YesGood

Touche.... In the future, I'll be more specific. For now, I suppose I'll writhe in my own shame.

Fraaaaand.... *chews on this new person*. Done! Everyone here is fairly nice and I seriously doubt you'll have such an experience as you did with those two other guilds, no matter who you join up with if you join up with anyone at all for XIV: ARR So when you translate, do you translate the (is it) romanji (?) or the actual kanji/katakana/hiragana...Or both perhaps? And is it a hobby for you or a job? Or, again, both? Curiosity, because the idea that people translate for fun is foreign but appealing to me, and I don't think I've ever met an official translator and been aware of it. *half Thai, cannot speak Thai, cannot read or write Thai* *brings dishonor upon her famiry* (Watch me butcher everything because I refuse to employ google to find the solutions to my spelling dilemmas.)

Agreed. It'll be very helpful for new people who are having height issues. Now if only someone could explain weight to me... O_O

Moar artists! I've never been in a community with so many great ones. I love your lines also, and I'm curious to know if this is all done digitally or if you start with a traditional outline then go digital. I love the style of your bodies-- it's realistic -and- cartoonish, but it's longer and leaner than many of those I've seen so far. Your Miqo looks rugged without being super-muscular, which I wish I could do. My lean guys come out looking kind of anorexic. It might just be the one character though~ I'll be exploring your tumblr to see if you maybe got some others for lookin' at. ** Waitatick. I just went to your deviantArt and realized that I have, in fact, seen your art before! I recognize this: http://cassandrajean.deviantart.com/art/Lolipop-and-Chair-211006084 Hurrah!

The hair looks a bit Highlander-y I think but still! What a handsome Roe! And an equally handsome Man'qote. You're drawing a lot lately and I'm glad to see it!

I loved the picture you did of Manari! And that's a very manly Man'qote. So many manly Man'qotes. Except E'iri. E'iri is a pretty one.

Bolded the part that happened to me when I was RPing with Shurin and we encountered Deirdre and Navei out in the boonies. Tried to resolve it through OOC discussion in /tell, that went nowhere. I threw up my arms in exasperation and just played along what I could. To be honest, examples like these are why I've decided to give up on trying to enjoy roleplay on Balmung. It's just not worth the hassle anymore. As I mentioned further above, GMing will not be tolerated when it comes to anything RP, including sparring. The reason you were ignored was because of that fact, and because of the rude OOC comments you made. You really have no argument here, if anything you are an example of why things go awry. .... Wow. I'm not even going to dignify that blatant accusation with a response. All I was trying to do was illustrate the lack of an appropriate resolution to the issue while we were roleplaying at that point in time. I don't like it when two actors can't even improvise to produce a good performance, and it ends up being a hilariously god-awful act that even a five-year old child could surpass. That said, PVP should be taken as an optional, serious RP mechanic. Alright guys, enough. Lets not derail the topic please. I think that whatever happened there is fairly an example of what I mean by people perceiving something as GMing whether or not it's intentional, based on their role in a situation. Not going into that, not going to continue responding in this thread beyond: PVP, if it is available, should be 'taken as an optional, serious RP mechanic' and one more-- not be continuously spoken down on in case new RP'ers want to at least try it and fear not being taken seriously for giving it a shot, or feel 'excluded' by existing, older members of the RPC that they may generally want to get to know. Saying "Everyone should do things their own way" is stifled by "But I think it's stupid and a waste of time and no one should do it." Peer pressure is no bueno.

Ship is certainly one to berate people, even if they are well over twice his size! Of course, I'm sure they'd certainly get into a scrap or two in the mean time... Stupendous! You accomplished everything I was concerned with doing myself, reflecting the movement and impact, not only with the poses but with the effects of the splatter. It's like a Chinese ink-painting in movement. I really love this.

Itty bitty is best though! Means he's travel sized! And Ship doesn't discriminate! He loves the big ladies! hahaha And my lines most likely stem from my custom brushes. One of the benefits of digital software. It's really about shape dynamics, try flipping it on on the brush you're using if you aren't. If your tablet has pressure sensitivity then the lighter you press the thinner the line is, harder = thicker. Lets you get nice wispy lines with quick strokes. (Assuming you're using Photoshop that is, though other good art programs should have something similar I'd assume.) Shippu can ride on Siobhain's shoulders and berate her. She's probably into that given her soldier-esque mentality. Like Yoda. A tiny, attractive, angry Yoda. I have a Create Bamboo tablet and I've discovered that there is...like little to no pressure sensitivity. I've fiddled with it a lot and I haven't gotten much out of it. When I was working with GIMP I found this tutorial that said I could put a fade on a line that mimics the effect of thickness/pressure sensitive by length but it didn't work so well on varying-lengths of lines. I'm using CS2 now but I've yet to try again at a freehand piece just with the tablet. I suppose I'll have to give that a shot and maybe see about what I can do with the brushes. Thank you! Your expertise on the matter is appreciated.

