End of the Mission

Well at last several days ago I was able to clear the Aht urghan mission. For this mission I've actually had about 7? last boss fights, 2 for me and the other 5 for a friend. Both were close calls but I guess we had some luck during my own run and it was just all out smoother.

During my friends run PLD/RNG/RDM/BLM/BLM/BRD. Had some trouble with the BLU fight since we tried the stun method. So many close calls, one shots, and excess time on the BLU. The end fight we had only 17 min. on Alexander, and won with say... about 15 sec left with the BLM using a vile elixir+1, and 2 nukes. It wasnt what you would call the smoothest fight but it was downright exciting, especially in that last 15 secs

My own run went rather smoothly on the other hand with PLD/BLU/WAR/WHM/BLM/RDM. I was the PLD but it felt rather funny since I had not been on it for about nearly a year. My PLD gear was all in sandy, and I was lucky enough that I hadnt muled the important ones. The first run had some bad luck when the BLU one shoted the WAR and PLD(me) continuously. So the WHM used Repose(?), slept him and we all warped out. Next fight went smooth. I cant say how much our BLU's stun, the BLM's stun, and especially the WHM's Repose helped us out. I'll have to try out Repose myself next time.
So the BLU fight is past and we go on to Mr. Alex. Got rid of that first stage fast enough and the last stage starts. Everything goes smooth and I'm rather surprised at how much hate I am able to keep, considering I get hit alot (regardless of my self curing) and the BLM is nuking alot. Alex spared us alot of his AoE's I think, tho I'm not quite certain due to my filters. Most of the decreasing HP was either me(pld), BLU, or the BLM.

Sanction, refresh, the parade gorget, and that convert-dmg-into-mp earring also did big time on my MP, which almost never ran out. (LoLElvaanMP) Overall went smooth but again we had like only 5min. till time ran out. Why so little time left when it went so smooth? This was due to the BLM dying once and freezing upon reraise. So he was like stuck there dead unable to RR, and finally had to restart his PC, this which took about a whole 10min. The BLM was the main DD next to the BLU, so about 10 min. passed where all we did were just try to stay alive while the others hacked away miniscule HP from Alex. Overall it was fun but after doing it 7 times or so it seemed alot of luck played into this. >.<;

Whats goin on in Vana

'Piss-me-off-less', was actually the title of this RDM pic lol. I hate being RDM, but their costumes are sooo drawable its nice. And they both qualify for melee and magic poses, it gives the artist a wider range of imagination for their poses.^^ I think I like the sword and shield concept which is also available for PLDs but they seem to have a more 'bulky' image so I prefer the sleek RDM over PLD if I had a choice to draw. (heh maybe its my seeker loving nature >.>;;) I still havent drawn alot but I was angry at the time of these drawings so anger helped a TON. Very interesting.

Decepticon ring

"Art Clay Silver 650 Slow dry" for the silver. I beleive you can probably buy this on ebay sometimes, or if not do a search on the net for any online retailers. This turns into 99% silver after you bake it so its not that cheap. The single pouch in the pic cost about 40-55$ but I cant remember for sure, since I bought it in Japan a few years ago. They sell as single clays and also as make-it-yourself kits. I bought the kit (about 75$) cause it came with all the neccesary tools and manuals.

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The 'former' design I had in mind. It wasnt long before I found out the clay was a bit hard to mold. It dries quickly, gets sticky easily with a small dab of water, and sticks all over the place. Good thing about it is as long as you dont bake it, you can turn it back into soft clay with some water. (I later used one that was dry and hard for a year, ziplocked it with water, and was ready to use after 2-3 days again)

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The ones with straight lines, like the insignia, I rolled flat and cut the shapes out like a cookie cutter. The curvy ones were balled up into a near shape and carved/shaved out.

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Wings, cut out and carved out on the inside. It dries fast so you can carve it out in about 30 or so minutes. I think I dried the clay about 1 day before I started carving any of them just to be on the safe side. It can crack and break if you drop it from high but its still rock hard when you carve them.

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Front part of the ring put together. Its still looks and feels gritty since its not smoothed out.

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Back 'ring' was done about 1.5 years after the front part insignia part was made. I was very busy, also didnt have the environment to play around with clay. The front part didnt turn out as I imagined so I at least wanted to get the best environment I could for the rest of the piece. The band here is not smoothed out yet.

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After you bake it, it turns white. You can see if you compare with the previous pic. I put it over a normal oven fire first to dry the ring of any moisture lest it crack under higher heat later. Then used the little gas burners and heated it till it got all red hot, for about 5+ min. If you under heat it, it will most likly get brittle and break later on due to the silver not solidifying inside.

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Scrape off the white layer (crystallized silver) with those bristly metal brushes and you get the melted silver underneath. Drop it lightly and we can see if its solid, it makes that metal sound.

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I failed to take a pic but there was a process where you dip the ring in this liquid for a few minutes to give it the black rusty look. (its the orange tube in the pic) The surface of the whole ring turns into a blackish, rusty, oily metalic color...

