A Xaela by Any Other Name

[BioticNinja]

Hey folks, first post, and I was just wanting to ask a general question of how a xaela tribe au ra might come to find themselves using a decidedly doman name, as is the case with my (newly fanted) main PC, Taemarashi Hagane.

I thought about the approach that they were abandoned as a child or separated from his tribe and somehow, through the grace of whatever powers may be, that they were adopted by a doman/hingan family.  However, I don't quite know how the logistics of that would work out, so I also thought maybe they simply adopted a new name to distance themselves from their initial life as a member of a tribe.

What are your thoughts?

P.S.  This is a totally legit RP idea, and not me trying to cheap out and not buy a name change to go with my fantasia... nope.

Edited March 11, 2020 by BioticNinja
Updated tags and naming conventions

[BioticNinja]

I'm super new to the game in terms of roleplay, so sorry if this thread came off as being the ramblings of an uninformed person

Edited March 14, 2020 by BioticNinja

[Moon Type]

No worries @BioticNinja , your post was fine I just wasn't sure how to reply at first. 

 

The adoption idea shouldn't be a problem in the FFXIV setting as far as I know. Even if Doman society frowns on that sort of thing, which I seriously doubt, would a farming couple living on the outskirts of town, or a wealthy well connected family, really care? There's always a loving person or persons whose hearts are moved at the sight of an abandoned child, and even in a strict society they'll rebel hard against the most stern overlords to raise and protect that child. I don't recall any quests or lore entries contradicting your idea, like 'abandoned children must be raised by the state' or something. And given what Domans have been through in the last 25 years that mentality would be both hypocritical and impractical. There have likely been a lot of orphaned children during that time, that's one of the many bitter realities of war.  

 

Viera who move away from their home settlements to venture out into the larger world often change their names in order to denote the new chapter in their life. Their new names are usually inspired by the cultures they've encountered or things which interest them. I see nothing wrong with your character changing their names to Doman for a similar reason. In fact, you could use the name definitions to further reference whatever theme or stylistic choices you have in mind for your character. Is Taemarashi a real name? If so does the definition speak of your character's qualities? If the name is invented that's even better, gives you more room to play with.

 

Another possibility, which is similar to one you already thought of, is the importance of a character changing their name to both blend into a new setting or flee from a previous one. I have a character who is something of a chameleon and she's taken on many names and guises. Part of it is required for her job, part of it is because she's trying to avoid her past, and part of it is because she finds strength in maintaining mystery about herself. Knowledge is power, she wants to minimize the power others might be able to extract from knowing about her. She believes names are the first step or gateway to broader knowledge about a person. 

 

One of the cool things about the character you're working on is that you could make up a traditional au ra name that she was born with but only people from her past would know. Things like that provide lots of opportunity for drama and intrigue later on. And if someone innocently comments on her name being Doman, as a compliment or genuine surprise, that would give you another chance to hint at her story by way of her reaction. Is she sick of hearing that from people? Is she worried that someone is onto her? Will she deflect the comment and change the subject? 

 

Sorry about the long post and for not replying sooner. ^ ^ I think what you're going for is a great idea that will provide some solid background for you to draw from as you develop your character.

[BioticNinja]

21 hours ago, Moon Type said:

No worries @BioticNinja , your post was fine I just wasn't sure how to reply at first. 

 

The adoption idea shouldn't be a problem in the FFXIV setting as far as I know. Even if Doman society frowns on that sort of thing, which I seriously doubt, would a farming couple living on the outskirts of town, or a wealthy well connected family, really care? There's always a loving person or persons whose hearts are moved at the sight of an abandoned child, and even in a strict society they'll rebel hard against the most stern overlords to raise and protect that child. I don't recall any quests or lore entries contradicting your idea, like 'abandoned children must be raised by the state' or something. And given what Domans have been through in the last 25 years that mentality would be both hypocritical and impractical. There have likely been a lot of orphaned children during that time, that's one of the many bitter realities of war.  

 

Viera who move away from their home settlements to venture out into the larger world often change their names in order to denote the new chapter in their life. Their new names are usually inspired by the cultures they've encountered or things which interest them. I see nothing wrong with your character changing their names to Doman for a similar reason. In fact, you could use the name definitions to further reference whatever theme or stylistic choices you have in mind for your character. Is Taemarashi a real name? If so does the definition speak of your character's qualities? If the name is invented that's even better, gives you more room to play with.

 

Another possibility, which is similar to one you already thought of, is the importance of a character changing their name to both blend into a new setting or flee from a previous one. I have a character who is something of a chameleon and she's taken on many names and guises. Part of it is required for her job, part of it is because she's trying to avoid her past, and part of it is because she finds strength in maintaining mystery about herself. Knowledge is power, she wants to minimize the power others might be able to extract from knowing about her. She believes names are the first step or gateway to broader knowledge about a person. 

 

One of the cool things about the character you're working on is that you could make up a traditional au ra name that she was born with but only people from her past would know. Things like that provide lots of opportunity for drama and intrigue later on. And if someone innocently comments on her name being Doman, as a compliment or genuine surprise, that would give you another chance to hint at her story by way of her reaction. Is she sick of hearing that from people? Is she worried that someone is onto her? Will she deflect the comment and change the subject? 

 

Sorry about the long post and for not replying sooner. ^ ^ I think what you're going for is a great idea that will provide some solid background for you to draw from as you develop your character.

Interesting thoughts!  I am still progressing through Stormblood content so I'm still relatively inexperienced with both Doman and Xaela Tribe culture, but this does give me some more ideas.  Almost too many.

Thank you so much for the reply!

[Moon Type]

You're very welcome, glad I could help!