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A Duskwight Discussion - Printable Version

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A Duskwight Discussion - Eva - 07-19-2013

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I have spoken with Kari and Teardrop recently along various channels and figured I could create this thread (as kind of an offshoot from this one to serve a couple different purposes:

First, I wanted to put all this information in one place and solicit additional information pertaining to Duskwight Elezen culture that I may have overlooked.  If more information is presented to us, I'll be glad to amend this post so that everything is neatly provided.  Perhaps others may do something like this for the other race/clans - I know there are already a dozen or so discussion threads about miqo'te culture.  Duskwight culture and how RPers approach it has been something that has interested me since the game's launch.  Which segues me into the primary purpose for creating this thread.

There isn't a great deal of information provided about duskwight culture.  From talking to NPC's in 1.0 and Beta we have been able to glean a little information.  For instance, the "Greys/Greens" remarks are meant to be somewhat insulting or condescending in-character.  I don't think a duskwight would normally regard another duskwight as a 'Grey' - unless maybe jibing.  From all that I have seen it is usually a member of one clan mocking the other.

We have not been given much in the way of settlements or back history to work with, and I know many RPers have sort of pieced together their own backstories/ancestry with what little information we do have.

So I think the primary thing I am wondering (and I will bolden for emphasis) is directed specifically towards those who are RPing duskwight characters:

What sort of background does your duskwight character have?

Between RP in 1.0 and Beta so far and just reading through some of the wonderful stories posted here it seems like there are a lot of great ideas and, while some artistic liberties may have been taken - mostly out of necessity - it makes for a richly woven tapestry of stories and adds depth to the race, I think.  I've had experiences with maybe a half dozen duskwight characters, all with varying and unique backgrounds and I love that!  I just kind of wanted to start up a discussion amongst that subset of the community that plays duskwight characters and get some additional perspectives.

So, please comment away with what your duskwight character's background is like and maybe we can all kind of compare notes and gain some additional perspective!

RE: A Duskwight Discussion - AFriendOfAFriend - 07-19-2013

Monty is Duskwight, but beyond cursory acknowledgement of his paler-than-usual skin he doesn't really identify as one. He was raised in an orphanage and had a fairly lonely childhood, but if that was some sort of discrimination he took no notice - he preferred his solitude anyway, so reason meant little to him. He grew up in Limsa Lominsa, working for a rather diverse logging company with a very open recruitment policy. For the most part he was treated simply as he was - an honest, if quiet and somewhat lazy worker who did as asked and never complained. When the company closed and he joined the Maelstrom his treatment was much the same: so long as he pulled his weight, no one had anything to say against him - or for him, for that matter. His race had very little to do with his upbringing, if anything at all.

RE: A Duskwight Discussion - Twinflame - 07-19-2013

Thanks for the lore-dump. I've been looking for lore and having trouble finding it, and as a fresh import to FFXIV who plans on maining a Duskwight, this is incredibly relevant to my interest.

My Duskight is Megiddo, and he is elderly to the point that he's probably in his last decade of natural life, and he has outlived his wife, children, and most of his grand children. Creating a family tree for Megs has been a fun and cerebral experience for me, and in my head-cannon, he and his family lived in a relatively small family group in the caves in the Black Shroud. His parents died while he was still young and he became patriarch of this group then, a role that he has filled for nearly six decades.

Please note that I don't need this live-with-your-family thing to be common, though if other people RP similar histories, that's all the better. I figure that Duskwight either live solitary lives or live in family groups similar to the Keeper Miqo'te. I've been unable to find lore on Duskwight family life, or their culture in general.

Megs wass authoritative and cruel to his family, and they most likely would have been very unsettling to know. A rather vicious and antisocial lot, they worked as poachers, bandits and assassins who made no effort to integrate with the world around them and cared only for themselves and one another. This paradigm is one of the primary reasons that Megs' history is so tragic; the relationship between his family and the rest of Eorzea was one of conflict. Gradually, through his long years, Megs has watched his descendants die off one by one. His only remaining family member, a granddaughter, loathes him deeply and lives apart from him, serving with the Blades in Ul'dah.

