John Spiegel

Depending on the date/time, I'm sure we at Crystalline will get one or two people there. I just hope chaos can be kept at a low. I get a headache with lots of text flying. @_@ Alternative: Skype?

Oooh indeed, I can definitely do something with this! I think Amh'ra will have a new customer! Despite Ael's love for alcohol, he actually prefers to drink it in moderation and hates being drunk! I think he and Clio should definitely meet sometime, though! I'm afraid Ael already has a comfy spot in my own FC, but if they're willing to work with/hire mercenaries from outside their own company, I'd love to RP sometime. We're trying to expand our connections so some cross-FC work/RP is an option. I'm bad at this so imagine this post is a panda with Solid Snake's Infinite Ammo Bandanna shooting a rail gun while hanging from a chopper.

Crystalline is a small merc company. We're trying to be more active and branch out. We've no central plot or a steady flow of work, but we're awesome.

John, the old (but not aged) adventurer has not been northward since before the Calamity (he was at Carteneau as well). He's been adventuring close to fifty years in one way or another so no doubt he has been to all corners of Eorzea and such... (John doesn't just randomly talk about things like that so that naturally, so that's a good way to not get myself in a corner.. there's many things he's never even told his children let alone comrades) He's planning to go northward in the coming months due to a "change in the winds" that reminds him of the precursor of the Battle of Silvertear Skies. His company, Crystalline, will no doubt find their way up there but he's probably going to push early and probably take his lady and daughter with him.. leaving his Alex (head of Crystalline) behind since JJ is JJ and he hasn't ridden a griffin to jump on a dragon to crash the dragon into a mountain in like 15 years. As for the whole dark knight thing, I've always had JJ as being a swordslinging juggernaught, so being able to represent that on my avatar will be nice. He will spread pinwheels in the north once more! Please look forward to it. As for Alex... Alex has made mention at company meetings that the Grand Companies might summon the free companies to aid the north, prompting all sorts of goodies. While is not the avid adventurer as his father, he visited Ishgard in his youth with his mother/father/sister and made various trips to the outer reaches of Coerthas during his botany excursions.. less so since the Calamity however. In the coming months there's no doubt going to be some turmoil in his company as the work gradually grows more and more only to burst when the Battle for Ishgard hits, depending how we handle that company-wide. Then there's Grace! Well, like I said in the JJ part, she'll probably be traveling with her dad or will continue to shadow her brother. I don't RP with her much but she's as powerful of a Fist as her brother if not moreso... she's just shy.

What we got cooking behind the IC curtain: We've a number of members in the US and UK timeslots as well as members in either region that have hours of the other region. While we have been somewhat dragging for awhile, we are currently working on a reliable system of producing a steady supply of jobs for the members that replicate what one would imagine a mercenary company would see day-to-day (mundane jobs to stupid jobs to dangerous jobs...). Lately, I have been giving very lightly-to-no DM'd jobs where the taker can go nuts with the progress and nitty gritty though I do supply stipulations.. I am no D&D'er so it is a learning process. We do have rather talented and elegant folks working on that. We don't really have much of an over arching story at the moment that is strictly our thing.. we've been talking about just going with the flow and hopefully landing some cross-FC/group thing though there has been an undertone of the upcoming northward problems as well as what was stated earlier with some rocky changes going on. Though individuals do indeed have their own stories going on. Eva's got her relationship issues and children, Caen has been searching for Turk who is uhh currently missing for months and probably dead? Cartie is working on training her mind and body to wield a greatsword and has been actively and passively instructed by her mother, Ki'lari, and her lover John on different aspects of physical combat. The way our group works is we primarily use a linkpearl though we are also a Free Company. Many of our members are indeed in the Free Company though some long-standing (and indeed officers) are in other FCs for one reason or another. /FC is just an OOC channel for us as well as our group skype chat (that OOC on the go!). We do have a house! Ward 1 plot 15 of Beds! Going to upgrade at some point to a large. Soon, I think? (I should know these things but I totes don't.) Our process of new membership begins with an IC/OOC application on our forums that is followed by an OOC talk and then an IC interview and pearling. After usually a few weeks, if the member is in the FC itself, they will be granted access to the chest as well as the ability to get a room and a few other perks locked out to the lowest rank. (Though we are discouraging any members right now to get a room if they don't have one as we will be changing estates before too long!) This is a measure for both parties... if it turns out someone is not a good fit, it is a waste of 300k on their end as well as mild guilt on our end. Aside from full-membership, the only ranks above that are those of the officers, the in-FC term we use is 'Exemplar' (there are currently two of those) as well as a special rank for the FC founder who passed the torch of leadership due to her IC inadequacies of leading as well as the 'Leader' rank which is meeeeee! Members not in the actual free company are just as important, however. Our two exemplars right now are actually in other free companies (for OOC reasons), so we play no ill towards those in raid FCs or whatever. I think I covered everything on the surface? :bomb:

