Deep breaths...
Okay, this is going to be such a long, rambly tirade that it might just invoke the spirit of Bram Stoker to haunt us all. If that does happen, I apologise for it in advance, and I'd genuinely thank anyone who'd actually stick with this meandering windbag till the end. This topic is quite a meaningful one to me.
One element that I find I can always praise is how ZOS handles the khajiiti peoples in The Elder Scrolls Online.
I find it wearisome and a bizarre form of fantastical racism and a dreary expression of the supremacy of beings that share the most verisimilitude with or are humans that in many titles the animal races fall under one of three gratingly homogeneous categories:
- Warlike (perhaps smart, though usually not, and not that bright);
- Bandits, thieves, and murderers (also regularly not that bright);
- Savages and barbarians (also usually not that bright);
- Noble savages and barbarians (tribals, and not that bright, too).
Do you see a pattern, perhaps?
When these races often have overtones of Mediterranean, Arabian, and/or African heritage, too? That's even more tedious in its typically quotidian nature. I mean, it's especially human to fetishise our own, isn't it? Even taking it to completely pointless and entirely arbitrary factors such as the colour of one's skin, one's gender, et alia.
Thus, it's with great joy I can say that the khajiit aren't like that.
Huzzah!
Of course this is naturally not true of the other Elder Scrolls games as the khajiit easily fall into a number of those categories but in ESO in particular they have escaped this most unrelentingly repetitiously trying of fates to become something a little bit more, which in and of itself is unusual.
What do we have now? Well, an introduction of a path of belief that has plenty of overtones of both shinto and bushido, for one. Which serves to elevate khajiiti culture greatly as they're no longer just savages and thieves, they're depicted as a more enlightened culture. So much so, in fact, that it seems that certain daedra are intent to see them bent.
Not so much in the British snese of the word because there are plenty of khajiit who're bent in that way and it's adorable. The touching relationship between Velsa and Narani was uplifting and heartwarming (have I divulged how smitten I am with Velsa and Narani befoore now?), but no, I'm not talking about that kind of bent. Rather, that it takes skooma or the heart's beat to turn khajiit away from their path -- which is usually one that's more reasonable, kind, and fair.
In fact, culturally, the khajiit seem to be driven by a kindness that I find gratifying. Usually, beast races are savage which in turn innately implies a presence of selfishness. For the tribe! Outsiders must perish! We take what we can for our own! You know how it goes in stories about savage tribes written by white people, I'm sure. The narrative is unbearably humdrum in its monotonous routine.
It's not just that it's racist, which is enough of a sin in and of itself. No, on top of that, it's also opppressively banal to boot. Unpalatable would be a kind way to put it, eh? You throw stale things out for a reason.
Anyway, yes, the khajiit seem to be unusually kind. I remember when I first met Silver-Claw as part of the Thieves Guild line, I felt burdened with preoccupation over whether he'd turn out to be merely another merchant lord. And one that uses blackmail, no less? It was much to my relief -- and very cathartic -- to learn that no, this was not the case. Silver-Claw hadn't reached the heights of the merchant lords because he was oft too ethical and humble, as implied by his simple shop. The art of blackmail plied as means of protecting good people rather than hurting them.
I find it interesting. I can't help it.
Consider that the elves are dealing with an almost Alt-Righty political presence. I mean, they're calling for Sumexit, for crying out loud. They're rioting in the streets over not wanting to be a part of this Aldmerian Union. Their propaganda leans as heavily on the halcyon-laden nostalgia of Little Summerset just as much as its parallel int he real world, purporting an illusion of a grandiose, powerful era that never was. As is the wont of such people.
Then we learn that Y'ffer (or Y'ffre if you prefer, but I find Y'ffer to be much funnier) is an insufferable twit, an all round deeply unpleasant turd whose sordid nature drove the bosmeri peoples into a form of indentured servitude where even shifting into a werewolf but once is a crime punishable by eternal torture. Nasty.
