themaskedman2

I swear to god if I have to listen to some asshole playing terrible music throughout the entire Main Hallway for an entire shift I am going to have a panic attack.

Dreadfully tired right now but I need to get this out. You know, I really need to go through this more indepth, and I will address all of your points more in-depth later, but for now I would like to give a quick response. Overall opinion? I really like what you're planning. I really enjoy your ideas for Virtual Reality feeling a bit more grounded, and more of an actual perfect paradise, a perfect paradise that they are being forced to move away from, and the conflicts this causes in their culture and society. I enjoy the idea that all Queen's have their own idea on how they can help the Hive, and not all of them involve the same goals. I would highly enjoy fleshing out well-known Vaurca characters. (Likely Queens) For both Zo'ra and the K'lax hives. Generally, overall, I really like the mindset that I feel like I am reading from you about the species, and I feel this is truly a good stepping point to expand upon them more, what else would I like to see? Well, not sure, honestly i'm curious about most things, the augmentations, caste systems, biology, technology, inter-hive relations, perhaps a bit of sprinkled mystery here and there as well, to keep it interesting of course. Do you plan on changing any lore that would in turn affect gameplay? Other applicants for one wanted to change the breathing/k'ois mechanics, etc. Curious if you had any thoughts. Let's see, I suppose that's most of my general thoughts, I honestly have a lot to say and speak about with Vaurca, I genuinely love the species, and I want to see them rise to prominence and interest among the playerbase once more, and a nice, interesting lore, is a good place to start if you ask me. Able to push through changes, rewrites, and make it a much more fulfilling race to roleplay and talk about with, and to actually play. I hope if you gain loredev you make it a point to communicate and speak with other Vaurca players, considering we are low on players, but with this mindset, and as long as you remain open to criticism, then I see no problem with this. Anyways, from one buggo to another buggo. +1

Pretty simple suggestion, I was going to make my own pull request but apparently cargo is in the config now so that's out of my control, so i'll just stuff this here. Basically, cargo can already other every species monkey-version in cube form, except for Vaurca monkeys, I say just let them order those as well for the sake of a complete selection of monkeys, also so I can keep one as a pet. V'krexi by the way are already in the code, not much required there. They have sprites, everything. /datum/species/monkey/bug name = "V'krexi" short_name = "kre" name_plural = "V'krexi" meat_type = /obj/item/weapon/reagent_containers/food/snacks/meat/bug holder_type = null//No icons for held Vkrexi yet icobase = 'icons/mob/human_races/monkeys/r_vkrexi.dmi' deform = 'icons/mob/human_races/monkeys/r_vkrexi.dmi'

