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Varianna · **12-23-2013, 09:14 PM**

This post kinda makes me a little angry.

The great thing about RP is that it gives you the chance to be who you want to be, within reason of course. There isn't much more to it, other than it's the player's choice for whatever reason.

N'taeyl · **12-23-2013, 09:15 PM**

If I had transmutation crystals and slightly different hair, I'd role my hyur midlander in a heartbeat.Â He's a fun character I'd like to play.Â Less than noble, but manipulative charm with a talent for street magic and pickpocket tricks.Â I don't usually play such a conniving character so I'd like to get into it, but laazzzyyyyyleveellinngg.

Faye · **12-23-2013, 09:24 PM**

Hyur--Midlanders included--do indeed have their own culture and race. One reason to play them is familiarity. Another is that, in game, human races tend to be one of the more unique ones. We're all humans in real life. So the majority of people would opt to play a Miqo'te, or a Lalafell, etc. So rather than being mundane, Midlanders are sort of a rarity. Otherwise, some people enjoy playing "normal" races/characters and Midlanders, being a pretty flexible race, are a suitable race change for a lot of characters. (And let's not forget that Midlander may be the best choice for anyone wanting to role-play a full-blooded Garlean).

I, personally, chose to main a Midlander because I think they are the best-looking and it was best suited for my character. Personality-wise, I could have made her either an Elezen or a Midlander, and in the end I settled on Midlander because it suited her appearance better. I couldn't get the soft features I wanted on an Elezen and, to be honest, their necks and shoulders are freaking weird.

Miqo'te aren't everyone's cup of tea, especially since there are such a large amount of them, and even more so if you factor in how many of them are furries, weeaboos, and/or perverted dudes trying to act out lesbian cat-girl fantasies scaring away others from playing the race. Lalafell are sort of a niche thing for people who want to play something cute and silly. Not everyone is into the tough, ripped aesthetic of the Highlanders and Roegadyn. As for the Elezen, many people don't want to play elves, and a lot of those who do are turned off by the weird giraffe necks.

In short... imo, Midlanders make for some of the best looking characters, and the history/lore/culture of them allows for the race to fit just about any character type. You should make your character interesting, not just depend on her race to set her apart from other characters. As for Midlanders not building anything, I suggest reading up on your Gridania lore. Smile

Hyur settled Gridania with the Elezen and created the Order of the Twin Adder. Also, Midlanders are seemingly the most likely race to become Padjal (assuming Padjal are not exactly a separate race in themselves).

Illira · **12-23-2013, 09:42 PM**

I agree with the general assesment, that the main reason someone might want to play a midlander is that they are kind of the 'blank-slate' race. They have the least lore behind them, are young in feature, and don't have any notable handicaps or abilities. Hence they are easier for some people to mold into a character. Which might explain their widespread use? But different races work better for different characters, including the Midlander clan.

(12-23-2013, 09:24 PM)Faye Wrote: Lalafell are sort of a niche thing for people who want to play something cute and silly.Â

Would just like to comment that Lalafells aren't really meant to be a silly / cute race. There are examples of that in-game, of course, because this is Square Enix, but that isn't representative of the race as a whole. Some of us do RP them in a real / serious manner. They really aren't that niche, or at least don't have to be. But... then again, you seem to be filing all the races into very niche / specific boxes, Fae. Using your own words, "You should make your character interesting,Â not just depend on her race to set her apart from other characters", its best to not judge a race on its playerbase, and instead on a character to character basis.

Kieron Lohengrin · **12-23-2013, 09:43 PM**

do not make light of the middies, they will cut you

[Image: WfPHCmq.gif]

Faye · **12-23-2013, 09:49 PM**

I don't believe I did anything of the sort. Lalafell are very tiny, unsexualized, with round faces, giant eyes, and tiny noses and mouths. They don't bend their knees when they walk and they swing their arms a lot in their cute little waddle. If that isn't silly and adorable, I don't know what is. I'm not saying Lalafell can't/aren't/shouldn't be RPed seriously and to assume that's what I meant is just being presumptuous. I'm talking solely about their physical appearance. I've RPed with several Lalafell with serious, developed, adult personalities and greatly enjoyed it, and my boyfriend and RP a serious, married, middle-aged Lalafell couple.

Kismet · **12-23-2013, 10:00 PM**

The issue stems from how Square Enix has treated the race themselves, honestly. They give Lalafell obnoxiously "cutesy" animations, then try to have serious portrayals of them personality-wise in the game's story. The Japanese love to have things that are "stupid and adorable, but can still be really adult!" for some reason.

