Nagito Komaeda

It's amusing that you mention the first part in regards to having a heavy accent, because I do roleplay a character with a pretty noticeable accent. So I get where you're coming from. It's what stands out most to me whenever I think of Tajara. But Tajarans also have different views on gender. Notably, many Tajarans view same-sex relationships as something wrong, believing that a relationship should be for reproduction. This view is shifting slowly, especially with exposure to other species, but there is still an underbelly of Tajarans who view this as deviant. This also extends to open displays of affection, though Tajarans do huddle together to keep warm and share body heat, which isn't seen as something intimate. Going into further details regarding the 'use of pronouns', Tajarans have a strong divide between the public and personal self, which I can best liken to something like French or Dutch having a formal/informal word for 'you'. Their way of using this depends on the person they're in conversation with, the relationship they have, and the tone of the conversation. So for Nja'kanja, he would use a second-person pronoun to talk to officers, while using a third-person pronoun to talk to the Captain, for example. This divide between the personal and public self, and the use of third-person pronouns indicating respect, has a history; the Tajarans have a long history of being ruled by noble families, where respect was deeply ingrained into the culture. In fairness, though, this is a difficult question to answer to me. I feel like the thing that makes Tajarans different from most others is the sheer recency of their culture's events and the peace that came with it. I'd argue that they're individually the most divided species. Humans have large swaths of space where each culture fosters, and literal planets dedicated to an entire culture. Tajarans have comparatively very little territory, which the three factions keep fighting for. Many Tajarans haven't really known 'peace', because their lives are dictated by this constant tug-of-war. And I feel like that divide in their species makes them more unique to roleplay than a human, for example. Nja'kanja was born in B'urr, but moved closer to Al'mari at a young age. Most of what he saw was the curated front that the PRA put up, with how Al'mari was metropolized. His worldview really changed after finishing his studies, because once he got into the 'real' world, he was faced with reality that is the PRA's police state. Nja'kanja's time with the PSIS had him investigate a lot of religious extremism. His mother and siblings worshipped S'rendarr and Messa, and he was raised with these strong beliefs - and more importantly, the values - but Nja'kanja started to question faith during his time at the PSIS. He's been exposed to the extremes that occultism bring with them, and has seen bits of what a cult like the Raskariim forces upon his people. His view on faith whittled away over the years, and by the time he actually joined the national police, he almost entirely distanced himself from any religion. However, Nja'kanja believes he needs to conform to the 'norm', staying in line with his fellows. So he does keep up with S'rendarr and Messa in a base form. For example, he'd invoke S'rendarr's name in conversation with another Tajara to compliment them, but he wouldn't do so with a human because it tends to not matter for them. As a further dive into his personal life, his entire life is focused on being 'the norm'. Nja'kanja doesn't strive for exceptional feats, he strives for simply performing. He keeps surface contact with his siblings, works out every so often, doesn't indulge heavily into substances but doesn't abstain from them either. He feels like it's his goal to be so normal, he fades into a 'background', which is often an advantageous position to be in if you want to eavesdrop. The S'rand'marr Coalition was the PRA's attempt to call their allies for help. While Al'mari Hadii started transitioning into a xenophobic stance, Malik backpedaled and instead welcomed other species. The Coalition consisted of mercenaries, peacekeepers, freelancers, generally any ally they could convince to help out. Those two months were TERRIBLE, because the Adhomian Liberation Army adjusted and used the right tactics to fight off this coalition. What was supposed to be a coordinated effort to retake ground turned into a slaughter of the various actors in the Coalition (in part thanks to Ringspire's liberal ROE-policy.) In just two months time, Malik Hadii's own stance changed from "winning the war" to "salvaging what's left". To outsiders, the Coalition seemed like a meat grinder, carelessly tossing people into a guerilla war that stagnated, where the original offensive intent was hamstrung and turned into a desperate defense. The various parties of the Coalition expressed their deep concerns about the validity, terms and safety of their soldiers (except the Skrell, who remained faithful). Any press from the front also highly altered the public view of the S'rand'marr Coalition. A lot of news reports focused on the horrors that came with the war, which in turn made people lose faith in the Coalition. The final result of the Coalition was the PRA giving up on their original mission, being dominance over the DPRA and the NKA. One can wonder what the PRA would have been like if they didn't invest into foreign actors that fought as long as there was money. In line with Nja'kanja's philosophy of being 'average', he tries his very best to avoid having any express, outspoken opinions. Naturally, he thinks that most of the DPRA are terrorists, since he doesn't know any better than his own side in the Tajaran civil war. He's been against the DPRA all his life, after all. However, he tempers his opinions by thinking on how the PRA is also flawed, with his experience in the police force. While the NKA and the PRA have had their hostilities, Nja'kanja doesn't see the NKA as the enemy. He remains respectful with any Royalists, referring to them by title if they so wish. Nja'kanja feels like fighting crime only puts him on the radar for anyone who'd wish ill upon him. Even after leaving Adhomai, moving to Little Adhomai to work as an officer there, he felt like catching and persecuting someone puts a mark on him. Tajaran society just has a lot of undesirable elements to it, and if he wants to live peacefully he needed to find work where he was a 'number'. Signing with the KOG made him exactly that: a mercenary. The KOG has an office in Little Adhomai, which is where he got in contact with them, and that eventually grew to a contract. Nja'kanja prefers this semi-desk job that the KOG found for him with the SCC, because it means he can be, instead of be antagonized or vilified for just doing his work. Naturally, he had the choice of doing incredible field work with the KOG, being a guns-blazing kind of mercenary. But that doesn't gel well with him. He'd much rather enjoy his desk job, where he can put more of his social skills to use. And while working as a Head of Security with the SCC gives him some status, he's still more in the background, operating under the SCC's banner moreso than being an 'individual'.

