Icedcabbage - Unathi Application

[icedcabbage]

BYOND Ckey: Icedcabbage
Discord username: icedcabbage
Character names:
Dennis Linton (formally)
Asher (formally)
Elliot Keles (formally)
Taylor Morgan (tragically)
Zilrq Kir'Hular
(I have played many more, but this group best describes my RP style)
Species you are applying to play: Unathi
------------------------------ General Whitelist Requirements
What colour do you plan on making your first alien character?:
Teht Mint (Green), mostly due to the region of Moghes this character is from, also its a nice color.
Have you read the lore pages for the species you wish to be whitelisted for?:
 Yes! I wish I read it earlier, Unathi lore is very cool!
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 species?:
After the loss of my mainly played character, Taylor Morgan, I was at a bit of an impasse. I had a lot of character ideas floating in my head, but I couldn't find the spark to write them into existence. I wanted to find that spark again, a drive to make me want to start fresh and make something new. I think I found that in Unathi lore, everything is so new and interesting, from the faiths to their (admittedly) very interesting takes on the ideas of gender and honor to even the region itself it is all so bursting with possibilities. By the end of my reading, I had so many ideas that the hardest part was choosing what I wanted to do first! 
What makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a human?:
The main difference to me is capturing the feel of Unathi! All of the physical displays and mannerisms is very different than your average human. Unathi don't laugh, they bark. When agitated, an Unathi may stomp their tail to display that! I mean this is a cold-blooded species, the constant swaying that may be seen as borderline awkward is just reality of existing. Capturing the feel of Unathi in all these little /me actions is a beautiful way of showing all that. This doesn't even scrape the finer points of fluidity of Unathi gender, being a display of not what you are but what you do. This also builds into the importance of the Unathi clan, such a major part of Unathi life is in service to their clan, from who they marry to the work that they do! These nuances are not only endearing to read and write but they are part of would make Unathi very interesting to roleplay in my mind, and yes, very different from your average human.
------------------------------ Character Application Character Name: Lezde Raskinac - Hanger Technician
Write a backstory for your character. This may include their origin, education, personality and how they arrived to the SCCV Horizon. (2 paragraphs minimum)
Like many others native to the Southlands of Moghes, Lezde Raskinac hatched near the coast of the Moghresian Sea. A good omen to the rural fisher clan who made their living by aquaculture, who's very lifeblood relied on what fish they could provide from themselves and the noble lord who reigned over them. A better omen still was the year, 2449, and with it the long-awaited end of the Contact War, who's blade had carved countless scars into the people of Moghes and countless more to the world itself. Yes, truly this hatching had the favor Zrisre, but as this hatchling grew, their very existence was on quicksand. Lezde was young, they did not understand the reasons behind the Contact War nor the growth of the wastes that bordered their clan's home, but they did understand the smell. The smell of rotting orszi, the illness that came from whatever chunks of fish Lezde managed to eat. Their home was poisoned or by some ill-deed the attention Illisk was bought, it did not matter, their clan's life was decaying away before Lezde could ever truly taste it. Poor, starving, homeless, the Raskinac clan did what most did, they went to the city and offered their claws to the Guilds. Lezde was eight.

The city of Teht was swarmed with refugees escaping a similar fate, a times there was still not enough food, and the large influx of people made their menial labor worth very little. Yet the Raskinac clan persisted, and Lezde grew. However, the more they grew, the more discontent they became. It hardly seemed fair that that their ancestors allowed this, and unathi ate well if their name was Eizde. One Fisher's Day, the Raskinac clan managed to put aside enough pay to manage a day off and a meagre feast to boot. In truth the 'feast' was orszi with some choice spices, but in Lezde's mouth it might as well have been charcoal. Lezde made their excuses and wandered into the city with only light-spun cloak to enjoy the festivities and chase Salira's tail. Three hours later, Lezde returned clutching a choice bottle of Sarezhi Wine and a few broken scales courtesy of the Watch. The bemusement of the Raskinac clan, Lezde 'Lightclaw' was born. 

