Clover

The days in Gridania, after five years of being away, have been strange. This is the place she was born in, but somehow, it no longer feels like home. It’s lacking something to feel like home. Furthermore, Clover still remembers how working on her parents’ shop was; she was quite serious and dedicated to her tasks, the same she’d be later on at her grandpa’s shop of wonders. Her new job at the botany guild, however, has been quite different. She finds herself often distracted, daydreaming about different worlds that are far, far away from her current chores. It’s started worrying her. Especially the part where she forgets to worry and does it again.

One peaceful sun, Clover’s grandpa noticed that his granddaughter was writing something on a piece of paper, using the chance that there were no customers in the magic shop at that right moment. “What are you writing, Clover?” “A story. It’s called ‘The Warrior Princess and the Chocobo’.” “Oh.” The old man looked amused. After making himself comfortable on a chair, he asked what it was about. Clover didn’t smile due to her concentration, but it was obvious to him that she was excited to share her stories with her grandpa. “A long time ago, there was a hyur Princess called Alana. One day, she would save a chocobo’s life, and in return this one offered to grant her a wish.” “Alana, hm? Wasn’t that one of your friends from Gridania?” The girl nodded, albeit she didn’t know if the other hyur would consider her a friend. At the very least, Alana was a nice acquaintance that had left a good impression in Clover. “Well, tell me about her.” “Umm…” Clover brought the quill to her lips for a moment, eyes down on the paper. “She came to our shop with her father one day. They were from—“ “Oh, no no,” her grandpa interrupted her with his permanent warm and amused smile.”I want to know about the girl you saw in her; the one from your story.” Clover looked at him then, silent for a few seconds, before a small, slight smile was finally drawn in her lips. She turned her gaze back to her writing. “Alana is a strong and kind princess from a far away Kingdom. Her father tells her not to wander too far away from the castle, but she always ventures out. It’s not because she’s reckless or disobedient; rather, her soul has always been free.” As reality and fantasy blended together, Clover felt that this was definitely how she would always want to picture her old friend, the girl who loved chocobos and was unafraid of anything. ((OOC: As a memory of Alana.))

No matter how long K’mih would spend with her sister, that strong temper would never cease to surprise and amaze her. With no fear, K’nahli had dared to speak clearly to K’ile, questioning his presence and his intentions. It was something K’mih could have never been able to do, mainly because she wasn’t one to mistrust others; she had assumed that it’d been her fault if another Miqo’te had head their conversation. Her sister’s words, however, rang an alarm in the Miqo’te’s confused mind. K’nahli called her name right after, getting attention from eyes that rose in a still slightly down face. Her sentence, however, was never finished. Was she mad at her? In such worrisome thoughts she was when K’ile spoke again. Much to K’mih’s surprise, he proposed for K’nahli to teach the two of them. It was odd. Just a moment ago, the young Miqo’te had mistrusted the Tia; now she couldn’t help but to perceive an attempt to cheer her up, to fix things between her and her dear sister. Perhaps he didn’t mean to make her sad to start with. Perhaps K’nahli had been too harsh. K’mih’s initial surprise was quickly replaced by a hopeful and thankful smile, her gaze traveling from K’ile to her sister. “Could you teach me as well, K’nahli?” The thorny subject seemed to have been cast aside for now, if not from their minds, at least from their throats. K’mih believed –wanted to believe- that she’d learned a lesson.

I've heard there's a play going on today. Is there? ;_; My most important hard drive decided to die yesterday, so I haven't been able to play. In case today's event is an actual play, I hope there'll be more in the future. In case it wasn't... I admit I'll be relieved, haha. Also, just in case, I think it'd be good to advertise any play as an event in the forum, so that many people can attend it ^^

This is why, a while ago, I proposed for some sort of a chronicle to be written in the forum, so that every player could be a part (either directly or indirectly) of a big, common plot. Sadly, it seems many people enjoy playing their own thing without others, so such an idea can't work in a big community like this one. In this sense, I miss my Aion RP server. It was a private server with around 20 people connected in each side of the world. Everything that happened affected everyone. All the news were posted in the forum in case anyone missed them, and there we had some epic plots like whole regions being conquered by the enemy. I guess it's impossible to have that in an official game full of people, so perhaps that's why people prefer to create those plots in their personal linkshells.

