Michaux

Solenne might be a great fit for this linkshell. She's not Ishgardian, but she is a retired heretic-rescuer.

nNJ_FtYbTtc

Agreed. I figure there are so many other ways to add spice to my characters. My archer, Michaux, is also a musician and singer, but he's not a bard in the proper Eorzean sense. Solenne is just a conjurer, and Yisu is just a thaumaturge. What make them unique are their backstories, their personalities, and their ambitions.

Hmm. I'm not really a fan. It hurt my eyes immediately and made me motion sick as soon as I started moving my mouse around. Admittedly I have super sensitive eyes and get motion sick very easily...

Welcome to Balmung and to the wonderful world of RP! Shoot me a PM if you want to set up some RP with Solenne or one of my alts. Right now I'm available in the evenings UK time.

I usually like my characters' main OOC classes to be connected to their IC classes in some way. For instance, Yisu is a BLM OOCly and a shaman/thaumaturge ICly, while Michaux is currently an ARC OOCly and an archer/lorekeeper/minstrel ICly. However, since Solenne is the second incarnation of a character that used to be a hand-to-hand combat type, her highest level class is NIN even though ICly she's a conjurer. So now I'm frantically leveling CNJ/WHM to catch up and get the pretty high level WHM armors for her. (Because it's all about the clothes, after all.)

I've decided that Michaux Vidal's voice inspiration can only be Owain Phyfe: ID7xClbnKdI

For Solenne, Marilyn Monroe with a French accent. She has that exact breathy, girlish quality to her voice.

http://i891.photobucket.com/albums/ac112/seekingidlewild/ffxiv_10132015_235247-2_zpstdmfpjuc.png[/img] http://i891.photobucket.com/albums/ac112/seekingidlewild/ffxiv_10132015_235234-2_zps5uu8sinh.png[/img] Meet my pretty, brooding Duskwight! Michaux Vidal, at your service.

I've had a couple RPer crushes. One in particular comes to mind, and it was rather unsatisfying. :dodgy: I think I was a bit more invested than the other person. When that happens, I just move on. I'd rather RP with someone who shares my excitement. If I spot someone I really want to RP with, I send them a /tell or a PM. Being ignored or rejected sucks, but it's worth the risk to build a network of excellent RPers. Fortunately, Solenne is not at all shy about approaching strangers, so I can usually find a reason for her to interact with another character. And I find that it helps to already have a scenario in mind when you ask someone for RP. "They meet in a tavern and talk" is fine, but "they meet in a dark alley in Ul'dah and realize that by some coincidence they're both plotting to rob the same house on the same night" is a lot more interesting, and more likely to lead to further adventures in the future.

Hello! I just want to preface this by saying that I'm aware of the Linkshell Hall and I have in fact been studying it like I'm going to be graded on it. But I thought it might be useful to also make a post here about what I'm hoping to find and what I hope to bring to a potential FC or LS. I am a heavy RPer with a background in writing, and I love developing/getting involved in complex story lines. Solenne is a conjurer, but she also has a background as a spy, infiltrator, and liberator of falsely-accused Ishgardian heretics. She's a skilled actress, lockpicker, and pickpocket, and she knows her way around poisons and other methods of assassination not requiring brute strength. Although she would be happy to offer her services to an FC as a conjurer, she'll also want an opportunity to use her less conventional talents. She likes danger and gets bored easily. She is good-aligned, but definitely leaning toward chaotic. If she believes in her cause, she'll work against governments, guilds, etc. without compunction. She is also idealistic - money is not a sufficient motivator. Are there any FCs or Linkshells currently recruiting that could use someone like Solenne in their ranks?

My face, such as it is!

Your recruitment status says open, but the latest message says there is an app freeze. Is the freeze still in effect?

https://wiki.ffxiv-roleplayers.com/images/5/51/Ffxiv_10102015_160418-2.png[/img] Solenne sunning herself just outside Ul'dah on a glorious morning

This might be slightly off-topic, but I've been thinking about the issue of scars. My character has almost none, in spite of the fact that she's lived an intermittently dangerous life since reaching adulthood. I like the idea of healing magic as an aid to physical healing, but not as a perfect quick fix. As such, you'd expect someone who has been wounded to have scars, even if they were tended to by a healer. But I was wondering if a healer might be able to work on her own injuries over time, applying healing spells not merely at the beginning, but throughout her whole recovery process, so as to minimize or eliminate scarring. Plausible?

