Seeli's Tajara application

[Seeli]

BYOND Key: seeli

Character Names:
Georgene Harris, security officer
Richard Harris, cook
Emie Yen, medical doctor
Faye O’Dell, cargo technician
Bo Hynes, shaft miner
Rawson Adler, lab assistant (newest)

Species you are applying to play: Tajara

What color do you plan on making your first alien character: White (M'sai)

Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes.

 

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 specific race:

I want to play this race because I want to roleplay a wider variety of characters. I have characters from Sol Alliance, Frontier Alliance and Republic of Biesel, but I really want to explore more characters with different backgrounds and culture to what is currently available for humans. The Tajaran lore and culture is quite deep and exciting, which is what drew me to applying for them in the first place. There are so many pages to explore, with new things I learn every time I read or re-read a page. From the planet pages, to culture and society pages, to government and organisations, there is so much to Tajaran lore. The news board are also fantastic sources of news and history. While it is a little intimidating because of the volume of things to remember, it is also exciting because there is so much to roleplay and add to my character. Also the mechanics of the tajara, beyond their culture and history, is so different to humans. Rolling their R’s, their biological differences which require they use custom gloves or suits, or the way they overheat, or the high speed and short stamina of the M’sai, or the bulkiness of the Zhan, or the tension over the Njarir’Akhran. All these things are interesting, new, and create fun opportunities to roleplay with.

 

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human:

Well, to start, they have feline features (ears and face) and other traits, such as padded digitigrade feet, semi-prehensile tails and fur. Tajaran fur is very thick, to protect them from the cold of Adhomai, but it leads to them overheating on a temperature-controlled space station like the Aurora. Even the color of their thick fur indicates biological differences between Tajaran, due to the strict breeding which created subraces (M’Sai, Hrarar, Zhan-Khazan, & Njarir’Akhran).

Their culture is also affected by their subrace: how well they are educated, their prestige and respect in the community, where they work, their physical prowess, strengths and weaknesses, all of these are affected by the color of their fur and the generations of breeding from before. M’Sai, for example, are traditionally hunters and warriors, due to their greater speed, so they can often be found in military roles. Whereas the Zhan are considered the “workforce”, the dumb tough grunts with a strong sense of family.

Another difference is their religious beliefs, such as the Ma’ta’ke pantheon, with the creation myth detailing how the pantheon warred against Jagosorrmrr’s children to create life on Adhomai. Or S’rand’marr, the worship of S’rendarr and Messa, the twin Adhomai suns which represent life and death respectively. There is also differences in how they speak, with the rolling of their R’s and referring to themselves in third person. They will generally use third person, unless they are particularly close and trust the person they are talking to, or making some great speech and want to enhance the “rhetorical impact” with first person.

These things make them quite different to playing humans.

 

Character Name: Khas’Miera Al-Rahan

Please provide a short backstory for this character

Khas’Miera Al-Rahan comes from a military family; her parents, all of her siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles serve the Republican Army, whether that be as soldiers or in a support role like supply or medical. Even her husband’s side of the family are military, with her husband serving as a soldier himself. However, Khas’miera was not a soldier, but instead worked in supply, helping with the organisation and facilitation of the food, weapons, ammunition, gear and transport of the Grand People’s Army. She loved her work and thought she was really making a difference. Each time one of her friends or family were injured or killed serving the PRA, she would grieve and thank them for their service.

The death of her partner changed things for Khas’miera. Suddenly, she felt disillusioned. Her two sons were without a father and were just as likely to follow in his footsteps if she stayed. The fighting and killing seemed so pointless, too many Tajara were dying and for what? A claim to rule, to fight or protect change? Khas’miera made the decision to leave Adhomai within weeks of her husband’s death and applied for work with Nanotrasen. After leaving Adhomai, her family were furious at her for abandoning the PRA, especially since the DPRA and NKA united. But Khas'miera still believed she was doing what was right for her children. She found a cheap place to live in Mendell, and sought out an affordable babysitting service to look after her children. With the introduction of so many interesting new foods, Khas'miera took up cooking as a hobby, to better feed her little ones.

What do you like about this character?

I like that she comes from a military family, but is not a soldier herself. I like that she has long believed in the PRA, the communist ideals, but now has to figure things out for herself. There’s a lot of old ideals and beliefs she likely still clings to, which were so deeply ingrained in her being and she is only just starting to question. She had to leave behind her family and friends to protect her young children, but she might find new family and friends on the Aurora as Quartermaster/Cargo Technician. All of these provide so much potential for story and growth. I am very eager to roleplay this character.

How would you rate your role-playing ability?

5/10 – I have good moments, then I have long spans not knowing what to say.

Notes: N/A

[Bear]

A fun char concept that I know you've been working on for quite some time. Personally a player I can vouch for in terms of quality of RP.

+1 for sure

Edited October 2, 2019 by Bear

[DeadLantern]

So, she just up and left. I don't find that believable, frankly, even with something as radical as a death of a partner. Surely, it would have caused some dissent in his mind, but to just up and leave her family, her alliegence, her whole life?

A more gradual fall of beliefs would be better for the character. Perhaps, her belief in the PRA started high up, and fell down a slippery slope. Maybe her Husband's death was a main factor, but I really just don't see someone from being a feverent supporter to a complete rebel. And leaving her whole family? I really want an explanation on such an explosive change in such a short amount of time. Aside from that part, everything else is fine. You discuss enough about religion and politics for the whitelist to be passed. I would really just like a fleshed out reason on why she left Adhomai.