((OOC: Thank you very much for joining! That was awesome (*____*) )) Silence had never been this painful, this deadly. K’mih had searched for K’nahli’s gaze trying to find comfort, trying to understand the final look her mother gave her when she realized that her daughter’s inquiry had been actually serious; one of anger and fear, as if for a moment she couldn’t recognize her own child. What she found in K’nahli, however, was even worse. Her reactions, the look in her eyes and even her sudden whimper-- everything seemed to describe how ugly K’mih had painted the world with just a question. It left the young Miqo’te completely frozen on the spot, eyes well open and lips slightly parted. There was a storm inside her sister, there was disgust; K’mih could see that much. “Sister…” she said with a frozen, shocked stare, her voice barely rising. “…You’re bleeding…” Why did it have to happen like this? Why did it have to be so painful? How could her deep respect for her father be so wrong? K’mih had been taught that every female Miqo’te had to give herself to the Nunh, for this one was the strongest and most capable; the best man. That was what her father was to her. She’d learned to admire and love him above any other male-- he was the Nunh. Furthermore, K’mih was scared of venturing into the unknown, dark path of adulthood, and her father was the most familiar and comforting male figure she’d ever known. The more K’mih thought about it, the more difficult it was to picture herself with anyone else. Was it wrong that she could only choose him? Why was K’nahli still silent? Why was she…? (“You don’t… want K’yohko for any other reason… right?”) “Eh…?” That earned a reaction from K’mih. A blink, followed by more thoughts. Her eyes, albeit still aimed at her sister, were no longer seeing her. Any other reason? Should there be…? …Could there be…? (“Strange is a word for it.”) Another voice resounded in the wind, ears that caught words which should have remained a secret. K’mih’s gaze turned to meet K’ile, the punisher, and it was the first time she felt pure fear about what she’d just said. Albeit her intention had been innocent, she’d had time to realize how wrong others considered her thoughts. Quickly, she lowered her gaze to the ground with guilt, eyes wide open and body tense. K’ile spoke of what kind of fate awaited those who decided to take a forbidden path, his tone melting like a threat in K’mih’s ears. It hadn’t been her intention, she didn’t know. She didn’t know. She wanted to tell him that she wouldn’t do anything wrong, but a nod from her head was everything she could manage. The next thing she heard was K’ile talking to her sister about a completely different matter, leaving a silent K’mih with her own personal storm. It should be alright. He wasn’t going to punish her, for she hadn’t done anything bad.

Her sister's sudden movement did earn a brief peek from K'mih's eyes, and the following silence only contributed to the idea that K'nahli was disgusted about the matter. Had it been worrying her as well? At the question, the young Miqo'te's eyes travelled down back to her feet, which moved playful and nervously. "Today, mother reminded me that I've passed my trial... therefore I should start getting my mind ready to think as adults do. She thinks I should consider the possibility as soon as a new Nunh is elected..." Her shoulders sank slightly more, ears down with her mood. The thought of losing her freedom to play and explore bothered her, of course. She wasn't quite prepared to embrace the true life of an adult woman. However, that wasn't her only concern. "I asked her why I couldn't mate with father... but she said it'd be strange..." Bicoloured eyes raised to her sister then, seeking comfort as they always did. "Is it strange, K'nahli? Isn't father the best Miqo'te we've ever met?"

K'mih's eyes opened in surprise at her sister interrupting her training to face her. She hadn't meant to distract K'nahli this much; when her gaze lowered to her own feet, there wasn't just melancholic concern but also guilt. "Hnn..." She tried to smile, albeit timidly. "You know that we will have to bring children to the tribe someday... and it can only be with the next Nunh..."