Usually you think of nature spirits as being kindly, gentle creatures but nooo... Y'ffer is an angry old man who'd merrily destroy anyone who'd not heed his word very, very carefully. In ESO, Our Nature Spirits Are Different. Trope inversion and all that. Still, I left the Valenwood feeling troubled, I can't say I approve of Y'ffers antics.
I didn't know what to expect from Reaper's March but it turns out that in order to rob a khajiit of their kindness, daedric influence is necessary. I find that especially intriguing as it was a daedric prince (Azura) that gave their peoples life in the first place. Or is this simply what the bosmeri would be like when not tied to indentured servitude and living in fear of angry trees? I can't say. What I can say is that the khajiit were lovely. I found most of the NPCs to be enchanting.
I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with them. It was liberating and cathartic in a way that ZOS had -- once again -- inverted the tropes. Elves are usually wise and logical; Nature is usually patient and kind; Beast races are usually savages. None of this is true in ESO and I'm frankly thankful for that. I find it as tiring as the trope of the black boy whisked away from a life of crime with his criminal father to be mentored by a wholesome white man.
Since -- let's be honest -- beast races rarely ever rely on any form of white culture. The closest I'd seen was the charr in Guild Wars 2, whose warlike culture was more Roman in nature. Still, warlike was the operative word there and many of them could be disappointingly dim for all of their supposed smarts.
What I'm getting at is that beast races are oft used for veiled racism.
I felt blessed as for once... For. Bloody. Once. For once, at last, I was granted the almost impossible boon of a beast race that felt genuinely wise, enlightened, and kind; A race that felt as if it didn't originate in the fevered imaginings of a sordidly racist manchild.
Thank you.
It's funny, really, innit? When I hark to a khajiit pedler hocking their goods, hollering "Honest merchant, trust this one!" I feel as though I could actually trust 'em since they weren't imagined by... you know. I won't retread that, though. It's just... nice.
Funny old world, Tamriel. I mean, in TES III I felt as though the beast races were naught but slaves and within that story weaved my place was to herald the uprising as the underdog hero. It was the last time I felt comfortable with an Elder Scrolls game.
I've played a number of MMOs and this recurring theme is why I mostly don't feel comfortable with them. There were superhero titles like City of Heroes and Champions Online, in those no concept of race existed and I felt happy. Then there was Everquest II... EQ2 was a lark, right?
It was lovely, too.
"We're enlightened, peaceful monks who come from the moon! Would you like to know more?"
"OKAY! YES! GOOD! PLEASE! I mean... do go on."
"Well, thou mightest be as pleased as punch to knoweth that we art honourable knights who follow an ancient code of chivalry. Wouldst thou wish to learneth of our order-eth? FROAK!"
"I AM VERY INTERESTED."
Ahem.
EQ2 was the only time before ESO when I had really encountered this. I played it for a good number of years thanks to this truth alone; And I feel almost tempted to point out the many, many, many fine similarities between ESO and EQ2... I could go on and on about that as it's more than a little uncanny at times. Still, that's not what this thread is about! I do segue too much for my own good, I'll behave.
The point is: I felt omfortable and at ease in EQ2. I don't feel that way with many MMOs due to the tropes which fall uncomfortably close to certain prejudiced experiences I've personally had.
GW2's charr, for example, were very warlike and not all that decent as people go. Some were very intelligent, certainly, but most were cut from the cloth of angry, traditionalist, conservative savages. It was immensely disappointing, really. I was gutted, utterly crestfallen. Then you have Wildstar's chua -- adorable, but every bit as savage and warlike.
And on and on the story goes.
Which brings me to why I'm talking about ESO. Its similarities to EQ2 and how the khajiit aren't evil, angry, mindless savages. I feel at ease here, it's nice. I don't know how to describe the feeling, really. It's a prejudice thing, of sorts. I wouldn't expect a lot of people to understand.
I've been met with so much prejudice in my long life it's made me hard. I've come to not like most people due to how closed both their minds and hearts are; It's not like recent events like the Alt-Right and Brexit have done me any favours, either, with how I feel about people on the whole. Every now and then, though, I'll encounter something that does leave me feeling at ease, comfortable, and able to enjoy it thoroughly without reservation.
