Really interesting feedback so far!!!
To give a little of the background that we've gone with for Eva, we skirted a lot of the issues early on by deciding that she was not a "First Generation Eorzean" - so to speak. Â Her branch of the family tree moved up from what we call 'the clan lands' when her father was 5 years old. Â They lived in Coerthas. Â She was born in Ishgard. Â So Eva never had any direct exposure to her duskwight heritage until much later in life when she went back down to visit distant relatives. Â That said, there were certain traditions that her father passed down to her that are held in high regard. Â Moreover she has observed and is aware that others may exhibit prejudiced behavior in dealing with her based upon her race. Â This became much more apparent after she moved to Gridania where there were many more Wildwoods roaming about and (combined with the issue of her weight during her teenage years) she grew up being extremely self-conscious.
The character herself does work in opposition to the stereotype though. Â She is not one to pass judgement over others, so it concerns her when someone looks down upon her for that. Â She is kind, and generous, and friendly, and obliging. Â I would no longer say that she is a pushover, but a couple years ago she probably was. Â But she is a far cry from the way I imagine the stereotypical duskwight is portrayed. Â Most others I've interacted with have been more wary, more guarded, more cautious - and appropriately so. Â They probably give a better nod to the lore than I have but with the lack of information - especially at that time - it made more sense to have her somewhat displaced from that culture so that she could still be RPed the way we wanted her to be.
To muddy the waters a little further, her first and longest relationship was with a Wildwood boy throughout most of her 20's. Â Her father disapproved of Wildwoods and the boy's parents disapproved of Duskwights (though interestingly his siblings were a little more open-minded and receptive to their 'forbidden romance'). Â It did have kind of a Capulets-n-Montegues feel to it.
So while she understands that some folks may make snap judgements based on her race, she generally does not harbor those same prejudices. Â Her best friend (before she passed away) was a Wildwood elezen. Â She's worked in tandem with Wildwoods on a number of things, in various guilds. Â And has endeavored to make herself seen as "an elezen" rather than "one of them Greys" in their eyes.
In RP whether this is successful or not is only half up to her. Â There have not been many instances in her experiences in 1.0 and beta thus far where her clan was an issue. Â This could be attributed to open-mindedness, or the fact that she is fair-complexioned and looks a bit like a pale Wildwood in some ways (apart from the tattoo), or because she is somewhat striking/beautiful it may be overlooked, or because she gives off a motherly/nurturing vibe maybe and genuinely cares. Â I don't know exactly, but we're generally happy to roll with whatever another character might say/express in the moment.
This post is starting to get lengthier than I would like so I'm going to bring it to a close for now. Â But I can write paragraphs more about her ancestral homeland and some of the traditions with we've sort of taken certain liberties. Â Perhaps tomorrow. Â I'm curious to know what what others think and how they RP their duskwights and their characters back-stories and such.
To give a little of the background that we've gone with for Eva, we skirted a lot of the issues early on by deciding that she was not a "First Generation Eorzean" - so to speak. Â Her branch of the family tree moved up from what we call 'the clan lands' when her father was 5 years old. Â They lived in Coerthas. Â She was born in Ishgard. Â So Eva never had any direct exposure to her duskwight heritage until much later in life when she went back down to visit distant relatives. Â That said, there were certain traditions that her father passed down to her that are held in high regard. Â Moreover she has observed and is aware that others may exhibit prejudiced behavior in dealing with her based upon her race. Â This became much more apparent after she moved to Gridania where there were many more Wildwoods roaming about and (combined with the issue of her weight during her teenage years) she grew up being extremely self-conscious.
The character herself does work in opposition to the stereotype though. Â She is not one to pass judgement over others, so it concerns her when someone looks down upon her for that. Â She is kind, and generous, and friendly, and obliging. Â I would no longer say that she is a pushover, but a couple years ago she probably was. Â But she is a far cry from the way I imagine the stereotypical duskwight is portrayed. Â Most others I've interacted with have been more wary, more guarded, more cautious - and appropriately so. Â They probably give a better nod to the lore than I have but with the lack of information - especially at that time - it made more sense to have her somewhat displaced from that culture so that she could still be RPed the way we wanted her to be.
To muddy the waters a little further, her first and longest relationship was with a Wildwood boy throughout most of her 20's. Â Her father disapproved of Wildwoods and the boy's parents disapproved of Duskwights (though interestingly his siblings were a little more open-minded and receptive to their 'forbidden romance'). Â It did have kind of a Capulets-n-Montegues feel to it.
So while she understands that some folks may make snap judgements based on her race, she generally does not harbor those same prejudices. Â Her best friend (before she passed away) was a Wildwood elezen. Â She's worked in tandem with Wildwoods on a number of things, in various guilds. Â And has endeavored to make herself seen as "an elezen" rather than "one of them Greys" in their eyes.
In RP whether this is successful or not is only half up to her. Â There have not been many instances in her experiences in 1.0 and beta thus far where her clan was an issue. Â This could be attributed to open-mindedness, or the fact that she is fair-complexioned and looks a bit like a pale Wildwood in some ways (apart from the tattoo), or because she is somewhat striking/beautiful it may be overlooked, or because she gives off a motherly/nurturing vibe maybe and genuinely cares. Â I don't know exactly, but we're generally happy to roll with whatever another character might say/express in the moment.
This post is starting to get lengthier than I would like so I'm going to bring it to a close for now. Â But I can write paragraphs more about her ancestral homeland and some of the traditions with we've sort of taken certain liberties. Â Perhaps tomorrow. Â I'm curious to know what what others think and how they RP their duskwights and their characters back-stories and such.
"One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others." Â ~ Lewis Carol
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook
Eva's Journals  |  Eva's Wiki Page (coming soon)  |  RP Handbook
