Racial relationships

[Dogberry]

Dogberry's only outright "no" is for lalafell. It's not a question of chemistry or biology, but of physics. He's considered exceptions for the especially charming ones, but is so afraid that he would literally kill them in a moment of passion that he's not going to risk it.

 

Dogberry feels like he's been pressured all his life to settle down with a nice Roegadyn girl. While he does enjoy his Roegadyn siswyns, the prospect of settling down scares him. That expectation always hangs over him when he's with a Roegadyn girl, which is why he approached Dhemgeim more formally than most other relationships. If he's going to be with a Roe girl, he has to do it The Right Way.

 

His relationships with the other races have been more casual. He doesn't feel the pressure to court them in any particular way and gets to do things like be friends with benefits or short term flings. In a way, he's much more comfortable with them.

 

Right now, with Menelwen, he's kind of taking a a more formal approach to dating a non-Roegadyn. He doesn't want to marry anytime soon, but he can at least be monogamous!

[Jana]

Dogberry could always hot dog that popoto booty. HotDogberry dat.

[Gegenji]

Dogberry's only outright "no" is for lalafell.

 

Lalafell usually seem to be on the no-no list for a lot of folks, and for pretty understandable reasons. I mean, they're obviously small and child-like, so any sort of physical attraction almost certainly would come off as more than a little creepy to some. It's kinda in the same boat as those really young-looking girls in anime who "are totally 500 years old, guys, it's cool."

 

Maybe the way to approach it is to have it be more of a mental or spiritual attraction rather than a physical one? You mesh well with each other due to either having similar tastes or interests, or your differences complement each other, something like that. Of course, you'd still probably get people giving you looks for being squidgy - especially if you're really putting the "public" in public displays of affection. Still, I could still see romances with Lalafell working out, just in a less... physical sense? I dunno.

 

I mean, Chachan's actually somehow managed to end up with some folks showing some possible romantic interest in him despite of (or perhaps because of) his heroic, dorky behavior. However, all of them are other Lalafell - with one of them being a boy despite Chachan's hetero nature. That in itself is fine, I'm flattered enough that folks like the guy enough to want to get into possible romantic entanglements with him. It's more the conversation that came from it, where the idea was put forward that "Lalafell only being for other Lalafell"... despite the aforementioned examples to the contrary (Momodi's Hyur suitor, the lady Lala who dreams of Raubahn, the 1.0 Miqo'te).

 

Again, it's still an (understandable) culture thing from a Human standpoint. Just like some look negatively upon the harem natures of the Miqo'te tribes... just so much worse so since the Miqo'te at least still have quite obvious secondary sex characteristics to be physcially attracted to instead of looking like children. I just like to think and hope that even the Popotos have a chance for deep, meaningful relationships with anyone, just like any of the other races. It just takes a different... mindset and approach, I think, to avoid it potentially coming off as wrong or creepy?

 

I dunno. I'm rambling and I've edited this post, like, four or five times now trying to get my own thoughts clear on this. Lala love just seems like such a... touchy subject. Maybe I just dislike the idea of Lalafell being so potentially limited on their romantic options due so heavily to appearance? :blush:

[Sounsyy]

the lady Lala who dreams of Raubahn

 

Would like to point out that that's a male Lala dreaming of Raubahn. Which makes the "I am your sultana" even funnier. ;P

 

 

Lore has already been covered by people so I'mma just add that Sounsyy's never been in a relationship with a fellow Seeker Miqo'te before. Only a Highlander boy when she was younger and a Keeper lady to date. Her mother and father were a mixed couple so she really doesn't have much stigma against it.

[Caspar]

I'm fine with the idea of lalafell romance even with mixed race couples, but I would rather gloss over the distasteful stuff. On a certain level, I can't not see them as children. I think that in setting other races would have a similar problem, and it takes a certain type of individual to look past that and recognize them for being fully fledged, mature adults.

