Kylin

I've seen the small 'anti-Balmung' snark on occasion as well, so I completely understand the concern that stems from this thread and the other larger thread. It's even more daunting when said snark can be seen from moderation staff of the Mateus discord channel, even if the snark was unintentional. I do think there is going to be minor pushback to the sudden and quick change that's happening on Mateus. Things are moving super fast, and the deluge of 'immigrants' from Balmung and elsewhere can be frightening to some. So it's understandable for some to be ambivalent over this. That said, I do think those who 'pushback' are very much in an extreme minority. In addition, they're going to put only themselves in a very poor predicament if they don't either get on board the train, or at least get out of its way. A handful of RPers can't stifle hoards of RPers and different styles after all, and will only discredit themselves if they try. I think there are two trains of thoughts going on right now on both sides of the aisle. On one side, there are members of the Mateus 'old guard' who may feel like their way of life is being threatened and that they have more rights/powers than the immigrants coming in. On the other hand, you have some immigrants who may give off the impression (perhaps unintentionally) that they deserve special treatment because they've been displaced by no fault of their own. Again, both of these attitudes are extreme minorities, but still have enough power to stir the pot in such a precarious situation. I believe everyone needs to quickly come to terms with one thing. It doesn't matter why/when/how you came to Mateus. Old guard, new guard, alts, etc... If someone joins a community, they're part of that community. This goes for any server community. End of story. If anyone doesn't like the sudden explosion in the community size from the small little village that it once was, that's what FCs/linkshells are for. They can easily make their own sub-community, build a wall around it if they feel the need, and carry on like nothing is happening. The deluge isn't going to be stopped by anyone at this point (unless SE pulls a fast one). I can't pretend to speak for anyone in Mateus, let alone all of them. I can, however speak for my FC. We will absolutely not tolerate Balmung hate rhetoric of any sort. My origins are with Balmung, and I still to this day see it as one of my 'babies' (even if it is now a grown adult capable of taking care of itself). I only left it because I don't really have anyone left there I'd consider 'friends,' just a ton of distant acquaintances who have all moved on with their lives. The massive size of Balmung just made it difficult for me to find other groups to jive with, that's all. So I absolutely have no qualms speaking up if I'm around when/if anti-Balmung rhetoric crops up. In fact, I attempted to say a few things during that little explosion on discord but got cut off (twice) when the chat got locked down. Also, pre-expansion lulls are usually the time that drama is more prone to erupting. So I kinda blame that on some of the tension too >.>;. Ultimately, I think the growing pain will subside within the next month or so.

Just a quick reminder that this is tonight at 6pm EST. First of its kind event! Will likely not make this weekly after all, due to a variety of factors. But it may be a monthly type of event still if reception is positive.

Small change but worth mentioning: Map user interface is apparently being modified. They look somewhat reminiscent of 1.0 mapping.

Added dungeon (Shisui of the Violet Tide video)

yFeF4CEu4gA Dungeon (Shisui of the Violet Tides)--Warning, bosses all revealed. No major story spoilers appear to be in it though. Other info, such as role analysis and new abilities: https://gamerescape.com/2017/05/31/hands-on-with-final-fantasy-xiv-stormblood/ Kugane tour:

The first tour will be this Sunday (6/4) at 6pm EST. It will be a tour of Ul'dah and it will initiate in the Quicksand. The IC ad is below (I don't feel like making a fancy graphic given how much work I already put into the actual event itself, so just use your imagination >.>; ). If you have any recent major RP happenings in Ul'dah that would be newsworthy, major stakes in Ul'dah (business headquarters, events, etc), or anything else relevant to the city that may realistically be brought up in a tour, please let me know and I'll try to slip it in! IC ad (posted in each major city and several hamlets):

He did not make a personal attack at you. He was linking his own posts and poking fun at himself (Ie: calling himself a "jackass")... Also, copying/pasting the same thing over and over is exactly the reason I personally stopped taking you seriously a long time ago. You've completely disregarded everything anyone else has said and continued to post the same exact response every time, even though certain points of your responses have been proven wrong with factual data. While your passion is admirable, your disconnect with the RP political world is astounding. You seem to think EVERYONE else is wrong and you alone are right. Your solution of letting RPers scatter to the winds while waiting until Balmung's community is ready to receive them is detrimental to the health and longevity to the overall community. If you are unable to see that at this point (even though just about EVERYONE else does), then so be it. Don't be surprised when you start getting outright ignored though at this point.