This is a subject I've been thinking about a lot while I've been developing Solenne. She has two very different branches of skills - conjury on the one hand, and skills associated with her background in espionage on the other. So even though most of the world knows her in her capacity as a healer, she is also proficient at lockpicking, pickpocketing, acting, and to a lesser degree, assassination. She can wield a pair of knives in combat if she has to, but it's certainly not ideal - poisoning, or creeping up behind a victim and quietly slitting their throat, would be much more her style. I don't think that's overpowered - combat is a last resort for her since it's not her forte, and she doesn't really have any other major skills - but it is something that I've been chewing over a lot. I have a history of creating aggressively ordinary, underpowered characters. I assumed that this gave me extra RP cred, but it backfired when I realized that I was getting bored with those characters. Solenne is my first major attempt to develop a character who is a little out of the ordinary, and I'm more enthusiastic about RPing her than I have been about any character in a long time. So anyway, I think a balance is necessary. Characters need plenty of room to grow, but they also need a chance to shine. As an RPer, I want to interact with characters that are fascinating in some way, whether it's because of a diverse skill set, an unusual personality trait, or creative background story elements. I don't mind if people want to make their characters a little exceptional. Most of us aren't trying to play average citizens, after all.

I. Basic Info Characters: Solenne Lagarde, Michaux Vidal, and Aki Tayasu Primary Character: Solenne Lagarde Linkshells: Mythril Wings, Ishgard RP, Yaluria's Paradise Primary Linkshell: Mythril Wings II. RP Style Amount of RP (light, medium, heavy): I definitely qualify as a heavy RPer. I level my characters slowly because I'll pretty much always choose RP over PVE if I can get it. Views on RP combat and injuries: RP combat is great if there is plenty of communication and coordination between the RPers. I'm not a big fan of dice rolls in RP because I think it ruins the immersion, but I'm aware that sometimes it's necessary to keep combat fair. I don't mind if my characters get injured - that does tend to happen in combat, after all - but I prefer that those injuries not be permanent. Things like lost limbs are difficult to RP when they can't be reflected in-game. Views on IC romance: I really enjoy IC romance, but I prefer it to happen organically. I don't pre-plan romances for my characters. I prefer complex, slow-burn romances over fluff and easy resolutions. Love isn't easy in real life, and I think RP should reflect that. Also, there's something really fun about a personality conflict, or outright antagonism, that very gradually morphs into a romance. If there's no significant character development involved in a romantic arc, I don't tend to find it entertaining. As for Solenne, she's a bit contrary where love is concerned. She has never given her heart to anyone until recently, and she has a very rocky road ahead of her if she wants to make that relationship work. Michaux is quiet, reserved, and a bit of a monomaniac about all things related to Gelmorra, so he might not be great boyfriend material. But if antisocial and mentally unbalanced Duskwights are your cup of tea, have at him. I would love to see how that turns out. Aki is a young Doman Hyur still trying to find her footing in Eorzea. What she really, desperately needs right now are friends, but romance certainly isn't out of the question for her. Views on non-romantic RP (family ties, etc): I love RP of all kinds. I love weaving plots for my characters and dragging other people's characters into them. Tavern RP can be a lot of fun, but I like adventures, intrigue, exploration, etc. much more. Solenne in particular is not a person who can sit still for long. Even when she appears to be at her ease engaging in sedate conversation, schemes are always revolving in the back of her mind. Family ties would be an interesting thing to explore with Solenne. She is the only child of a wealthy and highly respected Gridanian family, and it's very likely that she's connected by blood or marriage to other members of the Gridanian gentry. She could certainly be someone's cousin or niece if anyone is interested in that possibility. As for other ties, Solenne was one of the founding members of an organization of adventurers, spies, and financial backers dedicated to rescuing falsely-accused heretics from Ishgard and the surrounding areas. (Think of the Scarlet Pimpernel rescuing aristocrats from the wrath of the French Revolution and you'll have a good idea of how Solenne's group operated.) On several occasions, Solenne herself breached the Gates of Judgment in the guise of an Ishgardian noblewoman, complete with a retinue of disguised co-conspirators, and managed to smuggle a number of prisoners and refugees out of the city. The organization has disbanded, but I'm certain that Solenne still has contacts from that period of her life. Please send me a message if you want your character to be a former member of Solenne's group, an Ishgardian collaborator, or one of the refugees she assisted. (Note that unless your character was actually a member of Solenne's group or a collaborator, they would know her only by her alias, Lady Winter.) Michaux has no living relatives that he is aware of, and he's not particularly good at making friends. That doesn't mean he couldn't use a few, though! And anyone with a similar interest in Gelmorran lore will be of interest to him. He could probably also use a few enemies, especially Gridanian Wildwoods, so let me know if you're interested in that possibility. Aki has a brother and father both missing and presumed dead in the wake of the Doman rebellion. She also has a mother and sister who are now living in Revenant's Toll. As for extended family, none of that is set in stone, so if anyone wants a cousin for their Doman Hyur character, Aki might fit the bill! Former friends and acquaintances from Doma would also be great. And of course she would love to make some new friends in Eorzea. Views on lore: Lore is very important to me. That's not to suggest that I'm not willing to bend it, but I'm not comfortable with breaking it outright. I think RPers owe it to themselves and other players to thoroughly research their characters and story lines to make them as lore-compliant as possible. It's definitely fun to explore the gaps and gray areas in the lore, but ignoring the hard-and-fast rules of the fictional world we're all trying to RP in will inevitably lead to conflict. And while I'm on the subject, I've only been playing the game for a few months at this point, so I might make mistakes without knowing it. If I do, please (gently) point it out to me, because I'm certainly not doing it on purpose. Views on chat functions (/say, /linkshell, etc): I am always IC in /say and /em, and I always put dialogue in quotes because I flagrantly disregard the intended purpose of /say and frequently use it for emotes. Tells are always OOC unless otherwise specified. Please send me a /tell before approaching my character for RP unless I'm emoting or participating in at RP event and it's obvious that I'm IC. Party chat is always OOC unless otherwise specified. OOC linkshells are obviously OOC, and RP linkshells are IC unless I'm using OOC bubbles. III. Other Info Country: USA Timezone: Currently EDT (GMT-4) Contact Info: Send me a PM here, contact me in-game on Solenne Lagarde, Michaux Vidal, or Aki Tayasu, or send me an ask via Solenne's Tumblr. I have a skype that I don't list publicly, but I'd be happy to share it privately with FC/linkshell mates or RP partners.

