Lalafell not taken seriously in RP.

[Caspar]

As one of the suuuuper dark overcompensating Lalafells, I can assure you my character is meant to be taken at least roughly seriously.

 

However, I didn't have any illusions about what I was getting into when I picked her race. If you select a childlike race, people will assume plenty of things of them by their appearance alone. It is working around or exploiting those assumptions that makes playing the race rewarding. Sometimes I'll use it to make a scene funnier, and other times I'll use it to make the dark rp I tend towards more disturbing. I feel like having it be depressing and horrific all the time would be repetitive, so I incorporated some funny, as well as touching, elements to the character that allowed me to play up Lalafells' innate cuteness. A good example of this is that I've found a lot of people comment that they can't exactly place Virara's age, which I see as a natural result of how I rp her inconsistent knowledge.

 

When Virara behaves in a immature, naive way, people aren't too surprised because in game she looks like a little fat bebeh. When she exhibits really troubling assumptions about violence or morality, people see an evil, or misguided, child. When she punches through a monster, people's eyes bug out. She does get talked down to a lot but to a certain degree I'm fine with that, as I wanted people to be shocked when she does exhibit experience. I knew Lalafell were going to be infantilized from the character select screen and wanted to use it to create a disconnect between character and appearance deliberately.  I feel any other race would have made my concept seem a lot more generic and unremarkable, honestly; I've never been that original...

 

But yeah, I meet plenty of Lalafell who are understated in behavior too. Some are pretty childlike or comedy heavy, but that's part of their character. I would say that although Gus is one of the more consistent rpers I've seen and does a great job standing out and being unique, I thought he was a gag character when I first saw him and read his wiki, so I'm surprised you think he's a great example of a serious Lalafell character.

 

There are very few of us, however. Lalas are popular amongst PVE players and not so much amongst rpers. Your opening statement is evidenced enough by this regardless of whether rpers deny it or not; most people would rather play a full-sized, mature looking character because being Lalafell has that instant assumption power. Many rpers are heavily focused on romance, something I have trouble relating to, and because of their appearance Lalafell are understandably not in high demand. A lot of people here have Lalafell, but like roegadyn, they tend to be relegated to alts, and can easily become gag characters if not played diligently. It can make you feel restricted, but I think that playing against expectations is fun too. If you want to be taken seriously, use emotes sparingly or make custom emotes that remove the more childish gestures and expressions. Demonstrate your character's age through sagely observations or anxieties that come out of the increased responsibility and scope of adulthood. Don't overcompensate like some Lalafell rpers I've seen by cussing, drinking and wanting sex constantly, though these can be used to remind players of the character's age too.

 

The NPCs don't do us any favors; Tataru is, I believe, an adolescent and pretty cutesy. I love her, she's adorable, but at times I see her as a kind of "token" Lala in the MSQ. She behaves in the stereotypical manner we tend to associate with the race. With the exception of the barely developed Pippin, all the major MSQ male Lala's we've seen are conniving or evil little bastards. The minor NPCs fare a lot better, but they also get significantly less attention. I liked Chuchuto from the PGL storyline a lot. She was funny but not child-like, and also helped show Lalafell can be tough. Alka Zolka from the SCH storyline was pretty fun too and served the dual purpose of being a "smart" Marauder and strong Lalafell, breaking two stereotypes at the same time. It's definitely true however that there are plenty of Lalafell in positions of authority though, and that itself should show that in-setting they are taken quite seriously.

[Garalona]

I'd have to wonder if players dismissing lalafell RP wholesale have watched the MSQ cutscenes.

 

Seriously, don't fuck with them.

 

But I tend to be leery of male lalafell because the biggest (har har) creeps I've run into all happen to be male lalafell, and when called on it many fell back on that "what? li'l ol' me?" crap that is indeed very reminiscent of Gravity Falls' Li'l Gideon. But that's just my personal experience and bad luck, of course.

 

All the lady lalas I've met have been quite nice, whether they're the cutesy type, the stabby type, or anything in between.

