BYOND Key: Neopolitan
Character Names: Aisha Caladius, Erika Dietrich, Dia Albright, Sasha Mayfly.
Species you are applying to play: Skrell.
What color do you plan on making your first alien character: Dark Green
Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes, but I tend to keep the lore page open either way when i’m playing a species or culture, such as Dominians and Eridanians.
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:
This is my first whitelist race, and the Skrell have always interested me in their lore, and with the player characters I've interacted with. Their subtle ways that they have to express emotions compared to much more emotive races, such as humans, is a big draw, because I think it’d be very fun to think of various ways to express how my character is feeling and their actions with these restrictions. The idea of the race itself, of a universally psychically attuned race, so connected that your thoughts can so passively be shared and seen, to the point that their government has a whole division of law enforcement specifically dedicated to monitoring their citizens through it is also a really interesting angle that I think would be fun to explore. The idea that it can be so hard for them to express themselves to other species, while also being able to be incredibly hard to hide how they feel from their own, is such a unique and interesting concept to me. Not to mention the niche of an extremely old race recovering from a tragedy hundred of years ago, which in their life span is enough that there are quite a few alive that actually experienced that tragedy, and them seeing just how easily it could all go wrong again with the rise of human artificial intelligence. As a Dominian player, seeing the subtle, slight conflicts such prejudice again, say, machines can bring excites me, and with the Skrell, it takes that, but with an entirely justified and reasonable cause behind it.
Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human:
To me, at a glance, there’s a massive gap between roleplaying a human, and a Skrell here. Conveying emotions is so much subtler, and the numerous culture differences, between their different humor (and how they literally, physically experience humor in a different way), the high expectations put on them by their government and society, and overall, the addition of their psionics, and how connected they are with eachother because of them, gives a huge difference between them, and just frog-flavored humans.
Character Name: Quivol Vilov-Yuqil
Please provide a short backstory for this character
Hatched in the year 2413 on Qerr’Malic, and born with the disorder known as ‘Beakmouth’, Quivol had the issue quickly rectified at a young age, leaving her with little to no evidence of the defect ever plaguing her. At the age of 19, she moved from the moon to the homeplanet, Qerrbalak, to study in the field of sociology. A receiver, she was very attuned to the ebb and flow of the Wake, and, during her studies, was very intrigued by the fact that other species lacked such a fundamental connection without each other. Eventually this intrigue evolved into fascination, and her attentiveness in her chosen field started to slip because of it, though she was put back on the right track through the intervention of a close colleague after they noticed this, though her curiosity did not wane.
Later after achieving her degree in sociology, she immediately went into the field of psychology, with a vast majority of her research and papers going into the psychology of the other sapient species of the galaxy, such as the unathi, the vaurca, and humanity. She passed her courses without much issue, and at the age of 48, she applied for permission to leave Federation and seek work outside of it, and, after being applied and eventually being granted a work visa for the Republic of Biesel, signed up for work in an entry level position as a cargo worker, reasoning that personal, face to face interactions with other species through a service position would satiate her interest, and ultimately assist in her research and goal of writing and publishing a full paper on the various intricacies of interactions with species limited to physical and verbal expression, despite the stigma such a position would earn from other Skrell.
What do you like about this character?
I really like the idea of a Skrell who still sticks to the scientific and higher education ideals of the Federation, while working a lower end job to further their goals of those ideals. I think her ambition to study how different species interact, and their responses to social stimuli could create some potentially interesting interactions. Also not drowning in the pool immediately.
How would you rate your role-playing ability?
7/10. I know i’m not the best, but I think i’m pretty good.
Notes: Regardless whether this gets accepted or not, I think just filling this out was such a nice experience. I spent so long worrying and fretting about it, but when I was actually getting through it, and actually decided to post it, it was a good feeling, felt accomplished.
Oh my gosh yes I love these questions. 1) Yuqil is actually the name of the Skrell, one who was farther along in their studies of Sociology at the time, who encouraged them and put them back on track during their time getting their degree, and was a big part of their time during so, helping them along during this time both academically and socially. She ended up idolizing him in the personal sense, and keeps regular contact with him now that's she's residing in Tau Ceti for her work. 2) I fully expect Quivol to be looked down upon by other Skrell for both her relatively young age, and her current employment, which is actually why I decided to end up going with it in the first place. I think it will honestly be a really fun experience to have her try and explain her chosen reasoning for the job, and seeing how their approval, or more likely disapproval, will make her think about her choices in the name of study, and while she didn't exactly now the general behavior of NT's supply department, she still believes her choice was a good one, as it gives her regular face to face contact with other species in a less formal setting than a psychiatry office, and gives her more free time to go out and socialize with other crewmembers to see their reactions to various social stimuli. 3) Quivol actually has a lot of varied opinions about various races, and i'm so glad you asked about that! She has a particular interest in humans, because of their super varied reactions to emotional, social, and stress related stimuli, and the super varied backgrounds most of them can come from. Tajarans she is also very interested in due to the constant split nature of their culture, and keenly wants to study how these conditions have affected them, especially ones outside the PRA, such as the NKA, and a lesser extend the DPRA, as she is very wary about them due to the nature of the articles she has read about them, and their label as terrorists. She is obviously extremely cautious around IPCs, for obvious reasons, and prefers to avoid them when possible. She finds Diona harder to read than even other races, and doesn't think they're very good material for her research, but doesn't have any particularly negative feelings about them, and has similar opinions on the Vaurca. Unathi have a similar place for her as Tajarans, as she's interested in how their unique, harsh environment has molded it's natives, as well as their rigid societal situation, and she is interested in Unathi of the Empire for separate, but admittedly similar reasons, given the unique structure of the Dominian Empire. If you have any other questions, i'd love to hear them! It's a joy to answer.