Level 100 Black Mage: Ice, Fire, and a Chill Pup

Ever since I started learning Black Mage, I’ve been super happy. I love how the job lets you switch between ice and fire—it’s not just spamming fire spells; you gotta balance it with ice.

[This was me grinding FATEs in Il Mheg.]_29 MAY 2025

Every time I wave my little staff around and summon a huge chunk of ice, I feel like an ultimate ice-making machine.

And today, I finally hit Black Mage level 100!

Oh, and gotta mention my pup—no matter how dire the situation is, even when me and my chocobo are barely hanging on, he’s just chilling like nothing’s wrong. Emotionally unshakable, that one.

FATE Grind, Kind Strangers, and Surprise House Guests

Been busy decorating my place lately and realized I needed a few butterfly specimens for a furniture design. Turns out they cost bicolor gemstones—so off I went to grind FATEs.

On the way, I ran into another FATE farmer named ShiYe(诗页). We partied up, and she mentioned she only needed one more FATE for the achievement. Congrats to her! When she asked about my progress, I admitted I was still miles away from my goal.

Then—plot twist—she offered to trade her gems for my Butterfly Specimen! I told her it was way too expensive and that just one would be enough (apparently, these items are tradable).

That evening, she actually visited my house and gifted me a Butterfly Specimen. Just as I was thanking her, Luna and RisingLord senpai unexpectedly showed up too! We all hung out and chatted, and Luna even tossed me a fat stack of gil on top of everything. So grateful!

[The miqo'te to my left with the warm complexion is ShiYe.]_17APR2025

When Senpais Come to Judge Your Decor

Just got off my shift at the nightclub and was about to log out when suddenly LemonCool and Bonwee showed up at my place. They said they wanted to check out my housing decor.

[Pre-renovation - Enatsu and I sitting on the empty floor]_29MAR2025

I used to have zero idea about decorating. Back when my house was just an empty shell, Enatsu would sit with me on the bare floors to chat. She helped me rearrange furniture forever until everything looked perfect. She'd always place cool housing items we scored in just the right spots.

I showed them my kitchen area first—complete with a study nook and a huge window overlooking the beach. Got a full-auto coffee machine, built-in oven/stove, dishwasher, and a dining set for four. The lounge has an L-shaped couch and a round log table. Still undecided about the loft... might turn it into an art corner later. Finally, my bedroom—a cozy, semi-enclosed space that just feels safe.

[Group photo with LemonCool and Bonwee]_23MAY2025

After they left, I looked around again. Still gotta grind for some decor items—like farming FATEs for that Milk Carton (Crazy for the 5.0v FATEs Achievements).

RP Walking in Eorzea

One day, NuomiTuan sent me an email saying she’d visited an RP café with friends like Enatsu and JiNai(寄乃）.

I’d never heard of it before and had no clue what it was. She explained that an RP venue is when players decorate their houses as themed shops and focus on roleplaying. Apparently, it’s super fun.

https://ffxivvenues.com/

Please note: Certain RP establishments may include mature themes.

So I started daydreaming about visiting one myself. But between leveling, Frontline PvP, and grinding for housing materials, that idea got pushed to the back of my mind.

Then one day, I ran completely broke—couldn’t even afford a single dye—and heard you could earn gil by working at RP venues. That’s when the idea flared up again.

By chance, I ran into my mentor while passing through Limsa Lominsa. I asked her, "What’s an RP venue even like? Any good ones you’d recommend?" Instead of just telling me, she straight-up took me there and said, "My treat."

My mentor’s kind of a legend. Luna Senpai once told me, "Your mentor’s cracked—she’s mastered every piece of content in this game." And sure enough, when we got to the place, the owner talked to her like they were old friends. Meanwhile, I just stood there shaking behind her, too nervous to speak.

"All staff, front and center!"* She basically booked out the entire crew, then turned to me: "Pick a room." （That should be one of the FC rooms）

Inside, one of the clerks walked behind the counter, eagerly gave me a coffee and dessert, and explained some mini-games on a list. I picked "sentence-building"—we took turns adding one word to a phrase based on /random rolls. If your addition made it grammatically weird or nonsensical, you’d fail and get punished with truth or dare.

Later, my mentor dragged me to the markets to lecture me on "Eorzean Economics 101" and better ways to make gil. "You don’t have to work at RP venue," she said. But I thought it was fun! The staff had this unspoken teamwork—if someone got flustered, another would step in to help, just like a well-coordinated raid.

22MAY2025

Right before leaving, I looked at my mentor (who was sprawled on the floor pretending to be dead) and said, "I’ve learned so much today.(我悟到了很多。)"

Her response? "You’ve learned jack squat!(你悟到个锤子)"

My Painting: NuomiTuan in Sharlayan

 

I didn’t draw you very well—please forgive me.