Need a monster killed? Need a tea party guarded? Need a cat out of a tree? Crystalline! *drops mic* EDIT in-game contact: John Spiegel, Alex Windfist (formerly Silversheath in-game) Skype: john.d.spiegel

We totes are still around, we just seemed to have caught a case of the xenophobia from our proximity to Gridania. Rest assure it is not too contagious.. as a result, Crystalline is still here! Maybe we will get around to updating the OP. Anyways. We've always been a relatively small, but close-knit group. At times we're barely active, other times we're too active. We're consistently inconsistent. But we always pay what is owed... out of your mom's purse. TESTIMONIAL INTERLUDE: "Get Busy with Crystalline" -- Pedo-stache'd lallafel. Our current happenings (as of March 6, 2015): There has been some hushed words about the recent departure of Costia Demora, the leader of Crystalline, in her putting her fiance in charge of the company. She seeks to enlighten herself on a personal journey. Alex is working on making good on his word to scrounge up more work for the historically workless mercenary company. That's about all I got. We're still high-immersion group focused on strong following of the lore. Our officers are the same as the last post minus Costia and add a pink-haired Reppu. Any inquiries or funny comments can be directed to our forums (http://www.crystalline-rp.net/) or at me on Skype (john.d.spiegel). We're happy to get involved with other groups but please be gentle, I've no idea what I'm doing right now.

I'm imagining needing to run away from flying arrows trying to explain that I didn't double cross her. ; ; Kage.. you.. You.. pretty much just described Rivienne and Yvelont's first meeting in the Shroud. LMAO. THAT MEANS RIVIENNE IS FI PERFECTLY. ... Are you sure Yvelont isn't Michael? I know a perfect candidate character for Sam Axe and will now be directing him towards this thread! :lol: Aside from not drinking, I accept JJ being like Sam Axe (or Bruce Campbell in general). Witty one-liners, crazy, also kicks a lot of ass. Makes jokes and deflections when asked about his past. Is somewhat of a womanizer but not disrespectful. Hail to the JJ, baby.

Just a quick blurb: While we have been lazy with updating this page, Crystalline has and is going through a lot of fun changes as it grows. We hope to get something out here in the near future (we're terribly lazy.. but once we do, you will know! *stern nod*)

