If Square Enix won’t give me Miqo’te lore I’ll write it myself. AKA I decided to flex my Worldbuilding muscles and try to flesh out the Miqo’te. This is just for fun but if you like it feel free to use it!
Keepers very likely to be affected by it, Seekers largely unaffected, 1/5 Keepers will be unaffected.
Exposure to catnip leaves results in giddiness, restlessness, high energy, possible drooling (particularly if chewed). Relatively mild and passes quickly. Occasionally dried leaves are used to make teas to help with colds or drank before long hunts for the energy. As dried leaves are less potent than fresh leaves the side effects are lessened.
Miqo’te tails are used for balance, allowing Keepers to crouch for long periods of time and aids in their tree climbing. For Seekers tails aid with maintaining balance when running on sand or scaling rocks.
Lion Tails – Common among Seekers, rarely seen among Keepers
Fluffy tails – occasionally occurs among Keepers and occasionally occurs alongside ear tufts, it’s rarely seen in Seekers
Both Keepers and Seekers have very sensitive hearing and while Elezin outclass them in hearing most Miqo’te tend to actually rely on their hearing over eyesight, meaning they will react to sounds before other races
Miqo’tes have fully functional Jacobson’s organs which mean they are capable of smelling pheromones and other scents that other races cannot. This aids them largely in hunting and tracking. Their sense of smell is unrivaled by any other race.
This also causes them to occasionally have a flehmen response which often confuses other races. Miqo’te will curl their lips back, stick out their tongues and stop breathing. It is often mistaken for disgust by those who don’t know what they’re doing. The advantage of such a pose is it forces the air and scents into their mouth where they can ‘taste’ it better.
Biological differences between Seekers and Keepers
Both Keeper and Seekers have tapetum lucidum, which can startle unwary adventuring companion when their friend’s eyes glow in low light. This gives them an advantage over other races when it comes to seeing lowlight (such as in the forests of the Black Shroud). This has also been used by some who accuse them of being beast clans by claiming this proves they are ‘like animals’
Keeper are capable of purring and have been known to terrify Wood Wailers with the blood curdling screams they’re capable of making
Seekers cannot purr but instead express pleasure by chittering, chuffs and humming. Seekers are capable of roaring
No one can point to a clear reason for Keeper’s canine/eye teeth to be measurably longer and sharper than Seeker’s
Keepers live in a highly gender segregated society, mostly divided in two categories
Family units are traditionally made up of women and children. This will usually be one to three mothers, often some older daughters and they may also have children of their own. The children are communally raised with responsibility being shared by the community, older siblings are as likely to teach younger siblings as parents. This has the advantage of almost always having at least one adult able to hunt while older children or fellow adults care for the children at home.
Children typically leave this community between 18 and 20 though this can vary its rare a child would leave before 16.
Some of the communities serve as trading posts to cities they’re located close to.
Keepers will often tell you that males are best in small doses and that male Keepers wander on their own. This is not entirely accurate. You will occasionally find males on their own but when they first leave home many young Miqo’te will often leave in groups. Usually siblings close in age and with a close bond will set out together, maybe parting ways eventually but male siblings often stick together (though due to how rare males are male siblings rarely end up close enough in age to stick together). Older males may find and take in younger males as hunting is easier and they miss the feeling of family from childhood. It is more accurate to say the males are rare and nomadic.
Tribes are less visibly divided among gender lines than the Keepers but there are still divides, obvious in naming and social structure.
Children with a father in one tribe and a mother in another will belong to the mother’s tribe. Female children will still take the father’s name
[Square Enix: Nuhn is simply breeding male of a tribe! Also Square Enix: *treats Nuhn like the rank of leader in game*. So in game is what we’re going with.]
Nuhns are the male that distributes traits most valued by the tribe. While yes, a healthy physique is often valued, in Clans that value cunning, forethought, strategy or hunting prowess one might rise to the rule of Nuhn not via a fight to the death but a contest of cunning or proof of their ability to stalk and bring down dangerous game.
Tias, Splinter Tribes, ‘Bachelor Tribes’
Tias are commonly found enthusiastically doing squats. Tias serve an important function in most tribes, often in their attempt to prove themselves worthy of being the next Nuhn they will be doing tasks and take leadership roles that the Nuhn needs delegated to someone else. The women are the hunters but the males often serve in organizational roles as well.
Tias that want to be Nuhn but cannot earn the respect of their original tribe will occasionally form splinter tribes. This can also happens if a tribe becomes overpopulated or there are two popular choices for Nuhn but neither will share the role. One will form a splinter tribe with an additional letter as per custom and they typically die off or are reabsorbed into the original tribe.
Bachelor Tribes are made of multiple male Tias, sometimes even from multiple tribes. Rather than seeking to be Nuhn they have banded together to form an unofficial tribe of males only. They’re often nomatic and males from them may be invited to be a Tia or Nuhn of a tribe that needs new blood.
The treatment children born of a Tia father can expect varies from Tribe to Tribe. Some tribes demand they leave the tribe when old enough, (some of them making the Bachelor Tribes). In other Tribes they are treated as no different than any Tia. Some allow them to stay but they can never be Nuhn without working twice as hard to prove themselves to the tribe as Nuhn-fathered Tias.
Same sex couples are far from unheard of in a race that has a birth race skewed to one sex. It would be impossible to not.
In both Keeper and Seeker culture the idea of couples is a bit different than in other races as a large part of their culture focuses more on reproduction. Romantic loyalty is often separated from sexual loyalty.
Among Keepers WLW couples or groups often form to raise children. If one of the couple happens to be trans and comfortable with such an idea, they might not even need one of the nomadic males to father a child.
The Males that band together and travel together are not always only siblings or close friends but sometimes MLM couples or groups.
