Eva

This has been kind of a complicated point for our LS/FC as well. I can just rattle off a bit about what we're doing and maybe it might help you figure out some ideas for your own group, or if you have any questions or I can explain anything any further I'd be glad to clarify. The history is a bit lengthy and admittedly a little bit off-topic but it still might help, so I'm going to drop it under a spoiler tag: I've been RPing a lot, both in P3 beta and along various Skype channels in a multitude of settings. I wouldn't say so much that Eva's been trying to get from Point A to a concrete Point B. Instead I would say we have sort of a direction we're moving in, and certain events and interactions push her in that direction, while others might pull her in a slightly different direction. That whole ambiguity thing has been kind of fun for us though. It sounds like maybe you should discuss the issue with your members in some detail - perhaps explain where you're stuck now and where you'd like to end up and brainstorm some plausible ways to at least move in that general direction. Folks who stayed behind may have "forgotten" the faces of those Warriors of Light who disappeared for five years, but you might have some success in trying to jog their memory in-character. One good example of this might be a character doesn't believe at first that FriendX is who she says she is. After explaining, there is still doubt. Then she makes mention of something that only FriendX could have known, and there is a moment of eureka, like that face gets linked back to that character, and its like the one missing puzzle piece fills in all the gaps. Or it can be done differently such that a stay-behind character might have to trust that FriendX is telling the truth, and that sort of wariness that may need to be overcome could then become a part of their new relationship, in and of itself. There are a lot of really great things you can do with it. I would love to see an NPC who is like the wife of an NPC Warrior of Light - to see how she might react to her husband's return. Or a quest whereby you have to go fetch some items or do some questy things to help him prove to her that he is who he says he is. I think that would be really fun, and also sort of cement down the idea that a WoL can sort of return to one of the stay-behind's memory through some sort of deed that proves it. But... sadly this is not the case yet, or at least not that I've seen at all. Perhaps in ARR we may see something like this or it may be explained to us in greater detail. Sorry for all my rambling here, but maybe there's some nugget of wisdom that helps? I hope... :blush:

Welcome to the forums!! I like your avatar~ 8-) It will be good to see more lady roegs about in RP!

While most of the liberties I've taken with backstory for Eva's ancestral duskwight culture have stemmed less from any specific RL culture and have been more from a sort of logical assumption of what a subterranean culture might be like, there have been a few places where I've borrowed a bit from RL cultures/mythos and such. 'Ianeira' as a surname stems from Greek mythology - the name of a water nymph. Though that's technically not her actual surname... Certain stories from Eva's past have borrowed loosely from Celtic, Norse, and Greek mythology. We've imagined her to have a slight Irish accent in her voice as well, though there's not really any basis in game for this and I can't really describe it using in-game comparisons. So there's that too. That's about all I got though, speaking only for myself.

Regarding Ishgard there is some discussion IN THIS THREAD as well that might be worth checking out, but the lore we have to work with is pretty limited. It hasn't stopped a handful of us from tying our characters to it - some more than others. Eva's own ties to the city-state are somewhat distant and vague (erring on the side of caution), but I look forward to hearing more in ARR and as time goes on and expansions are released and such. It is definitely an interesting story and I can certainly understand the allure. :thumbsup:

Gonna chime in again quickly to add one more thing... I think I may take a slightly more unconventional view in that I do think that white magic can be used to treat these more extreme things. Do I think that it's commonplace to do so, or that any white mage is able to, and without taxing themselves extraordinarily in order to achieve such an end? Absolutely not. I view magical and mundane healing as two separate methods that have a great deal of overlap. I think a white mage could use magic to staunch bleeding until an experienced doctor has a chance to treat the root cause of the bleeding properly. By the same token, I think a field medic could use bandages, tools, and first aid to staunch bleeding until an experienced white mage has a chance to treat the root cause of the bleeding properly. So what I'm saying is that I think each method is equally acceptable, but some account must be taken for the experience level of the mage or doctor in question. I think in order to keep things somewhat realistic, the factor of time needs to be weighed as well, and exertion. One thing I RPed as a healer in 1.0 was tending to a character who had received at least one gunshot wound to the chest. These healings were conducted in the form of aetherial treatment sessions which left Eva exhausted after each one, and could probably be viewed akin to some sort of physical therapy regimin. These went on for two or three weeks, as I recall. I view this as sort of an accelerated healing, but I also think someone seasoned enough with field medicine who know the right herbs, salves, or what have you could have probably yielded similar results with a less 'magical' means of treatment. In short, nothing is really wrong. Just keep it real. Snapping fingers and curing a disease or re-growing a missing limb is a little silly. Do I think someone could do it if they were a strong enough mage? I actually do. But I also don't think it's well within most adventurer's reach to perform such miracles. But on the off chance they could, I would expect it to take a massive physical toll on the part of the healer, and a substantial amount of time as well. Again, this is just my own opinion for whatever it may be worth. TL;DR: Being an expert doctor may be on par with being an expert white mage even if the two disciplines are different, there is probably a lot of overlap. Consider not only physical healing versus magical healing but also the degree of expertise the healer has in whichever is his or her field of practice.

That's outstanding!!! I was able to get on to the stream yesterday for... a few seconds. Enough to see the very end of Kari's picture and then I had to step off for dinner and other chores. I hope to be able to catch a future one though. I looooooove Kari's hair!! And everything else is so beautiful too!! :surprise:

Coming from the perspective of a legacy player, I can agree to a certain extent. I want to help and share what lore there was from 1.0 and help other RPers see this world the way that I have seen it. But I also see that a lot of newer RPers want to take certain liberties with the lore themselves, or in some cases ignore what is there entirely in favor of alternative interpretations, often based on content which may have nothing at all to do with the game's lore. In most cases this is just fine since there will exist a plethora of sub-communities that may support some things and frown upon others, and the like-minded folks will clump together. People are afraid of "cliques" like it's some awful thing, but this is natural behavior and though I think some efforts should be made to branch out with newer folks, there will usually inevitably form a handful of RPers with whom people may grow closer and more comfortable - and that should be celebrated because making friends and spending time with those friends is a good thing, just as being open to making new friends is also a good thing. But pertaining more to the lore, most things are open to interpretation and as time goes on I'm sure we'll all be closer to meeting somewhere in the middle. I don't think us old fogeys have any expectations or anything. Most of us are eager for the chance to RP with you young whippersnappers. But regardless of how many years of RP experience one might have, it doesn't necessarily equate to experience within the realm of Eorzea. So while we want to help and foster creative thinking and stuff, I think some of us may get a little put off when there's a sort of disconnect between what the legacy folk have seen over a longer span of time, and what newer folk coming to Eorzea, hungry for lore that, in many cases, might just not be there. So perhaps a standard was established by some in 1.0 and some (not myself personally) might see it as a bit of a disruption when there crop up a number of threads theorycrafting all manner of things. I have tried in some threads to post links to original discussions that happened back in 1.0. I'm hesitant to say outright, "This has all been discussed before," because that suggests we're not open to alternative interpretations. But for some of us these are older discussions brought back to life. I guess that's just my POV. I'm not saying "don't make ripples" or any such thing. Make waves! Question things! I realize that us folks who actually stuck with the game for 2+ years and RPed throughout that entire duration are something of a minority, and we're as eager to RP with some fresh new faces as you are (or I hope so, anyway!) But this is a place that has come to feel like home to many of us, and we've gladly opened our doors to everyone and the only analogy I can think to make is that sometimes it feels like y'all are coming in and moving the furniture around and stuff. Maybe the sofa does make more sense up against that other wall, but we've grown used to it where it was, and there is a bit of resistance to that sort of change. It doesn't mean it's wrong. Just that it's different and it's something we'll have to learn to adapt to or we all just find some place to meet in the middle. But we're certainly not telling y'all to get off our lawn!!! We want you here, and we hope you'll stay and RP! :thumbsup: ------------------------------------------ EDIT: Since it has also been brought up here, these are two fairly recent threads that discuss the "foggy memory syndrome" and the Warriors of Light - these might be worth checking out or bumping if there is room for further discussion on those matters: 1. http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=2179 2. http://ffxiv-roleplayers.com/showthread.php?tid=2661

