Byond ID
Edda
Marine Name
As a marine, I have taken several names, usually retiring each one after a significant death. Previous names include Ibb Sands, Ambros Castellvi, Nanno van Aulen, and Ediz Melitine. Now I am playing as Miro Janosevic. I am probably going to stick with Miro, because community recognition is somewhat important.
Most common roles are squad medic, squad engineer, and pilot officer. Secondary roles are squad specialist (typically scout), military police, and staff officer.
I also frequently play xenos. Unless told to otherwise by the queen, I aim for upgraded spitter or boiler.
Name of the character you want whitelisted.
Zazin Guan-thwei
zazin: completely centred/within oneself
Guan-thwei: Nightblood clan
Are you familiar with the Predator Code of Honor?
Yes. I have read through it multiple times. I am confident I can consistently and accurately uphold it.
Character Background
Bad Blood
► Show Spoiler
Zazin Guan-thwei sat in the main compartment of the Th'syra Vor'mekta, a stealthy starship reserved for the Tribune's special missions. Accompanying him are two elites of the Cetanu clan, Chiva and Dha-viath, exceptional warriors in their own rights. Zazin, an Apprentice Philosopher, would need their skills to execute the task given to him by the Tribune. The task, of course, being to kill the bad blood Tarei'hsan Ic'jit. Tarei'hsan's clan name was stripped and replaced by the moniker ic'jit, which forever marked him as a dishonorable yautja. Such was the Code.
In the main compartment one could hear the low hum of the starship's prototype antimatter pion engines. Zazin knew them well, for his mentor, Philosopher Luar-ke, was involved in their development. Zazin hoped he would one day contribute to the yautja fleet in a similar manner. In the meantime, the Tribune had seen fit to give him more practical duties. For this mission, he was expected to oversee the hunt of the bad blood and ensure it adheres to the Code. Zazin does not know how the Code could possibly be breached in this instance. After all, Tarei'hsan was a dishonorable prey. Any and every measure was available to Zazin and the Cetanu elites.
But one does not question the Tribune, and that is how Zazin found himself sitting across from Dha-viath, who was fiddling around with his gauntlet's controls.
"Philosopher," said Dha-viath, "come assist. My cloak is dysfunctional."
"Apprentice Philosopher," corrected Zazin, who nonetheless stood up and moved to check the elite's machinery. "There is no issue with the gauntlet." He turns his attention to Dha-viath's armor. "When was the last time you had this refitted?"
"Ten cycles past."
"The metamaterials are likely degraded and their resonance frequency is out of step." Zazin clicked his mandibles softly in disappointment. "We would have to return to the Jag'd'dja Atoll to get this fixed."
"You have always been careless with maintenance," said Chiva chidingly to his fellow elite.
"It is no matter," said Dha-viath. "Our quarry is no match." He puts his hand on Zazin's shoulder. "Thank you, Philosopher."
The engine's hum whined and grew silent. The starship was utterly still, and through the compartment's windows one could see the unfamiliar constellations of an alien solar system. The Th'syra Vor'mekta was now far from any yautja world.
"We are here," said Zazin.
Chiva stood, revealing his powerful, heavily muscled frame. A second later, Dha-viath stood as well, and he was just as large and imposing. These two were elites, no doubt. They could probably go toe-to-toe with a kiande amedha queen. In fact, they would have had to, to achieve their status within their clan. Zazin wondered what his life would have been like had he chosen the path of the warrior instead of the path of the philosopher.
"The hunt begins," said Chiva.
The Hunt
► Show Spoiler
Chiva had opted to take the lead and Dha-viath remained at Zazin's side. It was a matter of their clan's honor, that the warrior must protect the philosopher, even a philosopher from a different clan. Zazin had no doubt Dha-viath would die before letting his charge come to harm.
Through the planet's dunes of blue sand the trio moved. Here the air was toxic and the sandstorms, immense and powerful but short in duration, were irradiated. Fortunately, the yautja armors' atmospherics did a fine job of keeping them fit for duty.
To Zazin, Chiva's chosen path looked effectively random, given how nondescript the landscape was and how few landmarks there were. The elite often stopped and scanned the horizon, however, and moved with a certain deliberateness, betraying that where Zazin saw no discernible geographic features, Chiva found enough to easily navigate the alien world.
