[Accepted]JamOfBoy's Tajara Application

[JamOfBoy]

BYOND Key: Jamchop23334

Character Names: Eosisei Guwan, Lark, Meris, Ka'Akaix'Mezi Zo'ra, Aszi Guwan, Eyes That Gaze

Species you are applying to play: Tajara, Zhan-Khazan.

What color do you plan on making your first alien character (Dionaea & IPCs exempt): Blue-gray.

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

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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:

Truthfully, I want to play Tajara just to understand them more. If that sounds selfish, I guess it is. I personally can't fully understand a race before I play them. It helps to be thrown into the deep end and immerse yourself in a character - how would they react, considering X and Y? If I understand the race more, I can understand why Tajara players do what they do. Not to mention, they seem to form this big IC community. They all share the same war-torn history, and they've all escaped that if they're here now. They're in an alien environment. The only people they can really relate to are themselves.

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

The obvious thing is the third-person when talking. Most players seem to think this is set in stone, but it does state on the wiki that Tajara may slip up. That may just be there to give ease to those who forget in the heat of the moment. You have a dislike for warm temperatures, either rolling down jumpsuits or wearing things that don't cover your torso. When speaking Tau Ceti Basic, Tajara roll their Rs, and may speak in a broken or slow manner. The reason for this being their unfamiliarity with languages based entirely on sound - Siik'tajr in particular includes a lot of body movement.

All Tajara are equipped with claws. Those doing dexterous jobs might file these down to stop them getting caught. Speaking of jobs, Tajara are currently employed as a low-class workforce, doing dangerous or labour-intesive jobs such as mining for less pay than humans.

Zhan-Khazan in particular value family and friends - this applies to an extent to co-workers. They're the lower-class race of all Tajara, and are looked down upon for their closer-to-primitive grasp on the world around them. They're most likely to face prejudice from other Tajara - something which makes them ever so slightly more human. But Tajara are not Human.

 

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Character Name: Zhen'ya Amaliah

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

Zhen'ya, a Zhan-Khazan, faced the civil war throughout the majority of her late childhood. News of a new advancement or nearby skirmishes were common throughout her mountain village - and being the object of an annoying and volatile tug of war between the PRA and ALA had her seeing the results of war first hand. Her village lay in a passage through a mountain range, offering taverns and food for people passing through. People caught in crossfires were common as they ventured to and fro. Zhen'ya found herself tending to wounded travellers, friends, family and the occasional soldier that had nowhere else to go. This, of course, was secondary to her work as a miner, a job all of her village seemed to share. She stayed mostly indoors, with her parents and her younger brothers and sister. Their lives weren't poverty stricken - each day they had enough food to go around, enough room for everyone, and enough entertainment to keep them satisfied indoors.

Zhen'ya saw nothing in either side that battled for their village. With the Liberation Army came food and supply shortages, as they raided for the war efforts - with the Republic came oppression and abuse to who they are.

At least with the ALA, the tension relaxed slightly, and with the PRA Zhen'ya didn't have to worry as much about money. At the age of 12, the Liberation Army gained a good hold on the village. Things got a little quieter. People relaxed. Her family finally managed to fix their roof. But nothing stops just because you can't see it anymore.

ALA soldiers began to trickle to the village, setting up encampments, all grim-faced and haunted. Word spread like wildfire, sparked by the influx of forces, of a large (relatively speaking) PRA movement through the village and into ALA grounds. War was approaching on a worrying scale. Fearing for their safety, Zhen'ya's parents sent her and her siblings through the mountains, telling them to make for the nearest city and wait for them there. Her family wasn't the only ones being evacuated - all the village's children and young were ferried away by elders. They were sent with whatever food they had, and enough clothes to keep them warm. Through harsh weather and fickle terrain, the group of children, after being picked up by an ALA transport vehicle, arrived at Mal'Jor. They were crammed into whatever space people wanted to spare. Some children worked, doing odd jobs as they longingly awaited the arrival of their parents. Zhen'ya and a few others took care of the rest of the children, cooking meals, tending to any sick, and doing household chores whenever they had time. It took nearly two weeks, but the parents and older members of the village returned. Their numbers had lowered, and they had grief written on their faces. Zhen'ya's father returned; her mother couldn't be found when they scrambled to the city. Her father looked broken, and fractured. He grew oddly quiet and distant, using the money he managed to take to buy a small house oustide the main city, just barely big enough to support the entire family. Zhen'ya's father went into a state of depression. They didn't seek work, instead electing to sit idle in the house, dazed. It was up to Zhen'ya's siblings and herself to earn income. Zhen'ya never knew what happened to the village. Questions echo in her mind even now - was it destroyed? It must have been, why else would people have abandoned it? How many were killed? Who controls it now? Her questions fueled anxiety for the future, which she then fueled into determination.

Zhen'ya worked, doing whatever jobs she could, earning whatever money she could, from construction, labour, and even just the regular chore, along with her siblings. Using the money they earned, they funded their way into a stable lifestyle. Being so close to the city, Zhen'ya and her siblings were able to attend a Nanotrasen funded school, where she started learning Ceti Basic. For the next couple of years, things seemed to improve - her father, though still unwilling to work, gradually reconnected to both reality and his family. At 16, Zhen'ya passed her Tau Ceti Basic, and had officially gained basic knowledge of modern technology. Using her new qualifications, she signed up for work in supply and mining stations, doing manual labour. Zhen'ya initially offered to send money to her family, but upon discovering that they're doing just fine and don't need any extra money, Zhen'ya began saving for a rainy day. Zhen'ya worked like this for four years until being offered a position in the Supply department of a state-of-the-art Research station.

 

 

What do you like about this character?

I feel like from a human point of view, Zhen'ya is just another Tajaran worker. There is value in creating something unique, but this character is still young, malleable and impressionable. They're going once more into an alien environment, this time with higher stakes.

I understand that the whole 'war-torn simple village life' is probably overused, and for this I apologise. In truth, I only really followed the crowd because it provided a semi-solid base for my character. I tried to stray from the generic route, but I fear I just went in a circle.

How would you rate your role-playing ability?

Out of 10, 6, I'd guess. I honestly can't rate myself. At the end of the day the only way for you to know how good you are at role-play is to be told by the people you role-play with. They're the ones that can truly see your characters for what they are and form their own opinions about them.

 

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Notes:

I'm only human, it's 3 AM, there will be mistakes. I can't see them, but the chances are one of you can. Thanks.

Edited August 31, 2017 by Guest

[Alberyk]

As someone that roleplayed with some of jamchop's characters, also taking in consideration the answers and Zhen'ya backstory, that shows traits of the species, a clear example of how the tajara conflict can affect the character and her reason to join NT, this application has my support.

+1

[Mofo1995]

Things got a little quieter. People relaxed. Her family finally managed to fix their roof. But nothing stops just because you can't see it anymore.

 

Hoofh, that right there was strong.

I don't really have much to say about the application overall, whether because I'm a bit tired or because I want to push out a verdict instead of keeping you waiting any longer. The latter meaning, I see no reason to delay or anything I want further clarification on. It's a more orthodox approach to Tajara character construction with the typical war refugee past, but it's not badly written by any means. Application approved.