BYOND Key: Goolies
Character Names: Ryan Barrett, Ada Bishop, Trent Kayman, Bling-35, Rudavina Rosina, Bill Hickman
Species you are applying to play: Unathi
What color do you plan on making your first alien character: Orange-brown or Red
Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yup! I'm still making my way through all of the smaller factions but I've read basically everything.
Why do you wish to play this specific race: Out of all the other races excluding the one's I've already got access to (Human and IPC) I'd say that Unathi are probably more on the flexible side as to what you want them to be, or where you want them to be from. There's a really deep selection of lore you can use for Unathi which gives you breathing room for some really unique characters and stories. An Unathi whitelist has been on my radar for a while but I held off until I had my character idea set in stone and had a greater understanding of where I wanted to take them with the lore that's provided. I think that's what I'm so excited for. You can really make such a broad array of characters when you have access to the Unathi lore. There's such a spectrum of personalities and backgrounds you can choose from.
Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: In my own opinion I think that the easiest word to sum up how different it is to play an Unathi is that they're "tribal" compared to Humans. Compared to the other races that you're able to play, Unathi are much less technologically advanced and you can see that in the lore and how a lot of the characters we have on station interact with the rest of the crew. There's an underlying Religious zeal that a lot of Unathi players use in their characters or how they use the aspect of honour and respect. We've all seen at least ONE Unathi on station try and duel somebody at some point in the game. Playing into the "tribal" stereotype that Unathi have is the fact that they're still very much feudal and feel almost misplaced in a technological conglomerate such as the SCC and that the honour I talked of earlier plays a much bigger role in their society than how any Human civilisations have ever incorporated it. You really need to watch how you act as an Unathi in front of your betters, you really need to put your best foot forward in such a competitive atmosphere where if you do or say one wrong thing to someone of importance in your clan you could risk a serious scolding.
Character Name: Eku Ahulku
Please provide a short backstory for this character: Being born into a peasant lifestyle with nothing more than a peasant family, a peasant village and a nameless clan has it's ups and downs. Especially in the midst of the Contact War. One of the benefits of having not a lick of education is being completely oblivious to that around you. Until teenage years Eku was none the wiser to the outside world around his village. He spent most of his younger life on Moghes with his Brother who was born from the same clutch. Both of them were born sickly, (as you can imagine being born in times of war) and forgo the usual upbringing of fighting amongst peers and preferred the company of the sparse books the village had. Fortunately for Eku and his Brother, their younger lives were surprisingly quiet. Their clan's village, whilst ever so often experiencing the odd brawl or two from the ensuing Contact War was left relatively untouched on the outskirts. It wasn't until his Father unfortunately died a rather bloody death after a particularly rough day of fighting that he soon began to understand the effects the Contact War had on his village and his clanmates. He and his Brother were lectured nonstop by their Elders as to why they should follow in his Father's footsteps and join in on defending his village in the relentless fighting but their grieving Mother adamantly forbid the two of them going anywhere, anytime soon. If it wasn't for the sickly upbringing they had and the pity that the Elders took on the two whelps they would of been sent off immediately. Instead? They stayed in the village with their Mother.
His brother and him learnt the trade of botanicas and how to mix just the right amount of this and that to give life to old rumbling pains or even bring somebody back from the cusp of death. While the more healthier of men were out fighting, Eku and his Brother were revelled for their ways of making the impossible happen. With their Mother's guidance they became incredibly proficient at picking apart exactly what plant did what and how to use it when and where. The respect that they had lost for not joining their clanmates in battle was ultimately redeemed after many broken men had come back in fighting spirit after visiting Eku and his Brother's hut of herbal remedies. Soon he began to fall into routine. Wrap the leg, stop the bleeding, move on. Cover the arms, stitch the cut, move on. In fact? Over the years Eku had more and more time to himself and occupied his free time with sampling his own medicine to better his health. Eku began to grow stronger and left behind his sickly childhood to become a dashing young man full of confidence and vigour. All the books from his childhood that he was able to nab from the Elders or find scattered around had left him an intelligent young man and for that he was very proud. In his mind him and his Brother were the smartest of the village! Whilst his clanmates occupied themselves with the petty squabbles of some war he couldn't make head or tail of he was with his Mother learning how exactly to turn back the clock on death.
Unfortunately for him and the rest of his family the war took it's toll on the supplies coming in and out of the village. It was less about what plant he could use to raise so-and-so from the dead and more about what exact plant he could eat to make it through the weeks. The men destined to defend the village began to move away from their families to be closer to the fighting under promises of a real hot meal instead of the slop that Eku's village ate every day. His cushy business practice of sitting inside their Mother's hut all day with menageries of hot peppery herbs and soothing ointments began to not be so fruitful. Eku decided that he wasn't going to waste the rest of his life tending to the sickly Elders that had stayed behind and their worrisome complaints of stomach aches and back pains. Eku decided that he wanted more for not only his Brother but his Mother too. They were saviours! Healers! And so? In a hasty decision? They upped and left for civilisation. Or at least as civilised as one could get as an Unathi.
On their way with hopeful spirits that there'd be a less desolate village somewhere out there, with all of their possessions strapped to his back, Eku, his Brother and his Mother stumbled upon a gaggle of Unathi hooting and hollering over a rare sight. A well dressed Human! Said Human was handing flyers out to the Unathi and for some reason or other, the Unathi were trying their best to grab at one. Fighting almost! Dumbfounded and downright confused as to why a Human would cause such a ruckus Eku headed over. But before he could inquire as to what exactly the big deal was? The crowd ran off! Following the extravagant, suited Human away! On the floor? A trampled flyer with the big words, "Hephaestus Wants You!" plastered on the front. Eku suddenly had an idea as to where his family could go and where he could finally put his knowledge to good use!
What do you like about this character?: I want to RP this character as loud and proud. I'm honestly just excited to be able to play a loud Unathi who thinks he's smarter than everyone else because of his skills with plants. This would be my first time I'm playing as a Botanist so I'm excited for that too.
How would you rate your role-playing ability?: The last time I made an application I typed a bunch here just so I could avoid giving my RP a number. But if I were FORCED to rank myself? I'd give myself a hard seven or eight. Maybe a nine on a good day. But that's on a good day!
Notes: I'd love to hear any suggestions that people want to give to the backstory of general tips when it comes to roleplaying Unathi. I like to develop characters whilst playing them so if this wasn't as nitty gritty as other applications I'm happy to answer any questions too in the comments.