So let's start with going through what you want to change. I'll start with the list. 1. Reduce VR importance - I actually 100% agree with this, I find that the VR is definitely interesting, but I don't get it, I don't understand it at points, and it seems way too important for the race to actually even reasonably have an impact in real life, I would much prefer if it was more of an Augmented Reality or some place where they can still work to benefit themselves in the Material world. Perhaps there are still some Vaurca that get entirely obsessed in the recreational aspect and start to get "addicted", but overall reworking the importance and way VR works is a major plus for me. 2. Increase History - Yes, I want a lot more things to talk about, more depth, more existence, more... everything really. I want to learn about how Vaurca worked before implants and mandatory lobotomy of bound. Was polymorphism and caste system more pronounced? Less pronounced? I would like history of inter-hive conflict and wars, etc. Breakthroughs in technology, of course now Vaurca are cut off and a bit limited in what they can do, but how advanced actually was the race back on their home world? Just, history, to talk about, give depth, all that junk. 3. Augmentation Stuff - Honestly, I also agree with this, I want this stuff more specified, we are told in the lore that Vaurca that work in NanoTrasen facilities are the least augmented type, to what extend do the augments go? Internally, externally, is it primarily technological augments or does it get into bio-engineering? Do some Vaurca have a ton of arms? Are some essentially a different body shape? What functions do different augments have, is it possible to implement a bit of a choice of augments gameplay wise so it can feel as if it has an actual effect? I would like to reference a small section from a lore article that gives just a glimpse of some of the augmentations extent. "for many of them it was the first time they have seen Vaurca up close. There were several unbound and their bound servants. Many Unathi were also skittish around the Vaurca warriors that were with the queen. The warriors, known as Type BB, along with the large sized queen, dwarfed all present. Some commented that their size and scale made the Guwan Guard's horned breacher suits look like hatchlings in comparison. " Personally for me, the sheer difference in castes fascinates me, and comments like that tend to make my imagination go wild with how modified some of the Vaurca deep in hives are like. 4. Rework K'ois and Phoron breathing - Okay, so i'm mixed on this. I believe that k'ois and this mechanic is a major part of Vaurca lore, and it's part of what makes them unique, and I would avoid entirely removing the system, but instead reworking it into something similar. Now obviously, I say we have to keep k'ois, it's ingrained into the lore, it's important, it's identifiable, etc. What I would personally propose, is create a new fluff chemical that is primarily just something native to the Vaurca home-world. Have this chemical be naturally grown in k'ois, but I would like if it was a multi-purpose chemical that Vaurca can use for various things. For example, ingested or injected (because dying because your full and can't eat more air sucks) refills internal air supply. Perhaps it can be formed into a sorta healing salve that helps heal Vaurca, considering they do not have natural regeneration and only heal from chems perhaps. Have this chemical be extremely important to Vaurca society, as more than just a food source, perhaps the lore behind it can be it was a genetically engineered chemical created to fuel their augments, heal themselves, act as food, make it easier to breathe, etc. Oh I would also appreciate if it wasn't the hardest thing ever to afford and not die every shift but you know, i'll save game-play related suggestions for another post, this is for lore. I'm somewhat rambling at this point, but I think you get my idea, overall I really like the ideas you have planned, you have shown to be active in the community, and as long as you continue to work with the admittedly small Vaurca playerbase, I think you would make a good lore-dev, and perhaps we can even raise Vaurca to a more reasonable popularity again, because admittedly currently? The lore is lacking at points, it's more of a pain to play them in game as not because the limitations really hit hard, and overall? These cute buggo's need some love. Annnnywaaays, before I go on for another hour, +1 I'm willing to give this a try.