[Bear]

Personally I disagree with that. Violent death of a spouse has driven many people to change both vocation and location.  Emigration isn't considered bad. Especially in the PRA which has ease of access to travel. While the char still supports the PRA my take from this was they were pulling away from the war with their childrens' future in mind. Thats plenty of realistic motivation imo

[Seeli]

@DeadLantern
Ah... I was trying to cram a lot of ideas about her backstory into as short and concise a post as possible. The "keep it simple" principle. In doing so, I think I lost a lot of the suffering that lead up to that breaking point. So I will try to share a little more here. I am sorry, this will be lengthy, but I do not want to run into the same issue.

"Each time one of her friends or family were injured or killed serving the PRA, she would grieve and thank them for their service." <- This sentence does not adequately sum up how much suffering the "pointless" deaths caused Khas'miera. She lost childhood friends and work colleagues, and she lost family, from siblings to distant cousins. There were also a lot of close calls and some injuries that never fully healed. While it was not a "everyone she loves is dead" trope, her circle of friends and family were so patriotic, they would throw themselves into the fighting against the DPRA and NKA. There was a kind of normalcy to the loss and pain, but also a kind of mournful pride of their sacrifice borne from their loyalty to the People's Republic of Adhomai.

Khas'miera's change of heart was not a sudden overnight epiphany. Rather it was a slow and depressing awareness that started with the birth of her eldest just 5 years prior. Becoming a parent creates a chemical shift in human's brains, it is an evolutionary thing to ensure the continuation of the species. I thought I would apply my very limited understanding of that to my character's story and development. What were once little thoughts or feelings she quickly dismissed and felt guilty for daring to have (usually after the death or injury of a loved one, or simply a random passing thought idle), were suddenly much more common. There was still a powerful guilt associated with the thoughts, and she dared bring it up with her husband one time, but he assured her they were safe. Besides, they were a LOYAL family, the PRA was bigger than any single Tajaran.

Mourning with her mother for one of Khas'miera's brothers inflamed the fear within her. This deep, gnawing terror that no amount of patriotism could really quell. What if that was her son? Or her daughter? What if they never even made it to adulthood to become "loyal soldiers", and instead became civilian casualties? Her husband's death was not this sudden change, he was really the final straw to break the camel's back, and I think I failed miserably to convey that in my simplified post. Those three weeks she did not get a full night's rest, as she kept waking from night terrors about her children. For her sanity, but more importantly, for the SAFETY and FUTURE of her children, she had to leave. Years of slowly building doubts, thoughts and feelings, that had previously caused her so much guilt, culminated in a painful separation from EVERYTHING she knew and believed in. All for two little Tajaran who, to Khas'miera, ARE more important than the PRA.

All of this is why I am so excited to play her, if I can. She might have acted on her doubts, left Adhomai, but she still carries the PRA with her, is still loyal to them. She has a lot of growing and developing yet to do, and being exposed to former DPRA, NKA and other PRA who left Adhomai behind might help her do just that. I am still not entirely sure I can pull off such a character, but I certainly want to try and see how she changes, or if her doubts and guilt about leaving eat away at her resolve.

Edited October 2, 2019 by Seeli
Fixed some glaring errors. 2nd edit: Missing words, a little clarification & another error.

[niennab]

I had a pleasant time starting out on the server role-playing and learning medical with Emie Yen. Seeli is a skilled writer and I am certain they could handle the responsibilities of a race white-list.

I think it's more than understandable that someone would take drastic actions in losing their partner although kudos for expanding on it.

+1

[Alberyk]

Some questions.

What faith does she follows?

How exactly did her partner die?

What are her objectives with moving to tau ceti? What does she seeks in the future?

What is her opinion on the war? Does she supports any side right now, and if yes or no, why?

Which job are you playing with this character?

[Seeli]

2 hours ago, Alberyk said:

Some questions.

What faith does she follows?

How exactly did her partner die?

What are her objectives with moving to tau ceti? What does she seeks in the future?

What is her opinion on the war? Does she supports any side right now, and if yes or no, why?

Which job are you playing with this character?

Faith: Khas'miera believes in S'rand'marr, worshiping S'rendarr and Messa, the Twin Gods and Sibling Suns. Some of her family and friends believe that religion is just a trap created by the Njarir, but Khas'miera, her parents, and her siblings still believe in the Sibling Suns, as did her partner's side of the family.

Partner's death: Her partner was killed at the end of July on the continent of Harr'masir. He was shot and killed in action fighting against the NKA; 4 times in the chest, once in the abdomen, and twice in the arm. He died quickly. He was brought home for his Virr Henhati.

Objectives: Primary objective is to get her children far away from the war and provide a happier, safe life for them. To provide this, she needs a stable job and maintain her work visa. This is why she applied for work with NanoTrasen, using her past work in supply for the Republic's armed forces as qualifications for work with NanoTrasen. For a secondary objective, she wants to study hard and become a quartermaster, which is a better paying position in the same field of work. Then not only are her children safe from the war, they also have better opportunities in Tau Ceti and they won't have to live in Little Adhomai, in Mendell city. An optional objective is to get better at gardening and cook delicious interesting meals for her children with the new ingredients.

Opinions on War: She is afraid of the war, afraid of losing her children to it. There is so much death and pain. But, she is still strictly supportive and loyal to the PRA, mostly out of fear. Any doubts she has about the PRA itself are deeply hidden, even from herself. She feels guilty for leaving Adhomai, for putting her children's lives over the needs of the PRA, and is afraid of having her work visa in Tau Ceti revoked if the PRA ever suspects her loyalty. She wishes the war would end quickly with a PRA victory, so she could continue working in Tau Ceti without that looming terror behind her.

Job: I kind of touched on this in Objectives, but Khas'miera worked in supply back on Adhomai, so I think a cargo technician fits her qualifications really well. She is also going to study, hopefully at Nanotrasen Academy, to become a fully qualified Quartermaster.

[Alberyk]

Application accepted.