Welcoem to posts!!
in the future - u will be able to do some more stuff here,,,!! like pat catgirl- i mean um yeah... for now u can only see others's posts :c
merry christmas and happy holidays everyone!! šš¤©āØ thank you all for being such a gift in my life!
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š£we're hosting a WATCH PARTY! tom and i are hosting a watch party to watch Part 1 of the No Clip FFXIV Documentary! if you don't play FFXIV, it's still a fascinating story that covers the launch, fail, and re-launch of Final Fantasy XIV.
Wednesday, December 4th, 5PM PST
THIS EVENT WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE HEATHERJUSTPLAY DISCORD SERVER! we'll be in the Lobby channel so the voice chat will be open for everyone. feel free to chat along or just watch! š it's also TOM'S BIRTHDAY! š„³
"In the first video in our three-part series, we tell the story of how the 1.0 version of FINAL FANTASY 14 came to be. How FINAL FANTASY 11 inspired its design, the ways in which the game fell short and how Square-Enix and the development team reacted to its failure."
š¾join us in Discord! this is the community space for my YouTube channel so if you want to be the first to know when i'll be posting a video or going live, or if you want to connect with others in the HJP community, join us here: discord.gg/jGVKzy7KKy
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š£WE WANT TO VISIT YOUR FFXIV HOUSE! krakenās call, our awesome FFXIV free company, is beginning the process of getting an FC house š¤© but the first thing we want to do is a HOUSING TOUR to get inspiration and see whatās possible! tom and i are planning to stream this on thanksgiving at 5PM PST. we realize that a lot of you will be busy with family but we thought it would be a super fun way for us to spend OUR thanksgiving! so no worries if you canāt be there.
š”do you have a house that we can visit on stream? if so, hereās the info we need.
Data Center
Server
Residential District
Ward
Plot
Notes (anything you want to highlight or make sure we look for while weāre visiting?)
we're prioritizing the HJP discord community so depending on the response and how much time we have, we may not be able to visit everyone's house. if you'd like to join the HJP discord, here's the link! discord.gg/f665aRCq
also, no worries if you canāt be present when we stream or meet us in game. just make sure that your house is publicly accessible!
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š®tom and i went to a water lantern festival! š i thought about vlogging, but since we were with family, i wanted to stay present. instead, here are some photos/videos i wanted to share!
the first thing we did was decorate our lanterns. it was such a great opportunity to reflect on what weāre thankful for and think about our hopes for the future.
of course, the first thing that came to mind for me was youtube. iām so thankful that 8 years ago, i gave myself the chance to try this thing. nothing about youtube made sense back in 2016. i had quit my job to start a business and decided to document my journey on youtube. my parents were begging me to get a ārealā job, everyone else around me was settling down (buying a house, having kids, getting promoted in careers), and all logic was telling me this was āwrong.ā but something in my gut told me i would regret it if i didnāt give it a shot. and if i was going to try, i was going all in.
eventually, youtube became my job. i also met tom. some of my best friends in life came into my world because of youtube.
and who wouldāve thought that 8 years into this journey, i would embark on a new chapter that would lead to where we are now with the heatherjustplay community. it feels like everything has led to this. the fact that tom and i can both be creative in such unique ways on this channel, share fun with the world, and connect with amazing peopleāit really is the most incredible turn of events, and i couldnāt be more thankful.
and honestly, i canāt even begin to describe HOW EXCITED I AM for all our future adventures with this community! š¤©
what about tomās lantern? he wrote our important dates (our dating anniversary, the day we proposed to each other, and our wedding anniversary) and he called me his IRL warrior of light. šš„°
thank you, truly, for being part of this journey with me!
-heather
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life lately āØ feeling my most creative. meeting the most incredible people. having the most fun! š¤© to the HJP community, thank you š
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EXCITING NEWS! š¤© iām so proud and thrilled to share that my husband āŖ@tombuckā¬ has been shortlisted as a finalist for the Rode Creator of the Year awards!! creators have been judged based on the following criteria: audio quality, visual quality, personality and originality. and thereās also a Peopleās Choice Award where YOU can vote for a creator in each category. tom is in Gear & Tech Reviews!
i started my first YouTube channel on April 16, 2016. a year later, i got a comment on one of my videos from a high school digital media teacher. we ended up connecting via email. he invited me to tour his classroom/curriculum and speak to his students about being a youtube creator. that person was tom and after we met, he sent me this email on August 20, 2017.