Wry are he so handsome?! And so itty bitty. Life is just not fair for them big ladies. On a more serious note, I am forever astounded by your ability to make such great lines digitally. I keep trying and trying and mine always end up looking thick and clunky. And my poses seem really stiff while yours are always dynamic and fluid.

You make a good point, but I think I misspoke on at least one thing and wasn't inclusive enough. I did say 'inevitably' as it's been my experience that whenever a fight is going on, whether or not I'm involved in it, some well-meaning passerby will always try to get involved and stop the fight or intimidate a violent stranger into stopping. My experience, admittedly, is only my experience and therefore limited, and one particular occasion came to mind where I was ignored in such a situation. I suppose to some people, it's legitimate to ignore someone who tries to stop a fight when no one even noticed them standing there and roleplaying for the past four hours, but on the other hand, it seems like a lightsaber in your immediate vicinity would at least slow you down. This is why I gave up trying to roleplay a valiant and upstanding person who sticks their nose in other people's business in that particular atmosphere-- but those kinds of mishaps (and sadly there were quite a few) are probably not likely to occur amongst the people in the RPC. Also, are we 100% sure that people from the old games are bringing all their old characters and garnishes from their old servers to the new ones or that the new people are going to be able to roll on servers with them? I was under the impression that there was going to be some sort of separation on that point-- but regardless, any time a game starts, there are people playing from the get-go, collecting all the great things, and reaching the cap (or various caps) in the game. If that whole obstacle was such a problem, PVP in RP wouldn't exist at all, or if it did, it would only exist for people who were there from the start or at least very early on, which is simply not the case. New gear, new caps, new abilities, new things are happening and there won't be a constant disadvantage for the new people. PVP mechanics may be flawed, and sometimes they're permanently imbalanced-- World of Warcraft is a perpetual testament to that. But one pro to PVP duels, as Varael point out, is the sort of filtering they can manage to do to prevent god-moding. The RPC roleplayers are all mature people, and I know many individuals go to great lengths to avoid anything that might remotely resemble GMing but it exists, and sometimes unintentionally. People's perceptions on what is and is not GMing in certain situations is different, like in everything else. Another is that, even if there -is- imbalance, you -can- overcome that imbalance. It's not impossible. I want to see RP and PVP and just regular game mechanics being taken in to the roleplaying realm and used to further enhance the flavor of the overall RP experience. I agree training together, even leveling together, can be a wonderful experience and I don't think taking five seconds to conduct a PVP-style training session has to detract from that. I want to support other roleplayers, and I don't mind being a bystander while the world is moving at two speeds for everyone involved-- the speeds at which they have to write out their hits and the amount of time it takes for someone to say something to someone else; the alternative being not saying anything and waiting for them to finish up what they're doing. It's the same time issue, however, that can be created by conducting a canon forum rp started on a designated date and time and continuing while people are also roleplaying in game where there are continuity problems and timeline issues. And, yes, the game gives us the ability to be capable of any and everything and have the potential to have our characters -be- everything. It also gives us access to being a hero, one of the supreme special people in the setting, just like in every other MMO, and we agree that not everyone can be the equivalent of the Sultana or Louisoix. I understand that you're saying 'within reason', but where exactly does 'within reason' end when we're talking about your in game potential, which is virtually endless? A jack of all trades is a master of none, so I don't think it's far-fetched for someone to only roleplay fight as one thing or one and a half things at one time and with as much potential as they have, be limited to the range of skills given by the class(es) they feel they want to predominantly use in character. There -are- a lot more cool things than -focusing on beating someone in straight PVP- but that's what I'm talking about. It's not a focus any more than just getting in fights in general should be a focus. It's an accessory, something that can be fun and quick and just as viable for good RPers as text-based RP and doesn't take the majority or even half of your time to do. Your character outwitting someone else isn't very easy, since there's a thinking, self-preserving, witty person on the other side of that.

