Leyla Dihqani - Iraq

[Leyla Dihqani]

His little whispers. Love me. Love me. That’s all I ask for. Love me. Love me.

►►Character Name

[/u][/size] Leyla Dihqani

Nation ► Republic of Iraq

Human Name ► Leyla Dihqani

Age ► 42

Gender ► Female

Species ► Human

Description ►

^{He battered his tiny fist to feel something. Wondered what it’s like to touch and feel something.}

Likes ►
- Reading, especially old fairy tales
- Travelling around and learning about cultures.
- Children.
- Good-natured creatures, she thinks they're interesting.
- Long walks.
- Instrumental, eastern and classical music.
- Having civilised discussions.
- Coffee, made the Iraqi way.
- Fruit, especially dates.

Dislikes ►
- Some certain men. A lot of certain men.
- Being discriminated.
- Burqa's.
- Modern music as rap, techno, metal.
- Alcohol. And with that, drunk people.
- Closemindedness.
- Attention.

Strengths ►
- Loyalty
It takes quite a while to win her over, but once you have her loyalty, she'd never betray you. Unless you really deserve it.

- Creativity / Manipulative
Especially with words. Don't underestimate her, she knows how to talk herself out of difficult situations.

- Combativeness
Giving up is simply not in her vocabulary. If she finds something troublesome or gets in trouble herself, she will never let go until the problem is solved.

- Calmth
She doesn't show her emotions easily. This isn't because she isn't able to express her feelings, but she does know how to surpress them in a difficult situation.

Weaknesses ►
- Pride
She's sometimes too proud for her own good and waits too long with asking for help. She doesn't like to be dependent, especially not from men.

- Prejudice
She dislikes men in general. Even the men she never met.

- Easily annoyed
She can get angry about a lot of things. Something is unfair, or discrimination, or racist, or something is simply out of stock, or someone threw a lollipop wrap on the ground - yes, it doesn't take much to get her annoyed.

- Suspicious
Leyla doesn't really think well of the inhabitants of the world, especially not those who think they can 'own' other species. Because of this, she always questions other people's motives, even if they don't mean any harm.

Dreams ►
- Finding an Islamic man who respects her and her ideas and doesn't act like she's his property.

- Adopting a child or two. There are so much children needing a home and she's more than willing to provide one, whenever she manages to settle down.

- Saving non-human species from their horrible fate. She hopes for an earth in which everyone is equal, no matter what species or gender, or religion. At the same time she knows an equal earth would never happen, but she wants to help at least a little.

- Dying. It maybe is not really a dream, as it is a fact she will die, but it's a relief, really. All those stories about so many creatures being immortal or living for centuries... are making her realise she must be lucky she can die, after a short but rather good life.

Fears ►
- Never managing to apologise to the genie in the mirror. She left her best friend behind without saying anything.

- Losing her money income - that would mean she wouldn't be able to travel anymore, something she loves too much to give up.

- Seeing someone getting hurt because of others or beaten to death. She can't stand seeing blood, it makes her sick. Literally.

- Losing her sight. Leyla already needs reading glasses and her eyes are getting worse. She only lives for the tales in the books and the culture, people and language on her travellings. She would lose all that, and then what else did she have to live for?

Personality ►
Leyla is a very intelligent and modest person. She has spent most of her life travelling, studying and reading about languages and cultures. She is a curious person - to the point she sometimes digs too deep in other people's lives. She's very religious; but don't call her extreme, because she isn't. She loves to discuss religions with other religion-oriented people, but hates the extreme hate actions of some Muslims. The only thing they achieve is giving her religion a bad name after all... Because she's Muslimah, Leyla wears a hijab - but she refuses to wear a burqa. This is because she respects Allah very deeply, but in her opinion a burqa is disturbing her life. While a lot Islamic women of a later generation rarely even wear a headscarf in the western world and even some older women have stopped wearing hiqab's, she has sworn never to be in public without one. It just feels disrespectful and besides, she isn't ashamed of her religion. Leyla also wants to protest against all the negative publicity of the Islam with wearing her headscarf.

She has a strong sense of justice and has a strong opinion as well. Leyla is good with words, in debates as well as on paper. She has written books in which she didn't only criticise other religion, but her own religion as well. She became quit well-known in the world of journalists and writers, but despite her fairly big success she prefers the anonimity. One of the reasons why she started writing books because she doesn't like it to be the center of attention. Leyla's rather stiff and formal; she doesn't go 'loose' easily - it would be a miracle if that happens at all - but is charmed rather easily when someone applies the proper etiquette. Even when angry and annoyed, she'll always reply as rude as she can in a polite manner.

Because of some not so pleasant happenings in the past, she has taken a dislike on men, even the ones she never met before. Although she knows it's wrong and stupid to hold grudges against someone who hasn't done anything wrong, she can't help but be wary whenever she interact with people from the opposite gender. There are some exceptions to this rules, of course, but not every man can be trusted. Leyla is very fond of children; the littles ones aren't already corrupted by the big world and are still so sweet and innocent. She would have adopted some children if she hadn't been a woman traveling on her own. She also appreciates any form of art; ballet, classical music, proza; she's interested in it all. Especially poetry can really touch her - she even gets emotional. By the way, Leyla doesn't have a driver license and isn't planning to get one, too. She rather calls a taxi if she's in need of a car.

Leyla is rather fond of flowers, especially soft coloured roses. She doesn't grow them herself, though. She has never been much of a gardener and in her opinion, it takes too much effort for someone to get some decent blooming flowers. However, she really enjoys being in the peaceful and quiet gardens. It calms her mind, something much needed when she made herself angry. Leyla's very good in that, making herself angry about the tiniest of things in life. It happens quite often too. Most of the time she hides it when she's not alone, but when she is, she throws with pillows and other objects through the room. She doesn't know why. It just feels relieving.

History ►
Leyla's life began in Iraq. She was the only child of a happy family; an Iraqian father with a good job, and an Iraqian mother who took care of her and her grandparents, who happened to also live in the house. She was raised in both English and Arabic language. This because her parents wanted her to learn the international language, but she needed to remember her native language as well. It would be such a shame if the Arabic language would be forgotten. Later, Leyla would be thankful for being fluent in more than just one language. Although they were an Islamic family, they were quite progressive and her father wasn't one to shut up about that. When she was three, they had to fled the country because of political reasons. Her father had spoken out loud one too many times and they weren't safe anymore in Iraq. Leyla had to leave her grandparents behind; they didn't want to come with the rest. They had had a good life, and the long travel wouldn't do them well. Leyla celebrated her fourth birthday in Turkey.

The three of them had bought a small, abandoned but nice house, and within a few months it was all finished. Leyla finally had a room of her own - she used to sleep with her father's parents - and couldn't wait to go to school. She had been taught by her mother to recognise the letters of the alphabet, and although she couldn't read yet, she could spell every single word perfectly, even though she had no idea what it meant. The house they inhabited had been empty for a good few decades, and the previous owner had left some stuff in boxes. Her parents told her she wasn't allowed to look in it - it wasn't hers - but when her father was at his new work, and her mother went upstairs for some sleep, she ran straight to the mysterious, dusty belongings of someone else. She just was curious, and who wouldn't be, as a five year old? Leyla opened the boxes and was disappointed when she only saw lots and lots of books, written in a language she didn't recognise. Later she learnt it was Greek. However, when she looked closer, there was a small package in the box as well, stuffed between the cardboard and a heavy book with a picture of a woman on it. After a few moments, she put it out of the box. She unwrapped it, and again was disappointed. It was just a mirror. And an old one, too.

Still.. when she blew the dust off the little object, she felt something strange. This wasn't just a mirror.. Leyla quickly closed the box and hurried to the room, with her mirror. She stared at it and put it on her bed. What was that kind of thing? She turned it around and around, but didn't see anything strange, yet.. she shrieked. It talked! It started to talk! She looked around her room, but there was no one here. Then where did that voice come from? It was a man's voice, definitely, but it wasn't her father's. She screamed again when it talked once more. A knock on the door was heard and there was her mother, asking her if she was okay. Leyla quickly sat on the mirror and nodded. It had been a spider. After a sceptic glance of her mother, the door was closed and the little girl picked up the mirror again. She couldn't believe what she saw there. It was a man! There was a man, in there! She frowned; how could someone be in a mirror? "Do you live there?" she asked. The man confirmed that. "Are you nice?" she asked, more timidly. The man just smiled. She smiled back. Someone who smiled must be nice, not? She started to ask many questions; the man responded to them all. Not much later, they became friends.

Throughout the years, she made a few friends, but her first and absolutely best friend was the man in the mirror. She discovered he could also get out of the mirror and the two of them played a lot with each other. Her parents knew nothing about this and when they made a little too much noise, her mother would check up on her. She would always tell she accidentically knocked something off her desk while she was writing, and her mother would always respond with "You're so clumsy, Leyla. Be more careful." The man in the mirror teached her a lot and it was because of him she took an interest in other creatures; he told her about dragons and angels, about flying horses, beautiful and dangerous women, about fairies and wizards and witches. He told her legends and myths. She always asked him if it was real. He always responded with "I'm real." She never questioned who he really was. He just happened to be the man in the mirror. Her best friend. However, one day, when she went to school, her mother decided to clean out her room and found the mirror. After school Leyla was confronted with it, and because an eleven year old was still fairly innocent, she told her mother the truth. Her mother sent her to bed without dinner, and worse; without the mirror. The following day, when her father was home as well, she had a talk with both of her parents. Whatever he was, the man in the mirror, it wasn't a good man. She had to throw the mirror away. Leyla cried and screamed and shouted. It was unfair! He was her friend. But her parents insisted on it. Drying her tears, she gave a little kiss on the mirror and walked outside. She then threw the object in the trashcan without looking at it ever again.

Leyla was twenty three years old, when she succesfully finished high school ánd college, when she got the rare offer to go to France for another study. She said her parents farewell and went to Paris. That had been her biggest mistake. Since she got fourteen, she hadn't thought about the mirror again. She had become a woman, and what adult did believe in fairytales? No one, did they? That man in the mirror.. she was convinced it had been an imaginary one. After all, she had been lonely, and just arrived in a foreign country.. it was a natural thing to do. In France she discovered humans weren't the only race who inhabited the earth. She saw a lot of people who were humanlike enough in a glimpse, but were definitely not when you studied them better. An ugly word for them was 'mutants', but she knew they weren't mutants. They were probably here before the modern human was, and they would continue to live while the human race evolved. The man in the mirror had been real after all. Leyla started reading stories again and even chose to minor in Mythology. She learnt the man in the mirror had been a so-called Genie. Why hadn't the man ever told her? She couldn't even remember his name. She felt guilty. She had thrown him into a trash can. She had betrayed him. Where would the mirror be now? No doubt someone would've noticed the magical object.

After Leyla finished her study in France, she returned to Turkey, only to find her parents graves. Questioning the neighbourhood didn't bring her anywhere. She had asked everywhere what had happened in her absence, and it was only months later when she finally got the answer. It had been an accident. Her parents had been looking for a smaller house and had been driving. Her father had lost the control over the steer and they crashed. Both were immediately dead. She was angry and frustrated. Why had no one bothered to contact her? Leyla found out it had been her uncle from Saudi Arabia who had told the rest of the family he would get in touch with her. He obviously had not. He even took her parents' money, because she wasn't there when her fathers will was read out loud. There was only one option. She went to Saudi Arabia, to hear the story from the man himself.

In the end, her uncle admitted he had never felt the desire to tell her the news. He could use the money really well and hadn't hesistated to take it from her. However, he felt guilty and gave her the remaining money. Only a third was left, but she thanked him anyway and left the country. She never saw her family again. Leyla used the money to travel around the world - but she wasn't just spilling it, no. She was traveling after the mysterious mirror who kept her company when she had been a child. She quickly noticed she had to do something about her money income - the inheritance had been quite a lot, but she couldn't live from the inheritance alone. That's when she decided she would write books; diaries in which she wrote about her traveling, and the strange people and creatures she met. There was so much to see, and there was so much to discover.. and people had to realise those other creatures weren't bad. They all had their good sides. It took a few years, but eventually her stories were picked up by a publisher who promised her to publish her books, if she also would volunteer as a weekly columnist in a Turkish newspaper. She agreed to this and when she was twenty eight, she traveled on money that wasn't her own, wrote about everything she saw and got even paid for it, too. She became more and more wellknown in more and more countries and was sometimes invited at universities to talk about her 'work'. In all these years she never found the mirror.

The good life she leaded had a little downside, though. While she thought she was helping the creatures with letting the human world know about them, about their good sides and nature, some Magic Users had picked up her work and used it to track down some rare species. She discovered it years later, when she was far in her thirties. On the age of thirty seven, she stopped writing. But not entirely. She wrote for the people she could trust, the people who wouldn't sell her information to the Magic Users. She wanted to fight for the other species on earth, and although she couldn't literally fight, she could fight with her words. Words were sometimes stronger than deeds. Leyla's 'secret' public, the people where she wrote for, grew bigger and bigger. Others joined her, trying to convince the human race the other species weren't dangerous, as long as you left them alone.

She was fourty two when she heard rumours about a mirror. A small object, it smelled like exotic Arabian incense and roses. The colours were faded, but once it had been colourful and bright, with gold and ruby and diamonds. It was her mirror. And it was last seen in Italy.

^{Monster, how should I feel? Creatures lie here, looking through the window…}

Roleplay Sample ►

Iraq was reading. Secretly. She sat on a chair, pretending she was reading a recipe, but the book beneath the recipe was something else. It was a really modern book - at that time - and she knew it was forbidden to read it, unless she got permission from her man. Turkey. Knewing he would never allow her to read any book, she only read it when he was gone to his own house. Every five minutes, she looked up to see if he was coming. The fifth time she looked out of the window she saw him. Almost dropping the book, she quickly placed it back into Turkey's personal bookshelf and left the recipe on the table, along with a bag of flour. She might be a female, but she was smart nonetheless.

She heard him knocking on the door and immediately walked to the entrance to welcome him home. She didn't look into his eyes, but stared to the ground as she bowed a little for him. ''Welcome home, mister Turkey.'' Yes, that was the only thing she was allowed to say. If he didn't ask her anything, she wasn't allowed to speak. She got out of the way, allowing him to enter the house and closed the door behind him. She sighed; this was killing her. Iraq longed to be independent, to be free. To go where she wanted to go, to read whatever she wanted to read. She almost wanted to be a man...at that very moment, Iraq vowed to herself that she was going to fight for the rights of the women. Men and women were equal; they just had different roles. The man had to work, the woman had to care for the house and children. That didn't mean women were inferior...

She smiled at Turkey when she followed him into the kitchen, read the recipe once again and started to collect all of the ingredients. One day, she was going to be independent. One day, she would win her fight for the women in her country, and for herself. One day, she was going to be free. Exactly how Allah - so she believed - wanted her to be.

OOC Section[/u][/size]

Alias ► Leonie/Lele/Leo/Cloggie/Frère, whatever you want to call me. c:
(One of my more colourful nicknames are Flower Power, Cookiepants and Peanut. >.>)

Time Zone ► GMT+1

Contact Method ► Pm! Cbox!

Favorite Pairings ► Pairings with Iraq? Uh. Saudi ArabiaxIraq. xDD

And for normal pairings... I ship almost everything. *is simple. *
Also, my favourite ice cream flavour didn't change since my last app.

_{Profile coded by Neko. Lyrics are from Monster by Meg and Dia. You are not able to use this profile anywhere else.}
[/blockquote]

[King Carrie]