Shenaanigans

To second a lot of what Ersh said, it is rather obvious that English is not your first language but you try your best and manage to do a great job of contributing to RP and engaging other people's characters despite that. Really you go out of your way to interact with others more than most people who are fluent, which is extremely valuable for a RP environment, and language skills can always be improved with time and practice. Your application does also show a basic understanding of Tajaran lore, but could definitely stand to be elaborated on a bit through answering some questions about who Ratam is as a character and what his stance is on some of the more important points of lore. Hopefully the species' lore writers will work with you on that to fill things out a bit more. Best of luck!

I think it could provide some extra RP for medical and investigations to have non-antag related corpses present on the ship. It isn't just that the ship hosts a variety of hazardous jobs-- particularly mining and any others who depart on the shuttles to investigate derelicts/exoplanets --but also that hundreds of people are rotating through the residential quarters and could have passed for other reasons. Maybe some random guy had a heart attack. Granted I don't think it should be a guaranteed spawn, though a range of 0-2 sounds reasonable to me. As for adding a new aspect to the changeling/vampire meta, I'm not against giving these two antagonists another way to get some basic resources besides the most common stealth sniping of crew or grabbing up all the monkey cubes and blood bags that are already present on spawn. It would hardly be easy for anyone but medical or security to break in and get access.

Thank you! Writing this out definitely involved a LOT of flipping between all the different Skrell pages to make sure I was spelling various terms right and getting all the little details right hah. But on to the questions. They've loved candied Neaera eyes since they were a tadpole and were very glum about how much harder it was to get their hands on those outside of the Federation, so i's become a treasured treat that they're always thrilled to get to have. They've also had some hits and misses with trying lots of different Solarian foods-- spicy hurts ow --but they're a big fan of various fried, sweet things like funnel cakes and doughnuts. The loss of their psionic abilities is something that Tii'Qi is still rather sore about, even about a decade later, but getting back behind the helm of a ship has helped them settle some of the longing they've felt for their old profession. They might have to rely on technological sensors to confidently navigate rather than psionics yet they've felt some of that old, childhood curiosity re-igniting at the prospect of ranging out into the stars to discover new things and meet all the fascinating alien species out there. It still sucks though and they often feel envious of psionically gifted Skrell who enjoy what they've lost. I can only imagine that the whole Federation was bursting with excitement after the discovery of humanity and that would've been something all four members of the Quya felt. Xul is really the only one of the four I've fleshed out personality wise, but as an aerospace engineer they were likely well involved in some of the technological exchanges that occurred. I'd say they also visited Solarian space before Tii'Qi was born which is what led them into setting up some professional contacts there and eventually returning with their child in tow. Tii'Qi was definitely raised on stories about what living among humans was like and had a childhood dream of one day visiting.

It's nice to be back! You can never escape the Aurora for long... I totally misunderstood how the ceremony worked, then. Edited to reflect that. I was also definitely going off of a more human understanding of "tarot reading" so that's likewise been tweaked. A very average 5.5 or so. Their SCS hovered in the low 5s for most of their recovery period, but after successfully graduating with their piloting credentials and cleaning up their social media a bit they managed to boost it to a more comfortable level before leaving. Tii'Qi is definitely not a rebellious type and has always steered clear of those circles, but their Qrri'Myaq always stressed to not take information as the gospel truth without doing their own research and thought first so they have moments of skepticism toward the Federation's more authoritarian practices. They'll just never say any of it publicly and especially not on social media. They're a bit terrified of being flagged again. I'd say they only really interacted with either in passing due to the fact that they spent most of their time in the Federation at Depth College or other schooling. They are intensely curious about all other alien species, though, and would love to get to know a few both on a personal and scientific level. Working with Solarians is a bit easier due to the fact that they picked up a good amount of cultural knowledge on the Solarian jewel worlds while they lived on Europa, but they feel familiar enough with humans in general to manage with any of them. The emotional aspect is still just hard and that won't ever really change. The various bits of marauder activity out in the Traverse were really only something that reached Tii'Qi as news articles and some social media discussion to read over, though it did effectively kill any consideration they were giving to exploring some of the Skrell colonies further from Qerrbalak. They might have sought employment on a Federation vessel out there instead of choosing to leave Federation space entirely otherwise.

