Kismet

5th Sun of the 5th Umbral Moon, 1577 (10/05/13) Dear Maha'to, You will think that much of what I am about to write is not like me. Something wonderful happened today. Remember when I wrote that I bumped into an old friend of ours several months ago? The one I had not seen in such a long time? We had heard little tidbits of each other from peers and neighbors... But for years, neither of us had actually laid eyes upon the other. Ever since I ran into them (literally), we have kept in contact. And now I can happily say that... Maha'to... I miss you dearly still. For so long, I have been so angry over your departure from this world. Your life forcibly ripped from Hydaelyn by the hands of a woman I thought to be my dearest friend. I have become so consumed with revenge that I shut out many parts of myself. I pushed Thaumaturgy aside because it reminded me of you and opted to immerse myself, somewhat forcibly, in Arcanima and alchemy. I stopped growing flowers and began to prefer poisonous weeds. I stopped feeling. I did not want to feel what I did when you died. The pain of watching my little brother die is not something I could bare another time, especially after we had already lost our entire family. There was only one solution, I thought. I shut my heart off. To everyone, to everything. And even I cannot lie. That decision is what cost me my friendship with Astrid, not her actions. And yet... I failed. My emotions never went anywhere, I simply buried them. Someone has actually managed to stick with me long enough to dig down deep and find them. And for once...? I do not hurt. I can feel again, Maha'to. Geometric patterns in a grimoire, toxic additions to some horrid brew, or setting something ablaze with the flick of a wrist are no longer my only focuses in life. Am I still the same old saucy Lhei? Quite so. I am no longer the shrinking violet I was when we were small -- a fact that he finds endearing and even attractive. He tells me that I am beautiful often, but that is nothing in comparison to how he makes me feel. He genuinely makes me feel beautiful, Maha'to. I can't explain it. I just know that my feelings for this man overflow, and sometimes, uncontrollably. I am the same me, but a little kinder. Kind enough to forgive Astrid? Not just yet. But I was in a very dark place for a very long time... and I never want to go back there. With much love, Lhei

I am slightly confused, so I want to make sure I properly understand what it is that you're trying to do. Are you attempting to compile all known Sun Seeker tribe lore that is both official and entirely fanon into one place?

My God... Your artwork is definitely some of my favorite that I've seen of FFXIV-based stuff. I love the large range of expressions and poses and how natural every character feels. And I love any sort of style that retains some of its sketchiness instead of getting completely "clean and refine" once complete. Truly lovely stuff. Inspirational, even. Really makes me wanna stop being lazy and bust out my sketchbook so I can improve!

[align=center]~27th Sun of the 6th Astral Moon, 1577~[/align] [align=center](11/27/13)[/align] Much... So much has transpired in the past two weeks. Even now, my head is still spinning as I try to recall the majority of it. To begin, I am not sure if I previously wrote that Alice told me she had run away from home when we first became friends. I never thought anything of it. I have met countless runaways in my lifetime. That and Alice is intelligent, albeit stubborn. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and assumed she ran away for a good reason. Little did I know, her reason was even better than I could imagine. Alice is a Garlean. This explains much about the girl's lack of certain social understandings... Am I bothered by it? Not in the slightest. She communicated this fact to me after I spoke to her about my political and moral feelings regarding the war. I told her that the standard Eorzean assumption that coming from the Empire automatically makes you evil is absurd. Even the Garleans who kill for sport are not necessarily evil at their core. It is their way of life, thrust unto them by some insane tyrant from the moment they are born (or from the moment their territory was conquered in the case of brainwashed conscripts). I wish that some day, Eorzeans and Garleans can form a truce of some sort. Magic and magitek, when properly combined, could forge paths to new kinds of magic previously thought to be impossible. My words likely caused something to stir within her. She felt comfortable with finally letting me know, as I would not reject her. And I did not. Who Alice was before she came to me means little. My Alice is my Alice, Garlean or not. In more recent news, due to the very information I just wrote of, an attempt at kidnapping Alice was made... However, I really should get some rest. I wore myself out with training today. I will elaborate on this tomorrow.

I thought I'd contribute by adding... This link (a nice chart for lazy people like me): http://harmonywins.tumblr.com/post/57058787343/final-fantasy-xiv-races-height-chart And this image someone posted on the official forums for a better visual comparison: (*Note: I did not create either of these, I just found them.)

