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SicketySix · **10-30-2015, 08:46 AM**

(10-30-2015, 08:32 AM)Kattoki Wrote:
(10-30-2015, 07:54 AM)Secks Wrote: I've been RP'ing here about a week, and have yet to see a single Lalafell RPer at all, much less a serious one. I'll echo Berrod in that its a case by case thing. I'm sure a serious RPer will get serious RP no matter what race they picked.
I think this is what turns people off lalafell is the stereotype of Popotos and such. I feel a lot of lalafell players arnt taken seriously and dont rp at all and so as a rper of another race you dont see many.

A shining example of Lalafell done right would be Gus Pumpkinweed.

I've never RPed with Pumpkinweed but have seen him rp before. I agree with Berrod that he is well played, but I would not choose him as the role model of a serious Lala.

As far as being taken seriously, you chose one of the "out" races who resemble small children. Most of the Lala rpers I've seen have actually made their characters seem a bit immature, which is fine.

So not only do you have a character resemble a small child, but then you have people playing the stereotype and pretty soon they have a universal reputation to all the other races.

There are exceptions to this, but from what I've witnessed, it would be pretty rare.

Steel Wolf · **10-30-2015, 08:51 AM**

All I have to think about to know that Lalafells can be taken seriously is Lolorito. My character absolutely looks up to Chachanji of she ever sees him, finding awe and respect since she saw him as a Paladin about a year ago. There's a Lalafell in my FC that I very earnestly provide shoulder rides to.

As a Roegadyn, I have every avenue to believe my character could punt every Lalafell she sees into the sun. But I have never faced one in combat RP, and my character knows better than to assume anything of anyone. And I have had the good fortune to RP only with excellent Lalafell characters who didn't make their race the primary point of their character.

Sure, the perception issue with many in general is real, but honestly if you're finding those not taking your character seriously, I would echo Ser Warren in that either your approach comes off a certain way or you need to find more folks who can take your character seriously.

To that point, I am more than willing to arrange a hello to your Lala. Steel adores Lalafell, and admired any who have the courage to enter a life of adventuring. Especially those in the martial disciplines.

Cassandra · **10-30-2015, 09:15 AM**

Unfortunately, most of the "joke" characters I see are lalafells. So it does make difficult to take any seriously. Hell, back when I was barely a week or so into the game, I saw some sort of naked lalafell convention, which was even advertised in shout. Now I am certainly aware there are plenty of good Lalas out there, but stuff like the aforementioned does little to help their reputation as a whole.

Vyce · **10-30-2015, 09:18 AM**

(10-30-2015, 04:44 AM)Ozma Wrote: I never seen Lalafell children in game before. So far I think I've seen younger models of all races but lalafells.

That is because Lalafell do not age in the same way as other races. Their bodies stop growing very young, and because of this do not experience the tug of gravity in the way a Hyur might. Signs of aging in Lalafell are often little more than graying of hair and bags under the eyes. They are forever childlike, and have have evolved to cope with this.

Personally, I take Lalafell seriously when they are adults and not being RPed like Tataru. Ul'Dah was at one point -exclusively- Lalafell. They are keen businessmen, adept mages, and can be as strong as any Roegadyn can be. They have also been shown in the MSQ not to be the cutesy chibis they appear to be. They are cutthroat, hardworking, and innovative.

You can actually find a prime example in the Sultana Nanamo Ul Namo.

In the vanilla game, Nanamo's voice acting was saccharine and childlike. It made little sense for the sovereign of a nation to speak like a little girl. Enix came to realize this, and altered her voice acting in the subsequent patches to be much more regal and professional. They needed to show that she is of sound mind and is equipped to hold the position she does. Having a baby voice compared to the likes of Teledji Adaledji and Lolorito made her seem inferior.

Nebbs · **10-30-2015, 09:19 AM**

(10-30-2015, 07:40 AM)Oli! Wrote: Just play them seriously and people will take you seriously.

Whenever someone treats Oliwat as a kid, he yells at them and reveals that he's a 42 year old man, and that he'll shoot an ice shard through their knees if they don't stop being rude.

It gets awkward real fast.

This mostly, just reinforce your characterization.

Though they are small and cute, that is something that comes with the race and something you have to accept when you choose to play one.

