Fucking...throwing my hat in the Viera circle. Here's why. Prepare yourselves, because I am about to blow minds (no, I'm not.)
I would argue that comparing the Miqo'te to the Viera is crazy-sauce. If you take a Miqo'te out of a tribe (by force, or with them just up and splitting), and they don't lose anything that a normal, run-of-the-mill human being wouldn't. Like, seriously nothing. Everything they'd lose would be social, and it's not like humans don't live in tribes.
The Viera, on the other hand, are part of an entirely alien existence. A human being could never, ever, ever possibly know what it is to be a Viera. Ever. They're (magically, psychically, whatever the fuck) bound to the woods, and the living things within them. They're hyper-sensitive to the ebb and flow of the "Mist" (basically, magical energy) in the world. When you take a Viera from the wood (or she leaves just because), that all starts to dull. They quite literally drop a piece of their existence (not their social existence, but their very being) when they venture into the rest of the world, and stay there. They suffer a kind of slow greying of the soul that you might expect, only this one is physically measurable. Miqo'te ain't got shit on that.
I would argue, in fact, that the Viera are more similar to the Padjal in their ties to the world itself. I would also state that the Viera are something that society will never truly subsume, and wouldn't be able to crush. The Miqo'te, however, are pretty much doomed by progress to be assimilated into a greater global culture where their tribalism will just kind of be forgotten, and they'll be just...seriously nothing but people with oddly placed cat ears, and a tail that serves no real purpose anymore.
Summary: Viera are actually interesting, alien creatures, Miqo'te are just an option in a character creator with tired "Tribal" pastiche tossed (in my opinion) carelessly into a world where they'd have a terrible time existing.
I would argue that comparing the Miqo'te to the Viera is crazy-sauce. If you take a Miqo'te out of a tribe (by force, or with them just up and splitting), and they don't lose anything that a normal, run-of-the-mill human being wouldn't. Like, seriously nothing. Everything they'd lose would be social, and it's not like humans don't live in tribes.
The Viera, on the other hand, are part of an entirely alien existence. A human being could never, ever, ever possibly know what it is to be a Viera. Ever. They're (magically, psychically, whatever the fuck) bound to the woods, and the living things within them. They're hyper-sensitive to the ebb and flow of the "Mist" (basically, magical energy) in the world. When you take a Viera from the wood (or she leaves just because), that all starts to dull. They quite literally drop a piece of their existence (not their social existence, but their very being) when they venture into the rest of the world, and stay there. They suffer a kind of slow greying of the soul that you might expect, only this one is physically measurable. Miqo'te ain't got shit on that.
I would argue, in fact, that the Viera are more similar to the Padjal in their ties to the world itself. I would also state that the Viera are something that society will never truly subsume, and wouldn't be able to crush. The Miqo'te, however, are pretty much doomed by progress to be assimilated into a greater global culture where their tribalism will just kind of be forgotten, and they'll be just...seriously nothing but people with oddly placed cat ears, and a tail that serves no real purpose anymore.
Summary: Viera are actually interesting, alien creatures, Miqo'te are just an option in a character creator with tired "Tribal" pastiche tossed (in my opinion) carelessly into a world where they'd have a terrible time existing.
