Meishali

[align=center] [/align] [align=center] FFXIV’S BALMUNG ROLEPLAYERS! HEAR YE, HEAR YE! The Eastern Flare’s Introduction Party is a social event in preparation, and YOU are invited! [/align] [align=center] <> is an exclusive roleplaying hub for FC-less roleplayers. As opposed to open events, this one would be white-listed. (and you don’t have to be FCless to participate, of course!) [/align] What’s a white-listed event? A white-listed event is an event you have to subscribe to first! It allows us to mix and match roleplayers together, preferably with different character archetypes, and with different level of OOC RP experience. What’s the Eastern Flare? The Eastern Flare is, ICly, an adventurers’ hub of sorts, led by Lady Melele. The Dunesfolk is a former priestess of the Order of Nald’thal turned rich benefactor and businesswoman. The Flare hosts merchants, adventurers, rich entrepreneurs, priests, and is roughly supervised by Father Salem, another member of the Order. The Flare is presently in Shirogane, but has another counter in Ul’dah. [align=center]The 4th of November, at 8PM EST! SAVE THE DATE! Read more below, and FILL THIS FORM if you want to participate! You have until October 30th to do so! [/align] If you have questions, ask directly on the thread! What are they doing in Shirogane? The Flare is first and foremost a Royalist front, fighting against Ul’dahn corruption, and the Syndicate. Lady Melele’s decisions are absolute, and she sensed an opportunity within Shirogane, to not only gather information about Garlemald, but also secure a solid intercontinental network before Lolorito gets his greasy hands on everything through the Ruby Bazaar. Also, spreading the word of the Twelve and Nald’thal in particular in other countries is always good, right? Why are they hosting this party? Networking! It is also a good way to prove that Royalists can stand strong without the risk of getting stabbed by a Monetarist hound (most of the time). A display of wealth, and thus, power… If your character opposes the Flare’s political views, you’re more than welcome! What’s in it for you guys OOC? An opportunity to use roleplaying space ICly! We spent a lot of time and efforts OOC and we want strangers to profit off of it as well, by forcing interactions with other RPers. It’s a good way to meet new people! There are rooms in the FC… All of them are ACCESSIBLE if they’re open, you can visit them, and we WELCOME you to visit them! It’s important people spread out (front yard, rooms, etc), to avoid clogging and massive chatscroll. Do you accept OOC donations? Oh, seven hells yes. We’d use the money to host future events similar to this one! Just open a trade window with a staffer after (gently) notifying them OOC! What will happen there? Whatever you want to happen! We’re thinking about a system of mini-prompts the staff would send via tells (spilling drinks, lost items…) to force interactions between players who do not know one another. Watch out, wallflowers! If it’s white-listed ICly, does that mean there’ll be bouncers checking names at the entrance? Yes. Hell yes. Does that mean I can impersonate someone on the list?! Yes! But we’ll check if the person gave their OOC consent, so if you want to pull something like that, contact the target first. Speaking of troublemaking… We welcome troublemakers, even if we do not seek them out. If you wish to stage up some things, please make sure you have everyone’s consent, so contact the staff OOC first! Disrupting the event is not a-okay. Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to spread the word and fill the form if you want to participate! You have until October 30th to send yours!

1. Mogstation Credit 2. Of The Round (BRD) 3. Orchestration Thank you for hosting, as always!

Sig, RP can not be consolidated on one server. People are already RPing in different places. OP did not transfer back then, and it was their choice not to, and I do not think they're complaining about not RPing on Balmung. You can also not say Balmung is 'greater'. Nobody knows if it's 'the best'. Greater in the amount of Roefutas lurking about the Quicksand, maybe. I'm not judging! But it's all numbers, and while, of course, it is HUGE in terms of playerbase, it's still locked right now - we're not talking about what should have been, but about what is happening now, and honestly I'm thrilled to know there are other worlds than Balmung thriving. I do not think you can blame people making accessible new RP communities while one of the legacy servers nearly everyone (who isn't in) regrets not being in is on lockdown. To me, it is like a full LS. If it is full, make another one. You can not tell people to go to the other linkshell, or that they should've joined it earlier. It is unfair, uncouth, and uncalled for. The issue is the lack of space. Not the lack of will to roleplay, nor the people building new communities. The very prospect of roleplayers having several other caches is exciting to me.