 

There was a problem in a strategy game I played, actually. The lore for the game Sword of the Stars mentioned that the Tarkasians, lizard people, had difficulty fighting humans in hand to hand or on the ground despite a huge physical edge. This is because they exhibited sexual dimorphism where the females were much larger and stronger, (Until a select few males undergo a *second* sexual maturation, one of their weirder biological quirks triggered by a special diet.) and infant/juvenile Tarkasians were less scaled and had smooth skin. To them, the humans looked like androgynous children, who'd never gone through puberty and reached that point where males and females started to look different. Even if logically, they could recognize their enemy as mature adults and competent soldiers, subconsciously it was ingrained into them by society and their own biology to find the act of killing them disturbing on a fundamental level. I think that other races will inevitably struggle with this instinctual aversion even in lore. Forget even romance; I think there are a lot of people who'd have difficulty even raising a hand to or committing violence against Lalafell.

[Kinono]

I'm fine with the idea of lalafell romance even with mixed race couples, but I would rather gloss over the distasteful stuff. On a certain level, I can't not see them as children. I think that in setting other races would have a similar problem, and it takes a certain type of individual to look past that and recognize them for being fully fledged, mature adults.

 

Ahh... I tend to have very much the opposite opinion/experience. Many people I tend to deal with admit that they wouldn't romantically deal with a lalafell but for (the obvious) purely OoC reasons. I don't think I've actually ever met anyone ICly who's referred to lalafell as looking childlike. Though, granted... I play a lalafell exclusively, so maybe they're just hiding it from me!

[Kage]

Actually a lot of (non)-Rpers I've met always want to punt lalafells.

 

Even some RPers >.>

 

Though again, OOC actions are different from IC actions.

[Warren Castille]

Part of the trouble with lalafell is that, if anyone played FFXI, the resemblance to the very childlike Tarutaru race is impossible to ignore. Barring very few NPCs, the taru were almost entirely giggly, rhyming children. Or spoke like Ned-diddly-ed-ded Flanders.

 

XIV does a decent job of rectifying that, but in some cases the damage is already done.

[Lost River]

Lost River for example, had been betrayed by her own race; she prefers Roegadyn (Hellsguard) of either gender preferably, but; as her past husband tried to do something -terrible-, well, it ended there.

 

She's a bit more open with other races, mainly from being raised between Ul'dah and Limsa.

 

Currently she is in a same sex relation with a Miqo'te, whom from my understanding was not raised with other Miqo'te, so; she's pretty much a Hyur with a tail with Miqo'te instincts.

[Lost River]

Also, it is good to note, even if your character is native, you can be open too. Mainly, have a reason for it. Also, player-base is < NPC base. There are more people that are NPCs than players, so its fine to do how you want. :3

[Kamome]

"Her parents were academics who worked at the Milvaneth Sacrarium before it was destroyed. Therefore, she has been utterly /steeped/ in Dunesfolk culture since she was a kid. She sees herself, despite Midlanders having a pretty high class position in Ul'dah, as a minority within academic/religious life. Dunesfolk seem to utterly dominate the Sacrarium and the Ossuary. So she views Dunesfolk with utmost respect--having absorbed their sense of racial superiority through proximity. Somewhere deep down, she probably feels she will never be as intelligent as most Dunesfolk. Also, as a very non-physical, more intellectual/knowledge-driven character, she is romantically attracted to lalafell for their intellects. She's an example of a character who reacts to interracial conflict and competition by idealizing and emulating the higher status race rather than hating it."

 

^ My original/Ul'dah main is a Midlander girl who only has a romantic history with lalafell. I feel it's completely plausible that other races could and would be attracted to lalafell. I mean, they're the dominant race in Ul'dah. And they talk as if there aren't many racial barriers.

[Lost River]

^^^

 

Funny you say that, Lost had a similar crush on a Lalafell; a Roe crushing on a Lala in a non-crushing their body manner. It was cute.