Ask for requests! I'll try to learn! So I've been playing the harmonica for a number of years, I think close to six? It's only been in the last two years since I graduated college and got a job with excess cash/time that I've been able to sink a lot of gil monies into it. Most of these up to "The Place I'll Return to Someday" (FFIX theme) are probably over a year old.. I've been lazy in recording for one reason or another... I've been most interested in Irish traditional music and have a number of tunes learned to heart (including a cleaner version of Selbina.. which is a Irish-style jig). I am interested in all genres on the harmonica.. it is a rather versatile instrument and particularly the keys of D and G are in the right range for fiddle tunes. A lot of these were recorded with a crappy microphone in a loud trailer on a gas drilling rig, so audiophiles, just start crying now. -JJ Musics Links- (more shall be added as they are done) FF Fanfare on three different harmonicas First half of Irish Washerwoman (traditional Irish jig) Highlander Freestyle ~JJ Harmonicas~ The harmonica gets a bad rap as being "just a toy" or "grandpas instrument", but I would argue it is the most expressive instrument behind the human voice as that it is directly connected to the tongue and mouth, and you use them to make expressions. Hell, I ask that you all go out and buy a 2-10 dollar harmonica. They ain't that good for the long haul, but it's pretty simple to learn to play tunes like the Godfather theme, some Beatles stuff and so on. One of my favorites is the main music from Tetris (some traditional Russian tune). Sounds great slow as well as at any freaking tempo. I like to start it off slow then speed it up through a couple of runs. (I don't know squat about proper music theory, if you want proper music theory of each harmonica, wikipedia this stuff and go from there! I might have a link or two as well) There's four basic type of harmonicas, three I have. I must also note that there's different tunings in each type of harmonica. There's minor tunings, "Country-tunings" and so on. They're only tweeks to the reeds themselves not to the instrument in form and function. 1. 10-Hole/Blues Harmonica/Diatonic Harmonica = What anyone in most parts of the world think of when they hear the word "harmonica". Ten holes, 20 notes achieved without techniques. One full major scale between holes 4-7. The original harmonica type, originally made for polkas and whatnot. Adopted here in the US during and post Civil War for old standards like Oh Suzanna and the sort. Later used in spirituals -> blues formed by black folk here in the US, music's most profound thing since the days of Motzart and Stravinsky. 2. Chromatic Harmonica = capable of playing all 12 notes on a Western Chromatic Scale (All the sharps/flats). Pretty diverse an instrument as that it can play most any note you want. It's the harmonica with a button on it! The button pushes a metal plate that redirects air to other chambers. You see, just blowing or drawing air in a key of C chromatic will give you C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C, while when you push the button in, you get C#-D#-E#-F#-G#-A#-B#-C# (switch that around to whatever you want. C#=Bb, etc etc). BUT YOU CAN'T GET THAT "BLUESY" SOUND FROM A CHROMATIC! As in you can't really bend notes as well on a typical chromatic. 3. Double-Reed Harmonicas = harmonicas that have two holes per hole-area, as opposed to one hole per hole area in the two harmonicas above. Used mainly in Asian music and Irish/Scotish stuff. There are two subdivisions to consider: 3a. Tremolo Harmonicas = each hole has a note tuned like a semi-pitch above and below their assigned note, so when played together, they have a nice wavy sound. (see the second harmonica played in "JJ presents FF Fanfare on three different harmonicas"). 3b. Octave Harmonicas = each hole has a note tuned an octave apart from one another, producing an octave sound per register played. (see the third harmonica played in "JJ presents FF Fanfare on three different harmonicas"). 4. Orchestral Harmonicas = pretty much for ensemble playing. I've seen chromatic harmonicas as the centerpiece of orchestras. I don't have one of these.

Since harmonicas don't seem to exist in the lore (I play harmonica), my characters have varrying degrees of experience on a tinwhistle. JJ (the father) can do a few diddys on them and his children can play a little too. More for home playing than anything.

I have a character that's about to get married to another. We've not found any solid lore of "traditional Eorzean weddings". However, we've played it simple. Costia actually engaged the act over the holiday season by suggesting the two "exchange laurels". Costia and Alex come from rather different backgrounds, his being somewhat traditional Ala Mihgan-raised highlander and hers being... well, a fancy pants-Gridanian-raised highlander. Alex is enough of an intellectual to know lip services and ceremonious acts do not a loved pair make but the two plan to have a small service (in the near future) to celebrate such a thing.. We're having priestladythingamajig Eva be the oath-sayer and some fancy attire (if they're able to scrounge gil together.. their home burnt down and they've been vagabonds for awhile!) So long story short, we're filling blanks in the lore... assumed to be a ceremony citing Memphia and Nohpica in particular due to love and fate and all that mushy stuff as well as the other Twelve, but probably paying those two more mind.