Jana · **10-30-2015, 09:56 AM**

Chachan is probably known for playing his main, young adventurer character, but he also plays Chachanji's older brother Gogonji, who's basically a cranky curmudgeon. I've played with Virara and Shoshopu too, who are both mature and never come across as child-like.

I'll basically echo what others have already said: I can take a lalafell seriously if they are played seriously (though IC, Jana might need some time to warm up to the idea).

CrimsonMars · **10-30-2015, 10:20 AM**

It's like what some people here has said already. It depends on how you portray the character, or at least it should. Personality, I treat lalafell players just like I treat any other players. In the actual game, most of the lalafell npcs and especially the WoL if they happen to be one are taking seriously, and, as long as they aren't joke characters, the same should go for lalafell rpers.

Unfortunately, theirs a lot of people that firmly believe that non-mage lalafell are considerably weaker than the other races, which is another reason. If that's the case, than why would they recruit lalafell soldiers? Contrary to popular believe, there are some lalafells that can kick ass out there (I can recall the one in the rouge quest scenario for one). Not everything in real life has to apply to rp.

Unlike most other 'chibi' races in mmos, I actually like lalafells. If I had time to invest in a third character, I'd use one.

Coatleque · **10-30-2015, 10:34 AM**

I think I'm in the opposite camp here. Or at least looking at it from a different perspective. I played the game before I started RPing in it, so my experience with Lalafell is that they are no different from other races, just shorter. Think of them more like halflings. When I come across a Lalafell who is not played as a serious character, that seems to be the exception to the rule.

The examples I see in-game are of course Nanamo, but also Lolorito, Teledji, Papashan, Momodi, etc. All serious characters. These do no strike me as roles to be easily dismissed in RP. When you start to see how many are in positions of power around the game world it is easier to see them as equals.

É´á´˜á´„ · **10-30-2015, 10:38 AM**

I'd have to wonder if players dismissing lalafell RP wholesale have watched the MSQ cutscenes.

SicketySix · **10-30-2015, 10:44 AM**

(10-30-2015, 10:38 AM)Grandelion Wrote: I'd have to wonder if players dismissing lalafell RP wholesale have watched the MSQ cutscenes.

The problem is the 7-8 serious Lalalfell in the MSQ does not dismiss the possible hundreds that RP them as being childish and cute.

It's entirely a perspective thing. Almost the same as any kind of racial profiling, no matter what color or race you are. If the majority of your race behaves aor acts a certain way, no matter how different you are, you will still be thrown into the generalized sum of everyone.

Caspar · **10-30-2015, 10:45 AM**

As one of the suuuuper dark overcompensating Lalafells, I can assure you my character is meant to be taken at least roughly seriously.

However, I didn't have any illusions about what I was getting into when I picked her race. If you select a childlike race, people will assume plenty of things of them by their appearance alone. It is working around or exploiting those assumptions that makes playing the race rewarding. Sometimes I'll use it to make a scene funnier, and other times I'll use it to make the dark rp I tend towards more disturbing. I feel like having it be depressing and horrific all the time would be repetitive, so I incorporated some funny, as well as touching, elements to the character that allowed me to play up Lalafells' innate cuteness. A good example of this is that I've found a lot of people comment that they can't exactly place Virara's age, which I see as a natural result of how I rp her inconsistent knowledge.

When Virara behaves in a immature, naive way, people aren't too surprised because in game she looks like a little fat bebeh. When she exhibits really troubling assumptions about violence or morality, people see an evil, or misguided, child. When she punches through a monster, people's eyes bug out. She does get talked down to a lot but to a certain degree I'm fine with that, as I wanted people to be shocked when she does exhibit experience. I knew Lalafell were going to be infantilized from the character select screen and wanted to use it to create a disconnect between character and appearance deliberately.Â I feel any other race would have made my concept seem a lot more generic and unremarkable, honestly; I've never been that original... XD

But yeah, I meet plenty of Lalafell who are understated in behavior too. Some are pretty childlike or comedy heavy, but that's part of their character. I would say that although Gus is one of the more consistent rpers I've seen and does a great job standing out and being unique, I thought he was a gag character when I first saw him and read his wiki, so I'm surprised you think he's a great example of a serious Lalafell character.

