Racial RP: How do YOU do it?

[K'nahli]

But that's such a modern societal view of it. I wonder how many tias actually see that side of it as opposed to treating it as a position of respect and honour. It defines them as the most capable hunter in the tribe and one whom bears the responsibility of siring the next generation. All I ever see are people scrutinizing it and writing it off as though it were just like:

"lol im nuhn now. all de girlz are mien."

 

 

Plus they don't really get any girl they want when they want. They obvious have to establish relationships with some of the girls that support him and not just treat them as pregnancy machine, haha.

 

That requires nuance and reading, though. We're discussing the lowest-denominator groups who saw tails, ears and alpha male positioning and stopped reading. Good roleplayers will play good characters. I'm challenging the idea that not emoting your tail or being overtly-miqoish in emotes removes you from the "good roleplayer" side of things.

 

I do not think SE did themselves any favors incorporating such a taboo concept, though. It's going to draw folks who are only in it for the ass, and has.

 

Ahhh, I see. I apologise for the misunderstanding.

[Knight Kat]

 

Oi vey. This is something that people need to stop doing. Projecting OUR cultural norms onto our characters...is not cool.

 

Just because you're not okay with it OOCly, doesn't mean that your character is against it. If it's a societal thing, then there needs to be an understanding that your character is probably not going to have a problem with it.

 

Now, if you want to create a reasonable reason for your character to struggle with it, that's one thing. But simply saying that your character isn't okay with it....that's another thing entirely.

 

Yes, please, this. But it's like most people can't help it. Especially with IC romantic relationships.

 

I have no problem with Miqo'te characters, or any other characters looking negatively upon traditional Miqo'te culture. However, like it or not, the lower birth rate of male Miqo'te -does- change things. You can't sustain a species (race, whatever) on long-term pair bonding when males are so few due to natural birth rate.

 

A character can scoff at and insult a promiscuous or polyamorous Miqo'te all they want. My character will see the one being regarded negatively as doing what is best for their race. However, IRL, I am not promiscuous, nor do I practice polyamory. The latter still not being regarded in a negative way IRL though.

 

I get a little miffed when people say that all Miqo'te rpers are just yaoi/yiff/anime/insert-your-fandom-fetish-here excuses, because it's a bit of a short-sighted generalization that doesn't fit 95% of the serious RP crowd that has a miqo'te. It's kind of like saying all football fans are violent hooligans. In general, I haven't been in contact with the fandoms and the fetishes that people so often compare it to - I don't watch a whole lot of Anime and I'm not big on the japaneese culture. Literally what I thought when I saw the Miqo'te was that I like cats, in the sense that I find them interesting, and felt it was kind of cool to see that kind of a mix between man and cat. Just like I'm sure there's a lot of people getting interested in the Au Ra because dragons are fucking awesome like. So that makes them interesting to them.

 

Give your local Miqo'te a chance <3

 

Yes, this too. If anyone wants to see some Miqo'te who try to maintain culture and Miqo'te tendencies, come RP with my FC. I can also make a list of all the "serious" Miqo'te player characters I know (both traditional and non-traditional) if this generalizing keeps up.

[Dravus]

I think that having cookie cutter roles for different races leads to a dull and dry sort of Eorzea.

 

We want people who differ. We want people who go against the "norm" of their culture, because that causes conflict, and really, what are we as RPers if not drama mongers (just drama of our own making).

 

Again, it's like saying that the sky, because it's the sky, is always blue.

 

It's not. There are so many hues of orange, yellow, purple, gray, black....to ignore them, is to ignore the beauty of the sky as a whole.

 

I don't think that's what anyone is getting at within this thread though. Characters can be different and still remain within the confines of plausibility. If they're just creative liberties stacked on top of yet more creative liberties, however, then that is just as boring as a character that never deviates from the stereotype associated with their character's race.

[Zhavi]

I think that having cookie cutter roles for different races leads to a dull and dry sort of Eorzea.

 

We want people who differ. We want people who go against the "norm" of their culture, because that causes conflict, and really, what are we as RPers if not drama mongers (just drama of our own making).

 

Again, it's like saying that the sky, because it's the sky, is always blue.

 

It's not. There are so many hues of orange, yellow, purple, gray, black....to ignore them, is to ignore the beauty of the sky as a whole.

 

The problem isn't going against the "norm" of the culture.

 

It's that developers of most fantasy settings make laughable excuses of cultures that define a whole species.

