Legend of the Golden Pearl

In the good old prehistoric days, Phu talked appreciatively of this European linkshell he'd heard of, and after he joined I heard quite a few tales of the people there.

Now that I've had this legendary golden pearl for about 1 year 9 months 3 days 18 hours and 15 minutes, it's about time to make a video about it! :D


Music is the theme of Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

A reminder... despite some recent revelations of a certain player's gender, the glorious character of General Phu, lady Pasifika's first (and perhaps only) true love is, and has always been, a "he". :o
So there!

Starlight Celebration!

The celebration is on in all three capitals, and each looks dazzling in holiday gear. :D



The chreerful music is from Kevin MacLeod's site at incompetech.com.

Scrapped Pasifika

Here's another episode of the adventures of Pasifika, a hero of Windurst but also once practically the crown princess of San D'oria (by marriage) and now a sought-after adventurer - for various reason.

Scrapped Princess Pasifika (or SutePasi, as the hardcore fans call it, an abbreviation of the Japanese title) shows Pasifika and her friends deeply entwined in the intricate intrigue of the Elvaan kingdom...



Original Scrapped Princess by Bones Studio, FFXI by Square Enix, of course.

Windurst is safe!

The beautiful federation is safe, because... why wouldn't it be? ^^;
Sure, Star Sibyl was unavailable to perform her duties for a while, but she was just, err, on a long, well-deserved vacation.


In her absence, Pasifika, Semih Lafihna and some other Windurstian dignitaries held lovely tea parties at the vestal chamber (and I hear Lina, Dhm and even Nakago and Catzen were invited at some point, too) - not at all emergency crisis meetings regarding some great threats to the federation.


The great gathering of the cardians..? Well, first of all, that was supposed to be a secret gathering, so mind your own business. :o And you know, of course it was just a drill! The cardians really need much more practice, because they didn't perform at all as they should... D:


In the end of it all, there was no great battle for the future of Windurst, pitting Pasifika and her friends agains powerful guardians ans mythical beasts. There's no way you could find a book anywhere in Windurst that tells of such things, and of Pasifika's courage, might and loyal devotion to her nation and the adorable Star Sibyl. No way indeed... because they hid it in the restricted section of the library. ;_;


Anyway, after Star Sibyl returned from her refreshing vacation and joined the tea party, she gave Pasifika a beautiful flag and promoted her to rank 10. She's a lovely lady, isn't she? :D

Royal Race

After racing against her peers, Pasifika ended up in noble company. San d'Oria' s prince Pieuje himself was a commentator at this race. :D

Among the opponents were many elvaans, riding in the carefree one-hand style. It would've been interesting to see king Destin take the reigns of a chocobo, or beautiful princess Claidie (would she ride astride or sidesaddle?), but Pasifika kind of expected to see prince Trion in the saddle. To everyone's surprise, it was monarlais Halver M Borel who rode the red chocobo called Noble Rose. :O

The race was a close one, and Stardust Diamond was in the lead most of the time, until right at the finishing line Halver passed Pasifika's blue chocobo. Luckily the officials only required Stardust Diamond to place among the top three, so Pasifika was generously rewarded even for placing second.

Eloping Vana'diel style

Pasifika had the honour to be the only guest at a beautiful private wedding ceremony at Cascade Edellaine at Misareaux Coast.




The other adventurers stayed away and the monsters didn't really mind, so it was just the bride and groom, the wedding master, Pasifika... and the cute tarutaru chaperone. He gave Pasifika instructions before the ceremony and kept her company while waiting for the wedding to get started.

It was a lovely ceremony all in all, and a wonderful experience. ^_^

Good tarus go to heaven

...bad tarus go anywhere they want!
But who could say this is a bad taru? Is there such a thing? :o

Anyway, this was supposed to be the celebration of Pasifika's long-awaited access to sky and the beautiful gardens up there, but something elso got mixed in...



Music is "Lilium"

Haunted nights

Ghots and all manner of other horrible monsters have taken over Windurst again, but in a good way... if that's possible. People in beastman and unded costumes fill the streets, and ghosts wander around the town.

Outside the gates, a terrible demon is seeking to pose as a Moogle (that's what I heard! o_O;), but brave Pasifika engaged it again and again, both alone and with friends, and vanquished it many times. The grateful event Moogle declared Pasifika a hero and the savior of all moogles! That's a nice thing to add to a resume... "Devout defender of tarutarus and cute plantoids... and the saviour of all mooglekind. Has Raise III and Hexa Strike..."

