Eva

Oh I agree with this 110%. If the tank is doing a good job and there's big pulls I'll slap DS+Regen on him or her and put up Cleric Stance and drop Holy to help with the DPS. And if there's small pulls I'll slap the Aero spells on each of the mobs and sometimes spam Stone2 instead. A pet-peeve of mine when I'm on other jobs is WHMs that spam Holy when there are only 2-3 mobs. I'm sure someone out there has calculated where the cutoff in terms of MP efficiency and effectiveness is with regard to # of mobs and such. I stance dance a lot with Cleric Stance on WHM. And I've had people before try to correct me because they thought I was doling out cures from Cleric Stance - which is seldom the case. But they see that icon and assume, y'know? Anywho yeah, any healer that contributes towards DPS and is still able to keep the party alive and well usually earns my commendation when I'm on DRG.

Good question. I'm WHM main so probably somewhat biased, but the only other job I play with any regularity is DRG, and in those cases I think I'd prefer good healer and bad tank. I think there's a lot more potential for a healer with his/her head on a swivel to get a party out of some tough situations than a tank doing the same. Not to trivialize the benefits of having an awesome tank. I've been put into some rather odd situations myself as a healer. One that comes to mind is main tanking the flayer and golems in Amdapor Keep as a WHM after the tank d/c'd - back when AK was new and still a little tricky and everyone was i60-70. That leaves me to think about situations and how things might go if one or the other disconnected and left the rest of the group to fend for themselves. Obviously the content and party makeup would be important variables, but I feel like the group would have more of a fighting chance with a healer and no tank as opposed to the opposite. One thing I will add is that - having done some roulettes as WHM with excellent tanks and lousy DPS - no amount of skill/gear with regard to both healing and tanking can offset the impact on a party from terrible DPS. I can stretch my MP pool pretty far and I work pretty well in tandem with tanks' cooldowns, but if DPS isn't melting things down fast enough it can also wipe a run. I have a lot of admiration for skilled DPS and feel they don't get as much recognition as they deserve.

As others have posted, my personal preference leans more towards those who dabble in the mundane, and the obscure. Interesting characters to me are characters who don't always win the battles, who have real flaws, and feel real emotions and suffer real pains. What has become irksome to me is when the in-game jobs are used to define characters. There is soooo much in-between and plenty of gray areas, and crossover can occur as well. I think the jobs as they're given should cater to the characters, not the other way around. I internally roll my eyes when I see someone announce, "I'm so-and-so and I'm a dragoon." That's great - don't get me wrong - but what else??? And more importantly, why?? I'm always wanting to know reasons for things - I can't get enough of that in RP. For my own part? "I'm Eva... and... well... it's rather complicated and... how much time do you have...?" :surprise:

Just to chime in a little bit, this has actually been answered by the Dev Team's 'Fernehalwes' in a thread some time back: Another thread was made here on the RPC that related to this. Many of us from pre-ARR had evolved our characters gradually over a couple of years, so this "time bubble" explanation never really sat well with those of us with dynamic characters who had experienced multiple "New Years" events and other holidays and whose characters had changed realistically and plausibly over a span of time which - when compressed down to fit within the scope of one year's time would not make as much sense. I think of things like this, to make it easier for me: <<< 2010 = 1570 2011 = 1571 2012 = 1572 2013 = 1577 (or 1 in the new era) 2014 = 1578 (or 2 in the new era) 2015 = 1579 (or 3 in the new era) ...etc... I think this is a common adaptation made by many RPers where we overlook the thing (sort of like how many of us overlook sudden changes in day/night for the sake of a long scene or rapid weather changes). I just wanted to throw that out there though, since something official has been provided, even if it's a bit lackluster. EDIT: corrected the table a bit to reflect "new era" numbers for those who want to be technical - I don't view either as being inherantly wrong. For instance, Ben records his notes in his journal with the dates post-1572, and that is just his way.