The Avalon Heritage Museum of Ul'dah will begin hosting a weekly tour IC for each starting city (rotating each week, and potentially expanding to hamlets or other cities depending on popularity and other factors). The purpose behind these 'tours' is three-fold. 1. To assist in promoting open world RP in central starting hubs. New Rpers passing by will no doubt get to see our 'tour' crowd navigating the city together IC, which will greatly assist in promoting Mateus RP as a whole. 2. To allow Rpers an opportunity to easily start mingling with others outside their immediate social circle. Each tour will have a midway 'break' for an IC lunch so people can freely mingle and try to expand their connections IC (and by extension, OOCly as well). 3. To promote lore. Avalon, being a heavy RP group and having the history preservation theme, will do its best to promote educational lore in an IC way that can be beneficial both IC and OOC. These lore tidbits talked about throughout the tour will consist largely of the city's government, historical facts one may find via in game text (leves/quests, npcs, flavor text, etc), and perhaps even promotion of other RP groups if they have any holdings in the respective city. Each tour will be heavily advertised via fliers throughout cities and hamlets. The cost (IC only for business purposes, no actual gil needed!) will be 500 gil per individual. That said, there's certainly no stopping someone who wishes to ICly bypass the fee to slip in unnoticed. RP will take place in /say chat. Should the event turnout be large, the tour guide will use /yell throughout the tour. We expect all participants to show respect to one another and remain IC as much as possible in the main chats. OOC should be marked with ((parenthesis like so)) and limited. Please keep all IC drama (attacks, brawls, or other disruptive material) out of this event. A day and time has yet to be chosen, as we begin looking into which day of the week will work best without conflicting with other public events. An update will come at a later time with more information.

Most of your points have already been addressed ad nauseum... We get it. People want everyone to stick together on Balmung and sing kumbaya. Great. Only one problem. Balmung is closed. Nobody gets in. No new characters, no transfers, no nothing. It will remain closed for a period anywhere between 2 months to several years. We have no idea. In the meantime, there are RPers who have nowhere to go. What is your solution? Keep pressuring SE like we've been doing since 2010 with no results? Is that it???

I would personally prefer to see EU RPers stick with everyone else in the grand scheme of things. That said, I'm not EU and have absolutely zero right to add input on that. I don't know how their gameplay experience is and thus have no right to comment on it. However, there's just one thing I want to comment on because I've seen it crop up more than once now (and I don't mean to call you out specifically, Sig... just an in general rebuttal of the overall view from the many I see mention this). I keep seeing people mention "numerous attempts." As someone who's been around forever, there's only been ONE singular organized attempt--Gilgamesh. All of the other 'attempts' can't really be counted in my opinion. They were, after all, nothing more than some random RPer holding up a sign and saying "come to my server! I have a linkshell that RPs!" I personally don't view those as legitimate organized attempts of unifying for a secondary RP server... I applaud those people for trying to birth RP elsewhere, but to call it an organized attempt is definitely misleading. As for the 'Gilgamesh Initiative,' it didn't really fail. In fact, it initially succeeded in spades. It tapered off over time for the following reasons: 1. Combative relationship with Balmung and the RPC. From the beginning of the whole legacy vs non-legacy debacle (which was proven to be an invalid concern), things were tense between Gilgamesh and Balmung. That doesn't help with maintaining a positive image. 2. Cutoff of relations. Gilgamesh, after securing the 'support' of the RPC and Balmung decided to largely cut themselves off and build a wall around them. Their visibility dropped more and more over time and they increasingly became invisible. That's not healthy for growth at all. 3. Griefing. Gilgamesh also had to deal with the Reddit/Raiding crowd who flocked to the server, and that didn't make things easy for them. It was the final nail in the coffin that drove most RPers out of the open world and into their private housing, thus making them even more invisible. None of the above conditions exist for the new initiatives taking place. That said, I don't know if it's a good idea to have TWO splits that appear to be taking place (EU and NA). But that's really not my call to make and it's entirely on the EU crowd to determine how their play experience will be enhanced.