Of course there has been some time for regular adventuring as well, but even Pasifika's loyal adventuring fellow Romidiant is in the event mood, wearing whatever event-related clothing Pasifika has. :D Inside the mog house, last year's mandragora lantern shows a shining example to plants. (An no, it's not made from dried hollowed-out mandy! D: 100% artificial!)

Even though this is the time of the dead, Pasifika has been busy raising her fallen friends near and far... often in event gear, of course. There's apparently great need for a Grim Raiser... ;P


During a peaceful adventure in the beautiful Boyahda tree, Pasifika chatted about this and that, and of times gone by, and found herself haunted by the ghost of past. Seems that elusive and difficult to define feeling isn't completely lost, but what might future hold for Pasifika, if she were to chance a look forward instead of gazing in to the past..?

Such musing is condensed here in a two and half minutes of nothing happenin. -_-;


Music is "Hiru no tsuki" (Daytime moon), sung by Akino Arai and taken out of any context it might have, to suit the mood of that night.

I will never be afraid again...

I will keep on fighting till the end! :D

Caution: this is video has it's fair share of blinking lights, watch at your own risk. :o
If you decide not to watch, here's a plot synopsis: Pasifika met Maat and they fought a bit, but the old man gave up before they really got started! D: I never knew he was such a big wussy. :P There was much rejoicing. ...and I'll have a rematch later, and see if he can give up quicly enough when I have Black Halo.

1 picture worth 6 hits

:D

Well, six-pics-in-one, but technically it's still one picture, right? :D

Monumental Exploration

The mayor of Selbina has been asking Pasifika to bring him copies of the texts in various stone monuments around Vana'diel for loo~ng, but Pasifika had only brought back few clay tablets for him so far. Now Pasifika finally decided to step up and find some more of them, and so she set out for a rare solitary adventure throughout the lands.


Pasifika gathered the clay tablets one by one, and at the same time she learned more and more about the history of Vana'diel, from the point of view of the earlier traveller.

His story about three tarutarus attacking a San d'Orian fortress in Sauromugue sounded strange, but thinking about it, didn't Pasifika just meet a horrible tarutrio from Tavnazia a little while ago..? Yes, it could have been their forefathers, no doubt. >_>

Pasifika passed many familiar places and sights. They reminded her of her earlier adventures, and the friends she had shared those adventures with. She also journeyed to some places previously unknown to her, and was easily distracted by the exciting and beautiful sights around her.

The flying (or hopping) flowers of La Theine Plateau slowed her down quite a bit, and a treasure chest in an interesting corner of Dangruf Wadi had her vanquishing goblins for a good while to find out who had taken the key.

Although Pasifika travelled alone, she did meet some friends and strangers on the way. Well, she saw the Selbina elder at every turn, but she also met a guard at the Pashhow outpost as she was passing by on her way to a stone monument. This gyu really reinforced her idea of the outpost guards: he wouldn't even give Pasifika the time of day. How many times has a hapless adventurer knocked on the outpost's door, but not recieved the much-needed help? Similarily, the guards outside calmly observe poor adventurers fall to their feet, without as much as a wince of sympathy. Some guards... ;_;

When Pasifika decided to do a little time-travelling to shorten her trek, she was surprised by her faithful advenuring fellow Romidiant! :O Poor Romi had wondered into a cavernous maw, and had been unable to find his way back. What a stroke of luck that Pasifika happened to be passing just then!

The mayor of Selbina just kept asking for more clay tablets. No, he had no idea where the monuments were... but one by one he "remembered" which ones he didn't have yet. And Pasifika fetched them for him, from the corners of the world.

Phu has left the building

Phucrabiont
962 – 1057

Not all had the honour of knowing General Phucrabiont personally, so let me say a few words.


He was a good friend, and a loving husband. Over the years, I had the chance to enjoy the fruits of his wisdom and knowledge, as he was a gifted story-teller, bringing to life the history and mysteries of Vana’diel.

His memories from the olden times certainly put things into perspective: while young adventurers these days complain about having to walk all the way to Jeuno once, such treks were common in his youth, and they had to walk barefoot in snow (or was it lava?) and uphill both ways. Such hardships only made him stronger.


General Phucrabiont was an accomplished military strategist and a stern leader. The quests and missions lead by him were invariably successful, even the one where I accidentally woke up the dragon in the middle. ._.

