Rechkalov

Completely detached perspective from what's been going on here, but 1) I believe the discussion up to this point makes it pretty clear that the loyalty implant-given lines are left to interpretation in this case. There really appear to be only two arguments, that of the danger such a person (as was the hostage) presents to NT contra respect for law as such, and in such a scenario the outcome depends entirely on whichever is more prevalent in the character. 2) Our aim, generally, is to create interesting RP, or so we like to kid ourselves. And frankly, reading this, I get the impression it was a scene I would've liked to see. Know what I mean? This single incident is dripping with atmosphere. So with our ultimate aim in mind, I'd say this was a valid move. 2b) Apologistic addition, but since the Tajarans were already captured, I would assume the "bigger part" of the round's drama was over, so it can't be said the player was robbed of much fun... but any further elaboration would inevitably lead to the argument over whether we should prioritize each player's personal experience or the overall story, which while interesting one does not belong here. Final note, while I happen to approve of Chaz's actions in this incident, I feel like his attitude towards Stalker is unreasonably hostile and uncalled for. At the end of the day, you got a bwoink and a warning for killing an unarmed and detained player; it does not in any way interfere with your game experience, it's just a gentle reminder not to go gunslinging left and right (very gentle, given the contemporary vibes regarding the sanctity of player's lives). I know how the bwoinks can make one panic and feel deeply offended and defensive, especially in high-stress rounds, and it happens that one goes a bit over the top in their reaction, but time has passed now; it would seem desirable to let the whole thing go and resume simply having fun.

Been trying to figure out how these colours work with inks (they don't), did a Phoebe in the process. Very enlightening. Learned a lot about how not to go about this. Anyhow - I give to you Phoebe Essel sketches! For those unaware (and somewhat appreciative of my attempts at drawing so far), there's a stalling attempt at making an Aurora comics book - a compilation of short stories featuring your characters. Also your stories. Presently we only have two entries and a bunch of promises, which is not much to go on. If you would like to hop on and get your character do dumb stuff in pictures in addition to virtual reality, follow this link ---> http://aurorastation.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=4435 or, in case you already have the stories written down, be so kind and PM them to me. Any and all participation is much appreciated!

Dang, wish I had noticed this sooner. Is it still time to hop on the train?

No entries so far. I'm watching you, gentlemen!

Eww, why did you have to bring Marvel up? And, well, I sure hope not. Rather, I was hoping at gathering a number of stories from perspectives of different characters from a single place, that is, the (in)famous Aurora. Implying all the stories would end up being a Single Thing (I am hesitant to wave the word "issue" around when so far we don't even have a single sketch) rather than Several Independent Things - maybe closer to things like Spera?* *Spera has consistent protagonists, but you get the point; it's a collection of stories crafted by various writers and artists. Despite having clearly defined main cast, the nature and execution of each adventure differs greatly from all the other issues. Edit: In case you're unfamiliar with Spera, make sure to check them out here ---> http://spera-comic.com/ Those guys have a wonderful thing going on!

It would be preferable if they came from Aurora as such. As to the desirable format of those stories, you need not go through the trouble of making them a decent piece of writing. They will have to be processed into a script I can use, anyway, so it really doesn't need to be novel-worthy. Similarly, to make a fifteen-pages long comics, you don't need fifteen pages of a story. That being said, I don't mean to stop you from writing like that if that brings you pleasure. Having fun is important! Once you think you've got everything you want down in black and white, PM it to me. I will proceed to send it Ricky's way, and parallel to that we'll organize the thread-page here, so that everybody can see what kinds of stories we already have and how far on them we are with regards to progress.

Don't get me wrong; it would be great if we could do something longer, span a proper story people can get involved in and all that jazz. But let's keep in mind that we're not used to working with one another, and that even with the bar set as low as it presently is, compromises will have to be made and execution will be poor at times and not everybody may turn out happy. Let's first try to get this running at all, and then expand; starting simple is not such an easy task as it may sound. However, if this -we- do work out, elaborating will be relatively simple. Tl;dr, don't discard your three-months story, but bear with us. I am not entirely sure yet what I'm doing.

Happy to hear you guys are actually interested in such a thing! You rock! Just bear in mind to start simple - if this works out, we can always expand and elaborate later. Looking forward to hearing of your most cherished adventures!

Present state of affairs which is a queer way of calling the mess this has so quickly become Original post ABOUT WRITING NOVELS/SHORT STORIES

Those feel like society's greatest treasures; what of compassion, empathy, love, open-mindness?

Who are you? in one word, or as few words as possible

I love everything you did there, wholeheartedly. Thank you.

I am inclined to say that adulthood means, if anything, adjusting to and perceiving reality clearly - becoming and living in touch with it. The most significant and remarkable step of that process being the realization that there really isn't any such thing as an adult; there are only people who manage to be more or less happy, who keep healthy interest in life and through love for it and everything connected with it derive joy from the experience, and people who get lost within abstractions and the unreal and falsehoods, driven by anxiety and taking pride in most silly things. The world/system of adults, so impressive to the child, is nonexistent as far as I can tell; nobody knows what they're doing, much less why. At the end of the day, everybody just wants to be the most adored kid at the playground and to have the prettiest of sandcastles. And to go to bed after lunch. Like somebody said, "It isn't a thousand monkeys at a thousand typewriters; it's ten thousand monkeys at a single typewriter, where one half struggles to proceed with the story and the other throws shit at everybody else."