I already made my point succinctly clear and won't repeat it. I stand by it 100% based on my own experience in XIV and even before then. People are arguing just to argue right now to be honest (commonplace for RP server discussion though I suppose). Everyone agrees that something needs done. Whether we agree that the lockdown is good or bad is completely and utterly irrelevant. It's done. It's happening. SE isn't going to just up and say "oh noes! They're mad, let's reverse our decision and open the floodgates again!" The point of my post was to point out the hypocrisy and gluttony, and probably just contributed to an unnecessary argument. But it needed said, and it looks like quite a few people agreed that it needed said.

I would love nothing more than to see an official RP server announcement. Truly. And I admire your effort to make it happen, Nero. I just honestly don't see it happening. We've been trying since 2010 to get that to happen. I recall even having Zam and GamerEscape at one point blatantly asking SE about the topic. I recall their response was something along the lines of that they'd consider it but preferred the community work it out themselves. Granted, this was a long time ago. Things change. And I'd love to be proven wrong on this particular subject. I'd be among the first to throw confetti all over the place for UnnamedMerc to clean up. I just don't have any substantial hope it'll happen, especially this late in the game's lifespan. I really just don't want anyone hoping for that solution to get overly disappointed when prolonged silence is the only answer. It's like chasing a golden goose. But as far as I'm aware, there is no golden goose. So the best we can do is grab a chicken and paint it gold ourselves.

This attitude is getting glaringly annoying. Why do people insist of demonizing people just for being realistic and trying to focus on solutions? Nobody who agrees with the lockout is saying "screw you" to newbies. Nobody. If anything, I'd argue the opposite. The people wanting more people in Balmung are the ones saying "eff you" to the newbies. What do you think happens to all those new people who immigrate in day after day? Are you there on the server to greet them personally and give them a tour when they become completely overwhelmed? No? Most of them are struggling. Not all, but most. How many big events do you go to and actually observe what happens? Did you go to the last Grindstone? Did you by chance pay attention to some of the people sitting on the sidelines trying to figure out who to contact to get involved or how to approach someone? Did you see as these individuals quietly got up and left without a word, their very existence not once acknowledged? This happens daily at every single large event. There are too many people and it's impossible for people to pay attention to them all and get them the attention they rightfully deserve. For all the love people claim to have for new RPers, they sure don't focus on retention strategies. It's all about "new blood, new blood, new blood!" And then nobody knows what to even do with the new blood. So you can demonize us all you want and say we're being 'selfish.' But I'd argue the exact opposite. It goes right back to the whole buffet thing. People want all this food, but won't eat it. And guess what? That food can't wait around 4-6 months for someone to suddenly get a craving for it. It needs attention NOW or it spoils. That was the whole point of my analogy. The gluttony is just astounding. FFXI had several tiny RP communities scattered across different servers and they mostly survived for over a decade. A freaking decade. And guess what? They weren't focused on 'new blood onry' strategies. They survived because they knew how to retain what they already had. New blood was scarce for them. So this whole mentality that the RP community MUST HAVE NEW BLOOD is a farce. I like new blood. Everyone likes new blood. But Balmung does not need it in its current condition! Out of 50 new blood people, we're lucky if even 10 of them are actually retained. Nobody notices it though because the immigration is so high that the next wave of immigrants quickly drowns out those who couldn't find a niche and vanished into the lifestream or wherever they went. There are RPers out there who NEED attention. They need their existence acknowledged. Bringing in more people does not help with that. Gilgamesh was the one and only fully organized attempt to give another big alternative. It initially succeeded in spades. It failed later on for a variety of different reasons, and many of these reasons are no longer an issue with this new attempt. For the record: I have 8 characters on Balmung. I'm giving serious consideration to giving Mateus a second chance and going back full time if the community is capable or rallying behind it. So I don't want to hear the accusation of me having mine on Balmung and not caring about those trying to get on.

