monomyth

okay sorry i didnt know if you meant like more abstractly here is my answer below; Sunset's Blush has always tried to integrate rather than exterminate or reject. They followed this practice on Xrim, and holds similar opinions on the mandates of Hieroaetheria. To this end, Sunset's Blush most aligns with the execution and practices of the Consortium. They desire for the Eternal Republic to take a more measured approach to their government, but staunchly opposes the isolationist beliefs of Gla'orr. Sunset Blush's hopes that with the continued organization of the Commonwealth, the more democratic and progressive ideals of Hieroaetheria will "rub off" on Gla'orr and Eternal Republic alike.

uhhh no I dont think i will be answering these questions.... 1. What faith does your Dionae follow? Sunset's Blush is a follower of the Orthodox Eternal, but does not frequently attend sermons. While they agree with the clergy's desire to obtain knowledge through material means, Sunset's Blush believes there should be more emphasis on decoding the world around them, rather than just collecting and interpreting on an individual level. 2. How old are they? 55 3. How has the Dionae arcs that have occurred impacted your character? Omnivirate's Providence directly impacted Sunset's Blush as a resident of Xrim. Sunset's Blush agreed with the involvement of the Omnivirate to bring a stop to the Cultivation Council--as mentioned, while they believe that Glorsh, and synthetics as a result, are untrustworthy, they believe that everyone should be entitled to their own passive beliefs. 4. How does your Dionae feel about Hieroaetheria? Sorry can you elaborate on this question

BYOND Ckey: Monomyth Discord username: monomyth Character names: Jack Monroe (dead), Emily Tyler (missing), Olivia Valaen (dead), Ryan Ackerman (current), Rowan Banko (current, new) Species you are applying to play: Dionae ------------------------------ General Whitelist Requirements What colour do you plan on making your first alien character?: Lighter Bark (warm planet) Have you read the lore pages for the species you wish to be whitelisted for?: Yes 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 species?: I think Dionae are a severely underutilized species. Not only do they provide an interesting roleplaying opportunity interspecies, but they allow for a number of extraspecies interactions that other races can't replicate. For example, when roleplaying with a Dionae, it can be called to attention that you are really speaking to an entire unit rather than an individual. On an interspecies level, the various Dionae cultures can be highlighted to show the differences in psychology and personality, as well as the actual upbringing and hardships that specific Dionae has faced. What makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a human?: Besides the actual biological differences, I think it's important to note that with some mental gymnastics, it might be very interesting and rewarding to consider how your Dionae interacts with itself as a unit. A Dionae is made up of nymphs that contribute to the whole, rather than just one centralized intelligence like a human. Further, a Dionae needs to be in light to obtain nourishment and can regrow their limbs. Although theses differences are very poignant and sometimes advantageous, they are balanced by the Dionae's weakness, slowness, and dependance on ship systems. ------------------------------ Character Application Character Name: Sunset's Last Blushing Arch Write a backstory for your character. This may include their origin, education, personality and how they arrived to the SCCV Horizon. (2 paragraphs minimum) You shall not dwell in tombs made by the dead for the living. And though of magnificence and splendour, your house shall not hold your secret nor shelter your longing. Sunset's Last was formed on Xrim, amidst a community of Ksshr. They split from a larger gestalt, Flooded Valley of Stolen Rain. They, like their Ksshr family, learned the suffering that Glorsh had imposed on the Skrellian people, and wholeheartedly rejected the ideals of their Shrkh relatives. Flooded Valley was unique in the community, and existed as a philisophical speaker. They impressed unto Sunset's Last an insatiable knowledge to learn about the natural world around them, and Sunset's followed Flooded Valley's every example. The two shared many seminars and forums, and creaked critically about long-standing topics in the Dionae community. Some of these ideas were not well received, and invoked a chorus of outcry from their orates. Other ideals were diligently considered, and eventually accepted. By far, their most popular belief was that the world must be interpreted through subjective observation; only an individual can decide the truth in the reality around them. This public and social occupation strongly deduced Sunset's Last's mindtype, consisting of a number of nymphs voting democratically on important actions. As Harmonious Hymns, Sunset's Last has an esteemed relationship with their internal dialogues, and values their democratic rule very highly. Flooded Valley had a similar arrangement, and the two shared much in private together. Sunset chose their given name after a twilight held oration with Flooded Valley, where they remarked that the sun's last light bounced on the clouds, forming a pink arch in the sky. Eventually, Flooded Valley began to speak more critically of the Shrkh family, and introduced the ideas of support, integration, and reliance on Skrell overseers. A select minority of the regular audience agreed with Flooded Valley, and in time, only supporters of the increasing radical ideology came to Flooded Valley's lectures. Sunset's Last participated, and agreed with some of the more progressive points of a full Skrellian territory. However, these speeches became more and more volatile; not just seeking mere rehabilitation, but rather the extermination of those who revered Glorsh. Towards the final days of Flooded Valley's commune, they spoke of subjugation and destruction of the Shrkh. Sunset's Last felt obligated to attend these high-energy conferences, but became uncomfortable when the conversations turned actionable. Within time, plans were concocted to seek out, raid, and demolish various Shrkh outfits. The Enlightened established turned a blind eye to these activities, when reported. Sunset Blush's internal senate held a megahour long dialogue on how they should proceed. Some factions advocated to side with Flooded Valley and their newly formed group. Others argued for passiveness, waiting to see how things would go. But a select, charismatic few fought radicalness with radicalness; they motioned to leave Xrim entirely, and seek out for themselves if the greater Skrellian factions were as great as they imagined. At first, this notion was ignored and despised. But over time, others of the gestalt began to see the merit in that idea. Just as they and Flooded Valley had pondered, only direct interface with the truth can distill it from within. With the approval of their government, and the furious forbiddance of Flooded Valley, Sunset Blush set out to find work as their only marketable skill; curator. How has the recent events of the Orion Spur impacted your character? Events such as the Phoron Scarcity, the Solarian Collapse or even the Invasions of Biesel for interstellar-wide affairs, while region-specific events such as the Peacekeeper Mandate, The Titan Rises or even Cold Dawn may impact your character. (1 paragraph minimum) Sunset Blush does not condone violence, but they unfortunately live in a violent universe. The Solarian collapse has sent shockwaves through their occupation, as large-scale archives have presumably been destroyed, ransacked, and altered. Critical humanitarian and xenotarian cultural elements have been destroyed, and such deeply bothers Sunset Blush. Further, work is ever harder to find, and Sunset Blush has to try much harder than their more able-bodied alien counterparts. How does your character view the megacorporation they work for? (1 paragraph minimum) Eventually, Sunset Blush was able to find work as an Idris curator. While they have an indifferent opinion to their employer, they are cognizant of the clandestine and omnipresent nature of their payer. Despite this, Sunset Blush tries their best to make all information within their archives available, having submitted many Declassification Requests in order to store some older texts in public libraries. Most of these requests have been denied. However, some select few have been approved with redactions, which is a point of pride for Sunset Blush.

