Crystal North American Data Center
Mateus Roleplay Community
The Heralds of Jijivisa
It has no translation in the Eorzean language, but the Thavnairians call It Jijivisa (pronounced gg-vee-shaa), a word they tell us stands for "feelings of optimism" or "hope for life." It is a Noun that is an Action that is performed by a thinking, feeling Being—jijivisa!—who loves Life and seeks to live It to the fullest, come what may.That is Jijivisa. We are Its Heralds—Its shields and Its swords. We live and we die by It. We give ourselves freely to It.May It live long enough to see Its Light go out last.
The Heralds of Jijivisa
Welcome, Visitors!
The Heralds of Jijivisa is a private security free company based in Gridania that serves the peoples of Eorzea with the support of its nation-states. The Heralds are uniquely qualified individuals—fighters, researchers, specialists, philanthropists, etc.—with the will and the strength to be the heroes that our star needs them to be.Our mission is to defend all life, whether manifested upon this star or as a citizen of the greater cosmos, and to live among it until our gaze at last falls dark.
Informed and Consentual
The Laws of Jijivisa
We have high expectations of ourselves, and we spend a great deal of time considering our behavior both in- and out-of-character. This is why our code of conduct is not designed simply. It is an ambiguous code for adults with moral agency and healthy ethical principles. These are the kinds of people we want to be around, and this is the sort of community that we want to foster—one that values human beings over rules and justice over nepotism. One where leaders are expected to model best practices for other members, where leaders are held the most accountable.The Laws of Jijivisa refers primarily to a list of four values that we hold in highest regard. It can be a useful guide to understanding not only what expectations we have but also why we have them and, not the least important, how to meet them.
A Lobby Open to All
The First Step Café
Nestled deep in the Lavender Beds, home of Gridania's adventurers, the First Step Café is a small, family-owned bistro that believes our best world is a diverse, multinational one.Our mission is to become the Black Shroud's home for fusion breakfast cuisine inspired by meaningful and innovative recipes from cultures living across our beloved star.Click the link in the title above to learn more about us, or come visit us at the café at the residential address below.
Sundays at 8pm–10pm Eastern
The Lavender Beds, Ward 23, Plot 31
Mateus, Crystal data center
Weaving Narratives Cursed with Knowledge
Oh, Lore Galore
The roleplaying community on FFXIV is vast, but Mateus is our home, and so our home server's RP culture must needs be our RP culture. Guidance for beginners can be hard to come by, and confirmation from the writers on how day-to-day issues ought to work for Eorzeans are difficult to find.Fret no more, for here we are to guide you in a few ways:
By providing you with a list of links to RP guides written by and for the Mateus RP community at large.
By explaining how and why we address the arrow of time vis-Ã -vis FFXIV's lore.
By including as much information as we can regarding augmented lore: lore that we have contributed to the FFXIV canon during our roleplay events, the contents of which are neither present in the MSQ nor supported in any way by official FFXIV sources or representatives.
A Poem by J.E. Burgos
"Being Human"
We are the citizens of a silent cosmos
We are the children of a tumultuous star
We are wanderers trembling on a teacup rose
The whimper of a spark whose terror is bizarreA breath so short that it wonders at its taking
ought not to fear its own end.
A Neverending Sci-fi/Fantasy Adventure Epic
Tales of Jijivisa
A description goes here.
Things to Do Next
How to Apply
A description goes here.
We Are a Sensitive People and Wont to Cry
Contact Our Leaders
A description goes here.
Chat, Voice, and Other introvert torture implements
Join Our Discord
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The Laws of Jijivisa
The Values By Which We Live
Our Values
1 – Kindness for All
The Heralds are always working towards being kinder people to everyone around them: whether they are inside the FC, allies of the FC, or strangers we do not know. Being kind is a value that FFXIV shares, and being kind will prevent you from violating FFXIV's terms of service. And yes, the Heralds and FFXIV both believe that being kind, even to those who have hurt us, is a value worth working towards. Examples of being kind to others include:
Giving other players the benefit of the doubt.
Showing intellectual humility in the context of any discussion with another player.
