Evandorf - Unathi Deputy Lore Writer Application

[Evandorf]

Ckey/BYOND Username: Evandorf

Position Being Applied For (Wiki Maintainer, Lore Developer, Deputy Lore developer): Deputy Lore Writer

Have you read the Lore Team Rules and Regulations wiki page?: Yes

Past Experiences/Knowledge: I'm not sure how to answer this. I have no "real" experience with writing. That is, any situation in which I would consider my work to be published as a professional or amateur. In my day job I do plenty of reports, emails, tech writing, ect. I'm capable of putting together a string of words in correct, grammatical fashion, but only once or twice have I ever attempted creative writing. Of course, it depends on your definition. I've got plenty of in-character reports, correspondence, and bulletin posts floating around the forums and discord. Writing in an IC voice seems like a bit of a crutch but it's the bulk of what I have available to show basic competency. Some of the older stuff causes me to cringe too painfully to share here but I'll provide what I can stand. In a nutshell,I feel like I can do work that's necessary and learn from more experienced lore team members but have a distinct lack of material to show.

Examples of Past Work:

The majority of what I have to share are posts from an in-character perspective.

This one is in regards to work I plan to continue as consular.

https://forums.aurorastation.org/topic/21397-a-chronicle-of-horizon-history

This one is an IC appeal to be reinstated as HoS after IR action.

https://forums.aurorastation.org/topic/18399-accepted-suvek-tokash-07012465-appeal/

This one is a bit longer and involves creating a research initiative to benefit the Moghes wasteland.

https://forums.aurorastation.org/topic/21340-wasteland-restoration-and-revitilization-collaborative-research-initiative/

I have a number of reports from my work in CCIA but most of that I can't share. I do however have forms and reports that I created as an Idris Rep for audits and reviews. These show more my ability to make something visually pleasing (IMO) rather than just plain text. What I've made available is a template; completed forms have too much information of other players' characters to share.

Template.pdf

And I also have other, older, attempts at writing character stories. Most I can't really stand reading anymore but I'll provide one from Tokash's origin. He was originally a long-term D&D character of mine and when he died I felt the urge to write him an epilogue.
 

Spoiler

The waters of the sea shone and reflected the star flecked sky. The perpetual twilight was not what he expected but the sound of the sea was somewhat calming. Tokash stood gazing across the endless expanse of water before him where his wandering had stopped abruptly some days ago.

Was it only days?
Time was strange here and it could have been days...
Or years...
Or Eons...

He knew he had died. Though there were gaps in his knowledge he knew that the Silver Sea was the outer border and lowest level of Mount Celestia where Lord Bahamut made his home. Here at the shore were citadels of polished white stone, towers of alabaster, and beautiful fountains shining in the starlight. He could eat and drink if he wished, though he wasn't sure if it was strictly necessary. If he traveled away from the beach, through the gates and up the mountain he would come to further gates and further mountains, climbing and climbing, until eventually he would see Bahamut's Palace itself. Whereupon he would enter in and forever be lauded and acknowledged as one of the few who overcame their nature; if he could only pass the gates. He had tried but one of the caretakers of the first spire had wordlessly turned him away as he approached. Yet even though he was apparently relegated to this lower level he felt he could stay here for eternity. And it worried him.

The desire, the drive, had left him. His compulsion to prove himself, to vindicate his actions and to show that he was RIGHTEOUS and JUST, and to show that it was not vain pride but real and true fact that he was worthy of the esteem he demanded; that compulsion was gone. The feeling left him both relieved and empty. He thought back to his adopted parents and adopted clan. He thought back to his long training in service to the Temple but some aspect of this place put him at ease and suppressed any thoughts of past obligations or regrets. He thought of his betrothal and Iklasa. He thought of Sokli and how he had hated him. He could clearly see him lying on his back, in the dirt, eyes filled with loathing before he died. Tokash thought of all these things but only the memory of emotion touched his heart.