Ah, RP server selection drama...how I missed thee. Most MMOs only get to see you for a single fleeting moment. FFXIV is fortunate enough to see you on three separate occasions. Truly an oldie but goodie. I can only testify to two communities: Siren and Mateus. Siren: I was only here maybe a month or so. In terms of numbers, pretty good compared to others out there. But I got the impression only 5 or so people in their linkshell actually actively RPed. Maybe I'm wrong, but I can only comment on what I saw. I also didn't see many, if any, IC linkshells. Everything was OOC. They've also had a pretty heavy amount of OOC drama and leadership has shifted multiple times in a very short span of time. I don't even know who the new 'representative' of Siren RP is, and I wonder if they even know... Official Website: http://sirenrp.enjin.com/ Linkshell Profile: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/linkshell/16044073672550899/ RPC Ad: No active one... Discord: Yes, rarely used... Mateus: Very passionate group that has fought like crazy to stay alive even as Balmung sucked up everything around it. Their passion is what drew me to them. They have something like 5+ active RP groups with varying themes. Healthy population in comparison to others. Need to improve on open world RP (they're aware of this already I think) and get out of the houses so much. Also need more variety of RP events outside of just tavern nights (also probably aware of). Official Website: None? Linkshell Profile: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/linkshell/10414574138371308/ (they have a separate linkshell for alts) RPC Ad: http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=18115 Discord: Yes, high usage

While I strongly disagree with some of the stances regarding Balmung's current predicament, arguing over it will solve nothing. I agree with everyone else that something should be done swiftly since the server is closed even as we speak. I'd love nothing more than to see the smaller servers come together and merge into a larger server community. It would certainly solidify a lot of people's faith in its ability to survive for the long haul, for reasons already extensively outlined. That said, I don't have a lot of hope that the various communities will pull such a feat off. Investments such as housing are serious business for a lot of people. And it's rather unrealistic to expect them all to make sacrifices when Balmung itself wouldn't likely make the same sacrifices themselves. Again, would love to see it. But it's just too impractical at this stage. Hopefully an actual attempt is made on this front though. If there was any kind of vote, I'd not hesitate to throw mine to a particular preexisting server. While they certainly have some internal issues to work out (who doesn't), they're far and away in a more secure position than the others. I'll save my comments for each individual smaller server for now though in the event a separate thread/vote/etc is held. That said, I still have concerns regarding longevity that Kilieit expressed perfectly already.

