Zhavi

It depends on the people writing it. Generally things like that are sort of sorted out ahead of time in terms of what people are willing to write. Some prefer to fade to black, others might write out the scenes in a pg-13 sort of way, and some will write out explicit scenes. That said, the writing itself could be like sexting, or it could be written out more like a scene in a novel. It could be back and forth, or it could be written collaboratively without the back and forth. It might not even happen in game; some people choose to use another method (a chat program, email, whatever) for such scenes.

It was evident in the way Zhi jerked back with a yelp that she hadn't seen the carbuncle. What was worse was that the reaction wasn't entirely feigned; Zhi had been so focused on playing her part of miserable loser that she'd lost some awareness of her surroundings. Stupid, she thought, stupid churl. Anger at herself flared hot, and was smothered into a wide-eyed stare after the small creature. Such things were not an unseen sight in Limsa Lominsa, but they were rare in the poorer side of town and all the places where little streetrats were wont to go. Lalataru had said they might speak easily, and to that Zhi returned a distinctly uneasy expression. She responded to his question with one of her own. "A-ah. . .does this -- are ye gonna take me as yer 'prentice?" Where had the nearly bashful demeanor gone from outside? Zhi had a sinking feeling that she had unearthed a side of Lalataru that she hadn't accounted for, hadn't known existed, but she couldn't be sure. Had she made her move too soon? Was it her own blimming overconfidence that'd gotten in the way of her street sense? He'd spoken of going inside to fill out paperwork. There was no paperwork. There were no "better qualified" individuals to hand her off to. Something did not feel right, and now Zhi was in a place she couldn't escape from. She was trapped with his gods-cursed creature up the stairs. He could snuff her out easy as chuffin' pie, with no one the wiser. Just like that. She'd underestimated the situation. If things were to go sour, she'd nothing to blame but her own flipping idiocy. Focus! She started to sweat. Again.

Zhi was damp with sweat by dusk. It'd been a hot day, and she was finding even her patience stretched by her long, quiet wait. If that wasn't bad enough, she'd earned herself several scraped knuckles as she'd settled and resettled into the place she'd made for herself between a rocky outcropping and the building that perched up against it. It was only due to a partial collapse of the roof (storm damage, Zhi estimated, though she weren't no builder) that she'd been able to make of it a hidey-hole, flattening herself against a revealed support and hiding behind the crooked and patchy roof tiles. Being able to fit didn't mean comfortable which she knew from innumerable past experiences and not a few nasty wounds earned during climbs and hours spent sitting in unstable perches. The reward for her injuries and numb extremities was, as always, the arrival of an individual. This one was not the tabby in question -- he was male, hyur, and far too ugly (which, considering Zhi's low standards, was quite the feat) -- but judging by the way he loitered in the alley, Zhi gauged he was part of the "summat int'restin'" she'd been tipped off to. It was good enough she'd been given a starting point, because asides from that what she knew was slim indeed. The roegadyn was part of a network -- clear enough from the way he'd talked -- but he'd not given her many pertinent details. She wasn't sure why, though she suspected it had to do with the "tabby" woman who'd cockered up their network from an angle that was no doubt not entirely above the board; there'd be no need to hire her if the higher-ups were fully apprised of what was going on. If they were, it would've been handled internally. The man below looked like he was either hopped up on something or very nervous, going by the way he startled at every little shadow. So, then, was this part of the network's usual operation, or was this part of the mess she was supposed to clean up? So many questions, and as usual she found herself drawn to them as keenly as a hunting cat to prey. The mystery intrigued her as much as the coin, she was ashamed to admit to herself, and she savored the thought of discovering the answers one by one, peeling them away from whoever held them. And then, Nald'thal willing, she'd be able to trade it in for a solution, neatly cutting out the tabby from the pantry, as it were. She smiled, and watched.