Then he thought of his own death. He thought of his allies and the dangers he had left them to face alone. A small pang of regret managed to surface. He cursed himself for his hubris and looked again into the calming waters of the sea. He closed his eyes and, for possibly the first time in many years, offered a prayer to Lord Bahamut not for justice or righteous fury but for the protection of others. When he had finished and looked out again into the sea he saw two bright silver eyes starring back where only the familiar umber eyes had been before.

Include answers to the following questions in your app as well:

1. What other skills do you have that can assist the team? (I.e. Coding, Spriting, Mapping, etc.)

I have middling talent in a number of things. I have a working understanding of the code and have provided some contributions to the server. I've done a small amount of spriting as well, mostly for my own custom items and a few guild flags. I've done a bit of mapping and created off-ships like the unathi fishing trawler. I also feel like I've got a fairly level head and I'm easy to work with.

2. What is one section of Unathi lore that you want to expand, and what would you do to expand it? 

I think the history of the Unathi could use some texture. I'm not saying historically anything is missing from the record, but I feel like there needs to be clearer markings of when the soul of the race broke. I think people look at Moghes aligned Unathi pre-nukes and post-nukes and see very few differences. Implementation would be a tricky thing as news articles are usually about current events and the wiki pages are more informative and dry. But what I would hope to achieve is to show just how the war and subsequent climate crisis might really have shattered the illusion of strength that bluster and saber-rattling carried before the bombs dropped.

3. What is one section of Unathi lore that you want to remove or rework, and how would you go about it?

I'm not sure that there is one thing you could point to and say "that needs to change" in order to tackle to issues I have. It's more of a combination of many different things, but I'm tired of people only seeing Unathi as blood thirsty and savage. Aggressive? Sure. Do they possibly care WAY too much about honor from a human perspective? Very likely, but they're still an intelligent species that achieved spaceflight even before first contact. This is obviously not just a lore problem, it has to be addressed at the IC in-game level as well, but I feel like changes in tone could also go a long way.

4. What do you think is missing from Unathi lore?

To go back to my answer to number 2, I feel like there's a lack of connection with actual people in Unathi history. Most of what we see are state officials posturing or state-sponsored news outlets reporting on the posturing. It makes sense that in that context you wouldn't get anything that might show vulnerability or a "human connection" to the people involved but I would like to have other perspectives as well.

5. What aspect of Unathi lore interests you the most? What would you like to work on the most?

I've always been most interested in Moghes, it's culture, the climate crisis and how it affects and changes the Unathi that choose to remain or can't afford to leave. I would enjoy adding more depth into the political workings of the Hegemony both historically and moving forward. I've been reading a few different books on the history of the CIA and I feel like their ability to consistently get things wrong for half a century because of their preconceptions and unwillingness to appear weak could have some fun parallels in the Hegemony.

6. Propose a new group or faction of Unathi. Write 2-3 paragraphs about them.

Maintainer Communes

Several small, and somewhat nomadic, Aut'akh communes have sprouted throughout the the Coalition of Colonies. While many Aut'akh are technically proficient, the Maintainers excel at mechatronic repairs and robotics troubleshooting and manufacturing.  The clans are sustained by taking on repair contracts with anyone who can provide the supplies they need. For the most part, these are small colonies, companies, or other entities that don't mind hiring Aut'akh labor. During leaner times they sometimes rely on pirates and other extra-legal groups.

A small number of Maintainers have formed a tentative, symbiotic relationship with Golden Deep vessels. The Deep that agree to hire Maintainer technicians generally only do so after the Aut'Akh survive business dealings with pirates and other, more volatile, clients. Their ability to survive association with these groups is seen as competence and adherence towards self-preservation. Maintainers who are able to secure contracts with Deep ships find the arrangement preferable to the uncertainty of temporary work with the colonies of the Coalition and will remain on retainer in semi-permanent employment.

Additional Comments:

Let me know if you have any questions. I stayed up a little too late tonight creating this app so I might be missing some things or might have worded things poorly due to lack of sleep. I already had to re-post this since I put it in the wrong spot at first.

