Ref Sheet + Info on Northern Oratoa & The Crosses

Guess I'll just post refs/updates here?

More to come later, these are just the two big ones!! The others will not have nearly this much info, but I made up a new region + a new planet for these guys, so.....yeah. :I

PITER

Name: His Imperial Majesty Pëtr II, House of Romanov, Emperor and Autocrat of all the Northern Lands
Represents: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Species: Northern Oratoan*
Age & Height: 29y/o, 6’1”
Occupation: Tsar of Beztsvet, a region in the north of Oratoa
Notes:
Part of the land that the Earthlings supposedly want to extract fuel from is under his jurisdiction (hope this is okay; based on Russia’s huge-ass petroleum industry), so he’s traveling to visit his southern neighbors to get in on the diplomatic exchanges with their new alien guests. He recognizes that Oratoa is technologically inferior to many other planets, and is interested in creating a Beztsvetan alliance with Earth. Ultimately, he wants access to Earthling weaponry and military backing so that he can wage war on the rest of Oratoa, and establish a global Beztsvetan supremacy. In exchange, ofc, he’d more or less let the Earthlings do what they want on Oratoa… (Hint: He’d be very open to Westernization terraforming, as long as he remains in power.) On the side, he has already formed a partnership with The Crosses** in a protection racket-type scheme.


GAVRIK

Name: Gavrilo; No. 1771 of the Sun Cartel (Nicknames: Gavrik, Hanya, Havrik)
Represents: Solntsevo District, Russia
Species: mixed Zek/Oratoan
Age & Height: 31y/o, 6’2”
Occupation: Avtorityet/Brigadier (captain of one of the Sun Cartel’s four ships)
Notes:
A thief in the law born and bred in The Crosses, Gavrilo’s mixed ancestry led to him being assigned to overseeing Zek operations in Oratoa. Currently, he’s stationed in Oratoa to take care of some normal extortion business, which primarily involves the trafficking of Oratoan women. However, he’s also hanging around to see how Piter’s dealings with the Earthlings go, as a part of their ‘protection’ deal.


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*NORTHERN ORATOA: A region comprised of many nation-states and groups of peoples, which is ruled collectively by the central imperial government in Beztsvet (which is the largest state in the north). Beztsvet is known mostly for two things: 1) being impossible to invade, and 2) the Beztsvetan tsar’s throne of bones and skulls…which is said to be made up of past would-be invaders. In reflection of this, the imperial family’s motto is “a throne of bones, a crown of ice, and a city of stone”.

(I think it’s obvious enough what all this stuff represents that I don’t have to point it out--)

Northern Oratoans have silver irises and gray-blue markings around their eyes. They are notable for having only ‘colorless’ hair tones: pure black, gray, white, or a mixture thereof. They say that this is because they are ‘children of the frost’, and so they only wear colors that reflect the wintertime: blues and monochromes. Like southern Oratoans, they are polytheists, but primarily worship Tsar Moroz, God of Winter, Death, and Pestilence, and his wife Rasputitsa, Goddess of Mud and Cleaver of Paths.

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**THE CROSSES: A formal penal colony of Earth, located on the small moon of a gas giant. Generations ago, its prisoners (the “First Thieves”) took it over, and it has since become an intergalactic mafia/cartel base. It is responsible for a great deal of illegal trafficking across the cosmos, and extorts cooperation from governments and businesses of various planets with its population of formidable hackers, and stolen WMDs. Intergalactic justice and police groups essentially turn a blind eye to its criminal activities after being either bribed or threatened.

Zeks (inhabitants of The Crosses) are immediately recognizable for their tattoos: all Zeks have a neck tattoo bearing their own personal ‘number’ (a tradition dating back to when prisoners were assigned ID numbers), and those higher up in the ranks of ‘legitimate theives’ bear complex tattoo codes only readable by those in the thieves’ world, permanent scleral tattoos, genital piercings/implants, and other body modifications. The society constructed by the Zeks is highly structured, and sports a complex caste system not easily understood by outsiders. It is a very mixed race: since the First Thieves were desperately lacking in an adequate number of female prisoners, The Crosses has had to sustain its population growth by kidnapping and interbreeding with Earthling-compatible females from other planets. Because of this, Zeks no longer consider themselves to be ‘Earthlings’.

