Aragobstars (The Crab/Lobster/Mobster Race)

[duelingThoughts]

Racial Name: Aragobstar
Nick Names: Aragob, Gob, Gobber, ‘gobstar, Raggie, rag’star
Genders?: Male and Female
Average Life span: Biologically Immortal (will live indefinitely if not for disease, murder, predation, etc.), though the average age of mortality is around 20 years, but Aragobstars aged at 150+ years are not at all uncommon. (They count "years" by number of Molts, which is approximately 0.75ths of a year, so they are 20 Molts old when they are 15 years old)

General Appearance: The Aragobstar are best explained, as being a “humanoid” cross between crabs and lobsters. After hatching and maturing past their plankton and larval stages, the Aragobstar youth can be described as tall slender hexapods, with their legs supporting a humanoid torso. Four legs stick into the ocean floor with sharp points, while two smaller almost vestigial limbs hanging from the “hips” of the torso with little use. The torso holds two arms with several digits of mini-pinchers, carrying atop its shoulders an edgy shaped head with four eyes, a vertical toothed mouth, and spikes (and antennae). The exoskeletal armor pigment ranges from albino white to stark black, with a wider range of muted colors that relates to the color of the flesh beneath. There is however a distinctive difference between male and female: males contain a triangular shape near their reproductive region, while females have an oval shape along the same area, and females often have a wider base than males. As Aragobstars get older, bigger, and thicker with each molt, eventually the armor tone will become increasingly dark, legs will become ultra thick, and they may gain additional offensive and/or defensive advantages (single large pincher claw, vestigial legs become additional torso arms, hyper strengthening of armor shell, stingers even rarely evolve into adulthood, etc.). Musculature of flesh beneath the exoskeleton may mold the armor to demonstrate the muscle definition.
Common Personality: Every Aragobstar has these common personality traits: Selfishness, Addictiveness, Masochism/Sadism, and Loyalty (one of their very few universal virtues). Aragobstars are usually very selfish creatures, placing their needs above all others, with a strong apathy towards anything that doesn't directly relate to them. Additionally, their penchant for random habits and the abuse of substances is directly due to their highly addictive and habitual natures. However, prime above all, every single Aragobstar has a unique penchant for pain, either needing its reception, or alternatively handing it out as a bonding experience with fellow Aragobstars that have earned their loyalty. Aragobstars are not only astounding due to their evolution driven self destructive nature, but because despite their vanity anyone who can get around another’s selfishness and appeal to their addictive personalities can gain a lifelong ally. Unfortunately for anyone who isn't a Aragobstar, “friendship” between Aragobstar’s is very painful and rather unhealthy, as the only bonding experience felt between the crustaceans is by delivering pain to each other or encountering a drug experience (or some other hazardous addiction) with one another.

Society: Aragobstars do not tend to be incredibly religious, due to their lack of any sort of regimentation beyond Might Makes Right (probably the most common belief there is). However, they do have a certain mythos that dates back for generations, regarding one particular Aragobstar, known simply as the Gobfather.

Little is known about this figure, other than that every other Gang believes they are descendants from his Mafia family... essentially, the Messiah of Crime so to speak. Though one could suppose, crime in of itself is an abstract concept to these self-destructive lobsters, so it's no surprise they don't really understand their own belief in a prominent crime boss.

Before the Age of Cartel, there actually used to be some semblance of order or control within Aragobstar civilization, and crime was an actual thing that occurred, seeming as there were laws back then. However, what was controlling them or how isn't really known, as no decent crab would give a crap about that stuff and get right to the good stuff.

Alright, so the Gobfather through a series of crimes and other such shenanigans, eventually becomes the head of the Crableone crime family – the most powerful Mafia family in the N'ork Strip, the center of the world. He is often depicted as an ambitious Seasili immigrant who moved to the Lower East Side of the Strip and builds a Mafia empire, by overseeing a business founded on gambling, bootlegging, drug smuggling, and union corruption, he is known as a generous man who lives by a strict moral code of loyalty to Modadodry and, above all, family. At the same time, he is known as a traditionalist who demands respect commensurate with his status; even his closest Modads referred to him as "Gobfather" or "Gob Crableone" rather than whatever his original name had been.

The Gobfather had several Adoptees, the eldest had been Mi'cha'eel (Mirthfulchallengereel), followed by his two other sons, So'n'ny (Sobernervousbrawny) and Fre'do (Freespiritmavericbravado), as well as a daughter, Con'nie (Convelutedwithanicefannie), all of whom play major roles in the story. He also informally adopts So'n'ny's Modad, Tom'Hag'en (Tomfooleryhaggardbrazen), who later becomes a lawyer and the Family's consigliere.