That's an issue I have outside of the pearl (mainly due to my job keeping me out 25-30 days at a time). What I would suggest is you have K'aworu get mixed up in someone else's stuff. Tavern RP is nice but it doesn't build lasting bonds as getting through something with someone can.

The 7th Astral wasn't declared until the end of the 2.0 content. It really depends on the group you're with. Some follow the happenings of the world as they're released with each 2.x patch. My people are going to wait until the first expansion is declared to have the events of 2.x happen over a few months with us learning of things or even joining in Operation Acheron on one of the Castrums or something. I use 1573-77 and on just as a continuation for pure math standpoint and not in RP as the correct format would be First Year of the 7th Umbral Era or whatevs.

JJ's hobbies -- Adventuring, fighting, crafting pinwheels, kicking death's ass in a game of donkey hoop-ball, people watching. Alex's hobbies -- Spending time with his beloved, reading (non-fiction... particularly the traditional natural sciences as he's an alchemist/botanist), rum/ale Grace's hobbies -- Fashion mags, a good stout, sunbathing, people watching

John Spiegel: Treats everyone equally unless they give him a reason not to... imagine that one dwarf or viking that is outrageously wordy and laughs a lot.. that's a pretty good sum up of JJ. Sometimes he treats young people differently than others (pats them on the head or whatnot) but does not discriminate based on male or female. He, of course, does have his perverted side that slips out, along with his usual random quips. "Dirty old man!!!!" Most of the time it's an innocent misunderstanding as John words things differently, or not. JJ is as JJ does! Alex Spiegel: (son of John, brother of Grace) He's polite... to the point at times where it's annoying to some. Having a sister and a mother that is/was rather strong and independent helped mold his view that it doesn't matter what organs one has for them to be strong or respected. He's by far the romantic of the family in that he sees more than just physical strength or appearance at first glance. When he met his fiance, he lamented in his journal of her beauty and whatnot, later discovering she had quite the ability of egi-summoning then swordplay when she decided to stop the aether-use. So Alex may initially look at females in a benevolent awe or some physical manner, he is quick to form additional opinions of them. Grace Spiegel (son of John, sister of Alex): She has a particular disdain for men that flaunt some physical strength or think they're the best thing since warm mead. She has an equal disdain for women that act helpless. Her and her brother were raised in a small village of monks in Gyn Abania where your ability was all that mattered. On top of having two strong parents, John and Emilynn where Emilynn was and is her number one role model.. she was a highly traditional Highlander, that, upon meeting John, who forsook his birthright and nation, fell in love much to the initial chagrin of her father. John and his future step-father fought almost to the death out of some benign pride thing with her father (note: JJ was more interested in fighting a legend than the whole fight for her honor thing) that Emilynn put a stop to.. not because she was afraid of them killing each other but because she was pissed at the whole fight for her honor thing! That was a little long-winded but suffice to say Grace has a sharper opinion on the sexes than her brother or father. As a result, those that have run into her in taverns probably think "Gee, what a b^&$@!"

Goad your character into something they might not normally do.. if anything by accident. Have a chance meeting with some stranger in Ul'dah and follow them out of curiosity. As others said, though, try to identify the problem!