Can I segue just a little?
Dragons are interesting to me. Why? 'Cause draig. Y'see, dragon is very much a non-word, right? It was borne out of what I assume to be a stark bastardisation of the Grecian word drakon. It's never really meant... well, anything, I guess? I've always had an empathetic connection with beasts of this particular vein, though. I'd call them draig, myself, after the wondrous beings that inspired what's now colloquially known as the Western dragon. They looked the same, but weren't the same.
As you might expect? Draig were kind, compassionate, patient, wise, and all that jazz. Forgive me if I have a type. Rome-assimilated Christianity needed to convert those filthy pagans through some means, though, which involved convincing them that their deities were evil. And lo, thus was born the Western dragon. A creature of evil, greed, and malice, a murderer that ate children and stole from the good peoples.
I don't see it that way, though? I don't have that... Mmmh. I don't have words for it. It's like self-fetishisation? Good grief that's an ugly way to put it but I don't really have another descriptor. So whereas one might see a picture of four humans and a dragon as heroes stemming the vile tide. What I see is home invasion -- a bunch of no-good scumbags, hoodlums, and bandits who've burst into someone's home with the intent to slaughter them and make away with their possessions.
The Farloft Chronicles -- a series of books for children -- was intriguing to me as it tackled this. I distinctly remember a scene where the human child was trying to assuage his guilt over having stolen an item from the dragon's hoard by convincing himself that this creature's shinies were all ill-gotten goods anyway, that its gains were through nefarious means. Turns out? His entire hoard? All gifts.
The reason? Dragons can see light and colour in a much more vibrant, compelling way than humans can and so they find reflective objects very appealing. This needn't be precious metals alone, even more mundane materials like glass count, so Farloft's hoard was more varied than most. I'd enjoyed that, it was reaffirming. I'm an odd duck, I know.
Experiences like these make me feel better about myself and my species.
You must understand -- please try to -- that I am so very, very tired of the belaboured notion that the peoples are evil, the species are evil, and so on, ad nauseum. No. That's never true, only the simplest of minds truly accept this and it's never anything but vexing and confounding in equal measures. The person can behave in evil ways, the person can have ill-intent, and if there are enough? Then the group can be evil.
I'd want to believe, given the chance, that we're inherently good through instinct and turned away from that by the propaganda of cultural conditioning.
That's why the Aldmeri Dominion is so very interesting to me. You understand, perhaps? It's an expression of this, where people would be good but they've been turned away from it by some means or another. The aldmeri peoples would be kindly and ethical but the propaganda of the Veiled Heritance clouds their minds; The bosmeri would be if it weren't for the strictures of Y'ffer; The khajiit, too, are kind unless they find themselves turned by daedric influence.
I've become so sensitive to prejudice that I can even be affected by it in fantastical worlds like Tamriel. However, in ESO, instead of embracing this prejudice they chose to make the narrative about fighting it instead. So I can feel comfortable playing it, I can be at ease, and I can enjoy it.
Sadly, it's not quite so true of all of ESO. Both the Ebonheart Pact and the Daggerfall Covenant concentrate far, far too much on the war, with some very unfortunate depictions of the races as being evil. This is why I'm oft given to thinking that my favourite content so far as story goes is brought to life by the same writers I loved when playing through the AD content. The best writing in ESO is far less simplitic, far less binary, and far less black & white than The Elder Scrolls all too often is.
I guess the TL;DR of this is that I'm thankful that ZOS allowed for a beast race to be as innately good and sans savage as any other race can be.
Thank you.
WELL, that's entirely enough bearing my soul to an embarrassingly large number of people. Still, some of you seem all right so I thought you might appreciate my persepctive. Or you might not, of course, which is entirely your prerogative.
@ZOS_GinaBruno -- I'd appreciate it if you could pass this along to the relevant writers.
Edit: I'm kicking myself (not literally) for not mentioning the often mocked 'talk to the monsters' review of Doom as it ties in so well to this. D'oh.
