[Accepted] Haydizzle's Unathi Application

[Haydizzle]

BYOND Key: Haydizzle

Character Names: Porter de-Abaros, Raphael Deluca, and for those of you lucky enough to see him the one time I played him, Kanoa Kal’tari.

Species you are applying to play: Unathi.

What color do you plan on making your first alien character: A ruddy red/brown, like more oxidized rust (159, 38, 17; alternatively, #9f2611).

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

 

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:

Oh boy! Well, there were a few initial reasons I have, namely peer pressure by friends good impressions I received with various characters, my desire to try an “out of body” roleplay by playing as another species, or even thinking that the way they perceive other cultures as being amusing are all touch-point topics that lured me in.

After reading the lore though, I got to see a lot more depth that fascinated me. I took a lot of time mulling over which species I wanted to apply for a whitelist first for, but there are different aspects of unathi culture and design that gave me exceptional character ideas. The strikingly similar parallels between their history and our own (feudalism, inherent belief of women being inferior, and perhaps nationalist-like pride for one’s own clan) in tandem with surprisingly progressive values in some sects (not quite shunning homophobia if a clan’s lineage can be preserved elsewhere, the idea of a soul being given a body of the wrong sex) create paradoxical and even oxymoron-like structures that both bare quandaries and also create a familiar and relatable feeling. I enjoy how the honor code is implemented here, as it is an uncommon racial trope that I don’t see well executed, but felt was done nicely. I think the final capstone were the religious beliefs and erudition of the Th’akh I found especially drawn towards (I’m a sucker for theologists who double as scholars).

I ultimately believe I chose sinta’unathi specifically since there were a lot of character concepts that I felt would be well orchestrated in this species that I couldn’t normally execute comfortably without coming off as wildly unorthodox or even off the handle.

 

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

Quite a question! There are numerous initial things I’m so tempted to fire off, but can really apply to other species as well. In roleplay, I’d pretty much avoid physical contact with other characters at first, and most of the cues make them out as having more reptilian responses (a real shocker) when signalling emotion, unlike how humans show it on their face. There is a very clear, underlined, bold, and italicized focus on honor in unathi society, so I would imagine too that respecting anybody of a higher position, older age, or even of a more well learned or experienced background is a staple for nearly any character. More ‘mechanically,’ I don’t think they can take to wearing most kinds of shoes or gloves, and they find themselves more inundated with heat while resistant to the cold moderately. On a more figurative level, there is a type of generational trauma for unathi where, similar to tajarans, they suffered painful losses from the Contact War, a conflict that perhaps only entrenched resentments for different clans and powers.

 

Character Name: Buhersiz As’zalth

Please provide a short backstory for this character.

As’zalth doesn’t remember his parents. He remembers only vague details; a warm, red face of a silky feminine unathi, and another person with frilled brown scales paired to a grave tone. The voices, as he understands it, were probably his parents; As’zalth isn’t sure. They come and go to him in small waves, faint mutterings that are so infuriating close to being intelligible that they sometimes drove him into a frenzy, especially when the unathi was busy salvaging. He would go from wreckage to wreckage while hitching a ride where he could, but usually ruffing it with only his gear and his determination to leave. His full name too is one prescribed to himself based on the collar of a shirt he found, belonging to a corpse of a unathi about the same size as As’zalth. His memory loss was often a point of fascination, curiosity, sadness, and anger, depending on his swinging mood.

This rust colored sinta lived in a small settlement near Camp Integrity, named Otkulh’s Rest. Here is where he made his living; selling scrap where he could, or using it to help repair simple things for the few denizens of the town, for a price, of course. With so much free time, a small fascination with tinkering led him to experiment with engineering and design, though how far he got was limited by what he knew. The things As’zalth did and learned surely impressed the other unathi as most of them led simple lives that tried to rough it in the Wastes.

As As’zalth made his rounds outside the town, the mirages of the Wastes always played tricks on his mind, too, for better or worse. Though, the debris of the ongoing war was a gold rush of material waiting to be harvested, and it often turned into the day’s next ingenious project. A metal parasol, a barbed stick plated with iron tacks, or perhaps an upgrade for his meager cart, lovingly referred to in every incarnation as ‘Rustboy’s Jealousy.’ As’zalth sometimes saw the voices with images dancing faintly in the distance as they danced in subtle swaying gestures. The sinta’unathi’s projects often rejected the voices to the distant horizon, where this orphan took his mind off his circumstances by imagining what humans and skrell were up to in the distant galaxy.

