Sumi

Thank you for the in-depth response, Moon! This was so nice and helpful and more than I expected to get. I will happily keep all of these things in mind as I get started. If you don't mind my asking, is there a particular place in game you/others go to seek out people to RP with? I know Balmung is known for its ERP scene in the Quicksand...haha. Is it normal/socially acceptable for people just type in shout chat somewhere that they're looking for people to play with?

Hello there! I'm interested in meeting some people who like RP-ing and giving it a try. I have a decent amount of social anxiety and am a little unsure of how to go about doing this. For now, I will offer one of my alts' name as my own - you can call me, Sumira or Sumi for short. MMORPG background I've been playing FFXIV since end of Stormblood. I also played WoW before that. I've had OC's that I developed backstories for in both, but haven't RPed a ton in either. RP experience I have a decent amount of D&D RP experience, but only have really RPed with two or three friends in FFXIV. It was pretty easy to coordinate what everyone wanted to get out of the experience IRL, so any advice on figuring that stuff out virtually and with strangers is very welcome. Character ideas/info I have a pretty fleshed out story for my main, but have concerns about her being a Mary Sue. So I'll drop some info about Sumi here instead in hopes that that will point me in the right direction. Sumira is an Au Ra who lived in the underwater towns of the Ruby Sea growing up. I was inspired by the Little Mermaid, thinking it would be fun to have a character that wanted to see more of the surface world and learn everything there is to know. Rather than motivated by the love of a prince, however, Sumi wants to make friends, experience life, and pursue learning in all its forms. She eventually leaves home to attend school in Sharlayan, but she's free-spirited and likes to travel. Words I'd use to describe her are bubbly, naive, enthusiastic, aloof. Edgier, more reserved types may find her a little annoying, but she's determined to melt their hearts. How did you learn about the coalition? I stumbled upon it online after deciding I wanted to learn more about getting into the RP scene in FFXIV. What kind of a role-player are you aiming to be? (e.g. Light, medium, or heavy) I'm not sure what these categories constitute exactly (how much time? how deep a back story? multiple sessions vs single ones?). I suppose the safest choice is light. I would describe myself as casual since I'm relatively new to FFXIV RP. I'm not super versed in emote usage, though I do know about /em and will defer to that often. I don't get on every single day of the week and have other activities/games that I participate in. That being said, there are usually one or two nights a week that I have several hours free, so I could do sessions that last a little longer. Mostly, I'd like to learn more about it and get to know some nice people who won't mind a new person. Anything from real life you're comfortable with sharing? (Work, school, hobbies, etc.) I mentioned this earlier, but I have a D&D group I'm playing with on the side. I have a day job that involves a fair amount of math, so it's nice to have chances to be creative. Mostly I play PC games in my free time (i.e. FFXIV, Minecraft, Civ, etc.) but I also will write and draw occasionally. Binge-watching things on Netflix is also something I do probably more than I should. Final thoughts I've done a little reading about how to be a good RP-er - I'd like to avoid burdening someone by having them hand-hold me through it all. I'm not going to be the type of player that just has a character sigh moodily and wait around for others to take initiative. Throwing myself out there can be terrifying though....haha. So if there are ways to find people that are patient enough to deal with someone who's a little nervous, I'd love pointers on where to look. It's also a dream of mine to RP my main with folks, but until I get some more experience in and feedback on whether it's a fun character for others to play with, I'll settle with Sumi for now. Don't know if anyone else deals with Mary-Sue types, but advice about that is welcome as well. If you see a Sumira Yumishi on Exodus, you found me! Feel free to say hi :)