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"Where I came from, how I got here, and what I've been up to."
On a cold winter night in Kugane, Hingashi’s glittering gateway to the outside world, a young geiko plied her craft in a bustling izakaya—her honey-sweet voice and haunting shamisen melodies doing their best to soothe a crowd that oscillated between “spirited” and “one drink away from being escorted out.” Among the mix of wandering ronin, tipsy yakuza, and merchants loudly insisting they were not drunk (they were), a few foreign travelers had slipped in to sample Kugane’s nightlife. One such visitor—a tall, sun-kissed Lominsan sailor with striking blond hair—found himself utterly captivated by the establishment’s star performer.He cut quite the figure: six fulms tall, swagger polished to a shine, and a Lominsan brogue thick enough to slice bread with. He was a man who lived life with both feet dangling recklessly off the edge. She, by contrast, was a composed young woman whose serene presence and immaculate white kimono stood out sharply against the rowdy, sake-fogged atmosphere. He was bold and brash; she was quiet and exacting. But opposites attract, especially after three cups of warmed sake and one very enthusiastic compliment about her shamisen technique.And so, after an evening of unexpected chemistry and an East-West “cultural exchange” that no official ambassador would dare put to parchment, their brief meeting resulted in something far more lasting: Marisa Takeuchi-Shipman—future pizzaiola, courier extraordinaire, and the brightest red streak Limsa Lominsa has ever seen.From delivering provisions to restless sailors, to joining the Culinarian’s Guild, to founding her own pizzeria in the Mist, Marisa’s life has been a whirlwind of excitement, mishaps, triumphs, and the occasional near-death-by-chocobo. And truly? Her story is only just preheating.Below are recounts of past roleplay scenarios that Marisa has participated in, whether hosted by me or others.
Click the button below to explore Marisa's backstory!
📜 Marisa Takeuchi – Life & Times
A chronological timeline of the pizza girl’s rise from bright-eyed child to full-fledged pizzaiola extraordinaire.
Age 0–9
· Born in Kugane to Eldric, a Lominsan sailor and Hanako, a Hingan geiko, Marisa spends her early childhood surrounded by lanterns, shamisen music, and the chaos of portside city life. Curious, impulsive, and endlessly energetic, she quickly develops a taste for adventure (and trouble).Age 9
· A sudden matter pulls Eldric back to Eorzea, relocating the family from Hingashi to Limsa Lominsa. Marisa takes to the change with enthusiasm; Hanako, far less so.Ages 9–12
· Marisa acclimates to life in Limsa with boundless appetite and fascination—trying dishes she can’t pronounce, befriending market vendors, and laying the groundwork for her eventual culinary ambitions.Age 12
· Marisa becomes an apprentice at the Bismarck. Under Lyngsath’s steady instruction and Pagoda Buligoda’s intense scrutiny, she begins to cultivate the discipline (and resilience) needed for a future in the culinary arts.· Eldric departs on a final voyage and never returns, leaving Marisa and her mother to weather grief and hardship together. The kitchen becomes her safe haven and outlet.Ages 13–14
· Assigned to deliver provisions to outposts across La Noscea, Marisa builds strength, endurance, and independence. She experiences the joy of bringing food directly to those who need it—her first taste of the life she’ll later build for herself.Age 14
· In a bizarre culinary accident, a stray uncooked pizza flies out of a window and hits her in the face. Its source: Marcus Corvinus, an eccentric Corvosi pizzaiolo who soon becomes her mentor. He introduces pizza to her for the first time, an experience which reshapes her ambitions and plants the seeds for her eventual journey as a pizzaiola.· While on a delivery route, Marisa finds a bedraggled kitten on the roadside—Puku—who quickly becomes her constant companion and the future mascot of her business.Ages 15–16
· Marisa’s skills flourish under Marcus’s guidance, but her growing interest in pizza clashes with Pagoda Buligoda’s strict standards, heightening tensions within the Guild. Eventually after a particularly harsh criticism, Marisa abruptly ends her apprenticeship at the Culinarian's Guild.Age 16–17
· With Marcus’s mentorship and Puku’s moral support, Marisa establishes her own pizza delivery service in the Mist.· Marisa adopts Rocceto, a volatile red chocobo, at Red Rooster Stead who eventually becomes her mount... after much difficulty.Age 17+
· Marisa becomes a familiar sight across La Noscea and beyond—an energetic young deliverer known for her bright red attire, speedy service, and infectious enthusiasm.
