Knight Kat

So, my FC finally has enough gil to buy a small house; even if we have to pay the price of the house for relinquishment, and then actually buy the house afterwards. Pretty cool huh? Oh wait... There are no plots available. Pretty cool huh? NO, THE ANSWER TO THAT IS NO. Why am I posting again? Am I complaining again? Am I bumping the thread? WHO KNOWS?! Am I crazy?!

[align=center] (((New Shadows in the Shroud: Oschon's Owls Faction: Order of the Twin Adders [[DM Post]]))) [/align] Lieutenant Mossthorne, a tall Highlander man with graying hair, paced quickly through a Gridania road as the winds caught his Twin Adder coat, and blew parts of it about his form. A tiny mythril owl insignia glistened on his collar. He read an open parchment in his hands as he walked; an unwise thing to do, but he was accustomed to it. He was leader of Oschon's Owls, one of the Twin Adder's reconnaissance squads. He was always busy. [align=center]The parchment read: “Lieutenant Mossthorne, by authority of the sacred Elder Seed-seer Kan-E-Sena, you are hereby ordered to engage Oschon's Owls in investigative reconnaissance of the unidentified disturbance in the Twelveswood resulting in the deaths of two Wood Wailer patrols, one Gods Quiver patrol, five adventurers and two families of Moon-keepers. You are hereby granted the authority to use any information gathered by Gridanian forces. You are also granted authority to acquire aid from all the guilds in the Twelveswood. However, since this is not yet considered an emergency matter, how much aid the guilds offer beyond the standard minimum is at their discretion. Use resources wisely. Your mission is to discern the cause of the unrest in the Twelveswood, and investigate any links the killings may have to the cause.”[/align] Mossthorne lowered the parchment just as he reached a cottage-sized hut. His pace did not slow as he stomped up the Glade-style steps, and briskly opened the door; coming to a stop right inside to regard his squad. Oschon's Owls, all casually strewn about the furnishings of the hut, suddenly stood to attention as they regarded their leader. There were four of them; two Hyur, one Elezen and one Lalafell. All were in uniform. “Chief Sergeant Burke.” Mossthorne called out. The Hyur man stepped forward. “Ser?” “Contact the rest of the squad. I want you all to gather information regarding the recent unrest in the Shroud. We have authority now. Get reports from the Wailers, Quivers, Entwined Serpents and Adventurer's Guild. You have three bells to do this then meet me back here. I will explain more.” Mossthorne said curtly, but in a calm tone. “Unres', ser?” Burke asked. “There are unusual disturbances, Chief Sergeant. It is now our job to find out more. Get to it.” “Ser!” Burke replied then saluted before he turned to the other three to begin giving orders. Mossthorne moved to take a seat at his glade desk. He opened up the parchment to read it once again. “Investigate unidentified unrest? We better get some damned ginger cookies for this.” Mossthorne muttered. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three hours passed, and Mossthorne called his squad to attention after their return. Mossthorne's boots clopped against the creaky wooden floor as he took position in front of their line-up. His gloved hands moved to his waist as he regarded the six of them. Two Hyur from before, one Lalafell, two Elezen and a Moon-keeper. “We have new orders. There have been killings, possible instances of Greenwrath and strange behavior from many different groups in the Shroud. The Elder Seed-seer herself wants us to investigate this. That is why I asked you all to gather the reports. Now, starting with reports from the Wood Wailers, what do you have?” Mossthorne asked the squad in his clear, commanding tone. The Hyur woman stepped forth; her gaze steady and calm. “Corporal Attwood reporting, sir. I was the one sent to the Wailers. Other than the loss of their two patrols, they have found nothing, but are continuing to investigate.” Mossthorne gave her a curt nod. “Very well. What of the Gods Quivers?” Burke stepped forth at that moment. “I's the one who wus investigatin' dem ser. Roight bloody clueless they were. Naught more dan the Wailers I'ma 'fraid.” Burke blurted out. He was the second highest-ranking member of the squad, and it showed as Lieutenant Mossthone didn't seem to mind his candor. “And the Adventurer's Guild?” Mossthorne asked, but no one else stepped up at first until the distracted Elezen man suddenly snapped his attention to Mossthorne. “Oh, uh right... The glorified vagrant workers. I talked to a Bard who was attacked during an investigation into one of the adventurer deaths. He was only able to remember silhouetted figures that shot or threw metal projectiles at him, and one even cast lightning magic.” Said Sergeant Marat as his expression betrayed his boredom. Mossthorne narrowed his eyes. The Owls were in his squad because they were skilled at what they did. However, he would not allow too much liberty. “Sergeant, it sounds like this could be our best lead. I doubt you failed to ask him for more details.” Marat regarded the Lieutenant more directly. “He said it happened too fast. The figures were