In the Central portion of the Twelveswood there is perched a thicket along the edge of the lake commonly called "The Mirror", and only a handful know that beyond the dense overgrowth of branches and brambles and briars exists a shady glen, only easily accessed by way of the sandy shore. A place a particular elezen woman knew well from a time long ago. Sunflowers grew along the edge of the lake where shafts of light pierced the thick canopy and cast a scintilating spell upon the gently rippling waters. Apart from the sandy shore, the clearing was covered in short, thick grass and stretched about 20 yalms before the forest staked its claim on the land. But it was more than enough room for her purposes. A well-kept leatherbound journal sat atop an oilcloth satchel on one edge of a flat rock near the shore. Beside it lay a black shawl woven with lace along the edges and folded neatly. Insects buzzed inside the nearby shadows of the thicket. The best thing about this place was that it was reasonably secret. Keen duskwight ears would pick up the splashing sounds of anyone approaching from the lake. And anyone foolish enough to try cutting through the expanse of bramble and root would make a racket in doing so. And the way the shore was situated blocked the view of the place from all but a sliver on the opposite shore, and even that was far enough away that anyone standing there wouldn't see much more than a blur of motion as that figure way off in the distance danced upon the soft grass. The woman herself was of extremely fair complexion and clad only in a form fitting bathing suit and could be described by some as beautiful, or others as chubby or stocky - particularly for an elezen. Lacking the lithe and sinewy figure most of her race prided themselves on, the woman who often felt self-conscious of her form now felt free to be herself in this place, far from the scrutinizing eyes of others. Her blonde hair was damp and tied back in a ponytail. Her violet eyes focused on nothing in particular, and a dark gray tattoo resembling a gnarled branch streaked down one side of her face from her forehead and forked outward onto her cheek. Bare shoulders were of the same milky complexion and reflected the sunlight where it peeked through the trees, though a sodden bandage covered her left shoulder, and a matching one marked a spot not far away on her back. An ample bosom was compressed slightly and kept in place by the black fabric of her bathing suit which was practical enough to allow for all her movement. Her arms and legs were tones, and still carried droplets of water as she floated gracefully across the grass. Well-manicured hands loosely grasped the haft of a wooden practice spear. And as she transitioned from one form to the next, her red lips parted to whisper softly to no one but herself the name her father had given her for that particular form. "Wave Breaks on the Rocks" Thoughts drifted across her mind as she danced the forms there in her own private sanctuary. She had been instructed long ago to find a void or a place where she could transcend these thoughts and simply become one with the spear. She was never able to identify with her father's methods while he was alive, and now that he had passed on she still struggled with it sometimes, but felt that she owed it to him and to all of her ancestors to at least try. "The Falcon Dives" Another thought permeated her mind. One that surfaced often. The company. They looked to her as a leader and it felt so foreign for her to be that for them. In the Watch she was an advisor. That's what she did. And she was respected for that. She didn't have to make the hard choices. Merely give counsel to those who did. And then Oskar Helvig passed away and everything stopped making sense to her. The Calamity happened. They all still needed each other. They needed to feel a sense of purpose. Charity seemed a good idea. She had made her way back to Gridania after all of that thanks to the charitable hearts of a pair of miqo'te brothers. But it doesn't pay the bills. "Maid Sweeps the Floor" Mercenaries. It was like the Watch again, but without Oskar. Without her love. It had been a beast of a company, with many arms and with Oskar as the head. And she had been the creature's heart. A conscience. She had more than her fair share of disagreements with the man, but she grew to love him and fall in love with him. Why did he have to die too? "Butterfly's Wings" Now there are enemies. Opposition. Someone had said that taking a stand sometimes incurs that. The Felstar family. Costia's mother. Ben. What was his deal anyway? All they were striving for was to make Eorzea a better place for everyone while earning some gil in the process. Their goals seemed good, so why were they constantly being stymied? "Tapping the Nail" The makeshift lance swung around laterally, a blur at both ends for a moment before being thrust forward and then up-and-down in a slight tapping motion. Her mind had managed to clear itself again for a moment before another thought swam through. The sermons. It bothered her that they were calling them that, since it sounded preachy. She was overdue for one, having pushed back the last. Once a fortnight she had resigned herself to. And a brief parable to tell to whomever would hear them at the Sanctum to the Twelve, followed by a short discussion and how some of those who had gathered might relate it to their own lives. They seldom ran over a bell, often even only half that. And they were insightful. She was due to give another in a couple of suns and hadn't had time to prepare thus far. But not right now. Focus. "The Windmill Turns" It was getting hot. Pater was kind to look after her babies as much as he had been lately, even after the attack. He ceaselessly tried to get her back into the book shop, but she knew that life had passed away for her a long time ago. It was sometimes fun to think about it, but she no longer sought books for her sightseeing and for her adventures. There was plenty of the world she still hadn't seen, and the grand companies provided a steady stream of adventures for them all. "Harvesting Wheat" A low sweeping motion ending with the lance-point at the opposite side laterally. There was going to be a celebration the following day. This was a new concept but there was so much work and so little time to sit and enjoy the fruits of all that labor. Two of their newer members had been on the roster long enough to enjoy full membership priviliges. A few words at the Headquarters in Lavender Beds, then ride the aether to Ul'dah and spend the evening at the Hourglass. They deserve it. They work hard. And there's still plenty of gil in the company coffers from all the work done last moon, even if this has been a pretty dry one so far by comparison. "Tipping the Pitcher" From low to high, arching her back she fluidly made the most difficult transition of the series in the way her father had taught her. She continued to be unsuccessful in purging her mind of wandering thoughts. Now it was her father again, a memory of him from her childhood. He had been a knight before she was born, and a part of that never really left him. She remembered how he would dance on the fields of Coerthas after the sheep had all been put to pen. She would watch, and help shear them when that time came. It had just been the two of them growing up. "The Hammer Falls" High to low now, a jumping maneuver. They had to leave Coerthas abruptly. She was seven. She knew it was because of her. She couldn't undo what had been done. Gridania was scary at first. She was different from the other elezen. Her father said that sometimes things are "painful but necessary" - words that echoed back from the recesses of her very soul several times throughout her life. "And back to Wave Breaks on the Rocks again..." The cycle was complete. It wasn't all of the forms, but it was her preferred sequence, and one of the first her father had taught her. It was a graceful dance, if not entirely effective or practical for many actual combat situations. Instead it was valued more as a form of meditation. A way to slow her mind a bit. But there was much to do over the next several suns. As abruptly as it had begun, the dance ended. The bosomy duskwight thrust the practice weapon back into the ground near the thicket where she had gotten it from, picked up her shawl, tucked her journal into the satchel before sealing it closed tightly and waded out into the gently rippling waters before splashing forward and swimming towards the opposite shore.