A botched delivery and a cursed staff: so begins chapter one of Marisa's adventures when she finds herself in possession of a powerful relic from ancient times. Journeying with friends, her adventure takes her all across Thanalan and beyond to be rid of it.
Disastrous Drybone Delivery
A standard pizza delivery to Black Brush Station becomes a tad more eventful than expected...
Date: August 1, 2025 - September 12, 2025
Meeting her gladiator friend Sylfreyr Star-strider outside of The Quicksand in Ul'dah, Marisa entreats his assistance for a pizza delivery to Black Brush Station. What should have been a quick and easy job became complicated when they are instead approached by a Hellsguard named Broken Arrow, who informed that the customers she were to meet had rather inconveniently made for Camp Drybone in the far east to excavate a Belah'dian ruin said to be filled with treasure. Understandably vexed, Marisa was nonetheless enticed to continue the delivery after being promised a share of the loot as compensation.Leaving Black Brush behind, the duo are briefly waylaid by an antling attack that drives them into a gigantoad spawning ground, narrowly surviving the ravenous ranines before they at last reach Camp Drybone. They once again meet Broken Arrow who leads them to the Invisible City, where they are brought before Wulmar Manhewer, the leader of a gang of mercenaries. Revealing that the initial pizza delivery was a trap to lure in Marisa for capture (as ordered by a man known only as "The Jade Prince"), he and his men ultimately fail when they are slain to the last—barring two survivors—by Sylfreyr. With their business concluded, Marisa claims for herself a magickal staff the sellswords had pilfered before leaving—a staff possessed of a will all its own...
Yaeûd al'Sayldih
Marisa allows a friend of hers to inspect her prize from the Invisible City—and inadvertently unleashes a terrible power.
Date: September 21, 2025 - September 21, 2025
Marisa receives Gilly Gyle, a researcher friend of hers from Liberty Industries, at her parlour where she shows him the mysterious Sil'dihn staff which was retrieved from the Invisible City. Gilly examines it for himself, with his porxie familiar, Biscotti nearby to lend assistance; but upon attuning to the staff, he is soon overtaken by the dark presence which dwelled within and his mind is filled with a singular phrase bidden as a command: "Yaeûd al'Sayldih." Waves of aetherial energy burst forth, wreaking havoc throughout The Topmast as Gilly—now serving as unwilling host—makes his way out, with Marisa in hot pursuit.Outside, a weak and weary Marisa pleads with him to no avail as Gilly remains enthralled. He is stopped suddenly by Hazel Morrowdusk, an eccentric relic hunter who had also been seeking the staff. Empowered by Biscotti (who telepathically communes with Marisa to toss her at Hazel), she is able to wrest it from Gilly, freeing him from its control but at the cost of the porxie's "life." Maelstrom forces arrive shortly afterwards to secure the area and the trio take their leave, the ordeal finally over... or so it seems.
Painting a clearer picture
The plot thickens as Marisa, Gilly and Hazel glean more secrets from the staff and bear witness to terrible events from ages past.
Date: October 5, 2025 - October 6, 2025
Marisa pays a visit to Gilly's apartment to check in on his wellbeing after the incident at The Topmast a fortnight ago. After catching up on events and seeing him (and Biscotti) hale, Marisa reveals that she had been suffering sleepless nights as nightmares in the form of haunting visions disturbed her rest, ending with a screaming voice which always bellowed the same words: "Yaeûd al'Sayldih." Together with Hazel, who arrived shortly afterwards with the staff as if bid, Gilly used his pictomancy to conjure images of the staff's past, but glimpsed only fractured memories—he would need to conduct a more riskier ritual for the trio to learn more. Following Gilly's suggestion to perform this ritual away from The Topmast, they boarded his ship and made for the dread Isles of Umbra.They land upon its shores shortly afterwards and begin their ingress. Further afield their path is impeded by a lone skeleton whom Hazel managed to outwit in a game of craps, eventually reaching a clearing safe enough to begin. They peer into the staff and at last divine its origins: it had belonged to a sultan of ancient Sil'dih who entrusted an Azyeman mage-priest with its safekeeping; ultimately slain by Ul'dahn soldiers, he pours the last of his power into the staff followed by a curse: that whomsoever should take it up would be overcome by his will, driven to return the staff to its rightful resting place at all costs. They depart from the Isles then with a new mission: to return the staff to Sil'dih—in however way that may be done.