Yes. It's an endless sea that is impossible for some to navigate. There are so many RPers out there that get frustrated daily because they struggle to find what they're looking for. They're 'lost as sea' so to speak. They go to events, public RP hot spots, and so on, but still can't get what they're looking for. They either get anxiety from there being too many people or they in some cases get outright ignored (not necessarily on purpose, mind you). That's not healthy. When Rpers get frustrated to a certain point, they just give up. They either leave the game or just leave RP and just 'exist' in the background doing other game things. And nobody really seems to care because they have their own ship with their own crew, so they're good to go. And they see plenty of other ships out there, so 'everything must be good' in the grand scheme. But there's another picture people are quick to disregard or ignore. Just because there are 'a ton of ships out there' doesn't mean they're all doing well and it certainly doesn't take into account the tons of other ships that sank without so much of another ship coming to their aid. Think of it like an all you can eat buffet. That's what Balmung is right now. And people are so excited about that because it sounds great on the surface. But in reality, everyone is so engrossed in their own plate that they're not realizing what's actually happening to the larger buffet behind them. People have so many options that they don't even touch some of the food, even if the food is actually really good. A lot of the food goes to waste and gets tossed out. And if nobody ever eats the mac and cheese, then the chefs eventually stop making mac and cheese altogether. Balmung has actually hemorrhaged a lot of good RPers over time. People just don't notice it because they're engrossed in their own 'plate' of food. And there's still so much more coming to the buffet table so it's even less noticeable. With the lockout now, there's nothing more coming to the buffet table now. You have to eat what you can get or leave the restaurant (Balmung) for a restaurant that no doubt offers less. Talking about what SE should have or could have done is pointless. They deemed the overpopulation a problem and made a decision. There's nothing we can do to change that. Until Balmung stabilizes (if it does), it will remain locked out just as character creation has remained locked for as long as it has. Thus, people need to look internally to keep RP going instead of relying on the vast amount of transfers that have been coming in to keep it sustained. That's the point I'm trying to make. There's a huge buffet table of food already on the table. We need to pay attention to it and stop gorging on the same plates of food. We used to have things like our own internal mentor program for the RPC that helped get these 'just existing' RPers out into the open more. Lately, we've done little in this department. Balmung's hemorrhaging is going to be much more noticeable now without the newbie transfers to hide it... I know my thoughts are probably all over the place. But as the person who initiated the RPC and has watched it grow since its inception, it frustrates me to watch people be completely oblivious to the reality of the many RPers we've actually quietly lost and just keep using the argument that 'people are constantly coming to Balmung so everything must be okay!' People are just too engorged in their individual plates of food to see the reality around them. And eventually, it's going to hit a breaking point and the buffet is going to disappear without notice (or the options are going to greatly diminish without notice).

Honestly, this was definitely needed. There's a difference between being "crowded" and "overcrowded." Balmung is the latter. The RP community has grown too large to sustain itself in a healthy manner. It's unfortunate that SE had to walk the path of total lockdown to get things back on track, but it's a necessary evil at this point. Up to this point, everyone has continued to keep urging new RPers to come to Balmung every single time. There has been minimal encouragement to move them elsewhere to help our stability. I do hope and continue to believe that cross-world play is still on its way since SE has already mentioned cross-world tells, friend lists, linkshells, and FCs being in the works. It's just probably a ways off. In the meantime, it's our responsibility to see to it that RP is capable of continuing to grow, rather than be stifled by Balmung's unhealthy devouring of every single RPer. I see this as a 'forced diet,' and it's definitely needed. That said, it's up to the other servers to up their game to ensure every new RPer gets the solid experience they deserve. I've been to Siren and Mateus both. Siren has a lot of work to do. A LOT. Mateus is in better shape, but also needs to up its game considerably with more varied event types, more open world RP, and less strict policies that needlessly stifle growth. It's essentially doing what we did here with the RPC Council/Charter type of deal, which does not work in coalition environments like this. Gilgamesh was born out of contempt for Balmung/Besaid, and I personally would never consider it for that reason alone. However, it does have the name recognition and really needs to work on its internal issues and presence in the larger community. The forced cutoff may be what they need to accomplish that and become a force to be reckoned with again. Basically, it's up to these communities to seize this moment and run with it, and we should be as supportive as possible through it all.

Edit: Disregard... As suspected, this section has not been helpful to me at all for the second time now :dodgy:

Edit: Due to the server lockdown and new server vote, Avalon has made minor alterations for its direction. Recruitment is open as of this time. We are looking into new projects to assist in the building of a self-sustaining RP community on Mateus (such as a weekly IC tourist event for newbies to help give them an early excuse to interact with others in an IC fashion).