Zeks are selectively bred and raised for violence, lack of empathy, ruthlessness, sexual aggression, etc. By strict law, only ‘legitimate thieves’ (i.e. those Zeks who are most in possession of the aforementioned qualities) are permitted to procreate with women. This has evolved into a universally understood cultural norm in The Crosses: part of the initiation into the circle of legitimate thieves involves ‘pearling’ and/or genital piercing, so it’s said that those who lack these modifications are incapable of pleasing a woman. Modern Zeks take this as common sense, and believe that people from other planets must have both bad sex and wimpy offspring, since their men aren’t ‘real men’.

Of course, not all women actually enjoy these body modifications, so sometimes, this just translates into their not-usually-consensual sexual relations with Zeks being all the more painful, or overly-stimulating to the point of being intolerable. Unfortunately, most Zeks do not care, since women’s rights and needs do not concern them. There is a population of female thieves, but they are an extremely small minority. Most of the females in The Crosses are prostitutes/sex slaves, and are treated primarily as sex objects. Because the economy of The Crosses is based entirely on brigandage, there is no agricultural or industrial sector of its society that requires any kind of a typical ‘family’ structure. As such, Zeks as a rule do not use protection during sex, since the goal (outside of pleasure-seeking) is to impregnate enough women to maintain the population, but not have any responsibility to them or their offspring, afterward. Male children are reared by elderly Zeks and taught the thieves’ law, whereas female children are typically raised in brothels. Romance is not unheard of, but it is also not the norm. Rarely, a Zek will take a woman as his ‘wife’, but this is not a true marriage: rather, it refers to a female whom he has decided is ‘his’, and whom he will not allow other Zeks to touch. Even in these relationships, monogamy (on the man’s side) is practically nonexistent.

Rape of both females and males of the untouchable caste is acceptable in Zek culture. However, sexual abuse of children and other forms of physical abuse towards females (since they are a precious/valuable commodity in The Crosses and cannot be compromised) are both highly condemned, and at the very least will result in an automatic demotion to the untouchable caste, if not vigilante/court justice (usually in the form of being gang raped or viciously beaten by other Zeks). A ‘Court of Thieves’ does exist, to uphold the thieves’ law, though it is usually not necessary, as justice is usually employed at the local level by avtorityeti. When Zeks are taken to court, however, punishments never involve incarceration on principle, but are otherwise extraordinarily punitive, to the point of being fiercely sadistic.

Here's some more, since none of these really require picture updates...tho I may doodle them later anyway, just because the old pics are so ugly--/weeps

HANAKO
Name: Yanagi Hanako (formerly Shiori)
Represents: Gion, Japan
Species: Oratoan, descent unknown (but presumably southern)
Age & Height: 21y/o, 4’9”
Occupation: Slave/’Willow Girl’ (Entertainer)
Notes:
No significant changes, see old app for details.

ALLEN
Name: First Lieutenant Allen Jacinto-Houston (can be addressed as either ‘1st Lt. Jacinto’ or ‘Dr. Jacinto’, he doesn’t care)
Represents: Houston, USA
Species: Earthling, mixed Mexican and Scottish-American descent
Age & Height: 28y/o, 5’8”
Occupation: Aerospace Engineer
Notes:
Became a pilot in the air force straight out of high school, and served in some pretty nightmarish jungle environments during Earth terraforming missions. After crash-landing in hostile territory and getting injured, he was sent back home to recover, and there pursued his doctorate. With this, and his flight experience, he was assigned as head engineer of the Oude Rode Ogen, though he now has some very strong opinions about terraforming…

ADILET
Name: Adilet Barskani
Represents: Barskon, Kyrgyzstan
Species: Oratoan, mixed steppe- and southern-Oratoan
Age & Height: 29y/o, 5’6”
Occupation: Slave/Cavalry Archer
Notes:
The bastard son of a slave woman and a steppe warlord (Yimah), Adilet was the victim of a terrible pestilence in his youth that ended up wiping out much of his village (technically a military post), and left him permanently scarred. In addition to it causing discoloration in his irises (which other Oratoans take a sign that he’s diseased), the medicine used to ‘treat’ him left him with an uncontrollable tremor in his hands. Nevertheless, as per tradition in his tribe, he was enlisted in the Oratoan military, and received intense training in the handling of a bow and zhylqi (the Oratoan version of a horse?). Shortly into his military career, a rogue steppe tribe raided his village and raped and killed its inhabitants, including his mother, and cut off Adilet’s ear as a trophy.