[Modshali] As with all discussions, keep it civil. Nudges can turn into full punches, and jabs, actual spears. Keep your snark at bay and express yourself respectfully, even if you think the person you're talking to is an absolute idiot, or a rude frick. No need to let it show, and no need it to say it. No lines have been crossed yet, so let's keep the thread clean, bois. OP is a good chap, don't do this to them because an internet pretendyman has a different opinion. [/Modshali] I personally joined Balmung two years ago, about the same time I joined this forum. I was convinced at the time there were several servers with RP communities and picked one that felt like a good start. Back then, you could create characters on the server at relatively early EU times without issue. Honestly, if I knew it would devolve into such a thing reading all these horrible string of comments and threads, I might've gone with the community of frenchies I avoided for so long on Ragnarok (EU). Gegenji post covers it all, so I won't repeat the very good, well-expressed points they made earlier. I have two old friends from WoW who were devastated when they saw Balmung on lockout. We were supposed to play together, but it was just hell. There is very little we can do - as players. Square Enix should actually help us fix. And they will at least try, through free transfers, among other things. The incoming jump potions may also encourage people to try other servers for themselves, and I know it will definitely do it for me. This is my personal decision, as I'm sure a lower-pop server can be less exhausting, and I've always had a thing for fresh starts, new characters, and new friends. I'm a natural when it comes to seeking out LSes, communities and RP groups, so I know it will not be difficult nor hard for me to hop on a new server, but it is not the case of anyone. I know people who dread at the idea of 'starting over' or who have social anxiety and even just reaching out online is hard for them. I don't think it is good to be immediately offended when people ask for help either - and in the same way, people are sadly not 'obligated' de facto to help, even if, it's a community called FFXIV Roleplayers and not Balmung Roleplayers. Most people who are on Balmung will, sadly, not care or look the other way, and they may take asks for helps as guilt-tripping rounds lmao. It shows as much on this thread, and the others. And honestly, it's fine, and completely understandable. I wouldn't even consider it if it weren't for jump-potions myself, it's my home, I got my FCs, my hundreds of RP contacts, life's good. If you don't want to move, it's all right. If you want to move, it's all right. If you don't want to help by making RP active on other servers, it's all right. If you want to help by making RP active on other servers, it's all right. You paid ur game. U decide. My suggestion, and only idea, is to make pop-up RP nights for all these lower-pop servers as dailies, in zones accessible at level 1-20. Leveling a character 15 to have access to all cities goes in a flash. If anything, it'd allow people to test the waters with a really minimal effort. I know what you think ('muh glamours'), it's fine, really. TL;DR: If you can check out other servers, it's cool. If you can't/don't want to, it's cool. Please do not blame players and entire servers for this whole discourse, but turn to SE. If they gave us a RP tag, it means they know we exist. Surely, they could do more for us regarding that issue.

All invites have been sent, and all guests were notified. Thank you for your interest and support!

[align=center] [/align] [align=center]The Matron's Wish - An initiative from the Matron's Reach[/align] [align=center] May 13th - 8PM EDT Location is kept secret.[/align] [align=center]The Matron’s Wish is a social event in preparation, and an initiative of the Matron’s Reach. The Matron’s Reach is an in-character linkshell of healers, akin to the Médecins Sans Frontières of Eorzea. We possess three clinics in each residential areas in the shape of apartments, and do free consultations on Mondays. As opposed to our open events, this one would be white-listed. We are looking for wealthy characters to simulate a charity event, thus making it a themed event. Entrepreneurs, FC leaders, Ishgardian nobles, rich merchants, characters with higher military ranking…Think of it as a venue open exclusively for Eorzea’s highest spheres of generous donors and sponsors. What’s better for your image than giving money to help the poor and the sick? No OOC gil will be required or demanded! If you are interested, please fill our form here. All invitations will be handed out one week before the event. [/align]

