[Accepted] Teddybehr-Unathi Application

[restricted]

BYOND Key: teddybehr

Character Names: Karl Voigt, Elliot McNair

Species you are applying to play: Unathi

What color do you plan on making your first alien character: 12 53 11, a dark green

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 have been playing the lizards formerly known as Soghun since their inception as a codified race in SS13. I’ve always been a fan of playing the scaled space farers, typically at a disadvantage on a large scale compared to humans and playing off of their cultural differences to create verbal conflicts that could not be achieved as easily with humans. By playing a Unathi I am able to explore different avenues for handling situations and play a level of social awkwardness alongside an acuity that would be entirely out of place with someone who was born and raised human.

 

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

 

Biologically Unathi differ from humans in that they are quite reptilian with only vaguely humanoid characteristics. They are scaled and exothermic, causing them to not sweat like humans would, and they also possess tails and claws on their digits. Unathi can also possess horns or frills upon their head rather than hair, though the horns do not regrow naturally. On average Unathi are roughly a foot taller than humans average, with males being slightly taller than females.

 

Socially the Unathi live in a far more stratified society which places far more importance on one’s station, as well as with land being doled out in a feudal style (For the hegemon) giving status and wealth. Unathi place more importance on their role than other species do on their station. Unathi aren’t necessarily born into their station but much is inherited. Much emphasis is also placed upon honor, with the besmirching of one’s honor something that can easily lower the standing of a Unathi or even their clan.

 

Character Name: Kaxto Sepma

Please provide a short backstory for this character

Spoiler

 

Born in 2434 to peasants of clan Sepma in the city of Darakath shortly before the contact war. The earliest memories Kaxto holds is of a city with abundant greenery and opulence. Those memories came to an abrupt end with the Contact War. He saw the war from the eyes of a child. As but a young child did Kaxto watch the devastation begin. The military aged males departing, the despondency taking hold in the citizenry, and the eventual occupation of Darakath by hostile forces.

To survive in Darakath during required one to be tough, and to be a child during the times took a certain spirit to not become despondent. Even when food was short or the future uncertain a young Kaxto would attempt to find cheer for his family, refusing to fall into melancholy. He was young, but devoted himself to physical training believing that if he worked hard enough and fought when he was older he could end the war himself. 

 

Of course the war ended when Kaxto was 15. Even during the final moments when fighting was raging in the streets of Darakath Kaxto did not give into despair. At the end the city was sacked and the Sepma clan was devastated. Much of his extended family was dead, his father had died five years prior fighting for the cause of the traditionalist, and the only reason he and his mother survived was because easy access to their residence had been blocked early during the fight by early artillery fire. 

 

Even as survivors however the Sepma clan was virtually dead. The main residences were sacked and burnt at the hands of Hegemony marauders. The clan heads were no more than charred bones; virtually all males of the proper age had been sent to fight and die for the Aazarak cause. If it were not for emotional outbursts from his mother Kaxto too may have died-he felt supremely confident in his knowledge of the local area and had been going through self imposed warrior “training” for a few years. 

 

Naturally given Kaxto’s self imposed training he was actually quite bad at fighting. Given the need for new fighters to fill the voids left by the Contact War he was quickly accepted to train underneath a member of the Warrior caste, a far smaller Unathi who had managed to survive from nearly the start of the war. Kaxto went into their first sparring session supremely confident and left with a broken arm. His sparring partner had a bruised forearm. Humility was learned quickly, and it became apparent to Kaxto even quicker that one does not have to be born into something to become a master of it.

 

Despite his failings in fighting his teacher Kaxto did quite well against his peers, able to leverage his above average size against his foes as well as tricks learned from a talented mentor. As he came of age Kaxto left in search of becoming a Kataphract, enchanted with the stories of their exploits and their martial prowess. He believed that by becoming one he could have the power to stop further war.