Solenne would have been active then, yes. We should totally talk! I would love for Solenne to have some connections from her past. Definitely! Lune's usually really quiet and EVERYONE WANTS TO BRING BE BACK TO ISHGARD so seeing a face that she knows isn't going to do that would probably send her over the moon Awesome! We'll definitely plan something, then!

Solenne would have been active then, yes. We should totally talk! I would love for Solenne to have some connections from her past.

This was my first attempt at editing a screenshot. :blush:

There are gaols in Whitebrim which you can visit. There's a Roegadyn heretic in one of them and a quest from the gaoler wanting you to bring one of the prisoners a dead rat or something to use in some heretic ritual so he'll shut up about wanting raw bloody meat for an hour. (He thinks the rat is a dragon and he'll turn into a dravanian by drinking its blood.) There's also a guy down there falsely accused of heresy that you end up proving his innocence in the questline. So, yes, there are prisons and they do seem to remain there for some time. However, this could just be because places like Whitebrim and Dragonhead and beyond are outside the city-state and it takes time to get an Inquisitor out there to pass judgement on the prisoners. So they may just use the gaols as a place to hold heretics until they can put them to death. Ah, yes, I remember those quests now. Well, rescuing prisoners from a place like Whitebrim is certainly less dramatic than rescuing them from Ishgard, but it would probably be more doable. Solenne's group probably did more of that and less infiltrating of Ishgard... although the latter is still so appealing to me. I feel that some very clever actors/spies posing as minor nobles might have pulled it off. Maybe I'm just too attached the concept of my character as a mash-up of the Scarlet Pimpernel and Milady de Winter. >.> At any rate, you've all given me a lot to think about! For now I think I'll keep the details of Solenne's past exploits vague. It's not like it's something she goes around talking about to everyone she meets, after all.

That would be great! I really need some connections for Solenne. At this point she is retired from heretic-rescuing (I understand that the whole question of how heretics are being dealt with in Ishgard is now somewhat up in the air in the MSQ?), but having contacts from her old life would be good. Right now she's sniffing around for the next big distraction from her polite upper-class Gridanian life, but you can bet when she finds it it will be just as dangerous (and probably illegal) as her previous exploits. It sounds like our characters have some things in common, as far as being healers and well-born.

Erm, yeah, teleportation is a fraught subject. Like, it's definitely lore-compliant, but it's also such a cop-out that the lore conveniently forgets about it on a regular basis. I'm one of those who don't acknowledge it in RP.

Ah, yes, that's exactly the sort of scenario I was thinking of! It would be dangerous as hell to pull off, of course, but therein lies the charm. Thank you!

This at least would not be a problem as far as Solenne is concerned. She would probably enjoy that aspect of the job very much. It does look like smuggling people past the Gates of Judgment might be near-impossible. Still, aren't there noble families in Ishgard with holdings and posts outside of the city proper? Wouldn't they have to pass through from time to time? My thought was that Solenne could have impersonated a member of a noble family. That would probably work only once (if that!), but it would still be quite the coup. Thanks everyone for the feedback, by the way! I didn't expect to get such an enthusiastic response so promptly!