I'm in line with Vareal. I guess I'm one of the few people that is a 100% advocate for PVP being a viable method of dueling. I agree with a lot of the statements above, that the situation and the people involved, as well as their 'skill-level' in PVP are all variables. I also feel that when we start delving into the matter of "It's not fair to use PVP as a method of decision for anything, because some people take the time to get better gear and to practice PVP, and some people are just naturally better" things begin to get a little skewed. If, for instance, PVP was a generally accepted method of dueling and conflict, people would naturally practice and gather the required gear. Oftentimes, it's been my experience that individual skill outclasses gear and class-based advantages, and even level advantages. Skill can be built over time with practice, even by people who think that they 'suck at PVP' and it isn't as one-sided and dictated just by gear and class, etc. as people label it to be. If we're to be so open-minded and mature as to be able to RP out our duels with text, then that same open-mindedness and maturity should apply to PVP. If you never RP a class, don't use it in your PVP. If you lose a duel despite all odds, this is just a surprising victory-- those things happen. Accept them and move on accordingly. Don't assume that because you've 'defeated' someone that they're fainted or dead, and similarly, don't get right up after you've been defeated and start hacking away again with a "HA HA HA I HAD POTIONS, BRAH!". Just like with text-based combat, there are pros and cons, true Roleplayers and trolls who are just antagonizing people for the sake of doing it. For me, at least with PVP, I have a chance, our levels are where we have gotten them physically (It doesn't sit well with me to roleplay an unbeatable warrior of grandeur who loves to get in fights when I'm level 10 then complain that my physical level isn't my 'real' level....), all of the issues of level difference are simply what they are, and widely accepting PVP as a mode for RP duels usually (but not always) reduces the amount of roleplayers whose characters love to step up to someone but refuse to back up antagonizing words with actions. This happens, in text, and PVP, and both ways, it's really annoying. When someone's character runs their mouth off, insulting everyone around them, then they either use 'Well, I don't resort to PVP' or 'Well, I'm too skilled for you to even touch' as their reasoning for eluding any negative repercussions for their actions. Also, it seems that few people never consider the alternative options for PVP fights, such as running away... Either way, I don't feel that a PVP duel detracts from Roleplay. In fact, RP almost always seem to be derailed when things devolve into text-based fights, even when done by the most expert roleplayers with the best intentions. People on the sidelines inevitably will try to get involved, and likely be ignored. People instinctively resort to self-preservation and almost no one can subconsciously agree on what a 'expert' level entails. People who normally roleplay as open novices, still manage somehow to elude veterans, and will continue to do so. And, along with everything else, it takes time. If it happens with a group of other people and those people aren't involved in the fight itself, they're stuck sitting there watching you pound out paragraph after paragraph, move after move, and if they try to get involved and -aren't- ignored, things can suddenly become uncomfortably imbalanced. Altogether, I think maturity and understanding is required for all forms of RP, including duels, in any facet, but I think that PVP is quicker, effective, and a legitimate reflection of how much effort you put into your character to portray how much skill he or she has based on your aspirations. PVP MAY be an available mechanic of the game, and if so, the people who choose to work hard at it, train hard at it, and invest time in building their character in that sense shouldn't have to be concerned about suffering the stigma of others feeling that it's unfair because they want to dedicate all their time to social roleplay and not take their in-game accomplishments into account. I'm not saying people that only want to resort to text for everything involved in their roleplay are wrong, I'm just saying PVP if it's an option, is an available and viable method of dealing with issues, that can be taught, learned, and excelled at with only a small amount of extraneous time and effort. ** I should also include, no matter what form of fighting you use, I'm not saying you should instigate it to show off your cool new RP tricks or your gear, or whatever. And Class-based advantages/disadvantages can be easily handled one of two ways-- If your character is skilled with his or her fighting craft, he or she probably knows what his or her disadvantages and advantages are. In that sense, looking at a person's clothing and weapons (assuming they have any potential indicator of their class on them) would give them a good idea of what they're up against. If they don't think they can handle it, they should do what any person in that situation does and close their mouths and save themselves the chance of losing, if -surviving- is more important than -honor- or whatever they intended to fight over. The second is, if you know another class has advantages against you, practice against friends or other individuals who are skilled at that class and try to work out a strategy. This is what a fighter in real life does when they know they have a weakness-- they learn to get around it or compensate for it with something else. What's more, you're allowed multiple classes (which presents a new breed of potential issues) but if you go the route of PVPing only what you RP, you have access to at least the skills of two (maybe three?) classes at one time which reduces some of the potential for class advantage in PVP, I would think. *** And, I forgot to mention, I think it would be a cool flavor-injector for linkshell v linkshell, company v company things, but, understandably, not many people want to put in effort to get their whole headquarters and reputation built up as a group only to have it knocked out because someone else roflstomped them in PVP. That affects a lot more people than just a 1 v 1 situation.

