Malika Bajihri

Gambler, thief, fate-walker

Impulsive, thrill-seeking, and unwilling to bend to any authority other than her own, Malika is just as likely to start trouble as she is to rescue others from it. A self-described “disciple of destiny”, Malika devotes herself to the goddess Nymeia and, primarily, the goddess’ more fickle aspects: chance, luck, and wagers.

BASIC INFORMATION

Server: BalmungRace: Miqo’te (Keeper of the Moon)Gender: FemaleAge: 27Eyes: Midnight blueDistinctive marks: Mal has a mole under her left eye. She also has a scar over that same eye. When in disguise, she attempts to cover this scar with makeup.Patron Deity: Nymeia the SpinnerAlias: She will use different names when attempting cons.Quirk: Anytime Malika steals an item of sentimental value from someone, she will replace it with something else.Family: Maeryn AlbrightHobbies: Weaving, fortune telling,performing music (particularly flute), dancing, drinking, getting places she should not be, taking things she should not take, games of chance, flirting, running away, collecting stuffed animalsRomantic Relationship:
Evander WinsomeCommon Gear:
At least one weapon that she hopes not to use (typically daggers), an instrument (usually a wood flute), lockpicks, gambling items (a bit of gil for wagers, playing cards, several sets of dice), a deck of arcanum cards, a hardsilver needle and some thread, a silver pinky ring that spins, and a few small trinkets of sentimental value (not all of them her own).Personality:
Malika is easy-going, flirtatious, and up for any challenge where a risk or gamble is involved. She's also incredibly reckless, impulsively throwing herself into one bad idea after another just for the thrill of seeing how Nymeia will ultimately spin her fate.Unfortunately, this means that she's also remarkably unreliable. She comes and goes as she pleases, generously giving someone all her attention when she is with them and not-so-generously taking their things when she ultimately departs.Aspirations: Mal doesn’t have great ambitions of being someone important. She doesn’t have ambitions of being someone at all. Her interests lie in living according to no one's rules but her own, stealing anything deemed 'unstealable', and following her intuition wherever it leads her.
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Recently acquired items: A pendant in the shape of a swan, a set of onyx gambling dice, a stuffed bear, an armored Uraeus coat, a fancy pocketwatch, a small, leather bound journal detailing the goals of a former actor to get his career back on track, a fancy silver ring, and 1 gil.

ROLEPLAY HOOKS

_ Please don't be afraid to RP with Malika just because she's a thief. I promise I will always send you a tell to work these things out with you and only do what you think is fun!_

I will never claim to auto-succeed at any con or theft attempt.

Thief: Has someone told you that they have something "unstealable" in an "impenetrable" location? That person definitely wants someone to steal that thing or get into that place. Malika is willing to help with that. If you ask for Lia she'll know you have a job for her.

Thrills and Mementos:Malika has a strange quirk where anytime she steals something of sentimental value from a person, she leaves a token of hers behind.Despite being a thief, she actually dislikes gil and will often do jobs for the promise of mementos rather than money. She specifically wants to do jobs that stick it to those who wield their wealth disparity as a means to exert power over others.

Gambler: Mal believes in Fate, but she also believes that she can gain favor with Nymeia by "keeping her spinning." She thinks of gambling, dares, taking risks, and the like as a means to court luck and court favor with Nymeia by keeping the goddess from getting too bored. It keeps Malika from being bored too! She will accept almost any offer of a good gamble or game of chance.

Con Arist: If you want to interact with Mal, look like an easy mark. If she introduces herself as any other name than "Malika" or "Mal" she is scheming.

Bridge-Burner: Malika uses people. It's not always a malicious act; in fact, she never thinks it is. But she has no shortage of scorned lovers or allies who have become enemies. Running into anybody from her past will make her very unhappy and, given the sheer number, is incredibly likely.

Please, feel free to play a scorned ex or someone she's stolen from in the past! : That would be amazing. Just walk up and act familiar or send me a tell. Mal having to uncomfortably confront elements of her past would be wonderful!

Close Relationships:
Malika used to find it easy to run away and disappear; it never used to bother her to leave her old lives and relationships behind.That's not the case anymore.Maeryn Albright: No matter how many times Malika has vanished into the night without warning, she eventually always returns to see her adopted sister.Evander Winsome: A failed attempt to con Evander with a scam tarot reading led these two to breaking the law together. Eventually, Malika could no longer deny the obvious: She's in love with this guy. She's unlikely to run away now... unless it is with Evander.Kestrel Vylbrand: Partners in crime turned just partners, Kestrel and Malika have been through a lot together.

The Nameless Caravan : Malika was once a part of a traveling troupe of entertainers (read as: thieves). It is from this wandering caravan, which changed its name in each location to evade authorities on the lookout for them, that Malika learned many of the skills she carries with her today: Music, dancing, acrobatics, con-Artistry, theft, etc....Mal and the Caravan disagreed on how much of what she made in a night should go to the troupe and how much should go to Malika. She dealt with this disagreement the way she deals with everything: She said nothing of it, convinced Maeryn to join her on the open road, and then robbed the caravan absolutely blind.