[-no longer matters-]

Wether or not I take a Lalafell RPer seriously is up to the RPer! As a Race I've seen to much in game story of them being serious to not take them seriously when RPed as such. However if the RPer is RPing their character as a joke character, I'll take them as such.

[ɴᴘᴄ]

The problem is the 7-8 serious Lalalfell in the MSQ does not dismiss the possible hundreds that RP them as being childish and cute.

 

Not that I disagree with this statement, but I suppose it's the sum of these experiences that lead some players to the sort of 'prejudices' lamented in the OP. That's not an accusation, of course, just that I myself haven't had enough bad experiences yet, methinks.

 

Additionally, this also raises the question of whether or not some lalafell RPers have watched the MSQ cutscenes. (¯―¯٥)

[PhantasticPanda]

What needs to be remembered though is that unless they're Ishgardian (and perhaps Doman? I don't recall any Doman lalafell), most characters should be used to seeing lalafell doing what any other adult of any other race would do. So in theory they should really be giving the lalafell the benefit of the doubt and treating them like they're most likely an adult, unless something in an emote or in conversation proves otherwise. I think really, it's a case of real-life views (that lalafell look like adorable children) diluting the RPers use of lore.

 

Pretty much this as I can tell. Lalafells are one of the most populous races in Eorzea ever since their migration and have contributed a lot not including the founding of Ul'dah (and its sister nation that now ceases to exist.). They all hold positions of power throughout the game and are treated by other NPC's as normal adults. They also hold all manner of jobs and duties including sailors, soldiers, farmers, politicians, merchants, etc. Lalafells should not be an odd sight for Eorzeans nor looked at as babies.

 

... Also my Lalafell is too of guilty sending a couple of thunders towards the direction of those who try to baby him, or man-handle him in such a way.

[Garalona]

The problem is the 7-8 serious Lalalfell in the MSQ does not dismiss the possible hundreds that RP them as being childish and cute.

 

Not that I disagree with this statement, but I suppose it's the sum of these experiences that lead some players to the sort of 'prejudices' lamented in the OP. That's not an accusation, of course, just that I myself haven't had enough bad experiences yet, methinks.

 

Additionally, this also raises the question of whether or not some lalafell RPers have watched the MSQ cutscenes. (¯―¯٥)

 

Ultimately, people can play their characters however they like. The scariest MSQ NPCs are rather old, wily bastards. Not everyone wants to play that. Some do, and it's cool, those characters are memorable. But everybody has their own definition of what's fun to play.

 

There is an inherent problem with small cute MMO races, though: people's first reactions tend to be either to hug them like a teddy bear or punt them like they're making a winning field goal. That's more the onus of years and years of MMOs having cute small races.

 

When somebody runs up and pats a lala's head they can react accordingly, but this being many people's first response is still annoying, I know. I dunno what can really break that trend since it's just one of those MMO things. Like the assumption all elves are haughty.

[Caspar]

Someone tried to do that to Virara as a *complete stranger* twice. She doesn't even let friends pet her or hug her. Well, maybe one or two... But that's still rude! 

She assumed the other person was trying to grapple her and immediately went on the defensive. She didn't hit them or anything, but one person actually /random at me out of the blue without my agreement as if to say "I can just succeed and pick you up and you can't do nothin' bout it if I roll higher." That was fine, I just ignored it since I never agreed, but it was surprising.

[ckingch]

I have a friend who's lala plays this to his advantage. He has a speech impediment and can be somewhat eccentric, so that with him being a lala, some people underestimate him. He's actually very intelligent, and just uses that outward prejuduce to his advantage whenever he can. I've seen a mix of serious and not so serious Lalafell in my time playing so far. About half and half.

[Garalona]

Someone tried to do that to Virara as a *complete stranger* twice. She doesn't even let friends pet her or hug her. Well, maybe one or two... But that's still rude! 

She assumed the other person was trying to grapple her and immediately went on the defensive. She didn't hit them or anything, but one person actually /random at me out of the blue without my agreement as if to say "I can just succeed and pick you up and you can't do nothin' bout it if I roll higher." That was fine, I just ignored it since I never agreed, but it was surprising.