Megiddo lost the last of his children in the Calamity, and while he helped some with reconstruction immediately after, he has for the most part withdrawn from the world. Left alone in his latter years, Megs lives as a hermit in the Black Shroud, wandering and espousing the virtues of letting Oschon guide one's footsteps. He is generally well-meaning and mostly harmless, though he still has his secrets and is very much the same person who raised his children as killers.

In my RP during the beta, I occasionally hinted that Megiddo was the victim of discrimination. At one point, Megiddo's wandering brought him to a seeker Miqo'te who had lost her way in the Shroud, trying to get to Gridania. He guided her there, but scarcely set a foot inside before turning to leave, citing poor treatment of Duskwight at the hands of the Wildwood. Once or twise there was very vague reciprocation in which Megs talked down about the Woodwailers, but it was only in passing.

I'll prolly make a wiki for him that includes his family tree and flash-fics about some experiences in his life. Til then, this is the most extensive history I've written for him so far.

I'd be very much interested in seeing the angles that other RPers have taken on Duskwight families and whatever kind of society they have.

RE: A Duskwight Discussion - Vairemont - 07-19-2013

I think this is a great idea, and look forward to see what others have come up with.  I don't have anything more to add lore-wise, as what I've been able to find on the internet is up all ready there.
I can, however, give a quick recap on Vairemont's background.

He was raised among a clan that lived close to the surface, being one of the bandits that gave the rest a bad name.  They taught they were just doing what they had to do to survive, something he still believes in.  The animosity between the Wildwood and Duskwight is still stoked by them.

He leaves after the Calamity, and those five years mellows him somewhat, but he's still very much a prideful, stubborn Duskwight.

RE: A Duskwight Discussion - Teardrop - 07-19-2013

Eva, it seems once again you've turned in exhaustive effort for the betterment of the community as a whole, and I welcome the opportunity to converse on a topic so, how shall we say...relevant to my interests Cool.  Having all the known available lore regarding the Duskwights in one convenient location makes for a handy resource, as well as a good stepping-off point for discussion.

Some of the aspects of Duskwight relations with the other races (and more specifically the Wildwood) were touched upon in the cultural aspects for your character thread. To be sure, from the small amount of actual RP I've done with Isobeau, and tidbits of discussion on these forums, Duskwights are viewed in a variety of ways...sadly, seldom good Dodgy , and in my opinion, somewhat misinterpreted.

I think one of the difficult things about the Duskwight is that their racial tensions are written right into the lore, and so, as with any other aspect of lore, from the names of The Twelve, to the shape of the coastline of Eorzea, is a part of this game that anyone who would role play in FFXIV should be either prepared to accept, modify, or ignore, with the same effect as that choice would have for any other piece of official game lore.

One of the things I mention in my RP directory is that for me, its not only important for me to play the lore, but the game's world as well.  On earth, in real life, one should attempt to not prejudge, hold a grudge, or otherwise be anything but accepting, regardless of world history, relations between countries and cultures, etc, etc.  The stigma for possessing a bigoted attitude in this day and age is a strong one.  So strong, in fact, that I think it makes it difficult sometimes for people to feel comfortable in, or differentiate between, role play of those traits in a character and holding them yourself.  When I say that it's important for me to play the game's world, I mean that this is one of the things that differentiate the Duskwight from the Wildwood...perhaps one of the main things, and should be considered by those who choose those races to be a legitimate and acceptable, indeed, lauded role play aspect, and recognized by people who play other races as an aspect of the Elezen character that will most likely have to be contended with at some point, over the course of normal RP exposition and discovery. 

To play the "bad blood" between the clans is not an attempt to be difficult or create a hostile RP environment.  If it's not allowed to be explored through role play, then we're pretty much the same clan with a pallet-swap.

