Zi profile shorter -- ss13

[b]BYOND Key:[/b] Zyymurgy
[b]Character Names:[/b] Kiya Tseer'akka, Shay Reinke
[b]Species you are applying to play:[/b] Tajarran
[b]What color do you plan on making your first alien character (Dionaea & IPCs exempt):[/b] Silver with tabby stripes
[b]Have you read our lore section's page on this species?:[/b] Yes
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[b]Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph format. One paragraph minimum per question[/b]

[b]Why do you wish to play this specific race:[/b]
I find it much easier to play a non-human character, and I am most comfortable playing as one in roleplaying games, since I feel I pay better attention to the particulars of anthropomorphic biology and body-language than to humans'. I prefer having a tail and expressive ears, and I dislike being without them. Beyond any superficial reasons like that, I really enjoy the history of the Tajara; class warfare and inequality is fun to play, especially when other species get in on it too. Plus I love the whole, "Oops, your species are terrorists and any one of you could be an anti-human" angle; playing a really gentle, sweet member of a "dangerous terrorist" species can be fun. Being marginalized and distrusted, having to overcome adversity because of what you are not what you do, people thinking you're gross by nature of who you are and the threat you present to "normal" humanity -- it can be fun to play these scenarios in a safe, controlled environment where you know if it goes too far and gets personal, you're still safe.

[b]Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human:[/b]
Aside from the particulars of biology, meaning different body language, clothing needs, and an accent that physically can't be unlearned, Tajarrans are marginalized. People distrust them and the public conception is of a species that has been going through global civil unrest off and on for the past 30ish years. Add to that, NT forbids them from attaining positions in high command, and the fact that until quite recently large portions of the species were illiterate. Plus -- racists! Many humans are anti-xenos. My Tajarran would be raised by Traditionalist parents, and so would use third person speech, as well as a tendency to not speak to authority unless spoken to, and a subservient nature to her superiors. Tajarrans also have a weakness to heat and become too hot quickly, meaning fire is an increased risk.

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[b]Character Name:[/b] "Zi" Zirra'sharr Rurrsiim
[b]Please provide a short backstory for this character, approximately 2 paragraphs[/b]
Raised by a M'sai soldier who fought in the first rebellion, and the descendent of exiled nobility who served as a courier in the war, Zirra'sharr is the eldest child of the couple. When she was only around 5 years old, her parents had managed to save up enough money to move offworld; having fought in the war, they could sense trouble brewing again, and the continuing civil unrest made them believe it would be safer to move far, far away. But in leaving one troublesome situation, they seemed to leap into another; the couple grew up in pre-human society and were used to being treated as second class, but the challenges anti-xenos sentiment provided, while familiar, were more difficult than imagined.

Her mother, Hra'zirra, had been disabled during the war and walked with a limp; her father, Vrrashna, was left with lingering PTSD from his experiences running supplies and messages. Yet both of them clung to the ideals they fought for -- that each being was created equally, that none was naturally superior to any other. They saw this in the human species' ancient ideals, and they admired it. Though they knew many humans were prejudiced and treated xenos unfairly, they truly believed that the ideal of equality was one that won out. Finding this to be untrue in the populous they moved into, they aspired instead to instill that value in their children, and to follow it through in their lives. Hra'zirra saw nothing wrong with regaling her children with tales of glory and honor, describing the sieges on the nobility's cities, the taking of their technology and using it against those who had hoarded it; Zi grew up knowing that her parents fought for her right to be an equal among her own kind. Despite this, Zirra'sharr's upbringing was still very traditional, and she learned to get along with humans the exact way that humans wanted her to. She learned to do what was expected of her, to be obedient to those who considered themselves her better.

Her childhood was spent in a human-led school, but her friends were all xenos, Tajarran and Unathi grouped together for safety in numbers; life in the Middle Colonies was comfortable for her and her younger brother, as long as they kept their heads down and avoided large groups of humans. From a young age Zi had an affinity for the kitchen, cooking and baking catching her interest the way some children would catch interest in dinosaurs or airplanes. The specifics, the science of it, was endlessly fascinating; the fact that the basic principles of a recipe could be applied to others of its kind had a pull on her that nothing else could hold a candle to. When she came of age, it seemed only natural to enter culinary school, and at the age of 23 with a major in culinary and a minor in botany, she began an internship, and two years later, she was reccommended for a position in the kitchen of the Aurora Station.

[b]What do you like about this character?[/b]
I'm in love with the Chef class and want to learn how to manage the kitchen better, first of all. Second, I simply prefer playing felines and anthros to playing a human. And third, I love her upbringing, her parents from a war-torn country trying to raise a sweet little girl a million billion miles from their homeland, in a culture they don't quite understand that is strongly biased against them. Being raised by a strict soldier and a gentleman in a prejudiced society is an upbringing I'll have fun trying to understand and play out to a realistic degree.

[b]How would you rate your role-playing ability?[/b]
I'm a cocky son of a bitch, so I'll say a 9/10. On sites that have a ranking that goes 1-Liner/Semi-Para/Multi-Para/Advanced, I classify myself as Advanced. I have samples available upon request and am willing to go a few rounds with whoever might need to validate this claim. I'm also planning to write a novel, for what that's worth.
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[b]Notes:[/b]
Expanded life-story can be found [url=http://pastebin.com/Zh16HFsy]here[/url].