Rredouane, seal this booboo bearrr within the earrrth! I command you! - Dessysalta's Tajara App

[dessysalta]

BYOND Ckey: dessysalta

Discord username: remratsuken

Character names: Kira Vasquez is my biggest, my other WL characters being Kasa'an, Sadie, Za'Akaix'Tonz, and A Funeral For Yesterday's Promises (and Eimhir Fenella if you count the command WL). Past that, GEVURAH, Nar'lth'tp Iska and Ungnyeo are solid contenders.

Species you are applying to play: Tajara

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What colour do you plan on making your first alien character?: Black (0, 0, 0 or thereabouts)

Have you read the lore pages for the species you wish to be whitelisted for?: Nope, this is all homebrew (yes lmao)

Why do you wish to play this species?: Part of it is because I aim to eventually get every race WL (one to go, after this!) to better acquaint myself with the lore, but the other part is because of the countless Tajaran characters I've seen that amount to more than playing the funny catpeople race. Boris Novinky, Ana Roh'hi'tin, and I think it was Kastyvir that was a Rredouane priest that I thought was badass, hence why I'm applying with one. Pretty much every species app I writes how much I like the dichotomies between the race in question and humans in this section, but I'm drawn to Tajara because of how similar they are, really. Tajara were pretty 1-1 with humans to me at a glance and it's their timeline/small differences that set them apart (like having sword-bearing priests for instance, or the whole "we're felines" thing). As far as references to human politics go, the naming schemes of the major factions (People's Republic vs. Democratic People's Republic both being very similar to the Chinese and Korean groups in my mind) served as an introductory hook that led me to do my research and see where the similarities are versus where the differences lie. I also have to admit that there isn't a lot of interesting super-cold snowy planets where you can convey a theme of emptiness or long-lasting endurance that measure up to Adhomai, which opens the way for a bunch of different ideas I have down the line (a xenoarch who is very resourceful and waste-not coming from the most extreme parts of the planet, a cook who was often poor and finds himself drawn to the heat of a stove psychologically, etc.)

Honestly, I also want to get back into playing priests. Having a whole god in the Ma'ta'ke faith that revolves around gambling, victory, and fighting is just another reason for me to jump back onto the trope of "fighting is awesome" that I love so much. Seriously, I love that goddamn trope, do it more often. Looking at you, Zandiziite Adhomai.

What makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a human?: The first thing that comes to mind (and by far the most boring part of this section) is going to be the differences in biology, how although they're about the same height as us, they have entirely different bodies and systems adapted to cold, sleeping for long periods of time, and combat effectiveness. Biting and slashing leads to more primitive and animalistic roots, roots that still exist today given the harsh nature of Adhomai as a planet and the need for strong, durable workers and society peoples following the civil war. Blah blah blah, everybody gets the differences in biology and the obvious "he/she/they/this one" versus "I/me."

Economically, they're sort of in this gray area between human and alien politics, not quite in an ancient system where there are vassals but also not quite in the perfect modern-day society. With the general stance of Adhomai following the revolutions being anti-corporate (or anti-corporate/anti-xeno enough to say "come back when we're ready" at least) it almost gives them the position of a second Sol (this is hyperbolic, but I'm sure the lore devs will get what I mean) while still remaining fundamentally close to many other parts of the Spur (Moghresian traditionalists being the same, Scarabs(?) generally being very closed-off because of the weight of interacting with so many people and corporations and having to be extremely resourceful, etc.) and being just as politically charged as every other race. You have three different groups that are all in a cold war with one another, different stances and ideas on how to live or prosper being detestable or even worth killing over between the three. Sort of startlingly similar to Sol is how they went through two major wars with just an insane amount of casualties, but are still willing to be at odds with one another, and in almost every instance have no choice but to pick a stance and make enemies or friends based on it.

It reinforces that they're not incredibly civilized and technologically advanced, nor are they barbaric lords and peasants worshipping plots of land and encouraging warfare. They're a "normal" society suddenly thrust into a galactic hellscape of corporations and interstellar powers. I personally interpret them as an interesting callback to where we are in real life compared to the rest of the Spur's either total technological advancement (Sol/Biesel/Nralakk) and the more feudalistic/imperial sections (Hegemony/Dominia).

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Character Name: Jovan Ulizovski

Write a backstory for your character. This may include their origin, education, personality and how they arrived to the SCCV Horizon. 

"Be his blade steady, his effort firm but disciplined; be his faith of no question, his personality of no mind,"

He had never known fear, he was hardly a child; little more than a cog in the machine. He had been taught to cook and how to speak; how to write and how to read, each carefully curated corridor of life open to his for the taking. Twenty-four-ten was an admirable year, if only to Jovan's family, life given unto him and allowed to roam free. To Jovan, this eight years of life was blissful, perhaps with bad days and good days, but he found solace in the cold. He was everything; ignorant, happy, and energetic. He didn't grasp the concept of politics; he saw no point in it. What was the point at all of thinking of horrid power fantasies and superior races or classes? There was no point in it all, he says, for it only pulled him down further into that pit of anger, and...

"His eyes without mercy, his teeth bared, but not in anger; nay, in respect, but not for his opponent, but for his spirit and godhood,"

Monolithic blocks of fuel and fire hurdling through space? Hard enough to believe, but harboring aliens? What were these things? They are bipedal and clearly ancient, their ships housing technology beyond what this one had ever seen. What is this talk about mining and mineral-stripping? It had been done for centuries, why was it so important now? Were they here for it? But why? It is his planet, not theirs, her people's resources and economies, societies and lives, they had no right to be here. "Begone with them," he heard his mother cry, a thousand more voices in higher places echoing her. This one doesn't understand, what has just happened? Even three years would not be enough for him to understand...

"And ever did he harken, harken, harken again to his heart and it's forever-wisdom, harken again to his blade, which know naught else but to carve, and harken again to himself and his body, which demanded change where none was found,"

Blood, he had seen it with his own eyes. Cries of pain and howls of fear and anger, of sorrow and uncertainty. He had seen his aggressors take bullets and die like their sense did: quietly, and without regard to others. He saw shackles broken, guns thrust into claws of those who were barely old enough to comprehend such a thing as total and absolute as death. He felt pity for his friends. He felt envy for the highly men in ivory towers so afraid to lose what they had. He felt so many things, from misdirection and disgust to anxiety and melancholy. When the door of his own home was kicked open, he felt a new emotion surge to the front of his body:

Rage.

"Something just snapped, something inside of him. He didn't care anymore. He didn't care about the finer days in Dolor, this one didn't care if they never saw a clear sky again, they didn't care if they lived—they didn't care about anything. All they felt was the fire in their heart, and finally, he fought."

He sharpened his claws with a file to ensure they would cut, but chip into his enemies. He let his mane grow for the first time in years, each decade lending it inches of steel-wool-like fluff to nod to his age and superiority. He was bound to be happy again, surely, but not now. No, now was his time to fight. Now was his time to see through what his family couldn't, what useless bastards they all were. It was time for change, and he would be the finger that pulled the trigger.

One revolution. Millions of lives. It was the beginning of something new; a time of prosperity and intellectualism, and then it was taken from him again. Hadii, why? Why did they hate you so? If he must fight in another revolution, so be it. He will do it a thousand times to get his way for his people.

"-but they do not tell them that time is the true mender of wounds. His anger, so bright then, had been quelled in time. Each death blended in with one another. By the time the Democratic People's Republic had been established, he had hardly the strength to growl. The world had moved on since then. The world had emptied."

Jovan left Adhomai in 2465. The DPRA was a force he needed a break from, no matter how patriotic he considered himself. He wanted to be somewhere, anywhere else, not in the hands of his friends and family, not around errant dissenters he despised, not around the other Zhan-Khazan or even his own home. He would come back, but now was a time for a break from it all. Forty years of fighting. It was enough to weaken even the strongest of wills. He wanted to do something else good, something that was not killing, something that was not terrorizing or idly scraping by. He wanted to thank his patron god for allowing him what he has and had done. The DPRA was victorious. It was time to rest with such a thing under his belt.

"Rredouane," He whispered. "When he stepped onto his shuttle to depart, he saw you. You, whom he had always wanted to see. It is only natural he preaches his name for others."

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.  

Jovan's most influence comes from both revolutions, having lived through both of them himself, "taking ass and kicking names" being his own, not entirely accurate description. He largely didn't focus on extraterrestrial politics except where it would benefit him; knowing his people had been armed by Sol was delicious, but knowing what Sol did to them with their bans undid the good. Megacorporations like NanoTrasen trying to nickel and dime the planet wasn't of concern (or of much lesser concern) than the rifles and blades he wielded throughout the revolutions and the people on the other side of them. Cold Dawn was more fuel to the anti-corporate fire, but not enough to incite hatred for everyone under the megacorporation. He understood what happens when greedy politicians and wealthy men and women wagged their fingers at shiny objects; it was not entirely the crew's fault for their actions, but someone must take responsibility.

How does your character view the megacorporation they work for?

The Conglomerate is distasteful to Jovan. Had he the chance the chance to preach in Sol, he would—but this was a no-go for several reasons. Biesel was maybe just as bad, owed to the megacorporate nature of its government and the surrounding entities. Dominia was just another case of the same, the Hegemony had only barely began their friendship what with Zandiziite Adhomai, and Moghes was far too warm, anyhow. The Conglomerate, to him, is a necessary evil to bow to temporarily in the name of Rredouane, though the Ma'ta'ke faith as a whole was a close contender, even if he wasn't as personable with the other deities as he was the god of victory. He is here to make money, friends, and spread faith, not to better the monopolizing interstellar power.

Notes: For the sake of clarity (since I had more of a narrative in mind with each answer than straight responses) here's a spoiler with questions the lore team cares the most about with straight answers.

Spoiler

What's his faith?

Ma'ta'ke faith. He worships Rredouane, one of the few priests that genuinely believes Rredouane has acknowledged him, if not permanently then at least during the revolutions. He feels obligated to preach it abroad, regardless of whether or not Rredouane had truly blessed him or if he's simply confiding too much in a deity.

Political alignment?

Democratic People's Republic. He fought alongside the rebels since the very start, earned his place in the People's Republic, and then fought all over again when Hadii was assassinated. It was almost identical to the first revolution, in his mind.

 

Edited January 28 by dessysalta
transjara gone :[ also added some clarification regarding his alignment and the death of hadii

[JeffMomentRed]

Tajaran children are not referred to as "kittens" or "cubs". They are just children or child or kid. This can be found in the Biology section of the Tajara main page. You can ctrl f "Tajaran children" to find it.

[dessysalta]

24 minutes ago, JeffMomentRed said:

Tajaran children are not referred to as "kittens" or "cubs". They are just children or child or kid. This can be found in the Biology section of the Tajara main page. You can ctrl f "Tajaran children" to find it.

I didn't mean it literally. It was meant to be a callback to how we see them OOCly/a play on words and a metaphor for innocence plus the obvious pun that he's Tajaran, but I'll change it. What's with the "you can hit CTRL+F" comment? Don't need to be condescending about it.

Edited January 27 by dessysalta
clarification

[JeffMomentRed]

48 minutes ago, dessysalta said:

I didn't mean it literally. It was meant to be a callback to how we see them OOCly/a play on words and a metaphor for innocence plus the obvious pun that he's Tajaran, but I'll change it.

This is a mistake I've seen done ICly before and since it was in the Backstory section it looked like it would have been used ICly. 

Quote

What's with the "you can hit CTRL+F" comment? Don't need to be condescending about it.

I wrote out the exact steps I took in order to find the correction, there is no tone intended. 

Edited January 27 by JeffMomentRed

[Susan]

I am always hesitant of any application that tries to bring a new LBGT Tajara onto the station; they are a minority, and an oppressed one at that. This is in the same vein of there being twenty five Dominian nobles in a round at any given time. The scarcity of these people cannot be taken seriously if that scarcity is not present in the population of characters on the vessel.

With that said, I think there is are some inherent flaws in your backstory. How did your character survive detection in the military? It is not a Mulan story - it is a bunch of men and sometimes women shoved together who bathe together, undress and redress together, and generally live very very close lives where any expectation of 'privacy' or 'don't look at me I'm naked' is thrown immediately out the window. The DPRA is even less welcoming to LBGT individuals than the PRA, so even with this character's service, it wouldn't matter. If they were caught, there would be serious, severe consequences, potentially fatal ones. How can they reconcile that with their service and support for the DPRA?

If your character was born in 2410, it was during the final days of the old system. If they were a Zhan-Khazan, their early years should not have been filled with, as it were, childish whimsy. They would have been pressed into servitude at an early age in work befitting their gender and role, so while being a female they may have avoided the mines, it would have still been hard labor with no education and little time for play officially. You gloss over this period pretty heavily, including the formation of the People's Republic, the assassination of Al'marii Hadii, and whatever reasons your character may have had for turning their back on it to join the DPRA. Why? To go from 2418 to 2465 is a big jump, with a lot happening in-between.

[dessysalta]

58 minutes ago, Susan said:

-snip-

I'm just now going to bed, give me a day or so to get back to you with either better answers or a retraction of the app to better focus on the politics of Tajara. But in short;

I don't think being put into slave/hard labor when young makes you immune to childish whimsy. Even with Zhan-Khazan genetics at play, it would be impossible to convince me that a Tajaran child is incapable of feeling joy or being at least somewhat optimistic. If this is really that unreasonable then we can chalk it up to it being the interesting character quirk where everything else is ordinary.

Making them trans was a spur of the moment thing and while I knew they were oppressed I didn't figure it would be so difficult. I'll just retcon them to be male or female because I guess it doesn't make that much of a difference.

I operated off the main page and how most rebellion was incited because of the power dynamic between the wealthy and the poor. In regards to the People's Republic forming and Hadii's assassination, they were more than happy living an alien-free, ideally better life in the newly established People's Republic until he had been assassinated. Considering shortly thereafter there were laws passed to punish Zhan-Khazans, it was more of the same rage that incited the first revolution, hence why they joined the army and defected to the DPRA.

[Susan]

My apologies, I probably wasn't super clear what I meant re: the childhood. You mentioned they were educated and taught to read and write, but it is unlikely that this would be the case, is all I meant. Children cope with things in all manner of ways, so it's not beyond the realm of possibility. I more meant that as a Zhan-Khazan things like 'literacy' would not be on the docket until the Republic dawned. You were meant to work, not be educated, is all.

I can see everything else, that makes more sense. Transgender Tajara aren't an issue as a concept, per se, but military service often includes physicals, and a lot of people showering together because privacy is secondary to utility. It would be very hard.

Ironing out these small issues is enough for me to, at least, give my support to Dessyalta. I think they're a capable RPer.

[dessysalta]

17 hours ago, Susan said:

You mentioned they were educated and taught to read and write, but it is unlikely that this would be the case

Changed. I'll figure out how to approach a transgender tajara in the future as well.

Also, sorry to the both of you for being a bit standoffish yesterday. Like I said, I was just going to bed, lot of things. I appreciate the feedback on both accounts and I hope the state of my application is good enough now for the lore team to accept.

[Alberyk]

Application accepted.