[Accepted] Shenaanigans' Lizard Application

[Shenaanigans]

BYOND Key: Shenaanigans
Character Names: Nasrin Knezevic (Gardener), Sloane Goldhirsch (Security Cadet), Eveleen Pawgi (Janitor), Tae Su-Yeongseon (Engineering Apprentice)
Species you are applying to play: Unathi
What color do you plan on making your first alien character?: Black
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 wish to play an Unathi because their information and lore grabs my attention the most out of any of the custom races. Also because lizard-snake people cool. They are a very detailed, nuanced species with a culture all their own and, in addition to just wanting something that’s totally different from playing a human, I really enjoy their honor based values systems, clearly differentiated social castes, and the way that becoming a part of the larger galactic stage has shaped their recent history. It all comes together to provide a massive amount of material to work with when creating character concepts, which can look wildly different depending on where they come from or how they fit into the race’s rigid pecking order. I’m looking forward to getting to explore each of the race’s subgroups and see myself creating multiple Unathi characters as this happens, since I already have some ideas brewing.

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: 
Physically, Unathi are set apart from humans in many, many ways that go beyond outward appearance. Unathi are a reptile based race, blending a mixture of lizard-like and snake-like characteristics, and as a result they have a different means of reproduction (laying eggs), dietary needs (meat only, with ethanol being toxic to them but carpotoxin not), temperature tolerances (increased heat, decreased cold), and physical appearance which is the most obvious bit. They have scales, horns, long tongues, and sharp teeth— all traits that humans do not. These traits all come together to impact the way an Unathi would be RPd versus a human, since their physical needs are unique and they would thus navigate the world in a way unique to their species. The way they speak and convey emotions— with hisses, growls, rattling scales, and thumping tails --is also not something you would RP in a human or any of the other alien races.
Socially, Unathi likewise have plenty of traits that set them apart from humans. They have their own culture, shaped by thousands of years of existence before Unathi even came into contact with other species, and so their attitudes and reactions towards certain people and events would be focused through that cultural lens. They value one’s personal honor and duty to Clan above all else and typically strive to prove themselves in life so not only they will be seen as worthy, but the Clan they represent as well. This belief is why those unworthy of a Clan name are viewed as a lesser class all their own and why specific attitudes on marriage and gender roles have been formed. All of these attitudes, reinforced by culture and religion, are bound to affect how an Unathi interacts with the people they meet and draw the line between what is acceptable and not.

Character Name: Sreznai Guwan (born Rezedan, formerly Kah’litz)
Please provide a short backstory for this character: (it's not short.............. I apologize in advance)

Spoiler

Born the eldest daughter to a minor noble house, the shape of Sreznai’s life had been all but decided the moment she hatched. Her nestmate and brother, Graskan, would be groomed into the next head of the family by their ambitious father while she, cursed to be born a woman, would never be anything but some nobleman’s wife. She found no fulfillment in a future where she would only be expected to cook, clean, and bear children and fought it every step of the way. Not that it did her much good. She could roar and hiss and carry on, but the lessons on homemaking never halted and she grew no closer to breaking free from the path her feet were set on. The only part she took any modicum of joy out of was dance— fast and wild with twin tracerblades in each hand, an outlet for her frustrations --which was… tolerated by her long suffering parents. It was something that could be passed off as a lady-like skill and draw in suitors, yet Sreznai was the lame duck in just about every other facet of the womanly arts out of sheer stubbornness. She typically only eked out enough effort to avoid being punished for her obstinance and through the years of her childhood this push-pull of resistance on her part and a ceaseless march toward marriage, led by her parents, continued.

Being a well off Clan situated deep in Izweski territory, Sreznai’s family was shielded from the worst of the Contact War and, instead, her Clan saw benefits from the opportunity that was presented by other noble houses losing sons and patriarchs to the nuclear fire. Her father only saw minor scuffles against Coalition forces during his time serving the Hegemony and, when he returned, he was quick to maneuver his family up the ladder as a power vacuum opened up. This new level of influence was precarious and untested, though, only making it more imperative that Sreznai be raised into a worthy wife so that her marriage could form the backbone of a strong alliance. A match was brokered for her with this need in mind and it was the day after her 18th birthday that Sreznai was officially wed. 

Sreznai’s new husband, an aspiring warrior named Zahrak, had seen her dance and become attracted to the anger and rough edges he saw as setting her apart from other women, but he was far from equipped to keep his bullheaded wife in line once she came to live at his family’s home. She might actually have been able to wield far more influence over her new house and passive husband than was proper because of this, if not for her father-in-law. A stern, experienced military commander by the name of Dretzkal, he led his house with a tight grip even well into his 50s and tolerated none of Sreznai’s willful ways. Zahrak as well as the rest of the household were all firmly under his thumb, subservient in a mixture of respect and fear, and when Sreznai acted out or refused to bow in the way expected of a good, noble wife he made sure that she regretted such slights. Badly. For more than a year Sreznai was kept under lock and key in the Kah’litz manor and it became rapidly apparent to her that her usual method of loud, furious resistance would only gain her more suffering in the end. So, she began to plan.

If Sreznai could not be anything but a passive wife or battered prisoner here, then she would just have to escape. She learned how to bide her time, waiting with a well of previously undiscovered patience, until an opportunity to seize her freedom arrived. This goal was helped along greatly by a few friends she made within the household servants that sympathized with her unbreakable spirit and wished to help her find a way off of Moghes entirely where she could not be dragged back-- into the clutches of Dretzkal who lorded over them all. They were her eyes and ears on the outside, her eventual means of making contact with a smuggler’s ship that regularly docked nearby and would be willing to provide transport to a fleeing woman if they were paid enough for the risk. Still, it took months of plotting and forming a gradual shape of her plan, followed by more weeks of waiting on eggshells until Kah’litz patriarch and heir were away from home for a council summit, but eventually the day arrived where Sreznai was spirited off from the manor to the shipyard, a fistful of stolen jewelry in her clawed hand to pay for passage.

The grand escape was a success and Sreznai spared not a backwards glance to Moghes as she was transported out of the system to parts unknown, but even with her newfound freedom there was not an easy life awaiting her. Quite the opposite. Leaving her Clan and husband without permission and spurning the life that she had been ordered to live was a grave sin, one to bring horrible dishonor to both her birth and marriage Clan names and enough to have her exiled as a Guwan— all this Sreznai knew. She spent the next four years transferring from ship to station to outpost to ship again at the earliest opportunity, pursued by phantoms of claws scraping at her heels and breath on her neck, refusing to stay in one place long enough that the life she left behind could catch up and drag her back to Moghes. What cooking and cleaning skills she’d internalized from classes weren’t always in demand, either, so her ceaseless flight necessitated picking up other ways to make herself useful as she went. Once smooth scales on her palms became roughened from labor and she grew stronger, hardier, from the demand of simply living day to day.  Being a lone woman who would never name her Clan only made things more difficult, as well, and many a time Sreznai found herself having to put her blade-dancing skills to work to fend off those who wanted to take advantage. In this time fleeing she learned how to hold herself with the confidence and intensity necessary to force others to respect her, even without a Clan name to back her up, with a survival instinct honed by years scraping by in an inconsistent, unfriendly world where no one was there to watch her back. 

Eventually, though, Sreznai began to tire of a life with no goals nor future beyond escape, and it was by chance that she ended up in Tau Ceti on a trader’s vessel at the time she was considering where she might be able to settle, at least for a little while, and make something of a home for herself. She got wind of the Aurora, with its tendency to take workers from all walks of life as long as they would be of value, and found her way into one of the low, anonymous positions within the bustling research station as a shaft miner. Hard, dirty work in the vacuum of space, with no qualifications beyond some training— that she could do.  The only problem was that, despite having fled into self-imposed banishment long before any power on Moghes could formally label her Guwan, the branding surname surfaced in the background check necessary for a work visa: proof that both birth and marriage Clan had disowned her for her slights. Sreznai could no longer run from her choices or tip toe around questions asking after her Clan name; her scorn of duty was a part of her now and she would have to live with the consequences.

What do you like about this character?:
I’ve grown to like Sreznai’s character concept a lot as I was creating it and thinking on the details of her backstory because I feel that it gives me a lot of interesting material to incorporate in regular RP. Her feelings on being a Guwan, effectively the lowest of the low to an Unathi, are very complicated— a mixture of guilt for the people she hurt in cutting herself off from Moghes, anger towards those who forced her hand, and a strange sort of pride that she was able to make it through all the hardships to win her freedom --and it’ll definitely make things interesting when her being Clanless is inevitably commented on. She’s very serious about being respected despite her low status and will fight to maintain that respect, believing that since she has no Clan name to draw honor from it has to all be won by her own deeds. There’s an interesting element of contradiction surrounding religion, too, as she is a dedicated follower of Sk’akh yet facing down the prospect of never being able to join the Great Spirit after death because of her misdeeds. Personality wise Sreznai is rude, aggressive, and stubborn beyond fault— traits that I see creating some fun clashes between characters and interesting responses to the drama that goes on in so many rounds. 