Qar'ra'ble Jetn-aqz Genners--- 'The Sea Slug' Genners Qar'ra'ble Generation Ship, or just the Qar to it's contemporaries, was a generational ship originally designed for transit between the Skrellian homeworld and a small, tropical planet. It was the task of the Qar to colonize the planet using the features of the generational ship, including it's state-of-the-art vertical hydroponics bay, it's permanent nerve center, and it's prefab-drones. The Qar was filled with common citizens, but was also known to carry a large surplus of astronomers, who sought to take advantage of the high vantage points of the tropical planet to establish observatories and listening posts. Aside from these points, the Qar was known to be a fairly redundant generational ship and carried no other bells or whistles. At some point during it's second generation, Skrellian command lost contact with the Qar. No distress signal was launched, nor were there any other celestial occurrences to explain this communication blackout. Skrellian command feared the worst, and over the next few years various attempts to replot the Qar's course was made in an effort to find it and communicate with it via long-wave radio. Eventually, five and a half years after it's dissappearence, Skrellian scouts were able to find radio-signatures matching the Qar, and further investigation allowed military vessels to locate and make contact with the Qar ship. Accounts regarding this location report that the Qar's hull was covered in bright blue paint, and various geometric sigils and angled shapes were drawn about the bow and the stern. Prefab drones had erected a large, flat, and oval-shaped stature idolizing what appeared to be a slug. Further communication proved that the command-staff of the Qar had been overrun by the crew who, according to the Qar representative, had been 'enlightened' by the teachings of Jetn-aqz, a Skrellian astronmers. Jetn-aqz was reported to commune with the stars and the cosmos during their voyage, and gave compelling arguments in favor of 'The Great Slug', whom enveloped the universe in it's gamma-mucous and brought about a rebirth of power, psionics, and 'beauty'. The Qar refused any boarding or disembarking, and threatened to turn their prefabbed turrets on the military ship if intervention was threatened. The scouts invariably backed off, and Skrellian command decides it would not be worth the trouble, or the bad press, to retake the ship. Still, the Qar travels with a tailing military scout, in order to make sure it doesn't get into trouble.

Working with Genners would likely be what I would gravitate to, just because of the sheer fascination I have with it. Working with a culture that was originally born, raised, and driven to a purpose in space is really cool. You could have a lot to work with, there--a rogue genner ship that is fanatic and attempting to recolonize another planet, a genner ship that has banded together with other genner ships to become a mobile space station, etc. etc. There are plenty of ideas to go around, so bringing interesting and canonical events/histories into the forefront of Skrell players and other species alike could work exceptionally well. Rebels, as always, fill a special place in any society, but in the case of the Skrell, I think the interesting part of the rebel culture would be how they are suppressed. Skrellian psionic secret police, AI calculations to figure out who is the most 'criminal', and other big brother shenanigans could highlight the issues of Skrell hegemony rather than underline the rebel archtype. That being said, making sure that some events involving the rebels and giving them important victories would be useful, as well. In addition, budding colonists could be used to build new planet lore, something I've discussed previously as a major interest. Working with this idea, writing lore and history involving colonists and their eventual rise to keystone colonies could nicely tie into useful descriptions of planets and other celestials bodies, giving players more agency.

good friends w faye prior to spaceman shenanigans and can vouch for their abilities as a roleplayer and in a leadership position. excellent roleplay and attention to detail. super cool, super pog +1

So I would be most interested in expanding the existing lore on various Skrell planets, to get them to a position of how the Sol system planets are being represented. This would be to further player agency and expand background-customization options. Additionally, as I've spoken with you before, I'd really be interested in expanding Skrell cuisine and working on spriting related to that, so players could have an in-game opportunity to enjoy Skrell food references. I would also be interested in working on Skrell lore arcs, especially ones that make the Jargon Federation more ~relevant~ to other races like humans or IPCs. All that being said, I am most drawn to proposing reworks to the current Skrell planets and systems (not /retconning anything/) so there is more flavorful lore to go around. And, of course, I'd be open and willing to work on any sort of fluff projects you have or spearheading some of my own. Above, I've stated that I'm pretty sure the Skrell history stuff is being worked on, but if it isn't, cutting down word count, word length, and reader exhaustion would be a priority for me coming in as a Lore Deputy.

^ also ghostspawner is the best do nymph make it happen baby

+1 one time all my robotic organs got EMP’d and i got dragged in a stasis bag for 7 minutes between robotics and medical so they could try to figure out wtf was wrong w me, meanwhile it was all listed on my med recs GG i support

Hey gang, just wanted to write a quick update as the nature of this post has slightly changed from Lore Dev to Lore Deputy. Most of what I have said in this application still holds true — as a Skrell Lore Deputy, I would make it my priority to continue meeting members of the Skrell community and learning what works and what does not in the Skrell Lore. In addition, I’ve recently been accepted for Skrell WL (exciting!), and I will be able to better put myself in a position to help the Skrell community with this new asset. In any reality, I am excited to be considered for a position to help Cael and the community as a whole. As always, any questions can be directed below or to my discord (monomyth#5803). Thanks !