Who's that Meishali, kupo? Never heard of them. //hides signature

I could go on and on, with flavor NPC text. From miqo'te dancers to poor people within refugee camps, passing by the sex workers hoarded within Sastasha. It doesn't fall flat. It's present, it's always been here -- doesn't mean it's right, doesn't mean it's good, and doesn't mean I, personally, want it. You're making it sound like XIV is trying to be particularly progressive and that ALL OF A SUDDEN, RAPE! Be real on this one. Let's be honest, on main aspects, it's not, and for plenty of reasons. Sure, men can have skimpy armor too. But some pieces of clothing are still gendered. Most female characters are still meant as eyecandy, and some, dangerously young looking eyecandy. And I genuinely disliked it. Rape and sexual harassment is a recurring, obnoxious topic in XIV as it in most videogames, even if always put down in subtext. I don't want it to become the norm, and I'm genuinely upset about it. Sexism is still pretty much present in Eorzea, but to me, it is more coming from the fact that (in this specific world) women are still easily sexualized. Them being capable of handling position of power can happen separately from that. It's not 'alien', it's just different, and yes, it still sucks. "Rape is facilitated by men possessing near-exclusive control of the means to apply physical violence." But not everyone is a hero, not everyone wields a sword in Eorzea. Just like not everyone is a military war machine IRL. Men or women. (Edit: also it's mostly a matter of education. Rape can occur even if the offender isn't big, or tall, or strong. Being taught not to rape is a pretty basic thing, yeah? Yeah.) Instead of pretending to take great offence, as suggested, send letters to Square Enix or address this issue on the main forum. They're pretty close to their community and have been known to adjust certain things when they're deemed inappropriate, unfair, and unbalanced. Edit: And no, Keeper culture revering women and the kickass lesbians pirates don't make up for it.

Ravi de te rencontrer et bienvenue! Si tu cherches un indic en français, tu peux passer me voir, je parle la langue de Molière. Et je me sens moins seul d'un coup. Y'a une petite dizaine de FR qui se baladent sur le forum, je te laisse les trouver. I had to pick that thread up, I just had to. English Second Language RPers are legion on Balmung from what I've seen, you just have to ask. Turns out most aren't as american as they seem. As others say, there are several EU communities, but I know some NA people are willing to accord to us. If you tell them kindly you live six hours ahead, some will not hesitate to log on earlier to roleplay scenes etc. To me, playing with NA people has never been an issue, even during the periods where I live 'normally' A.K.A. I don't go to bed at 5AM. The best way to measure your abilities is to kill your entire family is to practice by simply roleplaying in English. o7 People have always been very patient with me, brace yourself for baguette jokes and you're in for a good time.

Hey there Esk! It's still the holidays! I know I personally am running left and right and hardly log on (for now). If you use discord, we can exchange our tags via PMs so we can decide on a time that's more comfortable for you. Same goes to anybody else willing to join. :cactuar:

Oh! Thank you guys for doing this again! :cactuar: 1) Aquarium! 2) Cool-ass Poncho 3) Shaggy Shoat

Hello! This linkshell is exclusive to Balmung. It's stated on the infobox set on the left of the post.

Bumpity! The linkshell is still in use. Do join us, if you are interested.

God fricking frickity bless. I love the Meltdown bars so much. Like, this is an actual treat. I'll be going with my brother as soon as it opens. There might be a lot of FFXIV players though. There's only one in Paris iirc, lmao. Can't wait either way. A good excuse to drink and play some videogames in there. Edit: So I'm the only European who isn't angry right now, or..?

[Puts on cool-ass mod hat on.] Some posts were removed due to their inflammatory nature. We're all different players: keep the discussion civil even if you completely disagree with some users' views, gameplay wise. [/removes dank-ass mod hat.] Modshali out. Keep posting, my children.

[align=center] IT’S FINALLY HERE! THE DATE AUCTION OF AN ERA! MEET US AT THE SILVER BAZAAR AT 8PM EST ON THE 21ST OF AUGUST![/align] [align=center]>>BLAZING HEARTS: A DATE AUCTION REBORN –ACCESS TO THE GOOGLE DOC!<< [/align] [align=center]Characters from all horizons are being auctioned for one day – one single day to charm you and please you in many ways! As long as you are not asking for too much. According to rumors, some of the ‘prizes’ might be here against their will. Favors need to be returned to the filthy monetarist that is Olala…[/align] ♦ What’s in it for me?! Unlike most date auctions, the character auctioned will be the one to GM the date. See it as a mini-event tailored just for you! Oh, there’s also an art raffle… For the buyers. ♦ And what if I don’t buy?! Another art raffle for non buyers might be launched if there’s enough attendees! The prize might even be bigger than the buyers’–How about you come and see it for yourself? ♦ If you want to help us and you have a FFXIV tumblr, consider reblogging our post. Thank you! ♦ What about the... Click the google doc link already! Everything's in there, my friend. See you there!