The lore states that the current relations between the Hyur and Elezen races (read "both clans") has reached the point where both can work together "towards mutual peace and prosperity", so the typical Duskwight probably isn't drawing upon the annals of history in order to drum up any strong feelings against Highlanders and Midlanders.  The situation is a bit different with regard to those of the other Elezen clan.  When such things are stated in the lore, most instances point to the fact that it is the Wildwood who would look down upon the Duskwights.

[Image: IsobeauandKan__zps37770a97.jpg]
*note the Wildwood can't even bring himself to look in my direction Dodgy*

We can choose to role play exceptional characters (us being behind their actions make them exceptional in the first place Wink), and a Duskwight who goes through life and does not develop a certain amount of bitterness aimed at their Wildwood brethren I expect would be exceptional indeed, with most likely quite a different set of circumstances regarding their upbringing than the usual Duskwight youth.

In this regard, Isobeau is definitely not exceptional Tongue .  My Duskwight will have, and readily display, visible tension toward the Wildwood Elezen...as she has already exposed to a certain extent through previous roleplay.  Why does she posses resentment against the other clan?  Well, that remains to be seen, through IC exploration of the subject Wink.  I will tell you one thing, based on the wonderful RP I had adventuring alongside Vairemont and experienced first-hand...actually role playing the whole Elezen animosity angle will NOT make you any friends.  With anyone else.  Ever Dodgy.

The two points that I feel require the most contemplation and fleshing out with the Elezen lore in general are the following:

1:  What were the circumstances that caused the Wildwood and Duskwight to split?  The passages Eva shared with us points to the Duskwight seeking a life of peace and seclusion, but how did events play out that finally drove that split?

2:  Why, as in one of the blurbs, do the Duskwight consider Wildwoods as "traitors"?  Defined as "a person who is disloyal", synonymous with such terms as "betrayer" and "backstabber", what did the Wildwood do to earn such ill regard from us?

tl: dr version:  Don't be lazy...get back up there and read the whole thing Laugh !

RE: A Duskwight Discussion - Vairemont - 07-19-2013

First of all, excellent post Teardrop.  You've certainly done your homework when it comes to this topic.  I can only shed a little light on your questions, though.

1. The only tidbit that SE gives us is 'the founding of Gridania.'  It's my belief, through browsing older sites and various wordings of the same paragraph, that the two clans split when the realm's governments were first being founded.  I don't know more than that.

2. I'm assuming it's the blurb that was from back in 1.0, when they were referred to as Shaders and Foresters, respectively.  If I'm reading the whole paragraph correctly, and from what they kept going into 2.0, the Duskwight despise the shackles of urban life.  So they could see the Wildwoods as traitors due to adapting to urban life and coexisting with Hyur.

Keep in mind a lot of this information is outdated ( The 1.0 reference being a good one, ) so there may be retcons or conflicting info.

http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Elezen#Duskwight_Elezen
http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/world/races/elezen

RE: A Duskwight Discussion - Kyatai - 07-20-2013

Great job amassing all the known DW lore, Eva. MUCH appreciated. I've heard a few things from others IG & from Yssen, but most of my info had been on the very limited summary from the wiki & SW mainpage.

I am just now beginning to set to type my story of my DW, so... I cannot say exactly how she will pan out. Yet. I have ideas, impressions mainly, but nothing truly substantial that I could use to define her.
Save the below:
Despite being told by another Legacy person I met randomly IG (not a member of the RPC) that Elezen are humorless and aloof... Chiané will not be.  I sense her having a very dry, almost sarcastic, sense of humor, very blunt and focused in her thoughts and precise in her actions. She will be private, guarded and untrusting of others- which only seems logical. One must prove they are worth trusting to be trusted- not just because of prejudices upon sight and stereotypes. Whether there is 'honor among DW's' as a whole or whether the majority of the race are pretty self-serving as thieves and loners, I have yet to determine... but it only seems logical that as a race, they might be a bit more suspicious and defensive.
Not to say she has a chip, I don't see that she will, really. Just be kind of... standoffish and quiet... until she as determined the measure of a situation.

