Shenaanigans' Cat Application

[Shenaanigans]

BYOND Key: Shenaanigans

Character Names: Lusula Kazhkz, Sreznai Guwan, Nasrin Knezevic, Tae Su-Yeongseon, Sloane Goldhirsch

Species you are applying to play: Tajara

What color do you plan on making your first alien character: Orange

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

Why do you wish to play this specific race: I honestly wasn't so into the Tajara race when I first joined the server and thought for sure that a Skrell whitelist would be the next one I'd apply for, but recently I've become more interested in the species now that their constant civil war is over. Complicated war politics isn't really my thing, but I can get behind the concept of a race that's been deeply divided by two horrendously bloody civil wars and is now trying to recover and find their footing among the space faring age. The long wars still play a crucial part in the backstory of any living Tajara, though now without consuming their entire being, and I enjoy the prospect of exploring the conflict between different factions as well as how peacetime will now play out in a race that's been locked in constant war for so long. Also, cat race. I cannot deny that that I'm a sucker for cat races.

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: The most obvious aspect of what sets Tajara and humans apart is their physical appearance and biology. They are covered in fur, making them much more suited to the cold climate of their home planet, with claws, tails, extended sleep-wake cycles, and the ability to see better in the dark than any other race. The differences go much deeper than just the physical, though, as I consider the Tajara's most unique aspect to be how deeply the concept of ruling by blood is ingrained in their society and how this concept has shaped their culture and values. Tension between the ruling class and the peasantry was what sparked the explosive first civil war and the sense of community the common Tajara find with their fellow working class, which bleeds into their religion and traditional family values, is something no one outside of their species can really understand.

Character Name: Valeriya Samsara

Please provide a short backstory for this character: (This one isn't short either)
Brought into the world in 2424 (otherwise known as 3582 in the more sensible Adhomian calendar), Valeriya was born the youngest of seven children to the Samsara line: a noble house that claimed relation all the way back to the Incarnates of old Adhomai. She was Njarir’Akhran in every sense of the word with a luxurious and happy life in the upper echelons of Tajaran society laid at her feet, until the Revolution came and the betrayal of the Hadii shattered that all to pieces. She was only a child when her family's manor was attacked by Rebel forces and she and her family were forced to flee from their lands, leaving her father and two of her siblings behind to the Rebels as they did their best to disappear. It was a lucky escape, and for a time Valeriya's remaining family were safe in hiding while the chaos of the Revolution continued to rage. Until they were found.

The Samsara were discovered, and they were captured. Valeriya, her mother, and four of her siblings went into the Rebel controlled prison-- only she came out.

Valeriya would have soon followed her family into Messa's arms, but as luck would have it the Revolution abruptly came to a halt before it came her turn and the newly formed People's Republic declared that the noble prisoners be released. She, still only a child, was passed into the custody of a minor noble family who had once been friends to the Samsara and the years between the first and second Civil Wars blurred by in what was only a step away from outright hiding. It was not safe for her to be out, where her vivid ginger fur marked her heritage as clear as the twin suns, so Valeriya's world was a small, lonely thing throughout the rest of her childhood. Throughout it all she nursed her hate-- hate for the traitorous Hadii who had caused her to lose everything.

Once finished with her primary schooling, Valeriya chose to attend the Kaltir Law Academy so she could learn more of how to rule and manage an estate when she one day reclaimed such a thing for her family's name. Her ears were always pricked for any whisper of the nobles moving to reclaim their rightful place on Adhomai, so when the New Kingdom began to take shape she was quick to bid her guardians goodbye, gather together what meager possessions she could call her own, and leave to join this new resistance against the Republic. 

