I'm just gonna post what I did in the character media thread, with some new stuff to explain their last names, it pretty much explains why I named them as such (Warning, loooonngg)
Loki Aethertide
(THAT is a scan of a print out of a drawing I did on MSpaint like 10 years ago. OLD SCHOOL.)
Loki in FFXIV is a version of my original character "Loki" from a table top game that me and Ellion made called "Unizen" (He did all the system, I did all the story). The game is about how humans evolved in a different universe after Earth poofed out of existence. Loki's race was one of nomads that didn't live on planets and instead settled on "Satellite Cities" (Cities made on asteroids) or just flew around on ships. They tended to be scavengers or pirates and tended to have lots of prosthetic limbs due to the volatile nature of their lives. Her race also had nicknames that they used to outsiders and "True names" they used with their clan and people they were close to. Loki's nickname was obviously Loki - named by her father's best friend who was into the study of mythology. She was created about 10 years or so ago and I was perfectly fine with using the name till the Avengers movie came out . Now it's SHAMEFUL.
What I took from her is her name (And the fact it's a nickname, Loki is not her real name in FFXIV either and was given to her when the Crimson Blades - our old guild - handed out nicknames. We said it was because she was "Low Key" BA DUM CHA), the fact she has a fake leg, and her pirate-y lifestyle also came from U-Loki. U-Loki is almost like Loki in FFXIV - Flirty, A finder of trouble, a LOVER of trouble, Logical, etc etc. The differences are U-Loki has rage issues and is a racist (against other Unizen races), while FFXIV Loki has neither of these. I didn't think the rage translated over to FFXIV very well and I was worried how people OOCly would react to a racist, so I took them out. There's also a lot of differences between the two that come from roleplaying them in two different universes with two different sets of people that I can't really explain, but as roleplayers yourself you probably get it.
LAST NAME: Aethertide came from Armi in World of Warcraft (Her being a Blood Elf) I used it when I realized that Loki going from a Midlander to a Highander meant her last name wouldn't work anymore (Mirandette) and me and Ellion made a joke that Highlander last names sounded like BloodElf last names. Sure made finding a new last name easier.
Armi Alliando
Like I said above, Armi was first rolled in FFXI. I explained how she was there, but over time she evolved... honestly I'm still working out her kinks. Because I feel she isn't perfect in any game I roll her in, I keep rolling her to see if I can get her right. Sort of like RP Reincarnation. The game she is perfect in, she'll probably stay in. That's kind of made Armi synonymous with ME though and people have just ended up calling me Armi as a nickname, regardless of who I play as my main. I'll just go down the list and what I took from her from each game.
In FFXIV I went back to before Aion a bit, Armi is hopeful and jubilant, smart and witty, kind and sincere, though she isn't looking to kill herself for a greater cause (Anymore *ahem*) she still has that self sacrificing nature of wanting to save people, even if it risks herself. She wants everything to be okay and wants to push people to be okay. BUT, taking from Aion and SW:TOR, as a former priestess of Nymeia she's angry at what happened with the Calamity. She can't justify what happened there as "The Gods' Will" and her entire belief system is spiraling away from her, deep down inside she's as lost and confused as those she wants to help. I think I may have gotten the right mix of Light and Dark in this incarnation... we'll have to see though.
LAST NAME: Alliando comes from FFXI, her first incarnation had the last name "Alliando" and I always use the surname as a place holder while betaing different games till I find a new last name more lore appropriate. In WoW she was Armi Aethertide, in SWTOR she was Armi Veredon, In Aion she was Armi (Asmodians don't have last names unless they are noble), etc, etc. While betaing FFXIV I used Armi Alliando during Phase 2 and Ellion convinced me to just stick with the last name since that's what her name was in FFXI.
And there you go.
Loki Aethertide
Loki in FFXIV is a version of my original character "Loki" from a table top game that me and Ellion made called "Unizen" (He did all the system, I did all the story). The game is about how humans evolved in a different universe after Earth poofed out of existence. Loki's race was one of nomads that didn't live on planets and instead settled on "Satellite Cities" (Cities made on asteroids) or just flew around on ships. They tended to be scavengers or pirates and tended to have lots of prosthetic limbs due to the volatile nature of their lives. Her race also had nicknames that they used to outsiders and "True names" they used with their clan and people they were close to. Loki's nickname was obviously Loki - named by her father's best friend who was into the study of mythology. She was created about 10 years or so ago and I was perfectly fine with using the name till the Avengers movie came out . Now it's SHAMEFUL.
