KingOfThePing is not a furry but maybe a Tajara Lore Deputy

[KingOfThePing]

Ckey/BYOND Username: KingOfThePing

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, I have read it well enough to know that there is a non-working link somewhere in it (I am not telling).

Past Experiences/Knowledge: 
I won't mention the obvious, like (actually) playing tajaran characters on server, following the news articles and the lore discord. It goes without mention that, whenever somoene applies he is also following the developements of the species on the server. I have no experience in writing species lore (be it on SS13 or another game), I have experience writing in general, though. I am a vivid TTRPG player of a great variety of systems for over ten years now. This includes writing scenarios, settings, characters and partially even niche things as economy and cultural things for the campaigns I ran, co-hosted or participated in.

But I have not only used writing to live out TTRPGs. I gathered more "serious" experience during my first bachelor's degree - from 2015-2019 I was one of the writers and editors for the internal university's news magazine, as well as the yearly released university report - basically a booklet that summarized all relevant events, news, achievements and relevant information of our faculties, all organized by the student's council. It was less creative writing and more news, sifting information and (internal) politics, but the magazine still included a creative segment, mostly about current events that were going on or have been going on. It was released bi-weekly. 

Anyway, I am far from perfect and I still have lots to learn - writing creatively in a team is something entirely different and is something I haven't done since 2019. So I am sure it will be a learning experience.

Examples of Past Work:
I have not written lore for the server yet, nor have I made a lore canonization app before. However, some of the artworks I made for the server are on the wiki. Most, if not all, have been made working together with the lore team. 
This is not a complete list, probably but all I can think of right now: 

NTCC Odin
SCCV Horizon
Enlist Today For The Kosmostrelki
Al'Mari National Nuclear Power Plant No. 1
GHOSTS OF WAR

I also made one of the in-server lobby title screens. More is also coming soon(tm).

Anyway, I was told that for the purpose of the application I have to write something for Tajara lore. So I wrote about cats here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iHpbNKAkLnST38kQI1qg3uacwBjUKjOH69jYhZIbPzM/edit

This was done in ~60 minutes (approx. 55 of which was spent searching for a name) and it is a small excerpt, that expands upon how criminal Tajara, living in District Six, keep the black market stocked and running, as well as just a general expansion on the black market itself. This is just something small that came to my mind earlier today. One point of focus here was to give players the option to have a character with a criminal background, which does not nessecarily include the three major factions. Personally, I like lore expansions to be linked to existing things, so they dont become isolated and it merges into already existing stuff. All already present lore on the wiki that is mentioned in my excerpt is marked in red text.

Additional Comments:
I am once again honest here. I see myself as an active community member for a long time now, yet we all are getting older and with age come responsibilities. I have not had long periods of absence in the past years, yet it is not impossible that this might happen. I have a demanding uni schedule and I am an active soldier. This has not been a problem in the past and I have been able to announce any (longer) absence beforehand, but for fairness...es.....for the sake of fairness I want to mention it before the question comes up. I also do not plan to resign from CCIA any time soon and yes - despite all this I believe I can manage both positions at the same time.

Edited March 25, 2022 by KingOfThePing
What is grammar again

[Caelphon]

Hi there.

1. Do you think that you can perform both CCIA and Lore Deputy duties? 

2. If you could change any aspect of Tajara Lore, without any obstacles, what is it and why?

3. The Lore Team is often drafted to do team-wide initiatives, and might result in you working in Lore that doesn’t affect or have any impact on Tajara Lore. Do you have an issue with this?

4. How do you view interspecies lore development? (Gakal’zaal with Unathi)

Goodluck, there are no wrong answers. 

[KingOfThePing]

To, 

1.:

Yes. I have also already answered this in my application, here:

On 24/03/2022 at 14:08, KingOfThePing said:

I also do not plan to resign from CCIA any time soon and yes - despite all this I believe I can manage both positions at the same time.