I would like to elaborate on my previous entry of describing my character's "type" of warrior... (I'm bored at work and listening to music got me in the mood!) Orphaned at two as his parents died someway (he's in his 50s now so that's like ancient history), he was put in an Ala Mhigan military bootie camp that had aims of making the children into Corpse Brigade folk, which were (from what I gather) the equivalent of raiders of hardcoreness. He ran away at age of 12 after murderkilling a jerkbag in blind-poke-you-in-the-spleen rage. He knew the rudementaries of combat. His prime desire in life was to be free, which has always been his driving force first and foremost. At this time he was a one-hander user mainly... he had not developed the muscle mass for heavy things... he was actually quite scrawny. Most of his early encounters with the wilds of Eorzea (or bad guys) had him on the run rather stand and fight. When that option got stalled, and he had to fight, he fought with whatever worked rather than any definable technique.. he would try to mimic movements he saw or just really tried anything. He was fighting for survival and freedom, which is a much better driving force than greed or glory. So puberty hit and he started to develop muscles, as well as raging hormones of all sorts! It was probably around 14-15 where he kind of just lost his shit and brutally murderkilled some more jerkbags and picked up a two-hander of some sort. He would use the counter-weight of various two-handers to his advantage. Again, he predominately fought to preserve his own freedom (and those of oppressed folk). His magic ability grew at this point, still a little blurry of the details (again, this was decades ago) but he found he was able to drain others' aether in one aspect or another... but had a limited grasp on this at the time. His un-technique kept developing. It would change as he saw more fights. It would change as he trained. It would change as he got heavier and heavier armor. It wouldn't be until his 20s where he got his rage under control.. he's hurt friends during this time during his rage sessions. He's called it various things... the "Darkness", "the Beast", "the Rage". The best I can explain it would be his id on steroids (the id being primal instinct to survive that circumvents higher levels of consciousness in real bad times). He settled to the scythe or the greatsword as his preferred two handed weapons (whist still carrying 8-12 inch sword on the back of his belt and knives). The scythe prooved to be especially helpful when he was fighting magitek during the Garlean invasion of Ala Mhigo.. cerment is hard stuff so he would use his scythe as a gripping hook to pull magitek down and what have you. So his "Darkness/Rage/Beast", yeah, kind of adapted that to the Warrior job quests and he's long since had it on a leash but when he does let go, hooo boy, his regard for his bodily safety is out the window. He'll charge into dragon breath and grab the dragon by the face and headbutt it while singing "Marry had a Little Lamb" (okay, probably not that whole thing about grabbing the face... he'd grab the tongue!) He'll throw his greatsword to impale a beast, run at the beast and pull out a one handed sword and just go to stabsville! Those that have fought or sparred with him in the past and again sometime later would note he's rather unpredictable if one is trying to find a pattern for the most part.

JJ is pretty much a warrior that knows some absorb magicks and pitiful levels of others. Even his drainy magic is sub-par unless he's close (or touching) someone. He swings big weapon, make thing go smash (was mainly greatsword and scythe till the Calamity, though he's not foreign to axes! Nel and Isilme of the Celestial forge made him an uber awesome axe!) In his earlier years, he struggled with his "inner beast", some form of some similar thing as seen in the WAR questline. He's long since been able to let himself off the leash rather than no control. But anyways, I'm of the belief "warrior" is more of a general term for people that go fight (Warriors of Light! OMG!) A lancer can say he's a warrior. He fights! A bard can say he's a warrior of love and puffy pants. Eh, I lost my train of thought.

Lurking/eavesdropping is not always rewarding but it is what I've been doing as it fits what my character(s) is/are doing right now, sans the one hiding out in the elements with his fiance. I have taken to find this coveted (NON-UL'DAH) random rp the past few days with little luck as well. I have found and lurked RPers in a few, although distant, places. There are a few hurdles I have found: 1. Time! RP doesn't pickup till mid afternoon EST on weekdays! 2. Some people just are, infact, cliquey! They don't do well with strangers! 3. I'm not willing to break my character's way just to fit into someone's RP situation. If I want to eat a loaf of bread and eavesdrop, or be a blond-headed, sharp-tongued b%*$@h, that's what I'm going to be! If I am seen a villain or otherwise unruly character, I would react accordingly! 4. I find cookie-cutter tavern RP to sate my appetite only briefly. (don't jump down my throat, please) 5. LSs/FCs come and go, cliques are forever. This is not a bad thing. Consider it a static RP group safety net. Though RP may grow stale if such a group is isolated too long. 6. Some people just don't know how to improvise in their RP rather sticking to their monorail tracks and want things their way all the time. (ok, that was a little harsh, think of puppies after reading this one) Note I spent the majority of the past few days around La Noscea and some of Gridania, avoiding the "rp mecca" that is Ul'dah. It is my impression that a lot of RP now happens in the FC houses and around Ul'dah or over pearls and such. As a result, I have been left with a thirst for RP that I can't quench. I'll continue my search another day.