Dubs · **12-23-2013, 10:01 PM**

Fact of the matter is that there is not a lot of concrete racial defining lore in this game. I've searched high and low for Roe specific lore to no avail and even have an LS of wonderful Roe RPers to keep their wary eyes out for it. Though most times the % of discussion is on how many faces Denn punched or who's the new guy/girl in Hornet's harem Tongue

Even with the concepts of what constitutes "tribal" culture within each race/tribe you're going to get a myriad of opinions that don't necessarily align with one another. That's what causes conflict, maybe people are just addicted to it for the sake of attention, who knows.

So are these types of threads really just people wanting to find pedestals for being lore police and dictating to other people how they should RP their character by thumbing down a list of criteria check boxes for their approval into their niche club? If that's their perogative fine, who am I to say no you're not aloud to do that, you're stepping out of the lore box neener neener. *shrug*

Could you imagine someone of your same race coming up to you on the street and attempting to define your "whiteness" or "blackness" or "insert whatever racial or cultural" stereotype without getting a rolling of the eyes if not a fist in the face?

Tobias Nightbringer · **12-23-2013, 10:02 PM**

(12-23-2013, 09:49 PM)Faye Wrote: They don't bend their knees when they walk and they swing their arms a lot

And you know who else walk without bending their knees and swing their arms a lot?!

NAZIS! AND COMMUNISTS!Â

If that doesn't scream evil, I dunno what does Tongue

Â

We'll just forget about the cute little waddle bit xD But yeah, what Faye said.

Dirty Communists...

TheLastCandle · **12-23-2013, 10:03 PM**

Since we're playing a Final Fantasy game, I'll put it this way. To me, asking this question is a lot like saying, "Lol? What's the point of Basch, Balthier et al in FFXII? Boring! Why wouldn't you want to play a Moogle/Bangaa/Seeq?" When in reality, literally nothing would have been enhanced by their being any other race. (Well, Vaan might have been a little more bearable. /tongueincheek)

In the end, it's an aesthetic choice: the creator decided that these characters best fulfilled their given roles as a Human character. The beauty of this game is that we get to make the very same decision for our own characters.

Illira · **12-23-2013, 10:05 PM**

I'll quote you again then:Â

(12-23-2013, 09:24 PM)Faye Wrote: Lalafell are sort of a niche thing for people who want to play something cute and silly.Â

I'm not saying that they're not cutely designed, they are. But I don't believe that their physical appearance is terribly indicative of how they act, and their reputation with the world at large according to world lore/NPC interaction. And I don't think that I read into anything that you said, when you said the above. If you were trying to refer simply to player/racial stereotypes, which you seemed to be mostly doing so with the Miqo'te description, then you should preface with that. As it was, it did not come across that way.

Though I think that Kismet did a good job of summing up my feelings on the matter:

Quote:The issue stems from how Square Enix has treated the race themselves, honestly. They give Lalafell obnoxiously "cutesy" animations, then try to have serious portrayals of them personality-wise the in game's story. The Japanese love to have things that are "stupid and adorable, but can still be really adult!" for some reason.

K'nahli · **12-23-2013, 10:13 PM**

(12-23-2013, 10:05 PM)Illira Wrote: I'll quote you again then:Â

(12-23-2013, 09:24 PM)Faye Wrote: Lalafell are sort of a niche thing for people who want to play something cute and silly.Â
I'm not saying that they're not cutely designed, they are. But I don't believe that their physical appearance is terribly indicative of how they act, and their reputation with the world at large according to world lore/NPC interaction. And I don't think that I read into anything that you said, when you said the above. If you were trying to refer simply to player/racial stereotypes, which you seemed to be mostly doing so with the Miqo'te description, then you should preface with that. As it was, it did not come across that way.

Though I think that Kismet did a good job of summing up my feelings on the matter:

Quote:The issue stems from how Square Enix has treated the race themselves, honestly. They give Lalafell obnoxiously "cutesy" animations, then try to have serious portrayals of them personality-wise the in game's story. The Japanese love to have things that are "stupid and adorable, but can still be really adult!" for some reason.

To US they are silly, to Eorzeans they are nothing strange I believe. Also I doubt that many lalafells behave in such a cute manner anyways. They are just created as such for the gamer's enjoyment.

