Heh. I had this line all polished off to showcase, and then you made the point more baldly at the end.
Ah, the minute complexity of social hierarchies! So interesting, and hard to parse exactly. Of course her classmates would have thought, maybe, that she was in a gang. Some of them. The ones that aren't paying attention to the company she keeps. And of course the difference between "service professions" (right on the edge, there) and "firefighting" isn't really all that easy to parse either.
The observation that black leather don't go down well in Sunnydale is perfect. (I'm guessing that Angel was possibly Latino in this AU? He was supposed to be, originally, rumor has it.) By choosing not to be prey — as Spike, Buffy, and many local vamps have done — you are going to threaten certain elements (cops). While Blue (white Buffy stand-in), with her chiffon ruffles, would never set off the alarms, even if she did have the Slayer skills. I've always liked that Buffy used that as camouflage and even as bait. She could have gone the Faith route (also valid) but it's funnier the other way. Defy expectations.
It also points out something important about Californian/American society, that I'm not sure always translates elsewhere: that while there are times that simply being brown or black is enough to rouse suspicion, that is almost always trumped by the image projected. Sweet white boys with short hair can still get the stink eye if they exhibit signs of non-conformity (punk, biker, white supremacist) just as a Latina in a smart suit would be unremarkable. Image trumps reality, every time.
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Date: 15/01/2011 05:24 (UTC)Heh. I had this line all polished off to showcase, and then you made the point more baldly at the end.
Ah, the minute complexity of social hierarchies! So interesting, and hard to parse exactly. Of course her classmates would have thought, maybe, that she was in a gang. Some of them. The ones that aren't paying attention to the company she keeps. And of course the difference between "service professions" (right on the edge, there) and "firefighting" isn't really all that easy to parse either.
The observation that black leather don't go down well in Sunnydale is perfect. (I'm guessing that Angel was possibly Latino in this AU? He was supposed to be, originally, rumor has it.) By choosing not to be prey — as Spike, Buffy, and many local vamps have done — you are going to threaten certain elements (cops). While Blue (white Buffy stand-in), with her chiffon ruffles, would never set off the alarms, even if she did have the Slayer skills. I've always liked that Buffy used that as camouflage and even as bait. She could have gone the Faith route (also valid) but it's funnier the other way. Defy expectations.
It also points out something important about Californian/American society, that I'm not sure always translates elsewhere: that while there are times that simply being brown or black is enough to rouse suspicion, that is almost always trumped by the image projected. Sweet white boys with short hair can still get the stink eye if they exhibit signs of non-conformity (punk, biker, white supremacist) just as a Latina in a smart suit would be unremarkable. Image trumps reality, every time.