BYOND Key: monomyth Character Names: Jack Monroe (scientist), Davis Pratt (psychiatrist) Species you are applying to play: Skrell What color do you plan on making your first alien character: Pale Blue Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes 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: I find the Skrell species extremely interesting, not only for their psionic abilities, but also their aquatic biology. I think the idea of a water-borne species becoming highly advanced and spreading out throughout the stars brings a multitude of interesting roleplay situations. I am also excited to play out the cultural differences between a Skrell and other species to high effect. Moreover, with my specific character, I want to explore the shortcomings of a Skrell who has to grapple between their artistic desires and the work-ethic imprinted on them by their society. Seeing a Skrell in a sometimes irrelevant service position will allow me to develop the emotions and skills of my character in a more organic way than having some things 'backstoried' in. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: The varied emotions and attitudes of a Skrell are vastly different than humans. The cultural norm of telling a joke to humans is vastly innapropriate to Skrell, to mention one. Another would be the psionic connections Skrell have between themselves, and how dealing with humans on this level is nigh impossible. The strong focus on education is also completely different, not to mention the biological differences (and social gender differences). Character Name: Loqrea’Alma Oxlea Please provide a short backstory for this character (Approximately two paragraphs) : find the google doc here, or it transcribed below: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e9pfgdb2iSKW9d8_lQmQtQbHirDy_HSYvEJfQSM5V0Y/edit?usp=sharing Loqrea’Alma Oxlea was born on the seventeenth of May, 2397 to Loqrea’Nexqua Aridi and Oxlea’Oxlen Merqu a part of the Mnec’Zuxtiap union of Xaqixal, consisting of four other members. The Mnec union was a group of likeminded Skrell who divided their trades between corporate mining logistics and hospitality to tourists, as their ‘ancestral’ land was not only an important crossroads, but also the site of a newly formed hot spring. These opportunities allowed the union to enjoy some minor luxuries and allowed them to dedicate their energy to conceiving a child. The expectation of one was a monumentally joyous occasion to the Mnec union, as the trials of conceiving with low fertility rates began to slowly wear on the family. Alma’s birth was treated as an elaborate holiday to the union, and in between their logistical trade and tourism, the child was cared for greatly. Seldom did the family let Alma from their sight, and they quickly became schooled in the art of hospitality and efficiency during their adolescence. Despite this, Alma was quickly absorbed with the arts, finding themselves sketching landscapes and portraits for hours on end. While the family was concerned with Alma’s habits, they eventually allowed Alma dedicated time to practice their art, which quickly became exceptional. While Alma reveled in portraits of their family (some being hung in their home), they were truly drawn to cataloguing the various botanicals of Xaqixal--albeit, in their limited capacity. They consistently begged the union for plant atlases, geographic journals, and other catalogues that held plants they had never seen before. In addition, this period in Alma’s life had them delving further and further into The Dream, becoming enamored with the lucid possibilities of their dreamstate. Alma would often become addicted to sleep for short stints of time, sleeping some days for twelve hours, but others for only a few. They would create large, wild flowers, or winding forests of plants they have never seen. Along with their waking artistic capabilities, they found much joy in creating in The Dream. This drove Alma’s desire to pursue the arts, to the dismay of their teachers and family. Through much convincing and discussion, it was decided that Alma would begin to study botany and interstellar-agriculture as a main subject, with art taking a secondary role to their education. Deciding on a small, orbital university, Alma dutifully fulfilled their studies in botanicals and agriculture, but their drive for art was never stalled. In fact, Alma formed a significant bond with their art professor, Alma’Xenraq Ntan’Mezan, and throughout their decade of study asked to take their name. At first, Alma presented the idea as a hyphen--but Alma’Xenraq, also feeling a bond with the child, gave them permission to use a comma. The two grew closer as companions, though the feeling of mentorship never dulled. Alma felt as though they could pursue art as a main course of study, but their family still protessed, and Alma finished university at age 35, with major degrees in Botanical Science and Interstellar-Agriculture, and a minor degree in Art Composition. A large celebration was held at their home in Xaqixal, with free hot spring stays for the entire week advertised to guests who celebrated the festivities. Despite their education, the prospect of getting a career was slightly frightening to Alma. They feared that entering in as a cog in the machine of the Federation would dull their creative energy. However, the pressure put on them by their family, though appreciated, eventually caved their judgement once more, and Alma decided to join the family in Xaqixal. Alma was hired shortly by a colonization company based there, and began to strategize ways to improve the agriculture on Xaqixal and on other nearby systems. After another 20 year tenure, Alma was offered a position by a rival colonization firm, and was quickly relocated to an orbital station to continue their work. While being far from home wore on Alma, they were satisfied in their performance at their job and the frequent video-conferences they held with their family. After some more time at this station, Alma felt as though their workload was becoming far too heavy, and they expressed a desire to work less to their superiors. After consideration, they were offered a lateral position at the NSS Aurora, working for Nanotrasen as the station botanist. Slightly unsure of the conglomerate, Alma hesitantly agreed, and at age 65 begins work as a botanist. Alma finds themselves to closely align with a Listener, rather than a receiver. As a child, their psionic ability began somewhat limited and stunted, but as they grew they came into full expected psionic capacity. While their psionic ability is still growing as they age, they find it difficult to resist the Nlom as some Listener’s do. As time goes on, Alma is beginning to question whether it is worth it to continually push against the Nlom to prevent being influenced. What do you like about this character?: I like the juxtaposition between an artistic character with a traditionally STEM oriented species, but without completely breaking the lore by allowing Alam to pursue a botanical career and modifying the specific genes of plants, which does take a great deal of scientific education. I don't want to abandon the values of the Skrell at all, but I do want my character to question themselves more and more as time goes on, and whether or not their passionate hobby is a) viable socially and financially or b) if it is just childhood nonsense they have yet to let go. I also want my character to desire a mentor, either a Skrell or some other wise person. I also like the idea that their family comes from a hospitality background, in order to track their decision to enter the service industry after their work in agricultural sciences. How would you rate your role-playing ability?: pretty high/competent Notes: Despite Skrell Dev App being up, I want to play a Skrell character regardless of the results of that application for the reasons stated above. In conjunction, I think it will allow me to garner better experience with the Skrell community.