If your intent was to make me think about it again, then I have. And my answer has not changed.

 

2.:

Change about the lore? I assume you mean as a form of re-write and/or retcon? Very simple - nothing. Not because Tajara lore (or any lore whatsoever) is flawless and finished, but because I despise retcons and/or major rewrites. Retcons are a plague, simple as that. I have a very hardliner stance on this and it is a hill I am willing to die on. Retcons are the lazy man's cop-out to deal with old and unfitting lore. They may sometimes be unavoidable, considering the fact that lore writers change over the year, yet they should be avoided at all costs. It does take considerable more amounts of efforts to write unwanted or maybe just straight up badly aged or written lore out of the current canon, but it is not impossible. It may take longer, it may take more effort, it may take more back and forth, but it is a definitve improvement to "X is not a thing anymore, period.". 
As I said - retcons can be unavoidable, because of timeline conflicts or something similar. But even "without any obstacles" I would not change anything about Tajara lore from one day to another. 

I will still give you an answer on what I would want to see expanded upon, if I had no obstacles at all. Culture, games, cuisine, arts, expressionism - anything related to social interactions, focus here on how the tajaran society currently evolves away from Adhomai, like District Six, Gakaal'zal and Hro'zamal. In my personal opinion these parts of lore define what species lore is about. It gives the species not only depth and complexity, but it also gives the players (you know, the people this is about) opportunites for inter- and extra-species interactions. This is, of course, supplemented by items in game, something I personally want to see expanded upon greatly, even with all the things we already have. 

 

3.:

I do not care if it directly "impacts" tajaran lore. All lore efforts, especially combined are good efforts. It is neither a race nor a contest here.

 

4.:

Interspecies lore developments is something I believe has fallen flat for the longest time. Years back, species lore existed as islands, in my opinion. All floating next to each other, rarely visiting each other. It takes considerable more effort and planning to do anything involving more than one team, yet I believe it is a very important and I would even say integral part of the lore developments in general. The greater picture involves all species - and how they interact with each other. I believe there needs more opportunities, both good and opportunity for conflict as well. Gakaal'zal is an example I like - it is a good example of what I mean by species interactions. More directly, more "eye-on-eye". 

Edited March 27, 2022 by KingOfThePing
Grammar

[Marlon P.]

+1 good app i like their answers to the question. I like the answer to 4 the most.

Edited March 28, 2022 by Marlon P.

[SilverSZ]

Hey, I have some questions to ask, mostly from the perspective of being a Tajara whitelist holder. I've interacted with you and have no doubt about your ability to work on and as part of the lore team, just curiosity more for what you would do if accepted.

1) If you got on the team and were told to work on anything in Tajara lore currently, what would you pick to expand/write on and why? Be it a specific faction or place etc

2) In the same vein as the previous question, is there a particular aspect/part/faction in Tajara lore that you feel is heavily lacking/not reaching it's potential atm, and if so why?

3)I know you mentioned that you want to expand on inter-species interaction with Tajara, would you want to expand the places where Tajara interact with other races, like adding new Tajara exclaves or areas where they intermingle (if possible) other than D6/Gakaal'zal/Hro'zamal? Or do you think Tajara have enough exclaves as it is? Would you want to expand on human cultures on Adhomai too like Humans in Crevus and their interactions and effects on the culture? Are there any species Tajara currently don't have much potential for interaction with where you would like them to have more?

These questions are mostly just personal interest, I think the application as is is solid and have no complaints with it. I'm sure you'd make a fine member of the lore team.
 

[KingOfThePing]

1.:

I have mentioned here what I would want to work on first:

On 27/03/2022 at 19:20, KingOfThePing said:

[...] Culture, games, cuisine, arts, expressionism - anything related to social interactions, focus here on how the tajaran society currently evolves away from Adhomai, like District Six, Gakaal'zal and Hro'zamal.

