Did you notice...

[Arlon]

Along with the updated photos of classes and jobs on the official site, we also have updated in game race photos for all of us that are foaming at the mouth that didn't get into the beta. They are all on the bottom of the respective pages.

 

Miqo'te: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/world/races/miqo-te

 

Hyur: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/world/races/hyur

 

Roegadyn: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/world/races/roegadyn

 

Lalafell: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/world/races/lalafell

 

Elezen: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/world/races/elezen

 

Some things that caught my eye: Sitting and male miqo'te! I'm wondering if each of the clans sit differently. It looks like keepers sit indian-style while seekers kneel down but since the keeper is wearing a robe, it's tough to tell.

 

 

Sitting Seeker:

 

Sitting Keeper:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Moltove]

Looks like they Both arE squaTting As far as what I can see. Would be nice to see different /sit commands in general, more so separate ones for each clan. But then I'd change my clan just because a Duskwight might sit cooler than a Wildwood (They're the Dark Elves, after all--the cool kids!) =P.

[Adventurer]

Yeah, it's hard to tell but it looks like they're both squatting to me.

 

...I'm not sure how I feel about that being the male Miqo'te sitting animation, though. Wouldn't that get uncomfortable? Plus it's not really sitting.

 

Who knows! Maybe it's a new animation? Maybe we're going to see /squat? 

 

Also:

 

 

Train(?) tracks in Thanalan!

[Aysun]

That they are Luka~ I can't wait to see them in game.

 

And yes, apparently male Miqo'te do not know how to put their butt on the ground. Or perhaps they're afraid of getting it dirty.

[Tagyr]

Well, it did take them awhile to appear, and as per the description they are shy. Perhaps they are extremely self-conscious of hygiene by nature, which may include wondering about what microbes exist and how it is best to avoid getting them on their tail, or hands, or face...

 

Maybe this is the real reason they are so shy. The world is much too dirty.

[Blade]

Oh yes oh yes oh yes

 

Can I get a culture lesson in here?

 

The style of sitting you see there is what is called in Japan, yankii zuwari, or "Yankee Sit." Now those of us who live in the north in the United States may balk and argue "Hey, I don't sit like that!" Here, though, the term yankee doesn't refer specifically to us good-for-nothing northerners, but instead is a slang term for thug or hooligan in Japanese. Frequently the term was used for semi-delinquent youths who would dye their hair blonde making them look 'American.' It's possible this came from anti-American sentiment way back when, but these days it doesn't carry that connotation anymore, though.

 

Anyways, that style of sit is supposedly intended in Japanese culture to be sorta thuggish or display rebellious attitude, in short. You see it a lot in Japanese anime as well, although I saw it frequently enough in every day life to decide to research it when I lived in Japan. On a lot of web pages that describe the sit, I've found them to be more critical of the style of sitting than I actually found it in Japan... as in, I didn't have the sense that it was as frowned upon from what I had read. But it definitely does carry the hip/rebellious attitude bit.

 

 

As for where it came from? Those of you who who were talking about staying clean are on the right track. One source in Japan told me that it developed from war, and soldiers would squat like this low to the ground in order to rest, while staying above mud.

 

It tends to be fairly difficult for westerners to pull off right. The correct way to do it is to squat with your feet flat on the ground. Most people in the States are unable to do it without balancing on the balls of your foot, which is cheating. The right muscles are needed to be trained when you are young to do it right, and the reason why Japanese frequently do it so easily has to do with how their traditional toilets were designed (and I'll stop there). On another note, I noticed the Male Miqo'te doesn't seem to put his feet flat on the ground, so hmmmmmm, maybe this says something about Eorzean toilets?

 

Personally though, I think they gave Male Miqo'te that style of sit to give them some kind of attitude. That's the modern interpretation of that style of sitting. Though an argument could be made for them wanting to stay clean, as well, as that is where the sit originally came from.[/i]

[Aysun]

Thanks Blade! That's super informative and now I can look at them without laughing when they sit!

[Rhostel]

That is very neat. I'll just add that I reckon the reason the miqo'te perch on the balls of their feet rather than the traditional flat-footed pose might be just because it looks more catlike. Much easier to pounce from that position.

[allgivenover]

I don't think the male miqo'te's /sit has anything to do with yankii-zuwari. With the yankee sit the feet are flat on the ground and the arms are resting on the knees, stretched out to prevent yourself from falling backward because squatting with your feet flat effectively places the center of gravity pretty much on your butt. The yankee sit is more of a resting position with that "I'm totally nonchalant about things" kind of attitude. If the male miqo'te /sit is supposed to be referencing it then it's not doing a very good job of it.

 

What came to mind when I first saw the /sit was how cats in real life actually sit. I could describe it but I think a picture will get my point across far more readily.

 

[align=center][/align]

 

[align=left]Here you can see that same sort of squatting position that the male miqo'te /sit has with the forelegs held together and towards the ground, not resting on the knees, this way the center of gravity is more balanced and controlled. Obviously the anatomy of cats and humanoids is very different, but the male miqo'te /sit is about a close as a humanoid can get to this position. We'll call it the "cat sit" for ease of use. 

 

[align=center][/align]

[/align]

 

Why model the /sit this way? Well, primarily it's because of the readiness advantage it gives you. Sit yankii zuwari, with your feet flat out on the ground, and try to get up quickly. You can launch yourself up easily enough, but it's a little difficult to control the direction of your launch. 

 

Now try the cat sit, with your arms forward while balancing on the balls of your feet. From this position it is extremely easy to launch yourself forward in any direction that you please, one might even say it's easy to pounce from this position (see what I did there? lulz). Furthermore many sprinting mammals run on the balls of their feet because it takes advantage of all that energy supplied by those leg muscles. In summation I think the male miqo'te sit is more about sticking with the whole "cat boy" theme than it having anything to do with yankii-zuwari.

[Aysun]

Maybe it was more in line with real cat-sitting, but the other explanation works as well. x3

[Adventurer]

Ah! I never thought about the cat idea, either.

 

Both of them are good explanations! I'm slowly warming to the idea of it being their /sit animation, I guess!

 

...Though I still think it'd be uncomfortable for them if they were to sit around a camp fire for two hours sharing ghost stories. Or, well, it'd be uncomfortable for me! :lol:

[Arlon]

The cat-foot theory is making me reconsider making a male miqo'te! I have a bad habit of walking slightly on the balls of my feet and suddenly needing to run after someone.(old people can move FAST when they want to!)

[allgivenover]

Oh~ I wasn't meaning to imply that male Miqo'te have cat-like feet. They very much don't judging from what I've seen.

[Aysun]

She was just referring to the pose itself looking like how a cat sits. :3

[Arlon]

Oh~ I wasn't meaning to imply that male Miqo'te have cat-like feet. They very much don't judging from what I've seen.

 

She was just referring to the pose itself looking like how a cat sits. :3

 

Oh, I know. If miqo'te had cat-like padded paws instead of hands/feet, there would be no question of my playing one.