Your entire race should not fill me with FEMINIST RAGE.

[fuyu]

So I got to Eruyt Village, and we're about to go looking for Mjrn.

I'm sorry. I still don't like the viera.

If there was some - variation, I don't know, if they weren't all basically the same nubile, lovely rabbitgirl with exotic dark skin! and silver hair!, and if they didn't all friggin' wear stiletto heels to keep their balance (hint to designer: if you have designed a race where individuals cannot support their own body weight without artificial aids, you did it wrong), maybe I wouldn't hate them so much. As it was, I was going through Eruyt and thinking "What a beautiful village, and such interesting concepts, so utterly wasted on a village full of thinly-veiled sex objects!"

I possibly found the "ew, humes" attitude even more annoying because of this than I might otherwise have. You're some guy's bunnygirl fantasy, where do you get off sticking your nose up at humes? At least I don't need shoes to stand up, bitch.

Honestly, I - I can't really look at any aspect of the viera and think of them as anything other than some guy in Squenix getting off on bunnygirls. Their feet somehow evolved against all possible logic into forms where they need high heels for balance, sexy! They're a secluded race that live in and with the forest, but they have exquisitely manufacted clothes with metal and stuff, sexy! They're aloof and unattainable, it's even against their laws for you to be here, but oh, they won't kick you out; just feel free to wander around their village and admire the view, big boy, even if you are a dirty hume, teehee. Sexy!

I can't even get behind Fran, even now. Oh, so you're the rogue from the xenophobic race who protests This Need Not Be The Only Way, and now you're sad because your race hates you. Yeah, um. Sorry, I think I've seen this plot before, and it was a lot more interesting when it wasn't acted out by bunnygirl fetishes. And she still doesn't seem to me to have a personality outside of "I'm a viera!" ... actually, come to think of it, I feel like I could say that about every viera in that village...

I just. Nnnnngh. Ivalice is such a deeply interesting, well-built world, with fascinating politics and creatures and everything. And then there's the viera.

Comments

[teal-deer.livejournal.com]

I completely agree. x.X They're... argh.

That said? I really want to write a drabble of some sort about a male Viera. They're supposedly cloistered and treated like women in ancient China - no rights, kept in little boxes, not allowed to go outside... I imagine that they're very small and slight little things, doe eyed and stupid.

So what about one who grew up outside that culture? What'd he be like?

but yeah. Disgusting. They're basically just fanservice. x.X

[bassclefsolo.livejournal.com]

I was kind of disappointed to hear that the nu mou and bangaa weren't playable races in XII. The nu mou were my favorite race in Tactics Advance.

Here are some viera wearing real shoes, or barefoot, and with slightly more clothes on!

[bean-bunny.livejournal.com]

Is this FF12?

I needs to play that.

[shunka-shuutou.livejournal.com]

My first impression of the viera was one similar to "oh, they don't look too nice." I like them, they're interesting (different opinions ftw?).

And I agree with your view of the world. I love Ivalice. &hearts

(Re: Male viera
Actually there are male vieras. Tactics Advance confirmed it, and FFXII Ultimania Omega reconfirmed it later. It would've good to see a couple of them, though. That and viera children.)

[maladaptive.livejournal.com]

OMG. FUCKING THANK YOU ABOUT THE MOTHERFUCKING SHOES.

Feet do not evolve that way. If they had "bunny feet" like the hind legs of most quadrupedal animals, they would walk on the balls of their feet unaided. Doing anything in heels almost sucks, and I will bet you that running through the forest in any foot gear that limits your ability to feel terrain is dangerous, let alone fucking heels. They'd all have broken ankles, all the time. Even the mithra, FFXI's catgirls who also sequestered their men away, wore sensible shoes.

And there is no way in hell that nubile, clean-shaven, mostly naked bunny girls survive in the forest. Not without major callouses and scar tissue because they have no body hair to protect them from the elements.

Fran was so much better until I started to want to strangle all the viera. Cool, aloof, and haughty paired with Balthier? Hot. Oh wait. All the viera are like that. Meeeeeh.

[pyrasaur.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I can see how the viera fail pretty hard in some ways. Canon flaws are an invitation to find clever fanon workarounds, though -- humans have done some unusual things throughout their history and there's no reason fictional races should be any different. Maybe the vieras' heels and balance issues are an intentional modification, like humans' foot binding or neck extention? Maybe they're increasing their height to mimic trees, practicality be damned? I haven't played FF12 myself, I've just watched my roommate's play a little, but I bet a race so secluded and so devoted to their faith could start practicing some pretty farfetched things.

[vanilleon.livejournal.com]

Heh, wow. I haven't played FFXII yet, but now I know to brace myself for annoyance when I meet the viera. The rest of the game sounds great, though.

Oh, and hi! I don't know if you'd remember me, but this is Aja from NSA -- I was there for part of Ye Olde Freshman Year. We were in this group that would have lunch in the left hallway, draw Pokémon fan art, talk about ElfQuest, and that sort of fun thing. Anyway, I had the urge to look up some old friends a while ago, and found my way over here.

**waves**

How do?