[Accepted] Miruka's Tajaran Application

[Miruka]

BYOND Key: Miruka

Character Names: Nina Arwin, Music/Rune

Species you are applying to play: Tajara

What color do you plan on making your first alien character (Dionaea & IPCs exempt): Cream

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

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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:

For the most part, after having read the wiki, I enjoy the idea of the internal conflict between the three Tajaran factions. This, as far as in-character interaction goes, proves to set interesting goals (antagonistic or otherwise) for someone playing a Tajara on one side of the conflict. It's a quick and fun way to network, at least as far as I'm willing to believe, which should prove for engaging RP.

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

It's likely been said before (and not exclusively to Tajarans) that role-playing an alien is different thanks to the physiology of the species. However, it could be said that humanity - at least as a whole - has not experienced a significant war since the Interstellar War, which ended a century and a half before the first uprisings on Adhomai. In contrast, most Tajara nearing their midlife (roughly ~38) would have been born into the war on Adhomai itself, whereas older Tajara would have seen the beginning of escalating conflict. Although they'd rapidly assimilated human technology the same could not be said of their culture, leaving the markings of their own repressed culture for them to deal with on a daily basis when interaction is considered.

 

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Character Name: Ekaterina Akulova

Please provide a short backstory for this character, approximately 2 paragraphs

Njarir by birth, Ekaterina had always had the propensity for studying the sciences: though such ambitions were unclear to those her raised her during her younger years, thanks to the war at large. Conflict had been common in her village - a border town now on the outskirts of territory held by the secessionist New Kingdom. It had initially been part of the People's Republic, though, and as a result she and her kind were persecuted greatly in her earlier years. In fact, the village itself could have been separated into two factions itself: those of loyalist and anti-Republican sentiments, the latter of which Ekaterina's parents were involved with. Such sentiments often led to social ostracism and segregation in the ten years after her birth, until the declaration of secession came from the Njarir-led New Kingdom of Ahdomai and Republican elements were driven from the town. It was only by force that they were removed from their homes however, and the village saw prolonged conflict over the course of several months.

It was during the conflict that Ekaterina had picked up most of her skills: Rudimentary mechanical construction and maintenance for the purpose of repairing the weapons of her kinsmen, or the opposite - taking apart weapons of the Republican militia who had been captured in the fighting. While she never professed to have a side in the conflict, doing only as she was told, she did leap at the chance to display her know-how when it came to machines. Always enthusiastic about her creations, it was hard to pin Ekaterina's personality down as anything but self-interested, and she greatly envied those Tajara who were allowed to take greater advantage of humanity's technological and scientific advances. However, such envy was unknown to her peers, as she chose to seclude herself from her peers and work by her lonesome in her own makeshift laboratory, giving her a reputation as an arrogant eccentric, perhaps even a spy. Such fears were unfounded though, and eventually - like many younger Tajara - she realized that the geopolitical environment on Ahdomai would hardly let her skills thrive, especially as technology was scarce in her region and kept so by constantly shifting borders. The fear of stagnation was compounded upon by other concerns when Republican forces returned to reclaim her village in particular, prompting families to flee further east to other New Kingdom holdings.

Although her heritage might have secured her a title in the New Kingdom - for all she knew, her parents had acquired one when they migrated to Kaltir - Ekaterina instead parted from her family upon reaching adulthood, seeking a settlement in neutral territory (rather than in occupied villages) to profess her skills to outside sources. Offers were slow-coming of course, and work was certainly hard to find in the wintry boonies, yet she certainly couldn't seek out pro-corporate factions at the risk of being captured and interrogated based on her ethnicity. Thus, she eschewed the option of searching for a middleman, waiting instead for NanoTrasen or any other corporate entity to appeal to that settlement specifically and directly. However, it was unfortunate for her that in the New Kingdom such opportunities were scarce, forcing Ekaterina to seek transport offworld. In doing so she had been relieved of all her possessions to simply pay for the journey, with constant skips through dangerous sectors of space at great personal risk. However, it was when she arrived at New Gibson, she was taken on quickly by NanoTrasen there, installing circuitry for medical equipment and prostheses at a pittance. Her transfer to the Exodus only came about by luck as well: among others in her field, she was chosen to represent her skills on the Exodus, replacing research employees who had been assigned to other systems.

