So how did you get here?

[Areya]

Since there hasn't bee much activity on the site lately, I thought I'd put up a topic for people to post on.  Basically, I was curious about the history of people joining Lucky...

I'll start off with my own just to kick things off:

*cue wavy flashback*

I started FFXI basically at NA PS2 release.  Phoenix, Bastok, same things I still am.  The first LS I joined was after I was around lv 10, and that LS was Onigiri, which was a mostly Bastok, mostly PS2 linkshell founded by Evan and supported by Kieran.  Later that LS broke and was mostly reformed as Legacy under Hawkhellfire.  That was pretty much my social for quite a while.

Of course, Legacy back then was mostly filled with low level folk and I needed some high level help and gear, so I looked into HNMLSes.  Assassin was the first I joined under Alexnader (wasn't too big back then) but didn't really do too much in it before I left.  After a two day stint in Genesis I was basically HNMLS again until the founding of Thirteen by Nando, who I had met in Assassin.

Thirteen treated me alright, giving me a few shinies here and there, but after it started filling up with people that kind of grated on my nerves, along with its switching from sky camping to ground kings, I felt I needed a new home.

Now, when I was a Bard in the 50s, I had partied a few times with Caecus.  At some point (I don't remember when exactly) he had asked me if I wanted to help "a friend" get a Jelly Ring from Sewer Syrup.  I said ok, so the two of us went down to Bostaineaux to help the two people that were there already, Selan and Jstjnxy.

Later on, Caecus and Selan had asked me about possibly joining a HNMLS that they were trying to form.  That LS was named..  you guessed it, Lucky.

The HNMLS idea was scrapped pretty quickly (maybe two or three weeks?) and it basically became another social LS.  Back in those early days there weren't too many people on...  Elexa, Negotiator, sometimes Jnxy.  But over time more people started filtering in..  I left Legacy after a while and now Lucky is my home.

It's been several years since then.  Selan has all but retired from the game and I've become something of a surrogate leader for the few remaining souls that still inhabit the LS.  It's still one of the oldest surviving LS's on the server.

So, what's your story?

[Zerila]

Oooh, neat effect! *steals Rey's wavy flashback generator*

It all started in the beta test for me, for the NA PC release. I can't really describe the feeling, it was like, we knew NOTHING about the game, plus we all knew we couldn't keep our characters (turns out that they changed that decision about a year later, which is why I have Beta-Zeri on Asura  ). So, it was all grand experimentation and fun! I remember the first time I ever saw a skillchain in a party (this was valkurm) everyone was like "What was that?!!" and we all freaked out trying to repeat it 

That was also when I first discovered that you can fish up a monster if you go fishing outside of a city. I was fishing between pulls, and during resting, just for fun when, you guessed it, I yanked up a mad-as-hell pugil that proceeded to wipe the floor with my party. We broke for Selbina as fast as we could, with the pugil in tow. Maybe two of us made it (I was one of them). And then... our pugil started killing everyone at the Selbina gates. It took about 20 of us all working together to kill that fish from hades, and our black mage died... a second time

Needless to say, that put me off fishing for a while 

Anyway, in beta, I created a full compliment of 16 characters, with different races and genders. The one I liked playing the most was Zerila (same name, same model that I have now) which is why I re-created her for the PC release. Originally, I was a Mithran MNK/WHM from San d'Oria (I know, I know  )

When the time came for the PC release, I knew a lot more about how the game worked, so I chose a lot more rationally. I started out as a Red Mage, because I thought, with a Red Mage, I could gain skills in many different magics and weapons (theoretically true, if your party doesn't mind you whipping out a club or a dagger mid-fight )

My first linkshell was the Ancients, led by Ryza (I think his name was). It was a fun group, and I really enjoyed being a part of it. However, Ryza wanted the group to be more focused, and tried laying down some rules regarding attendance, participation in events, and saying things like "You should only have one linkshell". I liked him, but I think he forgot the basic rule of linkshells: Once you start sharing out the pearls, it's not really "yours" anymore, even if you have the ultimate power to kick people at will. He basically wanted an HNMLs-style ruleset for the shell, but most of us were in our 20's-30's, and I don't think any of us was over 40. Since we started out social, we wanted to stay social. We had many group meetings about it, made some compromises, tried to work things out, but it only worked for a short while before things started breaking down again.

