C'kayah Polaali

This is clearly an acronym, but I don't know what it is. Google doesn't seem to, either. At least not in my searches. Enlighten me, please?

Contraband teas of the Black Shroud The Duskwights of the Black Shroud have developed the cultivation of exotic and esoteric teas to a high degree. While these are not true teas, their preparation is similar, and they are consumed for a number of different purposes. Many of these teas have powerful psychoactive properties, and are contraband in Thanalan. Contraband teas include: Mantissarine - Mildly hallucinogenic Bilanette - Eliminates inhibitions Dhuinisse - Enhances and changes sensations Merain - Not strictly a tea, this liquor is produced by fermenting and then distilling Bilanette A helpful guide from your friends at Tylwyth Narah.

"I warned them about my cousin", he said, shaking his head. "I wonder who she was, the poor woman..."

This is a big one, really. When you're playing an adversary to someone, there's really no such thing as too much OOC communication.

Love always surprises us, Osric...

I age my characters like fine bourbon, in oak casks! Seriously, I do it by calendar year. It's not perfect, but it works.

Kenthy and C were planning their eternal bondage ceremony. Of course, being Miqo'te, it's a little nontraditional: [0:51](L'kenthi Rarahn) So to confirm: [0:51](L'kenthi Rarahn) Spinner's Hand [0:51](L'kenthi Rarahn) Red carpet [0:51](L'kenthi Rarahn) White flowers [0:52](L'kenthi Rarahn) C riding on Osric's back to enter. [0:52](L'kenthi Rarahn) Leaving on chocoboback. [0:52](C'kayah Polaali) <3 [0:52](L'kenthi Rarahn) Osric carrying the bouquet while Kenthy empties the open bar. [0:52](L'kenthi Rarahn) Return of the Hero. [0:52](L'kenthi Rarahn) A World Apart. [0:52](L'kenthi Rarahn) Right? [0:52](C'kayah Polaali) Damn straight!

I know, right?

C'kayah would spend some time wondering why people in the bar he'd just found kept calling him a furry. Then he'd notice the peculiar nature of the local currency. He'd be cranking it out wholesale on stolen presses within the week.

This is something that's always hand-waved in every MMO RPG ever. Pregnancy occurs when desired, and not when it isn't. There's always some handy explanation ranging from good luck to contraceptive herbal remedies (which are universally effective and available!) Fantasy is fantasy I knew a RPer who went against this. Her character slept with someone, then she rolled a die and said "Whelp, got a bun in the oven!" It made for interesting RP...

Begging your pardon, but do you have a source for that? I'd like to read it. ;P Here you go, Zhavi. The relevant section is:

Clearly some of us do...

He's certainly got a bit of a Walter thing going on... [video=youtube]

I've never really had problems in the long term finding people to RP unpopular themes. In addition, like many people who've been complaining about their difficulties finding RP, I'm extremely introverted. I'm shy, I have social anxieties, and I have difficulties communicating with people. I've managed to overcome these things and successfully find RP for pretty much any theme I want, because I've adopted a very specific strategy. I ask, and I help. I started out RPing on Balmung with the idea that I would play a supporting character in other people's stories. I'm there to make them look good. To make their story go in a way that they enjoy. In the beginning, that was basically the only thing I did. As time went on and my character developed, I started RPing C'kayah's stories. And I discovered that I had a ready pool of people who were happy to RP with me there, because I'd already created relationships based on making their RP fun for them. That's the helping part. As for the asking part, I developed this habit: If I'm bored, I'll sit somewhere where there are a lot of people. If I see anyone who looks interesting (they're walking, they're RPing, etc), I'll examine their character. If they look like a RPer (i.e.: they have a RP tag), I'll send them a /tell to say hi. If their character text says they're interested in a specific kind of RP, I'll usually ask about that - even if it doesn't seem like it's my cup of tea. We'll talk about what they're looking for, and I'll mention what I'm looking for, and we'll chat about the possibility of RPing together. Many times this leads nowhere. Many times the other person won't want to engage, or they're not looking for the sort of RP I'm looking for, or they're busy, or any number of other things. But many times they'll say "That sounds fun!" Then we'll send each other friend requests, or arrange to meet for RP. It's a numbers game, ultimately: The more RPers I meet, the greater the chance I'll meet someone who likes the sort of RP that I like. It can be hard to reach out to a stranger and ask. I know this. For me, I have trouble thinking about what to say. I ended up basically coming up with a few set "pick up lines" for this: "Hi, how are you? I saw your search text. You're a roleplayer? What sort of RP are you looking for?" I take pains to be polite, to not be pushy, and to generally be a welcoming member of the RP community. And for those of you who this is especially hard for, I can offer this: It's a skill. It can be learned. It gets easier with practice. One last thing that I do which really helps with this is to keep notes on the people I meet. Just simple things, like "Ailis Ashling - Elezen smuggler". It helps me when I see someone online in my friends list, because I can check them against the list and see what sort of RP they like.