quick, moved through the brush and performed a great deal of jumping. He said he was struggling to survive their attacks, so he could not even tell if they were man or beast-man. He survived by using his magic music to employ what he called a 'swiftsong'.” The other Elezen, a female Sergeant third class by the name of Hainaut, crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Am I the only one who thinks music during battle would be impractically difficult even if it is magic?” Corporal Attwood turned her head to regard Hainaut. “Moogles use music during battle.” “Moogles are strange, Corporal.” Hainaut responded. “Cease the chatter.” Mossthorne blurted out; bringing the squad's attention back to him. He regarded the squad for a moment before the Lalafell, Corporal Heriyo, stepped forth. “Sir, I believe we are dealing with Garleans here.” He declared. Mossthorne raised a brow as he gazed on the Lalafell. “This does not seem like Garlean tactics.” Corporal Heriyo may have been low-ranking in the squad, but he was a transfer from the Maelstrom. He had different knowledge about Galeans since the ones in the Shroud had been kept at bay almost more by the forest rather than Gridanian forces. The peoples of La Noscea did not have that luxury. “The Garleans have a new force called the Shadow regiment. They employ a whole different set of tactics. They use stealth, sabotage and ambush. It is their attempt to try and adapt to Eorzean battle tactics with limited resources on their end. Since we have a means of jamming Garlean communication in the Shroud, it makes sense for them to use Shadow units to scout the forest. Mayhaps in preparation for an invasion?” Mossthorne raised his second brow, but as a highlander, it looked more like the widening of his eyes. “That... Is not too bad of an assessment, Corporal. Instances of Greenwrath which the Garleans seem to cause even more than the damned Ixal, bandits and poachers becoming more aggressive which Garleans have been known to use as a diversion before -and- the motive for doing all this... However, we will not conclude this without evidence. Listen up, this is our plan.” Mossthorne surveyed his squad as he paused. He then took a deep breath. “As much as I would like to split up and search, that could lead to ambush. We stay together. Best way to confirm if it is Garleans we are dealing with is to find and capture one of these units. We need to confirm if they are being deployed from the Garlean Castrum. If not, then mayhaps by airship or through the East. Finding out which units they are deploying will tell us for sure if we are dealing with their Shadows. We have a lot of ground to cover, so we will call for some support from the Adventurer's Guild.” “Sir...” The previously quiet Keeper suddenly spoke up. Mossthorne regarded her then nodded. “What is it?” “Do you not want to know of what I learned from the Entwined Serpent guards?” “Let me guess, nothing.” He said plainly. The Keeper, Sergeant Mhuun, slowly nodded. “They said they have learned nothing as they have not officially launched an investigation yet.” Mossthorne grew an amused smirk. “You see, Sergeant, our best lancers in Gridania, and they spend their suns standing around in the general vicinity of the Elder Seed-seer. Just bow to their almighty greatness and move on.” He said in a tone that might have been mildly sarcastic. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One hour later, Sergeant Marat arrived at the Carline Canopy. He handed Miounne the leve requisition letter. She instantly knew what it was. “The Adders needing aid with the recent misfortunes, Sergeant?” She asked in her usual friendly tone, but her expression showed how tired she was. Marat just gave her a curt nod then walked out. He knew his comment about the adventurers was what made Mossthorne order him to deliverer the letter. Miounne just watched him as he left then opened the letter to read the specifics. She let out a sigh when no one was looking. The situation was a mess. Just when she was starting to feel like the Twelveswood was regaining its former greatness... Suddenly, she realized something; a clear idea sparked by a spontaneous remembrance. She quickly moved to one of her labeled drawers behind her massive desk-counter. It had been labeled with the insignia of a broad, ornate tree resting with some exposed roots upon a patch of ground. She pulled open the small drawer to reveal a large quantity of linkpearls. “I haven’t distributed many, but it's a good place to start.” She said to herself as she smiled. Her fingers moved to pick up a single pearl, and examine it. “Matron, there are those who might save your crown.” She said silently in prayer to Nophica. [align=center]((This is the introduction of a new upcoming plot that will take place primarily in-game. A Master post in the Balmung Events section of the forums with more info is coming soon. The primary LS used in this plot will be Nophica's Crown; created and mastered by Magellan (Lyra Blueflower). http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=10314 )) ((I will be the plot's primary DM. If you're interested in the plot, watch for the master post. It will tell everyone how they can get in on it.))[/align]

