Mia Moui

^^ This My character, Mia Moui is a Keeper of the Moon Miqo'te and was an unwilling member of the Coeurclaw (as I'm sure many are) but even before that, I speculated that her family were tight collection of outlaws (think Sons of Anarchy) who lived slightly off the map in the North Shroud and who received some deadly karmic punishment from the Calamity. Being a current or former member of the Coeurclaw, no matter how willing or unwilling will almost certainly bring a certain amount of scorn and/or notoriety. Perhaps not what you're looking for but I've enjoyed it a few times (especially with anyone playing some stick-in-the-mud, rule following Gridanian). Of course - as with all things RP - there's a really good chance no one has ever heard of Mia's outlaw family (and they've been dead for five...now seven years). But that's not really a problem. Everyone will have heard of the Coeurclaw tho.

Mia's Mom is the worst.

The ONLY reason I'm even remotely interested in FFXIV is because of the Miqo'te.

Newp. Not into it. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with them doing it but I wouldn't participate. I might watch tho. I don't think that EVERYONE should play some nobody/bland/vanilla background character. Everyone is a somebody once you get to know them. But most of us are not nationally or even regionally known. I personally wouldn't have clue one how to portray a famous person or someone with great political influence. My reluctance to encountering someone playing an NPC is that my character MIGHT have already established a relationship them. This would be a relationship that the NPC player would not know anything about. And the more important the NPC, the more likely it is that other players have established relationships with that character in their own head canons. And why should they have to substitute that canon for someone else's interpretation? My character tends to stay off the map and deals with persons, places, and things that are based on the MSQ & side quests but doesn't necessarily follow any of it. I'd never suggest that Mia has an ongoing feud with Zana Lyehga because in the MSQ, I'm pretty sure I killed her. Every one on the Gladiator quest line has killed Zana Lyehga. But, Mia does have an ongoing feud with a Miqo'te who is more or less identical to Zana Lyehga. But it would be weird to see someone playing Zana. But because she's somewhat low on the totem pole of NPCs, I'd be more likely to RP with them than someone playing Minfilia or Admiral Bloefhiswyn.

I feel that Mia must possess something like the Echo. She's claimed to be good with languages but is not an educated person by any stretch. And she often boasts to those she's about to dispatch that despite their protestations, "she can see into their hearts and knows their truth." But I don't think she's consciously aware that she's doing anything associated with the supernatural.

I don't do "inner dialogue" in role play. I can't presume other characters can read minds and I certainly wouldn't want them to. And I definitely don't want to read other character's minds. FFXIV has a number of useful emotes and I have macros for the ones I use most and I have my UI customized for play and for role play. One thing that I can't do is through emotes is display the subtle movements of Mia's ears and tail. I will write out what her ears and tail are doing if it's relevant. For example, if she's getting irritated with someone. /em Smiles at you weakly using only her lips as her tail swishes quickly from side to side. If you know cat behavior, that's a sign of getting angry or intolerant. If you don't know cat behavior, that's fine too. As a role player, I don't expect you to know what I'm about or where I want to go. In fact, I don't usually have a plan. It's like meeting and talking to people in real life. I don't have a plan for an interaction. If, after 20 minutes or so, it's not going anywhere, I might excuse myself and move on. My point is, I don't want to use people to further my own plot. If our conversation serves to move my plot, that's great. If not, that's also fine. And sure, it can be frustrating for the person I'm role playing with. They don't know what I was looking for but that's like real life too. If we are getting together to specifically work out a scene or a plot development, that's different. But just casually role playing a chance meeting, I don't want someone writing their life story into internal dialogue, expecting me to read it.

...there doesn't seem to be a breath timer. We can stay underwater as long as we desire. Does this mean that Eorzeans (and presumably their mounts and such) can breathe underwater? I realize it's a game mechanic, but at the same time, plenty of us will be underwater for long periods of time in RP or otherwise. I'm curious what the community thinks.

cP1eycjZ3k4 Erica Mendez as Ryuuko Matoi Mia's sarcastic wit and her self-defensive braggadocio would be very well served by Erica Mendez.