I think it's a shame every time people straight up think lalafellin characters are trolls and dismiss them. Whether they end up being Dunesfolk or Plainsfolk, their lore is rich, and just amazing imo. My lalafell is part of the first characters I made and is as old as my three mains. I have only been RPing him actively in the past months, because I finally found out his whole dynamic. I wanted to make an Ul'dahn black marketeer, and to be honest, what's better for that than a dunesfolk? People are really not interested in 'non humans/non adults' looking races in most MMOs, because 1) oh, no, romance/cyber isn't an option, 2) they are labeled as trolls or uninteresting. This is apparently a very western mindset, as, according to japanese RPers, Lalafells are more present and taken very seriously in the east. To OP: keep pushing. We need people to roleplay Roegadyns and Lalafells more often, and this, as much as possible. If you have an idea for any non-hyur, non-miqo'te or non-auri race, by all means, do it! You're only doing a great service to the community. At the end of the day, you will always find people to RP with. It just (sadly) asks for more efforts on your end. :[ It bothers me to say it, but you gotta push until you manage to prove people you're 'legit'. Usually a wiki is enough, to be honest. Oh, and yeah. People not allowing roleplayers to join a scene because of their chosen races aren't worth RPing with. I have my own bias, but if the RP is good, then it's good. Always give the benefit of the doubt to people and see for yourself, @ people dismissing lalafells by default.

We've been live since only yesterday, and I can say the launch was a success. Let's keep it that way! If you have any questions, feel free to send me a PM.

[align=center][/align] [align=center]Acronycal is the name of a mysterious linkshell created by adventurers, cycles ago. The name of its founders is lost to time; it is now derelict, and its pearls have been scattered through all of Eorzea. Many characters pick them up, often by sheer curiosity… Only to find that the linkshell is still very active. It serves no purpose; it just talks. And for some reason, you always end up talking back…[/align] [align=center][/align] ABOUT Tired of running around trying to find new RP partners, I decided I should just make an IC linkshell in order to meet new people. In the same way, people in my situation can hop in and join, to do the exact same thing! FEATURES Acronycal is a 100% IC linkshell. It will be our characters talking at absolutely all times. Little to no OOC banter will be tolerated. If you have questions about the linkshell, send a tell to one one of the leaders or the master, or even one of the members instead. It can be used at absolutely anytime (and we encourage all of you to use and abuse it! ICly!). Events might happen, often in the form of meetings. You are also welcome to advertise (always ICly) your own events, or have your character ask for IC help over plotlines, etc. [align=center][/align] IC RULES There are none–Nobody can really claim themselves as the master of the linkshell. As a result, it is a chaotic thing… OOC RULES IC =/= OOC. Expect some rude characters…But then again, they’re just characters! Meta is not tolerated either. Your character is only hearing voices, and as a result, can not know who speaks at the other end of the linkshell. Remember, it is all about hearing! No need to describe what your character is doing; only what can be heard. If the linkshell ends up being really crowded, inactivity might result in a boot! You can also come and go as much as you want. Please be as lore abiding as possible. [align=center][/align] HOW WILL MY CHARACTER FIND THE PEARL IC? It’s up to you! Sometimes, they find them in their own homes, they win them after a game of triple triad, or a member can even give them a duplicate, or their own pearl. You decide! They’re all over Eorzea. If you have no ideas, one of the leaders can assign you one. I WANT TO PARTICIPATE! HOW DO I GET IN? Ask any of these people for an invite if you catch them online: Nathaniel Salem Lucaell Townsend Adelpo Manelpo Y’rhak Tia Tamaki Tachibana Gwannes Oskwell Lawrence Fathi Orenji Kharn Maril Hawker THAT’S ALL FOR NOW! See you soon! Join with friends! If you have a tumblr, you can help us expanding by reblogging this post. [align=center][/align]

Hm...I don't know all the classes through and through, so I can't really recommend game mechanics. But it'd probably work best as an extra class, like DRK. Given the classic vibe of the red (rad) mage, maybe it could be a multi-role class that could Paradigm Shift between roles. I was definitely suggesting it as an extra class. Red mage GO! I'm mostly concerned about the potential, new abilities we might get for ourselves. My hotbar is already packed, no matter the class. Perhaps we will get 'specializations' that will change some of our spells (and rotations in the process)?

