YesGood

Before anyone gets anything in a knot, I'm talking about the races -of- FFXIV. So, we're probably all familiar with interracial couples in all kinds of MMOs. For me, it was WoW and SWTOR. Except for humans and Blood Elves, there was a lot of... interracial things going on. Orcs x Trolls Trolls x Elves Goblin x Orcs Humans x Nelfs Humans x Draenei Dranei x Nelves Dwarves x Gnomes, and so on and so forth until everyone is paired up with someone outside their race. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I -love- male Trolls more than any other species in any other game -period-. However, I never had a character get together with one. So, there's a few topics here that I hope won't lead to too much controversy, and in an effort to achieve that, we'll break them down into two categories: Category A: You, OOCLY 1. Are there any any races you particularly love the opposite (or same) gender of? The models, the history, the lore, anything. 2. How do you view interracial couples in -game-? Specifically, let's not get into a debate about whether or not it's 'gross' to you as a person or if there are too many people doing it. 3. Do your OOC feelings towards a particular race make you more open or affect what your character is looking for when they're either flirting around, pursuing romance, or just, in general, acting differently towards those individuals. Category B: Your character 1. Does your character seek friends or partners based predominantly on race? 2. How does your character view interracial pairings and are their feelings different from your own? So, for me... A-1. As I said I loved Trolls in WoW, and I can't help this... I love male Miqo'tes, Elezen, and Highlander Hyur. Their character models are so pretty and they just have nice shapes-- although I have to say the stance, run, sit, and so on of male Miqo'tes is just so aesthetically pleasing that I want to draw them in all three and suffer because my skills just aren't good enough. I sort of wish Midlander Hyur stood the same way, but I love their run. A-2. I think there are a lot of them. Kind of scares me as someone brought up, potential Lalafell + anything-else-in-a-physical-sense. Otherwise it all seems to be acceptable in this game, whereas in WoW, interracial pairings except for High Elves/Humans or Humans/Dragons weren't really looked at so I sort of assume they're a bit abnormal for the world. A-3. My OOC stance on my character does affect my decisions. It's not as though I don't love male Roegadyn, I really do and they're, of course, perfect for my character's height. I honestly didn't think I'd like male Miqo'te until I saw them in game because the art just didn't surprise me. They can be rather manly looking. When Siobhain was written, I wanted her to have a gentle, awkward side that loves Lalafell and Miqo'te like babies and kittens; it's one of her very few strange quirks. I intended that she'd treat both males and females of both races as cute, tiny things in need of protection. While the idea of my Roe with -any- male of another race is kind of cute in the sense that it's just a bit unique (instead of a giant male with a tiny female, it's a giant female with a tiny male), it's not a decision-maker for me. B-1. In Siobhain's case, no, she pretty much feels a kinship with anyone so long as they either share her religious or moral views as well as her respect for the craft of war or blacksmithing. She does have a natural aversion to Roegadyn men, specifically Hellsguard, due to her experiences with her brother Klarimel, her father, and other Roegadyn bullies as a child. B-2. I think Siobhain thinks it's a little strange. Especially for Miqo'te males. There are so few of them, she'd probably a bit worried that they should be keeping it in their species to make sure there are more male Miqo'tes. She worries about male Hellsguard being with -any- female other than a Roegadyn woman because she has an innate fear that most women of other races are more delicate than she is, and thus, would likely treat any pairing of a non-Roe with a Hellsguard male with a bit of suspicion, watching for signs of abuse. She likely looks after female Miqo'te and female Lalafell for the same reason, afraid they might be abused or harassed or otherwise harmed or offended by a male. Siobhain is something of a white knight in her own mind, feeling maternally protective over smaller women and she would step in against any male, even on the off-chance he was bigger than she is.

Have I mentioned I love your art? Especially your colors and patterns/designs. I like Uther better as an Elezen. I'm an advocate for more male Elezen.

You... You kinda just blew my mind. I'm pretty scared now.

The indisputable power of heeeeaaaalzooooors~! I'm guilty of accidentally going in too soon in heroics in WoW on my tank. But I'm a Blood-spec DK. The door shuts and the healer's outside shouting "Well, have a good time wiping!" 5 minutes later we emerge unscathed. It happens two more times. "You don't even need a healer! This isn't fair!" I'm suspicious that that fellow was alt tabbing because he'd be right behind me while we run towards a boss and he'd just stop and stand there and get locked out of the room. I have a feeling that won't happen in FFXIV.