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I generally loathe reading 'testimonial' type posts, but feel compelled to speak up on this particular subject matter. As one of founders of the RPC and a strong advocate of Balmung's RP foundation, I want to make it crystal clear that I am in no way anti-Balmung. I believe and hope that it will prosper for a very long time. However, I also feel it has reached a 'peak' of sorts when it comes to growth. On a personal level, I also came to the realization that there was nothing more I had to offer the Balmung community. In addition, I always felt like I was swimming in too vast an ocean with Balmung. It's basically like the Chicago/New York City of the RP community in that it's overcrowded, has a high cost of living (particularly housing), and finding a parking spot is nigh impossible. Now don't get me wrong, some people love big city culture. It has its charming points for sure. I've never really liked huge cities myself and fancy myself a smaller town type of guy. Though FFXIV 1.0 was a mess of a game to start, the community itself was perfect. There were 5-10 active RP groups who all did their own thing but everyone still knew everyone else's name and could come together on a constant basis. So I turned my attention elsewhere, looking into other servers and the potential for another vibrant RP community that would fit me more appropriately. I admit that I first passed Mateus up once I saw how much of a ghost town it was. I walked through Ul'dah without seeing a single soul (but those housing slots, wow!). I looked into other servers but wasn't too sold. I didn't feel the passion, cohesiveness, and dedication that I felt from the Mateus RPers. And that's what ultimately drew me back to give it a second chance. It's the very same type of passion and devotion that gave birth to Besaid/Balmung so many years ago. And the best part of it? It wasn't born out of some fear or hatred for Balmung, like I feel certain other RP communities were bred from. It was born simply from a yearning to make something different and add options to an otherwise predictable option pallet. I look forward to seeing where this community goes, and being part of its growth. Ul'dah is no longer a ghost town. I see people everywhere already, though obviously to a lesser extent than Balmung. The market isn't oversaturated and can actually make you profit (as of now). There are plenty of houses of all sizes still available. But most important of all, the RP community is growing and prospering. There appears to be approximately 5-6 RP groups, the OOC community linkshell has a very active roster and is sitting at a count of over 70 (up from the like 20 or so when I first looked at it). Private/public events seem plentiful. It's a very good time to begin recognizing Mateus as a future powerhouse of the RP community. I personally believe it's on a path to easily surpass Gilgamesh as a secondary RP server before long. In addition to the above, I also am of the opinion that servers will soon be a thing of the past anyway (though I could be mistaken...). SE has already implemented cross world blacklist and party finder, and has expressed their desire to implement cross world friend lists, tells, linkshells, and free companies. Think about that for a moment. Cross world linkshells/free companies. I'm surprised at how little attention people have given this announcement. It's basically one step away from the 'mega server' concept. The only thing that's lacking at that point would be cross-server markets and actual sharing zones with cross-server people, technology that technically already exists and can probably be implemented via instancing/zoning (Ul'dah 1, Ul'dah 2, etc like seen in some other MMOs). Given this gradual trend toward cross-server play, it's only logical to expand the RP community's horizons in the world of Hydaelyn and reap the benefits of smaller servers before this all becomes reality (if it indeed does), while setting up a strong foundation for the overall RP community at large a the same time. Again, looking forward to seeing where this goes and how it'll benefit the RP community at large in the long run. Cheers to the rising star/underdog, Mateus~

