#jijivisha

[ggvisha]

[gray-morality]

We’re up to no good, ya want in?

■ Datacenter | Crystal – Balmung

■ Playtime | Approx. 6 pm to 10 pm EST

■ You must be 21+ | Mature themes RP

This is a rather specific kind of LFRP post. The goal is to find 2 or 3-ish (or more, who knows!) people to RP and plot with (alongside with my RP partner).  I (we) are open to plot or event ideas, character hooks, pre-established relationships/rivals, you name it. What we’re looking for:

Thavnair-centric - It doesn’t matter if your character is not Thavnairian or spend times outside the region; tbh our own “adventures” take us outside this nation regularly, but we always come back to Thavnair or, more specifically, we work FOR (the betterment of) Thavnair.

Morally gray - Don’t mistake this for evil; However, we’re not completely good either. Sometimes you have to bend the law, or walk carefully under it, in order to survive (or become the lesser of two evils). We try to help others, or ourselves, but life has a way to hand out lemons by the crates and making lemonade ain’t cheap.

Flight before fight - We tend to play more like civilians and a lot of our stories revolve around white collar crime. Not that our characters can’t handle being in a fight, but if it comes to that (and if the opportunity is there) I know of at least one of us that will try to run for it before engaging in combat >_>;;;; *cough* Hunting beasts and monsters, however, is something else entirely.

Lore compliance, realism and low power - This is our brand. We don’t want people who can solve everything single-handedly, who have enough IC wealth to buy off a whole residential district and pull all the favors, or can heal everything with the snap of their fingers. Where’s the fun in that? We like to eat dirt, chew it and spit it out (not for all three meals mind you, it lacks proteins).

Love for writing - And we mean that in the broadest possible way. It includes plotting, writing events and stories for our characters. They can be very centric to one or many characters - we’re all about character development - or to a group (we have Jijivisha). If you just want to sit and enjoy the chocobo ride, look elsewhere, ‘cause we ain’t even got any chocobos.

The small prints

■  Our RP style is turn-based para/multi-para and, speaking for myself, I’m not especially a fast typer AND English is not my native tongue (so I sometimes get stuck on a word or another and it gives 5 more minutes of waiting on my post xD)

■ We RP mature themes; and by that we don’t mean hosting orgies every weekend. As we roleplay characters of gray morality and part of the criminal world, harsh language and swearing (especially Fakhri), gambling (ehh Fakhri’s bread and butter lol), heavy use of alcohol (coughtFakhricough), smoking legal and not so legal substances (Guess who?), drugs (Starts with an F) and violence are all part of that package. We obviously respect people’s boundaries if a topic is sensitive for them. Also if you haven’t noticed, Fakhri is trash and Seda is the more respectable of the two.

■ No Discord RP. Multiple factors at play with this decision and, while there are very rare exceptions, just assume it’s not happening.

If you read through all of this, consider me amazed xD

This may all seem like a lot but me and my partner are actually quite laid back. We’re both adults with a career and obligations and we know what it is to get home tired, or not having the energy nor the time for the game on any given day, or week. This is why we highly value good communication and we respect each other’s time. Now, why only seek 2 or 3-ish people to RP with? We firmly believe in quality before quantity and, hopefully, having a tight-knit group is all we’ll need to weave stories and have fun. Think of it as a tabletop group of friends. As a final note, me and my partner both enjoy the PVE aspect of the game so if that’s something you enjoy as well, bonus kudos to you and let’s climb HoH already!

Also, liking rats is mandatory.

Fakhri Man’tik

■ alcohol, fogweed and gambling. Leaving the Primeval Forests behind, only to wake up one day in a dark alley, between a pile of trash and a rat. Even the cards couldn’t have foretold that he’d take that wrong turn, right into a world of crime, taking some of humanity’s vices as his own. But it seems the spirits (or a rat) took pity on him after all...

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CAARD | https://fakhrimantik.carrd.co/>

TUMBLR | https://gray-morality.tumblr.com/

Seda Ballard

■ bad decisions, ambition and wanderlust.  Making a name for herself as a walking encyclopedia of Eorzean tariffs, imports, duties and taxes - and how to avoid paying them - her ink-stained fingers dancing through many account books. The path can be quite dark when one has no qualms where the money comes from. Good thing she met with someone who can hold a lantern to light the road ahead…

--------------------

CAARD | https://catscratching.carrd.co/

TUMBLR | https://catscratching.tumblr.com/

[catscratching]

Seda’s offer to watch the children had not had the response she had expected – many of the parents had smiled, thanked her for the generous offer, but declined to take her up on it. 

