[Accepted with Changes] Scar-Barks [Dionae Cluster Proposal]

[Naelynn]

Type (e.g. Planet, Faction, System): Faction, Diona cluster

Describe this proposal in a single sentence (12 word maximum): New Diona cluster, aimed at players not attracted to current lore.

How will this be reflected on-station? Hopefully more Diona players. A new news article and maybe a tie in somewhere down the line. 

Does this faction/etc do anything not achieved by what already exists? Yes. Speaking strictly for myself, the current Diona clusters do not appeal to me and I find it extremely difficult to find enthusiasm to write a treeman character that I'd like to play. This faction will probably be the Diona equivalent of Zavod, which is one of the most popular human factions.

Why should this be given to lore developers rather than remain player created lore? Recommendations from @Yonnimer and @Zundy who both contributed to developing this cluster.

Do you understand that if this is submitted, you are signing it away to the lore team, and that it's possible that it will change over time in ways that you may not foresee? Yes, that's fine.

Long Description:
 

Spoiler

Scar-barks
 

Scar-bark introduction
 
Scar-barks are a recently discovered Dionae cluster originating from an unnamed asteroid within The Dust Belt in Tau Ceti. Scar-bark Dionae are generally brash and highly individualistic with many peculiarities to their day-to-day life. Unlike most Dionae, Scar-barks prefer spending time as Nymphs rather than forming Gestalts.
 
Scar-barks generally have difficulty forming relationships with non-scar-barks due to their mistrust of others. However, when such a relationship is established, they are fiercely protective and loyal to the other party.
 

Scar-bark employment
 
Scar-barks are primarily found in jobs where they can appreciate the machinery that did not hurt them during their stay in the Bloodhouse. This includes, but is not limited to Engineering, Robotics, Research.
  
Scar-barks should NOT be Security personnel. Their collective trauma of being used as bloodsport beasts renders them poorly suited for such work.
 

Scar-bark oddities and differences
 
Scar-barks utilize a rigid naming system unlike all other Dionae. Each nymph is named after the physical descriptor of it’s carved brand with the word -scar appended at the end. These shape descriptions tend to be short, even at the cost of being miss-representing due to their original use as combat-callouts by Bloodhouse’s shoutcasters. The -scar suffix is treated similarly to human surname, while anything before it is treated as a first name. Addressing a Scar-bark without the -scar suffix is reserved only for friends and relatives of the Scar-bark in question and is otherwise considered a severe insult in Scar-bark culture.
 
Examples: “Y-scar”, “Red-scar”, “Star-scar”, “Spiked Wheel-scar”

Scar-barks struggle to communicate in rootsong due to being severely punished by their former task masters whenever they did so. As such, speaking or hearing rootsong tends to invoke an emotional response. The effect is different for each gestalt but usually invokes a feeling or great sadness and discomfort.

Scar-barks are seen as deeply damaged individuals by other Dionae, ones who have been irreparably separated from the race’s goals of growth and unity.


Scar-bark history
 
Scar-bark history only began around 2420 when an illegally operated fighting ring known as Bloodhouse managed to procure a small supply of Dionae seeds.
 
Bloodhouse was an invite-only exclusive blood sports club operating from within the Dust Belt, specifically from a particularly stable and large asteroid titled “4761 Garrus”. The structure itself was built into the asteroid with no external infrastructure. This, in combination with signal dampening equipment and the invite-only nature of it’s clients allowed it to operate undiscovered for an extended period of time.
 
First Scar-barks were raised as a cost-efficient means of creating combat beasts to be slaughtered for the pleasure of the Bloodhouse’s clientele and then consumed afterwards. As a manner of quickly and easily identifying each of the individual Dionae, Bloodhouse’s operators simply carved a small mark into each individual Nymph’s face. Furthermore, as a precaution, the nymphs were contained in an air-tight-sealed warehouse with only a source of light as their life-saving grace. This warehouse underwent regular inspections by the human staff, and any and all structural modifications or unauthorized growths were purged with fire, and the offending nymphs executed on the spot.
 
However, these “woodland critters” as the commentators called them soon became surprisingly popular with their patrons. Bloodhouse’s owners did not fail to notice this rising interest and as such their involvement with the budding Dionaea colony rose.
 
It started when they were provided proper living spaces by human standards, if and only if there was a gestalt willing to go into gladiatorial combat with whatever the Bloodhouse would be willing to throw at them. This ‘right’ however, was not a voluntary opt-in, forcing many of the young nymphs to be split from the larger colony and locked away inside isolated chambers with only a few others of their own. In order to make these gestalts easier to interact with for their patrons, they were trained so only the nymph in the head-position of cyclops gestalt would speak and never in rootsong, else all of them would be punished later.
 