All in all Tajara lore is in a healthy state. It is a species undoubtly extensive and rich in lore, yet I personally feel there is room to explore outside of Adhomai. D6 is the most popular option and I believe Hro'zamal and Gakaal'zal are both not as used as they could be. I believe, that giving places away from Adhomai distinctive culture it will also automatically make these places attractive alternatives to "born and raised on Adhomai". I have no concrete plans, because I don't know the current internal visions for these locations and it makes little sense to rack my brain about that until I know what direction the team wants to go. 

Why do I want to expand upon these places (and maybe even new ones)? First of all, I believe all three major adhomian factions are pretty good. For anyone who knows my characters also knows, that I was a vivid PRA player for a long time, over the past year I discovered the NKA for me. All factions give many angles to approach a character from, but I think it would be good to give players at least some way to define a character without these three major factions as the central piece of influence. This does not mean that they should not be considered at all, but I am certain, that characters, who developed outside of the major spheres of influence of PRA, DPRA or NKA have a place in lore, too. 
This also explains why I chose D6 as my exmaple piece for the application. Yes, D6 has recently recieved additions and I liked these a lot, but I felt like there is still room for improvement for possibly unaligned (for whatever reason) characters.

What would I tackle if Alb said, that this is something that is not currently needed or wanted to be expanded? Then I would want to tackle traditional adhomian fashion instead. For all three factions. In fact, that is something that's being worked on right now anyway. New clothes for the loadout will come. Eventually.

 

2.:

I would not use the term "heavily lacking", honestly. Not reaching the potential? The first thing that comes to mind is the Free Council. I dont know the plans for it, but I think expanding upon it is something that would make it more appealing for players. While present, many paragraphs on the wiki are rather short. There is definite room for expansion there. Other than that, I believe that actually Adhomai itself is still not reaching it's full potential. Compared to other cultures and species, Tajara have not been a space-faring culture for long. Adhomai often feels a bit mysterious and I think this is something that could be played with. Remote regions, abandoned religious sites, long forgotten places. Personally, I like the mystique and  think it is absolutely something that can be played with. The North Pole expedition going on right now would be something I personally would try to utilize. These were the two things that came to mind immediately.

tl;dr: Free Tajara Council could be expanded upon, Adhomai's mystique as a planet/pre-space Tajara culture could be utilized way more.

 

3,:

This is a difficult question since I don't know the internal plans. For now, I believe the major existing tajaran exclaves/colonies are enough for now. 
"But Ping, didn't you say you want to expand upon inter-species interactions?"
Yes, but it is a mistake to add too much, too fast. Before I would add any major exclaves, I would want to see Gakal'zaal expanded upon. Same with Hro'zamal. At max, I would maybe see something minor added, I had ideas for a PRA funded research station on a unspecified planet/scientific expedition into uncharted space. But this idea is in very early stages. Permanent exclaves are also not the only way to have species interactions. Interactions could also be more on the temporary side - be it space ships meeting, diplomats meeting or politicians doing what they can do best - talk. 

Tajara - Human interactions are interesting, since Tajara have been adapting human culture over the years. Fashion is a good example. I believe it is a great angle to bring in unusual influences into tajaran culture. That is also one reason I like Gakal'zaal a lot, since it expands towards Unathi culture. Though I wouldn't know right now if Tajara would adapt Unathi cultural aspects or vice versa. Who knows.

What species would I want to see more with Tajara? Immediately to my mind came Diona. Adhomai by design is as hostile to Dionae as it can be, so I don't believe there is any interaction for Tajara with them, prior to leaving Adhomai. I believe there is potential, though. Maybe in an underground secret PRA lab to use Dionae for their advantage, however that may look like.....Dionae are a difficult species and interactions would be equally difficult to think about, but I believe it would be interesting. I have no concrete plans, though. Yet.
Another one would be IPC.....the PRA has been using surplus solarian combat robots in the past and I believe at least the PRA/DPRA would be interested in IPCs, for both nefarious and non-nefarious reasons. But again, nothing concrete here.