 

 

Also, remember how desired Yellow Moon is among Hyur (Mid AND High) and Roegadyn (Hell & Sea) as well.

 

 

Face it, we're sexy. :3

[Dravus]

I've always been a little uncomfortable by the habit of many relationships involving a massive male being paired with a much smaller female or other male. Putting aside the questionable physical scenarios it feels very 'fetishy', especially in the case of gay pairings which seem to often be about one guy effectively being very submissive and feminine whilst the masculinity of the bigger guy is played up to ridiculous levels.

 

Each to their own, of course, but I certainly raise a few eyebrows at the more unusual pairings on both an IC and OOC level. In some cases they're even more common within the role-playing community than same race pairings.

 

I did encounter an interesting couple - a Miqo'te and a Roegadyn - who made it clear that nothing physical could happen between them due to the size difference however! That was an interesting and refreshing twist and their relationship was based more around romance and firm friendship rather than the physical stuff.

[Kage]

Face it, we're sexy. :3

Not going to lie. After changing to a Keeper for a little funsies I finally gave in to wanting to play as a FemRoe (considered male for a little bit because now I have to go through all my male specific clothing and get them exchanged) because I find them so very pretty.

 

I do find that relationships that may or may not happen with lalafell just tend to be from an OOC mindset than an actual IC one. I could be wrong and most characters just don't find anything about Lalafell attractive but... Wealthy and usually smart. Also, I find it hard to believe that a Lalafell could -keep- their wealth if they didn't have something to enforce their hold over it. If a Roegadyn or Highlander could easily overpower them and take their money, it'd be done. No lalas in a prosperous position... But they -are-.

[Kinono]

I'm still of the opinion that there's probably not as much difference as people seem to assume there is, but that's just me! There's just... no physical reason to actually believe a roegadyn is any different from a hyur or a miqo'te in that regard.

[Kamome]

I think Roegadyn males and females have really beautiful, angular faces. Of all the races, honestly, they have some of the best facial bone structure. I've recently RP'd a lot, non-romantically, with a female Roegadyn and I think she's the most gorgeous character I've seen in XIV yet. Amazing cheekbones!

[Enzo]

Hmm in regards to lala's mixing with other races. It could be because I am young, not really a child, but not an adult either. That it is kind of grey for me. I can see the struggle adults would have OOC and the mentality of not wanting to be courting a child. I have had people refuse to role play with me just for being a teenager even. So children makes it even worse. But I also feel that from a IC standpoint there is no problem. And for some really really heavy role players totally immersed in the lore, they can overlook these things. Although most people are not that heavy.

 

I do believe it is mostly and mentality thing though. The idea of seeing lalafell as children and coupling that with the wrong idea that you would be dating a lalafell only for the reason that they physically look like children is what I think causes most of the fear. But I believe most roleplayers look for things more than just physical attraction, as role players tend to be even slightly more into the details of things. And from a role players perspective I don't really see any problem with people doing the unconventional, and normally expect them to have a deeper reason for why they choose to do things.

 

Something I would suggest. To help you stray away from the mentality that all Lalafell are children, (Really while I can understand the basis, they seem far too exaggerated for me to consider them children) is to think of it in reference to other MMORPGs. When a person asks me "What is a lalafell?" I normally tell them it is this games version of a gnome or a hobbit. And that is often what I end up thinking of them as. I don't know anyone that has any problems with relationships with gnomes or hobbits. Heck Lalafell males even have the hilarious facial hair you might see on a gnome in WoW. It is simply because this is an asian game, asian developers tend to go for smoother more cuter visuals than its western counterparts. Which is just a cultural thing. To them they think nothing of it. It is just our culture that has such an overblown stigma. (I suppose you could consider Japan irresponsible if you really wanted to though)

 

Another thing is that most people who play FFXIV are people who most of the time are at least minorly interested in Japanese culture, or the culture that is brought forth and presented in the game (Also a part of Japanese culture) and the traits above are stuff generally things that if people were against, they would not normally be playing an asian game. So that coupled with the fact this is subscription based and not filled with random people, leads me to believe we all have somewhat common interests in respect to the game and can get along with the game presented guidelines.