So long as she's not super young, I don't see why she can't have devoted time to both pursuits. I mean, as long as she's not the type of person who never studies and yet has achieved super awesome mastery status as a summoner and a white mage, and is admired by all and sundry for her genius level abilities and has a bevy of followers who admire her and . . . you see where I'm going. In real life there are people who actively pursue their interests when they're young, and as a result can claim some marvelous accomplishments before they hit 30. It all depends on her natural ability and her determination and devotion to make up for the things she lacks (or to supplement what she already has). In fact, having her be rather successful with one and struggle with the other could give her something to agonize over, just as for most people they have subjects that they excel at and others that they have to struggle and work harder than others to see the same results. There's nothing wrong with having a talented character. To me, the trap people tend to fall into is making the character be about the talent/feature/tragic past/whatever rather than consider the whole of the character. I think that's where the term Mary Sue can be awkward. It's entirely possible to take the supposed traits of a Mary Sue and still have an engaging, interesting, and sympathetic character come out the other side -- it's all in how you write it. (one example off the top of my head is Honor Harrington. I can definitely see several traits that could give people reason to call her a Mary Sue, yet that character is one of my favorite sci-fi heroines) So I say do what you want and what makes sense for the character. If that means both, then go for it!

Clove leaned back and stretched, tipping his chair back onto its rear two legs. He reached and bumped the back of a miqo'te sitting at the bar. Immediately she turned, her ears swiveling to the side as she saw who it was who'd touched her. She nodded, and slipped off the stool -- narrowly avoiding getting elbowed in the face by the eager drinker to the right. She pulled a face, and came around to the side of the table facing the rest of the bar. There wasn't a chair, so she stood. She was a skinny thing, nearly flat and boasting the curves of a twelve-year-old. It was a sign of malnutrition, that; here was a girl who'd lived hand to mouth for a long time. It showed in the rough quality of her hair, in the numerous small scars and scabs that spoke of accidents rather than fights, in the distinct kink in the last fourth of her tail. She bore the hunted, hard expression of those who'd never had a home besides the street, wrapped up tight in a smirk that bordered on a sneer. Her clothing was obviously well-used, but clean enough for all its mended tears and the occasional stain. She could have passed for a boy, had she put a smidgeon of effort into it. "This is Dax. Dax, say hello to Master Mujuuk." Zhi mimed a poorly executed curtsy, the sarcasm evident in her expression. "Fair winds t'ye, Master Mujuuk." She managed to butcher the pronunciation of his name, though whether or not it was her street accent or on purpose was anyone's guess. Judging by Clove's frown, he'd guessed 'on purpose.' He sighed. "What she lacks in manners she makes up for in discretion. She runs occasional odd jobs on the side, so no one would think twice should she be seen meeting with you. Just another street runner. She's tied to me," his voice hardened, "so there will be no mishaps." His eyes moved towards Zhi, and they exchanged a brief glance. She looked away first. Her smirk faltered, and she crossed her arms. Clove looked back to Mujuuk, his smile picking up the slack. This was so not Clove's bag that Zhi half expected the man to enact some form of petty revenge for the favor -- a dig here or there. After this, they would be even. It was fair enough; he was risking his life and livelihood should things go sour enough for Mujuuk to sell him out.

Zhi snapped her mouth shut, ears going flat as she averted her eyes from the splendor. She mumbled something under her breath, and then said, "Jes Joz is fine," as she moved for the stairwell. She opened her mouth and inhaled as if to speak, then shut it again. Her hands had balled into fists, and she held them close to her stomach. Her elbows were tucked in, her shoulders hunched; even with her feline characteristics, she looked as shy as any mouse might be and twice as pathetic. She took the stairs slowly, tail twitching sporadically as she preceded Lalataru. Finally, when she reached the end of them, she stopped, awkward, eyes glued to the floor. She opened her mouth again, and shut it in the same breath. She pressed her lips together, and hugged herself. Her ears were pressed so flat to her head that they were nearly lost in the mess of her hair.

I like how the dudes go from chic to rough but all the girls are variations of soft facial features and big eyes. That said, hot damn.