As far as her history goes... I -do- know she was not raised as a thief or cutthroat from infancy, but was from a more reclusive family tradition. She is quite honorable and moral- but her brand of loyalty, honor and morality might not be the same as others. She can and will do what she feels is necessary to survive and achieve her goals.
She is also quite intelligent and proud... not quite arrogant, but she is NOT ashamed of being a Duskwright- and any that might try to insult her will not find a submissive victim. Wink

I reserve the right to give more details as soon as they come to me... if needed...

RE: A Duskwight Discussion - LeCard - 07-20-2013

I will be rolling out a duskwight main for launch and am really excited to see a thread like this. I may have slipped the bounds of the duskwights a little, but i focused more on the solitary life and turning to banditry. Rogier was born to a pirate outside Limsa Lominsa and they lived away from society. I did start work on the mothers back story who somehow (haven't gotten that far back in her story yet) was trained by the conjurers guild.
I haven't decided who he will view the other races, but I do know that he prefers working alone and only goes into society when he needs supplies.

I hope this thread will help me build some stronger back story into the history of Rogier.

RE: A Duskwight Discussion - Eva - 07-20-2013

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.  Her branch of the family tree moved up from what we call 'the clan lands' when her father was 5 years old.  They lived in Coerthas.  She was born in Ishgard.  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.  That said, there were certain traditions that her father passed down to her that are held in high regard.  Moreover she has observed and is aware that others may exhibit prejudiced behavior in dealing with her based upon her race.  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.  She is not one to pass judgement over others, so it concerns her when someone looks down upon her for that.  She is kind, and generous, and friendly, and obliging.  I would no longer say that she is a pushover, but a couple years ago she probably was.  But she is a far cry from the way I imagine the stereotypical duskwight is portrayed.  Most others I've interacted with have been more wary, more guarded, more cautious - and appropriately so.  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.  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').  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.  Her best friend (before she passed away) was a Wildwood elezen.  She's worked in tandem with Wildwoods on a number of things, in various guilds.  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.  There have not been many instances in her experiences in 1.0 and beta thus far where her clan was an issue.  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.  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.  But I can write paragraphs more about her ancestral homeland and some of the traditions with we've sort of taken certain liberties.  Perhaps tomorrow.  I'm curious to know what what others think and how they RP their duskwights and their characters back-stories and such.

RE: A Duskwight Discussion - Twinflame - 07-20-2013

The most likely reason your clan hasn't come up, Eva, is because of what Teardrop touched on: people RP their characters, but fail to RP the world. Another way to say this is that people won't let their characters be prejudiced as much as lore characters would, because they're being influenced by their present culture. A good parallel to this was in Rift, where many RPers from the two factions were not only tolerant of each other, but actively condemned those who were not, even though Defiant and Guardian NPCs regularly attacked eachother on-sight. If you were even slightly prejudice against the opposite faction, the community would treat your character like worthless, racist scum. Which was totally at odds to the spirit of the lore at the time.

(07-19-2013, 10:45 PM)Teardrop Wrote: To play the "bad blood" between the clans is not an attempt to be difficult or create a hostile RP environment.  If it's not allowed to be explored through role play, then we're pretty much the same clan with a pallet-swap.

If Eva wants to be perceived as just an Elezen like the others, then the OOC mentality if the community is most likely (but not certainly) predisposed to help her in that.

Which is why I intend to give the invitation to others to please be ICly prejudiced against my character if it is appropriate for the culture and history of your character. That's directed towards any Wildwood RPers who may be reading. xD

(07-20-2013, 12:48 AM)Eva Wrote: 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.

I searched Gridania for any Duskwight NPCs at all and was unable to find any. My perception was that Duskwight are not permitted to live in Gridania, except maybe in the Inn at the Adventurer's guild. Respectfully, did I miss something, or am I just the only one who took my conclusions so far?