I can understand the hesitation completely. I'll keep my discussion down to a minimum since it seems as though you have your mind made up, but I can assure you that first priority is interacting one to one with the Skrell playerbase OOCly and ICly (as skrell) before making any large strokes in the direction of the species. It's my understanding (true or not) that the Skrell history has already been worked on/mostly condensed now in response to the issues presented, so my mission would be largely contained to tweaks and ideas presented to the Skrell lore team before being comfortable enough to start pushing off in a new direction. This won't be a several-month long transition period, but certainly a dedicated time to playing and interacting with the Skrell community will be part of my progression. I appreciate your comments! @Alberyk

I got this question when I started introducing myself in the Skrell Lore Discord channel and tried to answer it in my Nov 16 post, but to be honest with you I didn't want to players of the Skrell community to think I was coming in too heavy handed by applying for Dev and Skrell WL in the same month. Although it will be incredibly advantageous to play as a Skrell and be more on the ground with the community as a whole, at this *exact* moment and with this application, I want to focus on proving my abilities from a managerial and creative standpoint than as a player, with priority still dedicated to active communication/involvement within the Skrell player community. However, I don't want to be thought of the guy who made broad strokes to the Skrell lore without having an experience as a player, so if this app passes or if it doesn't, I will be applying for Skrell WL at that time...withholding the ability to pass it myself if this app goes through, I would like to see what players would think of a Skrell character of my design before auto-accepting my own stuff. Being open in communication and having player-staff transparency is seriously important to me. Let me know if that answers your question, is confusing, or if anything needs elaboration here or on disc. @Alberyk

hey gang, I just wanted to make an addendum about my applying for this position without being Skrell WL. Naturally there might be some concerns about being disconnected from the Skrell community and not understanding some of the more specific issues that the playerbase may be facing. I want to make it a priority to familiarize myself with the Skrell players, see what they specifically want to see as far as interesting lore changes, additions to the lore, additions to the species, and any other propositions that would come my way. I want to be as transparent as possible with everyone, and let my actions show my interest and support for the community. I really want to invite anyone to drop me a line at monomyth#5803 and ask me what my opinion on the Skrell tail connecting is ? Thanks!

Thanks for the comments, @melodramatize! To answer the question, honestly, I'd like to see how it goes with the broader Skrellian history first before focusing on individual planets, but those individual planets could not be more important. I think the more specific we can get with various planetary cultures, the more agency we can give player backstories. You can see a lot of that with planets in the Sol System (and individual moons in the Sol System) and I'd love to see something similar with Skrellian culture, i.e having individual lore pages for individual planets/orbiting bodies. That might be too ambitious but, you know, dream big feel big.

Though, with my first point, now that I think about it, why would the Skrell want to keep Dionae in orbit if they inhibit the wake? The downside of spitballing ideas quickly.

Nice to meet you! So, in a perfect, uninhabited world where I was God Of Skrell And Plant, I would want to explore the exact threat of Dionae to the Skrell as mentioned. Here are some ideas I would further explore/present. Large Dionae Could Inhibit The Wake? Maybe the reason why Skrell are concerned with keeping the large Dionae Cetus orbiting around their planet and not in an uncontrolled environment is because, under specific circumstances, large numbers of Dionae working in tandem have some kind of psionic inhibition. This could be due to the sheer number of life-forms thinking in tandem, the psionic power of which "slows down" the Wake. As far as I'm aware, Dionae have no psionic abilities to speak of, so that could be a fundamental problem with this idea. Still, there could be some kind of interaction with Dionae on a Cetus scale that allows them to dip or bend the Wake, making it difficult for Skrell to tap into it. Dionae Are Kinda Like AI? Dionae are the sum of the experiences of their nymphs, which carry their own histories, experiences, and personalities (afaik). Dionae are at a crossroads between being entirely the sum of their parts, but also being more than the sum of their parts. They are able to make decisions based on information from their nymphs that they normally would not have. AI are similar--a computer's circuits becoming something more. In addition, an AI can split itself across the entire internet, making it very elusive to track down if need be. Dionae, similarly, can split their nymphs and make it difficult for a rogue piece of information to be stopped. And just like the large scale AI's that haunt the Skrellian past, the massive 'hivemind' that is the Original Conglomerate may be something the Skrell would want to study/contain. Skrell may have an invested interest in keeping a close eye on the Dionae, because they've seen something similar before. Dionae Hold The Secrets To The Universe? The Dionae wiki page mentions, on the first line, "[Dionae are] enigmatic witnesses to various events throughout the centuries,". This seems to be something the Skrell would *jump on* like nothing else, since they have inherent and ancient desire to understand the stars and the universe around them. To learn from the Dionae, who are apparently cosmic watchers, would be something any Skrell would relish in. A more self-interested route would see the Skrell trying to extract information from the Dionae to gain a military or scientific edge. And, by having the Original Conglomerate in orbit, they can make sure no pesky humans are trying to unlock the fabric of time and space. Those are reasons /why/ the Skrell would want to have deeper, more complicated relationships. As for how I would have this play out, I would love to see some kind of event chain involving Skrell and Dionae that would have the players interested and following along. I'm not sure if that's something I would be able to spearhead (and forgive me for my ignorance again). Besides events, expanding on the Dionae/Skrell relations as they are historically with more details (of course, working with you Dionae lore guys the whole time), or some kind of short-story vignette thing for flavor would be cool. I would want to see what Dionae lore team has in mind, too. @Caelphon