BYOND Ckey: N. Komaeda Discord username: Nagito Komaeda/viego_vol_kalah Character names: Osisra Devorask, Kharybdis, Radiance Species you are applying to play: Tajara ------------------------------ General Whitelist Requirements What colour do you plan on making your first alien character?: Field Snow, an M’Sai colouration. Have you read the lore pages for the species you wish to be whitelisted for?: How is there so much Tajara lore??? Yes I’ve read a bunch of it oh my GOD. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph format. One paragraph minimum per question. Why do you wish to play this species?: I see a lot of people playing Tajaran, and through this experience I’ve come to find them more and more interesting. The different Tajaran factions feel far more closely tied together than I’ve experienced with the Unathi, for example. They also have an incredibly varied and recent history, which means that, universally, every Tajara went through the same shit, just looking at it from a different side. What makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a human?: Tajara speak in the third person, using “He/She” or saying “This one”, as opposed to saying “I” or “me”. This is already a pretty big shift from most other species (sans Diona, who refer to themselves in a plural form). They also roll their R’s, by nature of being felines. Much like Unathi, Tajara also have the option to incorporate their tail into their mannerisms, like tucking the tail between the leg to portray worry. ------------------------------ Character Application Character Name: Nja’kanja Manqrhaz Nja’kanja Jri’ketdra Manqrhaz is an M’Sai Tajara who was born right after the formation of the People’s Republic of Adhomai, in 2432. His early life was dictated by the instability around him, and the new government that took power on Adhomai, but also by the absence of his father who pledged service to the budding People’s Strategic Intelligence Service. Raised by his mother, together with two older siblings, Nja’kanja learned that standing tall would only get your head chopped off, and that being present has two vastly different interpretations. Wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps, and perhaps also figure out where he disappeared to, Nja’kanja applied to study at the Al’mari College of Hadiist Sciences, before transitioning to the PSIS as a lowly intelligence officer. This coincided with the new era of the PSIS, after the organisation succeeded in their fight against crime. Being a newcomer to the organisation, Nja’kanja was assigned to a division focusing on religious extremism and substance abuse. For the first year and a half, he was treated like the ‘intern’ in his division, given no respect or authority whatsoever in comparison to his peers. The rising instability in Tajaran society took precedence over the ‘low-stakes’ crimes Nja’kanja’s division was focusing on, and the general consensus was that interfering with these esoteric groups would just cause more problems. The assassination on President Al’mari Hadii gave Nja’kanja another good reason to step out of the PSIS, with him feeling like the organisation was compromised by Tufir’s actions. Instead, he chose to enlist for active service with the police, actually enforcing the law instead of sitting by idly, writing up reports that nobody cares for. But even under the national police, Nja’kanja felt out of place. The sheer corruption and abuse of authority rubbed him the wrong way. Regardless, he persevered for ten years, doing his best to keep his head down, do what is asked of him, and not think too much about the consequences. Yet, consequences came during the formation of the S’rand’marr Coalition. With his history at the PSIS and his experience with the national police, Nja’kanja was assigned to fight alongside the S’rand’marr Coalition, and alongside the aliens Al’mari once denounced. What Nja’kanja saw wasn’t corporate greed, but a unity, one pure of heart. Even despite the disasters of these two months, Nja’kanja was reminded what good can come from banding together and forming a unit as opposed to a hit squad that the national police reminds him of. The Armistice is signed, and Nja’kanja starts to ponder if staying on Adhomai is the best thing for him or not. Still, for the next couple of years, Nja’kanja chose to stay with the police force, though securing a contract in Little Adhomai, moving to Biesel. On the one hand, he was back where he started, fighting crime like it’s removing water from the ocean by the bucket. On the other hand, it felt like a nice breath of fresh air, being ‘just’ one of the many detectives that desperately tries to contain the criminal underbelly of Little Adhomai. Eventually, Nja’kanja stumbles his way into the Kazarrhaldiye Operations Group, signing a contract with them to be employed by the SCC on one of their flagship vessels. How has the recent events of the Orion Spur impacted your character? Events such as the Phoron Scarcity, the Solarian Collapse or even the Invasions of Biesel for interstellar-wide affairs, while region-specific events such as the Peacekeeper Mandate, The Titan Rises or even Cold Dawn may impact your character. In general, the instability in Tajaran society eventually caused Nja’kanja to leave Adhomai. Fearing a nuclear war would actually break out, he felt like his life was in danger from that as well as the various risks that come with his field. The Horizon’s actions at Din’akk don’t really concern Nja’kanja; it’s DPRA territory, and he genuinely thinks he has far more pressing things to worry about in his own life. How does your character view the megacorporation they work for? Despite the SCC’s mishaps on Adhomai, which caused strife with the DPRA, Nja’kanja believes the corporation has some good ideas. If KOG believed he’d be a good fit for the SCC, he’s not one to question it. Make a big deal out of it, and you get on a radar. Get on a radar, and you jeopardise your own safety. Nja’kanja very firmly believes that he should just be steady, not exceptional, and working with the SCC allows him that opportunity.