As more years passed. Lezde's antics grew bolder. Lezde was sly and had a certain low cunning, and bemusement of the clan morphed to ire, as their name acrued more and more mud. Then, the Titan rose. The guild the Raskinac clan relied on for pay was bankrupt and their savings were modest at best. Change was coming, and Lezde thought this might be their chance to lead the Raskinac clan into the future. Everything felt so close, and then Hephaestus came, and the Raskinac clan wore cloaks of green and gold. Lezde's foolery could be tolerated no longer with their new employer, they were not a hatchling, they were sixteen, an adult. A choice was given, stay and bow their head, or go and lose their name, and Lezde stayed. Lezde learned to write well and read better. They helped with inventories, packaged boxes, loaded vessels. at the command of his betters, they learned Basic, without uttering as much as a complaint. Years passed, yet still the memory of Lezde Lightclaw was not forgotten, perhaps in part to give them an opportunity to remittance, or perhaps just to be rid of them, when an opportunity for off-world work arose, Lezde was given it. A job, in a place they didn't know of, on a ship they never heard of. Free from the watchful eyes of their clan, Lezde took to the stars, the rest of their story left to write.

How has the recent events of the Orion Spur impacted your character? Events such as the Phoron Scarcity, the Solarian Collapse or even the Invasions of Biesel for interstellar-wide affairs, while region-specific events such as the Peacekeeper Mandate, The Titan Rises or even Cold Dawn may impact your character. (1 paragraph minimum)
The events of the Titan Rises are obviously the catalyst of for the character existing. Without it, they would presumably spend their days working as a menial laborer for the Guilds or perhaps dipping their name into mud with even more acts of thievery. Under Hephaestus though, they have an opportunity to grow, to make a place for themselves, or perhaps become the worse depending on how things go, if the worst excesses of their character shine through. I imagine the Phoron Scarcity itself is what brought them to the Horizon, filling the manifest slot as the menial work of the Operations department.
How does your character view the megacorporation they work for? (1 paragraph minimum)
Very conflicted. In part yes, Hephaestus did give them an opportunity, training, education, sure. However, Lezde does feel cheated a little, a small part of their brain blames Hephaestus for 'ousting' even if it is probably the better thing to happen to them. Time will tell if these feelings change and morph into a begrudging or if their nickname will still ring true, even in space. Lezde understands though they cannot mess this up or at least cannot get caught without severe consequences. 

[Captain Gecko]

Hey there! Great stuff, I really appreciate the character on my end. I just got one question... What about faith?

Spirituality is quite important to Unathi after all! And though it may not play a big role in Lezde's backstory, but I imagine they still have a religion of some kind to follow- I imagine you just forgot to mention it, you seem to have a good grasp of the lore in any case... So- What's religion does Lezde follow? How important is it to them? Anything else noteworthy on that spiritual side?

[icedcabbage]

Hello, I am very excited to expand on Lezde's faith!

Lezde begun their life in the rural land beyond Teht, uncomfortably close to the growing wasteland. Lezde's young upbringing was under Th'akh, with the pantheon of the River Court being all Lezde would know of Zyola that rule the spirit world. However, as Lezde grew and their clan in turn decayed, they are constantly left to wonder the point behind the suffering. Their village's shaman in their wisdoms would say that this is the flow of time, that growth must be followed by decay, it is the way the river flows, a winding cycle. Some part of Lezde though, a small part, whispered that this is the consequence for what Lezde is, that their very nature brought this on their clan. Perhaps these thoughts played into their small obsession with the idea of Salira, a zyola fickle to some, but to Lezde that fickleness was a freedom. The freedom to steal with one claw yet give with the other. A freedom their circumstances often denied. With their introduction to the city of Teht as refugees though, the blend of cultures inevitably brought them in contact with those of Sk'akh. Parts may have been appealing to Lezde in one way or another, but the rules, the order of it all, the doctrines all made Lezde chuff. They would not worship like that, but the experience did lead to a bit of religious pragmatism forming, especially with the growing Si'akh population in the slums of Teht. Infact, Lezde would acquire a bit of a soft spot for their firebrand companions, even as Lezde would heckle their beliefs. Even as they grew older, the fickleness seems to have stuck. As Lezde prepared to leave for space, they thought on how silly it was to be pushed from their home with one claw and given a chance among the stars with the other. Atleast, the zo'zyola that danced around them were as arbitrary as ever.

Lezde is Th'akh Unathi, with a bit of flair courtesy of their upbringing in the Southlands. Although this makes up an important part of who they are, their believes are unrefined, and even a bit contradictory at times. But I feel that makes it all the more beautiful! Fitting for the kind of person Lezde is.

[Lent23]

Welcome to the best species on the Horizon. I look forward to seeing what you do with a sinta character!!