I've regarded it like male miqo'te and female roegadyn/highlanders existed all along, but prior to ARR none happened to be more than just a passing acquaintance. I don't really RP like they all just started popping out of the woodwork all of the sudden. I figure they've been on the streets in the marketplace, out adventuring, and all that other good stuff all along. I see nothing wrong with this, and to address the poll itself I'm not rebooting 2-3 years of RP experience, effort, emotion, etc. for the sake of something like that. As a point of note, S-E has also said that all of 1.0 is supposed to have taken place during the year 1572 (even though there were over 2 years of playtime), and all of ARR will take place 5 years later, within one year time, so there's not really regarded any passage of time. I think the devs regarded it as being like The Simpsons, how Bart never ages even though the show's gone on for years and years. For the sake of keeping things real I - and several others I know - overlook this detail as well. I'll accept that there's more male miqo'te now than there were five years ago ICly, but none at all back then? No, I don't think so. Not for me, anyway. I think there comes a certain point where looking too far into the lore results in one's own character proverbially shooting herself in the foot, and I'd rather not cross that line, for myself.

Interesting idea and I'd be interested to participate. This thread I whipped up recently might also be relevent to your interests, but would be more of a seasonal thing rather than weekly since I think the interest in such a thing tends to wane a bit as there are other avenues for RP and such. I know what you're proposing isn't the same thing, but similar so I thought I would just call your attention to that. Also that would be specific to Balmung server as I have no real intention of playing on Gilgamesh, and it would be great if there was some kind of corresponding event. But yes, the concept sounds a bit more elaborate than what I was proposing in the other thread and I'm certainly intrigued and looking forward to hearing more.

Wowow!! I love all the sketches so far! If I'm home in time I might try to check out the stream of Kari! I always love to see how artists work~ These are all wonderful!!!

I was stunned and flattered when I first saw this! It's lovely! :love: Thank you for taking the time to do this!

Oh I know!! I just had to kind of mini-rant the other way. Balance the equation a bit, or what-have-you. :thumbsup:

There was a discussion some time back about a very similar topic and reviewing the handful of posts there might be worthwhile. I'm not going to go into any lengthy detail or repeating anything I said there, but I thought it would be worth dropping the link for anyone who might want to read a bit more about healing magic (as compared and contrasted with more mundane forms of medical treatment). One thing I did just want to remark quickly on though: I can appreciate this and in past RP as an aetherial [and mundane] healer I have usually tried to find a middle ground where both healer and patient can be happy with the outcome as it is intended. As a healer though, it's also not fun when that magic which does exist in the lore is simply hand-waved because an injured individual doesn't want to acknowledge that. Whether the effects are large or small - and for whatever reason - one should not trivialize the efforts of a healer, whether magical or mundane, because they're also just RPing their character as well. The most important thing is finding a balance so that there's some nod to the healer's efforts but the patient is suitably incapacitated for whatever end he or she is striving for. I hope this makes sense.

Eva presently has no home to call her own. She is temporarily staying in a modest apartment that belongs to one Alex Silversheath and is situated a floor above an apothecary in Ul'dah. Prior to that she was staying for a short time in a tiny guest room at Randirrim Temple - a [RPer-created] temple devoted to the goddess Nophica situated in the Eastern Shroud. Before that, she was sleeping outdoors in woods out behind the lakeside cabin that had once, five years ago, belonged to her. When she does have her own residence: Her living space is kept inordinately tidy - a place for everything and everything in its place. Even the unfinished knitting project on the coffee table in the living room appears to have been left at just such an angle by design. This woman probably has OCD. An enormous grand harp sits in a corner of her bedroom. She won't deny knowing how to play, but she will usually refuse if asked. A lance cast of some sort of bluish-clear crystal or glass hangs from the wall of her living room - a weapon her father once wielded that she says is much too heavy for her to bear. The sounds of a small bat rattling around in a cage may be heard emanating from her bedroom. Her home is designed such that most furnishings and other objects are white or black, with lavender or purple accents. The entire home usually smells of lilac and sun lemon.

