Perception of races?

[Zerokku]

I should preface this by saying I do not currently have an RP character, though I have made a character on Balmung to watch some of the public rp I could find, just to get a feel for the server/find out if I want to transfer.

 

...Anyways. Does it seem like there are preconceived notions towards certain races when it comes to RP? My viewpoint comes solely from observance but in particular from watching people I almost get the feeling Lalafells are not taken all that seriously. In my brief experience a lot of people treated them like well... a child, despite the fact that many lalafell characters would presumably be just as capable/intelligent/etc. as many others. I understand some of this is probably a result of their design, their emotes, etc. But I worry that I won't be taken (as) seriously trying to RP a lalafell, at least in comparison to Miqo'te, Elezen, and Hyur (I never saw any IC Roegadyns, so not sure if this would extend to them in any way).

 

Just something I was curious about and wanted to hear the general consensus on.

[Khuja'to]

Speaking personally, I would say it all comes down to your own characters perception of each individual race and clan. My Hyur, for example, would probably not worry too much about picking a fight with a Lalafell because of their appearance, even if they were more powerful. My miqo'te, on the other hand, would be cautious in battle with any of the races. OOCly, my general rule of thumb is, "If they can do it in-game, they can do it with the best of 'em in character". Hopefully that makes sense...hahaha.

[cuideag]

...I almost get the feeling Lalafells are not taken all that seriously. In my brief experience a lot of people treated them like well... a child, despite the fact that many lalafell characters would presumably be just as capable/intelligent/etc. as many others. I understand some of this is probably a result of their design, their emotes, etc. But I worry that I won't be taken (as) seriously trying to RP a lalafell, at least in comparison to Miqo'te, Elezen, and Hyur (I never saw any IC Roegadyns, so not sure if this would extend to them in any way).

 

I think it depends on the character. My lala does get coddled by some people still and for the most part it irritates her, but there are plenty of others who do treat her just like they might any other person.

[Rosekitten]

As already stated it depends on the character I think. My character personally has a bit of a distaste or distrust towards Lalafell's after a few incidents so he hardly treats them like children. 

 

On the note of other races I have seen where some Wildwood and Duskwights seems to disagree or not get along with the other but could at least compromise if they had to get together for a group. 

 

Hrm.. trying to think of some other things I've seen personally... I know sometimes I made a few ooc jokes towards my friends Roe though its jokes that ic I think would earn a good sock to the face but thats besides the point...

 

I've also seen where Mi'qote are not really taken as serious as some other races are or kind of treated as if they are uneducated. Granted some do play out the whole tribal thing but others their characters are just as educated about the city life as the next.

[KitKat]

I see a LOT of miqo'te that act like kittens and whores. This saddens me.

[Clover]

I see a LOT of miqo'te that act like kittens and whores. This saddens me.

I have yet to see that, truth be told @_@

And I've seen quite a lot of Miqo'tes, especially being in a tribe myself.

[YesGood]

My boyfriend has a very serious, smarmy Lalafell character and he has an issue with how people treat that character as weak or childish because of his size. I think that you have to take into consideration that the race belongs in that world, they're not new to the other races at this point. In many places, especially Ul'dah, the characters don't have a whole lot of reason to doubt how powerful, threatening, or even evil some Lalafell can be.

[Dromwald]

There's a saying that goes something like if one wants to be taken seriously one must first learn to laugh at oneself. If another character doesn't take your lalafell seriously that says a lot about them whether it's IC or OOC. My lalafell would always use this underestimation to his advantage in any case. And in a fight being underestimated is a decided advantage^^

[Kheni'to]

It's called racial stereotypes and it brings some realism to the RP imho. My character likes Lalafells because he sees them as an honest and good-natured people. But even a positive racial stereotype is a stereotype. The Lalafells are going to be seen as cute little child-like people, the Miqo'te are going to be seen as the "kitty-cat people" and the  Roegadyns are going to be seen as the meat-headed brutes. Breaking these stereotypes (or not), or coping with them in our own IC way can be maybe part of the fun. 