BYOND Key: Shenaanigans Character Names: Most of my characters haven't been played in almost a year, but I'll list some of my most notable ones (for any oldies who might remember) along with the ones I've played since coming back. Sloane Goldhirsch - Security Officer Valeriya Samsara - Head of Personnel Aishsa Viswan - Chief Medical Officer Najeera Sayisov - Engineer Halkikijr Zaydan - Chef Mirima Rikhraka - Investigator Zeolsa Ezko - Security Officer Isarla K'rrimaliik - Bartender Species you are applying to play: Skrell What color do you plan on making your first alien character?: Dark purple Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes! Why do you wish to play this specific race?: After a long absence from Aurora I was feeling the role play itch again, so I've been looking to ease myself back into playing regularly which involved brushing up on my lore knowledge to see what had changed. I hadn't been too interested in deep diving into the Skrell pages during my first bout of play, but after taking some more time with it I've become much more compelled by the uniqueness of Skrell and their complicated relationship with artificial intelligence. The concept of a telepathic alien race is neat on its own and I'm very interested in exploring how a species who is so much more deeply connected to each other during both their waking and sleeping hours navigates their rather authoritarian culture, expresses themselves to aliens who lack this connection, and goes about day to day life as an amphibious creature in a landwalker's world. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: So much, honestly. From just a biological standpoint, Skrell have vastly different needs than humans when it comes to environment, nutrition, and social interaction and it can make it rather jarring for them to exist outside of Federation space, which has had centuries of head-start over the other races in producing an advanced society that tends to their every need. Even their lifespan vastly outstrips that of all other species, causing Skrell to adopt an entirely different mindset of what constitutes "long" versus "short" term. A decade is just a brief interlude that can be idled away while they worry about all their big plans fifty years, a hundred years, maybe even centuries in the future. Their exceptionally active Zona Bovaine and resulting psionics could also be considered a major physical difference, but actually has a greater degree of a cultural and social impact on the Skrell than importance as just a neat, natural ability. When entire population centers can be subtly drawn into unified thought by the pull of the Wake-- persisting even when a Skrell drops into the Srom --it only makes sense that the Federation would develop as a more authoritarian government that values adherence to social norms and "good thoughts" that ripple outward to further promote homogeneity. Much less prone to factionalism and infighting than humanity. Their attitude toward artificial intelligence is also particularly unique and, in the interest of cutting off this long paragraph here, can be summarized as a complicated mix of fear and hostility after the tragedy that was Glorsh-Omega. Character Name: Tiik'Qi Wurlq Please provide a short backstory for this character: Born in 2377 on the Skrell capital of Qerrbalak, Tii'Qi was welcomed into the world by the joyous excitement of their parents' four person Quya. The Quya in question had nearly been a member short at the time of Tii'Qi's Aqi'qa as its fourth member, a rather hotheaded Skrell by the name of Xul Gir-Lurq, stood on somewhat tumultuous romantic ground with the other three members orbiting in their stable Qu'Poxii triad. Lu'Poxii to some, uncertain with others, they had drifted in and out of the Quya every few years until the news that an egg had successfully quickened came out and settled their commitment to raising this child alongside the others. Quite fortunately for Tiik'Qi, as Xul was the one that their psionic tether latched onto and bestowed upon the honor of being their Qrri'Myaq. Tii'Qi's Scuttle Schooling was a generally normal affair for a Skrell born during the reconstruction era and for the first thirty or so years of their life they were barely ever outside the watchful gaze of at least one member of their parents' Quya. The older Skrell handled them like a precious gift-- full of potential that had to be carefully shaped --and despite the black sparks some parenting arguments caused between Xul and the others the group was quite successful in preparing Tii'Qi with the foundational knowledge they would need from their early life. The only hiccup was when the young Skrell was tested for psionic aptitude, both labeling them as a strong Receiver and psionic talent that brought some Qeblak clergy knocking with the intent to recruit them into becoming an acolyte. Xul was immediately opposed, both as a believer in Weishii and defensive Qrri'Myaq not wanting their progeny stolen away so early, though even without that negative response Tii'Qi shied away and seemed not at all interested. So the Quya turned them away and Tii'Qi went on to Reefgarden, formalizing their choice during their Odurserr where they chose to pass over the illuminated sketch of the constellations Xul had gifted them in favor of burning a scale model of a Skrellian scouting ship. In their first degree at Depth College, Tii'Qi pursued the path of Psy-Neurology: the study of the Zona Bovinae and how psionics and the brain are intertwined. They had always been an eager student, hungry for knowledge on topics that intrigued them, and they performed quite well throughout the decade they spent taking classes, participating in experimental labs, and contributing