What I took from her is her name (And the fact it's a nickname, Loki is not her real name in FFXIV either and was given to her when the Crimson Blades - our old guild - handed out nicknames. We said it was because she was "Low Key" BA DUM CHA), the fact she has a fake leg, and her pirate-y lifestyle also came from U-Loki. U-Loki is almost like Loki in FFXIV - Flirty, A finder of trouble, a LOVER of trouble, Logical, etc etc. The differences are U-Loki has rage issues and is a racist (against other Unizen races), while FFXIV Loki has neither of these. I didn't think the rage translated over to FFXIV very well and I was worried how people OOCly would react to a racist, so I took them out. There's also a lot of differences between the two that come from roleplaying them in two different universes with two different sets of people that I can't really explain, but as roleplayers yourself you probably get it.
LAST NAME: Aethertide came from Armi in World of Warcraft (Her being a Blood Elf) I used it when I realized that Loki going from a Midlander to a Highander meant her last name wouldn't work anymore (Mirandette) and me and Ellion made a joke that Highlander last names sounded like BloodElf last names. Sure made finding a new last name easier.
Armi Alliando
Like I said above, Armi was first rolled in FFXI. I explained how she was there, but over time she evolved... honestly I'm still working out her kinks. Because I feel she isn't perfect in any game I roll her in, I keep rolling her to see if I can get her right. Sort of like RP Reincarnation. The game she is perfect in, she'll probably stay in. That's kind of made Armi synonymous with ME though and people have just ended up calling me Armi as a nickname, regardless of who I play as my main. I'll just go down the list and what I took from her from each game.
- World of Warcraft: Armi was a Blood Elf who was against Kael'thas Sunstrider before it was revealed he was actually evil and not awesome like all the Blood Elves thought. Armi was a diplomat of sorts and worked closely with the Draenei, eventually falling in love with one of them. She was funny and outgoing - very different from her FFXI persona - and strongwilled. I took the funny, smiley part of her from this version. I actually think this version was closest to perfect, but she had lost the Self Sacrificing side of her here and I didn't like that.
- Aion: I kept the nice, classy side of her and added the witty side to her, then added BACK the Martyr Complex to this incarnation. Problem was, every character in Aion was basically a Mary Sue by default (It was canon you were immortal, one of the "chosen", had huge angel wings, had a special title no one else had but you, and were stated as being demi-gods) so being "Self sacrificing" meant very little. To get around this, I made Armi hate her status as a demi god and try to go out and kill herself every time she was in battle - which she was A LOT since I PvPed all the time. If she was injured, she intentionally didn't heal herself, as some kind of reminder she was once human. This worked... with varying degrees of success. The witty, sweet side of her ended up romancing a Daeva named Siben, and the weird dark side of her had her romance a one named Lloire. Honestly I felt like the Suicidal part of her started to take over her whole personality a fair bit so when I got hacked I just quit the game. lol.
- SW:TOR: I kind of liked the fact Armi was darker in Aion, but didn't want to go down the suicidal thing again, so in TOR I made her a Dark Sided Jedi. She was a good person who didn't believe in the Jedi code, but was completely against the Sith. BUT because the Jedi code leaves little for people like her, the Jedi branded her as dark sided and kept trying to get her back to the fold to "get her back to the light." Armi worked closely with the Republic and was generally a good person, but because of that one thing (Not being a Jedi, really) she was considered almost a villain in the game. Many a character tried to preach how evil she was and how dark sided she was for not following the Jedi code, meanwhile she was helping the Republic as much as they were in regards to getting rid of the Sith.
In FFXIV I went back to before Aion a bit, Armi is hopeful and jubilant, smart and witty, kind and sincere, though she isn't looking to kill herself for a greater cause (Anymore *ahem*) she still has that self sacrificing nature of wanting to save people, even if it risks herself. She wants everything to be okay and wants to push people to be okay. BUT, taking from Aion and SW:TOR, as a former priestess of Nymeia she's angry at what happened with the Calamity. She can't justify what happened there as "The Gods' Will" and her entire belief system is spiraling away from her, deep down inside she's as lost and confused as those she wants to help. I think I may have gotten the right mix of Light and Dark in this incarnation... we'll have to see though.
LAST NAME: Alliando comes from FFXI, her first incarnation had the last name "Alliando" and I always use the surname as a place holder while betaing different games till I find a new last name more lore appropriate. In WoW she was Armi Aethertide, in SWTOR she was Armi Veredon, In Aion she was Armi (Asmodians don't have last names unless they are noble), etc, etc. While betaing FFXIV I used Armi Alliando during Phase 2 and Ellion convinced me to just stick with the last name since that's what her name was in FFXI.
And there you go.