Expressing kind thoughts and feelings while engaging with one or more players.
Noting the kindness shown by others and expressing gratitude for it.
Checking your own negative thoughts and feelings about others and making sure you're addressing them in healthy, productive ways.
Minimizing your interactions with an individual who you struggle to get along with or otherwise dislike.
Seeking resolution to a conflict in appropriate and constructive ways, and seeking help or support when it is needed.
2 – Inclusivity for All
The Heralds strive at all times to include others in their play. Whenever it seems impossible to include another person, the Heralds are determined to find a way. We value other players for the ways that they add to our gaming and roleplay, and we strive at all times to manage our own discomfort with strangers without adversely affecting others. Examples of inclusivity include:
Showing respect for another player's real-life diversity.
Valuing the diversity that exists in the human species generally.
Permitting others to engage in public, in-game activities along with you, even when they're not a part of your close circle of friends.
Showing respect for others' choices, insofar as they harm no one.
Finding reasons to pull a new roleplayer into your roleplay, regardless of whether their presence was planned for.
Being silent when someone expresses a personal choice that you disagree with or a form of diversity that you find distasteful.
3 – Respect for That Which Is Sacred
The Heralds of Jijivisa is a roleplaying free company, and we want, more than anything else in the entirety of FFXIV, to be free to roleplay as we choose. For this reason, we consider the temenos (see SERA's breakout section Ancient Greek Theater and the Temenos on the right column of this page for the meaning of this word) to be a sacred space that must be continuously regarded with respect. We do not worship the concept of RP, but we do understand that RP must be safe in order to be true to who we wish our player characters to be, so we strive at all times to keep it safe from real-world strife and other issues that may polute the temenos that we hold sacred. Examples of respect for the sanctity of the temenos include:
Keeping your personal problems outside of the context of a roleplay.
Keeping your character (IC) and your real-world self (OOC) separate whenever possible.
Responding only in character when another player character, and not the player, behaves in ways that you find upsetting.
Seeking counsel when you struggle to keep your personal emotions in check.
Taking a break from or ending a given roleplay interaction when you feel it begin to affect you in adverse ways.
Assuming at all times that the thoughts and emotions of a player character differ from those of its associated player.
4 – Personal Self-Care
The Heralds value and encourage all players to take time to care for their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. We are never our best when we are unwell, and we strive to be our best as often as we possibly can. Failing to engage in appropriate self-care harms us the most, but it also does damage to the friends and family we've made in and around this free company, since they will invariably worry for us, and this worry can result in anxiety that causes them issues in the long-term. Examples of valuing one's personal self-care include:
Managing your mental health outside of the free company with the help of loved ones, friends, family, or professionals such as a mental health counselor, psychologist, or psychiatrist.
Taking time to rest when your body needs it.
Sleeping approximately seven hours a night and eating meals that properly nourish your physical body.
Knowing, recognizing, and addressing your traumatic triggers in appropriate and constructive ways.
Recognizing and respectfully acknowledging the limits in understanding that most players will have regarding your specific mental health issues and their sequilae.
Treating your free company and your friends and family within it like a free company run by volunteers and participated in by players who are here to play a video game and not like a therapist's office or a group therapy session.
Choosing to take a temporary respite from roleplay when your mental health is in a state that prevents you from participating in it without violating the sanctity of the temenos (see 3 – Respect for That Which Is Sacred above for more information).
From the Desk of our Artificial intelligence
Understanding the FFXIV Terms of Service
The terms of services of most games are often difficult to fully make sense of, given the specific language used and how much nuance each given situation can require. This is why the developers of FFXIV have given us a guide to help us understand the terms of services.This guide is entitled Prohibited Activities in Final Fantasy XIV, and you can read it in full by clicking the link below. It contains many examples of behavior that is not permitted on FFXIV, and you might be surprised to find some behaviors on there that you didn't expect to find on the TOS of any MMORPG.FFXIV's community values kindness as much as we do, and this guide is evidence of how much.
