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Interracial Taboos in Lore


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Hi I'm new to the RPing community and I was just wondering if there are any known taboos between interracial marriages amongst Duskwight Elezen tribes. I know lore-wise that Duskwights traditionally don't like to mix well Wildwoods and all that but does this go the same for other races?

 

One of my friend's backstories has something to do with this so I wanna know if there really is a race barrier in traditional lore. 'Coz if there is then that would be awesome for her case.

 

Again, Thanks guys!

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Aside from the prejudice Duskwight are said to endure there really isn't anything that I'm aware of. The devs have stated that cross-breeds are possible, but rare. If that's due to social taboo or just poor fertility between different races is anyone's guess. Personally I think it might be the latter because we never really see Eorzeans being overtly racist.

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Aside from the prejudice Duskwight are said to endure there really isn't anything that I'm aware of. The devs have stated that cross-breeds are possible, but rare. If that's due to social taboo or just poor fertility between different races is anyone's guess. Personally I think it might be the latter because we never really see Eorzeans being overtly racist.

ah I see. but were it possible to suggest a tribe of Duskwight's being overtly racist due to what we know of their antiquity? It wouldn't be so outside their lore to have families that frown upon marrying into another race, right?

 

What do you think? :)

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ah I see. but were it possible to suggest a tribe of Duskwight's being overtly racist due to what we know of their antiquity? It wouldn't be so outside their lore to have families that frown upon marrying into another race, right?

 

I think that'd be fine. You're definitely in a grey area of lore here, so feel free to write what works for your story, I say.

 

For what it's worth, the devs have stated (and damned if I can't find the post; I'm pretty sure it's buried in the massive "CG Midlander" thread) that Eorzeans are typically pretty accepting, but then we also see examples of pretty severe racism, such as calling non-PC races "beastmen." So, either way you go, I think you'd be fine.

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I guess it could depend on the area and the family background of the character if they would be frowned upon or not. So as others have said it more or less is up to you or your friend there. ^^;

 

From what I've noticed most Duskwights I have run into don't speak much on the whole family or background. Mine might mention being common born but thats about it and thats only because another character she is commonly found with seems to draw up a question of Houses due to that character's name. 

 

Personally for my character if she ends up falling in love with or marrying a wildwood or another race then by all means. Odds are she won't be going back to her folks any time soon let alone worries about some disownment after leaving home in the first place. 

 

I'd agree to writing whatever works or would work better story wise for the two characters ^^ <3

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ah I see. but were it possible to suggest a tribe of Duskwight's being overtly racist due to what we know of their antiquity? It wouldn't be so outside their lore to have families that frown upon marrying into another race, right?

 

I think that'd be fine. You're definitely in a grey area of lore here, so feel free to write what works for your story, I say.

 

For what it's worth, the devs have stated (and damned if I can't find the post; I'm pretty sure it's buried in the massive "CG Midlander" thread) that Eorzeans are typically pretty accepting, but then we also see examples of pretty severe racism, such as calling non-PC races "beastmen." So, either way you go, I think you'd be fine.

 

Thank you so much! Though I'm new I honestly did go through more than 30 threads here looking for my answer before I even made my own thread. Thanks for welcoming my inquiry without a fuss. :)

 

As a side question, may I post a thread asking people if they'd like to link stories with me? or should I run through Wikis and ask them directly?

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Personally for my character if she ends up falling in love with or marrying a wildwood or another race then by all means. Odds are she won't be going back to her folks any time soon let alone worries about some disownment after leaving home in the first place. 

 

I'd agree to writing whatever works or would work better story wise for the two characters ^^ <3

I actually just finished reading up your wiki! :D

 

In my case I was really hoping that there is a glimmer of anything suggesting that there would be a taboo since it fits both her story and mine. I figured that the game intentionally chooses not to place such cultural barriers on the fact that these races will be used by players who will inescapably not stay consistent with it if they did make lore that way.

 

But reading upon a lot of Duskwight write-ups (both official and unofficial) it seems that they are a little segregated from other races as opposed to their wildwood counterparts. But nothing too confirming about it though... so yeah.

 

thanks for the insight!

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oh gods i hope you didnt i need to update that for major plot twists recently ^^;;; *having a almost 2 year old eats my free time >w>*

 

i think certain clans or families would find it to be taboo.. as far as seeing many rp it out i haven't but as my friend in FC chat said adventurers are more understanding or least withstanding of such barriers.. not saying everyone plays their character to be a adventurer type but it was a good point.

 

It might also depend on area.. i know if you were from lets say the houses of Ishgard there might be a bit of say in who you picked as a mate or not ... Also like i said im sure there are some more well off families who might care to keep the blood clean so to speak. 

 

I think it would be very interesting if you and your friend did play out the disapproval between the two races. It is not done nearly enough if you ask me ^^ (like i can talk with my character more or less working up to being a bodyguard for a Wildwood >_> though she does openly admit to disliking /trusting lalafell.)