 

The only thing that bothers me is all the Miqo'te with improper names! Uhg it drives me crazy. I am not talking about the non-traditional names that a player may have an RP explanation for; I'm talking about the names like "Sir Purrrrzalot", "Kat Muffins", "Hello Kittyz", "Meowz Mixz", ect. Other races have funny-named characters running around too, but the Miqo'te have it BAD. I just have to keep trying to ignore them and not let it get to me.

 

That is what playing as a Lalafell will be like. You'll have to ignore the cute comments and people who do baby talk at you, and try not to let it get to you. Or, if you're good at it, give them an earful that can knock their preconceptions on their backsides.

[Folken]

It's called racial stereotypes and it brings some realism to the RP imho. My character likes Lalafells because he sees them as an honest and good-natured people. But even a positive racial stereotype is a stereotype. The Lalafells are going to be seen as cute little child-like people, the Miqo'te are going to be seen as the "kitty-cat people" and the  Roegadyns are going to be seen as the meat-headed brutes. Breaking these stereotypes (or not), or coping with them in our own IC way can be maybe part of the fun. 

 

The thing about racial stereotypes is that they're often created upon a real world basis, which in this particular setting, goes against the established in game racial stereotypes quite a bit.

 

This issue is quite strongly seen towards lalafell. Within the game's setting the inhabitants do not portray the same kind of racial stereotypes towards lalafell as player characters often do and this leads to quite honestly a lore defying image of how lalafell are.

[LiadansWhisper]

I see a LOT of miqo'te that act like kittens and whores. This saddens me.

I have yet to see that, truth be told @_@

And I've seen quite a lot of Miqo'tes, especially being in a tribe myself.

 

None of the ones I've seen have been in tribes that I know of (i.e. the tribal guilds, I mean), but there seems to be a contingent of players who believe that "tribal" equates to speaking in third person, overtly/extremely animalistic behavior (curling up at someone's feet, requesting to strangers that they be petted, using broken "pidgen" language, behaving as a pet, etc), and basically not being a functional adult.

 

It's a bit strange.

 

So far as the hooker angle, goes, considering how I think I've found a grand total of 3 female Miqo NPCs who aren't hookers or dancing girls, I think playing either would fit right in the setting.

 

Note: There's nothing wrong with having a unique character that has a more simplistic language structure or "feral" set of behaviors. The problem, for me anyway, is when there are large groups of these characters claiming that their behavior is "standard" and anyone who behaves like a rational, semi-educated adult is "breaking lore."

[LandStander]

There's a saying that goes something like if one wants to be taken seriously one must first learn to laugh at oneself. If another character doesn't take your lalafell seriously that says a lot about them whether it's IC or OOC. My lalafell would always use this underestimation to his advantage in any case. And in a fight being underestimated is a decided advantage^^

 

Yeah, I saw a fight at the Bismark one day with two pirates and a group of people. One of the pirates was a Lalafell (the other a Hyur) and used his small height to run between his buddies legs while the Hyur was fighting a man, and punch the guy in the junk. It was such a dirty move >.> These two guys were some bad ass pirates. 

 

They are described as being the most agile of the races. 

 

I have had very little interaction with Lalafells IC. But Denn treats all races that are not Roegadyn as lessers anyways, so it wouldn't matter.

[K'nahli]

I can respect IC racism or ignorance to a point but I must admit I cannot agree to there being too much of it. I haven't seen any in-game coddling(from NPCs) towards Lalafels so I'd tend to imagine that such a trait was rather rare. This is coming in to the point where people are mixing reality's perceptions with game perceptions once again. I'm not a FF veteran nor am I very knowledgeable on the lore being that this is my first game, but I assume Lalafel are not new additions. If they have been around almost as long, if not as long, as the more typical fantasy faces then they should hardly be perceived with a connection to children. They are not an unusual sight or absurdity in eyes of Eorzeans so you cannot bring your own mindset into the equation. It doesn't work.

[C'kayah Polaali]

I see a LOT of miqo'te that act like kittens and whores. This saddens me.

I have yet to see that, truth be told @_@

And I've seen quite a lot of Miqo'tes, especially being in a tribe myself.