 

I mean, christ, we're still learning about various human cultures ! The western world is still actively seeking out and discovering new facets of people that we hadn't previously documented or known about!

 

And yet the majority of non-human fantasy species are nothing more than an insert of poorly adapted human trait that defines the 'theme' of various fantasy species, and dictates how most of a species is supposed to act in a cultural sense?

 

Uh huh. Yup. Excuse me while I ignore it in favor of adapting a richer background with less stereotype and ignorance. [note: not saying people who choose to go with it and enrich it are in any way less -- kudos to them. What I'm saying is penalizing those who choose to go a different route is really rather silly in a big way -- especially because there is absolutely no indication of species defining behaviors beyond a few cosmetic things. Every. Single. Intelligent. Species. in this game acts like humans in a major way with a few minor props tossed in.]

 

/extraranty

[Ritual]

I don't really see this thread getting anywhere any time soon, all that has been established is that there is a split in how people believe something should be RPed, or how they perceive cultures, other people, basically what has been established is what everyone's talking about, not every character will act to lore or to their culture, not everyone has the same views, a vast majority of people are different, which is pretty much what the discussion is about. There is no right and wrong, these are just concepts created by society or a culture, individuals also have their own ways of saying what is right or wrong, saying that other people are RPing a Miqo'te wrong has no real basis, there is no objectivity in that and that is why discussions like this will keep going and going because everyone has their own views on subjects like this. 

 

This thread has a good potential of just becoming another hot-pot discussion like ERP, you can have you're own views, but lets not try to enforce these views on others, agree to disagree and move on, because this will just go around and around and won't end until people just tire of the thread until another comes a long.

[Clover]

All that said, I do wish there were more tribal miqo'te about, and I do wish we saw more conflict between the "city miqo'te" and the "country miqo'te."

 

I'm eager to bring any of my tribal miqo'tes to Ul'dah for some trading, so that they can get more of that cultural shock. I haven't yet because they're in an important tribal scene, but the idea of bringing my Tia to Ul'dah has been in my mind for a long time. It'll be fun >_<

 

That aside, I also wish there were more tribal miqo'tes. Tribes are supposed to be the norm with Seekers, but we're such a small minority *sweatdrops* (and just for the record, I don't personally like or even understand the way Seekers work, but I enjoy the challenge of having to follow rules. It's not like I actually have to RP the things that make me uncomfortable, as my character isn't going to give herself to any Nunh; she just understands it'll happen "someday" and that's it. With this I mean that RPing a tribal miqo'te doesn't mean you have to engage or even assume that ERP is happening; that's not the only point of their culture).

[Kinono]

How many Lalafell are played as the passionate, powerful people that they actually are? Ul'dah is a Lalafell city, after all! The rest of us have just emigrated there.

 

*raise hand, passionately and powerfully*

 

THEY TOOK OUR JOBS.

[Alothia]

 There is no right and wrong, these are just concepts created by society or a culture, individuals also have their own ways of saying what is right or wrong, saying that other people are RPing a Miqo'te wrong has no real basis, there is no objectivity in that and that is why discussions like this will keep going and going because everyone has their own views on subjects like this. 

I think that my meaning got lost in my last post, but it's pretty much this. There is no right or wrong as to how you play anything. Your Miqo is more hyur-like? That's cool (as long as there's reasoning behind it). Your Miqo is tribal and does the tribal thing? Awesome.

 

The world needs all kinds to be fleshed out. You do your character how you want.

[Warren Castille]

You, Warren, don't have a particularly Highlander name.

 

I want to narrow in on this, right here. You are absolutely correct that Warren's name isn't lore-abiding. I also fully expect people to see that and write it off. That's fine, but I've done my best to explain where his name comes from (posted it here somewhere, too) and I've made a number of veiled references to Warren's non-standard upbringing. I don't expect anyone to notice these things, or care about them. But, they're there. That's why I get defensive when people look at a snippet of someone's RP, or their name, or their anything-face-value, and make judgements about that person, their RP or their ability. When I meet people ICly with non-standard names, I just assume they aren't from around here. I hope people do the same for me.

 

Not saying that this is what you've done, but I wanted to show how this could be done.

 

Ultimately, the only people who'll learn Warren's backstory are the folks he tells it to, and I'm fine with that. If you're the type to write me (or anyone) off due to some overheard Quicksand banter or something, you're probably not the sort of person I want to roleplay with anyway. There's plenty of other reasons to not want to RP with me!

