unathi [Denied] Sputnik5927 - Unathi Whitelist Application

[Sputnik5927]

BYOND Key: Sputnik5927

Character Names:

• Wolf Arges, Security Officer
• Yangtze Xiaojian, Bridge Crew
• Zhang Xiaodan, Psychiatrist
• Mikhail Voroshilov, Shaft Miner
• Shepherd Malric, Chaplain
• Vladimir Khoromov, Merchant
• TAKMAN, Security Officer
• Harald Brytforda, Security Officer
• Nick Armstrong, Scientist
• Daniel Griffin, Surgeon

Species you are applying to play: Unathi
What color do you plan on making your first alien character: Green (Most similar to Sen Emerald)
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:
Because I like the warrior culture of the Unathi species. I also find the planet of Moghes interesting, being a hostile environment. The unique bodily attributes (scales, being cold-blooded, etc.) are a big draw for me from a roleplaying perspective - just think of all the emotes. Gator people are cool and I want to be one of them.

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human:
In comparison to the contemporary humans of the setting, the Unathi species follows strict cultural values, instilled almost into the blood of every member, save for the outcasts (Guwan). Those values are reminiscent of those of ancient Human tribes - there being an emphasis on honor, tradition, the strictly defined role of the man and the woman in society and the reverence for one's ancestors.

Unathi religions are as diverse as Human ones, though they are almost totally different. In order of popularity: 
Th'akh, the worship of ancestors and the belief in the spirit realm.
Sk'akh, the worship of ancestors as one spirit.
Aut'akh, the extreme belief in cybernetics being the supreme way of living.
Si'akh, the extreme belief that the survivors of the Contact War are doomed and left behind and must find salvation.

On a physical level, Unathi are cold-blooded and therefore feel right at home at temperatures that Humans would flee for fresh air - where as in places that Humans feel content, a Unathi might feel like he's freezing. This also depends on the region that the Unathi is from, as the quick adaptation between generations can influence the sensitivity to heat or cold. Ethanol is dangerously toxic to Unathi and anything that isn't meat provides little to no nutrition for them. Having a tail, frills or horns means that a Unathi can express himself in different ways or speak a language that requires the use of a tail for gesturing.

Unathi do not have a long space-faring history like Humans do in 2464, only recently having even made contact with other species - that contact having lead to a nuclear exchange that devastated Moghes terribly.

Character Name: Kalug Reshkat
Please provide a short backstory for this character

The young Kalug hatched in 2418 in a small village near Janvir, experiencing life on Moghes as it had always been for a rural peasant family. He became the eldest of three brothers and two sisters. The Reshkat clan lived near the shore of Lake Z'aith, their craft of hunting and foraging providing them a respectable existence. Kalug learned to hunt, track, trap and catch from his father and was expected to teach it to his future sons too. Growing up, Kalug's brothers often played a competitive game in which they would hide and track each other in the wilderness. One day, one of his brothers, Leshuk, came running in a panic - being chased by a Shrieker in full pursuit. Kalug reeled back the spear they took with them and threw it, striking the animal, killing it and saving his brother. He was praised endlessly at home and by his village, gifting him with steeled pride and confidence - the brave Kalug.

When contact was first made with Humans and Skrell, Kalug and his clan were skeptical. He was always very proud of not only himself, but his village and the independence they had achieved through hard work. He saw the introduction of Humans and Skrell as a cold invasion and appropriation of what the Sinta'unathi had built for so long. When tensions with the Hegemony came to a boiling point in 2438 and the war broke out, the 20-year-old Kalug was the very first of his village to march to battle, seeking the same glory and praise he had been hunting for his entire life.

The Contact War took Kalug and his brothers to the battlefield against the Hegemony. He lost two of his brothers, including Leshuk. Being with the Janvir forces, their campaign was not especially impactful, but still no less brutal. Although he was steeled and ready to kill and die, as any respectable warrior should be, he saw Leshuk in every Sinta by his side or opposing him - and every arrow, bullet, bomb or thrust of a spear being that Shrieker. These visions still plague Kalug.

Having been a member of the Th'akh religion since his birth, Kalug often calls upon his recently departed family, especially Leshuk to try and find closure.

Kalug felt the defeat of the Coalition as almost personal to himself. Not only did the Hegemony win, but the very thing that the Coalition wanted to preserve was nearly completely burnt away in nuclear fire - which he is very aware might be the fault of the megacorporations that came with the Humans.

Although his village was spared a nuclear bombing and it suffered only from mild fallout, Kalug never felt at home again - not without all his family and not with the way things were now. Attempting to rebuild, Kalug stayed for a long while on Moghes. Nothing went his way anymore - the people went hollow and callous, turning to wandering the wastes and banditry and where he once saw ambitions and prospects, he saw nothing anymore. The Hegemony now being in charge, the megacorporations were readily in reach and recruiting the new and interesting Unathi species - the choice of employment for Kalug, the brave, was clear. The burden of working for a megacorporation that might be responsible for what happened is to Kalug just another burden to bear. Feeling that there was no good future for him on Moghes, he left the planet at the next opportunity, lest he would change his mind...