Within a few hours, they found a nondescript hut made of thin iron sheets, shabbily cobbled together, sticking out in the predominantly blue landscape.
"Must be it," said Dha-viath.
Zazin did not bother concealing his surprise. "Exceptionally fast work, elite. In fact, I cannot fathom how you tracked this place in this awful terrain."
Chiva's mandibles clicked together rapidly. Laughter. "I simply watched the storms' paths over the land and found the spot most sheltered from them."
"Our quarry likes his comfort," said Dha-viath. He unslung his large, military-grade plasma rifle. "Philosopher, since our target is dishonorable prey, the Code allows us to terminate him with heavy weaponry."
"Correct," said Zazin.
Chiva drew his scimitar. "Let's go, clan brother. Philosopher, you stay here in safety. Use your cloak."
Mercy
► Show Spoiler
The hut's doors were thrown open and a yautja staggered out. Zazin recognized the yautja immediately: It was the bad blood, Tarei'hsan.
Tarei'hsan limped. His armor was tattered and padded over with thick strips of loose cloth. His wrist blades were chipped and bent.
"Adjudicators," said Tarei'hsan in a deep voice. "Before you kill me, I have one last request."
The two elites clicked their mandibles in bemusement but did not attack.
"My crimes," said Tarei'hsan, "have plagued my sleep for the last hundred cycles. I know now I will never be at rest unless I am punished for them. I accept that I will die. I just hope it will be as a yautja and not as an ic'jit. I... I want to know honor again. I wish to die in a duel."
"Philosopher," said Chiva grimly, "this is your judgment to make."
Honor. It all came back to honor. Would the Tribune look kindly upon giving a bad blood the mercy of dying with it? Zazin did not know. The bad blood's punishment stipulated that he would have his clan name revoked. It seemed to Zazin that should preclude being able to die in an honorable duel. On the other hand, to be without honor was one of the worst fates a yautja could suffer. Most would rather die. Or, in this inverted case, one would ask if it was possible to partially redeem a yautja's honor by allowing him to die in a duel. Did the bad blood deserve to be allowed to die in such a manner?
"Chiva," said Zazin, "would you agree to fight the bad blood in an honorable duel?"
"Yes, Philosopher."
But I know his crimes, thought Zazin. As an unblooded, Tarei'hsan slew his clan elder with poison. Unthinkable. Were it Zazin's own clan elder who was slain in such a manner, Zazin was sure he would kill Tarei'hsan in a manner befitting such an unworthy bad blood. However, distanced as he was, Zazin knew that mercy was an important facet of the Code. And it would be merciful to allow the bad blood to die with some honor. Redemption.
Zazin nodded. "Fight with honor." Besides, it was not as if an unblooded stood a chance against an elite in a duel.
Dha-viath slung his rifle and he and Zazin watched as Chiva approached Tarei'hsan. Chiva readied his scimitar.
What happened next happened very quickly. Tarei'hsan approached, reaching out with his hands as if a gesture of respect, a prelude to the duel. Chiva too approached, to reciprocate the gesture, and in the intervening second, Tarei'hsan drew a plasma pistol concealed in his armor's haphazard strands of cloth and fired on Chiva.
Unprepared, and at such a close range, the elite fell, his blood spattered upon the blue sands.
Tarei'hsan turned his pistol on Dha-viath and Zazin. A shot was fired.
Dha-viath roared, dodging the incoming shot, drew his rifle in one quick motion, and ended the unworthy's life.
Tribune
► Show Spoiler
A large hall. A semicircular stone dais. Echoing voices, guttural, powerful. At the dais stood ten ancient yautja, one of them Luar-ke. These were the Tribune, the highest order of adjudicators. Across from the ancients were Zazin and Dha-viath.
"We lost an elite to an unworthy prey," said Luar-ke, "because you showed mercy where there was none to be afforded. Zazin, I am disappointed in you. However, your recollection of events, and that of the elite next to you, agree. Your honesty is noted."
Zazin looked to Dha-viath. He wondered if the elite blamed him for his clan brother's death. The elite probably did. Zazin felt a deep shame. To have another die for one's own mistakes was the very height of dishonor. Zazin knew he would accept whatever punishment that came.
