NGGJamie - Thei-De Na'Tauk (Death Salute)

[NGGJamie]

Byond ID:
NGGJamie

Marine Name (so we know who you are; if you play alien mostly, state that here):
Leonard (Synthetic) / Lenny 'Harm' Shaw

Name of the character you want whitelisted (The name your predator will use. This must match your in-game predator name):
Thei-De Na'Tauk

Are you familiar with the Predator Code Of Honor?
Yes, similarly to my Synthetic app I will break down my understanding into a non-comprehensive list.
1. Predators may only hunt worthy prey, as in prey who serve a notable threat when fought. In most cases this is combat caste xenomorphs of sufficient upgrade or the Queen, and armed uninjured marines to name a couple.
2. Worthy prey may become un-worthy by a few methods, including retreating from honorable combat, healing in honorable combat, accepts assistance, steal Yautja tech, low RP, and any who attack the Lodge.
3. Yautja may never kill each other, except in an honor duel.
4. Innocent prey may not be hunted, including those pregnant, ill, not suited for combat(via disability or by being a non-combat role), or injured except if injured during honorable combat. This may change if the individual engages the Predator, depending on if they do so in a way that makes them worthy.
5. It is a great offense to take another's rightful kill.
6. Anyone who defeats a Yautja is considered [the Yautja's] equal, and their victory must be announced.

Character background (An ADEQUATE description and story of your predators background):
The Na'Tauk clan was always known in circles of Yautja society as the clan that always took part in, and often assisted in arranging honor ceremonies for fallen brothers and sisters after a hunt. They believe in the immortalizing of great actions performed through time by preserving the old visor recordings that they can obtain, and performing their ceremonies for particularly accomplished or honorable Yautja who they feel should be particularly remembered. Within this clan was a pup that would later come to be named Thei-De Na'Tauk for his particular obsession with watching the visor recordings of the Yautja who died, speaking at length about them later sometimes to a point of annoyance for his peers and clanmates.

As he spent his days watching these recordings, he envisioned a day when his fateful battle might come to give him the chance, as well, to earn his immortalization by the brothers and sisters of his clan. Thoughts racing through his mind as to what kind of battle would earn his honor, or show him his end. Would he prove victorious against a serpent queen in a spectacular show of skill, or would he fall after working his way through most of a hive only to fall to the hive's Praetorian before his final ultimate victory? He knew that it wouldn't be likely he would accomplish such things, very few Yautja did and the ones who accomplished the feat went on to become Elites and Elders later in life. While many of his peers were overconfident, he kept a realistic outlook on how hard a hunt can be, and studied thoroughly the techniques and strategies of those that came before him. He would use these to his advantage when his time to hunt would come.

After years of training and watching the videos that he adored, seeing many like him perish on their respective trial day; he was taken with two other un-blooded to the temple on Ryushi where many hunters over time had lost their lives for a chance at honor for themselves and their clan while others returned as victorious Blooded hunters. He didn't have much time to admire the pyramid shape and outward decorations depicting legendary hunters of old before the Elder led him and his brothers to the door. He stepped in with the two other unblooded Yautja, the door slid shut behind them as they entered with only three pathways left available in front of them. The hunters gave cursory glances at each other, and sprinted into each one's respective path where they would face off against a serpent with only the most basic of equipment, hopefully coming out alive and honorable. Yet another door slid shut behind Thei-De Na'Tauk as he entered the chamber which would hold his fate. At his time of entering, the chamber was empty; only black walls of a cylindrical room decorated with the marks of claws, acid, and failed swings with weapons of previous battles surrounded him with a flat ceiling approximately 5 meters above. He switched his visor to serpent vision, and within a few moments a door in front of him opened up revealing his opponent.

A serpent drone, it's carapace showing it's advanced maturity comes into the room slowly at first, hissing at the hunter and snapping it's inner jaw in an attempt to intimidate him. This wasn't to great effect as even a hunter on their first hunt has more pride than to be fearful of their prey, and this hunter had seen many hunts involving the serpents through the eyes of his past fellow brothers. He roared in return as he extended his wristblades and charged his opponent. He knew upon doing this that the first thing the serpent would most likely do would be to lash with it's sharp tail and was met with exactly that, the hunter avoided the tail's bladed end just barely, grazing the beast's smooth crest with a wristblade before the tail whipped back and hit him hard across the chest. The hit definitely hurt and the creature was strong, but the Yautja aren't so weak as to be impeded by such a blow. Using the rare chance, the hunter grasped the tail and spun the creature, throwing it against the most nearby wall as it let out a scream upon impact. It was quick to recover and now highly angered, the hunter watched it carefully as it climbed up the wall it had just hit, making it's way above Thei-De Na'Tauk on the ceiling before pouncing down upon him.