RE: A Duskwight Discussion - Teardrop - 07-20-2013

(07-20-2013, 04:01 AM)Twinflame Wrote: The most likely reason your clan hasn't come up, Eva, is because of what Teardrop touched on: people RP their characters, but fail to RP the world. Another way to say this is that people won't let their characters be prejudiced as much as lore characters would, because they're being influenced by their present culture. A good parallel to this was in Rift, where many RPers from the two factions were not only tolerant of each other, but actively condemned those who were not, even though Defiant and Guardian NPCs regularly attacked eachother on-sight. If you were even slightly prejudice against the opposite faction, the community would treat your character like worthless, racist scum. Which was totally at odds to the spirit of the lore at the time.
Exactly this, Twinflame Rolleyes, thank you for taking it into another venue to further bring home the point!  And this, from a member of UNITY, who would perhaps understand and experienced what it would feel like to be scorned and ridiculed in real life, yet is able to make the differentiation between game world and real world in order to role play the game with the authentic outlook on relations as defined by the lore.  

Of course there is room for Eva's thoughts, beliefs, mindset, and experiences in the grand scheme of things, however, because we're not the NPCs, we're the exceptional characters, and she has already lived these experiences through the course of 1.0 Big Grin.  Eva might be one that Isobeau sees flowing across the upper class portion of the markets, surrounded by the melting pot of Eorzea, might find herself casting envious glances toward the lighter-skinned Duskwight, wondering what it might be like to trade places, then catching enough of the dark, poisonous glares that the fair woman still received, yet seemed not to notice, from others in the plaza and think to herself no, nothing really changes at all...

Now, having said all that, the adverse racial reaction can (and probably should be, for game's sake) be tempered to the point where characters can work with each other, be it with a bit of a strained tone...because the lore does not point to actual open warfare between the clans.  The bad relations do not have to be played out in a disruptive way that absolutely prevents cooperation (odd-couple circumstances can be fun to RP through, no Rolleyes?), but it should be recognized as the prevalent tone that would most likely be encountered during interaction between the two clans.

As far as no Duskwights to be found in Gridania, its easy to see through the provided lore that since they "despise the 'shackles' of urban life", as well as are seen as a "disgrace to the nobility espoused by the Wildwood", would not only be made to feel uncomfortable within that particular city-state, but would not really want to settle there to begin with Dodgy.

Kyatai, Isobeau's description hits very close to your concepts on some points...I'll be interested to read your wiki when it comes out Smile  I'll touch more on what I've conceptualized as Isobeau's family latter (gotta run at the moment...)  Great discussion, folks Thumbsup!

RE: A Duskwight Discussion - Eva - 07-20-2013

Not going to drop all of Eva's family's duskwight ancestry/backstory just yet because there are some good discussion points here!

(07-20-2013, 04:01 AM)Twinflame Wrote: The most likely reason your clan hasn't come up, Eva, is because of what Teardrop touched on: people RP their characters, but fail to RP the world.

I agree with this, but only to an extent.  Not every Wildwood is going to harbor the animosity the lore describes.  Most might be relatively neutral or perhaps more open-minded about the matter.  As Eorzea has become this melting pot it makes sense that most people would become more tolerant if not more respectful of other races/clans.  I agree that some RPers may either be somewhat oblivious to the lore, or otherwise not want to exhibit any sort of racist tendencies for all the reasons that have been mentioned so far, but one must also account for those who are reasonable, tolerant, and open-minded characters.  Eva as a character herself works against that stereotype as well and it probably doesn't help perpetuate that overall stigma as well.  There were so few duskwights in 1.0 and she as a benevolent sort would probably have been seen as a larger minority than should actually be represented.  That said, I would expect some characters exhibit a sort of aversion to Eva simply for being a duskwight and would RP this accordingly were it ever to happen.  As has been said before, I want people to remain true to their characters, and if a character would express something akin to, "You filthy Grey," or somesuch, than I think that would just be swell to react to that accordingly.  As yet in my experiences, it has only happened with made-up background characters I've created myself.