to papers on the nuances of the Zona Bovinae. Their independence from their parents' Quya began to grow steadily during this time, but their relationship with the older Skrell had always been positive and loving, especially with their Qrri'Myaq. It was after they'd graduated and were seriously considering a second degree that Xul told them that they were leaving Federation space for the Sol system and taking a contract with a branch company of Nanotrasen to consult on the new model of submarine that would soon be employed in Europa's vast seas. The concept of being separated by such vast distance from their Qrri'Myaq made the young Skrell balk and so they quickly pivoted on their plans, instead declaring that they wished to follow off world and join one of the many research teams operating on the moon. And so the two departed. Plans once again changed once the Skrell arrived on Europa and Tii'Qi began putting out feelers for openings on research vessels. Zeng-Hu was always quick to lock on to news of psionically gifted Skrell in want of a job, and so they immediately presented a cushy, exceedingly well paid offering for a position as a Psionic Navigator. The concept thrilled Tii'Qi's young curiosity for the new and unknown as well as offered exposure to the research expeditions they'd been interested in in the first place which led them to, likewise, immediately accepting. For years this career made Tii'Qi very happy, despite the inherently claustrophobic environment of a submarine, though they naturally picked up some of the quirks inherent in Europan Skrell such as an affinity for the tarot. They became quite well versed in mapping their own fortunes and basked in the appreciation of the various crews they were placed with for keeping the subs safe in the endless dark water. It was an experience they often shared through Viv-ID-- writing poems about creatures gliding through the dark and relaying their gratitude for the keen psionics that let them keep others safe --which earned them a steadily climbing social credit score that peaked in the low 6s. All these positives were not to last, though. Closing in on their second decade as a Psionic Navigator, Tii'Qi began to feel a stretch on their psionics. An ache that would ping in their brain when they reached out to the limits of their abilities searching for signatures in the abyss. It was a mild annoyance at first, but began to grow into a more serious issue of persistent headaches, frazzled nerves, difficulty sleeping, and eventually a gradual weakening of their psionics itself. They were going Sea-Blind. They refused to believe it when first given the diagnosis, instead mulishly continuing to navigate for multiple other expeditions, until suddenly it was like the spark in their Zona Bovinae fizzled out and their sensing radius became about as useful as staring out a window into the endless black. Zeng-Hu, meanwhile, had been tracking their diminishing performance for some time and, unsympathetic to anything but results, "suggested" that the Skrell retire. To make matters worse, Tii'Qi had begun venting through Viv-ID about their struggles as the Blindness became worse and their account became flagged for the persistent negativity and "spreading of hysteria" with the claim that one could even lose their psionics. Their social credit peak of low 6 dipped to a valley of the high 4s. Having seen quite enough, Xul intervened on this despairing spiral Tii'Qi had slid into and, in no uncertain terms, declared that they were going home. The next decade or so was spent recovering among their doting parents who rejoiced at having Tii'Qi back in arm's reach despite the deep melancholy the younger Skrell had fallen into. The persistent headaches and anxiety did begin to abate with time but, unfortunately, their psionics showed no signs of returning to anywhere near their prior strength nor sensitivity, instead settling into a level much more akin to a low affinity listener. They were forced to make peace with the fact that their previous passion was now barred to them and they (mostly through Xul's tough love) accepted that they had to move on and find a new path. This ended up becoming a more skill oriented degree in starship piloting and navigation, since it would at least place them back on the familiar ground of a ship-- just among the stars rather than the seas. They graduated, once again told their parents' Quya goodbye, and left Federation space on a shuttle to intercept the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate's new discovery vessel, the SCCV Horizon, where they would serve as a part of the bridge crew navigating the ship into unknown space. What do you like about this character?: I really love Europa's lore in general so when I saw the tie-in to Skrell with the Psionic Navigators I was immediately compelled to build a character concept around it. What I ended up with is a character who's sort of fallen from grace, unable to rely on the talents they once took for granted, and had to just pick up the pieces and keep on moving through the centuries of life they have left ahead of them. I think it'll make for an interesting dynamic with both other Skrell and Solarians, since Tii'Qi has some more experience with Solarian culture than Skrell who are fresh out of Federation space. How would you rate your role-playing ability?: I've gotten to the point where trying to slap a number from 1 to 10 down to describe this feels arbitrary, so I'll just say that I'm pretty confident in my ability to both create compelling characters and RP them faithfully according to the lore. Notes: Tii'Qi is an Axiori Skrell and loosely follows the Weishii faith, though is more into using tarot for spiritual purposes.