The hunter had seen this coming when the serpent began to climb, it was well known that this prey held no fear and it certainly would not retreat to the ceiling from something so minor. Despite his best attempts to dodge, the creature still landed upon him with amazing dexterity in it's jump, but the hunter's bladed hand was still free. He avoided several hits to the head from it's tail before stabbing it through the bottom of it's head with a wristblade, ending the serpent's life as he threw it off before it's acidic blood could reach him. The fight done, he wicked the blood off of his wristblade before retracting them and withdrew his hunting knife. He removed his mask before cutting off the end of the serpent's tail, and using the acid to forever mark himself on the forehead as a newly Blooded Yautja, placing the very same mark at the top of his mask.

When the other predators had finished their hunts, the doors back into the main chamber were opened, and only one brother stepped back out; the other door remained sealed before an Elite Yautja went in to dispatch the other unblooded Yautja's victorious opponent. The very same coming back out with the body of the fallen Unblooded brother, Yeyin Na'Tauk, and took him to the ship for him to be later honored for dying to a worthy opponent. As the ship headed back with the two newly Blooded Yautja, Thei-De Na'Tauk visited the room of his fallen brother, kneeling to one knee with his mask off, and his head facing downward in respect to honor his fallen comrade.

How do you intend to play your predator (as in, describe HOW you will act/play your predator)?
I want to play a predator that outwardly shows a high regard for the achievements of other Yautja, and even members of other species that may be considered equal to Yautja if they should be victorious in honorable combat. As the name and story implies, this is further exaggerated when honoring one of the above that have died in combat. This can manifest in-game in a number of ways and I may think of more later, but they run along the lines of performing actions to honor fallen predators in-game, showing praise and great regard for predators who are successful in a hunt, and maybe occasionally observing other predators in combat while remaining cloaked at a distance that is out of the way so as to not interrupt the duel. Should I come across a dead un-detonated predator, I will show some proper respect for that predator before detonating his bracer for him (if this is possible, I'm not actually sure if it is) or by taking him back to a more respectful area so he can be honored later. I have no problem roleplaying alone for the entertainment of the ghosts, and to keep up my character's quirks in this regard. The possibility of holding more formal respects in an area such as the Lodge, or other safe place is not out of consideration and would be something I would have a lot of fun with on the occasions that it's plausible to do, due to his clan's involvement in such ceremonies on Yautja Prime.

As a side-effect from watching other Yautja's hunts, he is able to predict many opponents' next moves and react, or take advantage of them. However his knowledge and attempted mimicry of techniques he's seen others use is not perfect, and he often makes mistakes in his ability to perform those same moves which can sometimes put him into trouble; the result being he is forced to try to innovate with a different plan of action on-the-spot. His goal is to become immortalized just like those he has seen the viewpoints of for so many years.

Why should we whitelist you?
Behavior: I have never violated server rules or accumulated any notes in the span being in the community.
Reputation: While my Lenny character may not be well-known, my Synthetic character has been very popular and well-liked. I often receive compliments in OOC after games. I also like to think I'm fairly well liked in my respective timezone that I moderate by a good number of people. I attribute this in large to my frequent playing of Synthetic since the role came out.
Roleplay: I've done what I can in-game to try to start as much RP as possible. I have a love of roleplaying that stems from a love of writing, I try my best to create scenarios and act in such a way that would fit well in a proper story, with my characters having a three dimensional feel as being their own person that I keep consistent between rounds. As I stated in my Synthetic application where I believe I worded it best, "I generally do not try to put a spotlight on myself in-game and am content with being on the sidelines. That said, while I don't try to be super memorable by doing a great many memorable things, I try to have very real, meaningful interactions with the people I do encounter."

Have you been banned from CM in the last month for any reason (we will check, and lies may result in immediate denial)?
Never.

Are you currently banned from any other servers and if so, why?
Never.