Not sure if you made a typo but Masha's a Keeper not a Seeker. No! I was looking closely at the photos and thought she had cat eyes. I suppose I should have guessed from the name alone but one never knows. That's very, very good then. Mia's affection has surely grown. Thanks for the correction!

I know that I've grown a little weary with Mia Moui's primary storyline - the search for the sisters that joined her in servitude. I've recently begun exploring the idea that Mia has found information (true or not) that her sisters were sent to the Far East. If that's genuinely the case, then they are forever lost to her. What now? Now that the primary motivation had changed or become beyond reach, what does Mia do? How does she behave? How does this change her circumstances? So she's basically a new character looking for new motivation. How long that lasts, I can't say. But I've enjoyed RP'ing her as a career fisher (and miner/botanist). She now has more time to think about hobbies and make more substantial connections. A simple change in her plot makes for all the difference.

[sNIP] I see this happen all the time in RP. Some Highlander dude who apparently is a hardened soldier stands in that crossed arm /cpose chuckling mildly with a shake of his head as some tavern antics takes place in front of him, far too mature and whatnot, so plagued by the woes of war to let his hair down. Absolutely not. I've engaged professionally with USAF Pararescue Jumpers as a chaplain assistant, and those folks are absolute party animals despite being trained killers and lifesavers (who aren't always successful in the latter). They are the coolest people you will ever meet. Now, that's not to say privately these people might suffer from issues coming from the job, but as far as outward demeanour, you wouldn't tell. [sNIP] Play real people, not characters, and I guarantee an amazing RP experience. I enthusiastically agree with this as it reflects my own recent revelation. I have only one character I play and I was feeling increasingly locked into maintaining a specific character based on the experiences and traits she's meant to have because of those traits. That's when I collided with my own critique of storytelling that actively locks characters into being one specific thing because that's what we're used to in storytelling. Bad guy is bad because he's bad and can only do bad things. Good guy is good because they are good and can only do good things. Sure, there's subversion of those tropes but it's unusual to see a fully fleshed out villain character. I've been better with other characters than I have been with Mia Moui but recently I concluded that it's just absurd for Mia Moui to ONLY be one particular way with only one particular mood. Her backstory: Betrayed by the matriarch of her outlaw family and handed over to the Coeurlclaw to settle a debt, Mia Moui searches to find the sisters that joined her in servitude. This is a serious character with a serious mission. But she can't possibly be on that mission at all times. She can't possibly be completely serious. She can't spend all of her time dedicated to a specific thing. So I've begun to explore more of her LIFE not just her plot driven actions. As an example, I had her take off time from work so she could see the Songbirds (of the Little Ladies Event earlier in 2016) in concert. And I've decided to add a few more whimsical things to her personality. If nothing else, this might make her more pleasant to be around and justify her attending more social events for reasons OTHER than looking for her sisters.

I would pay real money - and no small amount - to bypass MSQ dungeons. My in-game experience would feel 200% improved without having to deal with my social anxiety combined with leadership expectations (I'm a tank) and performance issues (unreliable rural internet).

bZtkYQL0xa8 Despite Mia's somewhat dour demeanor, she has it bad for the Songbirds, especially Masha (on the left). Despite Masha being a Seeker, Mia has attended every hand shake event that she's been able to afford.

The Miqo'te are clearly the superior species of Eorzea and Keepers doubly so. At least, that's the mindset that Mia Moui has most of the time. It's just self-evident from her point of view but she'll provide a litany of "evidence" when provoked. She is polite to others. But that has everything to do with thinking herself and her kind superior. She doesn't suffer the perceived haughtiness of Elezen very gladly at all as it conflicts with her own attitude. The politeness can quickly fall away if she's confronted with the crude stereotypes that many have about the Miqo'te. The few times that I've had her actively be irascible or merely irritated is when she comes into contact with Seekers or with any Keeper who has adopted "Hyur values" such as monogamy and marriage. She is especially intolerant of Keeper males who are monogamous or married because of their rarity. Mia is barely tolerant of Seekers regardless of what they say or do. How does this play out in-game? The other day, I had a chance to do some limited, simple RP. I'm not able to be in-game often so when I do, I have to maximize my time. I attended an event and one of the people who Mia was speaking to was a Seeker. He actually outranks her in the FC so she had a duty to be respectful. But she could not resist digging at his (perceived) need to sleep soon because it was getting late for what she calls "day walkers." The interaction didn't lead to any greater discussion of her presumptions or attitudes but it might have in another time. It's done so before. One thing I enjoy is gently mocking pair-bonding. I'm careful not to have Mia go too far but I do enjoy listening to others justify their marriage. Mia's racial stereotypes: Seekers: They're Seekers Elezen: Haughty, rude, insufferable know-it-alls Lalafell: Twirpy, greedy, pervy, and violent potato people Hyur: Two-faced men and their sex queens Au Rah: Lizard people that smell like dirt Roegadyn: Boulder people

I play and describe Mia, my Keeper, akin to an ambush predator. She's not one to call out or warn of her attack. She stalks, waits for, and then attacks, preferring to take down her prey with one swift strike. Failing that, she's become skilled at melee combat. While a Seeker might have more stamina for a longer fight, I feel that Keepers have more initial brute strength. If she's not able to succeed within the first few moments of a fight, she'll have to withdraw. I sometimes RP this in my head when doing side quests, taking extra time to stalk and wait for the NPCs to be in the right position (though in-game as a tank she's almost never in actual danger regardless of how I choose to fight).

Mia too doesn't see the point of sweets, finding them bland. She prefers earthy tastes, savory things, and salty treats. Mia eats primarily meats. She will eat vegetables but only on occasion or when they are incorporated into something like rabbit stew. One thing I like to play up is her confusion over pets. The idea that many people in Eorzea seem to keep food as pets with no intention of eating them seems decidedly odd to her. The recent fascination with aquariums is most baffling.

My Miqo'te headcanon always leans towards the cat-like side of things. They aren't like beast tribes but they are closer than midlanders, for example. From what I understand, Miqo'te are deceptively strong for their size, especially in the legs. While they don't jump or run any faster than any other race in-game, that's how I role play them. In a 1.0 cut scene, the Miqo'te character F'lhaminn climbed 25 to 30 feet in a couple of leaps. Some Miqo'te are diurnal and nocturnal but I don't know how much of the time they sleep. I'm sure it varies but I doubt it's anything like 16 hours. Hard to be an adventurer like that. My Miqo'te can purr but I'm sure that's something they only do with intimate partners. There's nothing in the game to support pheromones that I know of. I think that scent marking makes them too animalistic. My Miqo'te can see and hear better than Hyur, especially in the dark. And they have a stronger sense of smell. My Miqo'te react in various ways to things like catnip and other strong smells. For example, my character claims that Au Ra always smell unpleasantly like dirt. I don't know if that's true but that's what she claims. Hissing, growling, roaring, and meowing are all things I've seen in flavor text for Miqo'te. But that's all dependent on the kind of culture they grew up in. It's possible that tribal Miqo'te have more of these features as part of their culture whereas city Miqo'te do not. The lore book mentions how some Miqo'te can communicate by making clicking sounds much like how house cats can chitter. It's part of the lore that the Miqo'te have verbal sounds that Hyur aren't able to recreate. Most Miqo'te that I've RP'd with tend to add content about tail and ear movement. I certainly do. A cats tail and ears are very expressive and I don't doubt that's the same for Miqo'te. This is supported by some of their emotes. In my headcanon, Miqo'te are notoriously bad or notoriously great poker players because they either cannot consciously control their ears and tails OR they can do so, making them excellent at bluffing. But if you search enough - there's gargantuan levels of information here. Here's a forum post I think you might really enjoy - it goes on for years. Miqo'te Mating Strategies Explored - A Biologists Point of View

Has heard and likely believes that Au Ra tails will fall off if they are grabbed in just the right way. Has heard and likely believes that most Seekers of the Sun are exhibitionist in nature. Has heard and likely believes that Lalafell breed by budding. Has heard and likely believes that Au Ra males are not as large as one might believe (in a certain way). Believes that no Miqo'te needs to visit or stay in the Coerthas Central Highlands anymore (she might be right).