((OOC: At the Hipparion tribe.)) Sometimes, when K'nahli Yohko engaged in her daily training, her sister K'mih would sit on a nearby rock to watch her. The young Miqo'te seemed to love observing her older sister's skills with the bow, even dreamed of becoming a good huntress like her someday. Her eyes would always be glued to her sister's back as she tensed the bow, movements perfect and precise, and albeit her expression remained hidden for K'mih at those moments, the girl could still picture her sister's fierce eyes. Piercing, sad eyes. Like in most occasions, many thoughts would dance around the young Miqo'te's head, untold. Whatever was in her mind this time, however, it gained a voice. "K'nahli..." K'mih spoke softly, her tone displaying that hint of melancholy that never failed to indicate how something had been worrying her. "...Who do you think the next Nunh will be...?" The reason behind her concern was more than evident, for the next Nunh would likely be the one they’d mate with in the future. Somehow, it wasn't something K'mih could easily picture.

I guess I see FFXIV as a too innocent and warm game, so Miyazaki heroines were my inspiration for creating my main character Clover. For K'mih I didn't take inspiration from any character in particular.

Haha, that's my case as well. I hear about people losing "several millions" and wonder how they managed to get that rich. My thoughts, exactly (minus the swearing *laughs*). Everywhere we go, be it real life or games, we'll be surrounded by idiots trying to take others down for their own convenience.

Ah, I see! I also hope you can perform any play in the near future, I'm sure it'll be an awesome experience for everyone ^^ Best of lucks!

I do actually run a drama/theater club Tier We meet every Sunday 1pm EST at the Gridanian theater for any one interested, and we also have a separate Linkshell. So far we've only doing improv acting skits and games, but would love to expand on this! A dinner murder mystery has been discussed, as has acting out scenes from other Final Fantasy games. Any interested send tell to Claire Fialo in game, or show up to the event Sunday! Waaaa, it'd be awesome if your group performed a stage play (*A*) *excited*. I'm glad to know that the artists group is so active! Also, I might not have understood it well. Is the Sunday event a meeting for artists to practice and improve their skills? Or is it an actual play that outsiders can watch? Thank you for your replies!

Please forgive if my English isn't very clear. Recently, a character told mine that there'd be a play in the Gridanian Amphitheatre. Of course, we could simply imagine that our characters attended it and had fun, but I remember that there was a FC or LS dedicated to bards and artists. I believe I haven't seen any event related to stage plays (and if there was, I fail ._.), so I was wondering if any artistic group would like to prepare any, or if there were plans for it ^^ I'd personally love to see such an event, and so would my character Clover. It'd be a million times more fun than just imagining how it happened. Thank you for reading! I'm sorry if this kind of post isn't allowed, somehow.

I've actually experienced the opposite, albeit my RP should have been more limited than yours because I'm mostly farming the endgame content. The day K'nahli and I decided to RP in Ul'dah, we made a few new friends. Also in Ul'dah, K'nahli decided to RP a waitress NPC just to help others, and ended up getting actually involved with several other characters. So I guess it all depends on the RPers you meet and how the RP plays out. I didn't know that some people refused to RP with anyone who wasn't in their FC. Their loss, I say @_@ Hopefully, they're just a minority.

K'nahli, that's such a good screen @_@ You've gotten very nice skills at editing!

The path had been dark and blurry, tense and uncomfortable, until the Nunh spoke. K'mih's well open eyes raised to him once more, full of hope at his wise words. It was amazing how simple the solution looked now, after all the headaches this heated discussion had brought several of them. When K'yohko asked the elders for their agreement, K'mih's gaze turned around nervously, scanning the faces of all her brothers and sisters. She wanted to see the same relief in their eyes, she needed to be reassured that her father's words had been heard.