 

Taking a Lala's size as carte blache to pick them up, stuff them in a sack, whatever, just because you're bigger is just bad form RP in and of itself. I would've ignored that dude, too.

 

Like Garalona can bench press most other races, but you don't see her picking people up at random for shits and giggles. For one thing, she might throw her back out.

[GhostlyMaiden]

I play a lala and the only thing that could be considered a "childish trait" is her love for chocolate, but that's really it. She loves chocolate, but she isn't going to stuff it into her face an get it all over her, she's going to eat it like a civilized person.

 

When I play her, I play her as someone who  is polite. She will only treat you rudely if that is how you are treating her. If she doesn't know you well, she will refer to you by your last name. But once she begins to build trust and considers you as a friend, she will finally refer to you by your first name. She is also very professional when it comes to business. She wants to make sure that she leaves a good impression. 

 

As a lalafell RPer I obviously take other lala's seriously, but if they acting foolish then I will just ignore them completely.

[Mia Moui]

I RP a Miqo'te like what, a third of players do?  But I RP as though she and Miqo'te in general are not taken as seriously as they should because they are so cute.  Miqo'te have all kinds of reputation problems in MSQ and in RP.

 

But because Mia Moui feels defensive about being taken seriously, she WILL take Lalafell seriously.  In fact, I tend to play her as taking them too seriously.  For instance, she sees them as potential scoundrels, rapscallions, and ne'er do wells.  She is reluctant to trust them having a few very bad experiences with them.

 

I enjoy diversity in a game and I like the way that some Lalafells are sweet, bouncing, joyful people while others are complete reprobates.  I do not confuse their small size for weakness either, as Yoda warned "judge me by my size do you?"

 

So if you are a Lalafell and want to be taken seriously and you see Mia Moui, she will take you seriously, maybe to a fault.

[Gegenji]

Chachan is probably known for playing his main, young adventurer character, but he also plays Chachanji's older brother Gogonji, who's basically a cranky curmudgeon. I've played with Virara and Shoshopu too, who are both mature and never come across as child-like.

 

Gogon's an oddball from what I've come across in RP using him, actually. He's been identified as both a "kid" due to his height and apparent Lalafellan youthful appearance, but also as a "grandpa" - likely due to that cranky curmudgeon behavior I usually have him have. Yet he's in his early thirties, and thus is neither kid nor grandpa... which is an amusing thing to see.

 

Meanwhile, as folks have mentioned, I also main as the younger brother Chachan - who is actively a relatively naive teenager who wants to go out and help people. He gets taken less than seriously at times, sure, but I've also had some relatively serious interactions between him and other characters - usually involving smithing, now that I think about it.

 

The point is that while they may be taken more seriously by NPCs and "in Eorzea" in general, there truly does exist the stereotype of the two types of Lalafell that Warren mentioned earlier among RPers: the fun, fun cutesy Popoto and the super-serious sort that almost seem to be actively defying the previous stigma. Some just stick to those, some subvert them, and some just ignore that altogether and play their character how they feel the character should be played.

 

And just because a character might seem to cleave to a particular stereotype - and I'm talking all races here, not just Lalafell - that doesn't mean they can't have some deeper facets to them. Chachan is indeed the cutesy, look on the bright side sort... but he's also clingy, a worrywart, and oftentimes stubborn on his ultimately childish outlook on life. Gogon leans more towards the other "stereotype" - the grimdark utter subversion of the cutesy trope - but I've also tried to show his general care and concern for his brother (even if it's often misguided due to his own views on things) and those he actually grows close to.

 

It's just how much character is in the character, and how deep those that interact with them are willing to look.

[Oli!]

I think a big part of it is the common blurring of a Lack of Seriousness with Whimsy, which is something that I run into a lot, since I enjoy copious amounts of the latter in my roleplay. It's similar to the misconception that Serious things are necessarily "Dark."