I don't disagree with this, but Scientists have a lot to do on the ship to begin with (I know, Science is a gameplay department with sparse gameplay). Modular guns and telescience can still be tested on the station pretty easily, and they can absolutely be field tested in collaboration with others! But a Xenoarchaeologist/Anomalist has barely any gameplay on the ship and needs the Quark to get artifacts. Looking at it from the gameplay perspective (I don't play Xenoarch so I can't universally speak for those players) I think it would suck if the Xenoarch has to wait with doing their own thing because a Scientist wants to prepare things for an expedition/field test later in the round. There's already plenty of options to go on an expedition and do field testing. Xenoarchs/botanist/biologists are all allowed to fly the Quark, as can the Research Director. Shaft Miners can also be a pilot for anyone wanting to do an expedition, as can Bridge Crew, the OM, XO etc. I think it's lightly redundant for Scientists to get shuttle access if them working together with other pilots stimulates connectivity and roleplay. We shouldn't bar the Scientist role from doing field research, but we already have plenty of possible solutions (e.g. pilots), and interdepartmental reliablity isn't a strange thing (see the Machinist).

This is an interesting idea, but that seems hellish to implement. But it got me thinking: what if the Marshalling Wand can work as a 'camera' for the pilot of a shuttle? It'd make it so that flight crew can see the conditions immediately prior to landing, and it also feels like it makes sense that you can better 'see' your landing zones if someone is waving around bright sticks to signify the area.

Fabian's most outstanding point as a contributor to Aurora's codebase has to be his communicative nature in writing PR's. His contributions do not leave any guesswork for what they do, and what's expected in the future. I personally believe that is a MAJOR skill to have, and even only for that Fabian should be given the opportunity to trial as a developer. That's not to mention the actual contributions he makes to Aurora being high quality. Definitive +1!