This humanization of Scar-bark continued at a merciless pace. Soon, these ‘leader’ nymphs were simply deemed to be the heads of their own gestalts in the eyes of their human overlords and thus were the only ones they were dealing with. Should a gestalt undertake an action the Bloodhouse didn’t like, a single randomly-chosen nymph from the gestalt would be burnt alive in front of the designated leader. While the light and warmth was pleasant, the emotional scarring was anything but.
 
This abuse finally ended when the TCFL raided the Bloodhouse after abnormal ship travel logs were discovered by a diligently working financial accountant in Mendell City. “I had no idea, I thought I was simply reporting spaceship fuel tax evasion.” he commented later when the incident was being reported on in the news.

The Biesel Choir invests a great deal of time in rehabilitating the scar-bark nymphs as best it can with Eternal Overseers assisting those too broken or fearful to function in common society. Now that the Bloodhouse has been shut down, the current generation of scar-barks will be the last, how they develop as a culture within the larger Dionae community is yet to be seen. 


Scar-bark culture
 
Their culture is overall based in conventional human customs with only a few exceptions
 
Scar-barks are comparatively highly individualistic creatures valuing personal freedom. As such, violating another’s personal freedom is a taboo and unthinkable crime.

Scar-barks place high emphasis on being cunning and manipulative, especially when it comes to protecting their own.
 
Scar-barks tend to reject religious outlooks on the universe, instead opting to view things in animalistic-nihilistic/fatalistic terms.
 
A typical Scar-bark outlook is that everything that lives is destined to end. Believing in eternity will simply lead to pain down the line when the uncaring universe will stay silent despite one’s hopes and dreams.
 
Scar-barks are very individualistic, with each nymph vaguely fitting into one of two categories:
 
‘Heads’ are nymphs who coped with their emotional scarring by facing it head on. They clearly lead a given group or gestalt. They tend to be strong-willed and decisive. Heads are generally ambitious and tend to be prideful of their accomplishments. Heads will always occupy the physically highest position in a gestalt and will make decisions that affect the entire gestalt without consulting the other nymphs.
 
‘Tails’ are nymphs who have coped with their emotional scarring via subservience and group anonymity. Tails are generally meek and ‘go with the flow’. Tails have issues expressing themselves and will almost always follow any command given to them by someone they perceive as a leader. In Scar-bark culture, Tails are considered innocent of any crime or societal violation caused by their gestalt.
Scar-bark gameplay guidelines

Scar-bark should mostly speak in a single-nymph manner, with only short pauses after the nymph runs out of breath. (Ex: “We are Whiskers-scar... We are from... Four Seven Six One... Garrus. )
 
Few rare heads like it when their tails intone their words quietly while they speak. In these rare instances, the speech will come out as a synthesis of the two styles. As the head will always be the first to speak, and only after will the tails echo it’s words. A tail will never complete a head’s sentence for them. (Ex: “Wee aaree Whiiskeerss-sscaar… Wee aaree froom… Foour Seeveen Sikss Oonee… Gaarruuss”) However, this manner of speech is seen as vain by other Scar-barks.

Scar-barks should seek out to move around as individual nymphs when realistically convenient. While at work or in public, some Scar-barks may opt to move around as a split group of nymphs, but doing so is considered improper in their culture. (Think showing up to your office job wearing just shorts type improper)
 

Scar-barks find it difficult to trust other species due to their experience.

Humans - As the owners of Bloodhouse, humans are generally viewed through skeptical lens. In the eyes of a Scar-bark, a human always does something for selfish reasons.

Unathi - A somewhat commonly seen foe in Bloodhouse’s colosseum. Dangerous and lethal, Scar-barks tend to fear and respect Unathi simultaneously. Respect for their individual strength and loyalty, and fear for their combat prowess they have demonstrated.

Skrell - One of the few species Scar-barks have no preconceptions about, due to their general lack of attendance in the Bloodhouse.

Tajarans - Scar-barks in general tend to dislike Tajarans. The species is considered duplicitous in their eyes due to a particular incident involving a Tajara, a spray bottle of plant-b-gone and a leaking tank of Lube. However, Scar-barks seem unable to agree on the finer details of the story.

IPC’s - Scar-barks tend to like ipc’s for their generally polite behavior and mechanical structure.

Vaurca - Scar-barks don’t hold any views on the Vaurca, as they have not met them before being rescued from the Bloodhouse.
 

 

Edited November 23, 2020 by Zundy

[Zundy]

@Naelynn Sorry,  I don't think I mentioned this to you and a spicy converstion in the relay OOC made me remember this. I'm planning on picking this up regarding another new aspect of lore we're going to introduce. It might get tweaked abit but I'll talk it over with you later AFTER this "new thing" comes out soon.

Sorry to leave you hanging!

[Naelynn]

Got it Looking forward to what you come up with @Zundy! If I can help in any way, hit me up

 

[Zundy]

Accepting this. Going to use it alongside either EUM or something else we're actively working on but can't say more on at the moment >_o. Thank you.