[Gegenji]

This thread has a good potential of just becoming another hot-pot discussion like ERP, you can have you're own views, but lets not try to enforce these views on others, agree to disagree and move on, because this will just go around and around and won't end until people just tire of the thread until another comes a long.

 

That's the feeling I've been getting too, actually.

 

The original basis of the discussion was how one person felt other people should RP their Miqo'te - making use of their ears and tails to identify them as something beyond Hyurs with cat features. It somehow evolved - as such things often do - into people discussing how Miqo'te should be portrayed as a whole, including their culture background since it's always the biggest talking point about them.

 

Some people will stick closer to lore, some will not. Some will have "legitimate" reasons why their characters don't stick to lore and some won't. Some created their characters for their rich stories and interactions, some just want something pretty to look at while they punch bugs for four hours. These happen across all MMOs, all races; not just Miqo'te.

 

It's all just how people choose approach the game. You can tut and complain about how everyone else is doing it wrong, but that's just personal bias and opinion. Everyone is deriving their own enjoyment from the game, whether it's through progression, casual play, light-RP, heavy-RP, ERP, or a mixture of the above. The best one can do is just try to find those who you enjoy interacting with and just... do your thing with them.

 

Unless you're being a troll. That's just obnoxious.

Seriously, though. The only time I have an issue with how people play is when they try to impose their views on others. Example, the trolls who crash RP events because they think "RP is dumb." Saying how people SHOULD be playing their characters can get rather close to this mindset, and that worries me.

[N'velhi Tia]

I personally created my two Miqo'te because the tribal way of living interested me. My current main, N'velhi could be deemed a savage by Ul'dah, lacking proper mannerisms (walks about on all fours on occasion, urinates in public, has no problem with public nudity nor does he understand why others do etc.) and I thoroughly love RPing him.

 

Problem is, like most Tias, he strives to be Nunh, unlikely to happen given his manners, but works dilligently on getting himself a tribe. Now, this crass Tia often makes crude remarks to females; doesn't respect them until they've proven to be capable huntresses. He wants to build relationships with females, start his own polyamorous tribe and become Nunh. For this reason I've not roleplayed him in public, mainly due to me probably being labeled another guy in it for the ERP (really, I'm more than happy to fade to black during sexy times). And, honestly, I'm at a loss on how to fix that.

 

When is someone deemed a tribal Miqo'te character and when a Miqo'te gutterslut?

[Delilah Scythewood]

For me, names have never thrown me off until they're deliberately trollish.

 

Hell, the first person I RPed with on this server was Endemerrin. I didn't bat an eye at the name lol. I just thought his baby opo-opo was cute!

[Dravus]

I don't really see this thread getting anywhere any time soon, all that has been established is that there is a split in how people believe something should be RPed, or how they perceive cultures, other people, basically what has been established is what everyone's talking about, not every character will act to lore or to their culture, not everyone has the same views, a vast majority of people are different, which is pretty much what the discussion is about. There is no right and wrong, these are just concepts created by society or a culture, individuals also have their own ways of saying what is right or wrong, saying that other people are RPing a Miqo'te wrong has no real basis, there is no objectivity in that and that is why discussions like this will keep going and going because everyone has their own views on subjects like this. 

 

This thread has a good potential of just becoming another hot-pot discussion like ERP, you can have you're own views, but lets not try to enforce these views on others, agree to disagree and move on, because this will just go around and around and won't end until people just tire of the thread until another comes a long.

 

So long as people remain civil I don't really see the problem. I mean, if we want to get technical there's all sorts of different aspects of role-play that have been discussed in the past - but that doesn't mean there aren't new people looking to weigh in on those subjects.

 

Plus there's a lot of posters - myself included - who enjoy a good debate and these sort of threads tend to be very active.

[K'nahli]

When is someone deemed a tribal Miqo'te character and when a Miqo'te gutterslut?

 

A lot of people have the wrong idea about them in general so if you even show hints of promiscuity then you're going to get slapped by the judgemental hand of Lord Stereotype.

[Warren Castille]

I personally created my two Miqo'te because the tribal way of living interested me. My current main, N'velhi could be deemed a savage by Ul'dah, lacking proper mannerisms (walks about on all fours on occasion, urinates in public, has no problem with public nudity nor does he understand why others do etc.) and I thoroughly love RPing him.