Daaaaang, now that's some lurking! Mebbe I'll see you in Balmung someday. :3 Also, HI!

ooohh! I love threads like these. Zhi's main song would definitely be Hanabi by Miyavi, Hiromitsu Agatsuma, and Jin Oki. That shamisen. <3 The lyrics are very simple, but it's the "we got no other way to live but this . . .like hanabi" at the end along with the driving pace of the song that really suits her. (plus, that shamisen with the guitars, unf) For pure music without vocalists, some corvus corax definitely suits her, plus I could see her getting drunk and trying to dance* to it, too. Raucous cheering and all! *by dance I mean flailing. Drunken flailing. argggh one last one - falling down by oasis (prodigy remix) This: "I tried to talk with god to no avail/calling him in and out of nowhere/said if you won't save me, please don't waste my time" suits her relationship with Nald'thal perfectly. Well, him in particular, but it suits her love/hate relationship with the twelve as a whole.

Temporary. I had a similar thing happen when I went to make a character on my boyfriend's server. Waited a day or two and the restriction was lifted.

Yup! Here's a link to them - http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/forums/812-Balmung%28LEGACY%29

No problem! Sorry if I'm a bit rambly/whatever, got the caffeine going to finish my homework, and now I'm something like a zombie with no ability to self-edit. I'd also recommend maybe changing the title of the thread to be more specific (the tactics I used to use to bring in potential raiders, ahahahaha), maybe something to do with your class or a general timeperiod in pacific or eastern; this will also help encourage people who have previously looked at the thread and moved on to click it again. Then you can slap them with information and hopefully draw in interested parties or recommendations! gah, edit - also what experience you have, specifically what you've run: what you've downed, what you've wiped on but not downed.

It's possible that people might not have a good grip on what "EU friendly" means in this context (heck, I had no grip whatsoever on European timezones until the other community I'm in that's much smaller started doing monthly online hangouts, and I had to work in American, European, and Australian timezones -- a nightmare, do not recommend), and don't want to ask (sometimes asking is hard, for whatever reason). Can you raid early your mornings? Afternoons? Evenings? What exact timezone are you in? A PST early evening (5pm PST) fc might do it for you if you can raid early in the morning (speaking of which, are weekdays okay, or weeknights?). I used to do most of the recruiting back when I was raiding regularly, and I had a full map out of our raid times and how they translated to others' timezones -- and that was just for American timezones. I would always include it in our main post and whenever I posted on prospective raiders' posts (WoW's recruitment forum is a warzone) -- otherwise people would always ask (and I'm talking like a two hour difference of people not knowing what 6pm Pacific was in Central), or worse, not ask at all and just go for the other guild whose times matched. It would be best if you posted with what times/days are best for you in Pacific or Eastern. . .just trust me that it helps a great deal. Too, do you want a regular spot? Are you willing to be a backup? Are you just looking for on random occasions? Do you want to have a go at it seriously, or just looking for a fun time to see the content? Aaand don't be afraid to go to the Balmung server forums. A lot of the time there are small, close-knit groups who raid casually and aren't adverse to throwing other nice people into the mix, especially if they happen to run a member deficit fairly often. If you can find a group with a nice advertisement that makes them sound nice, but still don't want to hop into the mix with a bunch of strangers, don't be afraid to ask to sit in on a raid. We had some prospective raiders do that, and I was always glad to hear it asked; I never cared for hostile raiding environments and was always most interested in those who could integrate with the least amount of fuss. (though there will always be the divas who hide it well for the first few raids and then, suddenly. . .) I do hope you're able to find a fc/group, though. I know what that itch feels like. ;_;