[Lent23]

Hi! First off, thank you for applying for the deputy position!

I've got a few additional questions for you:

1. How would you go about changing the "unga unathi are bloodthirsty savages" stereotype?

2. What would you do to create a connection with people in Unathi history? Can you give an example?

3. If you could work with any of the other lore teams on a cooperative project, which team would you pick, and what would you propose?

Overall, I really like your application, you guys are NOT making it an easy choice!

[Evandorf]

1. How would you go about changing the "unga unathi are bloodthirsty savages" stereotype?

My short answer is further investigating the contact war and then extrapolating on its causes, effects, and outcomes.

The longer answer is that we need to identify the primary markers in Unathi lore that people attach the stereotype to and work from there. A quick read of the general Unathi page would tell you that they are a stratified society, follow a strict feudal hierarchy, value martial prowess, and nuked themselves into an ecological crisis. All of these help perpetuate the image of savage lizards but a number of them are shared by races and and societies that do not suffer the same ignominy. The nuclear war is the race's most gripping and interesting event while also being a millstone around its neck.

In my initial app I mentioned that pre-nukes and post-nukes "Moghes aligned" Unathi don't contrast adequately to show the shift I believe needs to exist in the trajectory of the race. The contact war was catastrophic; it shattered old beliefs and systems that were failing in the presence of other races and it forced the survivors to confront the realities of survival on a stricken world. After the war's conclusion, referring to "Moghes aligned" Unathi generally refers to "Izweski aligned" Unathi. The Traditionalists have been pushed into the wastes or off-planet. Izweski ideals are now, more than ever, the predominant example of Unathi culture and most recent historical events show a progressive trend, e.g., restoration efforts to reclaim the wastes, elevating dionae in Unathi society, recruiting Unathi scientists branded once heretical, working with alien scientists and accepting alien resources and aid, closer ties with Hephaestus and the SCC, ect. I can see an argument to be made that all of the recent strides towards a more progressive Hegemony are mainly Not'zar's sentiment and not a shift in the overall culture but I would argue that Not'zar's ability to seize and retain the position of Lord Regent (and later Hegemon) is indicative of how the old ways of thought have lost the stranglehold they had on the Hegemony. I would push to show that Unathi have never adhered homogeneously to the existing "unga" stereotypes and that long-standing, pre-war societal systems prevented those like Not'zar from gaining any significant measure of leverage.

I can't, nor would I want to, remove or retcon the warrior spirit of the Unathi or their basic social structure. Instead, I want to show an intelligent and capable race that, having been smothered by its own societal dogma for centuries, is starting to flourish. Their growth and the recovery of the planet are intrinsically intertwined.

2. What would you do to create a connection with people in Unathi history? Can you give an example?

I've been thinking about how to approach this a lot recently and I like the idea of adding a personal perspective to historic events, but it's tricky to write something good from the perspective of someone experiencing those events while sticking to the established timeline and not simply rewriting a wiki article in the 1st person perspective. Using the contact war as an example, I think it would be interesting if, because of a shift in loyalties or the political climate, documents or court records became public that featured first person testimony of the people involved in the incident. This isn't too far removed from certain things we get in news articles on the forums now but the difference would be rather than an article being comprised mainly in the editorial voice with some choice third party quotes thrown in for context, something like a transcript leak could have full conversations in the time and historic context they originate from. A little like having government documents declassified decades after the fact. Sources may be known but narrators may be unreliable. Depending on circumstances, some details may be redacted. You can still craft a compelling narrative that connects you with the people involved while having the uncertainty of history still be present.

3. If you could work with any of the other lore teams on a cooperative project, which team would you pick, and what would you propose?

It would be interesting to work with the Diona team as the situation with Viridis continues to unfold. This could be just in articles but I also wouldn't mind a few more canon trips into the Moghresian wastes. Even though the exiles, raiders, and other undesirables in the wastes hold no real political power they're still a major issue to resolve before terraforming efforts can move further into those areas.