Eventually, the Ancients imploded, and I was shell-less for a while (This was also my first grand experiment in soloing, as a RDM... it was SLOW  ) After a month or so of that, someone from the Ancients (I believe it was Evanesce) invited me to a new shell he was a part of, that had many of the Ancients in it, called the Whitehawks. It was great being a part of a shell again, but eventually attendance dropped to the point that nobody was ever on it, and I ended up effectively shell-less again for a while, until once again someone I knew (Eva again, maybe?) invited me to Lucky. And here I've been ever since

Ok, so who's next? I'll let you "borrow" Rey's wavy flashback machine! 

[Elizabet]

I joined at ps2 released, having been following the game pretty much since it was first announced. I just didn't have a PC at the time so I was patiently waiting for the ps2 version. I started out in the LittleGamers shell from then on I knew some ppl, then I moved on in with the ShirtNinjas as a Social Shell, since I was having issues with LG. I joined up Dawn for a while, and met Roan, who dragged me all the way into Divinity. Elexa's old Shell. There I've met a lot of you guys wich ended me up in Lucky after Divinity sort of died.

With time and life moving on, I find myself with very irregular playtimes, and play habits, but it is always nice to log on and hop on Lucky. I never felt unwelcomed, even after long absences. I always felt like I belonged, it's a rare thing and I cherish that even when I'm not around much.

[Avilon]

*plops down and listens for a while* Because I hear with my eyes >_>

Anyway...

I started right about the time of the CoP expansion's release. I saw it on the shelf next to the big white box and thought "hey, why not?". Little did I know that having the expansion would be useless for a very long time... My roommate in college was the one that told me about the game, and I joined his server, Gilgamesh :3 The game was definitely a lot of fun partying with someone that was sitting no more than 5 feet from me, especially since I was usually the healer and he was usually the tank. We made more than a few people freak out with out crazy plans and chain pulls... whm pulling is fun :3

A short while after I joined, we ran into a pair of people that seemed totally clueless. We ended up joining their LS after helping them find their way through Tahrongi Canyon, though I can't remember what LS that was. The four of us more or less formed a static party from then on, since we were always the same level... until the only taru in the group of humes left. People should at least say something before they up and quit ; ; Another taru soon joined the group though, and he managed to earn himself the name "Deleveling King" in a matter of minutes. I don't think I've ever seen anyone else that could die so much... He went from 15 to 20 back down to 15 again XD

After another couple months or so, the LS we were in died, and my college roommate quit the game. Shortly after that, I quit for the first time myself. I took, about a year and a half off. When I returned, I found a few people that remembered me, and I got more than a few sidelong glances when they found out I had made a new character instead of continuing the one I had. One of the clueless duo was still around, but didn't have an LS, so the Deleveling King invited both of us to the LS he had joined, Rabid Moogle. RM was my home on Gilgamesh for the rest of my time there.

Two summers ago, in June, was when I quit again. I made it to 45 thf that time! I had most of the mage jobs, plus mnk and nin, in the 30s too. I got stuck with smn though, since I couldn't get the avatars But, now I'm back once more, and this time I decided to start over on a new server, since Gilgamesh seemed very dead. Rabid Moogle had fallen apart (I kept up with their forums while I was out of the game), and all of my friends were gone (or, in the case of the Deleveling King, had moved to WoW).

I don't like not having people to talk to though, so I went about searching for an LS, and came across y'all on the Linkshell Communities site :3 The rest, well, that was just a few days ago, so the rest is yet to come! <3

[Majestica]

Well... I remember I started playing a long time ago. It was in a November. Not long after NA release I think. I just made my character  (Majestica, RIP) on my then boyfriend's acct and played a little here and there when he wasn't playing. Then he decided I was playing too much and got his own acct and let me have that one. My first job was RDM, and while I was in the 20's lvling in Qufim I met Bartleo lvling his whm. We became best friends! (There was NO cheating btw, contrary to popular belief) My first LS was ScarletLotus, not sure who the leader was or how I got in it. Eventually I left it, not sure why. lol Aren't I a great storyteller?? My next LS was Fury... I was lvling my ninja when I met Gemineye, he loved partying with Bart and I. Like I always said, he knew Bart and Maj before we were "Bart and Maj" We tried to static with his blm but it didn't really work out. Anyways out of Fury, again not sure why I left but Gemmy got us into ColdFusion. I think it was him, or maybe it was Armakoy? Ugh! I don't remember. Anyways I was in that til a majority of the big fellas left for WoW... and then Gemmy got us in Lucky. I love always feeling welcome after our long hiatuses, not feeling BAD for quitting so many times but still feeling missed? idk, it's a good feeling! Anyways Lucky has been my only home every since. Oh except when that one tard broke my pearl. What a NERD!