What do you like about this character?
I am excited to play a Unathi because, as I mentioned before, I find the look and species itself very cool. But beyond that, the ability to speak a language like Sinta'Azaziba and the amount of new emotes and behaviours that would be open to me are a huge reason I am applying. Specifically for my character, I wanted to make a character who values his honor and dignity, always wanting to be the best and stand out - and still get along with people. To be someone who his co-workers can trust and rely on, who they admire and respect. To be the one that everyone looks to to save the day. Always chasing his finest hour.

How would you rate your role-playing ability?
I'm a very experienced, considerate roleplayer and I think that I am easy to work with.

Notes: None.

Edited October 8, 2022 by Haydizzle
Application processed.

[Peppermint]

You have a crazy amount of notes and warnings regarding power gaming and poor sec play. You applied to IPC and play a stereotypical sec g2 that only seems to exist to frag - and have now applied to unathi, the other obvious power gaming choice? Seems a bit sus to me.

[ErshOurHerzog]

I am not playing a lot of time on Aurora - I just don't have good character ideas to play as. But when I played, I observed Sputnik's Wolf Arges relationships (specifically with Unathi). Hossl Suazra, Ankala Ahzi (God smite me if these names were misspelled). Everything was played SO WELL. I am pretty sure Sputnik wanted to get an Unathi WL just because of Aurora Croco players. 

As for the backstory, honestly, it's good. It's an another security character, yes, but if you look very closely, Sputnik's characters are different from each other.
- Wolf is a war veteran who tries to live a life after a traumatic episode of war, and is quite religious. 
- Now with other WL... Didn't play with TAKMAN a lot, but it didn't seem to be a FRAGMAN. TAKMAN is honest, it has an interesting corporation lore, the bot does it's job well. It's a young IPC that learns about the world. It is cute. And it is creepy, because it is a professional officer.
- Now the Unathi. Another warrior. Traumatic past. Yes. But let's not forget that Reshkat is not a human, but an alligator with his own story, emotions, way of thinking. Honor and dignity is not morale and God. 

I don't know about "power gaming" and "poor sec play". Yes, Sputnik had some strange episodes, but HONESTLY? I don't think it is always his fault. He always acts according to the situation in round, he is trying to make it fun for everyone. Notes and warnings must not be a deciding factor in giving a whitelist. Do not suspect Sputnik in some weird desires to KILL EVERYONE AND FEEL POWERFUL, please.

+1

Edited October 7, 2022 by ErshOurHerzog
Got smited by God for misspelling some names...

[Confused rock]

I've played with Arges since he was a cadet (and had a few experiences with TAKMAN), and though we rarely see eye-to-eye IC or OOC, I think saying sputnik picked the obvious powergaming choice is a disservice to him. I will agree that his characters are less reserved than most, but it's certainly not of malice, he just gets excited about playing character ideas others might be more nervous about. They are sometimes aggressive, but I always get the impression he's trying to make the roleplay interesting, not trying to frag. In any case, I have seen interest in Unathi lore from him. I personally don't see an issue in yet another warrior Unathi, we've got a lot of Unathi breaking stereotypes now, nice to have more grounded ones. I will say I think it could be a bit rocky for him at first if he gets it. But I hope he gets it, and is given the opportunity to learn if there is an issue, because I think he'll be glad to, and he'll end up playing an Unathi who reinforces the species' existing themes in a positive way.

edit:  in case I have to say it..
+1

Edited October 8, 2022 by Confused rock
+1

[Haydizzle]

Hello! Thank you for taking the time to apply. My team and I discussed your application, and a couple of worries came up. I'm going to try to keep this brief as I can tend to talk a lot.

The first worth talking about is your grasp on the lore; looking past some minor discrepancies that can be found or implied, we do not feel you have a solid grasp on the themes of the species and what elements should be woven into a Unathi. This is not to say that you missed every theme— the strong sense of honor and courage that most Unathi aspire to have for example is still something notable to them. We are looking however for coverage of all of them, as we are not giving you just permission to play this one warrior character, but any other characters that may come up in the future, such as a Dominian or Mictlani or pirate. Showing us that you know the species' themes also shows us you would be ready to tackle other character concepts like these once you have a whitelist.

The second is your administrative history. I'm not going to go in-depth on it here, but to summarize, we do feel that with the strong sense of honor and warrior culture Unathi have, it can lend itself easily to powergaming. There is concern that playing a strong warrior character will lead to poor play as a result. The whitelist is a show of trust that we not only believe you know the lore, but can represent it meaningfully.

As per the lore team rules and regulations, I'm outlining a period of one month until you can reapply again, which will end November 8th. The purpose for this is to both look for any improvement in behavior regarding powergaming, but to also give you time to identify the themes of the species and weave them into your character's backstory, as well as update other parts of the application if your feelings change on any of the questions. You're welcome to reapply with the same character or make a new one, and bring any questions you have to the lore discord.

Application denied.