āDon't know even where to begin on this one, but I feel like it's important for me to actually push myself towards building my own YouTube channel. You gave me the kick in the pants I needed, and on top of that, if my 11 year old self knew that I could make movies and share them with LITERALLY THE ENTIRE WORLD FOR FREE, but I wasn't doing it, he'd be pretty disappointed and confused.Ā
Money/subscribers/views aren't the goal. Obviously there's a certain sweet spot I'd like to hit where it doesn't feel totally pointless, but beyond that, I'm mostly tired of being a creator who doesn't create, and to tie it into work, it will help me better understand the thing I teach.
In your opinion, why would anyone want to watch? What would be an effective way to frame my story/perspective/ideas/whateveryouwanttocallit? I definitely do want to keep things genuine and authentic.ā
tom declared to himself that he wanted to give this youtube thing a try right after he sent this email and now, heās made over 500 videos! you can see his channel at youtube.com/tombuck
tom, it brings a tear to my eye to know that both your 11 year old self and your 2017 self would be so proud of where you are now. š„¹ you did it. you ARE doing it.šš¼ you gave yourself the chance. you pushed through. you never gave up. every day, you inspire me with how dedicated and creative you are. you really do light up when you are teaching, empowering, and sharing your excitement. itās been the greatest joy to be a part of your journey. š
tom is gear focused but ever since he was a high school teacher, itās always been about helping people use these tools to discover their voice, share their passion, and connect with others. to be a finalist is a huge milestone and if youād like to support tom, hereās the link where you can vote! geni.us/tomrode
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āŖ@tombuckā¬ and i work side by side most of the day. i pulled up this picture of Oliver Benley, tom saw it out of the corner of his eye and for a second, thought it was a picture of me... SO WEāRE AT THAT POINT FOLKS. our warriors of light have become extensions of our real selves š which i think is a really fun thing, just to be clear. š
today, i wanted to share a bit about whatās going on behind the scenes because THEREāS A LOT! š„³
first off, tom and i have been trying to level up our streaming setup each time we go live. thereās been a lot to learn and plenty to adjust, but weāre having fun with it.
i mentioned this before but i hadnāt really planned to stream more than a few times a month on HeatherJustPlay. a big reason is because historically, livestreaming used to take it out of me.š“ after streaming for just an hour on my other channels, i would immediately sign off, walk to the couch, and pass out because i so wiped. imagine tomās surprise when he came home from his hockey game on Saturday and i told him that iād streamed for 4.5 hours and felt great! š¤Æ fun is fuel!
on a personal level, i had a lot of feelings to work through about streaming. i wasnāt sure how it would feel to watch cutscenes on stream. i thought it might come off as forced or unnatural. just thinking about people watching my reactions seemed so awkward.š¬ but during our raid stream on saturday, i had to watch some cutscenes, and surprisingly, it felt very natural! i didnāt feel self-conscious and most importantly, it didnāt feel like it was taking away from my own experience of the game.
maybe thatās another reason why i was hesitant. video games have been mostly a solitary activity for me, so i thought streaming would take away from my enjoyment of the game since iād be splitting my attention. but if anything, theyāve have enhanced it to a completely different level! š¤©
tom was also unsure so he did HIS very first gaming stream EVER when we streamed on halloween! you know what i never thought was in the realm of possibility?š¤Æ 1) tom playing an RPG, 2) tom playing FFXIV, and 3) tom streaming himself playing FFXIV! š¤Æ for our halloween stream, we had two goals: 1) figure out if itās possible to show tomās gameplay, and 2) see if heād actually enjoy it. and the answer to both was a big yes! š„³ weāre also continuously tweaking our production setup to streamline things and we appreciate your feedback.