He did not hear about these tidings, this news, from just any settlement. Particular caravans of the Th’akh temple shamans, sent between town and temple to help care for those struck by the horrors of war, would cross paths with As’zalth often, many of which seemed more than pure happenstance. The acolytes would often let As’zalth sit with them as he journeyed himself for more rubble to salvage. And they spoke often, spoke honeyed words of new things that have never been recorded in their libraries or spoken by their shamans; towns that floated in the sky; scaleless and tailless fleshies, and amphibians with soft horns; and, most importantly, ships that sailed across the stars. As hellfire left the landscape scarred, As’zalth often felt a rejection for his home, wishing to travel and see what space had to offer him. Until that day came, however, the small unathi would happily content himself to the knowledge these monks had under their own care.

Eventually, as he developed into his older years, as the war decimated into a conflict of the past, As’zalth found himself unsatisfied with the passing stories of the Th’akh shamans. By offering to help out different people around the Wasteland, the orphan managed to carry some exchange and money to purchase food for the nearest Akhanzi temple. But as the calendar days passed, he grew more wary of his amnesia, and it saddened him more. Not knowing his lineage, his clan… for other unathi, it was a point of pride and honor, but for him? He didn’t know where he belonged, yet he knew what he longed for.

As’zalth eventually found himself enamored by the stories and lessons of one T’skal Akhanzi, a shaman who was in their sixties, or so As’zalth guessed. He obsessed over the era before the Contact War, wondering which faction, which place, where his parents belonged. Akhanzi took to great lengths to cater to As’zalth’s curiosity in a bid to tide him over to join the temple; he answered all of the unathi’s questions in depth and directed the child to sources of information that would better help him with his curiosity to build. The sinta was too rowdy, too eager, though--accordingly, the other temple shamans resented him for his bold and brash nature.  As’zalth picked up on this, preferring to stay quiet around most of these shamans and do his best to heed their words and, at Akhanzi's behest, make an attempt at staying out of trouble. With time in the temple, he began to pick up on Th’akh and its religious mandates. He couldn’t help but wonder, however, if that meant he really heard his parents’ voices before, and if joining the shamans would help him gain new understanding on it.

As he was starting to warm up to the Wasteland shamans, tragedy struck. As’zalth made his way towards the temple grounds only to see smoke on the distant horizon. After making his way over, the unathi saw the burning temple with no trace of anyone outside. The inquisition burned and razed the temple and, as he tried to work past his tears at the sight of this tragedy, As’zalth left for the capital, inevitably finding recruitment with NanoTransen to start his delayed journey towards the stars.

 

What do you like about this character?

This wasn’t the first idea I spawned for this application, but it’s definitely the one I feel is the most interesting and makes the best use of elements of the culture, lore, and setting with a twist. I first considered making a cowardly unathi, or perhaps one that wasn’t competent enough to be a fighter; something he clearly struggled with that other unathi would pick up on. However, the idea of somebody who dislikes the system, due to his envy of what he doesn’t have, will make As’zalth a better character. He strives to be honorable, but he doesn’t know why, and wants to figure himself out; a bit of discovery, if you may. I wanted to make a character who felt displaced by those around him without inherently using discrimination to meet that end, and I look forward to polishing this idea and adding more detailed backstory along as I go!

 

How would you rate your role-playing ability?

It’s fairly tempered with my skill of roleplaying by now, having done roleplay for about 7 or 8 years. I’m still rather green to Aurora, though, and I still feel as though I have a lot to learn to become a seasoned and well enjoyed roleplayer overall.

 

Notes: If you read all of what I posted, bless your soul, and thanks for taking the time to read it!

Edited January 13, 2020 by Marlon Phoenix
Highlighting questions/categories for easier viewability in this monstrous wall of text

[DeadLantern]

Good job on choosing the best color.

So, when the Th'akh shamans made their way into the wasteland, you say they described Aliens and starships as being new things. As your character was born very near the Contact Wars, aliens are a 16 year old concept now. That is the one grievance I have.

This backstory is quite good. An Unathi who knows only a modicum of honor, of clans, of gender roles, etc, is a good concept. I don't see any lore issues. It's fine!

There is also a minor thing located in "Why you chose to play this species." You say that Unathi have some very backwards ideals on Women and Nationalism, but progressive ideals do exist such as Homosexuality and Transgender-ality. While viewed through human eyes it seems quite progressive/backwards, through a Sinta's eyes it is just normal. Don't fall into a trope of highlighting different opinions due to cultural differences in an attempt to seem "Xeno" while roleplaying on station, as it comes off as fake. Just treat this issues like that is how they are supposed to be, rather than anything else.

 

[Haydizzle]

17 minutes ago, DeadLantern said:

So, when the Th'akh shamans made their way into the wasteland, you say they described Aliens and starships as being new things.