BYOND Key: TheMaskedMan2 Character Names: Susanne Sai (Civilian and Service Roles) Ka'Akaix'Pikt K'lax (Station Engineer) Za'Akaix'Vii K'lax (Security Officer) I also play as Cyborgs/AI common-ish but I don't keep a consistent name with them. Species you are applying to play: IPC What color do you plan on making your first alien character (Dionaea & IPCs exempt): Exempt Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes, of course I have. It's pretty interesting. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph format. One paragraph minimum per question Why do you wish to play this specific race: Well, first of all, I have always found artificial intelligence rather fascinating, and I am rather curious and intrigued by what I can be capable of achieving with a unique personality such as this. I'm interested in the different types of interactions and behaviors a Synthetic Intelligence would be capable of that makes it different than the usual interaction. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Well, need I mention that they don't require food or air? Let's go through the list. Hunger = Power: IPC's require electricity instead of food, which they may retrieve from the classic charging station, or by interfacing with an APC. Oxygen and Pressure = IPC's are unaffected by atmospheric hazards, unless it is a vacuum. Which they are vulnerable to, as well as heat. This requires them to take a suit cooling module with them instead of oxygen internals. No Pain = Synthethics quite simply, don't feel pain. This means combat situations that aren't directly debilitating, will not affect an IPC, they don't have to worry about taking painkillers or other such things. Chemicals and Medical = Quite simply, chemicals don't affect IPCs at all, unless it is damaging, such as acid. Furthermore medical treatment is entirely different for an IPC, requiring cables for burn damage, welders for brute damage, and help from robotics for severe damage. As for what would make roleplaying different for an IPC? Quite simply it depends on the model and the characters specific history. An IPC may not be designed with a very strong positronic brain, and may be a simple worker. On the other hand, the IPC could be an extremely expensive Shell chassis with a highly developed positronic brain that makes it all but indistinguishable from humans. In conclusion, RP will vary, depending. Character Name: Psi Please provide a short backstory for this character, approximately 2 paragraphs Psi is the 23rd model in a line of IPCs with a focus on human interaction and social ability. Psi was also the 23rd failure and was subsequently dumped. The machine afterwards had to pawn off it's services to whoever would pay. The error within Psi's positronic brain would be the mismatching of emotions, and a faulty processor resulting in it's body language routines essentially being virtually non-existent. This unfortunate outcome results in an IPC, that while functional and efficient in it's actions, tends to invoke responses of it being "Disconcerting" or "Strange" from it's coworkers. It would not be uncommon for them to occasionally "lapse" and respond emotionally to a negative event in a positive manner, or vice versa. Fortunately, while this error in expressing itself may come off as strange, it has no bearing on the actions it would take in a scenario, and merely alters the expressive actions it takes to "Socialize" with others in it's situation. NanoTrasen in particular took an interest in the IPC for it's complex positronic brain for a cheap price, downsides being unimportant if it doesn't tamper with efficiency. After some brief servitude in other NanoTrasen installations, they eventually find themselves being shipped to the Aurora. What do you like about this character? When making this character, I thought back to how other IPC's i've interacted with in game are usually within one of two groups. The "Completely Emotionless Machine", and the "Pretty much as realistic as a human." So I figured I might try something new and go for something inbetween. The general idea here is that PSI is a baseline IPC that was declared a failure for it's quirks, and that NanoTrasen bought it for it's efficiency and knowledge, the mega corporation not really caring about some quirks if it doesn't effect how well it does it's job. Psi is also a fairly self-aware and is not by any means a "Simple IPC". It is rather aware of it's supposed downsides, though it has trouble understanding what it is doing wrong, and I plan on using this as hopefully a long term goal for character development. Thinking about slowly improving themselves over time. How would you rate your role-playing ability? I'm going to generally repeat what I have said on my previous application here. I believe in my roleplaying capabilities fairly well and I believe i've definitely gotten better over time. I believe I would put myself at a high 7-8. I believe when it comes to making a character feel genuine, I do well in that regard. More specifically, I have always been an improviser, I believe I adapt remarkably well on the fly, and I like to remain reactionary. I have never been one for long winded plans set in stone. I prefer instead to set a base or skeleton, and see how it evolves through the actions of those involved, developing the character further in that manner. I have always has a fascination for becoming someone or something different from myself, and putting my shoes into them. Notes: Well thanks for taking the time to read my long winded rambles once again. I'm fairly proud of this application and I do hope you enjoyed it. I will remain around to answer any questions or critiques you may have on it. I expect my backstory to be the weakest part as i'm much stronger in action improvising over writing a story, but I hope you can send me any parts you have particular problems with and I can address them! Thank you for your time!

Honestly I hate cloning, it is a devisive opinion I know but what it does is make death feel more like a minor setback. It makes you not care as much about dying. It makes medical slack at their jobs and let people die so they can clone them instead. Idea, what if we forced cloned individuals to be a sort of sub type of their race? Something like "Cloned Human/Unathi/Etc". Having this would reduce your max health and make you weaker and generally just super unappealing. We can reason it out as "Recently Cloned individuals may suffer adverse side effects for the first couple of days after cloning." This would make death not take you out of the round, but also hopefully heavily discourage cloning as an alternative to proper medical care or death. I propose something like this. Joe Schmoe, a Freshly-Cloned Human! "They look abnormally pale and frail, they must have recently been cloned." Less HP and Stamina Weaker (Weaker punches and breaks bones and such easier) Get's hungry quicker And probably some other things Im not thinking of right now.