another delightful surprise has been our discord server, which has truly been one of the best decisions of my HJP journey so far. itās been so great getting to know some of you. tom and i love how diverse this group is and that we seem to have a lot of overlapping interests. nerds unite! š
as a discord newbie though, iām still learning how to use this thing! š i have ALL of the ideas and i have to ask our amazing mods like, āis this possible?ā or āhow can we make this happen?ā shoutout to our mods, and thank you all for your patience as we go through these āgrowing pains.ā
i also feel a sense of responsibility to people who might be playing FFXIV or even trying video games for the first time because of the HJP YouTube channel. and not in an obligatory way, but because video games have just been such a positive force in my life. if i could be a gateway for others to experience the magic of video games, then YES, thatās what i want to do! š so if you see content or discord channels that go beyond FFXIV, thatās where iām coming from.
i feel like with HeatherJustPlay, iām on this incredible journey like Oliver Benley. but all of you feel like my āroad to 90ā experience buff: helping me figure things out, guiding me along the way, partying up with me, sharing your perspectives, and contributing. itās just so cool. SO FREAKINā COOL. I WISH I HAD BETTER WORDS TO DESCRIBEEEEE THE FEELS BUT THIS IS WHAT I GOT š
-heather
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we officially have a FFXIV Free Company: Krakenās Call!
on tuesday, we streamed the official chartering of our FFXIV free company inspired by the HeatherJustPlay community, called Krakenās Call! š„³š https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9yfe...
that was one of THE COOLEST THINGS EVER!! š¤Æš„³š¤© i was so nervous, i canāt even tell you. i donāt even know why. iām always nervous haha š
but just seeing everyone come together like that was just INCREDIBLE!!
my first idea for the name wasā¦.. the Crystal Cadetsā¦.. š¤«
i got the word ācadetsā from a band called the Aquabats, āŖ@tombuckā¬'s favorite band ever. they call their fans the Aquacadets. then it was going to be the Kraken Cadets. and finally, it became Krakenās Call! š«”
so hereās how all this came about.
one of the things i did when i took a break from the HeatherJustPlay YouTube channel was learn how to play hockey. a new 11,000 seat arena was built next to us, and it also became the home of the AHL (american hockey league) team called the Coachella Valley Firebirds. the Firebirds feed into the NHL Seattle Kraken so we kind of became Kraken fans by default. prior to this, we were never sports fans, but having a local team to cheer for and learning how fun hockey is, we became season ticket holders and started taking classes.
then when i came back to HeatherJustPlay and FFXIV, it was hard for people to party up for the first few streams because the Lamia server was always congested. so i thought about moving to a new server to help make it easier for all of us to party together, and one of the new servers was called Kraken. it was the obvious choice. š
and now Krakenās Call is official! i even snagged the domain!! š if you go to krakenscall.com, you'll see our crest and mission statement!
but i also want to say, please donāt feel like you have to join the FC! i realize that for many of you, you canāt move to Dynamis/Kraken or youāve been with your FC for years. there will be plenty of opportunities to play together, whether youāre in the FC or not! š
we do have a discord for the HeatherJustPlay community! you can check it out here: discord.gg/GUnn9Kkm
i canāt even explain the excitement i feel. youāve all taken this game that i already loved so much and youāve ELEVATED it to a level i didnāt realize was possible! it really has been pure joy, and it all feels organic! itās one delightful surprise after another! and thereās so much to look forward to, both with FFXIV and HeatherJustPlay. š¤©
video games have been a big part of my life since i was kid, and iām honored that quite a few people are discovering video games for the first time (or even a different way to experience video games) because of HeatherJustPlay (like Tom!).
hereās to more adventures together! āØ
-heather
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SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS! š¤Æ
first of all, a big highlight was our EPIC RAID livestream last saturday! š„³ i canāt believe we were able to rally 22 people together to show āŖ@tombuckā¬ that FFXIV raids could be funā¦ and fun was definitely had! we still canāt believe that no one left, even when tom had to watch a bunch of cutscenes between raids! everyone stayed the whole time, followed directions, and even let me take photos. š¤Æ we know how lucky we were to have such a tailored experience. itās just so cool to see people going out of their way to share FUN. it was a truly incredible experience that weāll never forget! š https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HJqQ...