He prided himself on being careful and reasonable, but he nevertheless used violence when it was necessary. When his lobson, an artist named Jokernerdscrawny (Jo'ne'y), wanted out of his contract with a bandleader, Gobfather offered to buy out the contract. When rebuffed, he then threatened to kill the bandleader unless he released Jo'ne'y for a new token amount. Later, when movie mogul W'oltz (Wickedvoltz) refuses to cast Jo'ne'y in a coveted film role that could revitalize Jo'ne'y's waning career, the Gobfather has W'oltz's prized race eel killed and the eel's severed head placed in W'oltz's bed.

It is also noted in the stories that he rarely lost his temper. This characteristic is mostly a conscious restraint to avoid his Adopter's fate, whose rashness and excitability contributed to his death at the hands of the Seasili Mafia. When the Gobfather learns that So'n'ny was involved in a minor crime, however, he curses at him at length in Seasili dialect.

Upon his death at the end of the stories (where apparently, all of civilization goes to shit), his youngest son, Mi'cha'rel, succeeds him as the head of the Crableone family.

Obviously to anyone outside looking in, it would seem that their entire mythology must be some cruelly elaborate inside joke that nobody is in on, and would require an omniscient perspective to even begin to fathom why this silly story even exists.

To teach them morals perhaps? In a really messed up pro-violence & drugs way?

Needless to say, most Aragobstars, while aiming to model themselves after the Gobfather, don't really take the so called "mythos" very seriously; obviously, it is most certainly not considered as a historical account either! Despite this questionable account, almost all serious and ambitions crime bosses model the quite collected Gobfather and avoid the boisterously loud others.
Home Planet: 85% of the surface of the planet Mophascertyl is water, and its ocean bottom is covered with thermal vents. The other 15% is mostly volcanic, with the most advanced life form inhabiting these islands being very small animals and large ferns most of which contain or create chemicals used for recreational activities. However, they are unusually tall lands rich in mineral resources. Most of that land mass is consolidated into three main islands forming a mysterious triangle shape, known as “Heaven's Playground”. It orbits around two suns, and has two moons orbiting it.
Relationships: The entire system of love for the Aragobstars is entirely based upon an appeal for pain or some other form of abuse. It is not to be confused with “black feelings” as experienced by Trolls or Cherubs (in fact, “Red Feelings” could be considered more common), but merely that the Aragobstars view pain in a drastically different light than most any other creature. Its as if pain itself is a drug that induces stimulation for pleasure, and as such a partner that induces more pain is more likely to go through the relationship. Humans lightly punching each other in joking humor would be viewed with embarrassment, as it would be considered a very risque type of flirting, even raunchy. The pain though does not need to be physical (just as affection by human standards does not require physical interaction), as scathing remarks or harsh criticisms are actually seen as positive signs of a life long partner, to have someone that cares enough to criticize, and is honest enough to let them know (human sarcasm would be considered a form of veiled flirting). There are two main types of relationships for the Aragobstars, but they are mostly entirely identical in nature except that one does not produce offspring should sex be engaged.

• Matetitry (A member within it is called a Ma‘try)- This is a relationship between two members of the opposite sex, whose inevitable goal is the production of offspring. Before a full Matetitry is engaged, members who regard each other fondly will give it a ‘try (As in, they will be called ‘try’s, as they drop the “Ma” in the name to negate the total seriousness of the arrangement; consider the word ‘try as basically a girl/boyfriend in a relationship). Once they are in full swing, it is expected that they move on from scathing remarks into physically deforming each others exoskeletons (thus making them stronger as they heal) via punching, clawing, biting, etc.. It should be noted that although causing pain between Aragobstars is usually seen as affection, it can also mean the usual sense in that if at least one party is angered by the other, and one of them needs a good beat down. For example, if it appears that a Ma’try is being involved in an infidelic relationship, the other Ma’try will probably murder whoever they were cheating on with. As for the cheating Ma’try, one of two things will happen, s/he will be murdered too, or the couple will elope even stronger having both experienced a painful time in their relationship (thus making them stronger and more bonded for it). Aragobstar relationships are usually based on total brutal honesty, but sometimes pain doesn't have to be completely involved in their remarks or activities, there are times when honesty isn't painful, and can still be endearing. It should also be noted that permanent crippling damage is crossing over the line from affection to murderous intent, which is frowned upon, and self-crippling or suicidal activities are severely frowned upon.
  