At least… at first.   Ayat, the children’s grandmother, was apologetic when she appeared in Seda’s office one bright morning.  “Normally they help their mother,”  Her smile had been radiant with pride – her son in law was able to provide so well for his family that his wife did not have to augment their income outside of their home.  “But there was something, aya! I admit I did not ask too close, Salaah, as I remembered you were making the offer, and with you and Salaah Fakhri…”  She trailed off, her eyes casting downward to Seda’s mostly flat abdomen, her eyes sparkling.  Tugging the children forward, she beamed at the petite miqo’te.  “Practice.”

Seda wasn’t quite sure how it became common knowledge that she and Fakhri were trying to start a family of their own, but from the sly, speculative looks she received from the older women, and the way certain foods began appearing out of nowhere on her desk… it seemed the people they worked with – worked for, in the grand scheme of things – approved.

And so it was that she had Meryem and Ismail for a couple of days out of the week.   They were polite and well behaved… but Seda was an outlander, and an authority figure; they had taken time to get comfortable with her.  She began having them teach her Hannish traditions, and learning Ismail’s favorite stories.  After a few weeks, the trio were good friends, and Seda looked forward to her days with them a great deal.

On that particular afternoon, they had wandered the city, the children giving her a bit of an impromptu history lesson (as seen through the lens of their ages and experiences), and to their delight, she had bought their lunch from a street vendor for an impromptu picnic near one of the fountains.

By the time they returned to Jijivisha, all three were tired and ready to retire to the cool recesses of Seda’s offices, where they could sip iced tea and listen to the fountains.

Seda drowsed in the plush upholstered chair in her office, her bare feet up on pouf.  Ismail had tired early; she had had to carry the toddler all the way up from the Rise.  He sprawled against her chest with the utter relaxation of the very young, his pudgy little legs tucked up around her waist.   It was too warm to hold him – she could feel sweat prickling between her breasts and trickling down her sides, but the sweetness of a child’s trust was too precious to ignore.

“Salaah?”  Meryem’s voice roused her slightly, and she cautiously wriggled her toes.  The youngster had commented on Seda’s painted toenails, and she had promised the girl that she could paint them herself, if she wanted.

“Mmm….?”  She didn’t feel anything that concerned her.  No sensation between her toes of something that shouldn’t be there.   “What is it, habibi?”

“My jadda says you do not have any family,”  The girl’s clothing rustled, and Seda cracked an eye open to peer at her, uncertain where this was going.    

Meryem was frowning in concentration; she had daubed a bit of polish on top of the existing lacquer Seda had been wearing and was using one of the toothpicks that had been in their lunch to draw the polish into designs.

“That’s true,” Seda said slowly, her own brow creasing.  “Although I have come to think of everyone here as my family.  Sahib Hikmat, your jadda Ayat and all the others.   Did you have a question about that?”

Satisfied with the blobs on her big toe, Meryem blobbed a very large dot of polish on the second and began playing with it, getting paint all over Seda’s toe.   “When you and Salaah Fakhri get married, we will be your family.”  She looked up, her little face brightening.  “We can wash each other’s hair in the hammam!”

Drawing on early training at hiding her emotions, Seda shifted Ismail in her lap, moving the little boy’s head to the other side.  “That would be very nice.  Er… I don’t know if Salaah Fakhri and I will…”  She trailed off, confounded by a nine year old.

“But… you have to!” Meryem said earnestly.  “How else will you get your baby?”

I am far, far too sober for this, Seda thought, reaching up to rub her temple. And I need to have a few words with Ayat.  What the fuck do I do with this?

Clearly, parenting was not going to be nearly as easy as she thought it would be.

⋅───────────────────⋅☾☆☽⋅────────────────────⋅

As a long-time insomnia sufferer, I tend to imagine / write scenes in my head as I try and fall asleep. The idea of one of the children popping this 'so when are you two getting married' question tickled me so much I really wanted to write it out. Then I realized that I was approaching this from a very western-centric cultural viewpoint. Fakhri's tribe likely has no concept of marriage as Eorzea thinks of it, and Seda had a very non-traditional household growing up – she isn't sure if her mother ever married (and I am sure many miqo'te do not; Silana's clan was non-Eorzean, so she would not have had Eorzean values to instill into her daughter.)