 

So I can't change your all's minds if you are set on it. But I wouldn't have too much of a problem having my characters date lalafells. I am a bit biased because I am younger myself and it is less of an issue, I am fairly well versed in/and a follower of Japanese culture, and because I somewhat struggle to see them as children (Maybe because I am younger myself and the closer I have to come to comparing myself to their exaggerated ridiculousness/childishness, even if it was when I was younger, the more it makes my brain hurt.)

 

That is just my two cents. Take it with a grain of salt.

[Ha'uruh Nunh]

Dogberry's only outright "no" is for lalafell.

 

Lalafell usually seem to be on the no-no list for a lot of folks, and for pretty understandable reasons. I mean, they're obviously small and child-like, so any sort of physical attraction almost certainly would come off as more than a little creepy to some. It's kinda in the same boat as those really young-looking girls in anime who "are totally 500 years old, guys, it's cool."

 

Maybe the way to approach it is to have it be more of a mental or spiritual attraction rather than a physical one? You mesh well with each other due to either having similar tastes or interests, or your differences complement each other, something like that. Of course, you'd still probably get people giving you looks for being squidgy - especially if you're really putting the "public" in public displays of affection. Still, I could still see romances with Lalafell working out, just in a less... physical sense? I dunno.

 

I mean, Chachan's actually somehow managed to end up with some folks showing some possible romantic interest in him despite of (or perhaps because of) his heroic, dorky behavior. However, all of them are other Lalafell - with one of them being a boy despite Chachan's hetero nature. That in itself is fine, I'm flattered enough that folks like the guy enough to want to get into possible romantic entanglements with him. It's more the conversation that came from it, where the idea was put forward that "Lalafell only being for other Lalafell"... despite the aforementioned examples to the contrary (Momodi's Hyur suitor, the lady Lala who dreams of Raubahn, the 1.0 Miqo'te).

 

Again, it's still an (understandable) culture thing from a Human standpoint. Just like some look negatively upon the harem natures of the Miqo'te tribes... just so much worse so since the Miqo'te at least still have quite obvious secondary sex characteristics to be physcially attracted to instead of looking like children. I just like to think and hope that even the Popotos have a chance for deep, meaningful relationships with anyone, just like any of the other races. It just takes a different... mindset and approach, I think, to avoid it potentially coming off as wrong or creepy?

 

I dunno. I'm rambling and I've edited this post, like, four or five times now trying to get my own thoughts clear on this. Lala love just seems like such a... touchy subject. Maybe I just dislike the idea of Lalafell being so potentially limited on their romantic options due so heavily to appearance? :blush:

 

When we discussed this last night, I did mention I thought it was a shame that Lalas are informally restricted to other Lalas by convention if not rule.  My (admittedly infrequently-played) Lala alt is with a Seeker Miqo'te male.

 

I was a little sadface that Chachan did end up with a Lalafell girl since it does seem a little "expected" or "obvious" - but if that's the RP coming his way, it makes sense.

 

As for Howl, he had one Keeper Miqo male interested in him ages ago, then a Duskwight Elezen for a short period of time.

[Zetchryn]

A'zireena finds Lalafell "Cute"... But is not really PHYSICALLY attracted to them. She's more likely to cuddle one then to woo one.

 

That being said, if after a long time of knowing one, then she MIGHT be able to be involved with one... But it would be more of a "Attracted to them as a person" thing.

 

She's also tiny for a Miqo'te though, so there's that.

