CatsinHD

1 slot is open for Tajara lore deputy. Please use the following format and answer all questions. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers.

Sorry for the delay. Accepted

I do believe dark topics have a place in lore, just like any other media. The issues primarily arise when said lore is written in a way that allows or encourages OOC conflict, written in an inflammatory way, or not integrated in a satisfying* way. Eugenics, for instance, has become a major part of Tajaran history. It is very dark, but doesn't encourage OOC conflict, and has become one of the most integrated parts of Tajara lore. On the other side, gender and sexuality before the gender update was loosely integrated (pretty much a generic "they're conservative ergo hate LGBT") and encouraged too much OOC conflict, bad faith or otherwise. I am more than willing to change lore if it shows signs of being a problem up to and including removing the lore altogether. *Satisfying in this context meaning in-line with existing lore, without gaps or friction with other writing, and logically sound. For me, it boils down to frequency, scale, and/or context. It's hard to place my thoughts into words, in all honesty. The simplest way to put it is whether it causes discomfort to all involved. Misunderstanding/mistreating lore is a WL issue and should rarely cause much discomfort. However, once problematic behavior becomes frequent, egregious, or inappropriate regardless of context, it is an admin issue. Additionally, this is assuming an IC environment. OOC environments, such as on the maincord, become primarily admin issues. The vast majority of phoron-related issues end up becoming a top-down approach. For instance, trade. Adhomai is reliant on trade to maintain their economic presence. As the rest of the Spur's economy declines and trade becomes harder and harder, so too will the Adhomian economy stagnate. The nations' ever-increasing reliance on megacorporations only deepens the effects of phoron on the economy. In essence, the nations are kneecapped. No option is a good option, and this will naturally fall onto the workers. Additionally, it places a glass ceiling on Adhomai's progress. They cannot rise above the level of technology where phoron is required simply due to being the last in line for the phoron soup line. So, for the foreseeable future, they cannot achieve modern technology found across the spur. To experience such, you either must step into the world of phoron dependency or be a part of the few elites permitted to use such technologies on Adhomai itself.