Faye · **12-23-2013, 10:29 PM**

(12-23-2013, 10:05 PM)Illira Wrote: I'm not saying that they're not cutely designed, they are. But I don't believe that their physical appearance is terribly indicative of how they act, and their reputation with the world at large according to world lore/NPC interaction. And I don't think that I read into anything that you said, when you said the above. If you were trying to refer simply to player/racial stereotypes, which you seemed to be mostly doing so with the Miqo'te description, then you should preface with that. As it was, it did not come across that way.

Though I think that Kismet did a good job of summing up my feelings on the matter:

Quote:The issue stems from how Square Enix has treated the race themselves, honestly. They give Lalafell obnoxiously "cutesy" animations, then try to have serious portrayals of them personality-wise the in game's story. The Japanese love to have things that are "stupid and adorable, but can still be really adult!" for some reason.

I fully agree with Kismet, in that what I'm getting at is that they look silly. I'm not saying that they actually are or should be silly personality-wise. My post was about reasons people may not want to play races other than Midlander, particularly based on aesthetics. While I fully think that Lalafell can be played as serious characters and I enjoy seeing as much, some people only want to play Lalafell as something cutesy, and many people don't want to roll their serious and/or bad ass character as a Lalafell because they can't find it plausible to take Lalafell seriously, or because Lalafell don't look "cool" or "attractive" enough to fit their character. I'm talking about completely OOC things, as this thread is discussing people's OOC reasons for playing Midlanders as opposed to any other races--not discussing how Lalafell are viewed IG/IC. I don't think I need to preface my posts with the fact that they pertain to the subject of the thread.

ansemaru · **12-23-2013, 10:37 PM**

(12-23-2013, 10:03 PM)TheLastCandle Wrote: Since we're playing a Final Fantasy game, I'll put it this way. To me, asking this question is a lot like saying, "Lol? What's the point of Basch, Balthier et al in FFXII? Boring! Why wouldn't you want to play a Moogle/Bangaa/Seeq?" When in reality, literally nothing would have been enhanced by their being any other race. (Well, Vaan might have been a little more bearable. /tongueincheek)

The fact that there weren't any Bangaa party members in FFXII still haunts me to this day. YOU THINK I'M KIDDING? I AM NOT KIDDING.

Anyway, I'm seconding those who highlighted the comparative lack of concrete lore for Midlanders. Some people want to play a character concept that isn't intrinsically tied to lore, and Midlanders are certainly much easier to do that with. Highlanders, Sea Wolves, Duskwights, and both tribes of Miqo'te have a fairly big part of their role in the world defined by lore, and playing one of them means you may have to incorporate stuff that you don't like or want to deal with all that much. Of course, you don't need to, but if you don't, you may find yourself having to justify why your Sea Wolf isn't a pirate, your Highlander isn't an Ala Mhigan refugee, or your Duskwight isn't a bandit. The point is that more than anything else, Midlanders offer freedom in terms of what they can be in the world of the game, lorewise.

And, as stated above, familiarity. Their bodies, faces, and culture are the closest to those of people playing the game, and it's just easier for some to get inside the head of a character who's a human being like them. Most folks don't have the background to know exactly what it's like to live in a Seeker tribe or a Keeper clan, or how it feels to be two feet tall and constantly in danger of being eaten by piestes and ochus, or even what it would be like to have green skin. The magic of roleplaying is that we can insert ourselves into such roles if we want to, but many people do just want to play something that they don't feel as though they have to research lore, naming conventions, etc. for.

Some people just think Midlanders look best. Not everyone's into cat ears, big bulky bodies, stretched-out limbs, or tiny stumpy characters. I know I prefer the presets available for male Midlanders to those available for male Highlanders, generally. They're less rugged, which is the type of character I tend to create in the first place, so it works out pretty nicely for me.

Finally, this thread's entire premise was needlessly antagonistic, like I said before. Getting defensive over Miqo'tes is uncool if you're just going to start spite threads. Most people here love them and/or play them. You're hardly alone, and you don't need to antagonize people who play Hyurs to prove it.

ansemaru · **12-23-2013, 10:39 PM**

Ah, also, in regards to the question of Lalafell. I've found that they're a little off-putting to me as a player not because they're cute, but because they're the go-to race for trolls and RP griefers. I think I've sort of been stuck with the stereotype of them being rude and abrasive, even with examples like Tataru in the game's story proving otherwise.

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Why are there any Midlanders?

RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes