Male Viera as a playable character! show your support

[Gwenorai]

I'm going to say this really regarding this whole feminity argument that keeps bouncing around. I can't imagine a male Viera with that particular lifestyle looking extraordinarily soft and fragile. Doesn't it seem a little odd to people? I guess this goes into the whole when does aesthetic trump lore. The lore doesn't paint them as soft looking. And if they do end up looking 'soft' and 'fragile' which are hallmarks of 'feminine' faces. Then doesn't that make the gender as a whole extremely sad when paired with the lore? Unlike au'ra, they don't have a counterpart subrace that has a softer lifestyle. They're not like Xaela and Raen, where the females of one subspecies fit the dainty, small profile. They're peaceful folk to a degree. Sadly they didn't want to make another model for the Xaela women.

Anyway, to the point. Viera do not have this issue. Males in both tribes are described as being ripped from their families at a young age and forced into a rigorous training that is near akin to indoctrination to serve the forest. Most of them die. They perish in the wood, through their training. And those who finish their training may die in the last test. Only then are they allowed to seek out solitude - a life to live alone. These men kill people in cold blood. It's in their lore - it's been repeated multiple times. If you set foot in their domain, they will kill you. It doesn't matter why you're in that woodland. If you do not have permission by the wood spirit they serve or protection of a female Viera, they will slaughter you. They do not ask questions, and when they do ask questions, they will kill you after. The males only communicate with females to breed, once every three years - and that's it.

Now, I know this has been said repeatedly to the point I'm smacking a dead Chocobo - but does this paint the image of a feminine male? A male with overly soft features? With the traits of femininity? Such as empathy? I can see it in some sense, but not the entire gender - not at all. I can see one face having this option but the rest to look like beautiful cold men who have gone through hell and back. To me having them looking soft and the likes makes me sad. Male Viera was already a sad tale. Having them look 'feminine' or the likes would actually only invoke a sense of pity from me. I can't rightfully describe why it just does. Just, the whole imagery of a soft looking male covered in grime and scars - living alone, forbidden to contact with his family and past friends. I want them to look colder, stronger - I want to see it reflect upon their faces and feel slightly better that they can handle this. These are lone striders where they have no say in how to live their lives. They become what they must, or die trying. Serve or die. There was never a third option available... hopefully this changes.

This is where ERP comes back into it for some folks. When folks desire for aesthetic overrides the lore of the males that have been put forward so they can ERP as what they desire. While square will accommodate for such a thing, they still have to at the very least show some respect and throwback to their lore and match it to their description and pray that they don't do them a disservice as they did with female Au'ra.

If I go back to my point regarding lore. A lot of woodland warrior type races in fantasy have never been portrayed as looking 'cute' or having overly feminine races. They have been beautiful and graceful men. LotR elves, for instance, are beautiful men - that focus on the beauty of the male to some extent. Not overly masculine, but you'd have noticed that the males have the high cheekbones, the sharp jawline etc. Women do not tend to have these, or they're now shown as much due to the fact in our biology where we look softer, we have more padding in the face. Male do not. So no, I don't support the whole 'this gender' should be completely soft in the face. When, in reality, most men do not - there are reasons why men do, this includes issues i'm not going to go into because someone will more than likely get offended.

The argument that feminine males are seen as 'children' is due to the whole biological standpoint that males of our race can look like females without issue and vice versa, but it's usually young boys who can be confused for young girls if the circumstances are right. This is also why we in the west cut young boys hair, while we grow it out in regards to female children and long hair has been associated with females and not males; it's an archaic view now. But I'm sure we've all heard/seen it where someone has gone 'cut that boys hair, he looks like a girl.' or the switch around where a girl with short hair has been called a boy.

Actual males who show physical female traits and not personality traits of femininity are very rare after puberty. One of these examples is a sex syndrome - but we're not going to go into that. Most who are close to female likeness do not look like this without the aid of aesthetics such as clothing, makeup and personality. That's the biological standpoint of it. When men go through puberty, they tend to look like men, not women. Again, I do not deny they exist, but they are in the minority. Of course, if someone argues that 'well I see them all around' then my argument is this - that's because you hang around in certain circles where these men are more akin to. And there's nothing wrong with that, but please do not state that it's widespread.

Either way, I don't care about them having one face that can be adapted to give a soft look instead of the sharp jawline/cheekbones. I also don't mind them being slightly smaller. But I would prefer that they weren't. I would also prefer that they had a full muscular scale.

Note; this isn't an attack on anyone - if you take it as one then honestly, thicker skin is needed. Facts about human biology are not offensive and I have written this with a neutral tone in mind.