That certainly doesn't raise flags for all or even most RPers. For some, levels matter more than for others. There's several pages of threads one can dig up just on the RPC forums that demonstrate that it's hardly a settled debate. That was an error completely on my part with phrasing. I never meant to imply that was how all or most people felt. I only meant that it raised flags for some. I certainly know that some RPers are comfortable with that sort of thing. I don't have to dig through the forums for evidence of that, it's been a debate for ages and I'm well aware of it. I was merely trying to get a better understanding of what M'raj was getting at (and he gave me the answer I was seeking -- a good one, too). I didn't make any statements about his intent because I didn't know his intent until I read his reply, so I asked. If I said something like "this is definitely what I think you are doing", it'd be different, but that wasn't the case. Calm down, lol. I had actually been wondering if that was the case, so I'm glad you cleared that up. Thanks for answering my questions!

Um, what do your character's in-game stats/gear quality have to do with your supposed IC 'mercenary prowess'? Using game mechanics and character level to denote IC power and/or experience typically raises some flags. Are you saying that if you were 20-30 levels lower, or didn't have a +1 Relic, that you wouldn't be as strong or credible ICly?

I never said it was bad to RP outside of one's guild nor did I mean to imply that, I was simply curious. In any case, I would offer up Astrid for this, but she's not old. That and she's only knowledgeable enough to educate someone in conjury (she fails utterly at thaumaturgy and is maybe intermediate at arcanima right now). Good luck to you both, though!

I saw the posting for that FC soon after it was put up and was super excited... But then I saw it was on Gilgamesh and kinda deflated just a lil bit... I know that isn't helpful. However, I'm sure interest in this kind of thing exists. Lots of RP communities tend to harbor people who love performing sorts of troupes. Hang in there and good luck!

I'm confused. If your friend is in the Mysterium, why aren't they seeking out someone within that FC to fulfill this need? They have a component to that guild that consists of apprenticeship. Or could it be that no one currently in the Mysterium suits your friend's needs/preferences?

I agree, some of the weapons fell slightly below my expectations... The bow, mostly. I don't like how the character holds it. The only weapon I am 100% happy with is Lightning's sword, of course. That thing's badass.

Yup, pretty much what Darien said.

Waiting for this event is honestly like torture. I've been watching both the Limsa and Gridania Gardens for a while now and I'll be using this event to kind of 'test the waters', so to speak. I'm quite excited!

I believe that Female Keepers typically take on their mother's surname. (I'm getting this from what is on the RPC Wiki, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.) I consider that a naming structure limitation. Not that it matters much either way, because I've seen more Seekers with Japanese names than Keepers. But that's all besides the point I was getting at. People can do as they wish whether its lore appropriate or not. Doesn't mean I can't roll my eyes at it anyway, though.

I can't speak for others, but I certainly don't. I, as well as most of the people I RP with on a regular basis, attribute one day of real-life time to one day of in-game time... ...UNLESS we need to speed things up or slow things down for the sake of a story arc/event (or if we just need to pick up a scene from wherever it ended). But when said RP is finally wrapped up, we'll still treat it as though it all happened the day we began (or throughout the week or whatever may have you).

I have mixed feelings on this front. On one hand, I know not every single individual is going to fit the conventions for their race. To assume so would be silly. Yet, on another hand, there are some names I see that just... I don't know. They really grind my gears. I'm talking about blatant references to various media (older FF games, other SE games, Game of Thrones, etc.), horribly constructed Japanese names (that I typically see on Miqo'te)... I swear, if it weren't for the Edit Search Info feature, there are a decent handful of people I never would have known were RPers. My mini-rant aside, if you have an IC justification for it... do what you want.

*Shrugs* In any case, what I said still stands. The sooner we get the wardrobe system, the better.

I don't think there's anyone who didn't notice that the Artemis Bow folds into a harp? I mean, you would have to be pretty absent-minded to not see that... In any case, I really want Serah's bow. Although, a friend told me that the weapons will be level 13 or something like that? If that's true, then the wardrobe system needs to hurry up. =/

*nods* Couldn't agree with this more. Not enough people realize this. I admittedly had trouble with it myself in other games, since I usually always have one quiet and/or brooding sort of character. It took some getting used to, but the difference is staggering once you apply yourself.

Same as others have said, whatever time of day it is when I begin RPing is what it remains throughout. Depending on what is going on in the RP and/or the duration of it, then we will have it progress to a later time as we go on. As far as weather, sometimes I'll have my character comment on it, other times I don't. Due to how frequently it changes, I typically pretend the rain (or whatever it is) lasts quite a bit longer than it actually does in-game.

I sketch lil doodles of my characters when I'm bored! My no-longer existent Lalafell, Vashara. I couldn't find the drive to RP her, but I thought she was pretty. I started to render her hair... Then I realized it sucked, so I erased it, rofl. And here's the beginning sketch of my main, Y'raja. Her hair bump-thingy is kinda intimidating.