i also got one of my favorite youtube comments ever on the replay of this stream (see screenshot!).
a 73 year old gamer who played final fantasy with their kids?? HOW AWESOME! iām honored that they enjoy my videos! i hope they join our discord server or, at the very least, i hope we get to party with them on a future stream! š¤©
then, i decided to stream for a second time that night. not only did i get to party up with some of you again, but people actually showed up to watch! š¤Æ and it was so much fun! but it was honestly something i didnāt expect. i only did my first livestream since jumping back into this youtube channel on october 4th, and let me tell you, that stream almost didnāt happen. i was TERRIFIED. tom REALLY had to encourage me to push past my fear and just give it a try. and if i hadnāt streamed, well, our discord server wouldnāt exist so iām definitely glad i did. š
when i came back to this youtube channel, i had only planned to make videos. iām sure i wouldāve eventually streamed, but it felt reallyā¦ i donāt know, self indulgent? like, does anyone actually want to watch me play video games? itās the most ordinary activity in my life and one that has been mostly solitary š
but between all the streams iāve done this month and meeting all of you, my thoughts on streaming have definitely changed.š you're not watching me, you're playing with me.
being able to play video games with other people is so special. iāve always known that. but being able to meet and connect with new people through video games as an adult? i think thatās rare. and weāre all over the world! itās real-world magic to be able to have fun like this, go on adventures together, and make memories. itās the best thing and iām just super grateful.
lots to be thankful for as we head into a new month and today, it FINALLY felt like fall for us. tom and i live in the southern california desert and we thought the heat would never leave. it was triple digit temperatures well into october. just a few days ago, it was still in the 90s. yesterday, it finally felt like fall š
so thank you if youāre reading this. thanks for being a part of this journey. i hope youāre having as much fun as i am and iām excited for our future adventures! āØ
-heather
(this is from Tom!)
I just want to say a quick thanks for all of the fun and help along the way! All of the extra help in duties and raids and stuff has been terrific and helped make it WAY more fun than when I was trying to do it on my own. But Iāve also heard so much about the āFFXIV communityā over the years and now I get it. Heather and I are both super lucky to have such an awesome group of people not just to dive into the game with but to just enjoy all the fun/nerdy things that we seem have in common!
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WE OFFICIALLY HAVE A DISCORD SERVER! š„³ admittedly i am a discord newbie but based on all of your feedback, i wanted to create a space to share upcoming videos, livestreams, and just connect with you all between streams. i want to give a big shoutout to PimpyShortstocking and RoninTheCollector for helping me get the server up and runningāthis wouldnāt exist without your help!
this feels like such a huge level up, such a big milestone for HeatherJustPlay. iāve been feeling a bit anxious about the channel lately. lots of second guessing on my part. despite being a youtube creator for 8 years, iāve never built anything quite like this. it really feels special and the discord server is like a sign that iām on the right track.āØ
so tonight, iām feeling extra grateful.š iām excited to see where it all goes from here, and with the discord community, maybe it wonāt feel quite so daunting!
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hi Iām heather and iām a 39 year old lifelong gamer!š¾ video games have been something that have brought me joy since I was a kid. here, I want to share that joy, not just for video games, but for other things that bring me excitement, inspiration, comfort, and happiness.š welcome to my cozy corner of the internet.šš¹šļøš®šŖ
iāve been a full time content creator for 8 years. starting my first youtube channel was one of the best decisions iāve ever made and iām excited to continue exploring my creativity here! if you want to check out my other channels, you can find them at @heatherjustcreate and @heatherramirez. my husband is also a youtube creator @tombuck. we live in the California desert with our two dogs, ben and finley!
š£ i do have a discord! you can find the link in the descriptions of videos/streams.
š£ i donāt have a set stream schedule but i will try to schedule my streams in advance.
š£ you can contact me on Instagram/Threads @heatherjustplay