(07-20-2013, 08:25 AM)Teardrop Wrote: Eva might be one that Isobeau sees flowing across the upper class portion of the markets, surrounded by the melting pot of Eorzea, might find herself casting envious glances toward the lighter-skinned Duskwight, wondering what it might be like to trade places, then catching enough of the dark, poisonous glares that the fair woman still received, yet seemed not to notice, from others in the plaza and think to herself no, nothing really changes at all...

I really love this analysis!!  I sometimes envision it that way too.  To expand a little bit on the living arrangements there, since it was brought up that Duskwights are essentially shunned from Gridania - I don't know if that's necessarily exactly true.  I don't recall seeing many from 1.0 and it's possible there's no NPC's at all - I haven't noticed and admittedly sometimes it's difficult to be able to tell from appearance, particularly with elezens who display fairer skin tones.  I've used this "closeness of appearance" in the past to help explain to myself why Eva might not be as shunned as much others, along with a few other possibilities as mentioned in my previous post (but I accept that some of it may stem from RPer unwillingness to RP a prejudice like that as well, as has also been posited).

Eva's father actually became a very wealthy man who initially took up residence in Gridania when she was still a little girl.  They lived in modesty in a shanty at the end of a cul-de-sac despite the wealth, and he was largely invisible for the sake of not tainting the image of his business.  She went to school but had to deal with being different - this didn't help her stress level and she coped by overeating.  Despite the accumulated wealth, these living arrangements remained consistent.

There have been a lot of Wildwood Elezen characters in her backstory (both RPers and background characters whom we have developed) who have overlooked or ignored this stigma.  And there have been a few who have adhered to it (such as her old boyfriend's parents and some of her classmates).  I think I'd written a journal entry some time back where Eva was acting as a healer at Stillglade Fane and tending to a Wildwood patient who snapped at her and refused treatment from her and demanded another nurse.  I have tried to keep this somewhat balanced throughout her history.

We should be mindful that, though the lore indicates that there is a stereotype and aversion to this particular race/clan, not everyone is going to exhibit that.  Adventurers in particular will probably tend to be a more open-minded lot than most, as well.

RE: A Duskwight Discussion - Kari Illderthane - 07-20-2013

So I am not good as long post and some of the things I have read here are awesome so now I guess it's my time to say about Kari.

So Kari actually can not return to her clan land as her clan was in civil war and the "side" she was apart of lost. So instead of being killed like the rest she managed to flee to the surface world.

The approach I wanted to take for Kari was more sort of a survivalist route there was only limited supplies underground so others had to go and steal it from the surface or the splintered clan during when the hours were dark. Nothing was wasted if something could be used in some way then it was an example is the dead were not buried but used to lure out creatures to hunt, so the dead was even serving to help keep their clan strong even in the afterlife.

However not all is doom and gloom within in the clan for example Kari's clan respected woman as they were the givers of life. So all woman are referred to as Lady (then insert first name here) It was also rather rude to be looking at a woman without their permission or suggesting they remove some of their clothing as it was considered as disrespect for life it's self.

Kari gets by on the surface world by acting polite and smiling as she still doesn't quite understand their ways. The idea I do want to give people is "She seems nice but can I trust her?" Kari normally wears a dress but when she was in her clan lands she was a Lancer instructor to her clan so she does know how to take care of herself but if she had a problem nowadays she would try more subtle means. Although currently she is using her lancer skills just to earn some Gil.

Kari cannot deny to herself she does miss her clan lands she remembers some old traditions when she was a child but things like festivals and gatherings she can only vaguely remember as due to the civil war between the splintered clan they couldn't exactly prepare for such things.

As for the people hating the Duskwight issue I actually play along with this, in the Skype Rp's I am in I play that the Duskwight is always the first to blame if something goes wrong or happens due to their reputation and the label the other races have placed upon them.

Also shameless plug I am creating a Linkshell for Duskwight to gather all the surface world Duskwight together.

