Permanent white hair (or very pale blond as it appears in some Albinos, especially African-American) can only be achieved if you lack pigmentation. All of us bleached blonds know we have to get our roots touched up all the time. Therefore.. You can not get white hair from an alchemy accident. You can not get white hair from shock. You only get white hair from aging. Those so called stories of gaining white hair from shock always involve someone with hair that is already graying and the stress causes them to lose their darker pigmented hair, thus their hair appears to go white. So quit submitting characters with White hair. Yes, we are all aware Yue has white hair. YUE WAS GIVEN LIFE BY THE MOON SPIRIT PEOPLE! The moon spirit always has white hair because.. she's a spirit. Now if you have a Magical method of giving your character white hair, feel free to PM me and run it by me.

Red Eyes:
Red Eyes are caused by a total lack of pigmentation in the human eye, allowing the blood vessels to be visible in the iris. This is extremely rare in humans because we have such large eyes that there is almost always enough pigment to cover the iris. Most albinos have Blue or Violet Eyes, not Red. Also, this lack of pigmentation means if you have Red Eyes.. YOU HAVE CRAP VISION. People with Albinism, specifically, the Red Eyes are LEGALLY BLIND. They can not read well, they can not drive, they can not wield a weapon. Obviously, your character won't be able to either.

There was a recent hoopla raised in regards to Silas, the Albino monk in The Da Vinci Code (both book and movie). The Idea that a Albino could be an assassin is RIDICULOUS AND LAUGHABLE (quote from an Albino directly on MSNBC's coverage of the Da Vinci Code hype). They have poor vision already in the daylight so it would impossible for Silas to track Robert and Sophie half across France in a black Audi in the middle of the night! He wouldn't be able to see!
Kudos though to the flimmakers for giving Silas albino-correct Blue eyes instead of the Red eyes in the book.


So, My rant is over. No More Red Eyes. No More White Hair.

[zhinju]

I noticed the alchemy reference and I can only assume Zhinju's profile might have contributed to this thread... However, I believe I clarified in the profile last night that he continues to bleach his hair every so often to maintain his hair color. If that's the case, is light hair then allowed?

[The Lion Turtle]

Hm, well, there is no hairdye in the Avatar verse as of yet, so I don't think so, but Jia is our expert in this, sooooo.... her call.

[zhinju]

I think simple solutions of chlorine wouldn't be too far of a stretch, would they? Heh, if the Fire Nation can have steam engines, ironcladships, and tanks, it just seems fair to assume that the other nations aren't so terribly far behind in terms of science.

And also, the Chinese did have alchemists. They were the ones who discovered gunpowder, and I assume that "Blasting Jelly" from the show came about through some scientific tampering. It's really not that out of place when one thinks about some of the other modern equivalents that the show has.

Hehe, I don't think Earth Rumble 6 was something you'd see in ancient China, but the show seems to have a way of fitting more modern themes into an ancient world.

[jialingjin]

Things like cholrine do not change haircolor permanently. We're talking permanent whitehair or white hair from birth. Otherwise.. still gotta give us a good reason. If he continues to bleach his hair.. Why? Why would he want that stigma? Albinos have been treated horribly throughout the centuries and are still considered demons in many cultures.

[zhinju]

Albino's might have, but he's anything but an albino. His eyes are dark green, his skin is tan, and he's hardly the frail albino stereotype. Zhinju merely think that having white hair makes him look distinctive, perhaps even intimidating because it's unusual.

[jialingjin]

But why? Why would he still endure the type of whispers and stares that would come from people who would see a perfectly healthy young man with white hair? It's unusal and people don't often taken kindly to the unusual. Reminder - if you want to use these reasons to try and get us to approve the white hair, they will have to be put into your profile. We don't make verdicts outside profiles.

[zhinju]

Zhinju's the type who honestly wouldn't care what people think about his appearance, though. He's a relatively friendly guy, and I'm certain people weren't that narrow-minded that they'd look right past a kind smile and shun him for something as pointless as his hair color...

Aang walks around with a bald head and bright blue arrow tattoo. Earth Kingdom people surely aren't accustomed to seeing such a hairstyle, but I haven't seen him harassed once in the show for it.

[kura]

I'd just like to point something out, Zhinju, if I may. You state in your profile that your character is a spy, someone who's whole way of life is based around going unnoticed, yet white hair would make him stand out. It just isn't logical.

[jialingjin]

Thank you, Kura. Not only a good eye for a detail I missed, but a good mind for the logical.

[zhinju]

That much I realized as well... And if he were planning to walk around out in the open without his armor in enemy territory, then he'd be in trouble. However, most of his assignments require him to be in full Spirit Walker regalia. It's not often he'll be assuming the role of a fire nation citizen... that's more "undercover" than the type of sabotage he's more likely to commit.

To put in modern terms, I suppose he'd be more "Special Ops" and less "007."

[kura]

>.< Zhinju, you're going to have to explain what exactly a "Spirit Walker" is. First of all, the way I understand it, his profession has nothing to do with spirits, so why the title? Second, what kind of "sabotage" is he likely to commit? And what is this Spirit Walker regalia?

<.< >.>

Just what does a Spirit Walker do, anyway?

[zhinju]

"Spirit Walker" is just a title. It doesn't literally mean he is a ghost, but his proficiency for stealth is so good that it seems a fitting description. Just as Zuko's alter ego was called the Blue Spirit when there's hardly anything spiritual about him. Same concept, just applied to a military code name, as it were.

As for the type of missions he's sent on, it can vary with whatever needs to be done. Perhaps intercepting Fire Nation messengers, destroying stocks of weaponry with his corrosive acids, perhaps even assassinating high-ranking officers if the opportunity presents itself. His tasks can range pretty wide... Virtually anything that would require a single, sneaky individual would fall under his category of mission.

Clearer?

[kura]

Yes, this is clearer. I recommend putting this in the profile as, like Jia said, we don't make verdicts outside of profiles.

[The Lion Turtle]

May I point out that even with chemicals, I doubt you're going to get pure white hair unless one uses dye, and as females often know, it hardly comes out the way one wants it to. This so-called "bleach" you're talking about, if it works anything like what's in the real world, it would turn the hair a washed-out blond, esprecially with the darker compisition for his hair. You cannot get a pure white hair dye with dark brown hair. It ain't gunna work.

Not only that, the critisim he might receive for this is high and might be kicked out of the army. People weren't terribly found of hair coloring, and in Japan, it's considered offensive if you have different colored hair.

Now, I'm sorry, but this is getting out of hand. We've given you reasons why, and though Jia and Kura are giving you a fighting chance, I am far less inclined to. I'm about ready to make the decision myself and be done with it. Sorry.

Like Jia and Kura says, please confine this to your profile or I'll lock the thread. You may continue debate there.

Thank you.