Nobody will mention that one of the first things Baranova ever did was producing an analysis that pointed out connections between the possibility and repeated acts of cloning and streaks of dementia among more or less hairy crewmembers? Cloning and Mental Health? No? Nevermind then.

DISCLAIMER: This is not exactly relevant to the OP's question

I am conflicted. This is a good idea. I would have some objections to the specific traits you present, but I gather they serve just like an example - and they're a fine one. This could benefit the game. Much like so many threads about health-connected disabilities and diseases and so forth. And I'm afraid they all boil down to the same thing; they are all ridiculously hard to implement and tweak, to the point where the labor required would seem to outweight the gain. It would be amazing if somebody was willing and able to sit down and make this reality, but I am very much skeptical. Edit: Somebody here made a good point - we're a roleplaying community. Perhaps it is not entirely shameful to trust to player base to behave accordingly, without crutches like these (awesome as they may be).

Most intriguing question, in that it inspires so many further questions. What is difficult about maintaining more characters, especially if you're one of the people who don't have as much time on their hands as they would like to, is having to choose among them. Realizing mid-round just how many kicks your other character would've gotten out of whatever situation arose - that (for me, at least) can be frustrating to the point where the entire round leaves a bitter aftertaste. As for constructing characters separate from your own self- Personally, I usually 'start' character with only a vague feeling about their respective positions on this sort of a spectrum - there is a certain idea of which way they should be inclined (politically, socially, religiously, in terms of assertivity and mannerisms in interaction, etc. etc.). I'm truly sorry I cannot describe what I consider the core of the character -the one thing that, if remembered, allows one to more or less jump back into its skin even at later dates- better than "a feeling" - but I imagine it's pretty close to what Skull describes. It's not different from the "feeling" you are left after meeting somebody for the first time. You can't yet tell much about them, but you do have a general idea of who they might be. Of course, there is a whole lot of details that make up a believable personality in the long run, but I don't think it's necessary or even desirable to plan these out (in such cases, one is often inclined to force roleplay in a certain direction, and to be frustrated if denied the opportunity to present his carefully planned out "features" of the chracter). During your game experience, you will meet situations that will require the character to have their mind made up in one way or another, and often you will find that you could not prepare for these ahead if you wanted to; and that's perfectly fine. In fact, that is really what I would consider the most interesting part of the game, the discovering of the character. A situation arises, a reaction is required, and you will realize that A) you would probably do this and that, but B) your character definitely seems to be the person who would do something else entirely. Again with the feeling. I guess the point is - ideally you find yourself in a perspective where you are looking forward to, enjoying, the character on the scene; not for what you have in common, but precisely for how very stranger and different they are. Allow me to draw a parallel to Game of Thrones; you want to stop being the viewer who identifies with and roots for Eddard Stark, great as that may be, and instead shift your attitude into that of the viewer who is strangely captivated by the sight of Ramsay Snow; sure, you dislike him, you don't necessarily identify with his traits, but you know that FUN and MEMORABLE stuff is going to happen. I may be seemingly getting a bit sidetracked, but there is a point to this; I would perhaps like to encourage you to try out characters that branch away from your own self-image, precisely because I believe you would find the discovering of their traits so much fun. There's a challenge in that. The moment you realize your corporate scientist is likely to do something entirely against your own convictions, you are facing a challenge of portraying the emotion behind this in a manner that is convincing, that is, not to dumb it down to the level where others could guess you're "playing an asshole" - no, your fellow crewmen must be convinced you are an asshole. And this, in turn, forces you to empathize with lines of thought otherwise alien to you, which you would disregard as idiotic or mean or morally wrong. Most intriguing!

I am inclined to believe that this is not what actually happens - not in good number of sci-fi worlds as such, and certainly not on Aurora. I'm not talking about the fact that the station is mostly frequented by human crew, that is a topic that involves player preferences and I have no desire to go there, but our lore seems to favor humanity quite a bit, making them very much the "center-race" of the universe. Throwing on top of that things such as making humans toxic to other races (I'm taking the most dumbed-down approach possible to make the most of the example) seems not only reduntant but actually like adding salt to injury in our attitude towards other races. Come to think of it, I am feeling very butthurt on behalf of fictional species while munching on chickens that had been raised in terrible conditions for the sole purpouse of being consumed. I am either losing my track or trying to make wanna-be-witty commentary on how our inclinations to treat and portray other forms of life as inferior affect our designing them in sci-fi games. Whatever. Edit: It could be argued that presenting an evolutionary/biologially/intellectually superior species into the game is problematic for the obvious reasons that we may very well find ourselves unable to convincingly portray such a being. On the other hand, that should not be stopping us from introducing a race that beats humanity by sheer manpower and production rates - think spess chinese ('BOO, THAT'S RACIST' - but, come on. You don't believe the chinese are really people). Why is it stopping us? It would benefit everyone - the pro-aliens would enjoy their superior culture and mindsets and draw fine conclusions as to how mankind should behave and/or how much we benefit by cooperation the pro-humans finally get a valid reason to feel oppressed and endangered by the alien scum the casual players still don't give a rats arse, so all's good.