Ancient Greek Theater and the Temenos
The ancient Greeks coined the word temenos to describe a piece of land, sometimes a grove or a spring, usually near a temple or sacred enclosure, set aside to create a sanctuary. The word literally means "cut off," and it identifies an area marked off from common usage or daily activity. It is a safe and protected space, isolated from everyday living spaces.The temenos also came to denote a place where drama was performed for the purpose of spiritual, emotional, and psychological transformation. For the ancient Greeks, it was crucial that the drama of the theater never be polluted by personal concerns, issues, and habits. This is why that area was sectioned off from the rest of the world. The boundaries of the temenos served not only to contain energy, but they also ensured human access to the spirit of the place.No roleplay can take place where the roleplayers fear some real-world, adverse consequences as a result of playing their characters in-character. Roleplayers must feel safe in order to perform their characters as in their truest forms, and it is for this reason that we protect this space as sacred. When we do not—when the cordoning off of the temenos fails—the temenos becomes corrupted and honest roleplay becomes impossible to achieve. Player characters begin to play their characters out-of-character in order to avoid offending someone around whom they must now walk on eggshells or to prevent themselves from being punished for fictional actions and behaviors.We value the authenticity of our roleplay, and it is for this reason that we hold the temenos sacred. We hope that you will help us to protect this safe space, too.
An Exegesis of Social Mores
Chat-Specific Rules
Unlike human beings, all chats are not created equal. Here are a few chat-specific rules intended to moderate behavior in certain areas of this server and in our in-game FC chat and linkshells.
1 – Discussing cosmetic, client-side modding, such as mods supported by ethical third-party applications like Dalamud, is freely permitted on the #🥄｜spoonbenders channel, and nowhere else. Voice discussions of client-side modding may take place in our voice channels only if all players present consent to such a discussion taking place.
Client-side modding is against the FFXIV Terms of Service, and for the most part, we disagree with this rule. But there are forms of client-side modding that we agree are examples of botting, and we do not support botting in any way, shape, or form. The developers of third-party applications like Dalamud work extra hard to ensure that their application is free from any mods that may impact gameplay in a significant way, and this is the only type of modding we support. But because it is against the TOS, we will only discuss it in one place. Talking about it anywhere else puts you and us at risk, so please be aware of that fact and limit any discussion of modding generally while in-game.
2 – In order to protect yourself and others, please only post personal data, such as photographs and other identifying information, in the #🪂｜sightseeing-log and the #💔｜irl-troubles channels.
We all try to be friends here, but some folks are new and undervetted, and some folks are simply triggered by seeing some real-world things—such as photographs of eyes staring directly at the viewer or of food. Regardless of this, anytime you're on the Internet, it's wise to keep your identifying information private for your own safety and for the safety of others. If you wish to reveal personal, identifying information so that you can develop and strengthen your attachments with others in the FC, we have very specific places for that, and those channels—which have to be opted into—are listed above.
3 – Highly emotionally charged conversations, discussions, and requests for personal, real-world assistance should be posted and kept within the confines of the #💔｜irl-troubles channel.
As human beings, we are emotionally-driven creatures. For some of us, those emotions can lean towards very dark places, some of which may be triggering for many of our players and all of which require emotional labor from any player who hears about them. Because we want to respect those of our players who are already going through a lot themselves, who are struggling or otherwise working towards managing their own emotions, or who would just rather not spend the time they've devoted to their leisure activity doing emotional labor for others, we keep emotionally charged, dark, or otherwise heavy IRL content within this channel, which players must consent to participate in.
4 – Highly sexualized content, such as lewd screenshots or discussions of extreme kink, should be posted and kept within the confines of the #💋｜pretaloka-lewd and the #🔞｜lewd-screenshots channels.
While we assume, due to the agreement that folks were required to make upon entering this server, that everyone on this server is over the age of 18 at least, we cannot assume that everyone is on board with visual representations of two or more people having sex or vivid textual descriptions of extreme sexual activity. We support sex positivity, so discussions about sexual activity generally are permitted throughout the server and on our in-game FC chat and linkshells. But discussions about more extreme kink and visual depictions of sexual activity must be kept within the two channels listed above, which players must consent to participate in.