Wow what a great topic this is! I'm probably in a minority that prefers as little taint as possible to the sense of immersion, though I don't mind allusions and references to things out of game - e.g. movies and novels and such as has already been mentioned. Our company uses its /fc channel for (among other things) OOC commentary on RP and I often find this to be distracting and sometimes have to filter it. Other LS's I have/do belong[ed] to keep it all in the same channel. And this is okay too, but I've found that it sometimes causes a hiccup in the sense of immersion when all of the scene stops to sort of OOCly acknowledge a funny or what-have-you, and I usually feel an ambivalent blending of joy and annoyance at these things. On the one hand, it is funny and worthy of a chuckle. On the other, it also interrupted the scene. Ideally - and this is just one RPer's opinion - I prefer when footnotes are made and then the comment that potentially sparks the OOC dialogue is acknowledged as such later after the scene is over or on a forum post or such. But that is just me, and I'm well aware it's probably not the most popular opinion. I just don't like the breaking of immersion. As for typos, they have never bothered me. We had a member in our XI group who butchered the english language with reckless abandon, but I understood her meaning almost all of the time, though she beat herself up about it and corrected herself a lot. And the corrections are more glaring/disruptive than the typo itself. So I am sometimes more troubled by the effort taken to correct the mistakes (which 99% of the time I think most people know what is intended anyway). I'm guilty of correcting my own from time to time, but I try to just let them go if they're not going to be confusing or something. If I misplace a character's name with another's or such though, I'll correct it. There is one other sort of 'error' of which I find myself frequently guilty. We are a RPing couple and we sort of share both of our main characters. The mannerisms of one character (notably Ben for the handful who may have met him) are such that he speaks a particular way, and my fairer half has this down to a science where I still falter from time to time. Specifically the guy doesn't use contractions when he speaks and is very proper and that doesn't come as naturally to me. Blynbhar: "I'll be there momentarily. Don't panic." Blynbhar: ((*I will / *Do not)) Bugs me a little because when he talks it feels like it flows very naturally - for the character. But when I correct it (and I know he wouldn't speak with contractions like that) I feel like I'm casting a spotlight on it like it's weird or different, even though it's weird that he would say it the first way. Anyway... great discussion so far!! I love reading everyones' opinions. :thumbsup:

I just wanted to say a [slightly belated] word of thanks for ours!! We lurves our new avatar!!! Thank you D'ly!!