"So, do you appreciate the magnitude of your error?" said Luar-ke. "Once a bad blood has been stripped of his clan name, he is forever unworthy. To allow him mercy, to allow him a duel... It is evidence of your poor understanding of where mercy belongs in the Code. Mercy and honor are intrinsically tied. There is no redemption. Indeed, mercy is but another facet of honor - that is, the honor of the worthy."
An ancient sitting next to Luar-ke spoke. "Chiva will be memorialized, but the circumstances of his death shall remain a bad memory for Clan Cetanu. However, Apprentice Zazin, you have shown no dishonor in your conduct. Thus you shall not be named a criminal, and your fate shall be left to the survivor of your decisions."
His expressions inscrutable, Dha-viath stepped forward.
The ancient continued. "Dha-viath, short of exile or being stripped of his clan name, what punishment would you place upon Zazin?"
Dha-viath was silent for a moment, and then finally spoke. "As you spoke, Ancient, mercy is a facet of the victor's honor, and I believe, as would my clan brother Chiva were he still among us, that Apprentice Zazin is honorable, evidenced by his willingness to show mercy to a weaker opponent, even one who was dishonorable. My punishment for Zazin is thus: He is to become a warrior, and to accomplish many victories, so that he may understand what it means to show mercy."
A low murmur rose from the ancients. Luar-ke silenced them by raising his voice and speaking. "And so it shall be. Zazin, you are no longer my apprentice as philosopher, but a warrior of our clan, the Guan-thwei. You are to begin conditioning yourself for combat and, within eight cycles, I wish to see you prove you are equal to any of our blooded. Your name shall not be tarnished by this failure, young one, for you are still worthy. Fight with honor!"
How do you intend to play your predator?
Zazin was once on the path to become a yautja philosopher. Due to his failures while adjudicating the fate of a bad blood, his world changed from that of contemplation to that of the hunt.
Zazin is not as strong or fast as his brethren who were conditioned from birth for combat. His style is meticulous and observant. The more-aggressive yautja will call him
slow or even
passive. He enjoys watching combat, and will often just stand back and watch marines fight xenos, or watch his fellow yautja brothers engage in honorable combat with their prey. To entice him into combat, a prey either has to be disgustingly unworthy or particularly interesting. He will only occasionally hunt ordinary, worthy prey to ensure his skills remain in good shape.
When it comes to combat, he is just as likely to engage in skirmish-style fighting as he is to fight directly. He has no compunctions about withdrawing, unless said target is actively harming another yautja in a dishonorable manner, in which case he will fight to the death.
Towards worthy opponents he is merciful. However, past experiences have made it such that he vehemently dislikes the unworthy, particularly those who have dishonorably harmed fellow yautja. Towards the unworthy he will give no quarter.
He enjoys contemplating the line between honor and dishonor, worth and unworth. With fellow yautja, he will often comment on their fights, or on particularly interesting marines or xenos, through the lens of the Code. He is reserved but relaxed.
He really likes stew.
Why should we whitelist you?
Pros
- I will in all likelihood never break the Code, not even arguably so, since Zazin's character puts him on the very safe side of adhering by it.
- I RP. I send good faxes. I play and DM D&D so I do RP outside of SS13.
- To add to the above, I won't have any problem adhering to yautja lore. Or CM lore, for that matter.
- I communicate a lot as a player. Anyone who has played with any of my marine characters will know how little I shut up.
- I don't break server rules. I ahelp a lot about what I can and can't do.
- I do not mind dying for the sake of RP. Or dying in general, since I'm never salty about it.
Cons
- Not robust. Not a new player, either, but...
- My playstyle might be too passive for admins' tastes.
- Zazin is not a very stand-out character.
- I'm still in the process of exploring predator mechanics by watching them as ghost.
- I probably won't play predator that often.
- I am pretty new to CM. So I understand completely if this is a major reason not to whitelist Zazin.
Have you been banned from CM in the last month for any reason?
No, never banned.
One warning when a griefer opened fire on me and I returned fire. I won't be doing that again.
Are you currently banned from any other servers and if so, why?
No. Never banned from any server. In fact, my only warning in any server has been on CM. I don't think I've even ever been brigged for any non-story, non-round-specific reason, in any server.
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?
Yes. I wouldn't have it any other way.