I also think renewed hostilities around Gakal'zaal could be interesting and would like putting some ideas down with the Tajaran team. The Hegemony was ousted due to the war on Moghes at the time but as they consolidate and the need for resources grows I can see them eyeing a planet on their borders. 

[Captain Gecko]

You guys are TOO GOOD! Stop being so good you're making this hard on us!!! (I'm joking of course, right?)

Anyways, have some general and not-so general questions, hopefully your answers will help us figure who will be the ONE AND ONLY to rise up and join the team. And if you're not chosen, well at least know that you've made this very hard on us because this is as close as it gets so far between you two applying. anyways.

1) What is the best strength a (deputy) lore writer can have?

2) What the worst flaw a (deputy) lore writer can have?

3) You've probably figured this out since you play at least one alien species- the Unathi-, but Aurora has an arguably very cool take on aliens, where they are not just people with different skins. Unathi are not just people with scales, nor do they just differ in culture from Humans, but they have their own biology, their own mindset- often influenced by their nature- their own natural habits, etc. They are aliens. What would you do, put in your writing, or anything else to make sure that the playerbase keeps this in mind? Or perhaps you actually think we should make the Unathi more relatable and not more alien, in which case, do justify yourself!

[Evandorf]

1) What is the best strength a (deputy) lore writer can have?

Lore writers are not isolated but part of a team; not just within their scope but also in collaboration with the other species' lore teams. You have a measure of authority over your own area but you should never use that as an excuse to dismiss others' opinions out of hand. I think an ability to self-reflect, incorporate the ideas of others, and take legitimate criticism while also being able to recognize and preserve the core concepts you want to incorporate in your work is the most important ability you can have in this environment.

2) What the worst flaw a (deputy) lore writer can have?

Given my first answer, it would be easy to say that the worst flaws are the characteristics of a narcissist but I think that holds true for most levels of staff and not just lore writers. That being the case I think that one of the other worst flaws you can have as a lore writer is a fear of failure or fueling your work with a need for validation. Both are two sides of the same coin and can diminish the quality of your work and make you seem unreliable. That's not to say that you shouldn't strive to do the best work possible, only to know when you've moved from improving your art to stifling it.

3) What would you do, put in your writing, or anything else to make sure that the player-base keeps this in mind? Or perhaps you actually think we should make the Unathi more relatable and not more alien, in which case, do justify yourself!

I agree that alien behavior and interaction would be more interesting the more distinct it is from humanity. However, the races we have in our lore exist on spectrum of human-like to alien and races like the Unathi, Tajara, and Skrell are closer to the former, but even the Vaurca, Dionae, and synthetics still live a very "humanoid" existence; so much so that no real great lengths need be taken to adapt the ship to alien physiology with such a diverse crew. Couple that with the fact that the players, being human, always tend to inject themselves into the characters and the end result is that we do end up seeing "humans with scales" or "humans with fur" on the server. It's a difficult challenge to tackle from a lore standpoint because unless you were to somehow implement mechanical limitations for a race (which is a double edged sword) you're at the whims of the players as to how accurately they represent the race they play.

I spoke earlier in my app about creating a connection with Unathi history and expanded upon that stating a less dry, first person, account of events could help achieve that but in the same stroke you could be demonstrating real-life examples of the mannerisms that are listed somewhat clinically in the wiki. My personal experience with Unathi expressions such as tail thumping, chuffing, exposing the neck, ect. is that I only ever really got a good feel for how it should be done by seeing examples of it in the wild and then I was much more likely to do it myself and I hope, in turn, other players were bolstered by my example. If we don't showcase the specific and cultural markers in our writing it becomes easier for the players to let it fall by the wayside as well.

[Lent23]

Hi Evandorf!

We're picking You for our deputy! Congratulations!

You and Hawk left us in a week long debate and have genuinely caused me stress on having to pick just one of you for the deputy spot. I think you both have great ideas, and I look forward to your contributions in the lore mines while I sit upon my golden throne watching from above.

Welcome to the staff team.