Any Nuhn that would force a women to mate with him is going to quickly find himself replaced so it is fully possible for a woman in a Seeker Tribe to find a partner and live in bliss with them without the tribe objecting in the slightest.
Some Bachelor Tribes are ‘Confirmed Bachelor Tribes’ if you catch my drift.
With such strict and gendered naming conventions names become very important to most who transition or fall outside gender binaries entirely.
A Trans Male Keeper will usually take the name of the youngest son as he has been ‘reborn’. He will be expected to wander the same as any other male Miqo’te.
A Trans Female Keeper will be given a new name entirely, while any brothers she has will keep their old names the suffix she previously had will no longer be used. She may be welcomed among any family group as she is still a valuable hunter and caregiver.
Non-binary Keepers may chose a new name, to keep their old name, or some use whichever name feels most appropriate for the gender they feel closest to that day. What role they chose to fulfill in their society may vary from Keeper to Keeper and even day to day.
A Trans Male Seeker will be granted a new name by the Nuhn with the last name Tia. He will be expected to begin performing roles similar to his fellow Tias quickly though the Nuhn may give this Tia specialized training to catch him up to his fellow Tias if necessary. Trans Male Seekers are capable of becoming Nuhn, some use a fellow Tia as the sperm donor while he runs the Clan, others have given birth themselves, how they chose to be Nuhn depends on the Seeker and the Tribe
A Trans Female Seeker will be granted a new first name by the Nuhn that fathered her along with his name as her last name. Her fellow huntress will often organize a hunt in celebration and to begin teaching her hunting skills. Trans Female Seekers are not considered viable candidates for Nuhn more than any Cis Female Seeker would be.
Non-binary Seekers may chose a new name, to keep their old name, or some use whichever name feels most appropriate for the gender they feel closest to that day. However they occasionally find trouble from Tias who feel them a possible challenger regardless of their desire to be Nuhn.
City Miqo'te culture varies on whether they are Keeper or Seeker and what city they’re in.
Gridanian Miqo’te are typically Keeper and may face hostilities from those that see them as poachers as best. However recently they have begun to see better treatment, though some women decide to join the Coeurl King and his crew.
In Ul’dah cities it is easy to find Seekers, be they Tias unable to become Nuhn or women who simply felt that Tribe life was not for them. They make their living the same way most do in Ul’dah,though a few might be found among the Ala Mhigo refugees resenting their native kin or clinging desperately to what remains of the community they had before the fall.
Limsan Miqo’te are less common than the other regions but almost no crew sails without a Miqo’te. Some consider it lucky to have at least one, others have a far more practical reason. Miqo’te’s keen sense of smell often detects storms before their fellow crew members. Additionally, their lean and dexterous forms make them adept at climbing rigging. They are primarily Seekers though Keepers are becoming more common.
One might expect that due to the number of female Miqo’te to males they would surely outnumber the males in the grand companies as well. However the numbers are closer to even (still favor the females however) as many male Miqo’te sign up to the grand companies.
Keepers are quite common in the Twin Adders as they seek the feeling of family and camaraderie that they had growing up. Males in particular as they may be inclined to find the idea of wandering alone as unbearable. The bow skills shown by Miqo’te hunters leave little to be desired and they can often find their place in the Adders. Notably three of the Gods’ Quiver’s eleven garrisons are led by Miqo’te. Miah Molkot leads the White Rams, Ragu’to Zhwan leads The Quiver’s Scales and Dhebi Polaali leads The Quiver’s Ewers.
Seekers are mostly found in Maelstrom, finding themselves outnumbered by Hyur and Lalafell in the Immortal Flames. Some are Tias that could not make it as Nuhn or women that left the tribes either because they could not fit into that lifestyle but more still are city Miqo’te that grew up in the ports of Limsa and are more familiar with the rigging of a ship than the sand of a desert. However some have made their way to Gridania out of curiosity about the archery to be learned there. G'pakibah Dora leads the garrison of the Twin Adders known as The Quivers Virgins and she is far from the only Seeker in their ranks.
The largest culture shock for Keepers is perhaps the lack of physical contact. Those who grew up in the shroud are often very tactile and become confused by their new friends lack of physical affection or startle them by what is seen by some (typically Elezen) as being overly affectionate.
The other most obvious source of surprise and confusion is in relationship. While romantic relationships are far from unheard of among Keepers they are not seen as the norm which can lead to confusion about the level of commitment expected in relationships. Older siblings or friends more familiar with city life may be useful when explaining these concepts to Keepers unused to other races’ relationship expectations. However this has done Keeper’s reputation no favors in some parts of Gridania with them being seen as loose and unreliable in relationships.
Seekers might be confused by what they consider to be a very unclear hierarchy of duties among other races. Used to the Nuhn’s clear leadership and the communal hunting and providing they can struggle to adjust to trade at first.
Seekers get quite the double edged sword attempting to date as men might be suspected of sleeping around and some will claim women don’t mind you sleeping around on them, and will often be taken for heterosexual by default. These miscommunications are more common in Ul’dah than Limsa, who is exposed more to City Seeker culture.
Keepers and Seekers are often confused by the other’s culture on first contact, with the Keeper’s matriarchal family-centered lifestyle confusing to the Patriarchal Tribe-centered Seekers who are unused to such tight knit groups. Similarly Keepers often come away with the impression Seekers have gotten thing backwards, those familiar with the Coeurl King’s cruel grip on the women he brings into his group in particular will often react with horror.
Rumored and likely possible, until recent times the isolation shown by both Keepers and Seekers has prevented such hybrids from being common but with Keepers beginning to integrate into cities and Seekers beginning to explore Gridania it is likely if such hybrids exist they will become more common in upcoming years
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