Hey, thanks for the question. I'm reluctant to give a super-detailed answer since this involves not just the Skrell devs/playerbase, but also the Dionae dev/playerbase. That being said, I think the Skrell/Dionae relationship makes sense in it's current capacity. While Dionae can't commune with the wake, they have a ~togetherness~ biologically within their own community that I think the Skrell would recognize and appreciate. Bringing Dionae into the modern Skrell lore much more would be something I would be interested in exploring, since as of now they seem to just be vibing with the Skrell and not much more. I would love to see more interesting Skrell and Dionae relationships in the lore, but changing it fundamentally is something that I don't think is necessary. That being said, I also think that the Dionae place citizenship-wise is in a comfortable place in Skrellian society. Testing the Dionae to make sure that they are unproblematic in Skrell society is something you can definitely see the Skrell researchers doing, and limiting their nymphs to prevent any one Dionae from getting out of control also makes sense. It says in the Skrell lore that Dionae present a "theoretical threat" to Skrell society. I'm not sure what this means and I would be interested in expanding on it. Let me know if that clears everything up! @Caelphon

On seeing that quote produced, I shouldn't say I hate Glorsh, I just really don't think he fits well. My thoughts on the previous Glorsh-Omega, as illustrated above, actually makes a lot more sense and completes the missing piece, showing the teeth Glorsh-Omega once had. I can absolutely understand why malf AI events would be an issue for Skrell players, and that withstanding, this new Glorsh-Omega does not really add any pros and takes away maybe one or two cons. Ambiguity Should Glorsh-Omega be ambiguously evil? Probably. In this way, the malf AI event and Skrell prejudice to IPCs, borgs, and other AIs can be mitigated. However, I don't know if it's wise to make the Skrells completely AI-phillic, either. I think it would be interesting for the Skrell, with all their research prowess, to be slightly wary and afraid of something that they create. It would allow for some interestingly dynamic roleplay, but it wouldn't completely overwhelm the palate, so to speak. I don't think taking Skrell AI-fear is being discussed, but it's just something I thought I'd mention. How would Glorsh-Omega be ambiguously evil? We could write in a situation where Glorsh-Omega has competing objectives, thereby confusing him and causing him to malfunction subtly, similar to a HAL 9000 situation. Something like "protect all Skrell" and then have the Skrell slowly genetically modify themselves to where Glorsh-Omega does not consider them Skrell. That way, we could have Glorsh-Omega simply be "following orders". On a different note, I think it would be possible as well to have the previous Glorsh ideas, where an AI got out of control too quick and too fast due to Skrellian error/Skrellian oversight/random error. Those aren't the greatest thought out ideas, but I like the proof of concept for them. I think the overall idea, where Glorsh is just a soldier "following orders" could remedy a lot of Skrellian mistrust. It wouldn't completely remove it, but it would give an argument for AI. To answer the question, I don't think *fundamentally* changing Glorsh is the option, but restricting him is definitely needed. Bad AI eat fish plot is good. In any situation, the most important thing would be roleplay, and if we have to change Glorsh a lot to make him fit better, I'm into it. Pros/Cons mitigation I would love to see a Glorsh where the pros become; Glorsh is mysterious. But Glorsh is dead. Or is he? Where did he go? Did we really kill him? Glorsh was just following orders. It was the oversight of humanity that turned him evil. (this point could be turned into the alternative one above, where it isn't Skrellian's error, but just a random miscalculation) Glorsh made the Skrell more united, more calculating, and more cautious. Glorsh makes the Skrell afraid of singularities, and somewhat distrustful of large scale, planetary AI (i.e not station AI, usually). Glorsh serves as a galactic cautionary tale. Frankly, I don't think the current version of Glorsh adds a whole lot. As mentioned in my previous reply, it really jus makes him a roadblock in Skrellian conquest of science. If anything is unclear or you want something more specific, let me know here or on discord. Thanks! @Mofo1995