 

So far as the hooker angle, goes, considering how I think I've found a grand total of 3 female Miqo NPCs who aren't hookers or dancing girls, I think playing either would fit right in the setting.

 

I, personally, haven't come across any female Miqo hookers or dancing girls - though I have run into a decent number of female Hyurs who RP those professions. I'm not surprised, though. Fire up the character creator and look at what female Miqo'te start out wearing. If you came to the game with the desire to RP a prostitute or dancing girl, you'd be drawn to the Miqo. Someone mentioned on this board the hypersexualization of Miqo'te women. I think there's definitely some of that just in the imagery within the game.

 

I would be so amused to see someone playing a Lalafell chippendale, though.

 

Which, I suppose, just goes to point out my own bias in the perception of the races here...

[Magellan]

Lalas OOCly, Lalas just really push my awwwww cute buttons. ICly, it really depends on my character, though I have yet to play a character that doesn't take them seriously.

 

I think Lalas can be limiting in that a lot of people feel uncomfortable bringing any sexualization or romantic plots into their rp, b/c they are childlike. Additionally, when they do bring that into play, it can make outsiders uncomfortable.

 

I've seen a large increase in Lala's being rp'd lately though, which can only help educate ppl OOCly and ICly

 

Miqo's The plain honest truth is that Seekers play into a lot of adult fantasies and lore only seems to enhance this. First off, their catgirls (or boys). Secondly, their tribe arrangement is pretty harem-like. Thirdly, as Lidia already pointed out, Seeker npcs and quests have a LOT to do with sexualization. I believe there 's even an npc that rrrolls his rrrr's as I've seen other Miqo's do.

 

In the end, there's no wrong way to play your cat if you have justifications of it, but lore seems to strongly support a sexual culture for tribal kitties, whereas those who grew up in cities would probably be more conservative.

[K'nahli]

Lalas OOCly, Lalas just really push my awwwww cute buttons. ICly, it really depends on my character, though I have yet to play a character that doesn't take them seriously.

 

I think Lalas can be limiting in that a lot of people feel uncomfortable bringing any sexualization or romantic plots into their rp, b/c they are childlike. Additionally, when they do bring that into play, it can make outsiders uncomfortable.

 

I've seen a large increase in Lala's being rp'd lately though, which can only help educate ppl OOCly and ICly

 

Miqo's The plain honest truth is that Seekers play into a lot of adult fantasies and lore only seems to enhance this. First off, their catgirls (or boys). Secondly, their tribe arrangement is pretty harem-like. Thirdly, as Lidia already pointed out, Seeker npcs and quests have a LOT to do with sexualization. I believe there 's even an npc that rrrolls his rrrr's as I've seen other Miqo's do.

 

In the end, there's no wrong way to play your cat if you have justifications of it, but lore seems to strongly support a sexual culture for tribal kitties, whereas those who grew up in cities would probably be more conservative.

 

*Amused*

 

I have a fourth character that is mostly just for smaller interactions that my other three characters cannot take part in. I had a funny conversation with a friend about this recently. I gave this character, a tall and built Highlander, a lalafell wife partly due to it being a humorous pairing. She teased me about it though when she questioned what would happen when "the moment of truth" came =w= ;;;

 

Obviously I don't consider them a sexually active couple but even having said that, I don't like to imagine a couple of lalafells in the same way either. Its an OOC thing of course, but not something I care for giving the time of day in either world, eheh ;

[Ildur]

Miqo'te NPC characterization is all over the place. You have a bunch of serious, non-sexualized Miqo'te around, but the ammount of Miqo'te that have weird "cat-like" quirks or who are sexualized in some way is kind of staggering.

 

Lalafellin, on the other hand, seem to get played for laughs or for pure cuteness in only two occasions I can think of during the game. The first one is a Brass Blade soldier in Horizon, who is all cute and naive. The second is Tataru, who works for the Scions.

There are probably a few more around, but besides their looks I never got the impression that Squee was playing lalafellin as cute most of the time. But all of their animation and looks scream "CUTE!" with capital letters, so that's probably why people play them as such.

Also, they are a short race and if I have learnt anything from videogames is that short races are very often played for laughs. I'm not sure why.