Can I also add that for some reason the mandible garment always unselects itself from the loadout and I have to re-edit it to select it every single round?

+1 For reasons said above.

Personally I am still going to give this a +1 because more things effecting the game mechanically is always good in my book. I think it would add a bit of much needed depth as well. Also I really want to see someone untrained in firearms fail in a hilarious manner. Joe Schmo fires the energy carbine into their eyes! Mary Sue is thrown against the wall from the force of the shotgun!

I kinda like the idea primarily because there are SO many ways to communicate that are just ignored. Intercoms are only used if comms goes out. PDA's are rarely used. Messaging rooms are never used, station alert things or whatever those little wall computers are never get used. So yeah, I think i'd agree to this. Maybe, what if the Common channel could still exist, but was restricted to emergencies? Only being available on red alert, or maybe being restricted on blue. I don't know. I'm half asleep.

I tend to act a bit silly as a Vox but I hardly go to the extend i've seen others act. It gets a bit crazy seeing them dope around like, well, really what I can compare it to are clowns. Antag-Clowns.

So, from being pretty active in the engineering department and being active in quite a few of these "tesla" rounds, Alicia needs to stop, it's gotten silly. I understand it started off as a gimmick of "I really like the tesla." but it has gone too far, every round I see them they are acting ridicolous with the tesla and practically priming it to be released. The round where she intentionally misinterpreted orders can be described by me in no words other than "A childish fit" because she didn't get her way. Whether this is an IC or OOC issue I think this needs to be resolved. If this is an IC canon event, theres is ZERO reason NT would keep them hired, or at the least allow them ANY access to the tesla anymore. My personal preference would be a forced demotion to apprentice, or some other IC resolution, because at this point Alicia has gone from being someone who really likes the Tesla to essentially insane in their obsession, no reason anyone ICly would be allowed to work in that condition, especially without some form of psychological treatment or medication. Slightly off topic note: Tesla is way too easy to sabotage, and people who treat it like this give it an even worse name. Little idea, maybe there should be "Tesla Netrualization" machines that destroy an escaped tesla, at the cost of maybe a huge EMP and Average sized explosion, so it's less of a round ending event. (Unless someone sabotages those as well.)