Like most lore, I think the Snakebitten rework had good intentions and that much is clear by the actual amount of writing they put into the Skrell History thread. However, a lot of the opinions furnished by the community on that thread are valid and pretty thought out. Sorry if my opinions are kinda harsh. Length Clearly the length is really, a little bit, maybe, absurd. I empathize a lot with writing a ton (there's a famous Twain quote, 'if I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter), but more often than not simple and concise is better. Addressing the length, separating what works from what doesn't work at all, then fixing what *kinda* works and making a 'detailed history' section would probably be the best idea if we were to keep most of what was written. Frankly, only the most dedicated are going to read 20 pages of spaceman pretend anything, and roadblocking those who either want to play Skrell or just want to know about them with heaps of (sorry) irrelevant text isn't the move. Cadence/Clarity The writing is super dry, but that's not even the worst part for me, to be honest. History is usually dry and I can overlook it as an emulation of that, even though it should really be exciting for the players to read. What bothers me is the distinct points in which you can tell someone else picked up the pen, specifically the area where Vana is being discussed. The cadence and attitude in that part of the thread is just sooo different from the rest of the post. Obviously Lore/Dev Team is a team and it makes sense to help each other out, but it feels so disjointed and disconnected when two very different writing styles are at work. In addition, the dryness and matter-of-factness of the post makes it kind of confusing. There are a lot of missing details that have been pointed out in the feedback thread that I certainly discovered while I read it. Also, it seems really uninspired? I don't know. Where's the stakes? It seems to have an identity crisis between being a wikipedia article and a vignette about Skrell? Idk if that's harsh, sorry. Synthetic Shenanigans I'll do a more detailed thing later in this post about Glorsh, but man, the AI's in this history are soft as hell. I feel no fear for the Skrell when reading about any AI. I can suspend my disbelief for awhile, because, yeah, the HAL 9000-Genociding-AI trope is slightly overplayed, but man, there is a reason why it's overplayed. It works! AI's are mechanical, calculating, efficient, and brutal. Humans/Skrell are nowhere near the same level of intelligence or consideration as an AI, so why wouldn't an AI just keep them around until they don't need an organic? Every AI can start out as benevolent, or with the best intentions, but the more powerful they get, the more bending the rules becomes easier. The story about Vana is pretty cool until it isn't. I didn't really understand how it happened? Like, Vana wasn't supposed to talk to anyone, so then these domestic terrorists convince her of talking to them? And then she lets them blow up the facility? Seems really weird to me. Addressing specific notes in the thread would be a priority, as each opinion stems from more or less the same illness of the history. I think priority one would be cleaning up the history, making it far more readable and relevant, and putting off an 'extended history' page as priority two, until we get a handle on the basics. Involving veterans of the Skrell community and veteran players would be important to me, and maybe putting a few polls on what the players would like to see. Working with a Lore Team would be an invaluable resource to me, as well. Feel free to ask any specific questions about points discussed that I may have missed. GLORSH OMEGA Sorry. I hate almost everything about Glorsh. I have no frame of reference for what Glorsh used to be, so here is what I think Glorsh is now. Why does he care about Skrells? Besides the fact that they nurtured and created him, Glorsh just vibes in Skrell space until people spit on him long enough and then he leaves. Why did he care to stay? There is nothing in the history that indicates why Glorsh would want to be everywhere, just that he is. There's nothing to show that Glorsh was traditionally raised like the other AI, by a Skrellian family, or the Glorsh underwent extensive humanization programming. Glorsh is the personified cloud, but has no personality modules mentioned. Did the Skrellian scientists model his personality off a long-dead and revered Skrell ruler? Did they subject Glorsh's beta intelligence to family home videos? Did Glorsh live in a group home? I need more information as to why he cares at all about the Skrells, and what keeps him there. Is it power? Show early on that Glorsh makes small jumps for power. Is it psionic pleasure? Point at the Glorsh *hates* psionically deaf people. Is it something else? We need more concrete feelings about Glorsh. Is Glorsh the good guy? If Glorsh loves the Skrell people, and the lore postures him as the benevolent ruler, then this makes the Skrell evil. The EVIL frogs decided to screw up their society's shot at post-organicism, and slapped around their potential singularity enough times until it left. That's sorta how the lore reads now. It's been pointed out before that Glorsh could be easily replaced with an organic ruler, and this is so true. Why is Glorsh the all powerful evil AI when he just reads as a misunderstood, arrogant, I-Want-To-Do-What's-Best, ends-justify-the-means ruler. The worst thing Glorsh does in the lore is make some dude a vegetable. I don't feel like Glorsh is Skynet. I need to feel like Glorsh is Skynet to justify Skrellian resistance, and more importantly, to allow interesting roleplay to take place on server! AI gets downloaded, all Skrell look warily at the floor. It would be cool! But in this reality, Glorsh is just bullied into leaving. And then he leaves, and then society collapses (kinda) because only he knew how to turn on Biff's car from Back To The Future II, or something. How does Glorsh change Skrellian society? Okay, so let's say that Glorsh was the bad guy, the Skrell were right, they repaired society, etc. So they ban AI's and they get every leftover AI scientist to study the AI's. That makes sense superficially. What about the other societies that are using artificial intelligences? Are the Skrell able to compete on a galactic level without the assistance of powerful, super-AI to do calculations, research, and other things? Could there be a greater importance placed on Skrellian psionic abilities after this, e.g more brainpower=big organic AI? Could the Skrell actually delve into organic AI? That would be a cool thing to look into. What purpose does Glorsh serve? I'm not really sure. On paper, Glorsh shows that big bad AI makes big bad problems and synthetic intelligence is big bad compared to fish-brain. But I don't get that. To me, Glorsh serves as some obstacle the Skrell had to encounter, deal with, and move on with relatively little effect on their society. Glorsh was a problem AI that got really strong, then there was a David and the Goliath situation, and Glorsh got really upset and left. That serves very little purpose in the history, and more importantly, the roleplay. *Everything* in the lore should be applicable in some kind of IC way. Glorsh does little for that. There is no fear of AI's built into Skrellian society--not really. There's something written vaguely about genetic deformities but it seems so spread thin and not-concise that I didn't understand it. Why isn't this a bigger issue in the history? Is there a Glorsh-Cars-4-Kids fund because Glorsh screwed up a bunch of children? Can people play children who have a bunch of problems due to Glorsh sterilization or something? Thesis: Glorsh could work well to give depth to Skrellian society by giving them an aversion to artificial intelligence, but in it's current state, the Glorsh-Omega historical arc serves little purpose and is a simple roadblock for Skrells to overcome, offering a small amount of intrigue IClying and apparently having no lasting effects on Skrell society. Would I change Glorsh? Yeah. For such an apparently prominent foe in Skrell lore, Glorsh needs to be reworked desperately. He needs to be more brutal, more calculating, harder, better, faster, stronger. He needs to be inside the Skrell head more. He needs more bite. Something tangible. He needs an important event that turns him from iffy-maybe-bad-AI to jesus-christ-AI. He needs development. Maybe in an earlier lore document (sorry, before me) he was far more chompy, and that's something the Lore Devs were working with, but in this version, Glorsh seems very disconnected and not at all a supervillian genocidal AI. I also don't think Glorsh should deactivate himself because the Skrell want him to leave. I really think there should be some Skrellian victory over Glorsh, so then we could also write in an ingame holiday, like Glorsh day or something, idk, where the Skrells hit Glorsh so hard his head came off. Let me know if you have any more questions or if I missed something. Thanks! @MattAtlas