Zhavi didn't often leave Limsa Lominsa's main city proper. There usually wasn't a reason to. It was easy to arrange for there not to be a reason to, which she often did; the scrubby plains and animal life outside of the city were something she disdained. She, a city girl, a gutterborn and slums-dweller didn't like to think of herself as fearing most things, but something about the flat land and endless openness of La Noscea got under her skin. The city was easy to understand, with its dizzying heights and numerous bridges -- was it so strange to feel the pulsing life within its iron and stone bound walls, and yet see only death on the plains? Zhi didn't think so. She didn't love the city, but she was a part of its bones. Every time she left it she felt as if she left some protective shell behind her, and was left raw and exposed. Yeah, okay, and the something-closely-related-to-fear. It was with that unease in her that Zhi had left the main city proper so early in the morning that it could have been mistaken for the previous night. It was one of the few ways she could stand being outside of the city, under the comforting presence of the moon. She'd girded herself with her day-use knife and a dagger she'd kept for years; she wasn't formerly trained in the proper martial use of either, but she sure as shit weren't afraid to stab someone should the chance and the need arise. The only precious life she counted was her own. Took her ten minutes to reach Moraby Drydocks, and in that time she'd already convinced herself twice over that her latest scheme was a mistake and a stupid idea all the same. Too bad she'd never known how to go backwards. Forward was the only direction Zhi'd ever been able to move in, even when it'd meant making mistakes. Maybe this was another one. Maybe this was one that'd finally take her down. Tch. She finally settled in the back of Naldiq & Vymelli's, sat herself on the bench with the view of the lumberyard. Captain Tyriont Gaidal was known to frequent both locations, and sure enough this was the only place she was like to see him that wouldn't be under the sun's glare in the next several hours. Seemed like she was always waiting like that, for some mark or another to make an appearance, for some recipient of shady goods or messages to relieve her of her burdens. Today was different. She'd settled her other tasks, knowing she was taking a risk. Might cause bad blood, if she weren't careful. Might need to lie low, if she was seen going about this task. Might get her killed. Somehow, it was that risk that'd drawn her to it in the first place. She hated risking her life, hated facing down men and women who wouldn't give a lick if she was floating face-down in the docks the next day, but somehow it was always what she lived for, always what she craved. She couldn't get enough of her own life. Piss on anyone who thought to scorn her for it.

Hey there! From what I've seen so far (picked up the game recently after not playing since the very first iteration was released) FFXIV rp is pretty standard fare as far as mmo rp goes, though I will say it seems more organized and welcoming to new people than some of my experiences on various WoW rp servers. That said, I have seen some posts from people who feel like it's a little hard to get into the rp here, so don't be afraid to pm people to ask questions or set things up! From what I've experienced people here are very nice and polite, sometimes you just gotta message 'em first. Also check out the upcoming events for Gilgamesh -- great way to start rping with people.

Cat people are just so hard to resist, aren't they? It's like the trolls in WoW, somehow I think I'll have a hard time playing as any other race. I hear you about the side characters too, it really is fun to play as a sort of support role and push the other characters to see who takes the lead. I bet you'll settle right into FFXIV rp no problem with the sort of experience you have.

Hey there! Ul'dah is definitely pretty hopping, so I doubt you'll have much trouble finding some great people there to rp with. That said, if you find yourself having difficulties finding people in game, don't hesitate to find some Ul'dah characters here in the wiki or Balmung directory and give their players a poke! And check out the events, too, there's a ball coming up that you could definitely use to get your character acquainted with others.

Woo, MUDs! The very first rp experience I ever had was on a MUD. Welcome in and don't be afraid to poke around -- there are lovely people on both servers (though, admittedly, I'm a bit biased towards Balmung ).

"Indeed," Clove murmured. His brow furrowed, momentarily, and he unfolded his hands to lay them flat on the table before them. He tapped the table twice, and tilted his head to the side. "If I fit your qualifications, Master Mujuuk, then before we get into the matter of details I would much like to air my concerns over my own part in this. You see, I do believe I am uniquely suited to sussing out the information you seek, but I fear getting the information to you will be. . .problematic. I am unsure whether or not you seek the company of male. . .companions, but even if you do, if you were to become a frequent customer there might be issues to arise, especially given the nature of my task. And if I was to be seen meeting you with any frequency outside of my business. . ." He shrugged one of his shoulders. It was a graceful gesture. "In that vein, I have an investment I believe could benefit the both of us and act as a courier between us. She has my utmost trust; I have been grooming her with just this purpose in mind. If it suits you, I have brought her here with the intent to introduce you." Clove leaned back slightly, his face and tone of voice both calm, betrayed only by the nervous odor in his sweat.