Right, so I love Vaurca, obviously, but here is a question i've actually had, that as far as I know, isn't particularly clarified anywhere. The particular "Type" naming schemes, here is what I know. Type A = Workers Type B = Warriors Type C = Breeders Simple enough, right? Then through wiki and lore article diving, it gets a bit more specific. Type CA and Type CB CA = Bound Breeder CB = Unbound Breeder Once again, fairly simple, though then it gets down to this part. "Ultimately, all Vaurca currently employed by NanoTrasen aboard the NSS Exodus or NSS Aurora are of the least augmented tier - either Type AA or Type BA." This somewhat confuses me, and it doesn't seem to follow any pattern, i've also heard in other lore news pieces of "Type BB's" and generally i'm not sure what all of these mean. If I follow the logic of before, where the first letter applies to Type A/B/C, and the second letter applies to Bound/Unbound, that would mean it's saying they are All Bound Workers and Warriors, but that isn't true at all, because NT doesn't like Bound warriors, and we see both unbound and bound workers, so that consistency can't be correct... is it? Anyways it confuses me. I've taken it as perhaps it's supposed to be a mystery, because oooh who knows maybe there is a "Type XK" and other things, but that doesn't seem right either, so yeah. Honestly, I am half asleep and likely wording this terribly indeed, but yeah, a simple sorta... "Chart" of the types explaining what it all means would be appreciated, and I am sure some of the types they refer to have never been encountered before outside of hiveships and what not. Especially not working in a normal environment, I doubt NT really wants giant augmented super Warriors on their ships. Anyways, now that I got that random question out of the way, lets answer these questions you had for us. What draws you towards playing Vaurca? Honestly, insects and caste systems, the "Alien" nature and how different they are, how vastly different members within the same species can be, just comparing a breeder to a worker for example, basically an entirely different species. The way they communicate and the culture of "bound" and "unbound", all in all it's just... fascinating. It's so weird and different. What do you like and what do you dislike about the current lore? Honestly, and while it's a major part of their character, I really can't say I care a "ton" about the VR stuff, now I certainly like it, but I feel with the way it is currently described and detailed, it could do with a bit more fleshing out to make it feel more indepth and real than. "Fantasy Perfection VR world". I like the contrast between living it up in a fantasy and being thrust out into the Material world, but I feel like the Virtual stuff could really do with a bit more refining to feel a bit more engaging, how much of the species lives are spent in the VR? Do the Queen's (Well, Lesser Queens at this point I suppose) spend most of their time in a fantasy world as well, do they manage real life affairs through the virtual? How does anything in the Material even get done if 90% of them are in a Virtual world all the time? I just feel like the whole thing while an interesting idea, leaves me more confused on how anything could actually manage to work. I understand everyone does "their time" pretty much outside the virtual but it seems like its not emphasized much at all. Basically the Virtual leaves me feeling a bit confused. What changes would you make if you were in my position? Well, overall I honestly like most of it, I don't think anything needs to be "Changed", I just think things need to be "Expanded" upon. What I would focus on is making the Virtual more engaging, and while purely personal preference, I would like to hear a bit more about the inner workings of the castes and biological engineering they do. How well are they integrating into the real world? Are they even integrating at all or just moving their virtual tubes to a new spot? It just feels a bit vague at points. Just a bit of history about the state of things currently without having to dig through old news articles. I probably sound a bit harsh and critical at points, and honestly, I don't mean to be, I could probably fill ten times more pages up with the positive things I like about them, but i'm bad at that, so these are generally my thoughts on the matter. I guess in conclusion, I love 90% of it, and I just want more of it, and the few confusing parts clarified a bit farther with more detail. So yeah, and this was the mad 1 AM ramblings of a person who really likes our friendly bug aliens.

I think i'd have to agree with this, a bit more TC for the antagonists would be a much needed improvement considering the points made. Especially with the current server population with the amount that the antagonists need to budget themselves, winds up being less of a balancing issue and more of a limiting issue.

I agree, as the other Vaurcae stuffed in the morgue, this is more than an IC issue of not understanding a different species, this is gross negligence. The Aurora is a high state of the art facility that NanoTrasen wouldn't hire a doctor if they didn't know surgery, or atleast BASIC treatment on the species serving aboard the station. Literally not even bothering to clone people, and leaving a recently clone patient in a back room unattended as they slowly suffocated and died a horrifying toxin filled death is NOT what a doctor would do. Would they know the specifics of everything? No, but this goes beyond to other scenarios as well. They would atleast try to fix the scenario or make sure they recover. Further, even situations as a human medical is incompetant regarding treatment, and are prone to ignore the dude dying and bleeding out, with the motto of "just clone them". Medical needs to improve, and at least pretend to care about the well being of your crew, and show a desire to figure out what to do instead of not caring and "Just morgue or clone em!"

Yep, I am very aware that there are changes incoming, and I am completely open to adapting to them, and as a matter of fact, I am looking forward to the changes, It'll be interesting. I've been keeping track of a lot of the loremaster changes and things going around and I think it'll be good for the species as a whole, so to answer the question, yes, aware.

+1 Good idea, Mixed Secret is honestly the best mode, but it also just feels like it is lacking things or feeling limited at times.

