Nagito Komaeda Posted Thursday at 12:13 Posted Thursday at 12:13 BYOND Ckey: N. Komaeda Discord username: Nagito Komaeda/viego_vol_kalah Character names: Osisra Devorask, Kharybdis, Radiance Species you are applying to play: Tajara ------------------------------ General Whitelist Requirements What colour do you plan on making your first alien character?: Field Snow, an M’Sai colouration. Have you read the lore pages for the species you wish to be whitelisted for?: How is there so much Tajara lore??? Yes I’ve read a bunch of it oh my GOD. 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 species?: I see a lot of people playing Tajaran, and through this experience I’ve come to find them more and more interesting. The different Tajaran factions feel far more closely tied together than I’ve experienced with the Unathi, for example. They also have an incredibly varied and recent history, which means that, universally, every Tajara went through the same shit, just looking at it from a different side. What makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a human?: Tajara speak in the third person, using “He/She” or saying “This one”, as opposed to saying “I” or “me”. This is already a pretty big shift from most other species (sans Diona, who refer to themselves in a plural form). They also roll their R’s, by nature of being felines. Much like Unathi, Tajara also have the option to incorporate their tail into their mannerisms, like tucking the tail between the leg to portray worry. ------------------------------ Character Application Character Name: Nja’kanja Manqrhaz Nja’kanja Jri’ketdra Manqrhaz is an M’Sai Tajara who was born right after the formation of the People’s Republic of Adhomai, in 2432. His early life was dictated by the instability around him, and the new government that took power on Adhomai, but also by the absence of his father who pledged service to the budding People’s Strategic Intelligence Service. Raised by his mother, together with two older siblings, Nja’kanja learned that standing tall would only get your head chopped off, and that being present has two vastly different interpretations. Wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps, and perhaps also figure out where he disappeared to, Nja’kanja applied to study at the Al’mari College of Hadiist Sciences, before transitioning to the PSIS as a lowly intelligence officer. This coincided with the new era of the PSIS, after the organisation succeeded in their fight against crime. Being a newcomer to the organisation, Nja’kanja was assigned to a division focusing on religious extremism and substance abuse. For the first year and a half, he was treated like the ‘intern’ in his division, given no respect or authority whatsoever in comparison to his peers. The rising instability in Tajaran society took precedence over the ‘low-stakes’ crimes Nja’kanja’s division was focusing on, and the general consensus was that interfering with these esoteric groups would just cause more problems. The assassination on President Al’mari Hadii gave Nja’kanja another good reason to step out of the PSIS, with him feeling like the organisation was compromised by Tufir’s actions. Instead, he chose to enlist for active service with the police, actually enforcing the law instead of sitting by idly, writing up reports that nobody cares for. But even under the national police, Nja’kanja felt out of place. The sheer corruption and abuse of authority rubbed him the wrong way. Regardless, he persevered for ten years, doing his best to keep his head down, do what is asked of him, and not think too much about the consequences. Yet, consequences came during the formation of the S’rand’marr Coalition. With his history at the PSIS and his experience with the national police, Nja’kanja was assigned to fight alongside the S’rand’marr Coalition, and alongside the aliens Al’mari once denounced. What Nja’kanja saw wasn’t corporate greed, but a unity, one pure of heart. Even despite the disasters of these two months, Nja’kanja was reminded what good can come from banding together and forming a unit as opposed to a hit squad that the national police reminds him of. The Armistice is signed, and Nja’kanja starts to ponder if staying on Adhomai is the best thing for him or not. Still, for the next couple of years, Nja’kanja chose to stay with the police force, though securing a contract in Little Adhomai, moving to Biesel. On the one hand, he was back where he started, fighting crime like it’s removing water from the ocean by the bucket. On the other hand, it felt like a nice breath of fresh air, being ‘just’ one of the many detectives that desperately tries to contain the criminal underbelly of Little Adhomai. Eventually, Nja’kanja stumbles his way into the Kazarrhaldiye Operations Group, signing a contract with them to be employed by the SCC on one of their flagship vessels. 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. In general, the instability in Tajaran society eventually caused Nja’kanja to leave Adhomai. Fearing a nuclear war would actually break out, he felt like his life was in danger from that as well as the various risks that come with his field. The Horizon’s actions at Din’akk don’t really concern Nja’kanja; it’s DPRA territory, and he genuinely thinks he has far more pressing things to worry about in his own life. How does your character view the megacorporation they work for? Despite the SCC’s mishaps on Adhomai, which caused strife with the DPRA, Nja’kanja believes the corporation has some good ideas. If KOG believed he’d be a good fit for the SCC, he’s not one to question it. Make a big deal out of it, and you get on a radar. Get on a radar, and you jeopardise your own safety. Nja’kanja very firmly believes that he should just be steady, not exceptional, and working with the SCC allows him that opportunity. 2
GeneralCamo Posted Thursday at 21:32 Posted Thursday at 21:32 Hello there! Thank you for the application! I have a few things to pose to you: I'm a bit concerned with your answer to how they roleplay differently. You focus exclusively on their different way of speaking. But this could conceivably be done with a human with a heavy accent, or a different non-english language that has a different pronouns system. I'd like to see a bit more detail on what makes a tajara, a tajara. You focus a lot on the instability of the PRA. Exactly where were you born on Adhomai? I don't see much on your character's personal life, such as your religious beliefs. How does your character feel on the gods? You seem to gloss over a lot of the issues the S’rand’marr Coalition had, such as the severe morale issues off-world troops experienced. How does your character feel about the NKA? And the DPRA? Being your character is now in the KOG, you'll inevitably be interacting with people from these areas. How would that go? How did you find your way to the KOG from the police work you did?
Nagito Komaeda Posted Thursday at 23:43 Author Posted Thursday at 23:43 46 minutes ago, GeneralCamo said: I'm a bit concerned with your answer to how they roleplay differently. You focus exclusively on their different way of speaking. But this could conceivably be done with a human with a heavy accent, or a different non-english language that has a different pronouns system. I'd like to see a bit more detail on what makes a tajara, a tajara. It's amusing that you mention the first part in regards to having a heavy accent, because I do roleplay a character with a pretty noticeable accent. So I get where you're coming from. It's what stands out most to me whenever I think of Tajara. But Tajarans also have different views on gender. Notably, many Tajarans view same-sex relationships as something wrong, believing that a relationship should be for reproduction. This view is shifting slowly, especially with exposure to other species, but there is still an underbelly of Tajarans who view this as deviant. This also extends to open displays of affection, though Tajarans do huddle together to keep warm and share body heat, which isn't seen as something intimate. Going into further details regarding the 'use of pronouns', Tajarans have a strong divide between the public and personal self, which I can best liken to something like French or Dutch having a formal/informal word for 'you'. Their way of using this depends on the person they're in conversation with, the relationship they have, and the tone of the conversation. So for Nja'kanja, he would use a second-person pronoun to talk to officers, while using a third-person pronoun to talk to the Captain, for example. This divide between the personal and public self, and the use of third-person pronouns indicating respect, has a history; the Tajarans have a long history of being ruled by noble families, where respect was deeply ingrained into the culture. In fairness, though, this is a difficult question to answer to me. I feel like the thing that makes Tajarans different from most others is the sheer recency of their culture's events and the peace that came with it. I'd argue that they're individually the most divided species. Humans have large swaths of space where each culture fosters, and literal planets dedicated to an entire culture. Tajarans have comparatively very little territory, which the three factions keep fighting for. Many Tajarans haven't really known 'peace', because their lives are dictated by this constant tug-of-war. And I feel like that divide in their species makes them more unique to roleplay than a human, for example. 1 hour ago, GeneralCamo said: You focus a lot on the instability of the PRA. Exactly where were you born on Adhomai? Nja'kanja was born in B'urr, but moved closer to Al'mari at a young age. Most of what he saw was the curated front that the PRA put up, with how Al'mari was metropolized. His worldview really changed after finishing his studies, because once he got into the 'real' world, he was faced with reality that is the PRA's police state. 1 hour ago, GeneralCamo said: I don't see much on your character's personal life, such as your religious beliefs. How does your character feel on the gods? Nja'kanja's time with the PSIS had him investigate a lot of religious extremism. His mother and siblings worshipped S'rendarr and Messa, and he was raised with these strong beliefs - and more importantly, the values - but Nja'kanja started to question faith during his time at the PSIS. He's been exposed to the extremes that occultism bring with them, and has seen bits of what a cult like the Raskariim forces upon his people. His view on faith whittled away over the years, and by the time he actually joined the national police, he almost entirely distanced himself from any religion. However, Nja'kanja believes he needs to conform to the 'norm', staying in line with his fellows. So he does keep up with S'rendarr and Messa in a base form. For example, he'd invoke S'rendarr's name in conversation with another Tajara to compliment them, but he wouldn't do so with a human because it tends to not matter for them. As a further dive into his personal life, his entire life is focused on being 'the norm'. Nja'kanja doesn't strive for exceptional feats, he strives for simply performing. He keeps surface contact with his siblings, works out every so often, doesn't indulge heavily into substances but doesn't abstain from them either. He feels like it's his goal to be so normal, he fades into a 'background', which is often an advantageous position to be in if you want to eavesdrop. 1 hour ago, GeneralCamo said: You seem to gloss over a lot of the issues the S’rand’marr Coalition had, such as the severe morale issues off-world troops experienced. The S'rand'marr Coalition was the PRA's attempt to call their allies for help. While Al'mari Hadii started transitioning into a xenophobic stance, Malik backpedaled and instead welcomed other species. The Coalition consisted of mercenaries, peacekeepers, freelancers, generally any ally they could convince to help out. Those two months were TERRIBLE, because the Adhomian Liberation Army adjusted and used the right tactics to fight off this coalition. What was supposed to be a coordinated effort to retake ground turned into a slaughter of the various actors in the Coalition (in part thanks to Ringspire's liberal ROE-policy.) In just two months time, Malik Hadii's own stance changed from "winning the war" to "salvaging what's left". To outsiders, the Coalition seemed like a meat grinder, carelessly tossing people into a guerilla war that stagnated, where the original offensive intent was hamstrung and turned into a desperate defense. The various parties of the Coalition expressed their deep concerns about the validity, terms and safety of their soldiers (except the Skrell, who remained faithful). Any press from the front also highly altered the public view of the S'rand'marr Coalition. A lot of news reports focused on the horrors that came with the war, which in turn made people lose faith in the Coalition. The final result of the Coalition was the PRA giving up on their original mission, being dominance over the DPRA and the NKA. One can wonder what the PRA would have been like if they didn't invest into foreign actors that fought as long as there was money. 1 hour ago, GeneralCamo said: How does your character feel about the NKA? And the DPRA? Being your character is now in the KOG, you'll inevitably be interacting with people from these areas. How would that go? In line with Nja'kanja's philosophy of being 'average', he tries his very best to avoid having any express, outspoken opinions. Naturally, he thinks that most of the DPRA are terrorists, since he doesn't know any better than his own side in the Tajaran civil war. He's been against the DPRA all his life, after all. However, he tempers his opinions by thinking on how the PRA is also flawed, with his experience in the police force. While the NKA and the PRA have had their hostilities, Nja'kanja doesn't see the NKA as the enemy. He remains respectful with any Royalists, referring to them by title if they so wish. 2 hours ago, GeneralCamo said: How did you find your way to the KOG from the police work you did? Nja'kanja feels like fighting crime only puts him on the radar for anyone who'd wish ill upon him. Even after leaving Adhomai, moving to Little Adhomai to work as an officer there, he felt like catching and persecuting someone puts a mark on him. Tajaran society just has a lot of undesirable elements to it, and if he wants to live peacefully he needed to find work where he was a 'number'. Signing with the KOG made him exactly that: a mercenary. The KOG has an office in Little Adhomai, which is where he got in contact with them, and that eventually grew to a contract. Nja'kanja prefers this semi-desk job that the KOG found for him with the SCC, because it means he can be, instead of be antagonized or vilified for just doing his work. Naturally, he had the choice of doing incredible field work with the KOG, being a guns-blazing kind of mercenary. But that doesn't gel well with him. He'd much rather enjoy his desk job, where he can put more of his social skills to use. And while working as a Head of Security with the SCC gives him some status, he's still more in the background, operating under the SCC's banner moreso than being an 'individual'.
CatsinHD Posted 17 hours ago Posted 17 hours ago Thank you for applying! However, I cannot accept this application in its current state. I do believe there is a good basis in terms of a character concept, however major touchstones for the lore itself are not interacted with sufficiently, or left out completely. The most notable of these is the Second Revolution, which was only majorly interacted with through the S'rand'marr coalition. However, the current state of the Cold War, religion, the cultural dynamics of the changing Tajara society, and Tajaran experience off-world are not investigated to a satisfying degree. I would recommend taking some time to investigate Tajara lore further, ask questions, and let the lore soak for a bit before re-attempting the whitelist. If you need help for details or to refine ideas for the application, the lorecord and Tajara lore team are always available. You may re-apply in 3 days.
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