This is how you looked in my eyes when you came to see me while I was crouching in Old Sharlayan doing LeveQuests.

LemonCool’s L-House Flex

Recently saw LemonCool bragging in the Linkshell about rolling an L-sized house and inviting me to check out his freshly decorated yard. Gotta say, large house plots are totally something else—not only did he fit a mountain-style rock garden, but there’s also a bridge, three gardening patches, AND enough space to set up a full camping tent!

LemonCool mentioned the interior’s still a work in progress and said it’s a real gil sink. Yeah, I feel that—remembering how much it cost just to furnish my S-house. If it weren’t for Luna senpai sending me a few stacks of gil, I’d probably still be stuck halfway.

Suddenly got the urge to stash a few milk cartons in my kitchen storage, but ugh—gotta grind out that 5.0 FATE achievement first to unlock them.

A Surprise Gift: The Day Enatsu Made Me a Million-Gil Glam Queen

While I was doing my Thaumaturge job quest out in Southern Thanalan, Enatsu suddenly dropped in next to me and sent a party invite. I told her I was about to enter a solo duty for the quest, so I couldn’t join up right then. She said she’d wait for me to finish because she wanted to give me a little gift.

When I came out of the duty, she surprised me with the latest hairstyle—the super expensive one! I heard it’s going for over 2 million gil on the marketboard right now.

Enatsu told me to hurry to the inn and try it on. So we went to the closest one in Ul’dah, and after I changed my look, I found her waiting for me in the lobby. I looked absolutely fabulous!

Thanks, Enatsu, for the amazing (and crazy expensive) gift!

Three of a Kind: Matching Glams, Timeless Memories

Nuomituan and Enatsu have always helped me out a lot, so I wanted to thank them. I bought them the latest outfits from the Online Store. Since gifting requires sending a code for them to redeem themselves, I sent the codes over. I kinda wanted to get the same outfit for myself too, so all three of us could match—like a little team uniform. But I ran out of my monthly allowance, so I had to wait a while before I could grab one for myself.

Once we all got our new glams, I suggested we go take some group pics together. Nuomituan said they knew some good spots for photos. First, we went to the Royal Menagerie—that rooftop garden in Ala Mhigo with the killer view. Later, we even snuck into a dungeon for some cool shots.

I know nothing lasts forever—maybe someday, someone might leave the game. But at least these memories will stay with me.

Everyone had a great time.

Eorzea’s Stranger: Beyond the Blade

I met Keshkwa when he had just arrived at the unfamiliar continent of Eorzea. At that time, he was having problems with communication while trying to buy a piece of clothing. Being short of money, he could only rely on his swordsmanship to complete commissions and earn an income. Meanwhile, he also took on the task of hunting for "Iq Soq Xmajun" on this continent that was far from his hometown, the creature that had taken his senior fellow apprentice's life.

On the way, when he saw that I was interested in his unique swordsmanship, he taught me without reservation how to master this novel fighting method. The two swords were like the twin fangs of a viper, biting the opponent fiercely. At the same time, the body should nimbly leap around the enemy, coiling around the opponent just like a viper.

In the end, we encountered his prey in the desert area of Southern Thanalan and defeated it, avenging his senior fellow apprentice.

What impressed me was that after Keshkwa defeated the monster, he still showed respect for life and an attitude. He murmured that he hoped the monster would return to tranquility. You should respect every life you kill.

Gray Fur, Blue Mood: Broadcast from the Moon

On the moon, there’s this group of rabbits (or Lopporits, if we’re being fancy). They were created by Hydaelyn as a backup plan—y’know, in case the whole "end of the world" thing actually happened and humans needed a place to evacuate to. These bunnies went all out, building a whole moon base to welcome everyone.

But then, we went and saved the day (as usual), so no one on the Source actually had to move to the moon. Total plot twist, right? The Lopporits were so hyped to meet humans, and when that didn’t happen… well, let’s just say they kinda lost their purpose. One bunny in particular had studied everything about humans—culture, language, you name it—just to connect with them. When he found out it wasn’t happening, he was devastated. Dude even asked to go back into his sleep pod, like, "Just let me hibernate forever. This pain is too much."

So, I stepped in and helped the Lopporits set up a new rec room—singing, dancing, cooking, painting, even tinkering with tech. They needed to live for themselves, not just for humans back on the Source. But that one sad bunny? Poor guy was so down his fur literally turned from white to gray. That’s how badly he wanted to talk to people.

Then he found out he could still help humans from the moon—like monitoring the Source’s atmospheric currents to predict weather and broadcasting forecasts back home. And when he got his first fan letter from someone on the Source? Absolute turnaround. Dude’s grinning ear to ear now.