[align=center]~10th Sun of the 6th Astral Moon, 1577~[/align] [align=center](11/10/13)[/align] I have told Alice many things about myself in the past couple of days. I admitted to her how my first crush spawned my love for Miqo'te women (and my preference for women romantically in general, actually). I also admitted that I was worried about the future of our relationship. I do not have a clear picture of where we will be in a year or more. I have been ignoring or resisting Alice's advances. It shames me to say that I am not sure if I love her. Do I lust for her? Greatly. Few moments of the day go by where I am not picturing her quivering in my embrace, flesh bare. But... Does the animal of my instincts betray my human heart? Did I simply kiss her that night and tell her that I loved her so that she would not leave me? So that... I would not be alone? Or perhaps I only did so because I did want to lose sight of my prey. I did not want such delicious-looking flesh to escape from my grasp. How much of a simpleton do I have to be to have trouble discerning love from lust? Self-inquiry of this nature feels vacuous. But it is what it is. I am unsure. I am frightened. I finally made love to her last night. It is early morning now. I feigned sleep to slip away and write this entry. How could I sleep? I made love to a girl I am not even sure I hold genuine feelings for. I did not tell her this outright, but I did let her know that I was concerned about the strength of our relationship. Alice was stalwart as ever in her position. I expected that. This will tear away at me, surely. It shall eat at my insides and thrash about in my skull until I can stand it no longer. I deserve it. If it turns out that my instincts do have the better of me than my heart, then... Then I have been leading Alice on for not much more than my own enjoyment and self-validation, like some sort of disgusting egomaniac. I will return to her side and try my best to rest now. I want to awake before she does so I can prepare breakfast. At least it will take my mind off of things.

[align=center]~7th Sun of the 6th Astral Moon, 1577~[/align] [align=center](11/7/13)[/align] Lhei and I have been rivals for a very long time. No, that is not completely accurate... I see it as a one-sided rivalry. And I say this not out of vanity or spite. I say it because while Lhei may have wanted our friendship to end, I never did. Today I saw her in the Arcanist's Guild and she snatched my grimoire away, ripping the pages to shreds and heavily damaging the cover. She told me that I was a failure as an arcanist and suggested that I leave. Emotions swirled within me. I was unsure how to respond. That is when Lhei brought my sister into it, declaring I would never live up to her reputation. I could not contain myself after that. I began crying terribly and fled. I dare not even glance at Alice, who had witnessed the entire thing. She comforted me afterwards... Apparently she even gave Lhei a good smack. It is unladylike of me, but a tiny part of me wishes that I could have seen that. Just a little bit. Lhei was one of two Miqo'te I grew up with. The other, a Sun Seeker called C'senja, was my first crush. When I was around the age of thirteen, I told her how beautiful I thought she was. Her hair was a gorgeous strawberry blonde. She had these huge honey brown eyes. I was so nervous. I almost tremble thinking about it even now. The luck of the Twelve was shining upon me that day, however. C'senja seemed to share my feelings. It was a short-lived bliss, however. Her family moved away. I have never told anyone about her, with the exceptions of Lhei and Ingrid. (Well, Alice now knows the story, too.) I told them almost everything. Three years later, Lhei walked into the Thaumaturge's Guild one day and was my enemy. Not to mention there was a grand shift in her personality. She has not given me an explanation for either occurrence. How can I show my face at the Arcanist's Guild again? Surely Lhei will antagonize me every chance she gets. I am afraid to go back there.

While this is obvious to most, I'm stating it for the record anyway. Your experiences are not everyone else's experiences, nor do they set any sort of bar of what should be expected. Just because the world of RP is going great for you doesn't mean it's great for everyone else. And it's not always the fault of the person being ignored. I have met some people who are masterful RPers, capable of creating some of the most mind-blowing storylines or writing beautifully constructed posts... who were blatantly ignored despite the fact that they're outgoing and doing literally all that they can to be acknowledged (for a multitude of reasons, if any at all). I agree 100%. Many times I have done "closed" scenes with an RP partner or two, but I always do them in /say and not in /party. Why? Because I WANT outsiders, should they happen upon the area, to interact with us! My RP scene, even if somewhat pre-planned, is not a movie. There are people about, voices carry, and I am not RPing in an inaccessible area. If you don't want others to interact with you, don't do your RP /say. It's not hard. I cannot speak for others, but I definitely do this. If I examine you or see you emote but I'm involved with a RP buddy, I WILL acknowledge you in some way (typically by having my character look at yours or nodding politely). My point to my entire post is that I never ignore anyone OOCly -- unless it's a huge crowd and emotes just get loss in the massive sea of posts. ICly, my character may "ignore" you, but I always emote that your character is being ignored (which is, ironically, my way of paying attention to you). Anyone OOCly telling you to butt out or that the scene is closed is just rude and has little excuse for such an attitude, in my opinion.

LandStander had the courage to honestly say what I could not.