[Ennaor]

This is kinda an old topic but I feel like replying...
*Turns on the mystic fog flashback generator*

So I was going through all the Final Fantasy games and I think I just finished playing FFX-2 and next for me was FFXI!  I first started off on the Bismarck server and I didn't know what I was doing...  I think I was wandering around town and somebody gave me a linkshell pearl but I didn't know what it was so I threw it away and logged off right in front of that player who was waiting for me to equip it 
I told Aphinitea I was trying FFXI and he told me to join Phoenix, where he and Kageneko were playing!  So he got me a world pass thing and I started over in Phoenix.  Aphinitea was like my mentor and told me how to play (and power leveled me in South Gustaberg  ).  He told me I should find a linkshell but he couldn't invite me to his because it was tarutaru only.  And Kageneko was in a HNMLS or something like that.  I don't remember how I got my first linkshell pearl but it was called DragoonSlayers (sorry dragoons! ) That was a small linkshell. 

Gosh here is where my memory starts to get fuzzy...
I think I met Andhalas in a XP party and he gave me a Lucky pearl?  I think?  He must of been wowed by my awesome monk
Or maybe it was after I got a linkshell from Shiromori who I met on xanga to his linkshell Hyperion but I also remember seeing Ryudei in that linkshell sometimes...
All Elvaans are the same!  So that's why my story is getting confusing! 

Anyways!  Somehow I ended up with a Lucky Linkshell!  Thanks Ryudei or Andhalas! 

O and I quit for 2-3 years but after I built my very first computer I felt like playing a computer game.  I tried Portal but it made me dizzy playing @_@  And then I tried to find people to play Magicka with me but no luck  .  So back to FFXI  !

[Ryudei]

Brethren!  Let us brave the chaos of time to harken back to a distant era where the cookies were plentiful, the Fridays were eternal, and Mithra pranced the streets in droves.  It was on that fateful day that Xenu brought forth the Great Spaghetti Monster to do war upon the Lilliputians!

<The Tarutaru formerly known as Disneykarma> Happy Birthday Homie!  Here's a copy of FFXI,  I know you've been dying to play!
<The once Elvaan formerly known as Dragoon still called Ryudei?!> What?  Is it my birthday?  I swear I started this game during the Easter event.  This totally doesn't make any sense.
<DK> What?  I dunno, we're working off your memory here.
<Ryudei> Oh right.

And so was the night sky stained the deepest crimson, Calloo!  Callay!

So yeah, I started like...  musta been in '01 or something.  I made a fortune swindling people during the easter event, since I was during my trial period and had unlimited mules I just spammed the egg dudes and sold those vowels for mucho profit!  I had a Galka that autogenned as Celestialbamboo, pretty much the most awesome Galka ever!

DK and Green hooked me up with some connections; I started in Dib's shell Ktnkllrz or something like that, I can't seem to recall which letters were actually plucked out to form that husk of a word but I never was really happy with the thought of killing kittens!

Then one thing led to another and I somehow landed in Divinity, and then some other things led to yet MORE things and there was Ivalice which didn't last long and after that I got invited to Lucky!  I also did some HNM stuff for a long bit and there were definitely antics involved along the way but it's basically about time for me to go home so I'm cutting this thing short!

Ahh and I was going to put together a masterful story too, 'tis a shame!

[Carmi]

Freja was playing for a month and for that month he kept trying to sell FFXI to me (get me to play). I'm like "DUDER, MMOs aren't for me! Besides I just started college!" They he sent me 3 gift cards just to get me to buy the damn thing, and so I bought it to shut him up. And that's how I got addicted to crack ...