He was a loyal San d’Orian, and in his later years even a strong candidate for the throne of the kingdom. I guess Pieuje and Trion will just have to sort things out on their own now.


I doubt the world will see such a charming elvaan, fast caster and witty conversationalist in another hundred years, or more.

Indeed, General Phucrabiont was a red mage par excellence …and quite energetic for a 95 year old… venerable veteran. *cough*(Ancient)*cough*






Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
Your mileage may vary.

Something's fishy...

Pasifika got a new fishing rod, and this time it's a rod for big fish... not so likely to snap as some. Like the last one, for example... ;>_>

So, it can catch big fishies... how about catching a real big one and sending it as a thank-you for the rod? Yeah, with a wonderful lvl 2 fishing skill, that's a glorious idea! ;D

Pasifika tried her luck at Qufim first, and upset some of the fish on the shore by pulling up the ones in the sea. Ok, ok, there's probably a better place.... there were no fish on the shore at Kraken's (and Kraken didn't mind), so Pasifika settled down there for a while. The goblin bounty hunters were similarily oblivious at the icy lake, where Pasifika caught some... rusty junk. >_>

There's bound to be big, tasty fish in the pond where a notorious monter lives, right? Ok, so a pond with an undead nm is a bit dubious, but Pasifika caught some monsters and more junk from there as well.

Pasifika went fishing in various interesting locations, and got fish that were thi~~s big, no lie! For some reason there was none to bring home, though, or to send as thanks for the rod. Maybe it was a mistake to let a mithra look after the catch, after all. :o

Oh, Lina and Pasifika also made a song and dance about partying: with Lina as bard and Pasifika dancing, they pranced around Sarutabaruta, having fun. ^^

Bombs away!

Pasifika met General Phucrabiont in Port San d'Oria for some more gifts from the Adventurer Recruitment Program guy. Long past are the days when Pasifika was just a new clueless adventurer (now old adventurer, with extra cluelessness! :D), but the elvaan still had some presents in his pockets for the pair. Both grabbed the most useful one... or maybe just the most fun gift: detonator belt. Phu turned first into a regular bomb, and Pasifika surprised him by showing another variation. (Self-Destruct) was definetely the word that came to mind, but the San d'Oriand guards might have been less than kind to someone who blew up the residential area entrance. x)

It was starting to get a bit chilly, but no problem... Mog Houses have cosy warm fireplaces to keep us warm. San d'Orian Mog Houses, that is. Windurstians only have the bath tub, and the water is pretty cold - but hey, it keeps cool in the summer.

Pasifika was very comfortably warm in Phucrabiont's Mog House, as the pictures clearly show - but let's not reveal all the details of Phu's elegant San d'Orian interior here. ;)

Rune of release :o

Pasifika had never seen a rune of release before, and in the three different assault missions she did with Donthitme and some others, she only saw one. Not that she hadn't completed an assault succesfully before (oh yes, once!), but she just isn't everyone's prime candidate to take along for all those rea~lly important missions.

First, Pasifika tried her hand at cleansing an, um, ice cave? ...of worms that, err, eat ice? Anyway, that wasn't a nice mission at all, but not a truly horrid one, either. At least the party succeeded, and that's a good sign. Gotta love a game you win, right?

The next assault mission was much more interesting: an escort mission. The party had to see that a certain elvaan corsair made it to his destination safely, and although he was running around a bit and making rude remarks. it wasn't that hard. At the end of this mission, Pasifika first saw the fabled rune of release. Hmm... they're not as shiny as they're made out to be.

Last mission on the day's list was excavation duty, which Pasifika has done numerous times before (and now *twice* succesfully :D). The walls don't run around, attack you or even hit back... they just stand there. :D
...which makes missing them all the more embarassing. ;>_> They went down eventually anyway, and with no terrible monsters chewing the party to bits, this is one of Pasifika's favourite assault mission so far. Just a bit more club skill, and maybe she can actually hit the broad side of a barn one day... ;>_<;

Excitement! ...and some fun, too!

Those two always go together, don't they. :o

As exciting as campaign battle can be, fighting waves after waves after waves of enemies kind of looses it's edge after a while, especially if it's a crowded, mindless battle with not much else in view than the backs of the allies... or behinds of summons, like in this case. I guess I should be grateful it's not Titan, at least. >_>

A much more welcome sight is a dancing taru. (Well, for Pasifika, that is... your mileage may vary. ;P) No need for a dancer taru - nothing wrong with those, though - but all is needed that it's a cute taru that dances. Nothing like a dancing taru to lift weary spirits and boost morale! :D

To step up a notch in the excitement department, Pasifika joined her friends in Norg to help a galka save his friend... but the friend didn't need saving, after all, instead a hume was in trouble. By the time Pasifika found the foul monster and the heroic hume guy, it was too late. (Except for avenging, that is.. never too late for that...) So the adventurers killed the monster but were unable to save the hero. If only we had arrived sooner! D: Such a sad story, and the galkas were appropriately moved, although they tried to keep their cool. At least they got the keepsake weapon back.