The stigma of her heritage and her previous associations still linger over her head to this day, however, and as a result she is prone to keeping entirely quiet about her history for fear of being called out as a traitor, blue-blooded, or otherwise.

What do you like about this character? Persecution is a very real issue, and in this case Ekaterin is something of a double whammy: her family is associated with a rather small, ideologically "different" faction, and she herself is part of a ethnicity that receives a lot of hatred. It's something that she can't hide forever if just by the virtue of the color of her fur, and when the pot boils over it'll be fun to see what happens.

How would you rate your role-playing ability? 7/10. I try my best, but I have my failings in general. Trying to make my characters act differently from each other is the hardest part, but with Ekaterin I'm hoping I can stick to my guns and roleplay her as the quiet, science-obsessed cat that she is.

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Notes: N/A

Edited June 20, 2016 by Guest

[DatBerry]

2+ i said it before and ill say it again, nina is my favorite antag character, i can see miruka using catbeast lore to give her antag (and non antag) RP a new depth.

The app looks solid to me, the character's personality is a bit unclear but that can be built with shifts and interactions.

I just wish you made more characters in other departments, rare to actually meet you ICly as non-sci/sec crew.

[Miruka]

I've edited in some more personality bits and changed her character slightly.

Sorry, but I really find Science just that fun! And thank you for the feedback.

[hivefleetchicken]

While I have not seen you on station, I like your backstory. A lot.

Characters that are familiar with the conflict are exactly what we need in order to help people get stuck in with the lore, and this application looks like a great example of a character that does that!

My only concern here is that while NanoTrasen holds a small bit of trade embassies in People's Republic occupied territories, the rest of Adhomai isn't as lucky. For most Liberation Army and New Kingdom citizens, the only way out is through illegitimate migration by hiding in someone's space car trunk all the way to New Gibson. Your character, an Njrarir'Akhran, would have a hard time getting a job in a PRA city, NanoTrasen or not.

Just something for consideration, if you want to either decide something more desperate occurred to get her a job that wasn't on Adhomai, or if you want to play it like she just got lucky. Either way the rest is great!

[Mofo1995]

I'll have to read more about the application itself before I speak on that, and I will get to that when I'm not on mobile/busy BUT I can gladly vouch for Miruka's roleplay abilities, particularly of Nina Arwin. All though I've seen Rune as a wizard before. Nina Arwin is one of my favorite people on the station, and the best roleplayed cripple I've ever seen. She's a doll, and the fact she often rolls antag makes this character quality comical. As far as I've seen, Miruka can roleplay, and I'll add in my assessment of their application itself to this post later when I have time.

EDIT: All righty, I've went back and read through the story of Ekaterin. I thought it was great, there's enough there to really make her an outcast to every faction-loyal Tajaran on the station and I think this will generate some really interesting situations for roleplay. My only complaint is that she isn't named Ekaterina instead of Ekaterin. It bugs my Russaboo ways.

Edited June 17, 2016 by Guest

[Miruka]

Updated it with a blurb about how she gave up pretty much everything she owned to find a way offworld, as per the suggestions.

[hivefleetchicken]

Updated it with a blurb about how she gave up pretty much everything she owned to find a way offworld, as per the suggestions.

 

[The Stryker]

Nina Arwin was an amazing antag, and role-plays well, it's an interesting backstory that's not too generic.

+1.

[Miruka]

One last change: naming her Ekaterina instead of Ekaterin. For Mofo!

What's the diminutive version of Ekaterina, anyway?

[Mofo1995]

One last change: naming her Ekaterina instead of Ekaterin. For Mofo!

What's the diminutive version of Ekaterina, anyway?

 

Katya.

I named my Mosin-Nagant Ekaterina, but the whole family calls her Katya for short.

[hivefleetchicken]

Heyyo!

Sorry for making you wait another day, a lot has been going down lately for me IRL (in the bad sense).

This application is accepted, and your whitelist has been processed. Have fun!