I'm doing my part as the cloaked wanderer. Just eavesdropping so far. Left Limsa, heading south toward's the Drydocks. I hate how the island is usually barren aside from the hot springs. ;

John Spiegel is an adaptation and reimaging of the FFXI character I RP'd. He's a highlander whose birthname is Jnsyn Silversheath but he goes by John Spiegel (as well as other names really). The character was my first attempt at RP, back in XI I was fresh-faced with anime and took attributes from Spike from Cowboy Bebop (namely the name and his playful nature) and mannerisms from Vash from Trigun. It's a little blurry back then but suffice to say it was a rocky road the first months as I was rough around the edges. Through the years back in XI, JJ grew to be a rather complicated character. But still a goofy son of a bitch. The character grew as I went through my lovely teenage years. I came to find out how I RP JJ's fighting nature to be similar to that of Guts from Berserker. In XIV, now that I'm older and matured, I took what JJ was at the core and adapted it XIV. He's an outwardly goofy bastard that talks a lot (about nothing, really) and keeps a lot of things close to the vest... things he doesn't even tell his children or even his now deceased wife. He's in his 50s and has been fighting his whole life, his body shows this with scars. His vitality is near infinite, he's always on go and full of life. In XI, JJ was a Musketeer/adventurer/madman. In XIV he holds no national alliances and distrusts government to do things.. he frequently probably breaks laws to achieve justice. JJ don't care. JJ don't give a #*%@. He seeks no reward or glory. JJ just does. Alex and Grace are the adult versions of the babies JJ fathered back in XI. In XI, their mother was a monk. I adapted that to XIV as her being a Fist of Rhaglr and her father heading a sect within it. Alex takes after his dad in his dad's youth, meek and mild-mannered while Grace takes JJ's playful nature but her mother's quick-acting temper. They really have no inspirations past that, though. Got a little off track buuut... weee!

While I can't find my Pokemon Black (which housed every pokemon of importance from all the way back to Gen III... really bummed about that) I still DO have Ruby/Saphire/Emerald/Leaf Green/Pearl/Diamond.. but can't go any further without a Black/White game. Here's my info. I play X. 1075-0833-3129

Hey, he's since got over that childhood bedwetting. Give him a break. But yes, it's been pretty much a daily occurrence! I work nights so I'm on here around 2-3AM when we learn of the all new Nike shoes and other great things like that. (but mainly Nike shoes)

I have three characters. John - Ah, the complexities of his soul can best be explained with a pinwheel, but I will try to decipher. Since he became an adult (decades ago), he doesn't mind physical contact but straight up hugging and kissing total strangers (or receiving such) is straight up bad news. He's no problem invading personal space but judges the person before doing such. He's also been the victim of headslaps usually for being himself (courtesy of his daughter/Ki'lari/Azriel) or the disher of headslaps to those that needed it. I consider him touchy-feely, usually out of his playful nature to annoy someone. Alex - His demeanor is much like his father's (John) was as a child. He's generally soft-spoken and reserved. Couple that with his life training as a monk (Fists of Rhaglr yo!) and he mentally analyses a person's motives as they're reaching to touch him. He's aware of slow handed combat (via pressure points) so he's on edge when a stranger pokes him. He has on a few occasions flipped some random person that approached him from behind and poked him. Grace - Being Alex's twin, she too grew up learning to punch and kick things with chakra. She was and is the wild child. She's outspoken (but polite about it) and does NOT like to be touched. She has her father's playful nature coupled with her mother's quick temper. Quite a few times she's turned the tables on some poor fellow trying to hit on her resulting in them running away, some bodily harm (particularly a headbutt). Men should know better than to interrupt a highlander woman eating her breakfast!