The solution is to RP a Keeper. You can be a fit and sexy man cat and would be EXPECTED to wander around, having no particular tribe to call home. Queue "Lonely Man" 1d4C1ZQKmw4

I will present to you the one-sentence pitch for my RP character: Betrayed by the matriarch of her outlaw family and handed over to the Coeurlclaw to settle a debt, Mia Moui searches to find the sisters that joined her in servitude.

I should think that something like magic would greatly reduce the advancement of technology. if you had a spell to keep food fresh or cool or hot, then things like refrigerators & microwave ovens would be less likely to ever be developed. Poor people would be unlikely to develop these technologies independently and as tech builds on tech, any advancements would be slower to occur. I do think there would be a number of "Da Vinci" types, especially in the cities, selling all manner of useful or useless junk crafted from all sorts of things. Some people would rather use an innovative tech solution rather than doing it themselves. There's a reason many people don't cook for themselves anymore. Or something like a linkpearl, would telephones ever be invented with linkpearls in existence? And without telephones, would the Internet have ever been invented? Does Eorzea have an Internet?

I love this face for Mia as it's such an OOC-like moment. Mia is usually scowling in all my screens (she is an unhappy character). But this shot reminds me that she is a person who still has some whimsey about her.

As I said in another thread, it's usually looks that will attract Mia socially. If a character has dark skin or white hair (preferably both) she will feel a kinship and might strike up a conversation. Mia might also RP with someone who has facial scars, as Mia does as well. Mia also has a long-term plot in that she's always looking for information on the whereabouts of her sisters. It's very unlikely, impossible really, that the other character knows anything about it. But "I don't know anything about it..." is a window of opportunity for the conversation to continue. "How familiar are you with the Gear Wars?" :lol: But if someone's not in the mood IC/OOCly to have much to say, or if the trafficking of Miqo'te is a little too grim, Mia (and I) will move onto others things. My search info says NO ERP and that's an absolute for me. If I see someone else with NO ERP in their search info, they are way more likely to get a walk-up from me.

The last few times I've been in RP, I've remarked about the skin color of a fellow Miqo'te. In-game (if not in the lore) the darker skin tones seem uncommon. Mia has dark blue grey skin so she feels a bit of kinship when she sees someone similar, especially if they are a Keeper. She might also feel the same way about white hair...or face scars. What I've done lately (since it's so rare for me to even be in-game) is attend FC events or RP events posted in the forum here or on tumblr. Everyone is arguably there for the same reasons so you should at least have that in common with whoever you want to talk to. Hopefully, being an IC RP event, people are dressed in ways that might give you an way into conversation. "I love those boots! Where did you acquire them?" If I'm out in the wild, if I see people speaking out in the open and it looks like open RP, I'll walk up, apologize for the interruption, and ask if they've seen Mia's sisters. Sometimes, I'll small talk for a while before doing that. Or I'll just "Finding Nemo" it and ask "have you seen my..." Truthfully, that can be a little godmoddy because I'm basically shoving my plot in the middle of what they are doing. But real life is like that - people interrupt you. I've had people brush me aside or get irritated that I'm bothering them and I'll move on, just like I would in real life. To my knowledge, no one has got pissed OOC'ly.

My conceit is that Mia either carries her gear in a saddlebag when she's not wearing it, or she's carrying some kind of bag that's larger on the inside because of magic. This is where she might keep her sword, shield, and other necessities. But I don't have her do any kind of quick change because it's too much of a handicap to drama. If she's caught unaware, like in a bar or some other social occasion and doesn't have ready access to her equipment, she'll have to think on her feet, improvise, distract, or do anything she can to get away long enough to get her bag and get her gear on - or at the very least get a weapon. I do like an anime/super sentai style transformation but that's just not a thing she's capable of, although I don't doubt that others could do it.