 

That entirely wasn't the intent, so I think that was just some erroneous wording on my part unfortunately. I wanted to describe them as more foreign concepts after clearly introducing them as humans and skrell, since it's a rather young person imagining these things and being enamored with "aliens" he hasn't seen before. Them not recording these ideas being due to it being relatively new information and such. That's a pretty good catch though, as I 100% definitely didn't notice it myself while drafting this from the revised form to final form for what I typed.

 

21 minutes ago, DeadLantern said:

There is also a minor thing located in "Why you chose to play this species."

 

I like this analysis! It's always a pet peeve of mine when people start to heavily bleed into IC. To a degree it'll happen for a lot of people however subtle, whether it be repeated mannerisms or usage of the same descriptors and words to describe actions and what not. And there's naturally nothing wrong with. I always try my best to not let OOC conflict or idealism bleed into IC or vice versa, and I think this is a pretty good example of that. It's a somewhat different issue I'm not used to, so I will keep that in mind! Thank you for the feedback.

[FreshRefreshments]

Haydizzle brought this to me for peer review, so I feel obligated to vouch for him. 

He's a good roleplayer, and I think his whitelist app has a good amount of detail, and proof of understanding the world in the Wasteland. There are a few wording issues, but thats more a problem of articulation, as noted above, rather than misunderstanding the world. 

+1. I think Haydizzle could do good by Unathi lore.

[DeadLantern]

14 hours ago, Haydizzle said:

That entirely wasn't the intent, so I think that was just some erroneous wording on my part unfortunately. I wanted to describe them as more foreign concepts after clearly introducing them as humans and skrell, since it's a rather young person imagining these things and being enamored with "aliens" he hasn't seen before. Them not recording these ideas being due to it being relatively new information and such. That's a pretty good catch though, as I 100% definitely didn't notice it myself while drafting this from the revised form to final form for what I typed.

 

I like this analysis! It's always a pet peeve of mine when people start to heavily bleed into IC. To a degree it'll happen for a lot of people however subtle, whether it be repeated mannerisms or usage of the same descriptors and words to describe actions and what not. And there's naturally nothing wrong with. I always try my best to not let OOC conflict or idealism bleed into IC or vice versa, and I think this is a pretty good example of that. It's a somewhat different issue I'm not used to, so I will keep that in mind! Thank you for the feedback.

I understand now. I support this application!

[RadiantRose]

As a Chef main, I've had the joy of hanging out with Porter a bunch of times. He's a solid character, seems to have interesting background and character depth lurking, and is pretty much always pleasant to talk to. I've run into Raphael as well, and I had no idea they were both played by the same person; they have distinctly different mannerisms, ways of talking, especially when it comes to being informal/formal. That's always a sign of a great roleplayer.

The character concept of an Unathi trying to cope with serious, lifelong trauma that isn't from warfare is also really interesting to me. Being orphaned from both your birth and your chosen family can leave some serious scars on a person, and trying to juggle that with an honor system sounds like even more of a struggle. Knowing it's in the hands of Hay makes me even more excited for seeing how it'll play out.

Big+1 from me!

 

Edited January 10, 2020 by RadiantRose

[Guest BoxWulf]

Ah yes, I’m getting really tired of you Wastelanders picking on my Hegemony boys. 
 

That being said, love the story. Really highlighting the points of honor, religion, and, to be honest, spirituality is soooo important for Unathi. 
 

I’ve RP’d with your two humans, secretly, might I add. >=] and you’ve never once broken character and, even for a newcomer, you’ve adapted so well to Aurora and I’m proud of this app and I’m proud of you. 
 

There is so much room for character development on the Aurora and I look forward to meeting As’zalth even though my Hegemony boys will hate him. ❤️
 

+1

[geeves]

This is a good use of the Wasteland lore, and I believe this application shows a firm understanding of what it means to be an Unathi, good work. Aside from the application, I also know Hayden for non-Aurora RP, and that is top class as well.

All-in-all, good app, think you'd make a great lizard.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

I am responding to this tomorrow!

EDIT:
It's 2am, so what I mean is Sunday around 9pm.

Edited January 12, 2020 by Marlon Phoenix

[furrycactus]

Hayden is a good friend of mine that I've known and roleplayed with for many years, before Aurora even. His roleplay is top notch, from what I've seen both on-server and outside of it, and I also know that he's done his research on Unathi lore, which clearly enough shows, too. 

As for the actual character itself, I think it's an interesting concept, and it draws on all the important facets of Unathi while also putting an unique twist on it. The only thing I noticed that was particularly incorrect was:

On 09/01/2020 at 17:25, Haydizzle said:

...they find themselves more inundated with heat while resistant to the cold moderately...

It's the other way around, since they're cold-blooded reptiles.

I think Hayden would make a great lizard, +1.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

You have a good backstory here and your feedback is positive. Because I was unable to access the forums for a day prior to my last post I asked you a few questions over discord and I find them all satisfying.

Application accepted!