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oh gods i hope you didnt i need to update that for major plot twists recently ^^;;; *having a almost 2 year old eats my free time >w>*

 

i think certain clans or families would find it to be taboo.. as far as seeing many rp it out i haven't but as my friend in FC chat said adventurers are more understanding or least withstanding of such barriers.. not saying everyone plays their character to be a adventurer type but it was a good point.

 

It might also depend on area.. i know if you were from lets say the houses of Ishgard there might be a bit of say in who you picked as a mate or not ... Also like i said im sure there are some more well off families who might care to keep the blood clean so to speak. 

 

I think it would be very interesting if you and your friend did play out the disapproval between the two races. It is not done nearly enough if you ask me ^^ (like i can talk with my character more or less working up to being a bodyguard for a Wildwood >_> though she does openly admit to disliking /trusting lalafell.)

 

Well we've tried it and hopefully it works for us. :)

 

this is what we've made for her which i hope works with lore and everything:

http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Frejl_Whitemaire

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I read it ^^ actually I like it! I think it works well personally. I may have to stalk the wiki if there is updates from the character and current events :3

 

~also thanks to you saying you read my fail page earlier I literally wasted 2 hours nearly finishing my own wiki~ @-@

 

but lore wise i think it all worked. I can't say much on the caves as i know lore says duskies live in caves but all npc reports in current game dont point to this xD Maybe someday we'll get a small duskwight cave city or town :3

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There's a fair bit of prejudice against Duskwights, and Wildwoods tend to be apt to perpetuate it. There's been a divide since the days of Gelmorra, and things haven't really improved for the Duskwights since- they're the ones who tend to be more isolated and more outside of "normal" Eorzean society, with a higher crime rate and a lower number of individuals in visible/respectable societal positions.

 

There's also the note in the naming lore that even though Duskwight and Wildwood names sound very similar, there's more or less no actual overlap. So even if "Nicot" or "Chassebel" are linguistically valid names for both Duskwights and Wildwoods, you're not going to see a Wildwood with those surnames.

 

There's nothing saying there can't be children of a mixed Wildwood/Duskwight union, but there is a considerable social barrier to such a union occurring in the first place. Wildwoods look down on Duskwights, generally, and Duskwights tend to avoid Wildwoods. Any couple would likely be at best in Romeo and Juliet circumstances.

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Aside from the prejudice Duskwight are said to endure there really isn't anything that I'm aware of. The devs have stated that cross-breeds are possible, but rare. If that's due to social taboo or just poor fertility between different races is anyone's guess. Personally I think it might be the latter because we never really see Eorzeans being overtly racist.

 

So... have you never done any of the quests in the game, or spent any time in the cities? Because overtly racist Eorzeans are kind of all over the place.

 

tumblr_mw7ndaaD551sjuek8o1_500.png

 

This is right outside a major guild in Gridania. Gridania's general xenophobic attitude is colored by the fact that it has constructed itself as a city of Wildwoods, Midlanders, and Padjal- and don't see room for much of anybody else. Duskwights, Keepers of the Moon, and Highlanders live on the margins of the society there, and are visibly worse off. And they're still doing better than the Highlanders in Quarrymill. 

 

As Freelancewizard noted already, there's also the issue of every sentient race outside of the playable five being called "beastmen" and viewed as less worthy/intelligent, distrusted because of their appearance and cultural practices. Merlwyb screws the Kobolds over on a legitimate deal and acts justified in it, and like them retaliating is somehow inappropriate as a response to her actions- and it seems like the Mamool Ja are also victims of this treatment. They wouldn't be hanging around Bronze Lake if they weren't hired and then suddenly let go by Limsa Lominsa.

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Actually you bringing up the npc chatter.. if you have done the lancer quest line a similar story is played out

where a Duskwight is blamed for something. Or rather is put to sole blame on something when there was a small group that committed the crime so to speak. Not that this little sob story made me feel pity for actions that he himself did following that event.. =/

 

 

 

I can't think of any other npcs that really openly insult or treat as lowers towards another race. I know I saw something somewhere... mayhasp it was a discussion on the forums here or the official forums during beta on insulting comments to say to the other races.

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I read it ^^ actually I like it! I think it works well personally. I may have to stalk the wiki if there is updates from the character and current events :3

 

~also thanks to you saying you read my fail page earlier I literally wasted 2 hours nearly finishing my own wiki~ @-@

 

but lore wise i think it all worked. I can't say much on the caves as i know lore says duskies live in caves but all npc reports in current game dont point to this xD Maybe someday we'll get a small duskwight cave city or town :3

 

thanks! well that's the story I helped make which ties into mine which also has a fair bit of that segregation we were talking about:

http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Crista%27an_Vold_Bunansa

 

I did read it! Still, at least you got something done! I'm pretty sure once you get the ball rolling you'd come up with something amazing. :) I'm following you too.