DIEDERIK
Name: Captain Diederik Van Aemstel
Represents: Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Species: Earthling, Dutch
Age & Height: 42y/o, 6’8”
Occupation: Captain of the Oude Rode Ogen
Notes:
No significant changes, see old app for details.

NIELS
Name: Cornelius (formerly Conrad) van den Haag
Represents: The Hague, the Netherlands
Species: Earthling, Dutch
Age & Height: 37y/o, 6’0”
Occupation: Government Official/Representative for the Intergalactic Court of Justice
Notes:
No significant changes, see old app for details.

ALYA
Name: Sergeant Aleksandra (Alsou) Streletsskaya
Represents: Volgograd, Russia
Species: Earthling, Tatar
Age & Height: 32y/o, 5’6”
Occupation: Special Forces Sniper/Spetsnaz Operative
Notes:
Raised in a particularly volatile region back on Earth, Aleksandra learned to shoot from a young age when her home city saw years of protracted urban warfare. As soon as she was old enough, she enlisted in the army, where she eventually was recommended for Spetsnaz. She specializes in sniping, but has gone through extensive (and grueling) training in various other fields, as well. She has seen combat on both Earth and alien planets, and has been assigned to the Oratoa mission specifically as a special agent (i.e. not a part of general security, though in some instances, she would serve as a supplement to them) for the government officials, whose orders she follows to the letter, no matter what they might be.


(I was too lazy to shade the rest of it in, since I can't even scan anything rn--it's all black and gray, anyway, except for the blue beret. :I Obv she doesn't always wear her gas mask, but does always carry it, not only to protect against outside threats, but also in case she herself employs the use of chemical weaponry in close quarters. Normally while in the field, she will wear a helmet and ballistics vest, on top of this.)

REMO
Name: Father Romolo “Remo” Esposito
Represents: Rome, Italy
Species: Earthling, Italian (mixed Roman/Sabine)
Age & Height: 35y/o, 5’9” (appears shorter when not wearing leg braces)
Occupation: Chaplain
Notes:
The first son of his very famous father, Remo was the only survivor of his birth, after his mother and twin brother both died during labor. Once it became clear as a young child that he had cerebral palsy, Romulus began to favor Remo’s younger half-siblings over him, leaving him emotionally (and often physically) neglected, as most of the household followed suit and generally failed to acknowledge his existence. While the rest of the family was constantly occupied with media attention and social events, Remo grew up to be a rather quiet, sober individual, who wanted nothing to do with the family name, preferring instead to immerse himself in his faith.
When he took up the cloth as an adult, it was to free himself from his toxic environment and the abuses of his childhood. He is almost fanatically devout, but, perhaps because of his lack of guidance growing up, or some personality trait inherited from his father, he often finds himself struggling to stay on the straight and narrow path, and has secretly strayed from it more than once… Most notably, there are allegations back home that he sired a son, though he denies this.

He tends to the private chapel aboard the Oude Roge Ogen, where his mission is to:
1) provide religious ministry and support,
2) facilitate for all religious beliefs,
3) care for all crew members (in the spiritual sense), and
4) advise officials and higher-ups to ensure the free exercise of religion.

Though he is a multifaith chaplain, he does show distinct preference for certain religions over others. (Roman Catholics > everyone, Christians > others, Abrahamic religions > others, monotheists > polytheists, theists > nontheists, literally anyone > atheists)

He spends most of his free time alone, reading or tending to his pet doves.


(He wears robotic leg braces to help him walk he still won't ever show up on time to anything tho, but sometimes doesn’t feel like bothering with them, since he still has to use his canes, either way. Obv he wears civvies during his days off.)