Partying with close friends goes into the "fun" category more than "excitement", and ideally it can be the time for relaxing and having a good time. I'd still say someone is a bit too relaxed here. x)
But hey, here come's Pasifika's ninja! The great unstoppable whm/nin will be out ther in, err, another eternity or so. ^^;

Summer in full bloom

One day Pasifika was visited by the princess of mandragoras, and inspired by her visit, she's recieving tutoring in the fine art of blooming, from none other than the Tiny Lycopidiums.
...what else could this be about? ;P
Song is "Little Flower" sung by Mariko Fukui.

I love it when they do that <3

The great adventure in the land far, far east

You know, Japan is pretty much like Vana'diel. Well... it's possible the resemblance isn't quite as obvious to others as it is to a FFXI nerd like me, but you can judge by yourself while you take a look at selected highlights from my journey:

A beautiful garden (belonging to the Higashi Honganji temple) in Kyoto brought to mind dear old Windurst: beautiful greenery ond some houses and buildings scettered aroud the area, with winding paths leading trough the garden. They even have some of the huge, beautiful flowers that also grow behind the Rhinostery in Windurst Waters.

We didn't get a chance to check if they glow in the dark, because the garden is only open during daytime, but I kind of suspect they don't... only tarutarus create such interesting experiments... I hope. I guess I would've been a bit worried if these started glowing... although I wouldn't have missed the opportunity to snap some pictures!

Kimonos are something you're supposed to see in Japan, and we watched a kimono fashion show at the Textile Center in Kyoto. The outfits were really beautiful and demonstrated kimonos suitable for the summer. Hmm... what should Pasifika wear for this year's Sunbreeze Festival.. How about this one..? Oh, we could really use some more variation here! :O

In every moat, pond and stream in Japan there are carps, it seems. o_o They quickly gather around as
you step close to the water. It couldn't be that some tourists feed them, could it..? ;) They were actually quite creepy, because they're pretty big and they like to come up to the surface with their mouth wide open... o_o; How can they be so huge, aren't they supposed to be cute little decorative fishies? Maybe the moat carps eat intruders...
We just watched, but I bet it would've given a great boost to Fishing Skill to pull up all those moat carps, gold carps, goldfish and whatever they had. x)

In Kyoto, we celebrated the real-life Celestial Nights, aka tanabata. Well, we didn't actually do that much, but we visited a shrine that had the bamboo grass decorations and we saw the natives flock there to celebrate the event. I think the Vana'diel versions of the decorations are prettier, though, because none of the ones we saw in Kyoto sparkled. :o

Like we've all come to know and expect, some areas are under maintenance just at the most inconvenient times, and so we had to skip the visit to the Kyoto International Manga Museum. Maybe some other time, when they've fixed all the bugs...
The same day we also found out - the hard way - that the Nijo Castle is closed a couple of days per month. Luckily we had the chance to see it the following day, but they didn't allow taking screenshots, I mean photos, inside the castle. Meanies~!

In Tokyo we stayd at a NIN hostel. :o The theme idea was interesting and fun, but the place wasn't quite ready yet, and the worst part was that their kitchen is in the stinky (literally -_-;) basement. Lousy NIN... >_> We managed anyway, and used the hostel as a base for exploration . We had really good time in Tokyo, naturally.

The main goal in Tokyo was, of course, this... XDWe'd been adventuring all day before going there, so it was pretty dark when we finally reached the Tokyo Teleport Station. That didn't prevent me from attempting to take photos of everything, including the strange constrtuction that apparently is the local telepoint. Yes, of course I touched it, but... for some reason it's really hard to get a (Teleport-Tokyo) around here. :o
Oh well, someday in the unforeseeable future I'll take the airship there again...

Oh, oh, and we took the manaclipper, erm, the water bus to the island where the Teleport Station is located, and we came back to the mainland - if you can call the main island of Japan "mainland" - with a kind of roller coaster, which doesn't have a driver at all. And earlier on, we