Tricks from my days commuting by motorcycle. I will not acknowledge the use of these techniques, nor comment on their efficiency: - Carry a couple of big ball bearings with you. Half inchers. As a motorcyclist, it's tough to deploy them. As a ped, you can have a couple in your hand and launch them at the car when they do this. "Sorry, I was playing with them in my hand! I must have dropped them when I leapt out of your way! You almost hit me, you know!" - Use a hammer to roughly break up a piece of spark plug ceramic. Use like the ball bearings. It does a number on windshields and paint. Clearly when the car ran through the puddle, it kicked up some debris. Another trick, from commuting by bicycle. I definitely have not tried this, but I've known people who have. Picture a spot about a foot and a half up from the bottom of the windshield, and perhaps two feet in. If you accidentally hit this spot with a U-lock, it will typically shatter the windshield.

That's exactly how I do it when C'kayah purrs.

Good topic! C'kayah's a silver tongued crime lord. Charisma was not his dump stat. His mannerisms have been practiced and polished in an attempt to let him more easily influence people. He is also a Coeurl. According to Fates' wonderful guide, Coeurls have a particular focus on dance and body language. I think the one certainly follows the other. Once he got into a position where he could influence people, the bodily self-control that he got from his Coeurl upbringing helped him to develop the techniques that would work for him. Consequently, he doesn't do a lot of unconscious things with his body language. At least not around people he's not fully comfortable with. Every swivel of his ears, every lash of his tail, every time he grins and exposes the fangs that are the inheritance from his Moonkeeper grandmother, it's intentional. But I do try to bring those things into my RP. I tend to play them down, since a lot of his body language is based on reading the people he's talking to and trying to have his body language be comfortable (read: "familiar"; "not noteworthy"). All the same, those parts are there and I use them.

I feel a little like the guy who tells kids there ain't no Santa Claus. Yeah. It's that enjoyable.

That requires nuance and reading, though. We're discussing the lowest-denominator groups who saw tails, ears and alpha male positioning and stopped reading. Good roleplayers will play good characters. I'm challenging the idea that not emoting your tail or being overtly-miqoish in emotes removes you from the "good roleplayer" side of things. I do not think SE did themselves any favors incorporating such a taboo concept, though. It's going to draw folks who are only in it for the ass, and has. You clearly haven't seen C'kayah around any of the self-proclaimed adventurer Nunhs, have you? In any case, as someone who pretty much only plays Miqo'te, I can definitely see what you're talking about in terms of "Hyur with cat suit" roleplay. But it's not really "Hyur with cat suit". It's "Modern person with cat suit". You see that with everyone. Hyurs aren't modern humans, yet you see lots of people who are played either as "ordinary Americans dropped off in Eorzea" or "Some very specific culture dropped off in Eorzea". A prominent roleplayer on this forum roleplays a Samurai. You, Warren, don't have a particularly Highlander name. How many Lalafell are played as the passionate, powerful people that they actually are? Ul'dah is a Lalafell city, after all! The rest of us have just emigrated there. Find me a Roegadyn that actually plays to the traditional Roegadyn culture. Elezen RPers are probably the most lore-appropriate - at least the ones that I've seen - statistically. This may have something to do with the relatively small numbers of them on Balmung. But, of course, if you look at the races as portrayed by the various quests, things get complicated. They're all over the map, culturally. Urbanized non-tribal Miqo'te outnumber the actual traditionals by something like 5:1. You're hard pressed to find a hint of traditional Roegadyn culture in Merlwyb and her crew. Highlanders are supposed to be touchy about their names, yet you never see any hint of this. You could almost argue that the roleplayers who create Miqo'te named "Take'me B'igboy" and are in it solely for the ERP are doing a better job of playing their characters to lore than those of us who try to play "real" Miqo'te. I've got to address this, though: Why should Miqo'te have trouble grasping the full extent of Eorzean culture? Why would ignorance about the world be a Miqo'te trait? You look at the U-tribe Miqo's in the MSQ, they're fully engaged in the world and aware of things happening across Eorzea. Tribal doesn't mean isolated.