Valeriya, like many other loyal Njarir’Akhran, was given a small piece of land upon arrival which she threw herself into managing. Available workers were limited, so she took to working the fields and ladening carts bound for the front lines as much as she managed the ruling of her estate, doing what was necessary to support the fight against the Republic. Eventually the end of the second war came and, for her, it quickly stopped becoming a time for rejoicing. Instead of peace to continue tending her new land and rebuilding her family’s legacy, Valeriya was faced with a decree that the land she had poured her efforts into would be handed over to a war hero from the among the Kingdom. She was outraged, furious at being pushed aside so easily, but the decree had been made and, with it, all she had worked for since defecting went up in smoke. She could have petitioned (no, groveled) for some smaller tract of land that had gone unclaimed, or perhaps sought to wed one of the Kingdom's other nobles, but in the end she chose to leave it all behind.

Again Valeriya picked up all she could call her own and, this time, left Adhomai entirely with her sights set on the stars. She was not of the lapdog Republic, but NanoTrasen was still all too eager to offer her a job far away in Tau Ceti where she could, again, start over and seek to rebuild the legacy of the Samsara. Gather funds, allies, new influence to one day leverage back upon the Kingdom that had slighted her-- perhaps a worthy husband to carry on the line that ended in her. The odds did not matter, she would force the shape of her future to be as she wished. Or else never return.

What do you like about this character?: I like Valeriya’s character concept because she’s designed to be a very motivated and intense sort of person, always moving forward with her eyes set on a concrete end goal. She doesn’t stop, doesn’t hesitate, and has a definite path for herself in her mind which I think will be fun to RP her pursuing. She also has very strong opinions on the conflict on Adhomai (particularly a powerful hate for the PRA) which I know will motivate a lot of interesting interactions with other Tajaran characters, including how she is very much a proud noble who views herself as above the “lesser kinds” of Tajara. It’s definitely going to motivate some conflict and intense feelings both from and toward her.

How would you rate your role-playing ability?: On my first whitelist app I went with a 7, so I’ll say 7.5 this time. I care a lot about developing complex characters and playing them faithfully and my knowledge of SS13 game mechanics is improving!

Notes: Valeriya will be a cargo technician, later quartermaster once I play a few rounds to make sure I know what I’m doing. She is also an active observer of the S'rand'marr faith.

Edited January 6, 2020 by Shenaanigans

[Alberyk]

4 hours ago, Shenaanigans said:

Valeriya was faced with a decree that the land she had poured her efforts into would be handed over to a war hero from the among the Kingdom-- with a wife included in the prize. She was outraged, furious at being reduced to a congratulatory trinket, but it was either acquiesce or lose all the rights to her new land entirely.

I have an issue with this part. It implies that she was forced to marry other person, which is not really something that would happen in modern Adhomai. Even with arranged marriages, it was a business that families would do, not the government. The land part is fine, I believe, since it would be possible for the kingdom to appropriate land and etc with enough reason. But, the marriage part not really, it would not happen.

[Shenaanigans]

11 hours ago, Alberyk said:

I have an issue with this part. It implies that she was forced to marry other person, which is not really something that would happen in modern Adhomai. Even with arranged marriages, it was a business that families would do, not the government. The land part is fine, I believe, since it would be possible for the kingdom to appropriate land and etc with enough reason. But, the marriage part not really, it would not happen.

Gotcha! Think I just misunderstood how much of those uber-conservative practices had been continued into modern day, but I can easily tweak that to be her only losing the land.

[Doxxmedearly]

Different whitelist app, same potential for personal bias from me, so grain of salt, etc.

Shenaanigans has taken to the server well and her roleplay continues to improve as she gets used to the mechanics of ss13. She's done a good job with the whitelist she already has; Lusula Kazhkz has been a staple in medbay lately and she's an excellent example of a Dominian unathi. She puts a lot of care and thought into each of her characters and has a lot of love for the server and species lore. I'm positive she'll represent Tajara as well as she does Unathi. 

+1 from me

[Bear]

+1 I like it.

The character has a lot of room to grow and will be an interesting fit into the Aurora fold.

[Alberyk]

Application accepted.