RE: A Duskwight Discussion - LeCard - 07-20-2013

(07-20-2013, 10:13 AM)Kari Illderthane Wrote: As for the people hating the Duskwight issue I actually play along with this, in the Skype Rp's I am in I play that the Duskwight is always the first to blame if something goes wrong or happens due to their reputation and the label the other races have placed upon them.

Also shameless plug I am creating a Linkshell for Duskwight to gather all the surface world Duskwight together.
I like the idea of having "it's the Duskwight's fault" be apart of the stigma. I could easily see someone blaming Rogier like that and he would completely miss why they were blaming him. Rogier has always had the stigma of a pirate father, and living around Limsa that gave him the same type of envirement as a duskwight in Gridania, so he would simply mistake it as a bash against his personal family and not a racist comment.

and I would definatly join a Duskwight linkshell, could be interesting to RP some sort of lose affiation with others that way. It could also create an extra point of contact to pull Rogier away from his research and into interaction with others.

Quote:Eva

I really love this analysis!!  I sometimes envision it that way too.  To expand a little bit on the living arrangements there, since it was brought up that Duskwights are essentially shunned from Gridania - I don't know if that's necessarily exactly true.  I don't recall seeing many from 1.0 and it's possible there's no NPC's at all - I haven't noticed and admittedly sometimes it's difficult to be able to tell from appearance, particularly with elezens who display fairer skin tones.  I've used this "closeness of appearance" in the past to help explain to myself why Eva might not be as shunned as much others, along with a few other possibilities as mentioned in my previous post (but I accept that some of it may stem from RPer unwillingness to RP a prejudice like that as well, as has also been posited).

Eva's father actually became a very wealthy man who initially took up residence in Gridania when she was still a little girl.  They lived in modesty in a shanty at the end of a cul-de-sac despite the wealth, and he was largely invisible for the sake of not tainting the image of his business.  She went to school but had to deal with being different - this didn't help her stress level and she coped by overeating.  Despite the accumulated wealth, these living arrangements remained consistent.

There have been a lot of Wildwood Elezen characters in her backstory (both RPers and background characters whom we have developed) who have overlooked or ignored this stigma.  And there have been a few who have adhered to it (such as her old boyfriend's parents and some of her classmates).  I think I'd written a journal entry some time back where Eva was acting as a healer at Stillglade Fane and tending to a Wildwood patient who snapped at her and refused treatment from her and demanded another nurse.  I have tried to keep this somewhat balanced throughout her history.
Eva, it could also be a simple matter of exposure. (not sure how many people in the topic are from the USA, or even more so the south) But something interesting that I have noticed that occurred in the real world is that when the U.S. ruled that segregation was illegal and everyone started to truly live side by side( most importantly I've noticed are the children growing up together), The racist ideas dissipated very quickly (in regards to generations it took to remove). Specifically the Children of today see the stories of racist ideas and occasionally someone on some news program being accused of being racist and they cannot even comprehend why someone would feel that way because they are surrounded by the other races and see that everyone is the same, the smart kids are smart the jocks are jocks etc. but there isn't a category that one race holds claim to.

Anyway, back on a more game focused point, Perhaps it is simply that Eva grew up around Wildwoods, and would therefore have potentially picked up some of their culture( even if unintentionally) and the wildwoods that watched her grow up would have of course seen that she didn't fit the sterotype that they thought she would. that could make things in their company lack the racial anxiety that might occur around other wildwoods.

RE: A Duskwight Discussion - Teardrop - 07-20-2013

(07-20-2013, 10:13 AM)Kari Illderthane Wrote: Also shameless plug I am creating a Linkshell for Duskwight to gather all the surface world Duskwight together.

(07-20-2013, 12:32 PM)LeCard Wrote: and I would definatly join a Duskwight linkshell, could be interesting to RP some sort of lose affiation with others that way. It could also create an extra point of contact to pull Rogier away from his research and into interaction with others.

This could be something one Duskwight might palm to another secretly in passing...support from the shadows, if you need us, call, and we'll be there Cool