• Modadodry (A member within it is called a Mo’dry or Modad depending on closeness)- This is a causal relationship between at least two Aragobstars of any sex that has the same basic connotation as a Matetitry, except in human terms it is merely a strong friendship by another name. Sex might be a feature of these relationships, they might not. The objective here is not reproduction, but a piece of one or all parties emotional fulfillment. As opposed to a Matetitry, Modadodri are actually open arrangements where one can have many Modad’s, and hopefully at least one Mo’dry. The difference between a Modad and a Mo’dry is in the romantic parallel between the similar term of Ma’try and Mo’dry, indicating that the Modadodry between the two involved is very close, where as a Modad is a more casual partner. Sex between Mo’dry’s is more common than it is with Modad’s if such a thing is sought in the Harem of Modadodry. If one’s Mo’dry or Modad is of the opposite sex, and sex is involved, it is likely that although one’s possible Ma’try might have some sympathy (since they might be engaged in similar activities with their own Mo’dry/Modads) for the relationship, they will probably want to cripple the infidel involved with their Ma’try. Which is a better punishment than being killed, as an infidelic attempted Matetitry would receive.
  

Just so one is clear about the Aragobstar romance here, there are several distinct levels of affection that are sometimes restricted to the opposite sex depending on the objective of the arrangement. The first level of affection and least of all is a simple ‘dry, which can be equated as an acquaintance. The second level of affection would be a Modad, which can be equated as a friend. The third level of affection would be a ‘try, which can be equated as a date or girlfriend/boyfriend, someone that one is interested in one day possibly reproducing with. The fourth level of affection would be a Mo’dry, which can be equated as either a best friend, or as a non-familial sibling (or as a substitute lover for an Aragobstar not interested in the opposite sex). The sixth level of affection would be a Ma’try, which can be equated as wife/husband bound to create offspring for the rest of their lives.
Reproduction: Without becoming too explicit, Aragobstar reproduction is not at all dissimilar from lobster reproduction, which involves the male piercing through a soft portion of the females shell with two prong like appendages. The areas for this process involve the triangular and oval shapes of the male and females respectively. As a side note, Triangles are often associated with males while Ovals and other circular objects are associated with females. Once impregnated, the female will become “berried” with eggs beneath her legs and tail, that once matured will release into the ocean where they will drift until they hatch. Many of these eggs do not survive as they progress through the plankton and larval stages, as they are tasty snacks for many predators.
Guardians: Adoption is very common among the Aragobstars, as despite their self-destructive tendencies, they are very social creatures for crustaceans. So when a young crustacean Gobber is wandering through the ocean in need of protection from predators, a fellow Aragobstar will likely take it under its wing. If not for the improvement of his standing within his Gang, then for the sheer enjoyment of being able to own another being and abuse it as seen necessary. In short, an Aragobstars Guardian is usually an Aragobstar that found them, and the gang associated with them.
Symbol Rules: Aragobstars do not wear shirts, because it is nonsensical for crustaceans to wear shirts. They do however, always wear hats to hide their antennae, as it is considered rude to show them in public situations. Also, considering that their hats distinguish their gang identity, it usually means they are hiding something if they don't wear their hats. Gang Symbols have a wide variety of forms, though they usually take the form of aquatic animals, with representations for specific natural landmarks (such as Heaven's Playground) being a close second. Symbols representing drugs are also not uncommon (expect the numbers 420 to be very prestigious in these gangs, for no explicable reason). In addition to hats, Aragobstars are known to wear bandana-like masks, scarves, and famously use garishly elaborate belts.

Naming Conventions: Names are descriptive phrases of the individual, abbreviated by apostrophes, usually between one and five words all smushed together. For example, a smaller sized, particularly angry, and red tinted fellow could be named by his Adopter as “Redmadmidget” which could be abbreviated into a number of variations, from just choosing a singular word out of the phrase (ie. Midget, Red, Mad), or taking the whole thing together and omitting portions of the name through the use of apostrophe’s like so: “Re’dget”
Racial powers: Aragobstars are essentially biological walking tanks, as they progress through life their exoskeletal armor becomes increasingly unimaginably tough. Due to this, they can also use their armor to cut, smash, or pierce ordinarily very tough things that one without armor would not be able to cut, smash, or pierce without a specialized weapon of some sort; upto and including the armor of their own species, unless the armor is much older than the one attacking it.

Also, as Aragobstars progress through life, they undergo situationally inspired mutations in their physical body. Technically these aren't actually "mutations" in the genetic sense, since any of these can be acquired by any members of the species, they are merely required the correct number of circumstances to initiate their growth. If these circumstances aren't met after their 20th molt (roughly 15 years), these growths will not occur. These "mutations" include:

• Vestigial Arms grow to full sized manipulative arms (Condition required: Loss of majority of both arms in combat) NOTE: Lost arms will grow back with Battleclaws as a freebee, though of a comparably smaller size; these are called "Skimishclaws"
  
• Single "Battleclaw" replaces one hand (Condition required: Most digits, or whole hand must be lost in combat) NOTE: Cannot be grown in conjunction with Stinger, on the same pair of arms, additionally battleclaws decrease manipulative potential.
  