Grey area or not, this seems more widely used and accepted as "doable" than I thought. This is good! : ) I like the idea of elemental aether affinity. It would make since for Kiht to have affinity for ice because her patron deity is actually Halone, but she traditionally reveres Menphina greatly. Thank you all for the responses thus far!

Here is the quote from you. ^ Maybe you should clarify this because it seems to me like you are saying those RPing that their character is ICly under the age of 18 are possibly committing an illegal act, or doing child pornography. You are absolutely entitled to your opinion, and entitled to avoid things that make you feel uncomfortable, but do not attack those that disagree with you by throwing malevolent labels on them. I am more upset about the tone you are setting. Accusing Crofte of what you accused her of was a huge jump to a negative conclusion about her just because she was making an argument you didn't like.

Such uncomfortableness is merely a product of the society you were raised in. You must separate the accepted 'norm' from actual biology and learn some history. It wasn't until the mid 1800's in real life that people were suddenly considered "minors" under a specific age. That was when the conservative right lobbied for age of consent laws to try and cut down on human sex trafficking and forced marriages. Before then, you were almost a full adult by 14. That is when biology naturally takes over. That is when nature intended the human species to be mature. If a child is not emotionally developed enough to handle life by then, it is society's/the parent's fault, not nature. Not the Government. That being said, the government is still in charge here, sadly. And if they say such things are illegal, then you must contend with their backing of force. All I'm saying is that before you say "That makes me uncomfortable", take a look at WHY you feel that way and put it in perspective over the course of all of human history. If your view makes absolutely no biological sense, perhaps you should reconsider it. Condescension not withstanding, there are a number of factual and structural problems with this argument. First of all, how people felt in the past about the age of consent is irrelevant to the subject of what the age of consent should be today. That's an argument from antiquity or tradition, which has nothing to do with your later submitted argument from biology. There's a big problem there in that we actually know more about biological development today than people did in the 1850s... Secondly, people are not fully matured even on a simple biological level at 14. Puberty does not end until age 16 on average (source: http://www.pamf.org/parenting-teens/health/growth-development/pre-growth.html). And there are many more ways to mature aside from puberty (neurological development takes much longer for instance). Finally, your entire post is off the topic of "how to cope with minors doing things adults shouldn't see" and has instead chosen to defend the idea of adults seeing these things. I am not talking about what the age of consent would be in Eorzea. We aren't talking about realistic RP or what we personally think the age of consent should be. I appreciate the discussion, but this is not the place for advocating for lowering the age of consent to 14. You have been told by many people how you can deal with your discomfort in RP. You have been told how to avoid it. All it takes is a simple IC and/or OOC question of the other person in-game. Crofte is -not- defending pedophilia, or advocating anything. She is using history as a context for what might be how culture in Eorzea operates, and there are examples in-game that she might be right. Of course the game does not depict underage sex, nor should it. However, Eorzea is not a perfect world. People will do different things with that idea. Avoid what you don't like, but don't come here trying to change peoples' RP. It won't work, and is just making you seem like a player who can't separate OOC from IC.