My experience has been a bit different, I guess. I've seen some sexualized Miqo'te NPCs, but I swear to have seen many more normal ones. Besides, the harem tribe setting gives me the impression that females only mate with the Nunh for the sake of perpetuating their tribe, not because they're interested in sexual affairs for the sake of them. I don't know, I actually don't understand Miqo'tes at all ^^; It's beyond me that a sentient creature wouldn't have personal preferences when it comes to attraction towards other beings, and that they'd be unable to experiment emotions like possessiveness or jealousy. I simply don't understand how their harem system works, for it sounds so mechanical.

I have yet to see that, truth be told @_@ And I've seen quite a lot of Miqo'tes, especially being in a tribe myself.

After K'mih's initial deception to find out that her sister's mother had come alone, she tried to pay attention to the meeting. It was important, and little did she know at that moment that this task would drive her to the edge of a headache. Wise were the words she heard, and confusing the points made. The opposite stances from several members translated into pure chaos in the young Miqo'te's mind, unable to decide which of those opinions felt more right. Every time she heard a new point, she'd question the previous one. Contrary to what she'd expected, the atmosphere grew hostile as minutes passed by. Watching her brothers and sisters argue with such aggressiveness made an impressionable Miqo'te like her really uncomfortable, even scared to open her mouth to say a word. She couldn't help but shrink on her sitting position, worry and sadness crossing her features. What's more, K'ile's concern about the questionable intentions behind K'aila's offering also made her uneasy. In a mind like hers, the possibility of helping anyone just to obtain something not as good in return was unthinkable. When had the outside world become such a rotten place? Perhaps it was the need to seek comfort what moved her eyes to the figure of her stoic father, and something even better was found by them. The effect was immediate-- K'mih's eyes brightened and opened wide at the sight of her missing sister K'nahli, unexpectedly sitting next to her father K'yohko. The young Miqo'te even tried to wave at her, the gesture timid in order not to get too much attention. What would K'nahli be thinking about everything that was being said? She wondered. Perhaps her sister would shed some light into that confusing pool of undone thoughts that had become her mind. The colour of the world chanced once more when K'mih's attention returned to the meeting. She was startled to find a pair of familiar eyes looking at her, as if they were expecting something, anything she didn't even know. Unconsciously, she shrunk again in something akin fear, head slightly down and eyes forced to look back at the Tia in submission. She didn't want to speak, she didn't want to agree or disagree. She didn't want to be there. ("I'm so small...") She thought again.

I also believe that all characters are going to end up having a part of you, no matter how small. After all, you're RPing what you like! All the characters I've played so far in different games tended to be quite different from one another (in this game, in fact, my two characters are even opposite in many aspects), yet they all have a small part of me. In any case, I certainly don't RP myself. I just might or might not share some of my characters' views, as it's natural.

I'd personally create a Brand new character for such matters. As others said, it might bring confusion, and many people might get a wrong idea of who your character is. I want people to see my character when they look at her, not someone else. That's just me, though!

Every character is unique in my opinion. Some of them might be similar, but it doesn't mean that they're the same; just like real life!

TV series. Speaking of tv and cinema, Leonidas was a warrior as well and I didn't see anyone complain. I don't see what's so controversial about a tribal character not wearing a huge soldier armour, when it's been done a million times. The last thing I want is my Miqo'te character to look like some sort of civilized Knight, and I believe her tribal roots are well reflected in her Ul'dahn armour choice. If possible, I would like her to keep wearing that armour without other players trying to imply that only perverts use it, or that the armour makes no sense. I don't even see sexual appeal in FFXIV characters, so go figure how troubled I am to see my character's belly (^^; (Besides, the armour is very cute and deserves to be used *nods nods*).

I can't wait to see the other ones! So far I know I'm making a lalafell, because the new hairstyle they displayed in one of the Live Letters was very cute. Let's see what other races have to offer.