I get that people are worried about OOC backlash to limiting themselves on what's expected of Physicians, but honestly what parts of gameplay is a Nurse going to refrain from that people could get mad about? Surgery should never be innately expected since we have Surgeons for that very purpose and, even when Nurse was still a role that I myself played, I did all the same things that a Physician did-- performing scans, administering medicine, transporting crew to the ICU/surgery rooms as necessary. Nothing about spawning in as a Nurse felt different mechanically than doing so as a Physician, besides the RP aspect that I independently enforced on myself to step back when there were Physicians around and instead assist them with what they were doing. Something you can do without a different title.

The reasoning behind nurse being removed was to clean up the job bloat in general, since we had a lot of alt-titles with no clearly defined mechanical differences or realms of expertise. I do understand that nurse and physician are very different roles from a RL perspective, but in game there just isn't enough mechanical basis to necessitate it. Given we're a HRP server you can absolutely flavor specializations into your physician character to be more of a support job and take it upon yourself to RP in that way. It's like how "scientist" is such a hugely varied category that it's almost mindblowing to make it a single job, but in game it allows for a general amount of access that you can flavor how you want ICly.

I'm definitely a big fan of the idea of giving cult more variety, because I do agree that the gamemode suffers most from extremely restricting flavor that always results in rounds going the same way-- IE an inevitable murder fest, even if the cult attempts to start peacefully since all their mechanical weapons are all very violence and gore focused. That being said, I do have one big reservation about encouraging this kind of discussion. Who's going to code it? You can concept craft for hours on end and come up with some really wonderful ideas, but implementing any of it is ultimately going to take some big effort and skill with byond coding so, without that, none of this actually goes anywhere. Not to be a huge downer, rather a reminder that sweeping changes to a game mode don't just spring out of thin air.

I have no interest in seeing mechanical skills implemented on Aurora. It'd tilt us further away from RP justifications for character behavior in favor of just "do you have the right skills" and I think it's pretty limiting to creativity in general. I'd be all for just scrubbing skills from the code/character setup since right now it just confuses people when they see a skills tab but clicking around in it does nothing.

Hey there! This might be the first whitelist application we've had using an aut'akh character since the faction revamp. Exciting. Overall I think you have a solid understanding of what separates Unathi from humanity and a nice character backstory going here, so I just have a few questions in mind to pick your brain a little further on Kaliahsurzi. You mentioned that he managed to offend some noble classmates while at school despite trying to keep his head down, so how did that happen? Does he have a hotheaded side when pressed far enough or was it just sticking up for himself against relentless harassment? Did this have any more consequences for him socially or academically besides the eventual dueling injury? Many Unathi might be swayed toward taking a prosthetic to heal an injury, but why did Kaliahsurzi go beyond that and actually convert to the Aut'akh faith instead of just taking the new limb and breaking off contact with the cult? Has anyone close to him managed to find out about any of it? What is Kaliahsurzi's attitude toward the Hegemony and those who practice the other Unathi faiths? The Aut'akh are pretty unanimously persecuted by the rest of society, so I'm curious to know how he feels about that.