• Single "Stinger" replaces one hand (Condition required: Extraordinarily extensive use of "pincer coke", or chemicals/drugs that are ingested through the pincers which cause armor decay, and rot away the hands before the 20th molt) NOTE: Cannot be grown in conjunction with Battleclaw on the same pair of arms, and stinger is also a projectile that can be regrown few hours, though at the expense of a weaker armor.
  
• Ultra-thick exoskeleton (Condition required: Hampering damage experienced upon whole body) NOTE: Due to armor decay, cannot be held in conjunction with Stingers.
  
• Spike Weaponized exoskeleton (Condition required: Suffering widespread extensive injuries of the hampering nature, which causes mental trauma) NOTE: Ultra-thick exoskeleton is given as freebee but only by fifty percent given that the spikes draw away the integrity of the armor, and CAN be utilized with a stinger with the con being the ultra-thick exoskeleton is normalized.
  
• Tactical Head (Condition required: Suffer no condition that would grant any of the above growths) NOTE: Armor will be average, but intelligence experiences a large large large boost in cognitive function and memory recall.
  
• Eel-ectric Charge (Condition required: Suffer such massive psychological damage, without fulfilling any of the above growths [Tactical Head being an exception], that Eelijuana is used to cope regularly) NOTE: Armor will now be Eel-lectrically charged, and a natural affinity for Eel companionship is obtained
  

All of the mutations above are not capable of all being utilized at once, and although technically there is no limit to how many of the possible mutations one can have, there are limitations to individual mutations that prevent other mutations from forming, which thus then limits the maximum number of attributes one can gain from the mutations. Scientific experiments have attempted to graft stingers on to the bodies of 20th Molted Aragobstar's (some on an extra set of arms), however it was found that there was a conflicting nature about the mutations that prevented them from existing at the same time (stingers naturally decayed armor for instance, so Ultra-thick armor rejected the transplant, or battle/skirmishclaws would start breaking after the introduction of stingers). Skirmishclaws on all four arms seems to be possible, though manipulation becomes a lost cause. All transplants however, being foreign in origin, do not heal their armor as well, becomes easily broken weak points in armor. Four stingers also seems possible, but manipulation becomes literally impossible, and armor decay occurs more rapidly; this can be combated if patient is also Spiked, though it helps only enough to "normalize" it to the normal decay rate expected when one or two stingers are grown, and stingers become natural weak points. Due to these cons, grafting has become an unpopular and usually unprofitable business, although it exists in lucrative parts of the world.
Attributes: The Aragobstars are a very well adapted race when it comes to defenses and attacking power; each one is usually a walking tank thanks to their armor, with pain and injuries being minor worries due to their unusual perception of pain. Pain and injuries only seem to make them stronger in the long run, and the more terrible a drug it is to one's body the more addicting it is for them to consume, even if said drug is not inherently addictive. In an all out brawl, Aragobstars rely on their brawn and ability to dish out pain in the most effective manner possible, and usually only fight to kill unless there is an emotional attachment involved. They a very decent speed as well, though where they lack most is in the mind, being universally impulsive.
Traits: Exoskeleton, four eyes, vertical teeth, antennae, six limbs (two usually vestigial, two for manipulating, four for walking), mini-claws for digits
IM System: Crabchat;
Typing rules include - Always include "<" before every response, and ending with ">", excessive use of apostrophes and word shortening/letter omission. Use of apostrophe or word "shortcuts" varies between individuals, but is always consistent (individuals have their own style of shortening words, etc.).

Other: This race was created under the influence of Lobsters, Crabs, and Mobsters. A great deal of research went into this for the biology bits (and then was subsequently thrown out the window for racial powers), and I did my best to balance everything in the submission with a converse. Additionally, the romance concept was especially fun to conceive.

Critique welcomed!

[duelingThoughts]

Not sure if this was realized but this submission is ready for judging. I would really like some input and suggestions from the community or whatever if possible.

Thank you! :)

[Derpy]

Humanoid mix between a crab and lobster, eh?

a thing:

Either way, pretty cool, yo. I like it.

[duelingThoughts]

Yeah pretty much :P Though I was thinking more along the lines of this:

Spoiler:

However, once again I made a less than photogenic race. Anyone playing this is going to have a hard time finding something EXACTLY like this race, or really, any crab people. I suspect that they will have to request art be made for it.

Aside from that, I have question about how I wrote this however: Should I space out my huge blocks of texts? I feel like you can't tell when one section ends and when one begins even though the section titles are bold. Maybe I should color the section titles?

[dexterousSurvivalist]

Phases in. Approved Phases out to non existence.

[Derpy]

It was a joke, and an allusion to Fallout, but that's pretty amazing, that picture there.

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