BYOND Key: TheMaskedMan2 Character Names: Susanne Sai (I do play as cyborg quite a bit but I have no set name for it, and for some reason I get Antag a lot so I wind up not being my human character!) Species you are applying to play: Vaurca What color do you plan on making your first alien character (Dionaea & IPCs exempt): Simply the default color for an Unbound K'lax (R-51, G-51, B-0) Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Of course I have, multiple times, it's quite a fun read. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph format. One paragraph minimum per question Why do you wish to play this specific race: Well, I have always loved insect and arthropod races in sci-fi, as well as real life. I find the whole dynamic of a collective all designed for specific roles working together. They have always been so different, and intriguing than our typical human sensibilities. This isn't even touching on the fascinating lore that they have, and in all honesty, it seems to be one of the most in-depth and unique pieces of lore for a species. I enjoy the separate type of mindset it will encourage me to have, to think differently, the ideas of a caste system, and attempting to adapt to a human society that despises and discriminates against you. The virtual world they lived in is also interesting, and the sheer difference and vast shock that it must be to be put into reality and adapt to it, is definitely an interesting dynamic I would like to partake in. I have also noticed, that there seems to be quite a lack of Vaurca players, and I believe the station could do with a bit of diversity, the interesting dynamic and evolution of a character, a severe minority, and attempting to overcome the discrimination, well, it's interesting. Further, I look forward to the innate 'tension' between Vaurca of different hives, and their interactions towards each-other, a unique experience to this species. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Well, let us start somewhere. There is quite a lot makes them different from humanity, and even other alien races as a whole on the station! There is of course the actual gameplay mechanics. Hivenet - A global language only audible to Synthethics and other Vaurca, this allows quite a bit of a different flavor and gameplay opportunity, as it is essentially a hidden reliable method of communication. Not to mention what other races may feel regarding it, paranoia perhaps? Leads to interesting scenarios. Internals and Phoron - Vaurca require phoron to breathe. Which they aquire typically be consuming k'ois products, this in turn means they must constantly have internals on, and something to keep an eye on. (Excluding the rare scenario if the station is flooded with phoron, of course.) Carapace and Spacewalks - Vaurca bodies are structured differently, and as a result, do not require suits to venture out into the depths of space. Of course, they must still have internals, though they require that all the time typically anyways. The body itself, while having a quite sizable amount of brute resistance, does come at more than a few drawbacks though, they physically can't wear many items, they simply don't recover from bleeding or naturally regen. Toxins are incredibly deadly, and flashes can blind. This doesn't even mention should a Vaurca be cloned, they will be lacking their implanted artificial parts. Caste - The worker caste is a bit slower, and lack the ability to bite, but in turn, have a greater resistance to Brute, Radiation, and Suffocation damage. The warrior caste on the other hand, is faster, and do have the ability to bite those they are holding tightly, delivering massive damage. Further, they have an increased resistance to fire, though it is at the cost of being less resistant to brute damage. An unplayable caste should also be mentioned, the Breeders, these are the rare leaders of the species as a whole, boasting a greatly increased size, and commanding the respect of all lesser castes. Let's touch on the non mechanical aspects of the species for a moment, they dislike light, and to be honest, most of the bright lights within the station would be likely to annoy them for prolonged periods of time, and I would like to use that to further character development and RP. Though in exchange, they do have quite excellent vision in the dark. (Not an actual mechanic in game iirc) The species themselves are very specialized, being very skilled in their job of choice, but severely lacking in knowledge of other departments. For example, a Medically inclined Vaurca would know likely every aspect of anatomy, biology, and other medical practices, but would be at quite a loss regarding anything but the basic functions of hacking a door, or building machinery. Another intriguing aspect to note, would be the speech of them. While some Vaurca can easily understand and comprehend the aspects of basic, it is not uncommon for the odd slip in sentence structure. Additionally, Vaurca are physically incapable of speaking basic with their natural voice, they require implants to be capable. Even with this, they still typically have trouble expressing and properly pronouncing sounds, commonly