Do you understand that any player - donor or otherwise - can have their whitelist status revoked should they break our rules or disobey the Predator Code of Honor?
I understand

[Mook476]

I love how well written this app is, and I can tell you've put a lot of time into it. I don't see a reason to deny you I like your play style it's unique in my opinion, and I also love the amount of effort put into your story. I've seen Lenny 'Harm' Shaw around a couple times, and I don't have any negative experiences with them. I'm certain that you can handle the role of Predator, and I hope to see you on the hunt. +1

[NethIafins]

Very good written app. I liked the "familiarity with honor code" part, and being moderator is always a plus on the "consistency" side.
The story is short (time-wise) but pretty good.

Definite +1 from me

[shyshadow]

Yup, definitely a good one. The one thing that concerns me is the hunting style. It's not "Unique" in a sense which is hunting, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be accepted. You're probably a good egg, and being "Unique" when it comes to hunting isn't necessary as long as you do it right in my opinion and your character has personality. One thing I'd like to add though, is how kinda normal it is to detonate a predator's bracer that wasn't able to before they died. And all that "honorable" shit, like they die and you just dishonor them because of that. Their honor is preserved through death, but whatever. +1

[NGGJamie]

Yup, definitely a good one. The one thing that concerns me is the hunting style. It's not "Unique" in a sense which is hunting, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be accepted. You're probably a good egg, and being "Unique" when it comes to hunting isn't necessary as long as you do it right in my opinion and your character has personality. One thing I'd like to add though, is how kinda normal it is to detonate a predator's bracer that wasn't able to before they died. And all that "honorable" shit, like they die and you just dishonor them because of that. Their honor is preserved through death, but whatever. +1

It might make a little more sense if I explain the thought process that led up to exactly why my Predator is written the way it is.

Originally I was going to go with a name from the Observer/Watcher clan, but upon double-checking I noticed that someone already started it but didn't want to lose the idea for the gimmick that I had. After a bit of thought and a couple hours of writing, it became what it is now where instead of one strong quirk, you have some causation and the related effects.

The original idea was a Yautja that learned techniques by watching others hunt, then copied those in his hunts. When I saw the Na'Tauk name, I changed that idea up and mixed it in with a more ceremony-related background, where the Yautja grew up Saluting, or sending off, deceased Yautja after their hunts have ended and growing an obsession with watching visor recordings. Because of his obsession with those recordings, he naturally copies techniques he's seen used in them to varying levels of success, often failure due to inexperience. Neither of these traits are intended to be overwhelming, but they are intended to be enough to be unique and give him personality at the same time, is the aim. What I wish to do is gauge the average in-game predator's honor toward others, then exaggerate that once I establish a baseline.

The story is written to reflect what I want to see out of playing the role. At the risk of sounding like a cliché at this point, the emphasis I'm trying to place is not on the Hunt, but the things that happen around the Hunt. I believe imbuing those interactions with personality is just as important as a good hunt if not more. That isn't to say that I don't see the hunting as important, it is indeed the main event and spotlight of the role and why the Predators are there in the first place. While Space Station 13 provides an excellent platform for unique combat, I don't feel that in the case of my character making the combat itself unique is the best path. From a marine or xenomorph perspective and remaining mindful of the very vulnerable nature of Yautja in-game, I believe I can inch enough roleplay in to be unique from their perspective even though most of my character will show through to other Yautja much more.

[Feweh]

More feedback required.

[Adralimas]

Jamie's a damn good roleplayer in my eyes and i've always had good interactions with em anytime he rolls up a synthetic so i have no doubt in my mind he'll add a great flavor of roleplay into the ranks of the Yautja. The predator story looks pretty good to me too!, I'de love to see em join the ranks of the Yautja Blooded so this'll be a definite +1 from me!

[Stotch]

I sure don't carry much weight in this community yet, in fact this is my first forum post.

1. It's a nice read, holding interestingly true to the Young Blood trials from a comfortable and clean perspective that made me read on.
2. I've met this player as Leonard, and they sure left an impression on me beyond the usual low-mid range RP you can get in the heightened state of panic and excitement during a round with the USCM.
3. I've read less cleanly written applications that have passed, amidst my research of Predators in this game.

+1 I'de see this player performing well as a Predator in my naive perspective.

[Renomaki]

Well, for one, I can see you put a lot into this app, so that shows some promise.