Osisra Devorask, Executive Officer: "We've ourselves next 'no clue what the fuck we're going 'be dealing with. But, my stance is that we're best off investigating signals and employing crew expertise if we've the supplies. Charting a general course 'Beta Marax II' seems a recurring theme, for good reason in me opinion. If there's any point where we're best equipped 'deal with threats, 't is now. Equally true, if there's any point where we can expend resources 'get more in our stocks, it's now." "The best we can do while in any given sector is host salvage ops as much as we can. Sites should be logged and scavenged as effectively as possible, which will require coordination from Operations and 'neering, together with the Bridge. We'd be best assessing our situation and acting accordingly after a jump from 'Beta Marax II' in the direction of 'Berkley 72', where we can decide on if we're needing 'push through a bluespace jump or nae."

Perhaps the smallest thing ever, but what about printer ink? Having printer ink be used up and needing replacement would be soulful, especially for areas that use the copier a surprising amount (the Bridge, for example.)

Fabian already commented with the perspective from Bradley; I feel like mine as Radiance should be in here as well. The entire start of this situation was because we were going to do a rescue operation. The Spark crew hailed out and needed help, and we couldn't teleport or fly down because of the access limitations on the crew. It's because of this and only this that we got the spare. I think it's odd that a surgical resident got their hands on one of the highest-value objects on the station. Fabian also wrote why we engaged with the antag. For Bradley, it's ship safety and a liked colleague being in danger. For Radiance, it's ship danger. Bradley has stronger reasons, but didn't have the means to take down the antag himself without it being bloody or extremely dangerous for himself. For Radiance, as a robot, the risk of personal injury is a margin lower (though self-preservation dictates that he should be cautious, self-preservation also comes into play when the entire ship can be in danger due to the Bluespace Drive being messed with.) Radiance also devised a method that could take down the antag; by modifying a specific plant with sedatives so that it bursts out into smoke, they could possibly sedate the antag. Those were used to subdue him eventually. The chase happened in maintenance (a domain well-known to Bradley as an engineer), and the antag chose to chase us down instead of keeping his hostage. The chase happened, we got shot at, and I did get damaged! But, with the plants I managed to eventually subdue the antag. Then, we got the Machinist to print us a set of cuffs. Instead of throwing him in Security, we choose a room in research to contain the antag. We never de-geared the antag (besides his PDA, that was put on the table, because he was stealing data with it) and just went "Okay... so what now?" When the antag got out and killed me, I accepted that as part of the risk! If we didn't have the spare, I genuinely think next to nothing would have changed. Sure, we would not have had the tranq rifle - but I'm very certain it had no effect compared to the plants. Sure, we couldn't easily walk into Hazardous Containment - but we had an Engineer that could easily deal with the doors. And we never stopped the gimmick in its tracks. Both Bradley and Radiance acted based on their expertise, because there was a massive risk to the ship if nobody did anything. We never would have done these things of our own volition if there was Security or Command taking charge in the situation: This is their domain to deal with. We never went out to get a 'scary gun' to 'intimidate the antag' with, because that's the surefire way to get shot at. I echo that it sucked for you to be stuck in a hardsuit, but I think the situation never warranted a learner role getting the Captain's spare. If the Spark arrived three minutes prior, the spare would never have been in the situation, and while it made some things easier with getting into places, it never dictated the way we approached the situation.

Venty 100% deserves a green +1 for this application. Ririlsk in particular is an excellent example of how an individual character can develop its own story in a greater design, while still feeling realistic and relatable, even. Venty takes great care in deciding on the big and small of a character; from the grand, character-defining events to the minute details. Their passion for telling a story has an infectious property to it; again, relating it to Ririlsk's story, a Guwan who defies 'stereotyping' of the name, who then redeems himself in a way that intertwines them with other players? I could a HUNDRED percent see other people be inspired by that, and thusly decide they too want to be a lizard. Giving them this whitelist will allow Venty to tell a new story, and Tajarans have plenty of depth to them that Venty will be able to use. I firmly believe that approving Venty's whitelist will make other players be more interested in the species, by and large thanks to his own ability to draw players in.