Okay, this is going to be such a long, rambly tirade that it might just invoke the spirit of Bram Stoker to haunt us all. If that does happen, I apologise for it in advance, and I'd genuinely thank anyone who'd actually stick with this meandering windbag till the end. This topic is quite a meaningful one to me.
One element that I find I can always praise is how ZOS handles the khajiiti peoples in The Elder Scrolls Online.
I find it wearisome and a bizarre form of fantastical racism and a dreary expression of the supremacy of beings that share the most verisimilitude with or are humans that in many titles the animal races fall under one of three gratingly homogeneous categories:
- Warlike (perhaps smart, though usually not, and not that bright);
- Bandits, thieves, and murderers (also regularly not that bright);
- Savages and barbarians (also usually not that bright);
- Noble savages and barbarians (tribals, and not that bright, too).
Do you see a pattern, perhaps?
When these races often have overtones of Mediterranean, Arabian, and/or African heritage, too? That's even more tedious in its typically quotidian nature. I mean, it's especially human to fetishise our own, isn't it? Even taking it to completely pointless and entirely arbitrary factors such as the colour of one's skin, one's gender, et alia.
Thus, it's with great joy I can say that the khajiit aren't like that.
Huzzah!
Of course this is naturally not true of the other Elder Scrolls games as the khajiit easily fall into a number of those categories but in ESO in particular they have escaped this most unrelentingly repetitiously trying of fates to become something a little bit more, which in and of itself is unusual.
What do we have now? Well, an introduction of a path of belief that has plenty of overtones of both shinto and bushido, for one. Which serves to elevate khajiiti culture greatly as they're no longer just savages and thieves, they're depicted as a more enlightened culture. So much so, in fact, that it seems that certain daedra are intent to see them bent.
Not so much in the British snese of the word because there are plenty of khajiit who're bent in that way and it's adorable. The touching relationship between Velsa and Narani was uplifting and heartwarming (have I divulged how smitten I am with Velsa and Narani befoore now?), but no, I'm not talking about that kind of bent. Rather, that it takes skooma or the heart's beat to turn khajiit away from their path -- which is usually one that's more reasonable, kind, and fair.
In fact, culturally, the khajiit seem to be driven by a kindness that I find gratifying. Usually, beast races are savage which in turn innately implies a presence of selfishness. For the tribe! Outsiders must perish! We take what we can for our own! You know how it goes in stories about savage tribes written by white people, I'm sure. The narrative is unbearably humdrum in its monotonous routine.
It's not just that it's racist, which is enough of a sin in and of itself. No, on top of that, it's also opppressively banal to boot. Unpalatable would be a kind way to put it, eh? You throw stale things out for a reason.
Anyway, yes, the khajiit seem to be unusually kind. I remember when I first met Silver-Claw as part of the Thieves Guild line, I felt burdened with preoccupation over whether he'd turn out to be merely another merchant lord. And one that uses blackmail, no less? It was much to my relief -- and very cathartic -- to learn that no, this was not the case. Silver-Claw hadn't reached the heights of the merchant lords because he was oft too ethical and humble, as implied by his simple shop. The art of blackmail plied as means of protecting good people rather than hurting them.
I find it interesting. I can't help it.
Consider that the elves are dealing with an almost Alt-Righty political presence. I mean, they're calling for Sumexit, for crying out loud. They're rioting in the streets over not wanting to be a part of this Aldmerian Union. Their propaganda leans as heavily on the halcyon-laden nostalgia of Little Summerset just as much as its parallel int he real world, purporting an illusion of a grandiose, powerful era that never was. As is the wont of such people.
Then we learn that Y'ffer (or Y'ffre if you prefer, but I find Y'ffer to be much funnier) is an insufferable twit, an all round deeply unpleasant turd whose sordid nature drove the bosmeri peoples into a form of indentured servitude where even shifting into a werewolf but once is a crime punishable by eternal torture. Nasty.