... And at the same time, Seda is trying so hard to learn Hannish tradition and cultural rituals that it amused me that she'd still be caught off guard by the assumption.

We've been taking a blend of inspiration for Jijivisha and Hannish culture; if I misused the arabic words for 'grandmother' and the endearment that was intended to be something akin to 'sweetheart' – then we can point at Google, for they steered me wrong. (:

Finally, I had originally intended on staging a scene in-game and getting the screenshots of Seda, Meryem and Ismail, but if we waited for me to do that, Seda would be a grandmother three times over before I got it all sorted to my satisfaction. (I still have a pair of prompts I need to stage and my most heartfelt groveling to the patient mutual that sent them. ♥ )

As always... thank you guys for all your support, and for following along with our lugnuts. I love them so much.

[ and no - they do not yet have a surprise waiting to be discovered. ;) ]

[beadii]

Ocs

[word-stuck]

jijivisha (जिजीविषा)

[gray-morality]

Jijivisha’s Meyhane night

Tucked within the colorful city of Radz-at-Han is the house of Jijivisha, known amongst the locals as a shelter, offering their services to those in need so they can get a brief respite and reclaim some of their dignity. Once a moon, their doors open for the general public to get themselves known and to gather funds to continue their work within the community.

Come experience a slice of Thavnairian culture; Music, good company and laughter (and alcohol, lots of it); this is how meyhane should be enjoyed! (You must be 18/21+ to attend the meyhane open house.) 

Tuesday, November 15th 7pm to 10pm EDT Crystal - Balmung | Goblet W11 P53 (ICly in Radz-at-Han) Carrd |https://jijivisha.carrd.co/ Menu |https://jijivisha.carrd.co/#menu Tonight! Come say hi!

[gray-morality]

Utsāha 2023.07.13

Fakhri had lived in Thavnair for eight decades, granted he left for a number of years before returning to this land he called home. While his roots were still way up in the mountains of the Skatay Range, remaining at one place for so long meant he could claim being of its people, as surely as one born on this island. And perhaps because he’d been an outsider once, he ended up developing a fierce protectiveness for this nation that had welcomed him. Thus when he met the Sahib Hikmat Shah upon the End of Days, subsequently joining Jijivisha and becoming its ‘man on the ground’, it cemented that idea that he was there to watch over the people of this land. Which is why their earlier encounter with a certain trio - one Au ri man and two Midlander women - at the docks of Yedlihmad left a sour taste in his mouth. They had been nothing of importance at first, just a bunch of stowaways, perhaps, freshly arrived in Thavnair and seemingly in search of work. The way this group had approached them, however, had been peculiar, to say the least. Claiming they had spied on them and had discovered Seda was in charge, while Fakhri was likely her hired muscle. This alone was laughable and made it clear their ‘research’ was nothing but empty words. A simple stroll to check on a recent shipment had turned into a farce as the group continued on, stating what they could do in exchange of coins, none of which appealed to Seda. Jijivisha was indeed not in need of enforcers, as it already had its own people proficient in combat, if ever needed. It was clear to both Fakhri and Seda that those three suspicious characters were trying to gain the upper hand by striking a deal on their own terms. And this wasn’t going to happen. Every inquisitive question was being turned around and, after over a bell of needless talking, it became obvious they’d never see eye to eye; Those people definitely were not here to help the citizens of Thavnair. And then the man of the group had the audacity… "Near as I can tell, they need to buck up. It's a pretty enough place and in a way reminds me of home..but the people are soft. Lucky they survived at all.”

Had Fakhri been the type to punch someone in the face on impulse, that Au ra would have lost a few teeth. This whole encounter would easily have been brushed away at the end of the day, had it not been for that one sentence. How dare he belittle the people of a land who had suffered, first in line, to the greatest ordeal this star had ever faced! The jungle had burned, villages were destroyed, the people had to face their loved ones as they were transformed into beasts! Yet, despite all of this… the citizens of Thavnair lived on. They endured, they persevered, showing a strength and resilience that humbled the man that Fakhri was. His mind went to those who had lost a mother or a father, a sister or a brother, a son or a daughter, or were the last one standing, having lost them all. And what of this woman, who had lost her children and grandchildren. She knew that, at the end of her life, so would her family line end with no one to carry her name into the future. Yet she decided to live, so she could help rebuild their nation. She was old, but still had her health, and so she could cook and mend clothes for those working from sunrise to sundown.