I am fully aware that these are difficult and ambitious plans. Even only writing about it is hard - because it involves another team and I, once again, don't know the internal thoughts about the whole topic. But no matter what, I believe even small interactions come with a great benefit. 

Edited April 1, 2022 by KingOfThePing
Grammar

[SilverSZ]

45 minutes ago, KingOfThePing said:

*answers*

All of these answers were great and show the thoughts I wanted to see, thank you for taking the time to answer them and you can consider this a +1 as the rest of the application was already good, and I think the answers are very sensible and good.

 

[canon35]

Well, time to toss my questions out here. 

1) Tajara lore is pretty full and detailed as is and collaboration projects can sometimes result in your idea being thrown out entirely or heavily altered. How do you handle it when people reject your ideas or say there simply isn't a way to incorporate them?

2) What is your views on the current "bad" parts of the lore? Do you think we should tone down any aspects such as the child soldiers or anti-LGBTQ views? 

3) How long are you hoping to stay in this staff position?

4) Would you be willing to offer non-writing assistance (IE Sprites, artwork, graphics.) to other members of the lore-staff? 

[KingOfThePing]

1.:

It is pretty clear to me that not every idea can be implemented. Even if implemented, alteration is something that is part of the process, if it's needed. It is the same as with lore canonization applications. Maybe an idea sometimes sounds good to one but very stupid to others (and maybe it even is very stupid), that's why a feedback loop is invaluable. In the end, it is a joint project and a joint ambition. If ideas get rejected or altered, I assume it is not out of spite or ill intentions, but to reach the best, collaborative result. The team's direction is more important than personal ambitions.

 

2.:

I would not use the term "bad", rather "problematic". Up front I will say that, personally, I do not have problems with, let's say darker or, as already mentioned, problematic parts of lore. This is by no means because, I don't know, I hate certain groups or I don't have empathy or even like imagining children being used as soldiers, to use your example. It does also not mean, that just because I play a very traditional NKA noble, means that these are my personal beliefs. Roleplaying also includes taking on different views and a moral compass different from your own. I have the firm belief, that dark, unpleasant or difficult topics in lore are very well worth having for exactly that reason. I mentioned complexity and richness of lore before - and problematic parts are nothing less. It gives depth and opportunity of conflict. 
Of course, I don't forget that in the end it is a game and we are all here to have fun. That is why players, when creating their characters, should have the choice to use lore like this or, well don't. Subtlety should be the way to go when possible. Not everything has to be "in your face" and I believe too much is. Or has to be, since there are not enough alternatives. There should be more ways for players to incorporate more problematic views or beliefs into their characters in a more subtle way, is what I want to say. 

To sum it up - problematic topics should absolutely be part of the lore. I personally have no problems and can draw the line between reality and a video game alien species, but I am aware that some topics hit some people closer than others. It's a delicate subject that has to be implemented well.

 

3.:

Well. An easy question with a hard answer. The first thing that came to mind was "as long as I have something to contribute or as long as my contributions are wanted", but I think that sounds a bit pretentious. I don't plan on leaving the server for the foreseeable future, so I say "hopefully for a long time".

 

4.:

Yes. I have done it in the past, specifically with Ghost of War. I am not a spriter and probably never will be but I can offer the same as I have offered in the past. I usually always say "I don't promise anything and I cant tell you how long it takes", but I am willing to give my best to help out with anything non-writing related.

Edited April 5, 2022 by KingOfThePing
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[canon35]

Sadly there isn't much more I can think of asking here. But, what is your thoughts on the religion of the Tajara? How relevant do you view them to their lore as a whole and do you have any plans or desires for them?

[KingOfThePing]

Well. The tajaran religions are one of the biggest cornerstones of the species. I would even call it a defining aspect. The religious items in the loadout alone speak volumes about that. 