It might be because many Seekers of the Sun probably come from near Ul'dah, and many Keepers of the Moon come from Gridania. I agree feminism is a human idea-- it comes from centuries of cultures treating women like commodities to be traded and treated however their men please. In many cultures it was the sole purpose of a woman, who was raised to be this way, to please her husband and do whatever he asked. There are, however, plenty of exceptions as well where women have been and still are strong figures. In many of THOSE cases, the women used their femininity to their advantage. They didn't have to be powerful or independent of men; they -used- men the way they'd been used for status or the like. Ancient Rome for example. The Domina had nearly as much freedom as her husband, she ruled her house, she was highly respected, women -ran- brothels, etc. Same in places in China, even other parts of Europe. Vikings had strong women who weren't always at the mercy of their men. Spartan women didn't take any poop from any fellow; supposedly they were trained to defend themselves against marriage proposals (part of which included kidnapping) and often sent 'potential suitors/kidnappers' packing. But these women were also spectacular wives and strong mothers. They followed their cultures and worked within them. Hasn't anyone ever heard the line 'with your shield or upon it?'. That was a frequent female mentality-- they didn't need men to force it on them, their culture groomed them to feel that way. -Slave women- existed in all of those cultures, probably to fulfill the needs of men who were... let's face it... a bit too afraid to deal with their own wives sometimes. While we're talking about Japan. Many wives, widows, daughters, and rebels answered the call of duty by engaging in battle, commonly alongside samurai men. They were members of the bushi (samurai) class in feudal Japan and were trained in the use of weapons to protect their household, family, and honor in times of war. They also represented a divergence from the traditional "housewife" role of the Japanese woman. They are sometimes mistakenly referred to as female samurai, although this is an oversimplification. Onna bugeisha were very important people in ancient Japan. Significant icons such as Empress Jingu, Tomoe Gozen, Nakano Takeko, and Hōjō Masako were all onna bugeisha who came to have a significant impact on Japan. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onna-bugeisha ) And then there's Gozen. During the Battle of Awazu on February 21, 1184, Gozen rode into the enemy forces, flung herself on their strongest warrior, unhorsed, pinned, and decapitated him.[2] In the Tale of Heike, Gozen was described as being "especially beautiful, with white skin, long hair, and charming features. She was also a remarkably strong archer, and as a swords-woman she was a warrior worth a thousand, ready to confront a demon or a god, mounted or on foot. She handled unbroken horses with superb skill; she rode unscathed down perilous descents. Whenever a battle was imminent, Yoshinaka sent her out as his first captain, equipped with strong armor, an oversized sword, and a mighty bow; and she performed more deeds of valor than any of his other warriors." Even though the primary role of women in ancient Japan continued to be the support to their family and their husbands, they acquired a higher status in the household. These laws also allowed Japanese women to control finances, bequeath property, the upkeep of the home, managed servants, and for raising their children with proper, loyal, samurai upbringing. Most importantly, Japanese women were also expected to defend their homes in times of war. It doesn't have to be one or the other. You can be strong -and- be feminine, and not be a man or prostitute-hater. The Western term Dragon Lady came to mean 'strong, deceitful, domineering or mysterious' and it used often in reference to Chinese women before the 1930s. Note, yes, strong is in there and so is domineering, but deceitful and mysterious are too. You know who owned the majority of brothels in ancient history? Women. You know who treated female slaves the worst in the majority of ancient cultures? Also women. You want females like this, then have them. But remember that many of these strong women didn't get disgusted or degrade women that were slaves (of their own culture) or prostitutes. They understood their necessity and used their existence to further empower themselves. This mentality is probably a bit different than most players have because of the time and places in which we live; but a common issue with trying to RP something from another 'era' or in another world is trying -too- hard to relate it to personal (and limited) knowledge of only the RPer's life and upbringing. Most people say you can't use game mechanics like leveling or events or class to determine your character and are dead set against it. At the same time I see many people with that view using game mechanics or what they assume to be game developers' mentalities or their own RL experiences (rather than anthropological or biological knowledge) to validate or invalidate what they consider to be right or wrong in RP. If we're going to go that route, we might as well go 100% and try to look at the potential lore-reasoning that could cause a certain mindset. We complain here and there throughout many threads that if "Everyone does this" then it's no longer special. If everyone who RPs a Seeker or everyone else who views a Seeker that goes the route of slave, exotic dancer, or even prostitute considers them to lack knowledge, maturity, or common sense because of their culture or their upbringing and reflects this by pitying them or being disgusted by them and wanting to be so much unlike them, then that mindset will become the norm and what we see in Ul'dah will become the exception. Those people trying to be special by fighting the stereotype are then, no longer special because they have no one but NPCs to compare themselves to. By bringing up the bad points about Seekers and SE and rabid fan-service with no substantial appreciation of the culture or the race we're unintentionally (or intentionally) going to be manipulating good RPers with a lot of promise and creativity to walk a road they're afraid to trod because of how they might be received by other players. Also, you can probably assume that both Highlander women and Roegadyn women are considered pretty strong and probably very intimidating. Feminine equality, or even superiority, exist in this game already. Lalafell and Elezen are virtually equal to their men. So only Miqo'te -might- in -one- case be considered 'not equal' and even then, it's questionable because anyone can be made a slave, man or women, and likely there are more Miqo'te men who are used to being used and bossed around and degraded than there are women. Just because they're hyper-sexualized in -some- cases doesn't mean they're not the more powerful in terms of gender, of their breed.