The Past is never far behind:If you have any interest in playing a member of the Nameless Caravan, or even someone hired by them to find and bring Malika back, please let me know! I think that could be a blast.

Ask for help: She doesn't really want to get involved in other people's business. She'll ignore a problem if she can. But if you ask her for help she will usually begrudgingly be that help. She will definitely help you if you need to escape from authority. She thinks her inability to say 'no' to someone in need is a weakness; it might actually be her one redeeming quality.

THE REALLY REAL ME!

Hi there! Here’s the bullet points about my OOC self.

☆ I’m a relatively boring, married lady with two cats, a leopard gecko, and a very time consuming job. This might make long term RP in game more difficult. I apologize for that!

☆ I do have some RP experience. I’ve RPed in FFXIV since soon after ARR came out. And I’ve played tabletop games (D&D 5e, Pathfinder, Exalted, etc) even longer than that. In fact, my FC currently uses 5e rules to run a few RP scenarios and I absolutely love it. Let me know if you have any interest in that kind of thing too!

☆ I’m a bit shy about instigating RP because I’m always scared I’ll be a bother (I’ll try to be braver!). If I have my RP tag up, please feel free to come up and RP with me. And send me a tell if you like! I love getting to know people in the game (in and out of character).

☆ I also like to RP on Discord! This works well for my schedule because it gives me time to formulate better responses than when the pressure is on. It lets me multitask too!That said: I don’t tend to give out my Discord information right away. I’m not trying to be rude, I promise! I’d just rather get to know characters and players in game or over Tumblr first and then give that information when we’ve known each other for awhile.

☆ I don’t want to do anything you are uncomfortable with. If you don’t want Mal to try to steal from you? Cool. She won’t. If you don’t want her to flirt with you? Also cool! She won’t. The player on the other side of the screen is more important to me than anything I want to get up to ICly. RP should be fun! It can’t be fun if someone is miserable OOC.

☆ NSFW. I will feel uncomfortable if I believe that is the only reason you wanted to interact with her.

☆ Finally, I'd love all my characters to develop all kinds of relationships with all kinds of characters. I'd prefer relationships grow over time rather than be pre-planned. And I am not interested in anything beyond friendship OOC.

I hope to RP with you soon!

THE NAMELESS CARAVAN

Wandering performance troupe, band of thieves

Performers and Thieves

Who They Are:The Nameless Caravan is a traveling performance troupe that features actors, acrobats, jugglers, musicians, dancers, and any number of other entertainers. They travel from place to place, big and small, putting on variety shows for the locals. The performances range from "absolutely free" to costing a substantial fee depending on the location, size of the troupe that day, and the talents on display.

What Is With the Name:First of all, no one calls the troupe "The Nameless Caravan" apart from people who are in it. The actual name of the performance changes from location to location to keep local authorities from interrupting the shows.

Who Is In The Caravan:Most of the people seen in individual shows aren't actual members of the caravan itself. The performance caravan hires on local performers (and con artists/thieves) in the different places that it travels. Those performers can come in for just show and one paycheck or opt for short or long term contracts to travel with the caravan (for a negotiated price) for a more extended tour.However, there are a few members of the caravan that are lifelong members of it. These are typically the people who run the business side of things. Dubbed "The Nameless" they do not give out their real names, not even to those they hire on. Instead, those who join refer to them by their titles.

How to Join The Caravan/ Thieves' Cant? Thieves Can.:If you are a regular, law abiding performer and you hear that a performance troupe is looking for gig-performers, just meet up with the Master of Performance outside the city. He'll ask you a few questions, including how you heard of the caravan and if you have any relatives or friends who have performed with them before. Then he'll ask for a display of talent. At the end, he will offer you a gig-price that he'll assure you is very fair. That might even be true! After the show, find Master of Coin and she'll make sure you are paid your due. If you enjoyed the work (and they hope you do!), follow them to the next town and repeat the process. Depending on how popular you were based on your specific talent, you may be offered an extended contract.If you are a regular, law defying performer (con artist/thief) and you happen to speak Thieves Cant, you have probably already heard of the caravan. Regardless if you have or have not, the procedure is mostly the same. Find the Master of Performance outside the city. He'll ask you a few questions in Thieves Cant and if you can answer them sufficiently, he will offer you a gig price that will seem laughably low. That is because you will also be receiving a percentage of anything stolen or scammed out of the audience during the show. After the show, seek out the Master of Coin and she will make sure you are paid your due. If you enjoyed the work (and they hope you do!), follow them to the next town ad repeat the process. Depending on how much you bring in to them from your chosen talent, you may be offered an extended contract.