A hundred percent, yes. Verticality is what breaks up departments really well. In particular, I think there should be more reason for people to be scattered around decks - the cafeteria, Medical's foyer, Security's foyer and the central ring in general means people congregate around those spots on deck two all the time. If the Medical and Security main entrances are misaligned, you already break up the crew over decks REALLY well. The way I would love to see the Horizon (mind you, this is spitballing)... Deck 4: The Command deck. Predominantly occupied by the Bridge, but also holds the offices. Have every department's Head of Staff office be on the top deck near their own department. To me, this gives room to separate the crew a little more, and for antags to more securely break into Head of Staff offices when their respective Head is in. The CorpRep and Consular offices would also be here. If you really want to make it the 'expensive' deck, put the Vault, Ammunition Storage and Server Room here. The general gist of this deck is that it's the 'fancy' deck, and as an underpaid worker you should realistically feel a little out of place being there. The Stargazer would also be here, somewhere, probably (honestly make it soul and actually put it ON the Bridge). Deck 3: The Crew Facility deck. This is where a large part of Service should be (Bar, Kitchen, Library, Journalist & Chapel) and the bulk of Medical should be. This deck should also have the docking arms for off-ships and merchants. A small Operations office is here, primarily for equipment retrieval from bounties, and filing orders. The Investigator's office is here. too. Research has 'studies' here, a central location where they can theorize, roleplay etc., connected to an elevator going down to the operational deck. If you're a visitor wanting to 'stroll around', this is the place to be. Deck 2: The Operational deck. The bulk of Engineering, Security, Research and Operations are here. Engineering sees all the monitoring equipment, locker room & their workshop here, as well as their reactors. Security has their equipment room, the armoury, briefing, the actual Investigator laboratory, and a shared firing range with Research here. Research has its labs on this deck, except for Xenoarch. Operations has the Warehouse and the Machinist on this deck. Hydroponics is also located here, so that Service has more of a reason to be downstairs. The general gist is that crew are at work on this deck. Deck 1: The Flight deck. This is where the shuttles are, where the prep locations for Xenoarch and Mining are, and where a large part of ship maintenance is. This deck is a little messy, sees flights going in and out, and just generally functions as the 'drain' of every department. Operations has Mining here, Research has Xenoarch here, Engineering has Atmospherics and a large part of maintenance here, Medical has the Morgue here, the large Custodial closet is on this deck, etc. You should come here every shift, just not for a wander around the ship.

There's equipment that you can use to study the ground, atmosphere and the magnetic sphere of a planet, the surveying equipment. I'd imagine all of Science knows how to set that up, but the results are interesting and a useful starting point for xenobiologists and xenobotanists. They have the expertise to properly theorise how a specific ecosystem facilitates the formation and adaptation of life. With the camping equipment being added (tents, folding tables/chairs, sleeping bags), you can set up a small field base. It's soul. Furthermore, with the Science sampler, you can take samples of the soil, the water, rocks, even animals. These can be studied in the Xenology Study. For xenobiologists, they can capture wildlife on the planet for study, with traps, nets and potentially the tranq rifle. For xenobotany, they can study and collect randomly generated plants. The xenoroles are rather lab-bound by mechanics, but the tools to do field work are there. I've personally done it quite a bit when playing Xenobotanist. It's fun, and beats sitting around in the lab literally waiting for plants to grow. As of now, all of these things are limited by having a xenoarch, a Research Director, or another willing pilot bringing you down to the planet. Permitting the xenoroles to fly the Quark is a net positive imo, because xenoarchaeologists still have the possibility to take the Intrepid, and this gives these two roles something different to do in absence of a pilot.

Yes please, oh my God. It would be SO much nicer if the Xenobiologists and Xenobotanists could go out by themselves. Don't have many other words than YIPPIE

