This is an interesting discussion. As an "Asian", I do find the broad skin colour categories quite reductive when they are implied to be representative of nationalities, ethnicities or cultures. But skin colour is one of the most salient / visible indicators of ethnic difference and I support consciously contributing to diversity in an MMO.Â
There were a number of reasons why Avis looks the way she does (and why, all that being said, cosplaying her won't be difficult for me at all. At least in terms of physique and hair color!). Her Ul'dahn heritage was one consideration, as was her similarity with another dark-haired incarnation from a story I used to work on... and there was also the fact that I generally preferred my mains to be... very ordinary people. So nothing out-of-the-world for them, in terms of appearance. However. I'm "yellow", of Chinese descent, while Avis seems fair by Eorzean standards, but I certainly don't see her as either 'white' or 'yellow'. Or even as anything close to the Doman gene pool, even for her dark hair. I gave her a slight olive shade for an Ul'dahn tan... at least, that was my intention during character creation, but she largely shows up as white or Asian in-game in harsh lighting. Still procrastinating on getting that Fantasia to rectify this...Â
So I don't think it's bleed, or a bad thing, just because you look like your character. We all have our own reasons - story or otherwise -Â for why / how we design the people we have to stare at through the days and weeks leading up to 50 and beyond.Â
The rest of my (invisible, sadly) alts appear darker or have a more 'alien' skin color. This is both a deliberate choice and an aesthetic preference.
There were a number of reasons why Avis looks the way she does (and why, all that being said, cosplaying her won't be difficult for me at all. At least in terms of physique and hair color!). Her Ul'dahn heritage was one consideration, as was her similarity with another dark-haired incarnation from a story I used to work on... and there was also the fact that I generally preferred my mains to be... very ordinary people. So nothing out-of-the-world for them, in terms of appearance. However. I'm "yellow", of Chinese descent, while Avis seems fair by Eorzean standards, but I certainly don't see her as either 'white' or 'yellow'. Or even as anything close to the Doman gene pool, even for her dark hair. I gave her a slight olive shade for an Ul'dahn tan... at least, that was my intention during character creation, but she largely shows up as white or Asian in-game in harsh lighting. Still procrastinating on getting that Fantasia to rectify this...Â
So I don't think it's bleed, or a bad thing, just because you look like your character. We all have our own reasons - story or otherwise -Â for why / how we design the people we have to stare at through the days and weeks leading up to 50 and beyond.Â
The rest of my (invisible, sadly) alts appear darker or have a more 'alien' skin color. This is both a deliberate choice and an aesthetic preference.
[sub]Avis Inkwood | Qara Qalli
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