While your playstyle isn't too special, I like how you take notice of the ghosts that may be watching. I too like to try and express my thoughts out loud for them, if only to entertain or give context to my actions and keep them in the loop, rather than being utterly silent. Sometimes the best RP is done by oneself. A predator is as much an actor as it is an antag, and I recall some great moments of RP in the past, both on my own and with fellow predators.

I am willing to welcome you aboard if the staff deem you worthy, but do keep in mind that it isn't as easy as one would assume. You will suffer disappointment, frustration, even lots of salt.. But in the event you get that ONE good round, it will be a memorable one that'll last the ages.

[NGGJamie]

keep in mind that it isn't as easy as one would assume. You will suffer disappointment, frustration, even lots of salt.. But in the event you get that ONE good round, it will be a memorable one that'll last the ages.

This is why my character doesn't have any super unique fancy perks. Some marines, possibly even xenos might appreciate my presence and chill for some RP to know my character better. However I'm very much aware that most will not, and most marines will just say "unga me want kill braids man", where as xenos will see a potential Predalien, or just want me dead anyway. I felt the best thing to do would be to not write things in a way that locks in my exact playstyle when it comes to hunting to allow me variety in play, while adding more passive quirks via personality.

I can't quite quantify at this moment the exact level of common honor between hunters, or between hunters and prey or victorious prey in-game, however the intent is to take what level of honor most people play and essentially be the extreme of that. A character that short of hunting a specific target, goes out of their way to show honor, with a weird focus on death being mildly present making him somewhat off-putting to his peers. If one of his fellow hunters dies, he's going to react in some way to that if he can. I gave some examples, but this can extend further to corpse-less ceremonies on the ship/in the lodge, speaking at length about them to other hunters, meditation related to their honor, the list goes on. A large part of his perceived honor is his honoring of others, because that's the sort of clan he grew up in.

To summarize, The character may be simple, and may not be a snowflake like many applications tend to go toward. However they are written to reflect the very real limits on Predator RP placed by others who are more interested in saying they killed one rather than who the Predator is. The simplicity of the quirk makes the character easier to roleplay in situations like combat, where interaction is minimal and the character itself can easily be lost for a period of time. While in more longform situations allowing me to cut loose with who they are to a greater degree, putting in those levels of complexity where they are needed instead of trying to cram them in where they can't be. The driving idea is that there is no point in writing a complex quirk to a character if that quirk isn't feasible to maintain in real play as much as humanly possible.

[MisforMaster2005]

10/10 would read again

With all due seriousness though, I've never even seen your character but the way you wrote this makes me know,
"This guy, is good," so you have my support.

btw +1

[GoliathTheDespoiler]

Ah, good ol' Leonard. Fond memories of you, buddy. Fantastically well written application as well. If it weren't 11 at night I'd give it a more extensive read w/ feedback but to be honest I really can't.

HOWEVER, I have seen your Synth plenty of times and I believe you'd be a great addition to the Predators. I look forward to rping with you, Jaimie!
+1

[GoliathTheDespoiler]

I felt the best thing to do would be to not write things in a way that locks in my exact playstyle when it comes to hunting to allow me variety in play, while adding more passive quirks via personality.

Good news: You don't have to follow your playstyle to the letter if you get accepted. It's the same deal w/ COs and (I think) synths. If you get bored of using the same tactics and gear, you can change things up.

It's still very clever of you to focus your playstyle description on your RP, lets you flesh out your character in your head as well as, even though its not necessary, prevents you from being tied down to one combat style.

[Carlos]

Love the amount of effort involved, and I'd expect nothing less coming from Jamie. I've personally seen his roleplay style with Leonard, and it's absolutely fantastic. I have no doubt he'd do a wonderful job with this role and I'm interested to see what he'll bring to the table.

+1

[Symbiosis]

Leonard is great. Players RP is top tier and I think he'd make a great addition to the Hunt!

[Lumdor]

Read your story, was extremely well put together! Seems you've been waiting a while for a denied application or accepted application; either way I'll give you my +1. Know in my heart that you'll do better than most of the already whitelisted predators.

Good luck!

[Feweh]

More feedback required.

[spartanbobby]

Apps really well made, I've seen you RP pretty good as a tin can and you're a pretty solid dude
+1

[Ghostdex]

There isn't much to say that everyone else hasn't said already, the app is solid. You have my +1.

[Robotic Potato]

App is solid, seen alot of good RP from you. +1

[Feweh]

Accepted. good synth player.