So, lore question. I have now seen a few player characters in-game who said that their aether is "aspected" to a certain element like wind or fire. I don't remember what was said word for word, but I clearly remember it being described (by one or two) as if their aether is based on an element just like the various sprites in the game. I'm curious if there is lore to support this. Do people have aether based on elements? If so, what determines which element? If this is a lore thing, I would appreciate any info on it.

Man, I see this argument a LOT. The problem with it is that Eorzea is still a world of pure fiction, made by human beings with all the values and perspectives of humans from our own planet Earth. And of course, the other people playing those characters are all human beings themselves, all from planet Earth, and there is simply no way to ignore this. It colors everything, sometimes in small ways, sometimes in really overt ways (the dragoon gut window and the ninja hakama being really obvious examples, among others). Ideally both the developers and the players would focus on making the fictional world as believable and immersive as possible, but this doesn't always happen... hence this discussion. Well I, and others who apparently make this argument "a LOT", are also human beings from this planet Earth, and are no more special than anyone else. If I am capable of setting aside and rethinking at least some real world culture and gender perceptions based on the lore and portrayals in the game then surely others are capable of such too. That is the point of this argument that is apparently made a lot. I presume that there are those out there not thinking beyond their own cultural perceptions, and I made my argument in hopes of them stopping and thinking about it. Once again, this is something I am capable of, so I assumed others are as well. I can also be guilty of my own cultural perceptions coloring my thoughts and views, but it is not an excuse to not think outside of them once in awhile. I see people saying things "accurate portrayals" then talking about real world context. I understand why they are doing it, but I assert it isn't entirely accurate to do so.

Wow, I'm going to get my say in before this thread is locked. How about we consider that Eorzea is not the real world, and has many many factors that would make it so our typical real world culture and gender roles do not apply to all things? Roegadyn women. So big and strong that about the only males who might be just as strong, or stronger, are Highlander men and Roegadyn men. Female Roegadyn would probably make excellent hard-labor workers and soldiers. Lalafell men and women are built almost identical. Size and shape is pretty much the same. It's often hard to tell the difference unless you see facial hair, makeup or gender-based hairstyles. Miqo'te may be portrayed in a highly sexualized manner, but also consider that the lore absolutely confirms that males are born far less often than females. In such a society, males are too few to be the primary hunters, fighters and workers. Females would have to do most of that, and they would have to be good at it or they would die out. You might try to apply typical real world culture and gender roles to Elezen and Hyur then, but there are many female Hyur and Elezen in the Grand Companies and Law-enforcement forces. You see them everywhere. Then there is aether. It can be used by a tiny Lalafell to cast big fireballs to destroy magitek robots. "Size matters not." -Yoda. What is my point in all this? Gender roles and modern culture exist for a reason. But, the factors that make our real world culture what it usually is do not fully apply to this fantasy world. Sure there are sexualized portrayals of genders in Eorzea (just look at the female workers in the Golden Saucer...), but there are also legendary heroes like the female Dragoon named Rainette. What is and isn't an accurate depiction of a woman or a man in this game can not be accurately judged based on our real world culture and ideals.