Ul'dah, Felstar Manor, Private Chambers The leather clad miqo'te slowly removed her mask with a shaky hand, running her other hand through her white hair. The mansion room was dark, a single candle on the bedstand the only source of illumination. The moonkeeper set the mask down and picked up a framed picture next to it, one of a blond haired hyur child smiling happily. The boy had saved her life so long ago, given her purpose and drive to continue living herself. He had even gone so far as to give her his last name to solidify her new role in the family. She in turn would devote her life to protecting him. The failure of that mission quickly sank in as she dropped to the floor, leaning up against the bed and clutching the portrait close to her chest. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her ashen grey cheeks, a sign of weakness she had not shown even to herself in years. She then buried her face in her knees, picture still in hand. Vertigo Felstar would cry herself to sleep that night, and many nights after. Somewhere in Ilsabard, days later... The hyur courier approached the cabin with mild curiosity in his eyes. The style of the small home was different than he was used to. It looked like something a Gridanian would build. He knocked gently on the front door and was quickly met with a tall indigo haired midlander female, her beauty making him almost blush before quickly handing the sealed envelope, giving a small bow to the woman and returning to his other tasks. The indigo haired woman glanced curiously at the envelope, closing the door behind her. It bore the seal of House Felstar. 'Why would father be so careless in his communication?' The woman gingerly opened the envelope and sat on the arm of an elegant crimson sofa. Her eyes widened in horror as she read the letter. She read it over a second time. And then again. And then once more. Her eyes remained filled with dread every single time. Slowly, she rose from her seat and walked in an almost zombie-like trance to a nearby table, still unable to fully process the news. Anger suddenly filled her eyes as she swept her arm across the table and sent everything on it to the floor in a fit of rage. She let out a scream in outrage before moving to a nearby flower pot and hurling it across the room, watching it shatter into a hundred little pieces. She turned around as tears began to gently stream down her cheeks, glancing at her reflection in a nearby tall mirror. Elza quickly grabbed the nearest object to her, a book, and hurled it at the mirror in even more rage, shattering the reflection instantly. Ul'dah, Felstar Manor, Patriarch's Office It was dark, the ornate fireplace radiating its gently blaze in the room. Cartius sat quietly at his desk, his face showing no hint of emotion. A number of documents, information compiled by the patriarch's myriad of informants over the years, flooded his desk as he slowly flipped through each one... Gerik Aston and Burgenheim Rosa, the two who had the most direct impact on breaking his son's heart into countless pieces with irrepairable damage. Aysun Demiir and her other half, Fenix, meddlers who never learned their place. Eva Ianeira and Camille Everardi, false friends seemingly always complacent with Kylin's downfall at the hands of their cohorts. Rhio Aldul, Ki'lari, and Tyriont Gaidal, turncoats who didn't know the meaning of loyalty. Stormguard, Outer Heaven, Crystalline...nearly all of their former leaders and members were profiled. Any one of them could have potentially had motive to end Kylin. Cartius sighed inwardly, leaning back in his large chair. So many times he was prepared to end them all. So many times did he have the opportunity. But Kylin pleaded with his father to not start any wars. As patriarch, it was evident now more than ever that Cartius's original decision would have been the most logical one to protect his family. The hyur continued to reflect. Mayhaps the murderer was one of his own enemies? Mayhaps it had naught to do with Kylin's past at all? The burden of that thought was a heavy one indeed. He had failed all of his children- Seraphine, Elza, and now Kylin. All of his attempts to protect them in his own way were for nothing, and perhaps even the result of their ultimate undoings. And so he coninued to reflect. And reflect some more. It was all he had in him to do. Should he seek revenge against those who wronged his family? Should he submit? What was a house patriarch to do? What was a father to do...?

I'm right there with you on this as well. I've been waiting for housing since 2010, and when it was first released in the manner it was, I was devastated that it was well beyond my grasp. I've given up the dream of having my mansion, and even decided to recently settle for a small at this point. But if I can't even get that, it'll be time for me to just walk away for a bit and consider other options. I'll certainly give the new 'apartments' feature a look over when more details come out on that, but I'm honestly not holding out too much hope on that at this point either unless they implement those in a manner that isn't just the equivalent of FC personal rooms 2.0.

FYI: Made a typo on the Relationship Status part where the analysis says 25% are "uncommitted." I derped and read the wrong part of the graph. Just an FYI if you read that before it's fixed >.>