I think there's a lot of good points here and I'm planning on adding this thread to a list of others I'll be linking from the RP Handbook in an upcoming edit (hopefully soon). I think the single most important element for a 'villain' type character to be realistic and substantial in the MMO RP setting is something that a couple others touched upon in earlier posts. There really does need to be a /reason/ for the character's behavior. Some of the most compelling villains to me in past RP are those that can be identified with - at least on some level. As with all RPed characters, I place a lot of personal emphasis on the underlying motivations that set that character into motion. I find myself constantly asking why a particular character might behave a particular way. This has transitioned into IC moreso lately with Eva, because she is sort of analytical of others' behaviors and the psychology behind them. But from a purely OOC perspective, I don't think there is anything more frustrating than a character that is bad-tempered or "evil" without some concrete reason for such. Now don't get me wrong! This doesn't mean that said character needs to express lamentations about how his family was slain by coeurls before he goes on a mass-kitten killing spree. It simply means that the actions should have underlying reasons, rather than just "evil for the sake of being evil." Garlean types have a good reason. Anyone who lost a loved one might become consumed by revenge. But I do think that it's important - even for the throw-away villain alts - to not lack that bit of substance that essentially makes them who they are. Our other character Ben (not an alt, as there are two of us players who share these two characters, though admittedly Ben doesn't get as much play time) may be perceived as a villain. And others might see him as a hero, depending on perspective of course. There are very specific reasons for the things that he does, and while he would surely regard himself as righteous and pious, some of the deeds are downright despicable. Someone in one of the earlier posts mentioned that a villain seldom ever views himself as such - and I think that's probably the best point to reinforce here with this example. I'll end this with a rather appropriate character quote that sums my feelings up pretty succinctly: "There is no good and there is no evil. There is only truth and perspective."

Kudos for this thread. I cannot add much more than others have already expressed (major kudos to Bryn for allowing me to keep this response briefer than it otherwise would have been, since my background is similar and my views nearly identical to his post above). Our own company has endured some growing pains early on when I didn't want to be the "bad guy" and tried to be a sort of glue holding two groups with opposing ideals together. It was rough, and the efforts in the end were somewhat wasted. I may have forfeit some friendships (though I hope not!) but it did boil down to certain standards in RP and what was fun for our members. Now that all that smoke has cleared and we have a good group of officers at the helm of the company and a solid group of members, I think my enjoyment of RP in this game has skyrocketed to new heights. I don't mind the 'RP elitist' label. It's not wrong, but the connotation given with it usually is unnecessarily negative, possibly due to misunderstanding. We are people who have certain standards, ideals, and preferences. Like some of the other companies mentioned above, we are discerning in our selection process and after umpteen years of doing this it's become much easier to identify potentially problematic prospective personnel (yay for alliteration). Incidentally, being RPers with certain standards makes it tough sometimes with fitting in with the greater RP community. (what does one say to that winged catgirl who pours her entire life story out to you before you've finished your first pint of ale?) The fault of that isolation likely rests more on our shoulders. If anyone on Balmung would be interested in any sort of cross-company RP, we're certainly open and available.

With regard to the climate, it may be worth noting that in 1.0 the Coerthas region was not blanketed beneath snow and was more of a mountainous evergreen type landscape. NPC's have remarked that the climate changed and grew cold (even in the summer) after the Calamity 5+ years ago. Eva, an avid swimmer, often laments of missing the days when she used to enjoy the quiet solitude of a summer's dip in the Twinpools. One interesting angle a Seeker might take would be having their character depart those lands after these climate changes took place. Just a thought.