 

Problem is, like most Tias, he strives to be Nunh, unlikely to happen given his manners, but works dilligently on getting himself a tribe. Now, this crass Tia often makes crude remarks to females; doesn't respect them until they've proven to be capable huntresses. He wants to build relationships with females, start his own polyamorous tribe and become Nunh. For this reason I've not roleplayed him in public, mainly due to me probably being labeled another guy in it for the ERP (really, I'm more than happy to fade to black during sexy times). And, honestly, I'm at a loss on how to fix that.

 

When is someone deemed a tribal Miqo'te character and when a Miqo'te gutterslut?

 

It's nitpicking, but there's zero reason to do this when miqo'te don't have paws or pads.

[Kage]

I wish to re-name this: Racial RP Doing it Right or Wrong.

 

.... Have there ever been any instance in the game of Miqo'te NPCs even actually acting other than "man with extra appendages, possibly better smell etc"?

 

I mean, I certainly don't see the Miqo'te in the Shroud or those in the U tribe acting... "feral"? Uncivilized in western culture I guess is the best way I can put it. Yes, we haven't seen any evidence to say there aren't, but have there been instances where the Miqo'te act anything other than a man with tails and cat ears? Cultural norms aside of the Nunh etc.

[Berrod Armstrong]

When is someone deemed a tribal Miqo'te character and when a Miqo'te gutterslut?

 

A lot of people have the wrong idea about them in general so if you even show hints of promiscuity then you're going to get slapped by the judgemental hand of Lord Stereotype.

I find this a good question. For example -- up until recent developments I played Berrod as a very sexually charged character. He sometimes went out of his way to display his attractiveness, down to the sort of clothes he wore. He had zero problem calling lewdly to women in public, and would often strut about with a blatant "You definitely wanna fuck me" attitude. Yet -- he never got the reputation of being a gutterslut. Was it because Highlanders don't have the same sort of societal construct as Miqo'te? I could never figure it out.

[N'velhi Tia]

I personally created my two Miqo'te because the tribal way of living interested me. My current main, N'velhi could be deemed a savage by Ul'dah, lacking proper mannerisms (walks about on all fours on occasion, urinates in public, has no problem with public nudity nor does he understand why others do etc.) and I thoroughly love RPing him.

 

Problem is, like most Tias, he strives to be Nunh, unlikely to happen given his manners, but works dilligently on getting himself a tribe. Now, this crass Tia often makes crude remarks to females; doesn't respect them until they've proven to be capable huntresses. He wants to build relationships with females, start his own polyamorous tribe and become Nunh. For this reason I've not roleplayed him in public, mainly due to me probably being labeled another guy in it for the ERP (really, I'm more than happy to fade to black during sexy times). And, honestly, I'm at a loss on how to fix that.

 

When is someone deemed a tribal Miqo'te character and when a Miqo'te gutterslut?

 

It's nitpicking, but there's zero reason to do this when miqo'te don't have paws or pads.

 

I'm well aware it's not usually done. However, having been a hunter most of his life he started to adapt to other apex predators, couerls, mainly. It's why he has also sharpened his own teeth.

[Gegenji]

When is someone deemed a tribal Miqo'te character and when a Miqo'te gutterslut?

 

A lot of people have the wrong idea about them in general so if you even show hints of promiscuity then you're going to get slapped by the judgemental hand of Lord Stereotype.

I find this a good question. For example -- up until recent developments I played Berrod as a very sexually charged character. He sometimes went out of his way to display his attractiveness, down to the sort of clothes he wore. He had zero problem calling lewdly to women in public, and would often strut about with a blatant "You definitely wanna fuck me" attitude. Yet -- he never got the reputation of being a gutterslut. Was it because Highlanders don't have the same sort of societal construct as Miqo'te? I could never figure it out.

 

Well, if a MIQO'TE does it, it's being slutty. If a Manlander does it, it's just RPing. Obviously we're suffering from fantasy racism. :roll:

[Delilah Scythewood]

When is someone deemed a tribal Miqo'te character and when a Miqo'te gutterslut?

 

A lot of people have the wrong idea about them in general so if you even show hints of promiscuity then you're going to get slapped by the judgemental hand of Lord Stereotype.

I find this a good question. For example -- up until recent developments I played Berrod as a very sexually charged character. He sometimes went out of his way to display his attractiveness, down to the sort of clothes he wore. He had zero problem calling lewdly to women in public, and would often strut about with a blatant "You definitely wanna fuck me" attitude. Yet -- he never got the reputation of being a gutterslut. Was it because Highlanders don't have the same sort of societal construct as Miqo'te? I could never figure it out.

I think it's because most people see miqo'te and think "sex kitties, heat, pheromones, oh my!"