Usually you think of nature spirits as being kindly, gentle creatures but nooo... Y'ffer is an angry old man who'd merrily destroy anyone who'd not heed his word very, very carefully. In ESO, Our Nature Spirits Are Different. Trope inversion and all that. Still, I left the Valenwood feeling troubled, I can't say I approve of Y'ffers antics.
I didn't know what to expect from Reaper's March but it turns out that in order to rob a khajiit of their kindness, daedric influence is necessary. I find that especially intriguing as it was a daedric prince (Azura) that gave their peoples life in the first place. Or is this simply what the bosmeri would be like when not tied to indentured servitude and living in fear of angry trees? I can't say. What I can say is that the khajiit were lovely. I found most of the NPCs to be enchanting.
I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with them. It was liberating and cathartic in a way that ZOS had -- once again -- inverted the tropes. Elves are usually wise and logical; Nature is usually patient and kind; Beast races are usually savages. None of this is true in ESO and I'm frankly thankful for that. I find it as tiring as the trope of the black boy whisked away from a life of crime with his criminal father to be mentored by a wholesome white man.
Since -- let's be honest -- beast races rarely ever rely on any form of white culture. The closest I'd seen was the charr in Guild Wars 2, whose warlike culture was more Roman in nature. Still, warlike was the operative word there and many of them could be disappointingly dim for all of their supposed smarts.
What I'm getting at is that beast races are oft used for veiled racism.
I felt blessed as for once... For. Bloody. Once. For once, at last, I was granted the almost impossible boon of a beast race that felt genuinely wise, enlightened, and kind; A race that felt as if it didn't originate in the fevered imaginings of a sordidly racist manchild.
Thank you.
It's funny, really, innit? When I hark to a khajiit pedler hocking their goods, hollering "Honest merchant, trust this one!" I feel as though I could actually trust 'em since they weren't imagined by... you know. I won't retread that, though. It's just... nice.
Funny old world, Tamriel. I mean, in TES III I felt as though the beast races were naught but slaves and within that story weaved my place was to herald the uprising as the underdog hero. It was the last time I felt comfortable with an Elder Scrolls game.
I've played a number of MMOs and this recurring theme is why I mostly don't feel comfortable with them. There were superhero titles like City of Heroes and Champions Online, in those no concept of race existed and I felt happy. Then there was Everquest II... EQ2 was a lark, right?
It was lovely, too.
"We're enlightened, peaceful monks who come from the moon! Would you like to know more?"
"OKAY! YES! GOOD! PLEASE! I mean... do go on."
"Well, thou mightest be as pleased as punch to knoweth that we art honourable knights who follow an ancient code of chivalry. Wouldst thou wish to learneth of our order-eth? FROAK!"
"I AM VERY INTERESTED."
Ahem.
EQ2 was the only time before ESO when I had really encountered this. I played it for a good number of years thanks to this truth alone; And I feel almost tempted to point out the many, many, many fine similarities between ESO and EQ2... I could go on and on about that as it's more than a little uncanny at times. Still, that's not what this thread is about! I do segue too much for my own good, I'll behave.
The point is: I felt omfortable and at ease in EQ2. I don't feel that way with many MMOs due to the tropes which fall uncomfortably close to certain prejudiced experiences I've personally had.
GW2's charr, for example, were very warlike and not all that decent as people go. Some were very intelligent, certainly, but most were cut from the cloth of angry, traditionalist, conservative savages. It was immensely disappointing, really. I was gutted, utterly crestfallen. Then you have Wildstar's chua -- adorable, but every bit as savage and warlike.
And on and on the story goes.
Which brings me to why I'm talking about ESO. Its similarities to EQ2 and how the khajiit aren't evil, angry, mindless savages. I feel at ease here, it's nice. I don't know how to describe the feeling, really. It's a prejudice thing, of sorts. I wouldn't expect a lot of people to understand.
I've been met with so much prejudice in my long life it's made me hard. I've come to not like most people due to how closed both their minds and hearts are; It's not like recent events like the Alt-Right and Brexit have done me any favours, either, with how I feel about people on the whole. Every now and then, though, I'll encounter something that does leave me feeling at ease, comfortable, and able to enjoy it thoroughly without reservation.