-If- being the keyword. The majority of people in this thread have said, more or less, that they haven't and wouldn't do it themselves even if they don't have a problem with it happening. Likely, the majority of RPers in FFXIV will feel the same way.

so the sixth umbral moon would correspond to our December? I believe so.

One thing you can doooo.... Is to pick a patron deity and choose your month based on them. http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=454&highlight=ilm+fulm+ponz About halfway down on the OP for this thread shows the months and the correlating deity. Moons 1st Astral Moon : Halone (Ice) 1st Umbral Moon : Menphina (Ice) 2nd Astral Moon : Thaliak (Water) 2nd Umbral Moon : Nymeia (Water) 3rd Astral Moon : Llymlaen (Wind) 3rd Umbral Moon : Oschon (Wind) 4th Astral Moon : Byregot (Lightning) 4th Umbral Moon : Rhalgr (Lightning) 5th Astral Moon : Azeyma (Fire) 5th Umbral Moon : Nald'thal (Fire) 6th Astral Moon : Nophica (Earth) 6th Umbral Moon : Althyk (Earth) And then I think you can just pick any day. Siobhain worships Azeyma and she was born during the 5th Astral Moon.

I don't think I agree with this mindset at all. --- To elaborate, I'm more in line with Lament on this in a way. And while I may gently ask someone OOCly if they know about the lore and redirect them here if not. But I wouldn't just outwardly deny it so much as try to help them make it more plausible. Of course I'm thinking -a- Primal not -the- Primal but some people might not realize that the summonings aren't the -actual- creature itself.

I, sir, take offense! Siobhain is sexy! She's super sexy! She's just... a certain type of sexy. Isn't it up to us to maybe Roegadyns more sexy? Can't say for Elezen since I don't play one. Lost River... Let's have both our Roes be caught in Ul'dah and sold off as slaves. I think it'd be pretteh fantastic. Lost: Oh nuuuu~! No, seriously, hands off or I magic you into the next life. Sio: HULK SMASH! Siobhain and Lost, you two are amazingly very interesting to watch on the forums and agree that Roegadyns and Elezen's can and are sexy, just depends on the person. As for the Miqo'te's and how they are done. Just remember, how you RP your character is up to you, Lore wise we really don't have much say in it, but that's lore we are just along for the ride and have fun while doings so. You don't need to be a whore or a slave to some person, plenty of them aren't and plenty of them would just as well kill a male for trying haha. Miqo'te's as a race aren't as reserved about this as the other races, and what you got to mostly remember in the times that this word is sort of based on. It was much the same as in our earlier times, and back them "companions" where in many culture's well respected... and some slaves in culture's were as well, if they brought their Master profit that is. In response to the .. whole conversation .. coming from a snippet of my post, I was more talking about NPC Elezen and Roegadyn. Because I do think more than just the Miqo'te are sexy. I was joking. I also agree.