 

Highlanders make me think like highlanders of old: loud fighters who will smack the barmaid's ass as she trounces by.

[Dravus]

When is someone deemed a tribal Miqo'te character and when a Miqo'te gutterslut?

 

A lot of people have the wrong idea about them in general so if you even show hints of promiscuity then you're going to get slapped by the judgemental hand of Lord Stereotype.

I find this a good question. For example -- up until recent developments I played Berrod as a very sexually charged character. He sometimes went out of his way to display his attractiveness, down to the sort of clothes he wore. He had zero problem calling lewdly to women in public, and would often strut about with a blatant "You definitely wanna fuck me" attitude. Yet -- he never got the reputation of being a gutterslut. Was it because Highlanders don't have the same sort of societal construct as Miqo'te? I could never figure it out.

 

It depends on how it's done. The stereotype tends to click when that's all a particular character ends up doing...and let's be honest, a lot of Miqo'te role-players do spoil things for the rest of their brethren by desperately seeking ERP at every turn.

 

Obviously not every Miqo'te role-player should be tarnished with the same brush but at the same time I can't blame people for being wary.

[Zhavi]

I wish to re-name this: Racial RP Doing it Right or Wrong.

 

.... Have there ever been any instance in the game of Miqo'te NPCs even actually acting other than "man with extra appendages, possibly better smell etc"?

 

I mean, I certainly don't see the Miqo'te in the Shroud or those in the U tribe acting... "feral"? Uncivilized in western culture I guess is the best way I can put it. Yes, we haven't seen any evidence to say there aren't, but have there been instances where the Miqo'te act anything other than a man with tails and cat ears? Cultural norms aside of the Nunh etc.

 

because these species were developed to be flavor and not as in depth setting that others could use to reproduce for the purpose of in depth characterization. As many nice things as rpers get in this game, actual realistic culture/behavior is definitely not one of them.

 

So the only thing to do to truly separate from the other human split offs is the little flavor bits of biology.

[Knight Kat]

I don't understand the point of stating that a thread is invalid, or not getting anywhere. There have been quite a few threads lately that almost derailed into debates about Miqo'te. This thread -needed- to be made, and I give Warren kudos for starting it.

 

I have only been in this community for a year, but I feel like I am looking at a third generation of Balmung RPers. Seriously, I know some of you, but some of you other people... Who are you!? :lol:

 

Sometimes topics once talked about, even in great detail, should be brought up again when there is a new group of people to chime in and benefit. As always, if someone doesn't like the thread then they should ignore it. Let everyone who wants to participate in the discussion do so. If we are wasting time, it is our time to waste.

[Kage]

I wish to re-name this: Racial RP Doing it Right or Wrong.

 

.... Have there ever been any instance in the game of Miqo'te NPCs even actually acting other than "man with extra appendages, possibly better smell etc"?

 

I mean, I certainly don't see the Miqo'te in the Shroud or those in the U tribe acting... "feral"? Uncivilized in western culture I guess is the best way I can put it. Yes, we haven't seen any evidence to say there aren't, but have there been instances where the Miqo'te act anything other than a man with tails and cat ears? Cultural norms aside of the Nunh etc.

 

because these species were developed to be flavor and not as in depth setting that others could use to reproduce for the purpose of in depth characterization.  As many nice things as rpers get in this game, actual realistic culture/behavior is definitely not one of them.

 

So the only thing to do to truly separate from the other human split offs is the little flavor bits of biology.

Zhavi I love you but I think something got cut off or my brain is dying.

 

So there... isn't really?

[Kinono]

When is someone deemed a tribal Miqo'te character and when a Miqo'te gutterslut?

 

A lot of people have the wrong idea about them in general so if you even show hints of promiscuity then you're going to get slapped by the judgemental hand of Lord Stereotype.

I find this a good question. For example -- up until recent developments I played Berrod as a very sexually charged character. He sometimes went out of his way to display his attractiveness, down to the sort of clothes he wore. He had zero problem calling lewdly to women in public, and would often strut about with a blatant "You definitely wanna fuck me" attitude. Yet -- he never got the reputation of being a gutterslut. Was it because Highlanders don't have the same sort of societal construct as Miqo'te? I could never figure it out.

 

Well, if a MIQO'TE does it, it's being slutty. If a Manlander does it, it's just RPing. Obviously we're suffering from fantasy racism. :roll:

 

And if a lalafell does it, a black van shows up in my dri-