 

So to emulate them he decides to go on a space adventure. Using the meager funds he had he bought a ticket to Tau Ceti. That consumed all of his meager funds, and Kaxto quickly discovered adventures aren’t cheap. So after taking a loan Kaxto realized that he has to pay it back, and now works as a wageslave to pay for his mistakes.

 

 

I wrote a lot here's a tldr:

 

Larger than average lizard was born shortly before contact war in Darakath, watched the war destroy Darakath and his extended family. Decided he wants to fight stuff to end the war, then the war ends before he can even fight. Lizard still wants to fight and since Moghes needs more fighters he gets training. He sucks.

 

Despite sucking he sucks less than the rest of the wannabe fighters so he can have ambitions because he has less suck than the others. Ambition eventually makes the lizard seek spess for adventure. Of course, spess is cruel and unforgiving and lizard is actually quite poor. Lizard takes a payday loan and then discovers what interest is and why it is the scourge of the working man. Now working to pay off loan and to fund further adventure.

 

What do you like about this character?

 

He’s touched by war but still holds to romantic ideals. He’s youthful and will therefore make mistakes and is already paying for past mistakes. Not a spess nam vet, but someone who grew through spess nam and watched it devastate everything and is now searching for a way to make sure that won’t ever happen again with the power he holds.

 

How would you rate your role-playing ability?

Eh, I’m alright.

Notes:

EDIT: A name

Edited February 2, 2020 by Marlon Phoenix

[DeadLantern]

What you have currently is fine. But I would like some more meat to the application, especially relating to the whole world of Unathi lore.

What religion does Sepma follow? Opinions on the other religions? Religion is a giant part of Unathi lore. What is his opinion of the Contact War? What does he think about the Hegemony's supremacy over the Coalition, even when they used alien tactics and technology? Did he think the use of Nuclear Weapons was justified? Where does Sepma think the nukes came from? He has seen a lot of his brothers die fighting an unfair war. Is he willing to be an honorable warrior even when the other side is not? Was the use of nuclear weapons honorable?

You do not have to answer every single one of these questions, but right now, you don't talk much about any other side of Unathi lore. The only thing relating your character to Unathi lore is the Contact War and the mention of Katchapracts, and of course the Traditionalists/Hegemony. This is not necessarily bad, as what you have written down right now is all well and fine, but the whitelist app is done to prove your proficiency in the lore. Right now, I do not really see a whole lot of lore. Right now, I am neutral, and eager to see how Sepma thinks of the world around him.

[restricted]

Well given how his hometown and clan were decimated by the Contact War I figured it would be fairly obvious that Kaxto is against war in general. He would feel that war is only something needed to contain an evil and that there was no evil on either side of the Contact War-just differing opinions. Despite being from Darakath he would not have felt strongly about the use of foreign weapons from the perspective of warfighting, but he did feel it was not an honorable action. Nukes, of course were unjustified from either side as they led to great suffering and took the perfection from warfare-rather than a clash of wills and skilled warriors it was a clash of bombs which did not discriminate in the slightest. As for the question of honor, after seeing what happened during the war he believes it is more important to uphold it than all else, because then billions will die needlessly. 

 

He is unquestionably against the idea of total war and believes that the truest form of fighting is in changing minds rather than killing bodies-to defeat your foe and gain an ally would give a far greater advantage than to defeat your foe and lose some of yourself. 

As for religion the Th'akh faith is what he was raised and what he abides by. Having seen many wounded come home to Darakath missing limbs or similarly grievously wounded he views robotic limbs as a blessing rather than a curse, but still regards those who would willingly discard their bodies for unnatural replacements with distrust. Sepma believes that as much of his clan was lost his ancestors are watching him with interest, which is in part what fuels his perfectionism. He is generally indifferent to the Sk'akh, believing that ultimately they believe in the same thing with slightly different phrasing and centralization, and has some sympathies for the Si'akh, believing that even if their firey teachings are wrong the desire to rebuild Moghes into something as great or greater than its past is what the Unathi should be striving towards rather than grimey politicking. 