D: Maybe it's because I haven't subscribed yet.

I'd be flattered. Long as they didn't show up on my doorstep. Heard that happened in a guild in WoW.

I really like that idea. I also really like that item. I want one. I wish they had something in game that switched your race. Because my character might make it her goal in life to get one of those things and finally become the Miqo'te she's always wanted to be. Though I'm sure it won't happen. Still, I like the idea.

Ahem, what? Not yet? *sweat-drop* With Lost, I get a -lot- of women (or at least people playing as women, no clue real life gender) telling me she is pretty, beautiful, one has went to the lengths to get on her knee and kiss the back of my hand. The cutest and strangest one was when a Lalafell did it too. lol As for other things, I just think it's accepted in their society, isn't much of an issue, and they're in Ul'dah, land of wealth, deceit, and prostitution. I must be doing something wrong!! Is it because I set my 'toned' to maximum?! Is it because she's only 81 inches tall?! *wracks her brain* I honestly get a little flattered by random tells about my character. Even if they're kinda creepy. I just say 'thank you' and go about my business. Not that it's happened since my Belf hunter was in Blood Knight gear.

I don't know about the others, but Ravenholdt is/was amazing for RP. With an officially sanctioned RP server, you also have an avenue for recourse if your RP is getting griefed or for reporting names (which I have gotten results from). Ravenholdt -was- a great place to RP years ago. Back when PVP was a standard for conflict and virtually everyone, even people who hated the guild, followed the 'Alaskinaroth Rules of Conflict'. The shadow wars, the PVP duels, the dedication... Geez, it was just impressive. Maybe Alliance side is better but when last I checked, Ravenholdt wasn't very good anymore. It imploded after the revival of the Convocation of Silvermoon, when so many Belf houses started up. Then the major Orc clan on the server died and the Shadowtusk Clan moved to Wyrmrest Accord, where I'd already moved. After that it was a mass exodus. The only trolls I ever encountered in the couple years I played on WrA were recently, after Moonguard and WrA were joined together. Anytime I was sitting anywhere RPing with anyone or any number of anyones, people from Moonguard undoubtedly showed up to sit on our faces and make poorly-spelled commentary. Yet to see any in FFXIV.

Roll a Roe. I haven't gotten a lewd tell yet. I think the three Miqo'te dancers in Ul'dah were a case too, but they looked so pretty and happy and there were just people sitting there watching them. I think it's almost expected of Hyur, as they're humans, and humans are what we know and prostitution has existed in our history and in modern times. But Elezen does seem a little strange-- I haven't seen one yet. I wonder if they have regional laws about such things. Are there any slaves in Limsa Lominsa?

I, sir, take offense! Siobhain is sexy! She's super sexy! She's just... a certain type of sexy. Isn't it up to us to make Roegadyns more sexy? Can't say for Elezen since I don't play one. Lost River... Let's have both our Roes be caught in Ul'dah and sold off as slaves. I think it'd be pretteh fantastic. Lost: Oh nuuuu~! No, seriously, hands off or I magic you into the next life. Sio: HULK SMASH! Now now love, we can't go in that territory, even though it'd be quite a juicy story, but I don't think these forums appreciate that type of tale. They can only fantasize. But now, I want to get a picture of Lost in a kimono smoking a kiseru. Complete with it being 'open' and low cut. With her saying something like. "How do I look?" Or with her usual accent "Ow'd 'eh 'ook, luv?" I was serious though. Q_Q I'll see what I can do about that picture once I get those other portraits done. @Duhbine- Thank you and I agree with you. But what's more, someone in that position might not just be bringing in dough for their 'owner/employer' but they could buy themselves some real status. I'm thinking a bit of the women in Game of Thrones from... that other continent. Braavos? One has her own ship.