[LiadansWhisper]

Miqo'te NPC characterization is all over the place. You have a bunch of serious, non-sexualized Miqo'te around, but the ammount of Miqo'te that have weird "cat-like" quirks or who are sexualized in some way is kind of staggering.

 

I can only think of 3 female Miqo'te NPCs that are serious and non-sexual, at least that I have encountered.  There's the leader of the Maelstrom, the NPC you work with in the Arcanist questline, and Y'shotla (sp?).  I guess you could count the Coeurlclaw Poachers?  Otherwise, every single female Miqo I've seen that's an NPC has been a hooker or a dancing girl.

 

There's even an otherwise serious NPC in Gridania (a questgiver) who uses the word "meow" in place of "now."  I wanted to choke someone when I ran into her.  While she's not super sexualized, the NPC is a joke.

[Clover]

My experience has been a bit different, I guess. I've seen some sexualized Miqo'te NPCs, but I swear to have seen many more normal ones. Besides, the harem tribe setting gives me the impression that females only mate with the Nunh for the sake of perpetuating their tribe, not because they're interested in sexual affairs for the sake of them.

 

I don't know, I actually don't understand Miqo'tes at all ^^;

It's beyond me that a sentient creature wouldn't have personal preferences when it comes to attraction towards other beings, and that they'd be unable to experiment emotions like possessiveness or jealousy. I simply don't understand how their harem system works, for it sounds so mechanical.

[LeCard]

Miqo'te NPC characterization is all over the place. You have a bunch of serious, non-sexualized Miqo'te around, but the ammount of Miqo'te that have weird "cat-like" quirks or who are sexualized in some way is kind of staggering.

 

I can only think of 3 female Miqo'te NPCs that are serious and non-sexual, at least that I have encountered.  There's the leader of the Maelstrom, the NPC you work with in the Arcanist questline, and Y'shotla (sp?).  I guess you could count the Coeurlclaw Poachers?  Otherwise, every single female Miqo I've seen that's an NPC has been a hooker or a dancing girl.

 

There's even an otherwise serious NPC in Gridania (a questgiver) who uses the word "meow" in place of "now."  I wanted to choke someone when I ran into her.  While she's not super sexualized, the NPC is a joke.

The Miqo that "instructs" you durring the Archer quest line is serious. and I think there are several Miqo around in normal cloths doing stuff like handing out fliers. ((i'd have to wander around looking for them for specifics))

Also, the Summoner questline has a Scholarly Miqo you get your quests from. ::thinks:: I'm sure there are more!

[Ildur]

There's also a Maelstorm soldier that hands a couple of quests in Aleport. She confuses random wild life being close to the city with attacks. Not a very serious portrayal, but it's more the game playing on the the charcater being unexperienced (and perhaps not very smart) more than on her race's sex appeal of 'cat-likeness'.

Another fairly decent characterization is that of the huntresses of the U tribe who, during quests, are quite normal. It's somewhat offset by the fact you can also witness a couple of villagers doing the flirting animation towards an Immortal Flames soldier in their village... and let's not forget the "people are peeping on our bathing huntresses" quest.

 

So I'd say that, yes, Miqo'te characterization is all over the place. They do get more emphasis on their sex appeal than any other race: the ammount of Miqo'te concubines and dancers is higher than that of any other race. The only place where I remember seeing non Miqo'te concubines were Costa del Sol, where their population was still largely Miqo'te, and two Midlanders at the entrance of the Golden Bazaar. Oh, and I guess all the waitresses in the Sastasha dungeon aren't all Miqo'tes, either.

[Eve Malusion]

Miqo'te NPC characterization is all over the place. You have a bunch of serious, non-sexualized Miqo'te around, but the ammount of Miqo'te that have weird "cat-like" quirks or who are sexualized in some way is kind of staggering.

 

I can only think of 3 female Miqo'te NPCs that are serious and non-sexual, at least that I have encountered.  There's the leader of the Maelstrom, the NPC you work with in the Arcanist questline, and Y'shotla (sp?).  I guess you could count the Coeurlclaw Poachers?  Otherwise, every single female Miqo I've seen that's an NPC has been a hooker or a dancing girl.