Do I have plans or desires? Absolutely. I believe we have a wide variety to choose from, but what I plan or desire is a larger integration into the everyday round. I aim to give players the opportunity to incorporate their chosen religion in an easy and natural way into playing. I want to give a few examples what I mean by that. 
A way to achieve this is giving players sayings, short prayers, symbolism or maybe small rituals they can incorporate into their characters, and thus the server itself. An officer who gives a quick prayer to their god or goddess before going into battle, a doctor waving away something funny with a saying he was taught back home by a priest or maybe a Sun Sister or maybe a miner mumbling a short phrase from a (religious) writing when facing a space shark, just to name three examples.

The sky is the limit here. As I also already mentioned, more items, more visible things, be it accessories, trinkets, books, pamphlets, etc. are also something to expand upon. But my goal is not only to give more items, but to fill these items with meaning and opportunity for interaction. Be it intra- or inter-species interaction.

I believe this is a very, very worthy effort despite and especially since tajaran religions are such an important cornerstone, as I already mentioned.

Edited April 10, 2022 by KingOfThePing

[Alberyk]

Out of the three main Tajaran factions (PRA, DPRA, and NKA) which one is your favorite and why?

Once, the Tajara lore was focused on a big conflict between the three factions, the second civil war, which was pretty much on what the lore focused on and was built upon. With time, we moved from this with in-character developments to the current on going situation, the cold war. Now, lets say that you are tasked with moving foward narrative from the cold war into another big thing for the species, what would you do?

[KingOfThePing]

1.:

If you would have asked me one year ago I would have easily answered the People's Republic of Adhomai, today I will easily answer that it is the NKA. This is not because the PRA has decreased in quality or appeal at all. In the end all three factions are well done, but over the past year and a bit, I felt like the, as I call it "uphill battle" the NKA is fighting is the most interesting for me personally.

The NKA holds onto historic traditions, some more seriously or fanatically than others, but the NKA cannot (and does not want to) let go of tajaran history and the connected values and traditions. Many who live in the Kingdom nowadays suffered greatly under the PRA's rule, reinforcing their grip that their way of life is the only way. It has worked in the past (to varying degrees) and it will work now, everyone else is just too blind to see it.

I have mentioned the potential of conflict in my past answers quite a lot, and I believe playing an NKA commoner or noble does create this kind of interesting conflict. Be it with other NKA citizens or PRA/DPRA coworkers. Even with other species, who often cannot grasp how the social construct of the NKA can still be seriously lived nowadays. This goes way deeper than just "playing an asshole noble" or something like that. I enjoy it greatly and do not plan on stopping.

 

2.:

A difficult question. Both the time during the war and the current cold war setting are very interesting. I personally don't think that the war should go hot again, since it would be a step back, in a way. Subterfuge and covert operations against your enemies are also way too fun to be replaced by open conflict again. I have joked around on discord about the "United Nations of Adhomai" a few times, wondering why and how a unification of all Tajara would happen and what it would mean for lore, but while I would find it interesting personally, I believe this would ultimately degrade the species as a whole by probably taking a lot of out of the distinctive-ness of the various factions and be straight up not be plausible, given the lore developments in the past and present.

I believe the adhomian factions have to try to get a better foothold on the galactic stage. They need real allies who do not only exploit them as a cheap workforce, they need some sort of "leverage" to make them an actual galactic player. But here we come back to the problems on the homeplanet. It is difficult to achieve these goals while being so seperated the way Adhomai is right now. 

Maybe a rapprochement, initiated from all sides, due to some crisis, forcing the factions to work together, which in turn starts some form of cultural revolution, be it for better or worse, could be interesting in the end as a big, new advancement for the species lore. There is a lot that can be done and I wouldnt want to set one thing in stone now since - to be honest - I haven't thought about the Next Big Thing(tm) too much and I dont believe this is a bad thing.

 

[Alberyk]

We accepted someone else, but thanks for applying. If you want to incorporate what you wrote in the lore, you are free to make an application in the forums. You are also invited to apply again when a slot opens or when I retire.