My experiences working with Haydizzle from within lore have been nothing but positive and he has what I consider to be the most valuable quality for a loremaster position-- approachability. He has never failed to be reasonable when discussing lore matters and doesn't fall into the trap of passive aggression when debates become more heated while likewise remaining available and responsive when needed, which are traits that I would look for even more so than creative power and writing ability. The loremaster is a management role, in charge of bringing some order and cohesiveness to a team of about 20 people who are all passionate about their ideas, and while I think it's a good idea to have some direction in mind for where to push lore as we approach the NBT, what I really want to see in the spot is someone I can talk to and trust to seriously take concerns into account. Great lore ideas do nothing for us if the team can't even function. Frankly I think you're being too harsh on yourself with this. Don't go into the position (if you do get it) with the attitude that you'll never live up to Kyres-- that's just setting yourself up to fail --and instead recognize what you can bring to the team that it doesn't have with an empty spot. I personally think you do very well on the management side and would feel comfortable having you as deputy loremaster for when I need to bring up conflicts or questions that can't be solved by just talking to the rest of the team. That said, there is the aspect of how much demand having both that spot and the unathi maintainer role will put on you and, personally, I don't really like the idea of a loremaster having any other role within the lore team for the sake of remaining unbiased in their responsibilities to all species. If you think you can balance the two, though, I would put the feeling aside to see how that goes and we've already discussed a bit about how that's your intention right now. Overall, this is a +1. I'll leave off with a question that's more from my own curiosity: if you were to be given the position right here and now, what would be your first act in using it?

This is a pretty interesting concept and, from my perspective, I'd say that the idea of renting long term docking ports would check out as feasible. Though they'd probably be less like full docks with the ability to refuel and load cargo and more like, just, a literal spot to stick the ship. As for the address it'd make sense to me to list it as "NTCC ODIN, Dock ##" or something similar.

I have no doubt that Sycmos would be a great addition to CCIA. He's active, reasonable, puts a great deal of thought into his characters, and is generally someone I would trust to judge the various IC drama blowouts that tend to lead to IRs. He also likes paperwork-- which isn't normal but I guess is a positive here. +1

Hey there! This is a very thorough and well thought out application and I'm very intrigued by the information you've laid out on how an agricultural based Clan was effected by first contact and the nuclear exchange. It makes for an interesting character background that synergizes well with lore, so great job there. I really only have a few questions for you: You've mentioned how Koth is generally only "faithful" to Sk'akh for the sake of appearances, so how does this effect his view on other traditional concepts that most Unathi observe? Things like hostility toward the heretical religions (Si'akh and Aut'akh), support of rigid gender roles, and obligation to serve one's elders/lord over yourself. How have Koth's experiences with non-Unathi merchants been so far? There tends to be a bit of culture shock for Unathi who begin working with races that don't hold to their same concept of "honor" which might forbid lying, backstabbing, and other business savvy practices, so I'm curious to know if he's had those same difficulties or been better able to adapt due to his temperament. What are Koth's general opinions toward Wastelanders and Dominians?

I'm always pleased to see more Unathi characters drawing off of the Queendom lore and this application seems to show a solid understanding of both how the timeline shakes out and the relationship the Queendom's populace tends to have to the rest of Unathi society. It's a very strange cultural inversion of the status quo for Unathi and requires grasping how things normally work before you can turn that on its head, so good job there. I just had a few questions that came to mind while reading the application. Could you further expand on what Razla's personality is like? You mentioned her being inquisitive and loyal to her Queen, but I'm curious to know about things like how sociable she is, how she reacts to more culturally traditional Unathi trying to impose their ideals on her, and any other ways you'd describe what she's like as a person. Does she have any other goals beyond sending wealth back home? Career aspirations? Desire for a family? Maybe intent to eventually return to Moghes? I like the detail about Razla constructing a shrine to her mother to draw some comfort from; has she continued this sort of prayer or reconstructed the shrine?