 

 

 

I honestly think that interspecies relationships CAN happen around the same sort of sizes, and extremely rarely beyond. Of course, I don't think any children are likely possible. A'zireena is an example of a half Seeker half Keeper who was told a lie by her mother that "Your father was a Tia, and failed to win against the Nuhn, so I left", rather then the truth of "You're actually half Seeker half Keeper." She finally realized this when, after spending so much time around a Keeper, she realized "Hey, you and I look a bit different... And my seeker friend looks different from you... But you look like my mother di-Oh. Oh. Oh shit."

[Enzo]

Err re-reading Ha'uruh Nunh's post I now see "it's still an (understandable) culture thing from a Human standpoint." I agree that it is a cultural thing. But not really attached to all humans. As throughout human history there have been uncountable harems and young mating. From a Modern standpoint our Western culture frowns upon that. But while it is slowly switching over to western viewpoint. That view is not of the world in its entirety, and definitely not of human kind who has been doing it for a very long time until recently.

While I agree we should respect our relative cultures. We should not forget that the world of Eorzea is not our own. When in Rome do as the Romans do.

 

In response to "interspecies relationships CAN happen around the same sort of sizes" I think they can happen between any race. I just think that the child's dominant race is that of their mothers, making it bearable. I mean for the lack of a better term, as stated somewhere before, I suppose you could still hotdog it with a lalafell, all that matters is that your pollen gets to the pistil. Not necessarily HOW it gets there. And that while rather uncomforting for a lalafell mother, is doable and would give some traits of Roe while remaining a Lalafell as the dominant race.

[Zetchryn]

In response to Enzo:

 

Teeeeechnically I don't think that's how it works... I do think a Roe and a Lala are just too physically different. Technically, I wouldn't expect any race to be able to have children outside of it's race, but Square has said differently about some. I guess, in theory, you could have a Lala-Roe hybrid, but that thought has me going 0_o

[Enzo]

In response to Enzo:

 

Teeeeechnically I don't think that's how it works... I do think a Roe and a Lala are just too physically different. Technically, I wouldn't expect any race to be able to have children outside of it's race, but Square has said differently about some. I guess, in theory, you could have a Lala-Roe hybrid, but that thought has me going 0_o

 

I was stating under the hypothesis that all races are able to breed with each other, that it would not be impossible. Under a logical sense. I would agree, there is a reason you can't breed dogs and cats together. But Square has not specified which can breed with which. So I am merely pointing all that there is a possibility for all options. Even if they seem unlikely. This IS still a fantasy world and I don't know how closely all the races are to each other genetically. Technicalities are difficult to work with considering the little technical information we have to pull from FFXIV Canon. The only technical information we have so far is that half breeds are possible. Whoever those half breeds may be half breeds of.

[Desu Nee]

In response to Enzo:

 

Teeeeechnically I don't think that's how it works... I do think a Roe and a Lala are just too physically different. Technically, I wouldn't expect any race to be able to have children outside of it's race, but Square has said differently about some. I guess, in theory, you could have a Lala-Roe hybrid, but that thought has me going 0_o

It's like breeding a rottweiler with a toy poodle. Theoretically possible?

 

Yeah.

 

Physically healthy?

 

Seriously not.

[Zetchryn]

Yes, sadly... We know of only like... One or two that supposedly are, sadly.

[Enzo]

So under the assumption that all races can breed with each other, but some mixes may be more healthy than others? How would that list out? 1 being healthy and higher unhealthy?

My hypothesis

1. Would obviously be with their respective clans.

2. Would be with their respective races.

3.Hyur and Miqo'te <- closest beyond the tail and ears to an original hyur.

4.Hyur/miqo'te and Elezen <- Relatively close beyond the shorter/taller height

5.Hyur and Roegadyn <- With the exception of Highlanders which may have it easier.

5.Elezen and Roegadyn <- Closer heights but worse width.

6.Hyur/Miqo'te with Lala <- Somewhat closer than other pairings.

7.Elezen with Lala <- Serious height differentiation.

8.Highlander/roe with Lala <- Serious everything differentiation

My guesses. I could be wrong.

That could also be a list for relative safeness to use in Half breeds.