Thavnairians have a word for this resilience, this ‘energy’ and desire to live; Utsāha. It came from a place of spirituality, to rouse within oneself a sentiment of heroism, happiness and determination. Some would call it zeal or simply enthusiasm but that always felt overly reductive to this Viera. And perhaps the reason why this resonated so much with him was that Fakhri was, after all, a survivor. He never met any of his kin outside their jungle or mountain that had lived for as long as him. With a lifespan fivefold as most of the races on the star, it would be easy to imagine the pain and sadness one could accumulate over the years as friends and loved ones reached the end of their lives, leaving the Viera behind. And Fakhri had faced his fair share of hardships in his long life and lost many dear to him, enough to make anyone question why he was still standing. Maybe it was Utsāha, or something very similar, passed down from the beliefs of his tribe; to live, to pass on one’s knowledge and experience and to honor the spirits of nature and one’s ancestors.

When Fakhri would breathe his last it won’t be by his own hand, but merely because his time has come. Until then, he would live - and love - persevering in the face of adversity; Just like Thavnair and its people.

[catscratching]

Looking back over the year, what would your character claim is their best achievement? Are there things they want to better themselves in or start in the New Year? How about some things they feel are better left in the past?

Seda’s desk had not improved with her absence.   She would not have traded the time with Fakhri out at the cabin for anything, but she regarded the piles of paperwork and stacked ledgers with disfavour.   Perhaps this year, she’d remind everyone that waiting until she was gone to submit their business was counterproductive. 

Making a pot of tea, she opened the shutters and wedged her rump onto the ledge, cradling the steaming cup in her hands and looking out over the Perfumed Rise.  A year ago, she had been packing up to take herself to Ul’dah – needing a change of scenery from Vylbrand and Limsa’s rough-and-tumble atmosphere.

To be fair, she had also been angry – at herself, at Rucio, at the world – and was, at the time, struggling to find a new direction, something she could feel good about.  She leaned against the frame of the window, smiling to herself.  In spite of the mountain of paperwork waiting for her, she was happy; fulfilled, even.

She loved being part of the community.  She loved Jijivisha’s staff, and how welcoming the Hannish people had been in general to the outsiders.   And she loved Fakhri – and the life they were building together – more than anything she ever had before.   The conversation with Hikmat floated up in her memory, where she confessed that revenge no longer held appeal – and now that she’d had time to think about it… she was confident she’d made the right choice.

As she sipped her tea, she considered her goals for the coming year, glancing to her desk and the battered, leather-bound book where she kept her own personal records.   There were things she wanted to do professionally – crafters she wanted to support, programs she wanted to try and put into action – and personally.

Sliding out of the window and into her chair, Seda pulled her logbook (she refused to think of it as a journal) over and reached for the pen.   The sounds of children playing somewhere in the neighbourhood made a pleasant backdrop to the faint scratch of the nib on paper as she jotted notes for herself; both long-term thoughts for the coming year, and more immediate action items.

Discuss trade-in-kind for more services; supplies for market coordination.

Childcare offerings for community…?  Limited time periods.  (More staff though?) ---parents can pay small fee, get a meal and use the hammam without little ones underfoot?

Check with Hikmat re: herbals— bundle in with trade.  Maybe take day with Fakhri and go gathering with children?

She wrote for some time, organizing the chaos of her thoughts into manageable lists and tasks.  So engrossed in her work that when she paused to stretch, she was surprised to find a cloth-covered plate on top of a stack of ledgers, and her pot of tea had been refreshed.

The sun was beginning to set, tinting the sky with shades of gold and pink, reflecting brilliantly off the beautiful mosaics across the city.   Seda groaned, rubbing at her palm to restore circulation into her fingers and reflected on the work she had completed.

Picking up the pen once more, she flipped through the pages of her personal logbook until she reached the current year’s personal goals and reflected on what she had written.   After a moment’s thought, she added two items more:

Be happy

Be worthy

She flipped the logbook closed and began collecting the paperwork she would need to review with Hikmat; the prior year’s expenses and revenues, what went well, and what could have gone better.

It would be enough. 

•───────────────────⋅☾ ☽⋅────────────────────•

My most heartfelt apologies that it took me this long to write/post this - It's been a challenging start to the year, and I wanted to do this prompt justice, as it was just so perfect for Seda.

[ And yes, it's a bullet journal system - she'd be utterly lost without it. :) ]