Steal Allagan technology from Red Wings researcher - check! Join larger Red Wings plot - check! Spread rumors concerning relationship woes between C'kayah and his mate, Osric - check! Foment distrust between the Sultansworn and the Flames - check! Sabotage Osric's laptop to enforce his absense. Twice. - check! ... Profit!

Feel like getting even more pissed about it?

Considering the near-apocalypse that was the Calamity a mere five years ago (and all the build-up of war leading to it), there are enough orphans and refugees to explain pretty much anything. Miqo'te who are culturally Hyurish are one of the easier things for me to accept. Oh, but to address the topic: Nyarrrgh! Server restrictions bad!

L'vi and I were RPing off in the Reflection of Nald, doing a little plotting. We'd wrapped up the scene, and were chatting OOCly, when someone (from a RP FC, even!) runs by. She stops, watches us for a moment, and then casts some random AOE spell (why is that even a thing?). The context makes the resulting discussion amusing. Name changed to protect the troll. [1:39]L'vi Lyrre >> the sultansworn one [1:39]>> L'vi Lyrre: Oooooooo, yeah! [1:39]L'vi Lyrre >> are you SURE that wasn't Romy Leonhardt?? [1:39]>> L'vi Lyrre: That was Crofte, wasn't it? [1:39]L'vi Lyrre >> now that you mention it I think it was crofte [1:40]C'kayah Polaali looks at the troll and sneers. [1:41]L'vi Lyrre >> ok! Again, thank you SO much I am glad you were not disappointed [1:41]Trolly McTroll: do trolls even appear in this game [1:41]>> L'vi Lyrre: Oh, God, no. Actually, I discovered some interesting stuff about C [1:42]L'vi Lyrre >> and I REALLY look forward to Vi dumping some of this new info in his lap .....Oh? [1:42]>> L'vi Lyrre: So we'll thank each other [1:42]L'vi Lyrre >> ok now you have to tell me [1:42]>> L'vi Lyrre: The details of his time as a whore. I knew the basics, but I'd never worked out all the details. [1:43]C'kayah Polaali: Oh, absolutely. All sorts of them. Big, short, fat, thin. Ones with long mobile noses, and others with none at all! [1:43]Trolly McTroll: look, i cast freeze like once, if that's all it takes to disrupt your imaginary sex you should probably invest in like, erp counselling [1:43]Trolly McTroll: settle down [1:43]Trolly McTroll: carry onb [1:43]L'vi Lyrre: (lolol!! Why do they always immediately think its sex? Why can't it jsut be secret plotting conversations to topple other organizations in Ul'dah?)

That's rough, man. The collage loan industry is such a nasty scam.

I... hadn't thought of how the Balmung restriction might will still be in effect come Heavensward and severely limit AuRa creation. Best possibility I've read about AuRa and Heavensward in regard to RP in days, not even being sarcastic, I hope it stays locked. So...you're hoping new character creation stays locked throughout the release of the expansion...? Yes, anything to stop people from ruining AuRa the same way they ruined Miqo'te. I know it's a controversial opinion and perhaps a bit mean-spirited, but after a year and a half of polarizing lore, man-hating futa covens, and Hyur characters wearing cat ears and a tail, I'm done. The fewer AuRa the better. Dude, I don't know who you're RPing with, but it sounds like they're the wrong Miqo'te...