(08-06-2014, 02:17 PM)Mercurias Wrote: Sato is fairly expressive with his tail. He doesn't use it to point with, but he will occasionally do things like brush it against someone when he's being affectionate, largely because I think that would be something a Miqo'te would still do. Not every motion a cat would do sits well with me, but the playful aspect of that, plus it being away of showing ownership, would seem about right.
The ears are a lot of fun, too, and people seem to respond well to that sort of expression. Ears swiveling, perking up, flattening back irritatedly, drooping when sad, and twitching a bit when thoughtful all sort of make for fun, vibrant body language.
Yup! Though cats provide helpful examples of things to do when determining miqo'te behavior, I agree with you and Oscare -- they still aren't cats. Miqo'te aren't going to mirror all the things cats do. It's why I tend to try to think of the ears and tail not as exclusively catlike in how they would be used. Zhavi isn't a cat. She's not going to use her tail and ears exactly as a cat does.
Iunno, at the end of the day my choice to play miqo'te was purely ooc and not in relation to what I wanted to rp. I could have used any of the species for that, really, as the core would have stayed the same. I think the ears and tail are cute, particularly because I can't own a cat (second choice was a roe, because they are fabulous). I love cats. SO is allergic -- so I cannot become a crazy cat lady (at least not until we're old; if he dies first, all bets are off). So, during rp, I tend to rp the character more as a human than anything else. Then it becomes a game of how a person would use ears and tail, and how closely it would follow animal behavior. It's really loosey goosey, because I don't know much past the google and pet owner understanding of animal behavior. But it is fun to try to work into rp, and it is fun to think about. And it is interesting to see how often I forget Zhi has cat ears and tail, even when I'm rping in game and they're right in front of me.
(am I rationalizing my choice? Yes, yes I am. I got irl ribbing for it, too. ;_; )