replacing 'S' with 'Z', and placing too much strain on specific sounds. Besides the physical differences, when role-playing as a Vaurca, you must think in a different mindset then that of a typical human, with such a vastly different culture and society, adjusting and socializing with other species, would likely create quite the clash in ideals. For example, it would not be odd for a Vaurca to offhandedly remark the Bound as simple tools, while most other species would find the manner in which they treat their own kind at birth as revolting and inhumane. Character Name: Ka'Akaix'Pikt K'lax Please provide a short backstory for this character, approximately 2 paragraphs The Virtual was perfect, within, any Vaurca could dream and exist with whatever they desired. Even the most wild of fantasies could be fulfilled, and many, perhaps most even, would prefer to never leave the paradise they inhabit. Though life would never be that simple, and by necessity, some must be chosen to descend and work within the Material for the benefit of the Hive. Pikt is not much different from the others, they had no desire to ever leave the Virtual, they spent time fantasizing within, building amazing hives with intricately designed details, every piece perfected and refined for years. Though the time always comes, and they must draw the numbers, and as luck would have it, Pikt had a Black Number. The transition was not easy, it was like having your entire being ripped through a wire, and snapping your senses shut. The Material was dull, Pikt could no longer exert the control over their perception of reality they once had. The foreign lands were even worse, the lights were a stinging, headache inducing bright, the noises and smells were sterile and strange. They lacked any meaning or purpose, and the humans, the beings that had ripped Pikt from their perfect paradise, showed no sympathy or understanding. Unfeeling and demanding, Pikt was force into a demeaning job, a lowly Engineering Apprentice. Now, while Pikt had seen the display of other Vaurcae, merely tolerating the treatment, Pikt believed they deserved more, and that the Material world was merely another world, much like the Virtual, that they had not figured out how to control. Filled with a sense of ambition, Pikt sees these new limitations as a challenge to overcome, and seeks to mold the Material much as they molded the Virtual. They simply must first understand it. What do you like about this character? So, I rather enjoy this character, like many other Vaurcae admittedly, they started within the Virtual, and drew a black number. What I enjoy with this, is the idea of instead of merely surviving, making their way, and hoping to return to the Virtual, they seek to thrive in this new world. They have ambition, to make the best of this and look forward eagerly. Against all discrimination, and all the hurdles and paperwork, Pikt hopes to raise the Varcua and their Hives' status out of the depths, and into a bright new world, despite how futile it may be. I believe this will make for quite interesting interactions, motivations, and potentially even Traitor gimmicks. Further, I find it as an interesting challenge to the character, and even myself as a role-player, to see them properly risen and promoted from Apprentice to a proper Job via the Avowal of Responsibility, and see where it goes. How would you rate your role-playing ability? Fairly decent, I believe I would put myself at a 7, but who wouldn't? I will admit to not being the greatest writer, for it has always been my weak spot, but I do believe when it comes to making a character feel genuine, I do well in that regard. I'll try to explain my role-playing style. I have been role-playing ever since I was little, of course, on a fairly different scale than this! Though I have always had a fascination with putting myself within the shoes of another character, becoming something different from myself. I've expressed this throughout the years through table top games, online groups, and chat rooms. More specifically, I have always been an improviser, I believe I adapt remarkably well on the fly, and I like to remain reactionary. I have never been one for long winded plans set in stone. I prefer instead to set a base or skeleton, and see how it evolves through the actions of those involved, developing the character further in that manner. All in all, I figure that the best way to improve my role-playing abilities would be to simply role-play more and practice! Notes: Apologies for my long winded rambles, I thank you for taking the time to read this application, and I eagerly look forward to criticism, which I hope I will be able to respond to and address, ask any questions and i'll get to them as soon as I can. Furthermore, I am aware I am fairly new to this community as a whole, though I have always been quite the lurker, on and off again. I predict my backstory will be the weakest part of this application, and I genuinely look forward to critique. I hope to be able to play as a Vaurca and prove my capabilities as a valuable player. Further, I will continue to up my activity on the server so you may witness my abilities in game. Thanks for reading.