Hey there, this is a bit off topic, but I would like to address it. Many people have had this same problem. The thing about cliques is they are actually very natural. Characters are built on themes and concepts. For example, a Highlander Garlean spy would not suit my FC. That is not because that is a bad character concept, but because it does not fit my FC's theme. Why do people form cliques? Because one person can only manage so many relationships, and we tend to desire stronger bonds with a smallish group of people; rather than try to bond with all of society. That is natural too. So what can you do? I recommend deciding on what kind of clique or theme you are looking to explore with your character then posting a thread on the "Making Connections" section of this site. If you don't get any hits, it might seem discouraging, but then you just search for FCs or LSs in the Linkshell Hall to see what you might like to join. Leave a post on their profile thread, or send them a PM. You can also browse character wikis to see if there are characters you think might interact well with yours. Make a list and send them tells. It's best not to think of this as a social exercise. I highly doubt people are avoiding you because they don't like you or your character. Finding RPers who are available and willing to random RP is actually like rolling the dice. Even in the Quicksand, people are unusually occupied with other people they met before you came along. The methods I mentioned are more like fishing. Rig some bait on a hook then offer it into the ocean that is the RP community. Now for an on-topic contribution: I find it funny there are so many female characters when it was just over a year ago that the RP character census (I think that is what is was) showed more males than females. Most of which were Hyur Midlanders too. I have nothing to add about the gender topic that hasn't been said already, but there are indeed many Miqo'te. I like Miqo'te a lot, but I don't like the feeling that they are generic now. I am hoping the Au Ra will change that a bit.

I just keep looking at the drawing. It is so great. I can't thank you enough. :love: :love: :love:

Sounds like the Ishgardians dun goofed. How many Archeologists did they punch this time? This is why Kiht is following a different trail, and staying under the radar... Sort of.

Yes, we do take non-FC members into our LS. The LS is used for contacts of the FC. I will gladly invite you. Next time I am on, I will player-search you.

Here's one likely many of you have not seen: "swive". It was said by a White Rams NPC in Dragonhead. It means "fuck". "Shite" is also used a lot by many NPCs. Now, some likely official and unofficial swears Kiht uses are: "Tail-less cur" "Holy Menphina" "What the Hells?" "Bastard" "Arse" "Boar-shite" "Sun-slut" < (This is a new one that she makes sure to never say around Seekers she likes :dodgy: ) "piss poor"

Kiht's personal Chocobo is a blue male named Windrunner. He is unruly, so he and Kiht together are often like a comedy routine. Kiht's racing Chocobo is not IC, but I chose a female named Flying Spear.

CHARACTER NAME: Kiht Jakkya OCCUPATION: Freelance scout and hunter. I WILL BE JOINING IN AN: IC capacity. /signed.

So, I tried something like this last September, but it died down quickly. Part of that was because I was so busy I could not dedicate myself to pushing for active recruitment, and plotting open events. http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=8372&pid=110055#pid110055 However, I still 100% support this idea, and maybe an IC linkshell instead of an OOC one will be better? Based on experience though, something like this -will- need active recruitment and events. Unfortunately, Gridania/Twelveswood RPers are few in number. Despite my character and her FC's current living location, we do still RP in the Twelveswood often, and plan to do so much more in the future. I would be very willing to help support a growing RP community in the Twelveswood. I would like to offer this to people who haven't seen it yet: http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=8378&pid=110114#pid110114 A directory is useful because it never goes away. Magellan, if you get this LS going, I would love to join it, and maybe even get my FC members in on it.

A friend has told me several times that no one wants to play an "ordinary rice farmer". While I agree and understand that, people think too much in a black or white spectrum. Being rice farmer or Superman are -not- our only two options as RPers. There are enormous shades of grey between. Balance is key. Because, in all honesty, the problem I have with characters who are very powerful is "spotlight stealing". I have seen it happen many times where what is set up to be a puzzle or challenge is easily overcome by a powerful character. How is that fun for the other RPers involved? How is that even fun for the character who overcame it? I see RP as -sharing- a story. My character will take the spotlight when and if it is her time. She will do so, not by stepping in and bulldozing her way over every issue, but by contributing to situations where her strengths might be useful, and leaving situations in which she may do poorly to others who can do better. In my opinion, one weakness no one can know about is not enough. A character can be "realistic" and still be extraordinary. Then again, a character can be more "high fantasy" and still have several weaknesses without loosing the extraordinary aspect. Kiht is neither option 1 nor option 2 on your poll. Depending on what kind of door it is, she would likely kick it open like a bad-ass, but when she finds Ifrit on the other side of said door, she would GTFO of there so fast that she would be gone before Ifrit even finished his monologue about "foolish mortals".