 

Sepma regards the Hegemon and their governance as a necessary evil, and though he bemoans the intrigue he believes that a centralized figure over the Unathi people is needed to bring them out of the devastation wrought by the Contact War. He does not care who or what sits upon the throne as long as they treat the people well and are working to build a better Moghes, which he personally believes is questionable given the current regime. He has considered attempting to convince his clan to migrate to Ouerea in order to escape the current Hegemon's influence, but it's just the musings of a hatchling without much real influence within the clan.

[DeadLantern]

Good, thank you for answering my questions! Sepma feels a lot more realized in this world now. I support this application.

[FearTheBlackout]

I've known Restricted a good while over the years, and he's no slouch when it comes to roleplay or playing Unathi. His application has plenty of meat to it and I honestly don't tend to read over large character biographies, but I trust him wholly. +1

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

I will respond to this tomorrow; sorry for the delay

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Hello!

Thank you for your interest in Unathi.

I find that your Unathi is a bit of a fresh one given that he is from the former Coalition. You hit the right story beats and with your responses to Deadlantern you've added more onto him.

However I have some concerns with how he is framed. This Unathi is written to be a radical moderate - in the backstory you've provided he's experienced severely traumatic situations and the devastation of both his lands and his immediate family by the hands of explicitly marauding invaders who then installed one of their cronies to rule over him and his people. I don't believe that someone that seems to have a sense of pride in themselves would stick to the center and try to see both sides of the issue.

 

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Even as survivors however the Sepma clan was virtually dead. The main residences were sacked and burnt at the hands of Hegemony marauders. The clan heads were no more than charred bones; virtually all males of the proper age had been sent to fight and die for the Aazarak cause. If it were not for emotional outbursts from his mother Kaxto too may have died-he felt supremely confident in his knowledge of the local area and had been going through self imposed warrior “training” for a few years. "

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Well given how his hometown and clan were decimated by the Contact War I figured it would be fairly obvious that Kaxto is against war in general. He would feel that war is only something needed to contain an evil and that there was no evil on either side of the Contact War-just differing opinions.

Is a jarring dissonance.

With as much flak as the Traditionalists get in the unathi lore chat I worked very carefully to make sure the Izweski are portrayed as imperialistic; the Izweski's 'opinion' is that they were the rightful rulers of Moghes that sought to dominate the many cultures and people of Moghes; the Traditionalists were not fighting over a difference of opinion but to protect their ways of life and people against oppression - a struggle that they ended up losing. You clearly understand the impact the war has on Sepma but his responses to it seem very unnatural. His strongest belief is his anti-war stance but at the same time he believes in the unathi ideals of martial strength and he joins a knightly order. This same knightly order swears their fealty to the Izweski - he swore allegiance to the same people that were responsible for sending marauding warriors through his city's streets to burn everything he had ever known to ash.

There are methods of resolving these dissonances while keeping the same story beats. The major issues are his lack of convictions as well as his meek submissiveness and dismissive air to the tragedies he has faced in his life. It's possible for him to end up in the Kataphracts because the Order is meant to rise above factionalism and exemplify honor and duty, and it's possible for him to end up filtering to Tau Ceti in the framework you've provided - the main issue is his philosophy regarding these situations.

Edited January 31, 2020 by Marlon Phoenix

[restricted]

Sepma does not regard the reasons for which the Contact War was fought as evil-he does hold much resentment to the marauders of the Izweski who slaughtered his clan however he is self reflective enough to realize that violence begets violence. He believes that even if the Izweski won underhandedly continued fighting against them is hopeless and the best hope is to be the change within the regime as opposed to violently opposing them from outside. He aspires to join the Kataphracts not just to prove his martial prowess, but to be a warrior whose very existence makes war a prospect grim to many: by elevating himself to the ranks of the Kataphracts he believes he can achieve martial prowess as such that the very stories of his strength would dissuade violent action. 