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After you get the black rusty oily ugly color, here comes the silver polish. You basically wipe the whole ring with it to give it the silvery shine. The black gritty color will stay in the deep crevices to give it the whole 'heavy silver accessory' look. If you have a solid ring you probably dont need to wipe as much since there arent as much hard to reach places. For this one I basicly 'washed' the whole thing with silver polish, wiping it everywhere cause there were so many curves and cracks. It still took around 1hr of wiping though, to get the color right.

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The final piece. The curvy things in the front didnt turn out exactly as planned but oh well... Decepticon insignia, and wings represent seeker wings. The band in the back are suppose to look like metal wall like things that gradually lead up to 'rubble' behind both wings (can anyone say 'war'?). I really wish the curvy things turned out better but it was my first time and I wasnt use to carving them out. By the time it was ready to bake, I got the hang of it but it was way to late to do over. If I ever do get a hold of more clay in the future, it would be fun to make another one hopefully of better design. At the moment still wondering if I should wear it or give it away or something :p hee

Elvaan RDM

I swear the female in the RDM AF have it that short >.>

RDM AF with Genbu sheild, only thing thats actually different is I added high heels to the boots.

Now if only I could get a close up shot of how Hauby looks like I'd want to draw more pics with action :x My own elvaan (male) is too big and most of his body parts dont show close up...at least on PS2. The neck and shoulder areas seem a bit complicating so dont wanna mess those parts up. I should try to nab pple to pose their armour for me >.>

Too much FFXI, so little time drawing. Seriously need to get back to my art roots. Will draw for Gil!! LoLz =p

...what to draw next...

The NA and the JP

Things I find in FF that are just weirdly amusing in FF is their behavior.
(I speak both JP/NA)
For a long time, I'd usually choose JP over NA but my recent joining in a new LS has probably changed that idea completly. (NA will include any non-JP below, Im just rounding it up)

I admit all races can have a jerk or two...or three ...or a dozen >.> But overall NA seem ALOT more friendler. In terms of online manners, I think I'd side with the JP on that, from an overall point of view that is. I'm not saying this applies to all cause the NA friends I have, I know to be really nice pple, great to joke around with, fun to be with, easygoing, and makes FFXI worthwhile. But when lvling in the dunes, the sore thumb just sticks out bad whether it be all NA, all JP, all something else(>.>?), or a mix.
In a normal pt I find it easier to stick with the JP on average, more so cause their easier to talk to and I can relate a bit more to their 'humour' and their joking around. In my opinion I think this is possible because its a short time meet, nothing too complicated, thus easy to make friends.

The tables kind of turn when your in a LS. Probably because the society is different. I have both NA, JP, and now a mixed LS and I find it much more relaxing to associate with the NA. Now, I said that society probably has alot to with this because in Japan, the social order is rather strict compared to the U.S. Sometimes its good, sometimes its bad, sometimes its just suffocating. A good easy example would be school. I myself graduated from a U.S. school and when your making friends and having a good time, age doesnt really matter. Of course, etiquette comes in from time to time but thats normal, respect your elders etc. But if your in a school in Japan, expect yourself to be in a Indian cast system. Seriously. Anyone who is older than you, anyone who has more experience than you in a certain field, you speak to them like your speaking to a superior. (but in return the reputation of the younger peeps will sometimes affect those of the elders. Similar to a company) Most of the time it will just stay that way however long you know them. Rarely will you be able to speak to them as you can speak to others of the same age.

This is mostly the reason I find myself easier to associate with the NA when in a LS. It just takes double, triple the time it does to be 'accepted' by JP, than it will with an NA, in a LS (ala a mini society). The JP shell I reside in now, I've been in it for about a year and a half. I love it, its fun, but it took well over half a year for me to feel 'at home' there. 'At home' I mean by being able to use the terms like 'hihi!' 'can I...' 'could you...' or just poke them with a sharp stick for fun, instead of the earlier terms I used like 'Hello' 'May I...' 'Would you...'. The NA shell on the other hand took about 1-2 months, maybe not 2 but just to get used to the pple and the air of the LS. Mostly because I didnt really see a need to talk to pple like I'm talking to the president of a company.

The same can be applied to the recent mixed LS I have joined. I have to admit its way easier for me to talk to the NA members at this time because I feel like I'm talking to a long time FFXI player and not a CEO of a company. I assume its going to take me about a year maybe more to be 'accepted' by the JP members in this LS, at least enough for me to be able to joke around and actually get a responce. I still have a long ways till I can ease out the the polite language usage. Of course, I've gotten advice as to 'try to talk more in japanese', but if I dont get a responce, its a bit hard and there really isnt much thats possible. So here again I find myself going back and talking english. I realize its not exactly the best way to start out, because of the fact I can speak japanese, they dont think too highly of it if I use too much english (the JP side that is). Right now it feels like a group of new friends(NA) and employers(JP) I guess my goal right now is to be able to ease up in half a year with the JP members here. :)