A couple questions about Au Ra

[Ramesses]

More headcanon: I imagine that Au Ra traditionally use neck pillows or headrests like the ancient Egyptians used. Still, I'd imagine you'd have to be careful because an Au Ra having nightmares and flailing could be very hazardous.

...Or could it just be that the the Au Ra are so epic, they don't need sleep?

[Rosenoire]

...Or could it just be that the the Au Ra are so epic, they don't need sleep?

It could certainly explain why the males, at least, always look so grumpy.

[Ramesses]

It could certainly explain why the males, at least, always look so grumpy.

Not grumpy, my friend... "Draconian"

[SannaR]

I think for hugs you'd have to turn your head to the side. I've had a few talks like these when bored or waiting for a que to pop with a few Au Ra friends. It's why I cringe at times when I see outfits that hide the tails as there has to be a poor tail being shoved down a pant leg or squished a lot into the fake tail. The worst is thinking about how uncomfortable the Evenstar Coat has to be for those with tails as it put's any tail into a tight always in an up position leather sheath. I know it's a lil silly to think of some of these things realistically but some times those ques are really long or you just can't decide on what to do so you start wondering about these type of things.

[Iscah]

For reference, Au Ra horn shapes:



You can also see the different designs of race-specific 'earrings' - the first two male designs have metal caps on their horns; the other two have flat plates along the outer edge. Females 1 and 4 have rings that sit around the horns, and the others don't have an option for it. (They have an additonal choice for scale placement on their faces instead.)

[Iscah]

For sleeping positions - with such a variety of horn shapes and placements, I think the exact answer would be something that each person works out for themselves. It definitely seems likely they'd culturally have invented a solid head-support rather than a soft pillow. (And possibly a bed with a gap in the middle of it for a tail to hang through!)


But of course, there's also an in-game answer because you can see a few different sleeping poses using the /doze and /cpose emotes, plus logging out at the inn.

Under a cut so it's not too pic-spammy.

(Someone else will have to test it out for female characters, I've only got a male character.)

Logout sleeping pose is kind of weird and overly straight, but his tail is flat underneath his legs. He sits down on it then shuffles over, putting weight on his hands and feet. Logging in again, he's already sitting up but still seems to have his tail clipping through the bed underneath him.






Default /doze position... on his side, never mind the horn going straight through the pillow! It could work with a thick shaped pillow that has a slit in it, maybe.

Also makes me notice that the scales on his neck seem to come to a sharp point right where it would dig into his throat when looking down...





Doze 2 - on his stomach, head resting upright on hand. I tried lying down like this and as soon as I relaxed, my head was leaning over against my left shoulder. Still, probably necessary for anyone with the more backwards-pointing horns, and they would probably also help to 'prop up' the head somewhat.

(Would also probably put the pillow under his chest when it's not welded to the top of the bed like it is in the game.)






Doze 3 - on back, with leg raised so the tail can lie out to the side. Makes sense for my character, and probably works for most horn shapes besides the really backwards-pointing ones (as there's still space between his horns and the pillow) but would be very dependent on their secondary horns! Obviously not going to work for the default hairstyle from the examples I posted earlier.

[AmemeAmeklin]

So basically Au Ra will never be able to sleep well because their horns are ridiculous :X

[Iscah]

So basically Au Ra will never be able to sleep well because their horns are ridiculous :X

Horns and tail fighting it out for which is the most uncomfortable to sleep on!

At least while they're staying in Eorzea with their silly flat beds and easily-shredded pillows...

[Rosenoire]

Someone on the Reddit comm suggested that Au Ra use Japanese-style takamakura instead of pillows. Makes sense to me.

[Iscah]

Re. accidentally poking each other with horns, it's also possible that Au Ra would just have a different approach entirely to close physical contact. Less face-to-face and more side-by-side. (Or maybe that drastic height difference between males and females is an evolutionary result of couples being less likely to maim each other by accident...)