Alright is one way to put it.
I ADORE them. They make me extremely down bad, but in an ace sort of way that kinda works out harmoniously in my head?
I would imagine it’s kinda like when you get a new car. You love it, you want to just look at it and keep thinking about it and you honestly kinda want to hug it, but you don’t want it in your bed.
I appreciate the male viera being added (it always seemed weird for them to be missing, same as hrothgar females), but they’re not quite my cuppa. I do adore some of their hairstyles however!
They are kinda androgynous and yet seem masculine to me?
They look like guys that are confident in their masculinity, and don’t feel a need to exaggerate or flaunt it.
It’s nuance.
All too rare in video games.
Glad your enjoying RDM! I should probably take it up, since I can only do the EW Role Quest involved with Ishgard with Magial Ranged DPS jobs (Angry grumbling)
Some sidenotes from 3.2 patch storyline:
1: The fate of Minfillia is quite tragic, since at this point she’s acting as Hydaelyn’s mouthpiece and thus is becoming far more detached from us, with her fate having a profound effect on Thancred.
2: Boy, the riot that ensues at Falcon’s Nest in preperation for the peace conference with the Vidnofir due to Emmanelain’s impulsive actions… It’s one of the points both the WoL and other VIP are legit PISSED at Emmanelain and where his rather inconsistent and immature actions has the affect of him realising of how much he messed up and hurt people, including his ward and servant, Honoroit. Bonus point for one of the moments WoL looked like she/he was going to punch someone. With Thancred beating to it, I think it was good because due to Minfilia’s, he serves as a reminder to Emmanelain to own his actions and learn & live from the consequences.
3: While getting a thorough punchdown and scolding, I do like the fact Emmanelain owns up to his actions by taking it up in the Grand Meelé (Personally I think he should have gone to a trial, but Ishgard being an Artistocracy, I guess members of the High Lords have something of a Royal Judidicial Shield…). It’s also one of the moments I had wished we had gotten the chance to join a Grand Company but based in Ishgard.
4: Leading the Ishgard forces to victory and having a duel with a one-armed Raubahn. Even still handicaped, he’s a tough nut that old Bull of Ala Mhigo.
5: Aymeric’s innoence and awkard proposal to have a drink <3 Baemeric truly are worthy of our love!
6: The Peace Conference at Falcon’s Nest. Oh boy…
7: Gotta love the symbolism of combinding Shiva & Hraesvelgr. Gives me callbacks with Ysayle and Hraesvelgr, but also that it symbolism the hopeful peace between Dragon and man.
8: Nidhogg possesed Estinien shows up to ruin it all. The fact he stains the emblem with Vidnofir’s blood just goes to show the people that this was will only end one way: By Nidhogg’s death, after Nidhogg proclaims in his insane rage that he will come to destroy Ishgard now.
9: Bonus point to Aymeric to take up a bow and prepares/procedes to shoot it at Nidhogg/Estinien. Despite Estinien is his best friend, he truly shows over and over why he is the best person to lead Ishgard. He does whatever it takes to do the greater good for the people of Ishgard, even if it breaks his heart he might kill one of his best friends who is possesed and in the midst of ruining a peace conference.
I think it’s because all Viera are technically born female/androgynous. It isn’t until later when it’s determined that the individual develops towards male or female, although I can’t be certain this be true.
They indeed only develop dimorphism around age 13, but that isn’t what I meant, it’s their adult appearance.
Oh for sure.
I kind of like it though. Viera after all is a very heavy female dominated/matriarchal race and thus I’m not surprised that males have a more androgynous look.
But still retains masculinity enough to show they are confident in it.
They are androgynous, but not so much as people think. People are just used to overly masculine models in video games, especially from WoW where even the elves are steroid abusers.
Their appearance are quite reasonable. There’s people IRL looking pretty close to this, sans the ears.
Changed my Velf Priest’s clothes so I could use the glasses;
This.
While I ironically play a hunky Norse themed boi,
Mannerism and somewhat physically, I prefer the Elezen.
It’s just the bloody necks that put me off for so long…
Elezen necks are actually reasonable. It’s just that their heads are small for their size. Ever so slightly smaller than Hyur heads, despite being significantly taller.
There’s norse Hyur in XIV?
Well, the closest would be Highlanders by lorestandards.
But in short it’s a somewhat headcannon Hyur clan called the Northlanders, orginated from Aerslaent.
So I use the Highlander model, but state that he’s a Hyur from Aerslaent, not Ala Mhigo.
That’s bold, an entire new civilisation!
I of course also use headcanon in my RP, that’s more or less inevitable if you want to be able to be creative, but that’s further than I’d dare go.
It’s not so much of a ‘new’ civilization - I do take influences of Norse inspirations to the Northlanders, but I keep the information about them limited beside that they adopted a great deal of Sea Wolves culture and language - As we don’t have much info about Aerslaent beside it being the Roegadyn homeland and that the Sea Wolves fled Aerslaent from a tyrnanical king. And thus want to limit any info until we get proper information about Aerslaent.
I do say however they are an isolated and rarely seen group of Hyur though, as my Havi have/will eventually take up more Ishgardian influences.
It’s honestly kind of funny how, despite loving putting gratuitous norse names on things in their game, there’s no trace of SE putting in anything resembling actual norse people.
It doesn’t surprise me that people want to RP them though. I always did see lots of it in WoW as well.
Putting some rather nice Norse themed-armour mogs doesn’t help much either.
While I had hoped for a lore-wise Norse themed group, Ishgard and Dravania will be the closest I get until we get the chance to see Aerslaent (Hopefully). Either way I can’t complain. While Ishgard is practically quite catholic themed, The Halone the Fury can be as much a female Odin/Freya as much as Shiva, Athena and Belladona.
So much that I say Havi refering her as ‘‘The Allfury’’ since I’ve stated earlier that Northlanders, while detached from the more organized religion of Ishgard, worship a ‘primitive’ verson of Halone.
The Aery, Sohr Khai and practically all of the Dragons in Dravania have/had some norse themed names. Most prominently Hraesvelgr, named for the giant eagle at the top of Yggdrassil apptly named '‘The Corse Eater’, Rattoskr, the squirrel who runs up and down the tree to trade insults between Hraesvelgr and Nidhogg, who sits down deep below the tree and gnaws on it’s roots, and is prophesised to bring forth the next Ragnarok after the world is reborn anew.
Plus Ishgard is quite as close to an ‘Asgard’, and the name Ishgard does sound close to how you say ‘Ice Home’ in Nordic languages.
Yes, I’m a huge Ishgard fan if that isn’t obvious by now 
I adore Ishgard too, though I can’t say I see anything norse in it!
It just feels like medieval France with eternal winter on top.
You don’t need to lecture me on the gratuitous use of norse mythology terms by SE, though. I am Swedish after all!
Flexes in able to track bloodline to year 700
Anyway Ishgard is very clearly inspired bu medieval France with bits and bops of other mid-/south european aspects.
Coerthas as we know it now is also more of mid- and south europe mountain inspired rather than norse, which is just the HW dragons and their names.
I am required by ancient rites to mock this fact, rounded off by a heartfelt rendition of the Danish national anthem. I should expect nothing less in kind.
Spitting true facts.
Mhm, the ones I took above were my own preferentical thoughts about Ishgard.
Otherwise it is a Feudal society based on France/England/Vatican in endless winter.
Which is why it would be actually cool to make Havi into a more Normandic character. Imagine it? A norse inspired Hyur setting himself into become something like the Normans such as Rollo the Walker and his later descendant, William the Conqurerer, fighting in service of Ishgard.