How would you rate your role-playing ability?:
Around a 7/10. Role playing has been a hobby of mine for almost a decade now, so I do think that I’ve gotten quite good at writing and creating characters out of all that practice, but I’m well aware that I’m still new to SS13 and that being out of my comfort zone with the new medium is hindering me a bit. Something only practice and playing the game regularly will fix.

Notes: As I mentioned at the tail end of her background, Sreznai will be a shaft miner! I may also try out cargo tech with her.

Edited November 17, 2019 by Marlon Phoenix

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

I am on a trip and cannot get to this until wednesday evening.

[Doxxmedearly]

Note for Unathi lore folks while taking my feedback into consideration: For transparency's sake, I'm likely biased, as we are together IRL. Still, I hope my words can carry some meaning. I even took a look at the first draft of the backstory and talked with her about some edits. I won't +1 or -1, but just spur some discussion. 

She's new to the server, but not RP. Mechanics give her some trouble, but I think anyone who has interacted with her characters can attest that she knows how to RP to our standards. She's a person who likes SS13 as a roleplaying platform, rather than a shooty space game. It's clear this app has a lot of effort and research in it, given how... extensive it is. Shenaanigans genuinely likes the lore of Unathi, and understands their themes of honor, focus on spiritualism, and importance of clan and name for Unathi. The answers she's put in this app are well thought-out. 

Onto the character itself:

The background displays an excellent knowledge of clan and the role of women in Unathi society. A rough woman fighting against her role (and receiving punishment for it), but unable to break it without taking the most desperate of risks. It's very reminiscent of the tale of Shizarsa Ksi'ka, where a man believes he can tame and temper the roughest of edges on a fiery woman. Sreznai fights hard for what she wants, and suffers a LOT of consequences for it along the way, as one would expect for rebelling against such an ingrained hierarchy. Even across space, she can't escape the tremendous insult she inflicted upon both clans, and now pays the worst price an Unathi can pay. Her motives are good. Her actions make sense. There's a lot of hardship, and it seems like you're starting her time on station with a new chapter in her life on the lowest note imaginable. Plus, there's always the risk of her past catching up with her more directly...

A lot of players roll their eyes at Guwan apps, and I told you it'd be tough. There's a stigma against "din' do nuffin'" or "actually nice person" guwan characters, or guwan who aren't constantly douchey and/or probably murderers, so you took a risk with this app. Sreznai doesn't fit either of those, though; she did PLENTY to deserve her exile, so she won't be racking up many pity points with her fellow Sinta, especially with her attitude. And while Guwan subvert the expectations of traditional unathi, you're not ignoring tradition here, and definitely display an understanding of it.

Overall, a good improvement on the first draft I saw.

I also know from experience that your RP is excellent, and you care a lot about telling stories more than mechanics or playing to win. It'll only get better as you get more comfortable with the mechanics.

Question time:

1) How do you feel Sreznai views other aliens? She spent 4 years before the NSS Aurora among them after escaping Moghes and hopping from place to place. How did that affect her views of them? Does she dislike any species in particular?

2) How do you think she's going to interact with other Unathi on station? Avoidance? How will she respond to the inevitable disdain and insults hurled at her for being Guwan?

3) How do you feel she'll try to handle or reconcile her spiritual imbalance/conflict?

4) What are her thoughts on Aut'akh, and followers of Si'akh? 

[Shenaanigans]

1 hour ago, Doxxmedearly said:

Question time:

1) How do you feel Sreznai views other aliens? She spent 4 years before the NSS Aurora among them after escaping Moghes and hopping from place to place. How did that affect her views of them? Does she dislike any species in particular?

2) How do you think she's going to interact with other Unathi on station? Avoidance? How will she respond to the inevitable disdain and insults hurled at her for being Guwan?

3) How do you feel she'll try to handle or reconcile her spiritual imbalance/conflict?

4) What are her thoughts on Aut'akh, and followers of Si'akh? 

You did warn me, but I'm living on the edge and relying on Sreznai's backstory to be (hopefully) airtight enough to prove that I have enough understanding to handle it. Honestly the pressure of applying for a whitelist with her character concept has done wonders for making me really hammer out the details and make sure they're up to standard. Thanks for catching the glaring errors earlier lmao.

1) Spending an extended period of time out of Unathi dominated space really did give Sreznai a lot of exposure to the alien races she may have only seen rarely in passing on Moghes, and she has developed some opinions on them. Humans are... humans, extremely varied and hard to anticipate-- a little off putting in how so many of them advocate for personal achievement over a more collective, family oriented view --and she has met both ones who were helpful and kind as well as harsh and cruel, so she tends to take them as individuals. Skrell and Vaurca get a bit of a leery approach from her because they're just so strange, each in their own way, while Tajara are actually a race Sreznai feels some level of kinship with. A lot of them naturally crossed her path as refugees from the constant war on Adhomai and she liked to listen to their stories; their stratified society of nobles and sub-races was something she could relate to.

2) Avoidance, primarily. Sreznai became very reclusive during her time on the run and interacting with other Unathi while being evasive about her Clan name was bad enough, so having the target of being a true Guwan on her back definitely won't encourage her to be starting any conversations. She is, however, very touchy about being mistreated or looked down on for her Clanless status and is NOT afraid to get in someone's face if they try to push her around. The worst thing you could do when you have no laws or Clan protecting you on some random smuggler's ship is present yourself as weak, so she never takes it silently.

3) In general she just tries to continue upholding the doctrines of Sk'akh and live in a way that's considered "good" by the religion's teachings. Sreznai does, however, have this line of reasoning going that Sk'akh would not have given her a duty that was impossible to uphold-- which is what she viewed staying in a marriage where she was expected to be this mild, subservient housekeeper to be. Impossible. So the Goddess must have some other plan for her or, at the very least, won't punish her for failing to do something that was never possible in the first place for someone with a spirit like hers.

4) In line with the general opinion of those who follow Sk'akh: they're heretical religions. Cults. Self-mutilating fanatics. That sort of thing. She would probably react to meeting a member of either with a dismissive sort of disgust or more outright hostility if they try to preach their beliefs around her.

[Doxxmedearly]

Great answers IMO. Love the justification for number three, and looking forward to seeing that come out in game. 

Also keep in mind that there will be plenty of synthetics, people with prosthetics, and non-Sk'akh Unathi around, so think about how Sreznai would view and interact with them. 

Quote

So the Goddess must have some other plan for her

Note that while Sk'akh is gender-neutral, mostly they are referred to as the Great Spirit, or Three of One. Goddess is used by those from Dominia. 

Edited November 11, 2019 by Doxxmedearly

[geeves]

Fantastic answers and an even more fantastic backstory. One of the better Guwan applications out there. It gives an excellent idea of what it's like to be both a woman and a guwan under Hegemony influence. +1 on the merit of a great application.

I have also seen your gardener in-game, and gleaned a surprising amount of good RP from a role I did not expect to get RP from. So, that is definitely a +1 from the roleplay department.

Overall? I'd say this is pretty solid.

[Screemers]

Personally I like the backstory and having played mainly with  Tae Su-Yeongseon, Shenaanigans have proven to be a good player.

I see no reason to go against a lizard application

+1

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Circumstances have me getting this tomorrow (thursday) evening. I apologize for the delay.

[Shenaanigans]

6 hours ago, Marlon Phoenix said:

Circumstances have me getting this tomorrow (thursday) evening. I apologize for the delay.

It's alright! Take your time.

Also thank you to @geeves and @Screemers for the kind feedback, much appreciated.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Hello,

I've read your application and the character backstory. While you have a strong grasp of the species I am worried about this element of the character,

Quote

She is, however, very touchy about being mistreated or looked down on for her Clanless status and is NOT afraid to get in someone's face if they try to push her around. The worst thing you could do when you have no laws or Clan protecting you on some random smuggler's ship is present yourself as weak, so she never takes it silently.