These are so wonderful!!!! Can I also join the wait list?? :blush:

I know I'm late to the party here too, and probably echoing similar sentiments already expressed, but I think it varies depending on the day and what's going on. Open world RP most certainly happens often on Balmung - usually I seem to see it when I'm stuck on my way to some other RP or event or otherwise caught up in something. I haven't actively sought it out yet, but one of these days I'll just be ambling along and find a way to participate. Like most things there will be times when it's not happening for whatever reasons. The problem may be that you can't be everywhere at once, and it's possible the RP may be happening elsewhere. This is where having a network of linkpearls (even something OOC for RPers like Intermission) can be valuable in at least being able to pinpoint where something is happening so you can find an excuse for your character to be there. The hotspots seem to be the taverns (I seldom see silence at the Quicksands), but the other day I ran by some group RPing out in Thanalan in /say - though they did all have the same FC tag so it might have been a company thing, which still shouldn't detract anyone from getting involved or at least asking OOC. Without tooting our own horn too much (and since this thread kind of begets it and others are doing the same thing anyway), our company is also endeavoring to "get out there" more and interact outside of our headquarters, and I think many of us feel we've made lasting RP connections with each other - and are slowly and steadily recruiting new members. We have sort of repurposed ourselves once again (in large part due to the RP that has taken us to this point, so it's an in-character repurposing) and will be updating our post here soon to reflect these changes. But we generally RP with most anyone who will RP with us, not just those amongst our own ranks, and are looking to get involved with other companies and individuals as well. I think it's fair to say that most everyone is looking for these same sort of lasting connections and folks they can RP with. Many among us have been involved with characters who have just sort of upped and vanished (often when another MMO comes along) and it's always tricky dealing with those voids when they come about, so I certainly sympathize.

Somewhere in La Noscea a couple evenings ago, prayer was interrupted by something demanding a bit more urgency...

I'm going to make a few statements here, then kind of go back and contradict myself, in a way. But please bear with me anyway! One thing to realize is that weapons in XIV are generally played up for the sake of the game... often pretty substantially so. They define the class. They are named. They have a 'special snowflake' story attached to them. And they are generally identical based on class (e.g. relic, zenith, atma, animus) - or various nuances of the same flavor. If this is RPed than there's a good chance someone else out there is RPing the very same thing. I think most RPers want to avoid coming across being Mary Sue, and I think RPing the weapons as they are based on the game's story tends to work against that endeavor. As others have suggested, deviating from it a bit to make something a bit more unique for yourself is probably a more ideal solution. Another thing is that historically weapons are not generally regarded as much more than tools. Yes there might be a fondness from a fighter for his chosen tool of the trade, maybe even giving it a name or a certain amount of regard. But in the end it's a thing, and like most things it can break, be lost, misplaced, be replaced by another, etc. And I think realistic RP will sort of mimic this. Named weapons were more often a thing for kings and nobles and such, where the weapons were often seen more as a symbol than as an instrument to be used in the more literal sense. This isn't to say it's wrong. Our alt has a weapon he's named, and some of that creative license needs to be employed with its use. Sure it looks like the same Bravura that everyone else wields, but he's spoken about it at times and more often descriptors in emotes are used. It ignores the entire Curious Gorge story, relic story, etc. He thinks it's super-special. But nobody else is expected to. To anyone else it would look like a big axe with some etchings carved into the haft and a figure molded into the axehead's design. Fancy maybe, but still ordinary. I kind of kept up with this mentality in FFXI before upgrading a relic weapon (pre-2010 when it was like years of effort and was a pretty major accomplishment - or in hindsight a bit of a colossal waste of time). I had wanted to somehow find a way to incorporate this in RP. Unfortunately, it came around the endpoint of RP in FFXI on our server though (most of us were getting stoked about XIV which was just around the bend at that point) so there wasn't any real substantial RP pertaining to this. In lieu of that, the character in XI loosely translates to Eva's father's character, so we've left the weapon intact - unnamed - but it's too big for her and after the father character passed on it became a wall decoration since it was such a pretty weapon. So that's been kind of our nod to that without anything being godmody or naming a weapon or anything. So I guess what I'm saying is that folks should just RP whatever they want, but it may be worthwhile to try and think outside the box and either leave the weapon to be an ordinary thing, or otherwise find a way to mold it to fit some other story, or if you're adamant on clinging to XIV's items at least realize that your character may not be the only one doing this and make certain allowances for other characters with similar parallel stories for their own weapons. There also should be no expectation upon other RPers that your character's weapon is somehow more than the sum of its parts or what would be available to other RPers - I think that's probably the most important thing. If you're having to send /tells to people or make people understand that your thingamajig is somehow better or more special than their thingamajigs, that's a pretty telltale sign that something is wrong with your approach. If it matters at all - for Eva (apart from the bit I already mentioned about her father's wall decoration) I've never really given any special focus to any of her weapons or linked them to any special storyline, and that's worked pretty well for our purposes.