All that said, it would still be difficult for him to fold in with the system which replaced the Traditional ways with which he was somewhat raised. However all he knows is war having been born shortly before the Contact War began so it is with certainty Sepma believes that a continued peace is what is needed. In part why he would be leaving Moghes-to get away from the system to try to calm his mind. He would cling to honor but as a way to justify a belief in fair warfare and not involving civilians, as opposed to using it to give himself a moral high ground to his opponents. 

I'm trying to play Sepma as a conflicted individual, harboring distrust for the Izweski Hegemon given the abhorrent actions of their forces within Darakath during the way but also seeing a United Moghes as a the best way forward in the aftermath of the war and trusting in the framework set by the Izweski post Contact War to set that path. He does not believe that violent upheaval of the Izweski will bring Moghes forward, but if they Izweski were to deposed by other means it could bring forth new possibilities. That said, he is uncertain of the future given his youth. 

Of course, he's just a hopeful at the moment. His immediate goals are to secure a place for the Sepma clan in a post Contact War world and that would be by achieving prowess and joining a prestigious order such as the Kataphracts would certainly do so, as well as give him some room to maneuver as an agent for the peace of Moghes given his low birth station.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

19 hours ago, restricted said:

I'm trying to play Sepma as a conflicted individual, harboring distrust for the Izweski Hegemon given the abhorrent actions of their forces within Darakath during the way but also seeing a United Moghes as a the best way forward in the aftermath of the war and trusting in the framework set by the Izweski post Contact War to set that path. He does not believe that violent upheaval of the Izweski will bring Moghes forward, but [if the Izweski were deposed] it could bring forth new possibilities. That said, he is uncertain of the future given his youth. 

He both trusts the framework of the Izweski but also believes that them being deposed will lead to a better framework? What actions that happened after the Contact War that has him believe their framework is the ideal one? Has he come around to Not'zar Izweski's reforms? Would he have supported the rebels in the recent brief civil war against the Izweski?

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Sepma believes in a central figure over the Unathi to bring them out of the rut they are in. He does not believe being divided would bring anything good, and though he may not believe the Izweski are the necessarily the right figures for this he also doesn't believe they are wrong. He believes that even if the Izweski themselves took dishonorable actions the centralized governance is the correct way to go about things. Even though the Izweski forces decimated his clan and his city he can see attempts at making wrongs right with Not'Zar's desire to prosecute the iron masks for their inquisition, he also furthermore respects Not'Zar's hesitance to use force to resolve disputes.  Sepma would have stood with Not'Zar in the recent war as he has decided to throw his lot with the hegemon despite his doubts. 

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

That's a conviction of a type. What do the rest of his clan say about his support of the Izweski? Does he face any anger or stigmatization from his family or people? If he faces consequences for these beliefs then it would be a very positive step and I'd be happy to accept it. If he faces any shunning from those that he had to leave behind it would be a very positive step.

[restricted]

Of course the more traditional leaning of his clan would shun Sepma for deciding to side with the Hegemon. They'd maintain the traditionalist cause was just and the Hegemon is an evil which must be vanquished. That would certainly contribute to his decision to seek adventure in space as opposed to on Moghes. It may distance him from loved ones but also from potential obstacles while still allowing him to seek glory-of course without the fiscal backing of his clan he comes across financial difficulty resulting in him needing a 9-5. 

Essentially the entire Sepma clan more or less doesn't believe in what he believes, those left tending to be older and more reserved. His mother still loves him as a child, even though she sees him as wayward, but the rest all more or less pretend he does not exist. To make him Guwan would firstly require acknowledgement by the Hegemon and would secondly be the clan acknowledging that one of their own went against the fold formally. They do shun him, and pretend he was never born, or say he died in the attack on Darakath. With him being in space for time indeterminate, many would not know any better.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Accepting the social consequences for his unusual beliefs is good because it shows you acknowledge the traditional unathi ways and how it can ostracize those that fall outside the expected beliefs; Application accepted!