Samurai would be nice, bu- RED MAGE RED MAGE RED MAGE REDMAGE REDMAGEREDMAGE *reverently foams at the mouth* I was about to post AGGRESSIVELY about the fact that I COULDN'T BE THE ONLY ONE ROOTING FOR RDM AS THE NEXT CLASS. Think about it! Some kind... of... Melee bard... With... A rapier(?).

[align=center]cbiEH5DMx78 [/align] I'm a huuuge fan of the first Wild ARMS game. It was a huge inspiration when I was a kid, in terms of character design/story. And also I think, to this time, it still has the best videogame intro ever? The OST was dope. Funnily enough, the PS2 Remake wasn't too great in my mind. I'm never sure why, but I guess I was kind put off by the non-90s looking characters re-design. But since there's already a remake, I doubt they re-do 2nd remake for the first game. Maybe I can dream about a handheld release? Not mobile, god, no. PSvita or something. I don't know if a new game from this franchise would survive in the current video-game world, Wild ARMS already being, in my mind, for the 'happy few'. Non-FF franchises rising from the dead/the 90s-2000s are hardly localized? There's so much japan keeps to itself. Copies of the game in France were also ridiculously rare, and I am pretty sure I played it in English back then. Ah, I want to grab my PS1 and play it again.

INTRODUCTIONS! Better late than never. Hello! My (user)name is Meishali. I've been around for almost a year, now. I'm a freelance digital illustrator and I cry myself to sleep at night. I've been role-playing for what feels like ages now, and I started MMO RPing with World of Warcraft. I also used multiple platforms other than MMOs (Tumblr/Blogs/DA, etc) to do textual RP. I do tabletop as well. I'm a lore enthusiast and a massive Final Fantasy fan. I live in Paris, France, and English is my second language, but I do my absolute best. I thought I could give a hand with the EU and artistic section of the RPC. I've been modding RP communities for several years now, but they were mostly in French. I need to get used to all the buttons so I don't press something I don't want to press. (I hope there's no SPOF in there.) If you need French lessons, just ask.

I think the guys said it all, but I'll still add my two cents. I personally juggle between two characters (sometimes more) with extremely different themes and personalities. And guess what! It helps. There are times when your head is just so full of that one character, you need to refresh it, and then get back to work. My 'refreshing' process is playing someone who isn't them at all. Then, when I come back, I'm in with new interactions/ideas. If the problem is really the way the character is built, then something must be done. I've seen countless people kill off their chars or straight up CTRL+Z like you said, which is a shame. (especially to all those other players who were in contact with your character before -- it would be so interesting to have them interact with the 2.0 of your character! It would give great RP opportunities to these other people.) People do change, and you don't have strip them from their essence to show it. Lucile in my case was meant to be an elusive, wandering bard running away from an abusive household. Problem is that as a consequence, it made her dishonest and paranoid to the point that my IC interactions became more and more limited, making her a fairly isolated character. So I made sure she wouldn't have to run away anymore, and made her a more trusting, trustworthy, and honest character. But she's still on the road, she still likes to play, to sing, to do leves and drink until she passes out. While major events are often excellent triggers, you can build it up more slowly. What you need to do is write down what you know about your character, and what makes him/her what he is. Once the list is there, take out the bad apples that you realize make your RP just boring, and replace them, put things you /want/ to RP with. From that, decide the RP reasons that would make him/her change. It can be a series of small events, or one big thing, or both. That's the real literary exercise I can't help you with, as I don't know your character. As for the rest, make sure these new things will enable interactivity. Remember that RP is collaborative writing! So what kind of material can you provide to others with these new elements? Experiment, brother.

my daughter looks rly badass a+++++++++++ NICEU NICEU VERY NICEU MARCY-CHAN SCREEEE THANKS