Ckey/BYOND Username: CatsinHD Position Being Applied For: (Wiki Maintainer, Lore Developer, Deputy Lore developer): Tajara Lore Writer Have you read the Lore Team Rules and Regulations wiki page? Yes Past Experiences/Knowledge: The bulk of my experience comes from small personal/university projects and CCIA. Most of my writing is technically oriented, given both my education in engineering and CCIA’s presence as a corporate-RP entity. However, I have done plenty of creative writing for characters, brainstorming, etc. Obviously, there is my current role as Tajara Lore Deputy, however due to unfortunate timing, much of that work was proof-reading/reviewing the final changes of the Gender Overhaul for the species. All total: 2 years in Wiki Maint team 2 years in CCIA 1 month Taj Lore Deputy Examples of Past Work: FTC Expansion present in Lore Deputy application, not canonized Guide to Faxes Numerous Regulations and SoP changes SCC Bulletins (Not all, but most) 1. A particular section of Tajara Lore that you think should be expanded upon, alongside your reasons for it; what you think should be removed, and expand your reasons for that too. To introduce new ideas, I won’t be retreading my proposed FTC expansion from my Deputy application, however if you want to read it, you can find it here. The main area I see room for expansion (and arcs) is Tajara in space. There is well developed lore on the military capabilities and some in-system activities that occur, however this ends very starkly at the edge of the S’rendmarr system. While thematically it is reasonable to see most of the focus of arcs and development directed towards Adhomai, it leaves uncaptured potential with space exploration, resource exploitation, and colonization. Through the introduction of the People’s Kosmonautical Survey Corp (PKSC), I would utilize the PRA as a vessel to address this, and to open new background opportunities for characters on the Horizon. This organization would take over the control of the Hadiist survey ships already present, as well as expand on Hadiist efforts to explore the regional space around Adhomai and Hro’zamal for resources and potential colonies. While considered a branch of the Kosmostrelki, it is absolved of military duties and expectations unless elevated in war. The corps handles many aspects of space travel for Tajara, filling the role of system traffic controller, relay tender, and other essential but often thankless duties. In many ways, the PKSC is seen as an easy out for Kosmostrelks wanting to exit service prior to their enlistment contracts expiring. The arguably easier workload and safer workspace has earned itself the reputation as a veteran’s training camp for civilian life. This goes further, as the PRA and NanoTrasen’s relationship continues to deepen, agreements between the two entities have led to joint training and survey missions in the Human Frontier and Badlands. The partnership has led to a higher rate of employment for former Kosmostrelks leaving the PKSC in a variety of positions within the phoron company, including as NT contractors across the SCC. 2. Do you have a long-term vision for what direction you want to take Tajara? Yes. I would see a shift away from Adhomai and towards interstellar efforts. The total vision is broken down into Fracturing, Unification, and Expansion. At a broad level, the Cold War must end eventually. Both to ensure chronological consistency, but also to allow Tajaran lore to look beyond the boundaries of Adhomai itself. The end goal, ultimately, is to achieve an outward focus to lore that allows more interaction with players on the Horizon and more collaboration with other lore teams. While the focus on Adhomai is and has been thematically reasonable, it has begun to come at the cost of connection with characters on the Horizon. Beginning to treat Adhomai as many other homeworlds are, an important piece of lore but not the main focus, allows for growth in new topics and brings in a breath of fresh air into future development. This will, naturally, require an arc, which is broadly defined below. Fracturing. Adhomai is already fractured, but to unify it the remaining states must break down more. The herald of this is the death of the old-guard. One has already fallen, that being King Azunja, but the NKA was never in a position to stalemate the planet (and had a positive transition of power). However, the death of Nated and the (public) death of Hadii are the last remaining obstacles to chaos and power grabs. This period is short, but chaotic for most nations. The entire point of the fracturing of Adhoma is to break down the causes of stalemate. The DPRA is in its current state due to Nated and Harrlala keeping an uneasy balance. The PRA has a single unifying leader keeping the power hungry cabinet at bay. The NKA, ironically, is already on a path to chaos whether it knows it or not. These changes allow the conflict to naturally occur, and progress past the last vestiges of the pre-revolution rulers. Unification. The final war to end the Cold War. It is during this time that Adhomai will be at its lowest point (again) as the three nations, fractured as they are, attempt to unify themselves and Adhomai as a whole. The end goal is one of the nations to win over the others. Whether this is as a result of nuclear weapons, foreign governmental assistance, or corporate aid will vary based on discussions with other lore teams. Unifying Adhomai is a requirement. It is difficult to logically justify the focus of outward expansion when the planet itself isn’t in a unified state, and in such a way that the home system is under multiple claims all vying for control. In unification, the varied backgrounds and concepts can remain, but it allows a better foundation for moving beyond just Adhomai, and hopefully allows more opportunities to bring in lore that interacts directly with characters on the ship. Expansion. While Adhomai has re-unified, it is still very very divided. In truth, the end result is a facade of a struggling central government or a powerless de-centralized government. In either case, the focal point is, temporarily, the rebuilding and reorganization of power across the planet. Unrest, riots, and guerilla activities become the norm until peace can be slowly and painfully restored. However, this is the expansion period. Adhomai is injured, and survival regardless of the state of the home planet relies on resources on and off of Adhomai. Therefore, much like how Humans pushed into space when Earth was dying, Tajara push towards space to grasp for a safety net planet, find resources to fuel the rebuilding effort, and find a foothold to stay secure in the galactic power structure. While the planet remains uneasy and in turmoil, the unified government will keep a grip. For the foreseeable future, the wars are over. Adhomai is united. Expansion is, in essence, the end goal. There are multiple avenues for development in reaching this point, whether it is exploring the southern spur, human frontier, or arcs related to the turmoil on Adhomai. Additionally, it allows for more interaction with other lore teams given Adhomai would be looking out, which may prove to be a problem or opportunity for the local powers. 3. Is there anything regarding Tajara lore that you'd really like to remove or heavily rework, but it's so ingrained in the lore to the point where it'd be challenging to do in a way that's satisfactory? Tajaran naming has always felt like a mixed bag. While many of the traditional names have felt fitting (if not unwieldy without nicknames), the “humanized” naming conventions have been confusing at times, and errs away from what could be a more unique aspect of Tajara. However, the difficulties lie in both how to develop names, and how to address this to the wider server. Names are, by intention, hard to change. On a mass scale, it is nigh impossible. It is an aspect that I want to look into and try to consider some more concrete solutions or, at the very least, formulate a method to create a traditional Tajaran name without (as much) guess work. Another aspect to this are the names of certain key lore items, such as S’rendarr. Many of these names were either inspired by or taken directly from the Elder Scrolls series. From what I gather, this was a choice long ago, and something that has been stuck with Tajaran lore for a long time. While easier to address in terms of logistics, as it doesn’t require admins or player cooperation (excluding PRs for in-game items), it does touch many aspects of Tajaran lore making it difficult to change in a substantial way. 4. What do you think are your strongest and weakest attributes in terms of working on a team, and why? My strongest attribute, I believe, is collaboration. I have always found benefit in the process of having other review works whether it is for proof-reading, or to ensure the concepts within are solid. It is a two-way street. As much as I prefer my own ideas and writings to form from collaborative brainstorming and review, doing the same in return to others I work with (when desired) is something I ensure I put effort into. One of the greatest weaknesses I will claim is self-assessment. This applies to more than just my writing, but also assessing (ironically) strengths and weaknesses. The practical effect is that my writing can, at times, be drawn on too long. Without something or someone to check things over and give a thumbs up, I tend to keep iterating. 5. Tajara writer is a position that comes with two deputy writers under them on the team. It is the writer's job to manage their team, in addition to their duties of moderating the WL. Given that, what skills do you have that you think will assist you in this? On the opposite end, what do you believe is your weakest link regarding management and moderation? I have worked in many teams, whether as a team member or team coordinator/leader. One of the skills I have been working on honing and utilizing is the process of identifying tasks, the steps to achieve those tasks, and how to best delegate these tasks. To this extent, I would point to my job IRL as a supervisor (at Starbucks. Laugh now), but take that as you will. Beyond that, I do attempt to communicate as often as possible, as could likely be noted with my time in CCIA. I think one item that should be mentioned are Tajaran WL applications. There has been a noticeable reputation for the application process that has built up over the years, deserved or otherwise, that it requires intense knowledge of minute lore, and can be a chore to address in a single application. It has become something which to me has a tendency to push people away from applying, or worrying too much over details that are unnecessary. For that reason, I want to encourage the team as a whole, and myself, to remain open about those things, and drill down what is essential for a WL, and keep our judgement to that criteria. My primary weakness is somewhat tied to communication. I can, at times, fail to make my point or ideas clear. Whether that is through overcommunication, or simply not wording my communications properly. I do attempt to clarify this ASAP, but that varies case by case. In terms of moderation, I am very aware that I err towards softer approaches to issues. This often ends up in the case of giving too many warnings before finally making an escalated action when it was warranted much sooner. I have been working to mind my tendencies, and look over my plans/writing before I send them. If I have time to, sourcing another set of eyes to see if I’m getting my point across or if I’m softballing WL moderation actions. Additional Comments:

I have interacted with RandomHomelessGuy (RHG to save space) fairly consistently in recent times through both OOC of the server, the interactions of Has and Kazhkz, and (to a lesser extent) the maincord. I have no doubts of their capability as a role player, or their ability to understand the departments they play and (potentially) command. I believe they would be capable of learning and handling a Command WL if given the chance. They deserve a solid +1.

Opossum has been someone I've talked to for years now. During that entire time, there has been a torrent of ideas, characters, lore, thoughts, opinions, and everything else about the server, its lore, and how people interact with it. Unathi especially are a species that Opossum has much interest in, and it has been apparent for a while. He's a great writer, whether he likes to admit it or not. A big +1 from me.

I've worked with Connor for some time now in CCIA and talked with them long before that. Having seen his works already for Vaurca, and how he works within varied teams, I can confidently give a +1.

I like the idea, and offers a bounty-esque loop. I've already seen engineering do PM RP all around the ship (although I wanna see the paperwork more...), so adding a mechanical aspect would be neat. As for incentives, helping prevent one or multiple types of random events, or even just lessening their intensity would be neat. Same could go for adding to the department budget. I could seen a similar system for Janitor too, esp with infestations. Pie in the sky ideals for me would be a little more of an involved process to fix the issue, maybe a system of having XYZ issues, and needing the ACB process. Something like wires but they're more interconnected. A little vague, but a decent idea.

I'm going to echo much of what Boggle and Cat have said already. I think lasting injuries are fine insofar as they do not HARD BLOCK the ability to continue interacting with mechanics/gameplay. Lingering pain, fragile bones, etc are fine. I like this. Theoretically, you can introduce other items, such as fragile organs being less effective, but that can be brutal. The key to all of these is that they do not necessitate you sit in medical if you don't want to. You can get up and leave, fight again, etc. just now with higher risk/less effectiveness, a risk that goes away in time. It should be a trade-off for urgency (or for sci tech/ops orders). Much to what Boggle says, recovery rp is very hit or miss. Medical is often too pressured to take extra time. Sitting on a bed sucks. This is why medical tries to be as efficient as possible, why it even has a meta. Fixing that needs a medical overhaul (see Matt's plans) that is outside the scope of this topic. Just something to keep in mind when brainstorming. I'd rather trade-offs that do discourage recklessness.