Well, well, well, they had gotten somewhere. If he'd meant to call the guards on her, then certainly he'd have taken longer. There'd be no need to treat her to some elaborate game, not if she was believed to be some scrawny little scut. She didn't think Lalataru would behave that way, though gods knew she'd been proven wrong before. Caution was to be her guide, as ever. The tone of his voice seemed calm enough, and she permitted her stiffness to bleed out of her a little. A little, but not too much; no kid born of the streets would ever actively show themselves calm when they were somewhere strange, especially not if they were as dumb as the part she was playing. "Me mam called me Joz," she said, slow and hesitant as she got to her feet. "Go by Rat most days." She finally let go of her tail, and chose instead to hold near the hem of her shirt as she minced past Lalataru and into the Arcanist's Guild. Strange as it was, she'd never been inside before. While ambition had seen fit to goad her beyond the more simple messaging jobs that took her from one point to another (and rarely inside anywhere), she'd previously shied away from the guilds on self-preservation alone. People with power tended to use that power, and if you weren't slick enough, you'd get a taste of it. Zhi didn't bungle jobs often, but sometimes learning meant getting your tail singed -- Galine'd been the one to teach her that, and loathe as Zhi was to think kindly on the little terror, she knew her stuff well enough. Once inside, Zhi took her time to gawk. Time spent on the street had worn the wonder right out of her, but she knew well enough how to play the dazzled poor girl. It was as if she'd plum forgotten Lalataru was there, the way she stared gape-mouthed at all the nice things.

Hey there! I just love me some happy coincidences, glad you found the RPC. There is some forum rp here -- I can't be in game so much right now, so I read through wiki pages and the directories and sent a bunch of pms to people with characters I thought would suit mine, and now have some lovely rp with them here on the forums. So if that's up your alley, it's another way to rp for now until you're ready to server hop. Too, people are quite flexible and kind from what I've experienced, which makes setting up forum rp super easy. (man those cat people are hard to resist, huh?)

Zhi licked her lips as the lalafel disappeared. Gods take it, had she just stepped in it? She'd never liked playing cringing little pissants, hated seeing them on the street and could see 'em hanged without remorse, but she'd judged it the best way to cling to Lalataru without unnecessary explanation. Should she have played a beggar instead? She'd thought to forge some sort of empathy -- but she couldn't take it back now. All that remained was to sit and wait, and hope Nald'thal had a shred of mercy for her left. She hated waiting in such situations. She wanted to go hide, to ward off the potential mistake before it could hurt her true, but until she knew for sure she'd blown her chance, she had to be patient. Should've taken the other job. Zhi buried her face in her knees, completing the picture of dejection that she'd thus far portrayed, but remained on full alert. As soon as something seemed sour, she was gone.

"Cuz I'm a. . .I was a . . . I mean, a - a thief," the last was muttered at her knees. "But you, they says you done bad things, an' I thought if I was -- i-if I was yer 'prentice then mebbe I. . ." she trailed off, clenching her teeth for a moment as if to drive back her emotions before she finished. "Mebbe I could 'ave a chance, too."

Shit. Zhi sniffled, and bit her lower lip. "Th-they won't -- they won't sell me t'the Yellowjackets?" She looked towards the door, then to Lalataru, and back to the door. Her face was the picture of misery as she added on, "I can't read'r write. 'Swhy I -- I thought y'would. . .I jes, I wanna be yer 'prentice. Y'know what it's like t'be. . .t'be. . ." She shivered, her eyes going distant as she stared at the door.

'cept Shiroe was doing it in game too, it was an established strategy they used. I think in some ways it was meant to represent a 'raid leader' sort of mentality, but reeeeally -- all healers do is watch the status and health of their comrades and manage their mana. I mean, if you're not able to do that and need someone else to watch those things for you, what on earth are you doing?! I just. . . I really just don't buy that. I can see why it was necessary for the story, so in that vein it's fine - just a pet peeve. Didn't hurt my enjoyment of the story.