My own opinions aside, I'm of a mindset that a little communication solves a lot of potential problems. But if something goes beyond two lines of dialogue without a proper inquiry or explanation given, there's probably some deeper problem. In short, people all are going to have different preferences. Some might be using an area like an "instance" where they're regarding themselves as being in a bubble, or somewhere they don't physically appear to be. I've known this to happen though I don't know that there's ever been any issues with it. I certainly don't think those who do this are specifically looking to exclude anyone - as has been suggested. There's just some places a character might not be able to go in game for whatever reason. I agree also that there shouldn't be an expectation that someone ask before participating in ongoing RP with another group. I think there's nothing wrong at all with jumping right in. Some might feel awkward by it. But as far as I'm concerned it's on them to explain the situation or reasons why at that point. And of course there's also nothing wrong with asking politely if you can join before jumping right in. As has been said before this establishes that you're not a griefer and might put everyone at ease right off the bat. People are going to have different ways of doing things. I remember a conversation on these boards a long time ago about whether it's acceptable or not to walk up to a stranger in RL and just start a dialogue. In some parts of the U.S. - nevermind the world - this is considered somewhat more taboo than others, where in other places it's more openly accepted. People are always going to have different opinions about things based on these preferences, cultural backgrounds, etc. If everyone is respectful and open to communicating than there shouldn't really be any problems, regardless of what the situation is.

Oooohhh wow!! That's wonderful!! :thumbsup:

No, Plunierre Clan would not be related to the Northwest clans. Many of the concepts that went into Eva's ancestral group were borrowed from variations on what Oskar was doing at the time, I admit. And her clan probably wouldn't have been located terribly far from them, but Eva's group was definitely located beneath Coerthas (prior to its destruction as a direct result of the events of the Calamity, the tunnels were accessed from a cave opening near the Twinpools area of the Western Highlands of Coerthas). Having been wiped out, it is something of a moot point now, but historically it would make sense that some of the other clans might have heard of them or even had interactions with some of them - (a representative coming up to trade fish or mushrooms or precious gemstones for clothing or beeswax). They were a very peaceful people though, by comparison to Oskar's group, and many of the others from what I've read. With regards to the OP, I can add another section listing the specific clans that have been mentioned thus far and perhaps offering a few quick phrases to describe the clan and then providing a link (or links) to the specific posts that provide more detailed information. To give an example something like: Name: Plunierre Clan Location: Very deep beneath Coerthas Status: Wiped out in Calamity Theme: Traditional, peaceful, underground waterfall, valued light/candles, valued written word Member(s): Eva (removed by 2 generations but visited prior to its destruction) More Info: [link1] [link2] [link3] etc. (these would actually link to the specific posts within this thread pertaining to that clan) It would be a bit of an undertaking but if everyone could provide the information I'd be glad to edit it in. Or someone could go about making a wiki page as well if that would make more sense (which it might since it would be something we could all edit, but I'm still wrestling with fixing up my own page there so I wouldn't want to draw it up from scratch).

This is not possible, at least not yet. You may add a space after the /emote and then begin the emote with an apostrophe, though it looks a little awkward. Example: /em 's fingers drum unconsciously against her thighs. Output: Eva Ianeira 's fingers drum unconsciously against her thighs.

/ motion /joy motion /smile motion /grin motion ...etc. Confirmed to work in Phase 3 Beta (also triggers events too for when you have to do it to targeted NPC's)

The only caveat to that second point will be that a non-legacy character will not be able to actually display in game the marking on his or her back which all those who time warped would have. I feel that this is somehow important to the story for reasons that have not been made clear to us yet. Is it possible to just RP that your character has the marking on his or her back even though it's not in game? Of course! But I just thought it was worth making note of this tidbit from a game perspective.