Guwan are meant to be the absolute bottom; the lowest of the low. Even to the point where I consider it a whitelist issue if a Guwan files IR's against base harassment by other Unathi. Other Unathi are explicitly encouraged (if not outright required) to show contempt to Guwan and disregard them and their accomplishments. I think a brief interaction I had is a good example of this dichotomy,

Quote

Azsuko Guwan says, "I can make phoron sssaltssss perfectly a hundred perssscent of the time."
Erzs Liemz says, "And yet you are ssstill a Guwan."
Azsuko Guwan says, "I can tell you how t' make any amount of any chemical you'd need in th' medbay, an' I coded an entire fekkin' teckssstbook worth of--"

No matter what your Guwan does, she's not going to be able to climb the ladder barring being adopted into another Clan and taking on their name, which would end this situation your character would be in as they'd no longer be a Guwan.

Are you sure that this is the route that you want to go? Have you considered making her be an orphan, taking the name of the orphanage, so that you can retain her element of not having the support of a clan and being forced to achieve on her own? What made you want to go with a Guwan over an orphan? Unathi can slowly come to respect a Guwan and be seen talking to them in the halls and not have people bat an eye, but being a Guwan means you are basically barred from having meaningful ties with non-Guwan Unathi almost all of the time.

And as a Guwan, her asserting herself would be deeply offensive to them and it would have her dig a deeper hole.

Edited November 15, 2019 by Marlon Phoenix

[Shenaanigans]

13 minutes ago, Marlon Phoenix said:

Hello,

I've read your application and the character backstory. While you have a strong grasp of the species I am worried about this element of the character,

Guwan are meant to be the absolute bottom; the lowest of the low. Even to the point where I consider it a whitelist issue if a Guwan files IR's against base harassment by other Unathi. Other Unathi are explicitly encouraged (if not outright required) to show contempt to Guwan and disregard them and their accomplishments. I think a brief interaction I had is a good example of this dichotomy,

No matter what your Guwan does, she's not going to be able to climb the ladder barring being adopted into another Clan and taking on their name, which would end this situation your character would be in as they'd no longer be a Guwan.

Are you sure that this is the route that you want to go? Have you considered making her be an orphan, taking the name of the orphanage, so that you can retain her element of not having the support of a clan and being forced to achieve on her own? What made you want to go with a Guwan over an orphan? Unathi can slowly come to respect a Guwan and be seen talking to them in the halls and not have people bat an eye, but being a Guwan means you are basically barred from having meaningful ties with non-Guwan Unathi almost all of the time.

And as a Guwan, her asserting herself would be deeply offensive to them and it would have her dig a deeper hole.

I'm glad I've managed to convey a good knowledge base! As for your concerns I can absolutely try to address those and explain the decisions I made for her character.

First off, a clarification on her response to mistreatment. Sreznai would almost never raise a formal complaint against another Unathi for this sort of thing since, as you said, it's the norm for the species and she'd probably be laughed off for creating an IR about it. She's also just a very independent sort of character who does not want to attract attention to herself from any authorities during her time on the Aurora, so when I mentioned that she'll act on being mistreated I meant that she will make it a personal, one-on-one confrontation where she makes it clear to whatever character she's interacting with that she's not the type to take it lying down. Aggressive posturing, that sort of thing; establishing a reputation for herself as being strong and anything but easy pickings for those looking to torment their local Guwan.

I also don't really have any intention for her to go through any sort of "redemption arc" where she regains a Clan name. Sreznai was intended to be a character who broke the laws of Unathi honor and is now paying for it, just while trying to be such a menacing presence that it discourages people from messing with her. It's unlikely she'll do something so amazing as to earn a Clan name back and she isn't particularly seeking to do so as much as she's just trying to get by and live with her mistakes. As for why I went with a Guwan storyline for her in general, it was honestly just what fit with the concept I had come up with-- a fierce formal noble who wanted nothing to do with the life being set out for her. Within Unathi lore it naturally followed that she would end up a Guwan, having stomped all over honor and code, and I'm well aware of how she'll likely be treated simply for that. Being abrasive and unapologetic of course only makes things worse. 

I definitely did lean into that whole "unacceptable by Unathi standards" angle with the combination of her backstory and personality, but a big part of my desire to make Sreznai was having a character who could generate some interesting conflict with other characters. Maybe she'll manage to carve out some friendships among the distaste she attracts from the rest of her race, or maybe not, I'm interested to see what interactions she ends up having regardless.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

hmmm your answers are pretty good and your feedback is good so I'm happy to trust you with this character concept. Application accepted!