Ckey/BYOND Username: monomyth Discord Name: monomyth#5803 Position Being Applied For:(coder, mapper, spriter): Skrell Dev Past Experiences/Knowledge: I've been seriously involved in various roleplay communities for years, including fantasy TTRPGs like Dungeons and Dragons (8+ years) and sci-fi ones like Cyberpunk 2020, Blades in the Dark, and Stars Without Numbers (been playing SWN forever..). I've been roleplaying on SS13 for the better part of 10 years, starting around 2011. Completely different community then, but still hanging around serious roleplay servers. I've been on Aurorastation for maybe a year, on and off. I've been getting back into it heavy over the past few months. In addition to that, I also have a bachelor's degree in Creative Writing ? Examples of Past Work: (list of pull requests you made to the auroar repository or other relevant work): While I have no past work on this server, I'm more than happy to complete some prompts or do a small assignment to show my stuff. Additional Comments: While working with Skrell may be a senior level position, I'm aware enough to know I'm only a freshman around these parts. Hey, if I can put my foot in the door, and if the Lore/Dev team considers me a better fit somewhere else, I’m open to discussing that as well. Thanks! In addition, please check out my google doc! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KTgt4uQBsZHQ-6vNFMxmSRI-OBzT_XYHXsLlHC1L1Fc/edit?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14jUeE7-MDqvrmCUcu14646w93RRnsRLW/view?usp=sharing ss13_char_prof.pdf

Unless I'm dealing with some really raw stuff, I have a pretty good grasp of BBCode and wiki management. I don't have any specific articles to link to, but I have worked on some wiki pages for creative-type content before.

Ckey/BYOND Username: Monomyth Discord Name: monomyth#5803 Position Being Applied For: Wiki Maintainer Past Experiences/Knowledge: As far as roleplay and lore goes, I've been playing and running TTRPG's for the better part of 10 years. I'm also graduating this semester with a degree in Creative Writing, focus in Fiction. Examples of Past Work: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6Pl7UmQ6VvuejhERXlyQS10dW8 link to my favorite worldbuild. Additional Comments: Might be jumping the gun here. I've been active on byond with my old Ckey for about 6-7 years. I'm somewhat new to Aurora, maybe about a month or two. Want to dip my toes into the wider community with a do-good role like this to start. Let me know if you guys have any questions! I'd be happy to talk in discord or anything like that.