[Accepted]RedOktober12's Tajara (M'sai) whitelist application

[Redoktober12]

BYOND Key: RedOktober12

Character Names: Valerie Tedrow

Species you are applying to play: M’sai Tajara

What color do you plan on making your first alien character (Dionaea & IPCs exempt): Silver (RGB 192/192/192)

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

 

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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:

All Tajara have been touched by turmoil, and must internalise the political, social and personal impacts of thirty years of total war. They represent a dichotomy between the traditional, entrenched nature of Tajaran society and culture with the alien encroachment embodied by human influence. I’d really like to explore how these factors shape and influence how a Tajaran thinks and acts. I feel that the M’sai bring another dimension to this, necessarily seeing more or the war and its politics from their typecast military role.

Serverside, the Tajaran roleplayers are generally excellent and are a pleasure to chat to IC and OOC. It’s something I’d like to be a part of, and hopefully contribute to. Above all, it’s also a new and interesting way to play a character and experience the game for me, which I’m excited to get to grips with.

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

Three major differences are currently mechanised. Tajara have an increased tolerance for cold due to their think fur, and by the same token, a reduced tolerance for heat. As such, Tajara will usually prefer lighter clothing, or rolled down jumpsuits to work comfortably within the human built climate They speak two unique languages, with the M’sai gaining access to another. Aside from its ingame representation, an additional focus on emoted subtle body language should add a layer of inflection to Tajaran speech, especially when speaking Siik’tajr and Nal’rasan. Finally, Tajara use their claws in harm intent to deal increased damage. As such, I imagine Tajara would be less inclined to engage in fisticuffs as the prospect of dealing lasting, permanent harm are increased. I see Tajara as leaning more towards posturing and bluster, being careful to avoid potentially dangerous catfights.

Non-mechanically, the use of the third person in casual speech remains a common habit and mark of difference from humans, as does the elongated sleep cycle. A Tajaran’s shift might consist of bursts of activity, followed by brief periods of rest.

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Character Name:

Ruslana M’wari

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

 

The outcome of the Great Revolution was an enduring triumph for the Tajaran peoples. A universal upsurge of popular will, liberating the minds and bodies of every individual on the planet; the endnote of an ignominious past, and the commencement of a glorious, progressive future. As the victory of the Tajaran race persisted, a collection of old M’sai veterens, cripples and camp followers staked their claim to an abandoned village in a deep glacial valley, to the south of Dolor, sitting in the shadow of a Njarir’Akhran keep, long since ransacked. As the war moved on, walls were repaired and roofs were patched. In the winter of CE2432 Ruslana was born to a wounded soldier and his mate. Relatively undisturbed, the fallow n’fri-hi fields were retiled and replanted, and on Ruslana’s fourth birthday, the Nav’twir herds returned to graze, swaying across the horizon. The life was simple and the winter’s harsh, but the clan was close, and children are resilient. While her parents hunted, old, one-legged Uncle Rrs’krasal filled her head with songs of Ma’ta’ke’s clan, and Aunt Srr’lara, long deafened by artillery, taught her to spin flax and stalk sfahn’nfran, showing her the subtle signs of Nal’rasan. Ruslana barely registered when the Federal Commissariat came to collect tithes, taxes and conscripts, even as the adults fretted. She enjoyed listening to the portly lieutenant pontificate about the successes of the People’s Republic, and of the world she would inherit with the help of the humans. She believed him when, at six cycles of age, his men dragged her father from the house, claiming he would be home by Liberation Day. Two Liberation Days later, Rrs’Krasal sat her down and, with a soft sincerity, told her that her father rode with Ma’ta’ke at the Edge of Adhomai. When her mother failed to return from a glacier hunt the following day, Ruslana thought she understood. She rather wished she could journey to the Edge of Adhomai too.

What had once felt safe and comforting began to make her feel increasingly claustrophobic, but seasons changed, the village grew, and so did she. Dark furred engineers brought the power grid, and vidscreens were installed in the small tavern. New settlers built homes as workers rushed to take advantage of a re-opened mine. She still listened to the Party broadcasts, still believed that promises of a better future beyond the leaking roofs and the glaciers. Though she continued to learn the old songs and began to hunt with the adults, she increasingly daydreamed of doing anything but. On her fourteenth summer, something novel came to her village in the form of the peculiar bald creatures she knew to be humans. In slow, faltering Siik’maas they explained they had been sent by a human corporation to act as cultural ambassadors, teaching their language and culture, and learning something of Adhomai in the process. The fresh-faced humans claimed to be volunteers from one of their many universities, taking a break from their studies. The M’sai militiaman accompanying them signed that they were sent to Ruslana’s village because it was far from the continuation war’s front, and the banditry, deprivation and suffering that came with it. They taught her rudimentary Tau Ceti Basic, and when they departed, left a bounty of cultural material. The human holovids and books, all barely legible to her, provided her the escape she craved. Though over the years the human students would leave numerous small gifts, Ruslana came to treasure a chrome NanoTrasen lapel pin, and it was proudly displayed on her coat’s breast whenever she left her hovel. Their language felt heavy and clumsy to her, but she would persist throughout the winter until a fresh group of humans arrived in summer. When the Party’s District School opened, she threw herself into any subject that concerned the humans and their society. She grew to understand that her people would ascend to greatness only with the help of the bald apes. The humans took to calling her Ruslana after a short, jovial discussion, unable to pronounce the M’sai name of her birth and its mouthful of consonants. The human name was the best gift ever given to her, and she found it fit much more easily around her tongue than the other human words. She wore it with even more pride than the increasingly tarnished NanoTrasen pin. By her sixteenth birthday, the human’s speech didn’t feel quite so clumsy and the dialogue in the holovids was legible; a year later, she could converse comfortably with the humans. By nineteen, they found her fluent. Impressed, their Tajaran liason told her to apply for an off-world scholarship; she would, of course, need a Party membership to do so, and though he tutted at her meager savings, she was told it would do. The Company wanted young Tajarans, he told her, especially those who could speak Tau Ceti Basic. They’d find a place for her beyond the glacier and she’d represent her people amongst the stars. She barely listened, such was her haste to scrawl her name.

A season later, when the postmaster handed her a crisp, white envelope marked with the NanoTrasen crest, she felt her heart swell. A week later she left her village. Though her many aunts, uncles and grandparents wept to see her leave, the twinge of apprehension and loss she felt was overwhelmed by excitement and a fierce anticipation. In Dolor, she learned more about NanoTrasen and its work with the People’s Republic. They found she already knew an acceptable version of human history, and her instructors found her appetite for their lessons insatiable. When the time finally came for her to be assigned offworld, the Company representative, noting her fur’s silver hue, allocated her to the Corporate Security Academy with a shrug. Following her training, she’d be sent to a recently commissioned research station to help fulfil their diversity quotas. Ruslana couldn’t have been more pleased.

 

What do you like about this character?

I like the interplay between the naivety of what remains a fairly isolated, young and inexperienced M’sai with the realities of the setting. Though Ruslana loves the Company and the Party, neither have the capacity to love her back, and I’m interested in seeing how that colours the RP. Though it’s not a hugely original concept, and I daresay it bears similarities to a few other backstories, I’m keen to see where someone completely loyal to NT and the People’s Republic fits with the varied Tajaran characters across the server.

How would you rate your role-playing ability?

I’ve been roleplaying, both within SS13 and outside of it, for a while, so I’d consider myself relatively experienced, if not on Aurora. My goal is to always create an interesting round for everyone around me, and not just myself. It’s just as important to see oneself as a character in someone else’s story of the round as it is to find your own. I hope this makes me fun to have around, and influences the round positively.

 

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Notes:

I’m very conscious that my first post on the forum is a whitelist application, which is something I’d view as a bit of a red flag when reviewing an app myself. Hopefully I’ve thrown something together that can convince you to look past that. Sorry in advance for the errors that no doubt slipped by my proof read!

EDIT: Tweaked a few clumsy phrases that were bugging me and fixed some spelling errors.

Edited September 11, 2017 by Guest

[cheap31]

I've seen Valerie around a few times and it's generally hard to tell when someone is roleplaying versus just acting how they would, but this Tajaran seems like a fun concept for you which you understand lorewise. I kind of like how NT is essentially Hogwarts to this character. Very interesting choice. +1

[Diggey]

This application has had so much work put into it and you can see it is out of respect and understanding,at least I see it as that,and with this level of dedication I do not think this application is not worthwhile

+1

[AlternativeAlias]

+1

I like RPing with Tedrow, and I reckon this character would be a great one for ya.

[MattAtlas]

RedOktober12 is an excellent roleplayer. I see Tedrow around a lot in medbay and they are fun to talk to. They also roleplay well.

Looking over the character, I think your application is fine. +1 from me.

[Coalf]

I've had a few pleasant interactions with Tedrow and the fact she actually uses her mouth for something else than breathing and eating is a pleasant thing to see.

Now for the application part:

 

 

No seriously this is well done, a young Tajara who's affected by the drums of war through her close friends and family, discovering that other planets and species live much much more educated and rich lives than anything she could find on her own planet. This essentially takes her spirit into wanderlust hoping to find much brighter and better future somewhere that isn't Adhomai.

So yes I fully endorce this application, it's apperant you actually read not only the main parts of the wiki but actually the more hidden parts that feature the native flora and fauna along with the religion of Adhomai.

[Mofo1995]

I will review this application tomorrow. You have a lot of support in here. Unless they were all scrubs and didn't give serious feedback, it's looking positive.

[hivefleetchicken]

Fuck yeah. This guys great! Huge fan. Love his work

[Superiorform]

I adore the backstory. I was actually interested when I read it. The character is interesting, new and naive, and perhaps a little brainwashed, despite her poor upbringing, she still loves the party and humans. I can't wait to RP with this character.

[Mofo1995]

Hoo boy! Probably the best application I've ever processed.

 

something novel came to her village in the form of the peculiar bald creatures she knew to be humans.

 

I don't really have anything to say. I love the backstory, Ruslana seems very storied and developed, you seem to have a superb understanding of our lore. Accepted.