 

It's not something that can held up as an inexcusable fault of one's understanding, since they're very similar things, but it's very possible for Whimsy and Seriousness to exist simultaneously. Whimsy, by itself, is either a state of constant change, or a state of odd / extravagant / "larger than life" behavior or appearance. The co-existence of Whimsy and Seriousness is actually what makes certain stories so appealing to large audiences; this partnership is what makes us cry at bright and colorful stories like Up, Wall-E, and Toy Story, for instance. It's also what lets us latch onto the brighter parts of darker stories, such as just about everything related to the Shire in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, or the Ewoks versus the Empire in Episode VI. Whimsy can be used as comic relief in a character (such as the bumbling, fussy nature of C-3PO), but it can just as easily be used to convey an oddity or peppiness that serves as a foil to a current mood, without seeming out of place or solely for the sake of comedic relief (such as Martin Freeman's portrayal of Bilbo Baggins, or really, Martin Freeman's portrayal of just about anything). The Joker, for example, is an extremely whimsical character. But you probably wouldn't consider him Funny or Insincere in most settings and under most circumstances.

 

This combination also allows for some of the most unique aesthetics or styles in storytelling, such as Neil Gaiman's various works (Coraline being a particularly good example), and just about anything by Tim Burton. The often-forgotten movie "9" has both Whimsy and Seriousness simultaneously baked into its setting and style.

 

Very rarely have I seen non-serious lalafell in roleplay. But I have seen plenty of Whimsical ones, and play one myself. If you look at the distinction between Unseriousness and Whimsy, you might find that most people play lalafell more seriously than you think.

[Blue]

I have the opposite problem. I do RP a couple young characters and a Very Young one (12yo), and often have to see her being hit on and treated like an adult woman just because of what the other sees on the screen (despite me having chosen 0 breast size, smallest height, and very chaste clothing). And it's not that I don't have her act childish, I do, but then I get reactions like "Is she always immature/whiny/excitable like this?" Well, yeah.... she's a kid.

 

Honestly wish we had more options to import our IC age (whether it be old or young) on our characters. This mid-20s universe is getting dull.

[Zezeki]

I've never ran into any issues personally.

[ZoktaiKhor]

Zach met a lalafel professional torturer. He takes them hell seriously.

[Caspar]

I have the opposite problem. I do RP a couple young characters and a Very Young one (12yo), and often have to see her being hit on and treated like an adult woman just because of what the other sees on the screen (despite me having chosen 0 breast size, smallest height, and very chaste clothing). And it's not that I don't have her act childish, I do, but then I get reactions like "Is she always immature/whiny/excitable like this?" Well, yeah.... she's a kid.

 

Honestly wish we had more options to import our IC age (whether it be old or young) on our characters. This mid-20s universe is getting dull.

I dont get how this relates. You cant make a child character, and arguably lalas dont look like children. It differs from person to person. I know quite a few people who think they look small and cute, but it does not follow they look like a human child. I think there's some resemblance, and I play around that. But its really mostly a height thing. As for character creation, that's off topic. But I will say I'm perfectly fine with not fighting and killing child characters in PvP.

[Dat Oni]

I think in most cases, people have respected Kopo despite his size. However, there's the not-so-rare individual who will talk down to him, because it's relatively easy to dismiss him based on that size, and not, say, any other traits; a little too easy for my liking, to be brutally honest with you.

 

And then there's Spahro, who was just being, well, Spahro, and talked to him like he was a mentally defunct infant. Kopo nearly bit off her fingers.

 

-That- one made me laugh, but the whole "Lalafells are tiny!" thing is so prevalent, it usually just gets me sighing. Really, guys? That's all you can come up with? Lalafells are small and therefore not to be taken seriously?

 

Here's a reality check: The most powerful woman in Ul'Dah, the Sultana, is a Lalafell. The vast majority of the Syndicate is made of Lalafells. Papashan is a Lalafell. There are Lalafell Monk NPCs. The most destructive forms of spellcasting in the game, Thaumaturgey and its big brother Black Magic, are practiced and taught by LALAFELLS.

 

Lalafells have done a lot to demand some respect, at this point, so to see somebody, especially Ul'Dahn citizen rpers, dismiss them so readily makes me think those characters are either one of two things: Racist or stupid.