Reporting Personnel: Uskiro Kisisril Job Title of Reporting Personnel: Machinist Game ID: cyr-c9QC Personnel Involved: Zaqix Zixquu, Research Director - Offender Qiang Pei, Captain - Offender Positronic unit 'GPPU-06' - Victim Uskiro Kisisril, Machinist - Witness Jonathan Moorland, Machinist - Witness Secondary Witnesses: Armand Gessler, Operations Manager - Confirmed the order of the Captain to force us to participate in the experiment. Lysandre Depardieu-Bodin, Head of Security - Confirmed the legality of the experiment, informed us of the credit costs. Time of Incident: 20:30 Real Time: 21:30 GMT+1, 03/03/2025 Location of Incident: Machinist Workshop Nature of Incident: [ ] - Workplace Hazard [ ] - Accident/Injury [X] - Destruction of Property [ ] - Neglect of Duty [ ] - Harassment [ ] - Assault [X] - Misconduct [ ] - Other _____ (Place an x in the box that applies. If other, replace line and specify.) Overview of the Incident: The Director came to the Workshop and ordered us to awaken a positronic and put it in a shell. The Director wanted to, in their words, experiment with the wiping device of Operations. Jonathan Moorland and I express our disapproval. The recent events on Burzsia inspire a lot of conspiracies and fears. Both Jonathan Moorland and I initially expressed refusal. We verified with the Captain. The Captain ordered us to do this. Security informed us there is nothing illegal about the order, considering there is no immediate safety hazard to the crew. But an IPC is made and used as an experiment to continuously be wiped, knowing there is potential damage to it. The Director ended up irreparably damaging the positronic brain. ordering us to scrap it. The costs were estimated to around 50.000 credits, by the Head of Security. This entire situation is completely wrong. We are forced to awaken a positronic brain so that a researcher can play Spirits with it. A legal counselor advised me it would fall under i213. Yet the Captain and Director completely ignored this. Submitted Evidence: The IPC created, designation GPPU-06 The damaged brain The analyzer readings of the brain Would you like to be personally interviewed? [X] - Yes [ ] - No Did you report it to a Head of Staff or a superior? If so, who? If not, why? Armand Gessler, Operations Manager; Lysandre Depardieu-Bodin, Head of Security. Actions taken: We were forced to do this. But we reported it to Security and the Manager. Additional Notes: Jonathan Moorland and I are both willing to testify. The Manager is willing, too. The Head of Security, I am not sure of.

THIS CAN'T KEEP HAPPENING TO ME

MAX MAX MAX MAX MAX!!!! A +1 for sure! Max is a very good atmospheric presence. His strength is definitely the relationships he builds with his characters, and I'm stoked to see how he'll balance that with being a Command member.

Silvorz is getting a solid +1 from me. I know Silvorz as a very atmospheric roleplayer. They play characters who are great at initiating conversations, starting interactions, and being a positive presence to the crew. I also think they have it in them to be a great Command player, because those earlier qualities are VITAL in good Command play. This is also coming from a VERY involved and tense round, I found that Silvorz took good care of their responsibilities towards other Command members. I'm curious to see how they manage a fully-staffed department, but even without, they make sure their responsibilities are fulfilled.

Thank you both for responding! I do appreciate people pointing out both the goods and the bads. I'm happy to hear the feedback about how people don't feel like she's overbearingly cross or assholish. And regarding overstepping her place in Command, it's an incredibly fair point to make - yes, I do that a lot, I try not to supersede other heads of staff if they show pushback. What I find is that a lot of people are implicitly acceptant of a Command member calling the shots, especially when things are uncertain, and Osisra's fully the type of character to (ab)use that! 🦎

Having played her for a good amount of months by now, I'm wondering how Osisra strikes people. As a character who's designed to be abrasive and an asshole, I try to tone it down a little if I feel like another player's round gets spoiled due to the attack lizard being harsh. Tell me all about your experiences with her and me! If there are any particular moments that positively or negatively stick with you, I'd love to know those as well so I can play her just that bit more enjoyable for others.

From my experience, people on the Bridge don't actually pass over Hangar Technicians often. They're usually first in line when it comes to loading the guns. I would personally prefer seeing Machinists be able to load, since it's an exosuit thing primarily and it leaves the ship weaponry solely in Operations' hands, but that's a little beyond this topic.

The fastest +1 in the west. NekoMarbles is a very proactive roleplayer, whose characters always add to the round and the atmosphere. Give them a Unathi whitelist, and I'm sure they'll roleplay it with all the necessary intricacies. Furthermore, Neko has played the Kataphract off-ship a couple of times with me around, and they were already fully capable of roleplaying as an aspiring squire. Let them be the arch-lizard *hiss.