Does the quest line or lore anywhere say -how- many Padjal there are? Or are some just assuming there are only five because we see five in-game? Because, to the best of my knowledge, there is only one Bard shown in-game, right? I don't mean bards as in traveling music performers. I mean "Bard" the Moogle-music-magic-wielding Archer Job. There is the Godsbow who teaches our "Warriors of Light" to be Bards, but anyone else? Yet, we assume there are other Bards in-game that we don't see. Could it be the same for Padjal?

Well, clearly "Jakkya" refers to the beast tribes of the Shroud, with their peculiar half-leaping gait, assisted by their birdlike motions. "Kiht" is an onomatopoeic word to describe the sound a spear makes when it strikes the flesh of an enemy. So "Kiht Jakkya" quite literally means "Flight of the Spear". .......................I am -so- just going to go with that. No questions, it is cannon.

If there is no chat-spam, I ask where these attempts have taken place? Also, do you walk your character up to them? Target one of them to make your character look at them? Are your emotes more than unquote-marked one-liners? Are you giving people plenty of time to respond? Sorry if the questions seem silly, without seeing exactly what you experience, all we can do is trouble-shoot. It is very upsetting to read that you have been OOCly ignored. Hard to think RPers would do that to other RPers in a public setting. Otherwise, please follow Tiergan's advice. Send them a friendly tell asking if it's ok for you to join in. Give them a few minutes to respond. Some RPers type slow.

Funny how things change. I've brought up discussions of the potential for the races and/or cities to have their own languages -twice- on the RPC in the past. I got heavy resistance each time. It was as if I was proposing something like "Eorzea is actually the Matrix". Even when I showed a screenshot of Minfillia saying that Eorzea has different "languages and creeds", I was still resisted. This is why I never used Kiht's "traditional language" I would otherwise use for her. I did not see it worth dealing with the potential scorn. By now, it would be odd for most people who know her for her to start using any sort of language other than common Eorzean, so I'm kinda stuck in that regard. My point is, Y'lani, go for it. Don't expect others to ICly understand your character when she speaks that language, but it sounds like you don't expect such. However, if you really want her to have a language other than common Eorzean, start having her reference and demonstrate it now. Do not be surprised if you get some resistance though. It is really a shame the devs only give a language reference for the Seawolves and beast tribes. I really want to know what my character's name "Kiht Jakkya" means.

"It'sa Miah, Mario!" "Mama Miah!" "I'ma cookin' Polaali Spaghetti!"

I always feel like the information on aether can be all over the place because of peoples' preferences on it. Pretty much anything I would have wanted to say on the matter has been said already. Regardless, It is nice to see Sounsyy once again presenting solid lore evidence on the matter in a diplomatic and generous way. Even when Sounsyy corrects or clarifies something, she does it in a tactful, non-offensive manner. After all, punishing people is not the point of the lore, and educating is about teaching, not scolding. Those who give short, rude, offensive responses not only tend to derail threads by putting people on the defensive, but such responses are also unneeded. This is my first and last post on this thread.

That's not true! She participated in the capture and (brief) torture of C'kayah! So, twice! Oh yes! I nearly forgot about how she "captured" (helped save his arse) and "tortured" (tried to prevent him from more attempts at suicide) him that one night where they put him in a bed, started stripping him and tried to tie him up... Okay, well it wasn't torture though. I know he is use to that treatment! I was actually talking about Miah breaking his fingers, but... .........GDI Okay fine! Kiht has tortured 1 and 1/2 times. She didn't help Miah, but she didn't stop her either. :evil:

That's not true! She participated in the capture and (brief) torture of C'kayah! So, twice! Oh yes! I nearly forgot about how she "captured" (helped save his arse) and "tortured" (tried to prevent him from more attempts at suicide) him that one night where they put him in a bed, started stripping him and tried to tie him up... Okay, well it wasn't torture though. I know he is use to that treatment!