 

...And those things might very well be mutually inclusive. On a personal level, a Lalafell must earn your respect like anyone else, for sure. But on a cultural level, I think it's safe to say they've done enough to more than make up for their size issue.

[Sigil.9054]

D'awww....the li'l folk want respect.

[Oli!]

D'awww....the li'l folk want respect.

 

Friendly reminder that we're at the perfect height for a crotch uppercut.

[Sigil.9054]

D'awww....the li'l folk want respect.

 

Friendly reminder that we're at the perfect height for a crotch uppercut.

 

And?

[Blue]

I have the opposite problem. I do RP a couple young characters and a Very Young one (12yo), and often have to see her being hit on and treated like an adult woman just because of what the other sees on the screen (despite me having chosen 0 breast size, smallest height, and very chaste clothing). And it's not that I don't have her act childish, I do, but then I get reactions like "Is she always immature/whiny/excitable like this?" Well, yeah.... she's a kid.

 

Honestly wish we had more options to import our IC age (whether it be old or young) on our characters. This mid-20s universe is getting dull.

I dont get how this relates. You cant make a child character, and arguably lalas dont look like children. It differs from person to person. I know quite a few people who think they look small and cute, but it does not follow they look like a human child. I think there's some resemblance, and I play around that. But its really mostly a height thing. As for character creation, that's off topic. But I will say I'm perfectly fine with not fighting and killing child characters in PvP.

 

 

 

I was just saying that, in relation to the topic, I have the opposite issue as the OP. In other words, it's not just all one way, there is also the other way. What relates is the sentiment on not being able to get the reaction you expect from others for your character, because of how he/she looks.

 

Also, I'm not saying child/old characters should be allowed to fight. But especially in a game with ONLY-instanced PvP elements, to give us the opportunity to create/glamour child looks on our characters (think of FFXI's child costumes) would be a very great RP element. Simply lock their fighting abilities during "child status" or whatever.

[Faye]

Welcome to FFXIV, where people roleplay the stereotype so often that they ruin it for everyone else!

 

This, pretty much. People treat lalafell like children because so many of them (player characters, not NPC's) act like children. Even Gus isn't really an example of a "serious" lalafell. While he is a good example of an adult lalafell, even his character is hard to take seriously when he's prone to lie and exaggerate, obsessed with spooky stuff, and literally every single line of dialogue that comes out of his mouth is either something about pumpkins, something about "coitus," something about "alpha males," or "All requests must be submitted in writing." When that's the staple people think of for "serious" lalafells on the server, it's no wonder people may not take them seriously, and it's no wonder people won't take your lalafell seriously if that's what you're trying to emulate.

 

I've also seen people actually playing lalafells as children (often of other races), and many of them don't clearly emote that their character actually is a child to everyone they're role-playing with. Even if they are doing a good job of it, you can't include the fact that your character is a child in every single emote without it getting repetitive and tiresome. So when people see a lalafell acting like a child--because, unbeknownst to them, it actually is a child--that's just more fuel to the fire of the stereotype.

 

But in general, most people will treat most characters on a case by case basis (and if they don't and that bothers you, is that really someone you want to be role-playing with, anyway?) So if you find the proverbial "everyone" isn't taking your lalafell seriously, rather than wondering "What are other people doing wrong to make lalafell look childish?" or "What are other people doing wrong to see lalafell as children?", it may be prudent to take a look at what you're doing with your own character instead and figure out why he/she is eliciting the reactions that he/she is.

 

Also, I'm not sure how much this matters to anything, but while there are people who view lalafell as children OOC and let that bleed over into their role-play, there are also people who fully realize OOC that lalafell are not children, yet IC their characters still see lalafell as childlike. I think there's an important distinction to be drawn there. One is an OOC problem, one is an IC "problem."

[Garalona]

I'm not a mod or anything, but this is getting off topic, Blue.

 

Anyway, people who fail to take lalafell seriously do so at their own peril. I've seen Virara in action.

[Flashhelix]

Give them a mustache.