There are very few of us, however. Lalas are popular amongst PVE players and not so much amongst rpers. Your opening statement is evidenced enough by this regardless of whether rpers deny it or not; most people would rather play a full-sized, mature looking character because being Lalafell has that instant assumption power. Many rpers are heavily focused on romance, something I have trouble relating to, and because of their appearance Lalafell are understandably not in high demand. A lot of people here have Lalafell, but like roegadyn, they tend to be relegated to alts, and can easily become gag characters if not played diligently. It can make you feel restricted, but I think that playing against expectations is fun too. If you want to be taken seriously, use emotes sparingly or make custom emotes that remove the more childish gestures and expressions. Demonstrate your character's age through sagely observations or anxieties that come out of the increased responsibility and scope of adulthood. Don't overcompensate like some Lalafell rpers I've seen by cussing, drinking and wanting sex constantly, though these can be used to remind players of the character's age too.

The NPCs don't do us any favors; Tataru is, I believe, an adolescent and pretty cutesy. I love her, she's adorable, but at times I see her as a kind of "token" Lala in the MSQ. She behaves in the stereotypical manner we tend to associate with the race. With the exception of the barely developed Pippin, all the major MSQ male Lala's we've seen are conniving or evil little bastards. The minor NPCs fare a lot better, but they also get significantly less attention. I liked Chuchuto from the PGL storyline a lot. She was funny but not child-like, and also helped show Lalafell can be tough. Alka Zolka from the SCH storyline was pretty fun too and served the dual purpose of being a "smart" Marauder and strong Lalafell, breaking two stereotypes at the same time. It's definitely true however that there are plenty of Lalafell in positions of authority though, and that itself should show that in-setting they are taken quite seriously.

Garalona · **10-30-2015, 10:46 AM**

(10-30-2015, 10:38 AM)Grandelion Wrote: I'd have to wonder if players dismissing lalafell RP wholesale have watched the MSQ cutscenes.

Seriously, don't fuck with them.

But I tend to be leery of male lalafell because the biggest (har har) creeps I've run into all happen to be male lalafell, and when called on it many fell back on that "what? li'l ol' me?" crap that is indeed very reminiscent of Gravity Falls' Li'l Gideon. But that's just my personal experience and bad luck, of course.

All the lady lalas I've met have been quite nice, whether they're the cutesy type, the stabby type, or anything in between.

-no longer matters- · **10-30-2015, 10:46 AM**

Wether or not I take a Lalafell RPer seriously is up to the RPer! As a Race I've seen to much in game story of them being serious to not take them seriously when RPed as such. However if the RPer is RPing their character as a joke character, I'll take them as such.

É´á´˜á´„ · **10-30-2015, 11:00 AM**

(10-30-2015, 10:44 AM)SicketySix Wrote: The problem is the 7-8 serious Lalalfell in the MSQ does not dismiss the possible hundreds that RP them as being childish and cute.

Not that I disagree with this statement, but I suppose it's the sum of these experiences that lead some players to the sort of 'prejudices' lamented in the OP. That's not an accusation, of course, just that I myself haven't had enough bad experiences yet, methinks.

Additionally, this also raises the question of whether or not some lalafell RPers have watched the MSQ cutscenes. (Â¯â€•Â¯Ù¥)

PhantasticPanda · **10-30-2015, 11:56 AM**

(10-30-2015, 08:10 AM)Riik Wrote: What needs to be remembered though is that unless they're Ishgardian (and perhaps Doman? I don't recall any Doman lalafell), most characters should be used to seeing lalafell doing what any other adult of any other race would do. So in theory they should really be giving the lalafell the benefit of the doubt and treating them like they're most likely an adult, unless something in an emote or in conversation proves otherwise. I think really, it's a case of real-life views (that lalafell look like adorable children) diluting the RPers use of lore.

Pretty much this as I can tell. Lalafells are one of the most populous races in Eorzea ever since their migration and have contributed a lot not including the founding of Ul'dah (and its sister nation that now ceases to exist.). They all hold positions of power throughout the game and are treated by other NPC's as normal adults. They also hold all manner of jobs and duties including sailors, soldiers, farmers, politicians, merchants, etc. Lalafells should not be an odd sight for Eorzeans nor looked at as babies.

... Also my Lalafell is too of guilty sending a couple of thunders towards the direction of those who try to baby him, or man-handle him in such a way.

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Lalafell not taken seriously in RP.

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