 

Aside from the prejudice Duskwight are said to endure there really isn't anything that I'm aware of. The devs have stated that cross-breeds are possible, but rare. If that's due to social taboo or just poor fertility between different races is anyone's guess. Personally I think it might be the latter because we never really see Eorzeans being overtly racist.

 

So... have you never done any of the quests in the game, or spent any time in the cities? Because overtly racist Eorzeans are kind of all over the place.

 

tumblr_mw7ndaaD551sjuek8o1_500.png

 

This is right outside a major guild in Gridania. Gridania's general xenophobic attitude is colored by the fact that it has constructed itself as a city of Wildwoods, Midlanders, and Padjal- and don't see room for much of anybody else. Duskwights, Keepers of the Moon, and Highlanders live on the margins of the society there, and are visibly worse off. And they're still doing better than the Highlanders in Quarrymill. 

 

As Freelancewizard noted already, there's also the issue of every sentient race outside of the playable five being called "beastmen" and viewed as less worthy/intelligent, distrusted because of their appearance and cultural practices. Merlwyb screws the Kobolds over on a legitimate deal and acts justified in it, and like them retaliating is somehow inappropriate as a response to her actions- and it seems like the Mamool Ja are also victims of this treatment. They wouldn't be hanging around Bronze Lake if they weren't hired and then suddenly let go by Limsa Lominsa.

 

This is GREAT! For my story to be feasible I need there to be an overt segregation of the clans/races especially coming from the Duskwights which is the main motivation of the character created. care to give mine a little proof reading just to see if i'm not too far from lore?

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"It depends."

 

For the most part, Eorzea is overall very tolerant of the other races. With the exception of a few handful, there really isn't one that is specifically getting the brunt of the hate. Considering the sheer variety of races, that's actually quite the feat.

 

More than anything the blatant intolerance has more to do with the culture and society. Without knowing more about your character, I'll simply run through the cities each in turn:

 

Gridania is, far and away, one of the least tolerant nations of the three. This is because their society is founded on the peace and tranquility of the Earth Spirits that dwell there. Bear in mind that these powerful forces prevented the entire society from entering at all for 200 years. It took the combined efforts of the Seedseers and probably even the blessing of Nophica to even get them to let them in. And when the Elementals are pissed whole villages can be wiped out. So this intolerance of outsiders is both conditioned and pragmatic. They have learned to be wary of other people who aren't versed in their ways -- because if any fool adventurer to do something they aren't supposed to they run the risk of getting everybody killed. More or less if you do that there they will pretty much disown you and let the wilds kill you for fear that something equal will happen to you as well. In addition, the Wildwood Elezen make their home there and have butt heads with the Seeker of the Moon Miqo'te, the Ala Mhigans, and the Ixal. They are fiercely territorial and even more so with a race that bears a close resemblance to themselves. (I always found this part interesting because the Padjals are all Hyur, but... details).

 

Ul'dah actually doesn't have racism per se but that doesn't mean they aren't exclusive. They are essentially what happens in a society that values commerce and capitalism runs unchecked. The Syndicate, originally six members but are now down to a smaller number because some of them died during the calamity, ran the mining, alchemy, trade, bank, and religious temple of the entire city. Raubhan was a former member too after receiving significant fame and notoriety -- he owned the Colosseum -- but gave up his claim to become the General of the Immortal Flames. Anyways, the city runs on the axiom "whoever has the gold makes the rules." Those without, as evidence in Camp Drybone and the other refugee camps in the area suck majorly. As Duskwights have a history of being a race without a home, they may find this place especially oppressive unless their ingenuity and mercantile skills allows them the opportunity to make it rich... and be hopeful that their enterprise doesn't cross the syndicate's gaze.

 

Limsa Lominsa is another weird case. The area boasts the greatest opportunity for freedom and opportunity but the whole area was cordoned off with martial law by Merlwyb before the end of the last era. As far as I know she's still acting as commanding Chief Admiral. This is far and away one of the biggest power grabs in the game (and something that I'm surprised nobody has called her out on), and she seems content to impose her own views and regulations on the entire island. She has control over the ship trade routes and boasts one of the most powerful navies Eorzea has seen (if not the ONLY navy Eorzea has seen...). Anyways, there is still freedoms and opportunities there... but you are going to be playing by Merlwyb's rules or not at all. A lot of pirates have been stuck trying to cultivate a land that has proven to be more or less uninhabitable in some areas (such as the struggling settlement of Poor Maid's Mill). Master Gegeruju (who appears to be a POWERFUL alchemist from Ul'dah) actually scoffs at the idea of taming the land and seems to have the right idea if you see how well cultivated he has made the Bloodshore region. So in this case instead of differences by groups or differences by wealth, you have differences by creed. The resentment and desire to go back to the sea is still seen within the pirates that are growing the crops... and full-scale revolt may come if Merlwyb doesn't find a way to make that land habitable for her people.

 

So I'd say take the path you want with the lore and use them to work out what you want to do. ^_^

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