I, sir, take offense! Siobhain is sexy! She's super sexy! She's just... a certain type of sexy. Isn't it up to us to maybe Roegadyns more sexy? Can't say for Elezen since I don't play one. Lost River... Let's have both our Roes be caught in Ul'dah and sold off as slaves. I think it'd be pretteh fantastic. Lost: Oh nuuuu~! No, seriously, hands off or I magic you into the next life. Sio: HULK SMASH! I missed this post. I'm sorry there, hun, I don't mean to call you out at all. I understand how you might feel as someone who tried to play a Belf when Belfs were viewed poorly based on what many others decided to do with them. Like I said, I take this issue about the race being stereotyped, or worse, being treated like a joke or an easter egg very seriously. I, personally, admit that I'm very jealous. It seems there's more on Miqo'te in just the little details of their naming conventions and their males to female dynamics than there are about Roegadyn. I really wish there was even this much to go off of, instead of having to assume Roegadyn are like Vikings. I wish there was a bit more flavor to it, you know? That's why I hope someone sees the more positive sides of Miqo'tes instead of being worried about how other people view them. I feel they're really lucky compared to the rest of us.

Yep, I found that too. Actually, what I misread was another forum topic that brought up that they -could- be patriarchal or they -could- not be patriarchal and probably both forms of society exist given the number of different tribes. I also think I took the part about Nunhs not always becoming leaders and the part where, even though they are the root of a new clan (when they establish one) they are also replaceable and my brain equated a fact out of that that doesn't actually exist. Sorry 'bout dat.

I will say that I saw somewhere in a break down of Miqo'tes (I think either on this thread or a quote from somewhere else) that male Seekers -actually- don't get much in the way of a choice. Yes, they can choose to fight a Nunh to take over his tribe or start a tribe themselves (which is far more difficult) but ultimately, it comes down to the choice of the women. They are more LIKELY to take a male if he replaces a Nunh because he's shown that he's stronger and strength is what they care about. But males don't lay claim to women. It sounds like the females choose to join a male's tribe, either because he is strong and of good stock or because the females of the tribe have influenced her decision in some way. The women still take care of the children almost exclusively, probably because the child's father can be replaced at any time. Though it's not a matriarchy like with Keepers with the woman's name is passed down, I don't think male Seekers actually get a lot of respect outside the fact that they are the dominant male of their group, much like lion prides. Males aren't the primary hunters, females don't actually have real emotional connection to them, and their main job is to try and keep their position because that's how they survive and assure they will have offspring. While male lions are capable of hunting down their prey it's most often if not almost exclusively the females that provide. Without that steady income of food, they're left to prowl for an open territory where they can survive without being killed by another male. So in essence, male Seekers probably -need- women and -want- to maintain their positions of exclusive-access lest they be cast out to wander and not have the chance to have more offspring. I don't think females are subservient or that the term 'harem' is used to denote that. It's likely not exactly like human harems as we know them where a man -buys- or is gifted women in order to appease him and/or to provide children to carry on his line. Women probably still make all the major decisions and leave the males to worry about whether or not they'll have a meal and a warm bed by the next sun. There are a number of different ways to look at this scenario with Seekers. I don't think you have to say that everyone views Seekers as being flimsy bimbos who'll either do anything for money or have sexual relations with anyone without care. As it's been pointed out, it likely varies from person to person depending on where they're from. A merchant from Ul'dah might speak down to a female Miqo in Limsa Lominsa and get much more than he bargained for. They did say in my story quest when I got my pass that many people in any of the city-states (specifically Ul'dah in this case) had never gotten a chance to go to Gridania or Limsa Lominsa. This sort of situation likely arises. I personally don't care much for the stance of -people- who look down on other people based on the choices they make. Yes, Siobhain abhors robbers and bandits and thieves who prey on the weak, but she doesn't go around picking on them for no reason nor does she assume she understands why they're doing what they do. People choose to make their characters, more often than not, as close-minded on certain things as they are despite any reason in the lore that they might have to think otherwise or consider things as normal instead of being rubbed the wrong way by it. I've made close minded characters on purpose, but it's usually that they're closed about what they'll do with themselves. Of course, I don't typically roll characters who have the freedom to be snooty because I don't have many who are rich to begin with. It's easy to hate something ICly that you don't really mind OOCly, it's harder to like something ICly that you hate OOCly. If you claim you hate or despise or plain don't like something OOCly, especially in regards to the way 'most people play' or 'most people see things' and you decide to take that dislike and find a way to use it in character, that's just one more great thing about freedom of opinion. It just worries me that we all, as experienced roleplayers, can have a negative impact on the thoughts and views of others. Whole communities of roleplayers, excluding none because we -are- a community, have caused people to be afraid they might not be as skilled as others, be afraid to ask questions for fear of negative (angry) responses, be afraid of being creative and unique, and to quit playing the game because of those fears. Worse, we pass on our opinions, no matter how often we -say- they're just our opinions and whomever can do whatever they like, to new people who misinterpret what we say and take the majority's opinion as law to use as their reasoning to avoid other new people or tell them that what they're doing is wrong. It's all that I'm worried about and it's why I waste soooo much time trying to make points more open. Yeah, maybe it'd be great if the community unanimously decided that SE has it wrong and we'll furthermore ignore all the 'stupid' or 'annoying' things they do with Miqo'tes to sexualize them, but it's not really fair for everyone. But I won't agree that 'lol, fetishes' is good enough for serious Seeker RPers. I understand you want to love your race and have them be serious. That's why many of us are trying to give serious, potential explanations for it rather than reinforcing any fears or feelings that all these situations are just a big, offensive joke.