Armi's stuff Oh I wasn't disagreeing. One of these days I'm sure Eva will bump into Armi. Ever since you first joined the RPC (in the old pre-1.0 days) I always thought that she sounded like a character that was very similar to Eva and more than once I've pondered what manner of things the two would talk about if given the opportunity (because it sometimes seems like they might share a brain, except for the Nymeia angle). Maybe one day we'll find out! While Eva was at Carteneau and experienced all that and was sufficiently shell-shocked when reappearing, there's been time since then and those events served as motivating factors. Things certainly do happen, and sometimes it feels like a whirlwind. This can be even more apparent when reading back through journal entries. In real time, it seems like something fairly ground-breaking happens that directly impacts her every 6-12 months, and the rest of the time is where she is more heavily focused on others' story arcs and what I would consider more "reactive" RP. Not to diminish the value of being involved with others' story arcs - one of such arcs which was probably intended to be something fairly minor in the greater scope of that arc wound up being a super-profound thing for Eva(thanks Kylin!) - and it's always awesome when the unintentional stuff like that happens "by accident" I'm starting to derail a bit, so I will come back around full-circle and point out that there is one underlying element to Eva's backstory that was sort of set in place before RP even began way back before we ever even first logged into 1.0 alpha, and that is the death of her then-fiancé which was something that happened a year before the game's initial launch. There are times when she recalls this NPC character and talks about him that I find myself identifying with her and empathizing and to some degree feeling that same sadness. We've fleshed out that aspect of her story and the seven years they spent together before he died and described a number of events they were involved with, so in a way it's like he's become something real and substantial, and those feelings associated with him, and the character and her loss is something that hits me right in the feels sometimes. And I do think being able to get into character like that and feel that degree of empathy makes RP where she's talking about him or recalling some memory that much more... profound? It's hard to describe and I don't think it's necessary by any means to get so in-depth in order to play a role, but it's just one of those specifics that seemed worth mentioning.

I don't really want to "drag this out" any further. I've been kind of lurking and passively following along, as I do with the more interesting topics. I also didn't mean to imply in my earlier post that a player experiencing the emotions of his or her character was inherantly wrong. Instead, most characters are like most people, their emotions and attitudes stemming from two places: their proactive chosen nature, and their reactive-to-others. This will of course vary from character to character depending on how much others' opinion of the individual matters to him or her. The degree to which a player chooses to "get into the skin" of his/her character is entirely up to him, and as evidenced by the spectrum of responses in this thread, there really is no wrong answer. It is entirely a matter of preference, just like style of RP, etc. And this is why there are subdivisions in the greater RP community and we're not just all one big FC/LS - and that's a good thing, just as I think it's a good thing that most of us can come together here to talk about these differences and have a discussion like this. Since we are expressing opinions, I do feel compelled to share a bit of my own with regard to style of RP, past experiences, etc. From past experience with RP, I had been involved with a lot of [what some might call] "over-the-top" RP events. I try not to judge too much, but I have my own style preferences, just as everyone else does. As such, Eva was meant to be a more neutral character. I used to jibe with friends that I hoped she might win the "best supporting actress" award for RP, since she is a somewhat vanilla character. This isn't to say she has certain qualities that make her different. But she's generally a normal character thrust into this world where all this crazy stuff happens, and she's left to deal with it in her own way (which generally amounts to ample doses of tea and common sense). I think there is some embellishment on what she's endured and how she's coped with things as compared with how a modern day "average Jane" might deal with similar-type situations. But I also don't think she's the sort that has a new adventure every week, etc. She has what I would consider appropriate reactions and aversions to violence, etc. And where I appreciate this may be boring to some other RPers who come here for the "larger than life" element, that's their preference, and this is mine and I sometimes question how these characters don't exhibit signs of post traumatic stress. Instead there's a lot of that "all right, tavern time!" And I don't think that's incorrect either - don't get me wrong!! I think that's some RPers' preference. For myself, I think I like the "middle of the road" approach, where there is action and adventure, but it's spaced out enough that it's not just one thing cascading into the next in a non-stop bombardment of activity. I think a lot of wonderful RP happens in "the spaces between" where there's a lot of character growth. I'm one of those RPers who loves just sitting around and drinking tea and gabbing with other RPers. But I also love the occasional adventure. I can't say that Eva's been through a ton of stuff, but over the span of 2-3ish years she's had her fill of adventure, growth, heartache, etc. - albeit somewhat spaced out. And that's my own preference, and there's nothing wrong with that, just as there's nothing wrong with any of the other preferences expressed here. The important thing for most of us I think is that we can still come together at this same table and RP as we do at the end of the day in spite of these differences, or in those cases where we can't, we can meet here and talk about it at the very least, and I think that's what's really awesome. I got kind of longwinded again... :blush: :love:

Like most things, I think there's a point where at least being able to identify with your character enhances the RP experience. I'll confess I've felt pride, anger, and I've smiled, laughed, and even shed a few tears as Eva has experienced her various ups and downs throughout Eorzea. I liken this to the way one might relate to a character in a book, TV show, or movie and generally consider it to be a positive thing, that RP is compelling and believable and "real" enough to elicit these sort of feelings. And like most things, I think there's a point where that can sometimes go too far - that place where the IC/OOC line often blurs and things can more easily be carried to a harmful place. Where hurtful things said in-character are misinterpreted as attacks on a player, and I've witnessed a number of instances where this degree of 'overinvestment' of one's character can have a seriously negative impact on the player, damaging friendships and straining future RP. I think it's important to know where that dividing line between what's real and what's fantasy. And I've always advocated communication. Sometimes it wrecks immersion a bit, but if there's even a slight chance that someone's going to misinterpret an unfriendly or antagonistic remark as being something that's going to cause undue player stress, it's worth shooting a quick /tell to say, "Hey even though my character thinks yours is scum, this is awesome RP and you are an awesome RPer!" In short, RPers should be [and from my experiences, generally are] open-minded and open to communicating any sort of misunderstandings or misperceptions and hashing these things out so that nobody's feelings are left hurt OOCly. Of course if hurt feelings are something that's happening often, one must ask themself if their own overinvestment in their character is the common denominator.

Hello! Is there still room/time to get involved with this? We've been off the grid now for the past month or so after buying a house and doing our own renovations but we're [mostly] back now and Eva is officially returned from her IC vacation as of last night! I had posted on the 'Calling All Ishgardians' thread a couple months back with a sort of bird's-eye-view of her father's involvement with Ishgard, but there's actually a good deal more to it and I'd be glad to work with anyone else already involved on possible hooks and such if anyone would like to PM me or send me a /tell. :love:

For once I'm going to try and avoid any longwindedness and say simply that your priority should be to make a character (or characters) that you enjoy and have fun playing. To every RPer this may mean something different and you may need to take some time actually experiencing it to figure out what that means to you individually. Someone once told me [of jazz music] that "if you're thinking too hard about it, than you're thinking too hard about it." I think the same sort of applies to RP as well. Good luck to you in finding your niche out there! :thumbsup:

I tend to have a thick skin about this sort of thing so apologies in advance if my response isn't quite what you're looking for. It is one of the major differences between who I am and who my character is. But my thought is that maybe there's a solution therein... that is, perhaps if your character is averse to that sort of language or might react in some way as to mitigate it. Eva as a motherly sort has often grudgingly endured a lot of the foul language. I don't think she's openly "called anyone down" for it, but I also don't think she's been subjected to it to the same degree that you're describing, and I think that might push her past her threshold. I don't participate much in that sort of RP (though I might branch out a bit soon to see what I am missing) so it's hard for me to fathom how she might react, but leaving is always an option. While OOC I could probably endure the senseless string of cursing, I can't see my character abiding it IC and she'd probably be forced to leave if it persisted past a sensible level. So I suppose the outcome is the same there, if for entirely opposite reasons. I'm always looking for IC ways to accomplish this sort of thing though. As others have pointed out, a little foul language here and there adds flair. Eva herself hardly ever curses, so the one or two times it has happened it's kind of made other characters [that know her] stop and stare in shock or w/e. And in that way it's kind of a powerful thing. But it seems to me that if a character is dropping the C word (or F-bombs or w/e curses) left and right for no good reason, wouldn't other characters kind of step in and call this character down for it, like in-character? "Dude, what's the matter with you, there's ladies present." "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" etc. I think there might be an opportunity to deal with an IC situation in an IC manner. But if it continued to persist on after that, it might not be an IC thing and at that point I'd question whether it's some form of harrassment (particularly if others are asking for a stop to it, ICly or OOCly) and should probably be reported. I hope that makes sense. I might have to check out the Quicksands one of these days though, just to see what I've been missing and possibly put on a stern face and waggle a finger at some hooligan's antics. :dodgy:

Eva is near-constantly knitting, and often preparing/drinking tea. This is emoted pretty often and well-known amongst those she spends time with. :thumbsup: The sporting event idea sounds like an interesting one. On Balmung in a LS I was in back in 1.0 we'd have periodic sparring matches with wooden practice weapons and the like, and that was always fun too.

Eva doesn't discriminate between men and women when establishing friendships. Instead the quality of a character means more to her and how aligned that is with her own more conservative and traditional upbringing. She values things like kindness, compassion, dedication, and loyalty. Flipside of same coin, she is put off by qualities such as arrogance, infidelity (or what she perceives to be infidelity), dishonesty, and such. She tries to maintain an open mind with regard to situations such as open relationships and tribal cultures, but it goes against the grain of how she grew up so it's a source of confusion and discomfort for her, in spite of her best efforts. As a heterosexual woman she is aware of her attraction to men and does have a particular 'type' she is more drawn to than others, though this hasn't prevented a certain amount of deviation in the past for various reasons (the heart wants what it wants, etc.) At most she might exhibit a bit more bashfulness than usual around a man that she considers particularly striking. Among women she is, in a way, passively trying to fill a void left when her "bestie" passed away awhile back. She has encountered some difficulty in this, as there have been so few characters who have breached that comfort level with her to be bluntly honest and direct in that well-intentioned way best friends often can be with each other. She is generally not physically attracted to women, but it bears mention that there was one who at one point made her question this to a certain degree. On the whole though, Eva evaluates people on the content of their character more than anything else. We don't really have alts we play regularly, but our other character Ben (who only gets a very limited amount of RP face-time unfortunately) is much more pragmatic and also doesn't discriminate between the genders. To him, people - male or female alike - are generally seen as assets of varying levels of usefulness independent of their gender. That's not to say that gender might come into play when leveraging a particular situation (for example befriending a beautiful woman with the intent of utilizing her to manipulate someone else).

Posting selfie! Haven't changed my look much over the years but hopping on the new hairstyle bandwagon because this one is much more 'Eva' than the previous one. Been waiting for a longer hairstyle that didn't also have bangs in the front and still sort of swept backwards. Love the braid in the back too! :love: Haven't really had much of a chance to play around with the poses and new dances since we're right in the middle of moving. But had to change that hairstyle the moment we saw those early patch notes!!

Eva is basically the grown-up daughter of a character I RPed in FF11. Adaptations in the lore were made as needed (e.g. her father the Ishgardian knight instead of San d'Orian knight). She and her upbringing are derivative of experiences from FF11 RP events without things being completely identical. She's a pretty stark contrast to him and started as an experiment in playing a totally different sort of character. She's grown and evolved over the years on her own in ways we could not have predicted through her interactions with others and experiences along the way, and we love RPing her.

I need to come visit these forums more often for these great discussions!! Eva falls somewhere towards the middle of this particular spectrum. She grew up without a mother of her own, and while her father was well-intentioned, he was not what most would consider particularly affectionate. Very generally speaking, she doesn't like being jostled in public, and suffers a sort of social anxiety around crowds and larger groups. When people she doesn't know are too close or touch her (whether intentionally or by accident) or otherwise enter what she has called "her bubble" of space, she feels a great discomfort. Contrary to this, those she does know - even some she has only known a very short time or has just met - she is inclined to adopt a sense of motherhood over. And when friends or acquaintances are hurting somehow, her most natural instinct is to want to hug and protect and nurture. In her own mind she tends to write this off as being inappropriate, and such embraces seldom ever happen due to her overthinking matters. Even with close friends a gesture as simple as placing a hand on a good friend's shoulder who is enduring some struggle will often carry with it a significant amount of forethought.