Naida Kal Zhet
Pronouns: She/her
Role: Therapist
Birth Year: 1993
Romantic and/or Sexual Preference: Bisexual
Species: Laykul
Home Planet: Molfaun
Faceclaim/Humanoid Appearance: Simone Ashley
True Appearance: Naida stands 4′11.5″ with thoughtful amber eyes. The Laykul’s body is covered in dense, curly, largely forest green fur that fades lighter at her stomach and joints. She takes care to make sure it is soft and silky.
Backstory:
TW: Genocide, brief mentions of parental abuse
When the empire of Soulf grew to take over the majority of competing empires across the planet, it was a major shift in the rhetoric Naida had grown up with. While the pre-Oglavia education regarding the various nations and empires was threaded with lies and self-aggrandizing national pride, school after the empress rose to power was filled with even more blatant propaganda. It felt like other nations were being plunged into ruin thanks to the Empress. ‘Soulf before all other nations’ became the only way of thinking anyone was allowed to subscribe to on all topics. Much of the community around Naida pledged their ties to the Empress, the majority claiming that The Empress knew what Soulf needed. The rest of the nations were not as “civilized” as Soulf, and they “needed to be eradicated,” as Naida had heard over and over since she was barely a teenager.
Naida was born to a set of conservative parents and a free-spirited older sister, Narelle. Growing up Naida was shielded from other ways of thinking by her parents, her teachers, and all adults around her. It was Narelle that hoarded their old geography and history books for them to both read by flashlight at night, that they would hide underneath their beds. Only for their parents to find out one evening and throw them out. Despite the forced cushion around their nation that refused to tell them of anything wrong, Naida felt that it was important to receive the best and most unbiased education she could, as she itched to get out of the bubble she was born and forced into. When she grew up she chose a relatively neutral career path: psychology. And despite her eccentric nature, Naida was good at reading people’s emotions, anticipating them, even preventing them. She could talk her parents down from yelling at her sister, or help her sister talk through anything she needed. Naida worked hard for years and managed to scrape by while she studied to earn her certifications.
She made a decent amount of money, enough to help herself and Narelle move out of her parents’ house and as far away from them as they could. In turn, not long after her sister found love with a man who convinced her that Soulf was doing good things for the nations. They had a huge fight, and Narelle left for good.
Naida was constantly exhausted and lonely, but she finally had her doctorate and therapist certifications. She found work at a clinic for a year or so, and in the meantime the Empire of Soulf began to receive more and more exposure to media and news from other planets. Each piece of information solidified Naida’s absolute distaste for imperialism and colonialism within Soulf, and she sought out any way to get off the planet. Unfortunately, there were little to no means for someone with her qualifications to do so. She made her bed in an occupation that was useless intergalactically, now she must lay in it.
It was in September of 2022 that she met Ali Clarke-Iz’an - then just Ali Iz’an - in a bakery. She’d been waiting for some cupcakes to give to one of her clients as a reward for hitting a personal milestone, Ali had been waiting for a salted caramel cake to eat with his family. Two forgotten orders later, and they were sitting in the shop for a good hour with nothing to do but chat with each other. She learned that Ali was a member of one of the crews docked on the planet temporarily, and word around the country was that it was against their will. “The Empress really handed it to a big bunch of pirates” was what the other Laykul told each other, and yet Ali looked perfectly chipper. Naida had confided what she did for a living, and to her surprise, Ali told her about their ship’s great need for a certified therapist.
That got the gears in her head turning. An opening for a therapist seemed like just the chance the Laykul needed to get off the cursed planet. She asked to speak with the captain about a job opportunity, couldn’t prepare herself for how pretty and unattainable that Captain was when she met her, and was luckily hired aboard the ship.
The last few years Naida has been more than grateful for Ali and for her job far away from Molfaun. It was true - the crew desperately needed therapy. It’s actually taking her up on the counseling that has been the real problem.
Why this character?: I thought she would be interesting. I think the crew needs a flesh-bodied therapist. I have a few ideas for different connections and I hope people aren’t too afraid of her.
Skills:
Can read emotions well, even can talk people down from high emotions. Great mediator/third party (though she really works as an overly-excited advocate for everyone)
As a laykul, she is an excellent swimmer. She’ll pass on swimming in chlorinated pools, though, because it’s bad for her fur.
Knows the names of all the muppets. Yes, all of them.
Played by Hope; 29, she/her; central time