<3

Friendships. *cries* Or, if that's too much, for smokes. Or, if that's too much, for compliments. Thanks for the compliment, Calla!

Valkrae's Shiela

When Fowl pitches in, odds are it's officially become a laughing matter. I knew what I did was wrong. Edit: Aaaah. Right! It's always been a laughing matter! Point taken at long last.

BYOND Key: Rechkalov Character Names: Daniela Baranova, Andrew Stockstill, Stephen Perry, Patricia Pike, Patricia Bluthgeld, Felix Tainalov, Demosthenes (pAI), Anton Naumann Species you are applying to play: Vaurca What color do you plan on making your first alien character (Dionaea & IPCs exempt): Tan-ish? Or possibly blue, in the like of Jewel Wasps? Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Aye! Why do you wish to play this specific race: Leaving aside the fact that I was in love with formics and such since my first reading of Ender's Game at the age of eleven, I absolutely dig all their potential. There's just so much of it! From casual interactions with other crew members -the (mis)reading of human pheromones, uncomfortable touching stuff with the antennae- to their fundamentally different perspective on life, bound to manifest itself in all sorts of 'crisis'. I dare say I'm obsessed with the idea of exploring what would their philosophy be like through impersonation. Just take the most basic thing implied by the lore - the opinions an unbound Vaurca, millenias ago genetically programmed to worship the Hive Queen, think of the Queen in this day! Through impersonation, dozens and dozens situations are bound to arise that I would never think up, but that will force me to reflect upon and determine the bug's attitude and perspective on life. That's totally my fetish. And, I hope, if done properly, it could be interesting for those interacting with the character as well. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Oh. I'm afraid I might have expressed most of my views with regard to this question in the previous paragraph. Of course, there's the gameplay aspect of behaving by different rules than other races, but I must admit that interests me little. From roleplaying perspective, I imagine Vaurca's would be much less sensitive on emotional level -at least in the human sense, such as affection or anxieties etc etc- and hold fundamentally different systems of values. I mean, it's a bloody bug. I would expect its player to be required to portray an alien mind, that is, a mind both consistent and meaningful (which is to say, avoid the typical clichés and simplified stereotypes) while at the same time disregarding notions that would be crucial for a human character - or deeply invested player, if you will. Unless, of course, they choose to play the brainless variant - but that is not what I long for. I imagine we will have loads and loads of fun (and conflict) about interpreting authority. Right. That is probably another thing. To portray an alien mind with different sets of values without being annoying as balls. Character Name: Ka'Akaix'Shiest Vess'ex (goes by Talib in human space) Please provide a short backstory for this character, approximately 2 paragraphs Throughout his early life, Ka'Akaix'Shiest differed little from the ordinary; his growth was uneventful, and afterwards he found his place within the VR of his 'mother', if you will, type CA. In retrospective, it is difficult for him to even make a guess at how much time he had spent there - the one thing he is certain about, however, is that one day, he grew bored. Bored of the endless possibilities of the collective virtual reality. Assuming a body as an Unbound, Shiest began to pursue his innate curiousity and thirst for knowledge and new experiences relentlessly; this, again, is not so uncommon among the Unbound, but the oddity about Shiest is that he never stopped since, and continues not only observing, but constantly questioning to this day - not only seeing, but asking "why?" over and over again like only a philosopher -or a child- would. In a sense, this only strenghtened his distaste for other Vaurca -so typical of Vess'ex hive- and in a way expanded it onto the members of his own hive as well. While greater part of their origin, history and inter-hive affairs remains byond his grasp still, what he had learned had left him with a strange aftertaste to say at least. It was only with the discovery of human space that Shiest began to have a vague feelings about where his issue with his own kind lay; to this point, he had only largely non-sentient fauna to compare Vaurca to, but with a whole range of new, alien, intelligent species, he grew more and more suspicious that it was possible for a developed civilization to be much more... life affirming. Shiest threw himself into studies, and took the first opportunity to leave his hive he got, decided wholeheartedly to penetrate and relate to the alien creatures - assuming the name Talib from their literature (arabic name meaning 'seeker of knowledge' or 'student'). What do you like about this character? Aaaand here's the possible catch in my application. I want Talib to become a psychologist, or a counselor at least. THE PARADOX! I am terribly excited about the idea (more like challenge!) of confronting people with as alienated perspective as possible while at the same time being actually useful and providing thought-provoking insight. I also like how the 'student' core of his character makes an excellent excuse to lead long, winded philosophical debates. How would you rate your role-playing ability? 6/10 Notes: Pretty please?