
Originally Posted by
Velaethia
Do the Miqo'te pur lore-wise like real life felines?
Some do, most don't. It depends on the miqo'te. The more "feral" ones do that we've seen in-game (Miah Molkot, Pawah Mujuuk, U'odh Nuhn) tend to portray more cat-like nuances in both speech and body language.
I'm assuming it's a genetic thing or just something that all miqo'te are born with but grow out of when raised in a more urban/sophisticated setting.
Is their tail and ears (and arguably hair) the only furry parts of them?
Most likely
Do they hiss when they're angry like RL cats?
Some do, most don't. (see answer to question 1)
Do their entire bodies stiffen when angry/attempting to intimate and their hair stand on edge?
Some do, most don't. (see answer to question 1)
Do they have a superb sense of balance like RL cats?
Yes. They have the highest natural balance of all the races, which is part of what makes them excellent hunter-gatherers (along with other traits like high dexterity, agility, spatial awareness, and sense of smell).
Why do they not have whiskers? Or do they just not on their face?
Because they aren't cats and are a race of man (thus being more man-like than feline-like)
Are their noses generally wet like RL cats?
Most likely not
Do they have a superb sense of smell/hearing?
Their sense of smell is the best of all the races, and their ability to hear is second best (iirc, elezen boast the most acute hearing). The one benefit a miqo'te would have though is their radial hearing is better due to being able to pivot the ears, while the superior elezen hearing would be limited to the front/side.
Do they have night vision? (I'd imagine that moon ones would at least)
Correct, keepers of the moon are naturally nocturnal and would have exceptional night vision. However, that most likely comes at a cost of poor day vision since their pupils are always dilated to some extent due to genetics (vision during the day probably isn't comfortable, or is blurry). The diurnal seekers of the sun would be the exact opposite. Superb day vision, horrid night vision due to permanently constricted eyes.
What is their average life-span? Comprable to Hyur?
Unknown. I don't think we have too much lore on race life expectancy (at least, I haven't seen or remember seeing anything in the 2.0 and 1.0 forums about it in detail). All we have are vague details about certain races (like how elezen have the naturally longest lifespans). If I were to hazard a guess though, I'd say miqo'te lifespans are probably shorter than hyurs based on their genetics (their bodies probably consume more calories due to their naturally active lifestyles and biology, as well as increased muscle mass). This would make their bodies suffer more wear and tear as they age. Of course, we don't know the exact lifespan of each to really speculate.
Why are they (both males and females) so over sexualized in Ezorea? Most races tend to find them attractive. Is it some kind of pheromone they release?
Males aren't really overly sexualized in Eorzea (from a lore-standpoint) simply because they don't really exist. Part of miqo'te genetics is that they are more likely to give birth to females rather than males. Taking what little info we do have (total number of miqo'te NPCs, total male/female ratio in existing miqo'te camps, etc.), we can speculate that there's a 1 male born for every 10-15 females. This makes males more of a coveted resource in tribal life. The difference in how this resource is treated varies between the clans though.
Seeker females see males as powerful, and thus, view them as natural leaders. The strongest male is worth breeding with as females want those traits to be passed onto the children. The males of the tribe tend to protect the tribe as a whole, and the tribe is one large family (since most the children have the same father(s) and females have the same mate(s)).
Keeper females see males as objects for procreation more or less. These males tend to life solitary, wanderer lives and only hang around when females want children, after which they are sent on their merry way until the next female desires children. Family communities (smaller than Seeker tribes) are run by females and children are raised by females without any male influence.
To answer your question about sexualization of miqo'te, I would say it's safe to assume that the reason females are viewed this way is because of how some of them desire it. In a society in which males of your own race are so rare, you have to seek outside help when those "urges" come along because males can't or won't always be available. They are either being shared amongst many females (in Seeker tribes, only a select few males even qualify for sex), or they aren't always around (in Keeper tribes, males don't live in the villages once they become of-age, so you never know when they are going to come around again). What this has created is a situation where female miqo'te have to regularly turn to the other races for "enjoyment." So it's not really a social-driven oversexualization, but rather a self-created oversexualization born out of necessity.
That all being said, what the community does isn't really "lore friendly," and I think it's safe to assume that many males/females have been oversexualized by the players more than the lore.