Here's the thing. This race is not ours. It is SE's. They can do what they want with it. The Miqo'tes are being represented how they SHOULD be represented. It's lore that many of them are like that. Seekers are whores, pirates, bar-wenches, fishers, dancers, adventurers, yellow-jackets, Maelstrom recruits, and sisters in the desert. That is what they are. Something I've been seeing a lot lately has been the 'modifying' of a races' lore to suit peoples' tastes rather than working WITH the lore to create an interesting character. If you don't like the race's lore, don't play it. Don't try to make it something else because you like how catgirls look and you don't like how SE made them. /endrant The point being made is that they are portrayed as whores here and there just for the sake of fan service when in actual fact the lore would imply otherwise if at all. The point I'm making is even if it is for "fan service" as well, it is part of lore in game. Therefore it makes no sense to say that the lore would imply otherwise. Aysun's making a pretty good point. Though any MMO can be like WoW with their easter eggs, in the case of Miqo'tes there -isn't- anything in lore that supports them -not- having many individuals in their race who turn to or are forcibly turned to (as is a very likely case) what you consider to be demeaning. Being a strong matriarchal race doesn't automatically say that you refuse to breed out of anything short of love or dedication to your people and your honor. Fanservice or not, there really isn't any substantial conflict.

A big thing was Trolls/Elves or Orcs/Elves too. I mean, aesthetically... yes, it appeals to me. While personally I don't pick my significant other based on looks alone IRL, -looking- at a male that's substantially taller than a female appeals to me. There's something about it that makes a feminine character more feminine or makes them special because they could stand up to a big ol' tusked Troll and earn enough of their respect to actually form a mutual love despite being tiny like a teacup poodle. Still, I know it's overdone and when it becomes the norm it becomes... painful. Unlike in WoW, however, there are a -lot- of cases in FFXIV where, in-game, they show interracial pairings. All of my characters in WoW, Night Elves, Orcs, Trolls, or Belfs, have had a strong stance against interracial breeding for different reasons. My Nelf was an ex-Sentinel who did not care for any of the other races, particularly humans because she felt that her strong people were being used as tools to advance the human agenda. My Orcs and Trolls simply weren't interested in anything with soft skin and pointy ears-- it simply didn't appeal to them. My Belfs were usually more concerned about seeing their kin reproducing and repopulating their people instead of being selfish and getting together with some non-Elf out of something frivolous like -love-. *hair toss* In this case, there's a very good chance with how things are going, that my Roegadyn female -MAY- end up falling for a smaller male. Not because I love many of their models (which I do) but because she has a natural aversion towards males of her race based on many poor experiences in her past (which could TOTALLY change) and doesn't see any reason or desire to become a mother or wife over being in love. Her interest isn't in physical satisfaction whatsoever-- she simply doesn't care for it-- but she does have the capacity to love someone that she feels is genuine, strong, and of good moral fiber. She doesn't care what race or even what gender they are; or even that she might spend the rest of her life in something like a dedicated, non-physical relationship out of true love. So, my point is, that while I can see the appeal of larger males with smaller females, larger females with smaller males is also not bothersome for me (or for many people, MUCH less appealing). Roes are big strong lasses. Miqo'tes are tiny and cute. Men sometimes prefer tiny and cute. This is likely the case in Eorzea too, especially when you're a Roegadyn and you're tired of your women beating you up all the time. @ Oroban- You won't find one sexier! Unless it's uh... Lost River... or Beatrice...or.... *continues on down the list*