5 – Polemic or otherwise problematic sexual content, such as content that the larger FFXIV community would be made uncomfortable by or that a large proportion of the FFXIV community consider immoral, must be spoiler-tagged so that even those who consented to be in the #💋｜pretaloka-lewd and the #🔞｜lewd-screenshots channels can avoid it should they choose to. A content warning for the textual or visual content should be provided for players who may wish to view what you have posted.
Unlike anti-shippers, we do not believe that fiction has the magical ability to shape reality. We still recognize, however, that many of our players have lived through highly adverse experiences with sex that have resulted in the development of triggers to certain content. While said content may not be considered immoral or unethical by any objective measure within the field of moral philosophy, we respect these players' emotional well-being by spoilering any content of a sexual nature that parts of the FFXIV community would be either discomfited by or that they would consider immoral simply by virtue of the disgust they experience upon encountering it. Such content includes but is not limited to the following.
Fictional depictions of sexual activity between lalafells or between a lalafell and one or more individuals of other FFXIV races.
Any sexual activity resulting in a breaking of the skin, leading to the loss of any amount of blood by at least one individual depicted in the scene.
Fictional depictions of sexual activity resulting in the death of any individual by any means, whether by traumatic injury or a process of being devoured.
Fictional depictions of sexual activity involving animals.
Please exercise your best judgment. If you have any concerns, just ask and we'll nonjudgmentally and constructively answer your question. If you have any doubt about whether your sexual content could fit into this category, spoiler it just in case, and we can let you know after the fact if the spoiler was or wasn't necessary.
6 – While on Discord, we follow the Discord Terms of Service at all times. While in-game, we follow the FFXIV Terms of Service at all times. To fail to do so puts everyone at risk, and we value each other too much for that.
Some things are not allowed on the platforms that we use to communicate, to congregate, and to plan events, and we have no say on these. In some cases, this is preferred. Please do everything that you can to follow the Discord and FFXIV terms of service at all times. Should you be found in violation of either, account suspension on either platform will do damage to you and to those of us who valued your presence among us.Returning momentarily to the issue of sexual activity, two addenda relate immediately to this rule:
Discussions or depictions of sexual activity with minors, whether fictional or otherwise, is strictly prohibited.
Discussions or depictions of real-world sexual activity with animals is strictly prohibited.
Because of the threat that such content poses to us in terms of our reputation and standing in Discord and in FFXIV, violations of the TOS on either platform may result in a permanent ban from all Heralds locations, chats, and activities. If the depictions mentioned above happen to be real, however, we will not hesitate to report you to the appropriate authorities.
More From the Desk of our Artificial intelligence
The Discord and FFXIV Terms of Service
You may not know where to find these documents online. Rather than have you search the Internet for them, I decided to link them here for your convenience. You're welcome. 😊
The Things You Need to Know
A Synoptic Synopsis
Stuff goes here.
Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey stuff
The Arrow of Time
More stuff goes here.
The Things You Might Like to Know
The Codex of Augmented Lore
Stuff goes here.
Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey stuff
The Finite Multiverse
In the real world, a universe is defined as all of spacetime and its contents, a multiverse represents the set of all universes, known or unknown, and everything that exists within them. As far as we understand astrophysics and cosmology, the real multiverse is still little more than a hypothesis (an "interpretation" of empirical data), and it seems unlikely that we will ever know for sure whether one exists.In FFXIV, however, a multiverse is not merely hypothesized, but there is evidence that one must exist within both the Shadowbringers expansion and within the coeval short story "An Unpromised Tomorrow," which depicts the events of the universe whence the Crystal Exarch after his traveling backwards in time.The nature of time travel in FFXIV is often called the interacting-many-worlds interpretation, and it is often seen depicted in fiction where events (often quantum events, but sometimes limited to a fraction of the choices made by sapient organisms) may go about in two or more different ways, resulting in a singular universe splitting into as many branches as there were possible outcomes for said event.This interpretation of time travel is described in more simple terms by Bruce Banner in the 2019 film Avengers: Endgame:
If you travel to the past, that past becomes your future, and your former present becomes the past, which can't now be changed by your new future.
The greatest issue facing the interacting-many-worlds interpretation is