Sorry, sorry.

So, I've been a lot under the weather and it's finals week right now. >< So I've been like, 100% MIA in game. Sorry to everyone, haven't even had a chance to tell people whats up because my bed is so safe and comfy. So...that's where I am. I'll see you all at the end of the week when I'm home -- I hope.

I Need A New Gimmick.

Huzzah! Here come the many, many, many money shots...I need a new gimmick I think. This is getting annoying. People die so easily!

As you can see -- there are quite a few new faces. All with a story behind them. =) However! We all know my blog wouldn't quite be my blog without our favorite Paladin who always plays Warrior...the Izman.



Whew! Ok, so that's all of the TB pictures today...I think I need to take a break. All this uploading and shit is tiring. Blogger doesn't have the best uploading\position system for pictures. Anyhow, on to other things!

Ok, so...we've done Sky, Limbus (Omega) and Merit Party!

We'll start with Merit Party stuffs. I ended up finally getting enough merits for my 2nd Str Mod. So, Base Str 72 -- you can have this. =D Also, here are just a few quick notes from the merit party; Kallo parsed the highest Accuracy with 86% wearing all Haste Gear, he parsed 26% Evasion in all Haste Gear -- and up against Izman's Warrior and Hyrio\Ringthree's Monks (Both Black Belts) I parsed at 21% damange. The highest being Ringthree at 28%. So...I don't think that's too bad considering I wasn't using Meat and I missed a good deal of Trick\Sneak Attacks @.@. So, it was a lot of fun...and I love meriting with Versus. ^_^

Limbus and Omega! Totally owned up Omega and got me one of these. So that was a nice little souvenir.



And here's a pretty cool shot of Mr. Ringthree staring down Omega!



Other the that we did some Sky and downed some Gods and did a little farming. Nothing horribly exciting and what not. No Quote for the day either because I'm lazy. No! Wait I got one for you.

...no, I'm not that mean. Go do something now losers, stop reading my damn blog.

It's boring.

Dynamis, Merits, Sky!

I've got some interesting new shots today. First off, I got myself two new photo subjects: Jess and Akanea. However, I know by now you all are expecting to see Izman up here every time I post, so I'm not without Izzy Money Shots -- but this time, I didn't get him. I had a friend help me out. Scroll down a bit to see who assisted me in the Sac'ing of the Great Izman.
So -- on that Genbu note -- I did some real Sky with Versus. It all went really well, we farmed a little beforehand, we also did Genbu\Seiryu and Suzy. Got some decent drops -- nothing for me though since all I need N Body. =P

Also! The night prior...something extraordinary happened...

Kallo actually got a Merit Party! It was the first one he's gotten since the 2 Handed Updated way back when! Woot! I ended up with 2.6 Merits -- I think Aura Steal is next on my list since I don't merit enough for STR to be on done in a realistic fashion -- and I'm not really sold on if I want to do Enmity + or Spell Interruption Rate Down.

No screenies for you! It was so super awesome that I'm going to keep it a secret. ~.^

I also got back into doing Obsidian -- I got my account put on inactive before because of my school related problems, but Ring helped me talk to some people and I'm back in as an active member again. We did Dynamis-Beaucidine and I was second line (Along with two others) for Assassin's Culottes, but we didn't get any.

We did however get quite a haul. We ended up walking away with...BST, NIN, SMN (Grats to Rudithina), BRD, WHM, RDM (Grats to Geddoe), PLD, SMN (Again!) and WHM (Again! Grats to Potpressure.).

More importantly then all of that, though! I kirred me some Obsidianites! As you can see down here...

Which, leads me into our Quote of the Moment...

Take it for what you will. =)

Also, I think I'm going to go and post a post one of these days about my current 'gear goals', so just a warning that there's an upcoming 'boring post only Kallo cares about'. Like, more then what you see on the side there. A lot of it is going to involve Salvage Gear explanations. And, maybe a bit of ranting on Merits since I'm not 100% sure what I want to do to finish up Thief merits. Anyhow! I'm out. Jerks.

Hat Trick +1!

As always, we're going to start off with the money shots...

Yes, yes, yes. I've been a very busy Thief. =) You know, it's funny. A few days prior to getting my Versus pearl I had a small conversation about our favorite Paladin and\or Warrior and\or now Beastmaster.

Kallo >> I'm really looking forward to being able to see Izman die again. ^.^
Ringthreee >> Yea. But, really he actually doesn't die as much as he use to.
Kallo >> Aww...that's kind of sad.

And today Izman said something to me along these lines...

Izman >> Man, I never use to die this much until you came into the Linkshell.

I like to think that means I'm doing my job. Not necessarily as a Thief, but as a messenger for a greater good? For sure.

Moving on, here are the past few days big highlights...and, I know to some they're not that big, but every little step is a greater stride towards the end result.

I also got a pair of Nemain's Slop which is the Lv. 15 piece for Legs for BLM\RDM\BLU. I'm not going to toss it since who knows -- maybe I can get me something for my BLM, but I'm not going to go out of my way to do so when I still need Skadi's.

Other then that montage of Izman teabagging and the Gloves, not too much has gone down. I finished my Evasion Merits and I'm getting closer to being able to my Scorpion Harness back, with a +1 attached to it. Expect in the next couple of days or so some posts dedicated specifically to people that I owe a great deal to and will likely never be able to pay them back. (Mostly in part because they never ask for help for this own things.)

And there is your Quote of the moment! Apparently she found them in the sewers? o.O

Down to Business

Ok -- got a lot of stuff to cover in this post since I was to lazy to update as I went along. So, let's get down to it. So, let's begin with the important things. Izman eating dirts, and as Jeremy from PurePwnage.com would put it...Mah Ballz.

I now present, exhibit A and exhibit B.












Moving on to more important, but less entertaining things! I did my first Omega run with Versus! It went pretty damn smooth. I think we had one death and that was Ninjafox. Also! Shanelle who I originally met in STRIFE is now part of Versus. Yay! We never really talked a super lot, but she's a pretty cool lady! She was Bard tonight. I think she might have secretly trained in the ways of Thief though, because here is a picture of her dodging Omega's Lazers. Pew Pew pew!Also, since we're on the topic of Omega -- here are some more pictures! Another Lazer shot and Ringthree looking like a Badass in front of Omega! (I'd love to tell you he died shortly after, but we have some mages to support him...so he didn't.)






Now, before we conclude on the Omega-fest, drops -- we got Head for Crlmsonking, Congrats! And legs for Mikura from the Rauken shell. Grats to you as well, even though I don't know you! And my favorite shot of the night...here is another picture of Izman (because he's so cool) doing what he does best.
If you guess, "Nothing.", then you are correct! Hahah! Nah, for serious, I love Izzy. He gave me a hand farming the other day and helped me get that much closer to getting my Scorpion Harness +1. Speaking of that night!

Some friends of mine are visiting from Ragnarok server and I managed to give them both a welcoming Trick Attack! So, thanks to Tiger and Maxx for helping out as well and congratulations to tiger for his Bard Hands!



Lastly, I'd like to leave you with what I'm going to start calling..."Quote of the Moment" and this time the QotM comes from Mr. Ringthree.



You may take from this whatever you'd like.

Full Time Thief?

I know I've given quite a bit of praise to Versus already. To some, it might seem like I'm just trying to kiss my way to the top, whatever. I've been playing this game for well over 5 years -- 233 days accumulatively. The only places that have ever felt like home were, one maybe two Socials. End Game Shells? Never. It's always felt like a commitment.

Versus, I've been telling people I'm happy here, which I am. However, I think it's more then that. Ringthree has, on more then one occasion now, referred to me as 'a full time thf for the shell'. Yes, we have other people who has Thieves and yes, we have other jobs who can do the things he's training me to do. However, that could be said for every job and for every person in a linkshell.

Up until now, I've never felt like I have a specific place or role in a Linkshell. I've never felt like people want me to be there, if that makes any sense? When we think of our shells, there are lots of roles that people fill...who are your tanks? Who your DDs? Who are your Mages? Leaders? Etc. I've never really fell into one of those before. But, now I feel like in Versus I'm getting to that point. Something needs to be pulled or we need a TH and people won't go..."Whose the Thief today?" or "Whose pulling today?", soon it's going to be "Where's Kallo?".

Forget the gear, forget everything else -- I think that's what I've been waiting for. I'm glad I found this shell. =)

Skurlover got both Enlil's Kolluks AND Freya's Ledelsens off Archaic Chariot on Arrapago Remnants last sunday! @.@ Congratulations on that man! Now we just need to get Izzy his so I can get mine undisputed. =P

That's another thing about Versus, I don't know what it is about the people -- but I don't mind passing on stuff I can use for other people. Like, usually it's "Ok, we both need it...let's lot. Grats to whoever." However, being around these guys makes me want to pass to others first because I know I'll get mine in due time.

Anyhow -- on to pictures!

We did North West Apollyon today. That's the King one, with all the big bosses like Faffy and Behemoth. I got to pull, wee! I pulled the boss on the first floor first, aha...but we won. No problem. Was really nervous because my enter key was spazzing out on me the entire time. But it was a good run! No, deaths on my part or anything, though I had a few links on the first floor. I got some pictures coming in a second, hold your damn horses. So, we got through alright. Got 4 ABCs putting me at 26\75 for my Boxer's Mantle. I also got my 2nd RNG AF+1 Material...so, I can get one of those if I want! Which, I will after my Mantle. I guess...that's all that happened today! Here are some pictures!

Look! A Tree!

Nope! Just Ringthree! Double teamed by myself and Akanea I might add. =). So, we did Salvage again, this time we went with Zhayolm Remnants. I kind of screwed us up because I wasn't paying attention to how many cells dropped and Pots got my Weapon -- it wasn't a game breaking one...but it didn't help. We didn't get much, Akanea got his Lv. 15 Usukane Hands! Grats Aka!

Other than that...nothing really went down! OH! As usual...when you dealing wit Madame Porroggo's you have to have your obligatory "Frog Orgy" Photo, so here you are...I believe this is after we had our way with Hiyro. Heh, heh...other then that...slow day. Was going to get Juxtaposition through some Zilart Missions, but we forgot and ate Wendy's and played FF9 and 7.

Lastly! I mentioned King Vineggarron...but he never popped for us. Here's us standing around looking like we're getting something accomplished!

Bad Pull!

So, last night was an interesting one! Firstly, I did some Assaults with Versus -- we just used all our Tags on 'Red Versus Blue' (Irony!) and I have 8k towards my Yigit Seraweels now. It's a pretty damn easy assault if you have two heavy DDs who take a hit or two. Also! I was awarded with this opportunity after one of the Assaults.
I love Izzy so much <3.

Anyhow, after that little fiasco we did Arrapago Remnants again! We had two more people with us this time then last. Everything went smooth just like before -- in fact! On the 5th floor Archaic Chariot we got...dun dun dun ~ Enlil's Kolluks! Congratulations to Hiryo! Was hoping maybe we'd get another Njord's Gloves to drop off the Gears on the next floor...but Kallo might've pulled too fast and wiped everyone (Except Ringthree). So, we missed the QQTH on that floor and we didn't have enough time for the Megaboss...way to go Thief >_>.

Camping King Vinegarroon right now. Doesn't drop anything I'll need unless we're allowed to lot on the Venomous Claw it's reported to drop (multiples of!). So we'll see what happens. Hopefully I can get some pictures. I love giant Scorpions.

Versus, Continued.

Just finished up that Salvage Run in Arrapago Remnants! And, before you ask who that dashing gentlemen to the side is let me tell you this...he's only dashing with head equips that cover 50% or more of his head.

Now then! There are a few people I want to introduce you too while I describe my initial reactions of Versus along with my expectations coming into Versus.

Might as well start with the shortest...this is Izman. I've known Izman since I was about Lv. 30ish I think, maybe in the 40s. Akeem (my brother from another mother) introduced me to a Linkshell called MithranUnderground years ago and that's where I met Izzy. He's on WAR here, but as far as I'm concerned he'll always be a PLD. I've mentioned him on the show a couple times -- he was the guy who went through the Dunes as War\Whm and the Pld I almost beat in PvP at Lv. 6oish. Love him to death and he loves me just as much...he tries to hide it, but here is your proof!

This next dashing fellow, I've only ever met once. We were in a Merit Party together -- but Seney always talks about how awesome he is, and even though I don't 'know' him per say. I've always held him in high regards as one of the servers best DRKs (sorry Ani =X). And the one of whom I speak is Jess, the only Dark Knight whose is apparently immune to my Evisceration Macro.

Lastly, is the guy who brought me into Versus. The Boss Man, Ringthree. Originally a Dragoon -- he's a Ninja in this picture and looking slightly to the side, says it makes him seem more intellectual or something. I don't know. Anyhow, I've got limitless amounts of respect for R3. In part because we're both down with the clown! MCL! And also because...I don't know, it's hard to explain I guess. He's one of those people...that no matter how far in the game you get or how successful you are, there is always someone further then you that you look up to and idolize. R3 is one of those people for me.

Also, I teabagged him tonight at Ix'Drg, but didn't get a picture. Lame, I know.

I've always considered Versus in the upper echelon of Linkshells on Odin. Like, one of the top. They don't do HNMs, but they manage to put the lock down on Sky\Sea\Salvage\Limbus pretty effectively. I think the thing I like most about Versus and something I haven't seen in a Linkshell since my old social StrengthofOdin, is putting people before you selflessly. Maybe it's not that...but it's what I see reading around blogs and the way people act. What I mean, is when we're in Linkshells we show up even when we know we're not going to get anything...but we do it because we expect people to show up for our runs. "If other people get stronger, you get stronger too." I don't feel like everyone does it for that reason in this Linkshell. And that's kickin' rad.

Another thing -- I've never seen a Linkshell remain so calm, orderly and friendly when things are going wrong and people are dying. I'm not saying everyone gets mean -- because they don't. But usually, if things are going down hill, someone is going to be handing out orders and the situation gets really tight and nerve racking...it happens to everyone and that's understandable.

I've yet to see that with Versus. Even when things are looking like we're in a pickle -- the leaders are still extremely kind. I'm not sure how else to explain it beyond that. =)

Anyhow -- in Salvage we got a shit load of drops. Usukane Head Lv. 15x2, The RDM Pants Lv.15x2, Anu's Gagesx1, Lv. 15 Ares Legsx1, Skadi's Hands Lv. 15x1...more then I've ever seen drop. But apparently...that's nothing, because they're lol15'ers =P.

I have a lot of fun...never done so much End Game in one day. I'm extremely looking forward to becoming a bigger part of the Linkshell. =)

Me, Versus, Sea\Limbus\Salvage!

You see what I did with the title there? That's a play on words because my LS is called Versus. I know, clever. Haha. Now, shut up.

So...I've spent two days with Versus now. We did Limbus last week, SW Apollyon. I got to pull the first floor which was full of Linking Fomors...kicked it's ass. Was afraid I'd screw up the first day in and they'd all laugh at me...ha! Then we got killed on the Elementals! Freak Accident, not much you can do. We only had a party of us.

So, the next day...which is Thursday. Today. We had Sea...popped and killed an Ix'Drg -- which fun. They zone it in and out of the Teleporter thing...you know that weird light\portal that just takes you to the other side of the zone? Yea, that thing. It's like a self-kiting strategy. Worked really well! I didn't die. Woot!

Then we did two Jalier of Fortitudes. Got one Torque. Yay! It'd be cool to have one eventually...but meh, don't need it. After that we went to Limbus, did the floor we fudged up on Monday. Cleared it no problem and got my 2nd Light Filament. Just need a couple more coins and a Supple Skin for AF Pants +1. Wewt, for me.

And...now we're doing Salvage! Same night! As we speak...er, as I write! Wrote. Whatever. Going in Arrapago Remnants. Should be a fun time -- I get to pull again. Sweet! Anyhow, I have some cool pictures and stuff somewhere I'll post later of the cool people in Versus and talk a little more about the shell. When I'm, you know, not in Salvage killing people.

Unpause!

So, it seems I haven't used this blog in quite some time...I think I'm going to start trying to remedy that. We'll begin with a update of my current situation, since some pretty deep things have happened recently. I may\may not get flak for it, honestly, it doesn't matter either way. But, at least this way if people absolutely NEED an explanation I can point them to here.

Just a quick note before I drop this wall of text, this isn't drama. At least, I don't consider it drama. I'd say it's life, shit happens. =P We deal and get over it. Anyhow!

Last semester, in real life, I was put on Academic Probation. What this means, is that my Total GPA was under a 2.0. When put on Academic Probation you have 2 or 3, I don't remember exactly, semesters to raise your GPA to a 2.0+ or you are removed from the University. This isn't your normal 'Bye bye for this semester, come back next' it means you're gone for good and need to be re-matriculated.

This semester isn't looking so good -- two of my classes which I perform poorly in by nature were suffering even more then usual. So, I knew sacrifices needed to be taken...

So, I decided to put FFXI on hold until school was over. Just a week or so before this, I re-assumed my position as a STRIFE Officer. Things weren't going great, but they were good and shaping up and I had faith. Then, after two nights of talking with some friends and really evaluating my current state in life, I decided I had to step away...it was extremely bad timing, but I felt it was the right choice.

Also, a week prior, in fact the day AFTER I got my Pearl Sack for STRIFE, I was offered a position with Versus. I turned it down because of my commitment STRIFE.

A little over a week or so has gone by since leaving STRIFE and my decision to put FFXI on hold. It's been extremely rough...just severing ties of friendship, leaving behind the wonderful world of Vana'diel. Too make things even worse...both my roommates still play FFXI and so everyday I was exposed to how much fun they were having.

I was reviewing some classes for next semester a few days ago and upon inspecting my GPA, I was over a 2.0. Which means, I was removed from Academic Probation last semester and just didn't realize it.

So, I decided that freezing my account would've just been a waste of 10$ (Because I'd have to pay a re-activation fee the same month I'd be leaving\coming back). I'm not going to quit the game...but I am going to try to cut back until my major finals are out of the way. In the meantime, I have taken Versus up on their offer since some people were a bit sore from me leaving STRIFE.

Personally, it's seems the same if not better then it was before I became an officer. And the people claimed I didn't do anything anyhow...so, based on those two facts it shouldn't matter much that I'm with Versus now.

I still love everyone in STRIFE to death, especially my old StrengthofOdin Brothers and Sisters.

At this point, I'm just putting one chapter behind me and starting a new one. Versus has some of my really, really, really old friends in it that I'm looking forward to working with. I've got no regrets, people will get over it or they won't. If they want to continue to be sour over something like this...that's fine too, but I'm moving forward.

That's about it, that's my situation as of late. You can probably catch me in-game during Versus Events when I don't have homework and such, but other then that I'll probably be pretty scarce.

I'm out!