You make a good point about their, perhaps, natural attraction to stronger individuals. I've got to defer to that point. I think in this case, the character races are much like (as some people have pointed out) different communities in the world. Since we're all human, we're all the same species, so I can't say we're different races. Miqo'tes are the only race with substantially more women than men; that's going to make them culturally different, which we know. There hasn't been nearly so much said about any of the other races in reference to gender. Their race or at least a sub-race, are undoubtedly attractive to many of the races with more males and would be a higher commodity. Miqo'tes surely don't always have to be floozies but at the same time we have to remember that SE might not even be referencing the common Western outlook on such things. I mean, I've had it thrown at me multiple times that they're a Japanese company. They like their fanservice, yes, it's undoubtedly fanservice, yes. You could take a Lalafell or a Hyur Midlander girl. But are you -really- going to take a Roegadyn or a Highlander woman and try to make them into slaves against their will? I'm sure it happens and some have personalities more set for it and others had to sell themselves into slavery, surely, to pay off familial debts, but otherwise if you're going around enslaving people-- Well. I'm Thai and I've heard many many times from my mother, grandmother, and aunts about how, where they come from in Thailand, parents are -still- forced to sell their daughters in order to make ends meet and to prevent being killed or made homeless by gangs. It's terrible, it's sad, but it's been that way for a very long time. I prefer to think of tayu, oiiran, and geisha when I think of Miqo'tes rather than thinking of Thai girls.

I'll give you a quest! Obtain one dozen cotton shirts for me. Your reward is to be announced. When... When I figure out what I can give. Seriously, though, I was thinking of Twi'leks too. I hadn't noticed a lot of sexual implications otherwise, but Miqo'tes -are- (sadly) in my opinion one of the best looking races in motion. Their running is cute. Their dancing is cute. Their shoujo bodies are cute. Maybe since SE knew they were going to appeal to a lot of people (and they are a predominantly female race) they decided to go with that theme. Though it doesn't seem like Keeper personalities, at least, go along with that. Also, I guess I have to keep in mind that not all female-predominant races are like Amazons or Nelfs. And with seekers at least, it seems many females would be in tribes sharing only one male so sexuality might be something that isn't as important to them, making them capable of performing such functions without having as much of an issue with it as, say, a -particularly- angry Roegadyn. I don't mind it at all, really. Of course, I don't see exotic dancing and prostitution as needing to be something that only perverted or destitute people do. In cultures long past, including the Japanese culture, entertainers and even prostitutes were (at times) treated -really- well and they had a pretty high social status. In fact, it was one of the few ways you could actually advance as a woman or as anyone considering the sort of social systems they had that frowned upon people moving out of their family's line of work or lack thereof. A woman's sexuality is a power in a sense and many Miqo'tes likely realize that kind of power they have of both males of their race and males of other races and how they can use it to their advantage not only to make good money without having to break their backs but manipulating others for their own devices. Prostitution, we must remember, is one of the oldest jobs in history and there have been a number of individual women in that social group, especially in Asia, to make great (by great, I mean big) names for themselves and actually positively impact the lives of many other women who may not have been as fortunate. Sex for money might not seem so great to us now, it might seem it would be better to slave your life away at McDonald's, but back in the old days it was A. Find a relatively safe, clean brothel and even get a chance at a really swanky one where you could pick your clients or B. Be taken against your will and possibly killed or kidnapped and stolen anyway for a lot of women. The first seems much more appealing out of the two and you couldn't just go out and get a job in a lot of civilizations as a women of any social status. I think characters should be able to have that diversity and I've seen very very few in all my years RPing. Why not have a character like Inara from Firefly who is a great Companion who helps people more emotionally and psychologically, even more than physically? Why not have a girl from the slums wanting to climb to the top by using her looks instead of cooking or cleaning and being harassed anyway? Is it too Mary-Sueish?

*tackle-hugs* <333333 I think I usually do. Oh, right. I should redirect you, because I think it would be of some help if you aren't inspired to write up a wiki yet (which is perfectly fine) to maybe post in the Balmung Directory. The thread is usually your character name but you mostly fill out your approaches to different things. http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=19 There's also a template in the stickies.