 

There's even an otherwise serious NPC in Gridania (a questgiver) who uses the word "meow" in place of "now."  I wanted to choke someone when I ran into her.  While she's not super sexualized, the NPC is a joke.

The coeurlclaw poachers are actually some of the worst tribes there are in regards to this. If you see the FATEs related to them, they're all basically the harem of the "Coeurlclaw King". That tribe has always bothered me because, as far as I know, they're literally the only Keeper of the Moon tribe you can see NPCs of in a tribal culture, and they're all presented as concubines to their king even though lore says keepers are supposed to be a matriarchy (some of them literally being named "Coeurlclaw Concubine").

[LeCard]

Miqo'te NPC characterization is all over the place. You have a bunch of serious, non-sexualized Miqo'te around, but the ammount of Miqo'te that have weird "cat-like" quirks or who are sexualized in some way is kind of staggering.

 

I can only think of 3 female Miqo'te NPCs that are serious and non-sexual, at least that I have encountered.  There's the leader of the Maelstrom, the NPC you work with in the Arcanist questline, and Y'shotla (sp?).  I guess you could count the Coeurlclaw Poachers?  Otherwise, every single female Miqo I've seen that's an NPC has been a hooker or a dancing girl.

 

There's even an otherwise serious NPC in Gridania (a questgiver) who uses the word "meow" in place of "now."  I wanted to choke someone when I ran into her.  While she's not super sexualized, the NPC is a joke.

The coeurlclaw poachers are actually some of the worst tribes there are in regards to this. If you see the FATEs related to them, they're all basically the harem of the "Coeurlclaw King". That tribe has always bothered me because, as far as I know, they're literally the only Keeper of the Moon tribe you can see NPCs of in a tribal culture, and they're all presented as concubines to their king even though lore says keepers are supposed to be a matriarchy (some of them literally being named "Coeurlclaw Concubine").

 

 

I cannot remember If they are related or not, but I think the main "villian" from the archer quest line is one of the Coeurlclaw and is called the leader. Though it could be another clan all together, and Either way the leader is a strong female Miqo who is pretty bamf in my opinion. Maybe someone who paid more attention to the Archer lore can tell you more, but The group seemed less sexually obsessed and more focused on keeping Seekers together as one.

 

But yes, that FATE is weird and stupid(but so good for EXP)

[LiadansWhisper]

Miqo'te NPC characterization is all over the place. You have a bunch of serious, non-sexualized Miqo'te around, but the ammount of Miqo'te that have weird "cat-like" quirks or who are sexualized in some way is kind of staggering.

 

I can only think of 3 female Miqo'te NPCs that are serious and non-sexual, at least that I have encountered.  There's the leader of the Maelstrom, the NPC you work with in the Arcanist questline, and Y'shotla (sp?).  I guess you could count the Coeurlclaw Poachers?  Otherwise, every single female Miqo I've seen that's an NPC has been a hooker or a dancing girl.

 

There's even an otherwise serious NPC in Gridania (a questgiver) who uses the word "meow" in place of "now."  I wanted to choke someone when I ran into her.  While she's not super sexualized, the NPC is a joke.

The coeurlclaw poachers are actually some of the worst tribes there are in regards to this. If you see the FATEs related to them, they're all basically the harem of the "Coeurlclaw King". That tribe has always bothered me because, as far as I know, they're literally the only Keeper of the Moon tribe you can see NPCs of in a tribal culture, and they're all presented as concubines to their king even though lore says keepers are supposed to be a matriarchy (some of them literally being named "Coeurlclaw Concubine").

 

I was actually thinking of the NPC you run into in the main storyline quest, and the Leve quests out there.  I think I've done the Coeurlclaw King Fate maybe...twice?  I had never actually looked closely at the adds (they were usually dead by the time I got there ) but that is really strange.

 

I feel like the Lore people and the quest/NPC design people just haven't been talking to one another very much.  :-\

[Dat Oni]

lore seems to strongly support a sexual culture for tribal kitties, whereas those who grew up in cities would probably be more conservative.

 

Have you been to Ul'Dah, recently? There's a trio of female Miqo'te dancers there.