I will clarify this minor point. This is not entirely true. Per Chain of Command, if a Head of Staff is missing, other command members are permitted (sometimes expected in cases of emergencies) to take on leadership of the missing department regardless of an emergency or not. Signing an injunction for security when an HoS is missing is perfectly fine. The Chain of Command permits this. To what extent a command staff does this is subject to discretion and all that. With that being said, the rounds I've played with Wezzy's XO have been fine. They've done their job during the chaos, didn't step into my bounds (as investigator), and was helpful when their assistance was requested. Most of the issues I've seen discussed so far are the things many command trials fall into the trap of and learn out of. +1 from me.

Ckey/BYOND Username: CatsinHD Position Being Applied For: (Wiki Maintainer, Lore Developer, Deputy Lore developer): Tajara Lore Deputy Have you read the Lore Team Rules and Regulations wiki page? Yes Past Experiences/Knowledge: My writing experience is mostly dominated by various projects I have written for university, Aurora, and TTRPGs. My university writings are very much a mixed bag between technical and creative writing. Within Aurora, I write quite extensively for both CCIA and the Wiki team. I've been in both teams for nearly 2 years and over 2 years respectively (CCIA in June, wiki team in January). My development experience is very slim at the moment. I have made miscellaneous PRs and sprites, such as the telescopic cane, notepads, and other such things. While I don't claim to be a spriter or a coder, I am familiar with the process for both. As for Tajara lore, I have been playing Tajara since pre-NBT times. It continues to be my favorite section of Aurora lore, and something I keep coming back to when I brainstorm new characters. I have read over the Tajaran wiki pages more times than I like to admit (more some than others...) and have kept up with lore updates and previous news updates. Examples of Past Work: Most of my more recent work has been with CCIA, both in cooperation with LTA and otherwise, namely the SCC bulletins. The most notable wiki pages I have worked on are the SCCIA page, the Chain of Command rewrite, and the Guide to the Turbine Engine. Otherwise, I have some documents I could probably pull from my uni drive if needed. Tajara Lore Deputy Questions: -A new proposal for an addition, rewrite or expansion related to the Tajara lore My proposal is for an expansion of the Free Tajaran Council. The primary focus would be on the government, culture, and any aspect that a member of the Free Council would interact with on a day-to-day basis. The full expansion document is here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AiFJTbq0uyCaYxPREQf_g6gfFp14SM5LSNs7dNxIces/edit?usp=sharing The proposed expansion may retread some ground already in lore, but only to contextualize new additions. -What would you like to see in the future of Tajara lore? As a whole, I envision Tajaran lore showing the further divides within each nation, and the cost of progress. The PRA would be on a timer for when Hadii dies, leaving a power vacuum in his place. The scramble from each potential successor would cause a rift in the party and cause instability amongst the populace. The instability may give certain actors, especially those looking to see freedoms expanded in the PRA at all costs, take advantage of the fractured party. Chaos in a power scramble leaving it crippled. Despite this, the standard of living in the PRA would only rise as it achieves its ideals of industrialization and progress. However, with this comes education, and with education comes the same calls for freedom as before, furthering the unrest as the oppressive policies of the war become challenged by an expanding demographic of “Young Hadiists”. The DPRA, in some years' time, would be facing a crisis of control. After years of back and forth during a tentative peace, the civilian government grows tired of junta control amongst the nation and becomes aggressive in their attempts to take over. The juntas fight back, some even threatening a coup on the grounds of ‘treasonous behavior” by the government as a whole. Meanwhile, the home front continues to stagnate in all but Crevus. Without outside help, little progress is made in a struggling post-war reconstruction reality. The NKA furthers itself into a position between a rock and a hard place. With a stagnating economy and still the weaker military power, industrialization becomes an ever more appealing option. However, it would lead to unrest. The inequality between the commoners and nobles would grow with continued industrialization. Unrest would sometimes be met with violent response by local lords leading to more unrest, the new nobles retreading the mistakes of the past. Meanwhile, Queen Shumaila and Parliament grow more at odds as the monarch begins to increasingly utilize her powers in response to world and domestic affairs. While arguably the most stable, it is by far the furthest behind, with more strife building within its borders by the day. The FTC remains in the face of inevitable change. They are running out of space, both economically and physically. The cultures of the newer humanized generation clash with those of the older traditional generation. Meanwhile, the Adhomian powers are all tugging at the council to align. Tensions are at an all-time high between the interest groups within. After Kar’etrink’s untimely death, the Council is in upheaval. The Adhomian powers take further interest, inviting visits from the Council into their lands. Meanwhile, the Council stagnates, no vote able to pass as each side struggles to find common ground. Additional Comments:

Sorry about the delay! Busy month. Accepted

For any paperwork needs, I recommend using the information present on the Guide to Paperwork. This provides all pencode needed to make forms. Ever since the great passing of the Example Paperwork page, may it rest in peace, there has been a criminally low amount of paperwork forms available for people to tinker around with for their own purposes. While I have not created a ton of paperwork, there are some general trends I have picked up on. And also I was told that making a post for people to share their forms on and discuss their tips on paperwork creation would be liked. While I would like to claim to be a paperwork genius, at the end of the day I tend to stick to a single format, the CCIA format. I won't waffle on about technical writing and such. Both because it isn't the most applicable here (see the wiki for that) and I won't act like my singular course in the matter makes me an expert. In honesty, I make things up as I go, or re-use the CCIA format which remains a venerable format. It is pretty plug and play, not requiring too much effort to bend it to your uses. However, other forms will be discussed later on. When it comes to paperwork forms, CCIA uses a pretty consistent format. The key details are: A border around the form Use of horizontal line [hr] to break up sections An organization logo/flag (in CCIA's case, the SCC logo) A form name and number Index (for internal logging) Date Commonly, Employee and Signature lines Bolded prompts So, what we get at a basic level is this: This is the most basic CCIA-style form. It has a border, separates sections with horizontal lines, and is concise and to the point. This is perfectly fine for SCC-based organizations and is quite flexible to your needs. Want to make it a fax? At a To, From, Subject, and Signature lines. In fact, a basic faxing form is on the Guide to Faxes (which you should read before sending faxes)! Want a medical waiver? Add some legal jargon and add some signatures and name fields. Some tips when writing information prewritten on the form (I.E. printing automatically and not filled in by an individual such as signature or name). Be dry. Don't worry about sounding dull or overly corporate. Forms are meant to be this way! Embrace the corporate style of writing. What if CCIA-style forms aren't your style, or don't make sense for your organization? Well, don't worry. There is a wonderful website I use to create new forms found here: https://ps.ss13.net/#instructions This shows you how the paper will format when made, and is amazing for messing around with pencode to find the right style. So what about some tips and examples? Use the table border. This will add a definite end to your forms and make them look a little tidier than text slapped onto a blank white paper. Use bold to your advantage. Bold words call attention to themselves and, additionally, add separation for mundane text. Don't overuse small. While small can make a form look very crisp and clerical, overuse can mean that you lose the ability to add small text to a document. This is especially problematic in legal documentation. Keep colorful imagery and organizational information at the top. Flags, logos, names, etc. should remain at the top. This keeps a clean look and also avoids some of the messiness adding flags/logos can force into the format. Separate out sections. This is to avoid a long never-ending wall of text. Find sections of related information and cut them apart from the rest. This can be done with either headers (bold, large text. [h1] and [h2] also work) or horizonal lines [hr]. When in doubt, find an IRL example to take inspiration from. For instance, TCAF forms may be loosely based on IRL American documents. Here are some exmaples: Konyang Arrest Form (Authored by Ben10083, posted by Greenjoe within this same forum topic) This form is very nice on many levels. First of all, it follows technical writing expectations. Namely, a hierarchy of headers (Bold and large for primary, smaller bold for secondary, underlined for alternative secondary). The horizontal lines break up the flow of the paper into chunks of related information and avoids the dread of one long mega paper. The header is simple but also fancy with side-by-side logo and organizational information. Small, indented text is utilized for notations that are otherwise not vital to the form. SCC Surgery Release Form (Authored and posted by 20nypercent within this same forum topic) This form is a different take on the CCIA-style format. It borrows the general layout of organizational information at the top, date and index, disclaimers, subject, and signatures/stamps. However, the main changes are the boxed organizational header at the top. Much like the Konyang form, it is clean and professional. To end off, I should note that this isn't the end all be all for forms. In most situations, re-using a format from others, such as the ones above, and replacing certain elements to fit your needs is a common and acceptable trend. I would encourage anyone who has formats they would like to share to post them in this thread. I will expand this post as I can (and as I remember to). Also, if anyone has any questions or anything that I should add, just lmk on Discord (CatsinHD#4202) or here. I know some people want all of the CCIA forms posted here as well and... that is a little unwieldy with how many forms there are. I may post sanitized version for medical, engineering, etc. later on. Until then, here you are.

Sadly I could not screencap this in time. I shall describe the scene. A Ta has chosen to defend her hive. Thermal Lance in hand, she faces down security. The final words are said: "I have chosen to defend my hive... so I must use this." The lance is aimed at the security IPC. Then, with one final action, a deafening click rings across the medical lobby. The lance was on safe.