The Roegadyn glanced down to her smaller 'companion', overhearing his muttering but assuming his question was rhetorical. The younger of the two combatants was swift-- but she wasn't entirely certain that agility would win out over what, she perceived from Kohrae to be, seasoned skill in combat. He smiled to her, "What's up miss?" He asked, awaiting the question. "Was the unarmed discipline what you scheduled for this morning?" Siobhain's expression was a dark and (easily mistaken as) menacing as Jasper's was cordial. Her tone, however, held no malice, only genuine curiosity. She didn't think anyone in a dangerous battle-situation was going to be forced to resort to hand versus hand situations, so much as unarmed versus armed. If it was, the Paladin wasn't sure she would be able to bring herself to participate even in sparring-- not against someone who was weaponless with -her- fists.

I, too, like this. I've been fiddling around with Photoshop of late, and I am very bad at meshing colors myself (which is why I have to use a lot of references.) I recently attempted to make a markered piece fit in with a cg background, so I especially appreciate how you put filters on the picture and how you fit it in with the background for your signature.

You mean this isn't canon!?!?! Oh noooo, my hopes and dreamssss~ Lol Shippu would probably be the only Lalafell to ever possibly survive such a dire circumstance. With a shattered pelvis, but alive. Well... I suppose I did write in the wiki that she has an unhealthy affection for Lalas. I didn't do much to explain it but I could post that picture right under it. "For Example"

Reference pictures are always appreciated! Everything is looking cute so far!

Siobhain watched with a chilly expression, her eyelids heavy but seemingly unwilling to drop into even the slightest blink. The Highlander was serious, which she could appreciate, and he didn't seem overly cocky. The same could not be said for the slender Miqo'te. Her jaw set hard so that her teeth ground within the confines of her lips. She'd heard Kohrae invite the young man to use his weapon-- or at least see if he could. In response he'd dropped it and taken up his fists. Such a thing simply would not stand in real combat. "Foolish." The Roegadyn stated, but quietly, not wanting to distract either of the combatants with derogatory comments. Her attention flitted to Jasper, where he stood off to the side. After while of consideration, she raised her large, gauntlet-covered hand in silence like a child in academy. If the trainer's attention didn't leave the fight, she'd be stuck in this position for quite some time, but she was willing to wait to ask a question, relatively unrelated to the two fighting at the moment. Her attention, still, drifted back every few moments to the Highlander, taking mental note of his methods.

Yours is all sweet and beautiful. Q_Q I like it a lot!

I am immeasurably glad that you guys are happy with it. I'll have it colored one day, hopefully one day soon!

I'm glad you like it!

Okay... No idea if I can bring myself to post this. *deep breath* Kylin (I tried to make him pretty in the face), Eiri (With hair down), and Gerik (*nosebleed*) Forgive my anatomies. This is new stuff for me but I decided to try it.I want to color this in GIMP if I can, but judging how long it took me to scribble out a freehand pic in the program, no idea how long that'll take me. For now there is this. Happy Valentione's Day. *hides under a blanket*

Spammin my art thread. Here's a sketch I started like a week ago... that I haven't finished yet. If Sio and Shippuu met, they would probably fight. If they fought, my money is on Ship.

I played with anchors in Gimp. As you can see, I still need practice. Super Sio~ *insert theme song here*

Separated by a fair distance from the rest of the group, her attention was focused for a silent stretch of time on Jasper. Waiting. This, again, was something new to her. Waiting on people to show up to a scheduled training session, rather than simply berating them partway through a lecture for being late. Everyone she'd bothered to take notes of outside were already here, the Roegadyn had believed, and she cast her amber gaze around to recount them. While doing, her searching gaze drifted over Farridor, lingering a moment. He seemed an excitable young man, perhaps a bit clumsy... Which was innocent enough until you put even a blunt weapon in his hands. Turning around in her seat, Siobhain mulled over some concern that this thought arose before pushing herself to her feet. With no explanation or other ceremony, she moved to a seat within arm's reach of the young man, and sat herself down a second time. Afterwards, the paladin sat back, arms crossing over her chest while she returned to glowering at Jasper, more darkly now, as if she might have been angry about something.