ADMIN EDIT: Thread locked due to author request. Thank you for the additional feedback Maeve. The company I work for does something similar in contracting out a third party to perform annual surveys to assess employee satisfaction and any number of other things. While it may not be an identical scenario, earlier in this thread Alothia offered to take feedback and post it anonymously. I can still understand where there might be some reservation for that as well though. The other point made was that this thread's very existence spoke to some element of concern. I admit I had some idea of this when I created the thread initially. Yes, I was putting ourselves under the microscope here and requesting honesty and some of that would include scrutinizing things. It was my hope that some might also see this for what it is as well - that being a genuine effort at furthering our self-awareness in the broader community. I wouldn't expect everyone to look past those flaws that we have to see a real desire to make some changes and adjustments to our community in order to better interface with the rest of the RP community, but I do think that is the point that underscores the reasons for this thread's creation. It may be beside the point of the more recent posts, but from where I stand there has been a lot of really valuable feedback which has prompted us to take a closer look at ourselves, our policies, and the way we've operated thus far. Already we have enacted some changes, and there are a few more on the horizon. I admit there were taken some risks and I agree entirely with your post that some might view this LS more negatively, but I also feel this was necessary and that the opinion of some "on the outside looking in" - so to speak - has been worth that. Finally, I'm of the mindset that this thread has run its course. I'd rather not discuss any further the merits or shortcomings of the utilization of this thread itself. Unless there is some specific thing about our group that hasn't been mentioned, I think this can be put to rest and if the thread remains inactive for a few more days, perhaps a mod could lock it for us after that time. This isn't to say I'm opposed to discussing our linkshell community any further or anything. I'm always welcome to hearing additional feedback. At this point though I don't know that it needs to be hashed out any further in front of the whole RP community so if you want to talk about your own impressions of Crystalline, I would invite you to visit our forums or send me a PM and I'll be glad to discuss anything further privately. And again I want to thank everyone who did chime in and share their thoughts. I'm looking forward to our possible future interactions in ARR and I know that most in our little community are just as excited about it as I am.

Work happens to be busy lately, for one. These forums have also proven challenging to keep up with but have provided a good source of distraction. This week we're looking after our 6-y/o niece as well, so that's keeping us busy. And whatever spaces there are left in between I'm finding I'm able to fill with RP over Skype, working on Eva's wiki (which I've been procrastinating for forever now), and a few other little projects. I've also been practicing sketching and figure drawing and faces and such but nothing I want to post just yet. :blush:

I'm not sure how I missed this post a couple days back... but I actually really like [obviously?] how the elezen look in this game!! But preferences are preferences. I just wanted to comment that I :love: ADORE :love: the picture of the woman with the violin from the OP!!!!!! Your style is unique and I love every picture posted and may be reaching out to you for a commission as well at some point as well when your wrist is feeling better. Thank you for sharing!!

As a point of note this happened with Everwatch. While we would have liked to have Free Company housing as it is set up for ARR, it wasn't there. We had "set up shop" in the area above the Adders Nest. Most of the members of this LS and those who associated with us recognized that this was intended to be regarded as a multi-level facility with segmented rooms. We did often conduct RP in /say and we did deal with griefers from time to time (even though most folks were just in there to collect their quest rewards or w/e and be on their way). I also think that there are some things where an "instance" needs to be established. Like to use an example we couldn't be in the Mavanix mansion, but some of us would RP in the Sacrarium and treated it as such. Another RPer might have arrived and noticed some RPers probably talking (usually in /party for something like this) but there would need to be made some sort of explanation quickly that the characters involved weren't actually in the Sacrarium but using it as a sort of placeholder for more private RP. I don't have anything against either style as long as it's communicated quickly and effectively. If I come upon some RPers from another group and someone tells me they're not actually there but in someone's private estate to which I wouldn't have access, I'm happy to mozy along on my way and possibly retcon whatever greeting I might have offered. This is along a similar vein to more casual RPers who are in "OOC mode" because they're doing progression stuff or their character is supposed to be ICly in an infirmary with a broken leg, etc. The bottom line here is communication. And we might also be a little bit away from the topic of the OP but I think it's an interesting discussion. To address the point of the OP, when setting up a specific scene I try not to think of any specific outcome. Characters themselves will determine that. I like to give a general direction and nudge folks in that direction, but if it goes completely haywire or another way that's cool too. Being able to react gracefully to the behaviors of other characters that you might not expect, or the arrival of new characters, or whatever oddities may come - I think that's what being a "living character" is all about. So that's kind of what I would urge. Not necessarily to go at it with no plan or concern for the outcome, but to allow that direction to be changed, and to allow the characters themselves to push and pull at that as they will and transform the experience from something amorphous into... well, whatever they (and you together!) transform it into. ^^ God I can't wait to get back into it in ARR~ :love: