[Accepted]Furrycactus' Tajaran Application

[furrycactus]

BYOND Key:

Furrycactus

Character Names:

http://prntscr.com/jcrmil

Species you are applying to play:

Tajara

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

Beaver Brown

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

Yes.

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:

I'm greatly interested in playing this race, because thus far I've only played Humans, and while Humans are interesting, I'd like to expand my roleplay experiences. I find Tajarans appealing, as they are a race that has a highly divided and what I think is an interesting culture, and I would love the opportunity to play as one, as I can imagine the interactions with other crew members could be quite unique.

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

Notably, Tajarans speak differently than most other races, predominantly speaking in third person as opposed to first person, and they have a tendency to roll their r's. Older Tajarans tended to have names that are difficult for Humans to pronounce, and thus tend to have names that are more Arabic or Russian sounding. Tajarans are no stranger to conflict either, all having been alive long enough to have experienced at least one of the two major revolutions in their recent history, and as such, they're incredibly divided as a race, and this could provide a number of roleplay opportunities.

Character Name:

Asaar'Kalid M'kaar

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

Asaar'Kalid was born in the year 2428, three years before the conclusion of the first revolution on Adhomai, to two Hharar parents, and the youngest of two children. Being so young, he remembers nearly nothing of that time, and what little he does remember consists of his family fleeing and trying to keep eachother safe from the conflict. Asaar's parents never spoke about the revolution very much, but he knew that their family supported the rebels, resenting the unjust rule of the nobility, however they never openly joined in warfare, instead prioritising protecting each other. In the year 2432, when the People's Republic of Adhomai was established, Asaar was five years old. As such, Asaar was lucky enough to start benefiting from the education services that gradually started to become more commonplace on Adhomai from an early age. During his formative years, he was lucky enough to make a group of friends, never particularly made to feel like an outsider, though he never had much interest in romance. He was once romantically interested in close friend as a child, however, seeing as this friend was also a boy, the feelings were not requited. He quickly learned to hide that part of himself, out of shame. It was also around this time that he developed a fascination with finding out how things are made, what makes them tick. Things like cars, more modern weapons, and machinery were all things that he was intrigued and interested by, however, it was architecture and engineering that truly grabbed his interest. With his childlike innocence, Asaar would often beg his older brother, a factory worker, to bring home things for him to poke at, or to sneak him on-site so that he could have a look at everything. Requests that were always, naturally, refused. Nontheless, his curiosity and interest never wavered.

Asaar and his family never had much in the way of money and were somewhat poor, but they always had enough to get by. To do so, everyone was expected to get a job around the time they turned sixteen. Asaar followed his older brother, getting a job at the same factory that he worked at. His work consisted largely of assisting with the maintenance and production of automobiles, and other gradually more complex machinery, as time went on. He spent a number of years continuing to work in the factory alongside his brother in order to provide for his family, slowly honing his skills with machinery, but he never quite felt fulfilled. Even though he enjoyed his work, he felt like there was so much more he could be doing.

In the year 2451, after the assassination of President Rhagrrhuzau Hadii and the subsequent rise of brother, Asaar was nothing short of elated at the news that humanity and their coorperations were being welcomed back, as it meant new progress for technological advances. That elation very quickly turned to dread, when the Adhomai Liberation Army formed. He was forunate enough to reside a considerable distance away from any fighting and contested territories, though this meant that all he truly knew about the ALA were rumours; that they were little more than brutish thugs, and that they wanted all of humanity removed from Adhomai, which Asaar sees as wholly counterproductive, feeling as though all Tajarans owe a great debt to humankind.

As the conflict went on, Asaar and his family fell further on hard times, the factory that he and his brother were working at being closed. This left them both unemployed, and they were unable to find much work elsewhere. His eldest brother turned to mining instead, with little other choice; but Asaar was fortunate enough to have caught the eye of a NanoTrasen representative. The representative had seen his repair skills previously, and he was offered the opportunity to formally study engineering at a greatly reduced cost; provided that at the conclusion of his studies, he works for NanoTrasen. Desperately wishing to help support his family, he felt as though he'd been given a gift from the gods themselves. He accepted without hesitation, bidding a hearthelt farewell to his family, and went on to study engineering and atmospherics. Holding up his end of the bargain, at the end of his studies, he took up a job in the Engineering department on one of NanoTrasen's space stations.

What do you like about this character?

I like that his motivations are largely selfless in that he's trying to provide for his family, and that he's not properly informed about the ALA, which could provide interesting cirumstances if he ever happened to meet one of their supporters. He also has a slight tendency to 'nerd-out' over many facets of engineering and atmospherics systems, which I find amusing and a little endearing.

How would you rate your role-playing ability?

I would probably give myself around a 7/10. I've been roleplaying for easily six years by now, but sometimes I have a tendency to be a bit quiet. I'm hoping this might be an opportunity to improve.

Notes:

Admittedly while I've done a lot of roleplay in the past, I'm somewhat new-ish to SS13 RP. If there's anything I can change or improve, I would be happy to do so!

[Vizendel]

Having roleplayed with Cactus for several months, I can attest that he keeps to his characters' weaknesses and strengths, respecting what he can and can't do and not metagaming or metagrudging.

I think he would make an excellent Tajaran and should be offered the chance to do so.

[DiscountDan]

I too give this man my +1. I loved reading it, but I do have one critical suggestion; it felt a bit short. But then again that is me and I'm spoiled by over lengthy shenanigans that my friends write in tabletop so, carry on!

[Coalf]

Hmmm, I know you somewhat and I do remember that you as majority of our players range from decent-good interactions and thus I'm satisfied on that part.

What I don't like are the answers to the questions of what makes them interesting and what makes them different.

You very well identified what makes them different, however at a very skin-deep level and if you don't mind I'll ask some supplementary questions to sate my curiosity:

What Tajara faction, in your own opinion, is your favorite out of the three? Could you say why?

Would you appreciate if Tajara ethnicities were more visibly different? (different sprites/descriptions)

What do you think Tajara on-station are missing the most right now? Appropriate clothing? Bigger mechanical differences? Catnip?

On the backstory, again I think it's a very generic "goodboi dindu nuffin", I don't like these types of characters I think they're boring but that has nothing to do with actual constructive criticism.

I noticed the homosexual notion you inserted, don't really care as you seem to understand that for Tajara being gay isn't something you should be happy or public about.

How did he react to the formation of the New Kingdom of Adhomai thought? We got a lot about ALA but not much about NKA.

You are free to answer as many questions as you feel like answering.

[furrycactus]

Hmmm, I know you somewhat and I do remember that you as majority of our players range from decent-good interactions and thus I'm satisfied on that part.

What I don't like are the answers to the questions of what makes them interesting and what makes them different.

You very well identified what makes them different, however at a very skin-deep level and if you don't mind I'll ask some supplementary questions to sate my curiosity:

What Tajara faction, in your own opinion, is your favorite out of the three? Could you say why?

This is a tough question, as I find all the factions incredibly interesting. Ultimately however, I would find the Liberation Army to be the most interesting, but just barely. Like all of the factions, they have their redeeming factors, and their damning factors as well. I find their goal commendable, the desire to free your planet from the iron grip of an exploitative megacorporation, and to have more freedom among Tajarans. Their ways of operating however are fairly damning, operating as a military junta, seizing resources from citizens, and execution by firing squad for simply sympathising with the loyalists. They're far from perfect, and the situation seems quite morally grey, which I believe is what appeals to me the most.

 

Would you appreciate if Tajara ethnicities were more visibly different? (different sprites/descriptions)

I would appreciate if they were more visibly different, even if it was only slight changes to the sprites; as opposed to identical sprites with simply different colours. A very short description would be helpful too, mostly for people that don't understand the difference between the ethnicities. However, I can see how that could be tricky to implement, and thinking about it, might even detract from possible conversation hooks for roleplay.

 

What do you think Tajara on-station are missing the most right now? Appropriate clothing? Bigger mechanical differences? Catnip?

Appropriate clothing seems like something I've noticed is missing; but that doesn't seem to be a terrible issue, as it still seems easy to ignore and get around. However, I think it would be quite interesting if there were slightly more clothing options concerning Tajarans. As far as mechanical differences go, they seem to be just fine and as unique as the other races in that regard.

and aw ye get that catnip mang

Seriously though, I think the idea of a chemical or narcotic that only affects Tajarans (similar to how Phoron is beneficial to Vaurcae) could also add something interesting.

 

On the backstory, again I think it's a very generic "goodboi dindu nuffin", I don't like these types of characters I think they're boring but that has nothing to do with actual constructive criticism.

I apologise for following a cliche, and if it's undesirable, I don't mind changing things. And I genuinely appreciate the honest criticism in that regard.

 

How did he react to the formation of the New Kingdom of Adhomai thought? We got a lot about ALA but not much about NKA.

You're right, I did forget to even reference them in the backstory, I apologise.

His general opinion would've been one that was formed largely on the opinions of his parents. His parents were resentful of the old nobility, and as such, that would've been ingrained into Asaar to an extent. He would think a tiny bit better of them, compared to the ALA, but only barley so. He would hold the opinion that the group is nothing but a group of snake-like nobles attempting to regain the power that they used to hold, and that any claims that they don't want power to be abused as it previously was are nothing more than lies, and an attempt to deceive people into putting any amount of trust in them. One day, he might learn how misinformed he is.

[Doxxmedearly]

I've seen your characters around, but haven't really interacted with them much with my own. That said, none of them stood out as bad or unrealistic as far as I can remember, so I'll trust what others say about your abilities.

I was pretty neutral on this app until you expanded more answering coalf's questions. You seem to have a good understanding of the lore, and I believe you would be able to properly play Tajaran characters.

I don't know how generic the backstory is, but that never really bothers me; as long as they have room to grow on station, there's room for them to be an interesting and unique character. I particularly am interested to see his personal growth with regards to his earlier-supressed romantic inclinations.

A +1 from me.

Also, out of curiosity (Don't feel obligated to answer): How do you see Asaar growing during his time on the Aurora?

[Mofo1995]

I will either be getting to this tonight or tomorrow night.

[furrycactus]

I've seen your characters around, but haven't really interacted with them much with my own. That said, none of them stood out as bad or unrealistic as far as I can remember, so I'll trust what others say about your abilities.

I was pretty neutral on this app until you expanded more answering coalf's questions. You seem to have a good understanding of the lore, and I believe you would be able to properly play Tajaran characters.

I don't know how generic the backstory is, but that never really bothers me; as long as they have room to grow on station, there's room for them to be an interesting and unique character. I particularly am interested to see his personal growth with regards to his earlier-supressed romantic inclinations.

A +1 from me.

Also, out of curiosity (Don't feel obligated to answer): How do you see Asaar growing during his time on the Aurora?

 

Thanks for the +1, I appreciate it!

And to answer your question, truly, I don't particularly have anything planned for Asaar, as I usually prefer to allow the roleplay to be the entire driving force behind the development of my characters. If he grows to become more accepting of himself, I'll be happy. I'll be just as happy if he ends up maturing as a person and growing out of his childlike naivety, or if he manages to maintain it. Ultimately I can imagine he'll grow into a better and more grown-up person, but that depends entirely on his experiences during his time on the Aurora, and I'm eager to see how the it might make him change and grow as a person.

Though if I missed the point of your question, I apologise.

[Doxxmedearly]

No, not at all. It was more a question of curiosity than anything. I expect that of course you won't know, as that is shaped by so many things during roleplay. It's impossible to plan for. It's good to know that you're willing to see him through no matter how he grows. This only strengthens my +1 for you. Thanks for answering!

[Mofo1995]

Normally, good form would be to give you a full in-depth feedback about what I did and didn't like, but tonight was the latest possible time I told you I would get back to you by and I have to go to bed for work tomorrow. You seem to be a mature player who can handle your character tastefully and have a solid grasp on the lore. I liked how the trope of the young tinkering engineer was just flatout blocked when his older brother wouldn't bring things home from the factory for him. If there's one thing that kills me, it's how many Tajara apps feature young inventors. I also like how Assar'Al Assad had to go out and get a job when he came of age as opposed to directly being educated. The distance of the war was a fresh change of pace, considering you opted to make your character an older gentleman. But you clearly showed an understanding of the timeline of events and the establishment of the PRA. There seems to be a subtle implication in his backstory that hints that he might be pliable to ALA subversion but is hitherto ignorant of the movement and believes PRA propaganda. I thought that was an interesting touch, even if I'm just projecting.

Application approved.