Can I segue just a little?
Dragons are interesting to me. Why? 'Cause draig. Y'see, dragon is very much a non-word, right? It was borne out of what I assume to be a stark bastardisation of the Grecian word drakon. It's never really meant... well, anything, I guess? I've always had an empathetic connection with beasts of this particular vein, though. I'd call them draig, myself, after the wondrous beings that inspired what's now colloquially known as the Western dragon. They looked the same, but weren't the same.
As you might expect? Draig were kind, compassionate, patient, wise, and all that jazz. Forgive me if I have a type. Rome-assimilated Christianity needed to convert those filthy pagans through some means, though, which involved convincing them that their deities were evil. And lo, thus was born the Western dragon. A creature of evil, greed, and malice, a murderer that ate children and stole from the good peoples.
I don't see it that way, though? I don't have that... Mmmh. I don't have words for it. It's like self-fetishisation? Good grief that's an ugly way to put it but I don't really have another descriptor. So whereas one might see a picture of four humans and a dragon as heroes stemming the vile tide. What I see is home invasion -- a bunch of no-good scumbags, hoodlums, and bandits who've burst into someone's home with the intent to slaughter them and make away with their possessions.
The Farloft Chronicles -- a series of books for children -- was intriguing to me as it tackled this. I distinctly remember a scene where the human child was trying to assuage his guilt over having stolen an item from the dragon's hoard by convincing himself that this creature's shinies were all ill-gotten goods anyway, that its gains were through nefarious means. Turns out? His entire hoard? All gifts.
The reason? Dragons can see light and colour in a much more vibrant, compelling way than humans can and so they find reflective objects very appealing. This needn't be precious metals alone, even more mundane materials like glass count, so Farloft's hoard was more varied than most. I'd enjoyed that, it was reaffirming. I'm an odd duck, I know.
Experiences like these make me feel better about myself and my species.
You must understand -- please try to -- that I am so very, very tired of the belaboured notion that the peoples are evil, the species are evil, and so on, ad nauseum. No. That's never true, only the simplest of minds truly accept this and it's never anything but vexing and confounding in equal measures. The person can behave in evil ways, the person can have ill-intent, and if there are enough? Then the group can be evil.
I'd want to believe, given the chance, that we're inherently good through instinct and turned away from that by the propaganda of cultural conditioning.
That's why the Aldmeri Dominion is so very interesting to me. You understand, perhaps? It's an expression of this, where people would be good but they've been turned away from it by some means or another. The aldmeri peoples would be kindly and ethical but the propaganda of the Veiled Heritance clouds their minds; The bosmeri would be if it weren't for the strictures of Y'ffer; The khajiit, too, are kind unless they find themselves turned by daedric influence.
I've become so sensitive to prejudice that I can even be affected by it in fantastical worlds like Tamriel. However, in ESO, instead of embracing this prejudice they chose to make the narrative about fighting it instead. So I can feel comfortable playing it, I can be at ease, and I can enjoy it.
Sadly, it's not quite so true of all of ESO. Both the Ebonheart Pact and the Daggerfall Covenant concentrate far, far too much on the war, with some very unfortunate depictions of the races as being evil. This is why I'm oft given to thinking that my favourite content so far as story goes is brought to life by the same writers I loved when playing through the AD content. The best writing in ESO is far less simplitic, far less binary, and far less black & white than The Elder Scrolls all too often is.
I guess the TL;DR of this is that I'm thankful that ZOS allowed for a beast race to be as innately good and sans savage as any other race can be.
Thank you.
WELL, that's entirely enough bearing my soul to an embarrassingly large number of people. Still, some of you seem all right so I thought you might appreciate my persepctive. Or you might not, of course, which is entirely your prerogative.
@ZOS_GinaBruno -- I'd appreciate it if you could pass this along to the relevant writers.
Edit: I'm kicking myself (not literally) for not mentioning the often mocked 'talk to the monsters' review of Doom as it ties in so well to this. D'oh.