Hawk

1) What is the best strength a (deputy) lore writer can have? Passion for the species. That's entirely what I'm running on here if we're being honest. I think if someone really cares about the species. To me, that's the most important part of the application and a biggest strength a lore writer can have. It translates into persistence, to coming back from work and wholeheartedly enjoying writing for Unathi. And I want to inspire the same passion to other members of the community. I want to write lore that causes someone to log onto Aurora and say "That one. I want to play the lizards." Just like I did back in the day. 2) What the worst flaw a (deputy) lore writer can have? Failure to communicate. You're a (deputy) lore writer. You're part of a team of three for a species, part of a wider team making Aurora enjoyable for everyone. If you need to step back. You should inform someone. If you need help. You should say. If you think something needs changing. Why not speak up? 3) I was gonna give this a snappy shortened title and decided to be meta instead. Recurrence of themes. I think if I was going to highlight the Unathi alien mindset solely in lore pages. I would repeat- and have certain sections on central tenants of Unathi lore. How does being a Grey Healer affect your honour? Is Hept's maneuvering on the planet having effect on how Sinta are self-identifying with gender? By elaborating on these points consistently and in detail. It'll become a bigger thing whenever an Unathi breaks the mould. The player expression will be more meaningful. A character saying "I take the human view on gender." Will be 5 times more significant.

Well. I'd like to say that it's one helluva compliment to hear that my application is good. So plenty of thanks for that. Kind of makes me feel like river dancing. 1. While it may just be my own self-efficacy talking I wouldn't immediately describe myself as anything beyond an amateur who really enjoys the process. But I'd be willing to knuckle down and really work on it as a skill, particularly with my idea of adding a lot more Unathi booze. Mainly I've worked on custom items. Catsin once approached me to help create an investigator specific notebook item. But I believe while we were working on that, the item just became available to everyone in the loadout anyways. Some Examples: 2. The first thing. Is that I would want it to be a relatively grey conflict. Neither side should be obviously in the right or wrong and I would like for there to be an argument made for both sides. That way players can freely create characters on either side of the conflict. And we don't end up with ninety rebels, and one Unathi Hept Liason. The way I imagine it is that Moghes, while starting to recover was still a heavily ravaged planet. Hept investing so much time and finances into it is going to result in benefits for the population, particularly the peasantry but those benefits are going to be heavily localized to population centers. There's going to be a drain placed on towns and villages as a result. This isn't even getting into the power Hept now wields politically with the guilds. And it's opportunity for propaganda, as it teaches the next generation of Unathi through apprenticeships. I want it to be emphasized that Hept is ultimately a megacorporation at the end of the day. And they're not helping the planet solely out of charity. On the other hand. Those rebelling can have a number of reasons why. From simple xenophobia against a human corporation. To more logical ideas, such as the fear that this will reduce Unathi to a worker race for a single corporation, which will further affect their political standing with other nations. That Unathi cultural values will be replaced by those of the corporation. Furthermore I'd be open to Hept's unsavoury past of over-industrialization, their expectation of workers to "Backstab" up their ranks, and the low amount of Unathi at the upper echelons of Hept decision making causing fear that there may be a "Glass Ceiling". But I also want the rebels to be prone to the occasional poor decision making, infighting, and preexisting divisions. To finish off, the last thing I'd want for this idea, is for both sides, Hept, and Rebellion, to have Unathi from all social strata working for them. I want nobles, and peasants, "fighting" other nobles and peasants. I think it'd be really interesting to see a conflict, not based on traditional Unathi norms, such as Hegemony vs Traditionalist. And expand on how Unathi are adapting to the galactic stage. For better or for worse. 3. Vaurca I'm not gonna pretend I'm some kind of expert on Vaurca lore, but it seems the K'lax hive is very well attuned to the Hegemony, even the more rabblerousing elements such as Vetju. I think it could be a very interesting development if, in seeking to analyze and expand upon their unique augments. Vedhra sought out at Aut'akh. Something like this already exists in lore where it's noted that exiled C'thur roboticists work with Eridani Aut'akh. But I think a K'lax Queen engaging with Unathi counterculture (I'm open to the idea that Vedhra does this through deniable assets, or simply does it boldfacedly) could cause some very interesting questions to be raised about their place within the Hegemony. Whenever it comes to preexisting Vaurca concerns, such as preparation against the Lii'dra.

Ckey/BYOND Username: Hawkington (KodiakOpossum on Discord) Position Being Applied For (Wiki Maintainer, Lore Developer, Deputy Lore developer): Deputy Unathi Loredev Have you read the Lore Team Rules and Regulations wiki page?: Ayup Past Experiences/Knowledge: I study English at a Russell group university, and I've wrote a number of journal articles already for both student newspapers and in-house political party reviews. Examples of Past Work: CatisnHD and Gecko can both account for my constant harassing of them. I also helped Dekser a lot whenever they were writing the Unathi Afflictions and Disabilities section of the wiki page. Include answers to the following questions in your app as well: 1. What other skills do you have that can assist the team? (I.e. Coding, Spriting, Mapping, etc.) I've sprited a few custom items back in my day. 2. What is one section of Unathi lore that you want to expand, and what would you do to expand it? Unathi-Hept Relations Hephaestus, essentially bought the whole planet of Moghes. But it's funny how little you hear about this in the everyday type of round but I think it's because players are drawn to conflict, people play Aut'akh because it sets them apart from the more traditionally minded types of Sinta, the same goes for Dominian Unathi. I'd also argue it's why certain types of humans such as Martians or Dominian nobility are played so much. I really enjoyed this arc. It painted Hept in a bit of a darker light than what you usually see beyond mentions of the Burzian method. And I think players would be really drawn to it if we started some form of further arc, or at least gave a wiki page or two on Unathi rebellion to this. Maybe with a few events to get players really invested. So much of the Unathi lore, from the Contact War, to Ourera has been essentially, conflict towards the Hegemony from other forces. The way I would want to write this is that instead, this is more of an "every-sinta" vs a corporation type angle. It would allow players to play whatever type of Sinta they wanted, from an impoverished traditionalist who hates this "Human" corporation treading upon their guild system. Or a noble, working from inside, leaking crucial bits of information. I would hope, this would draw people back to Moghes as a planet, because it's changed so much from when I've started, with so many new accents and pieces of clothing that I'd really be excited to see people using. 3. What is one section of Unathi lore that you want to remove or rework, and how would you go about it? Out of all these questions, this is the one I struggled with the most, cause I do love these little freakshow lizards. The main thing that sort of always bothered me is that their religions are strangely homogeneous. Like every Si'kahist, who are usually poor, superstitious and undereducated. Follow the exact same strand of Si'kahism? On a planet with a lot of isolated communities that at times can be extremely disconnected and hostile to one another? That just seems a little unrealistic to me and could be improved to allow for a wider range of player expression. I'd be interested in creating "Schools of Thought" for a handful of the religions shaped by their histories and environments, Aut'akh, for example, already have examples such as the Razortails which eschew the pacifistic tendencies of the religion. And I'd also be interested in creating some form of heresies that could be used for some positively spooky odyssey rounds. 4. What do you think is missing from Unathi lore? Lizard booze. I know the whole system may or may not be going a total overhaul right now. So this may be the best time to suggest this. Whenever Sarezhi was removed from the booze-o-mat. I realized how absolutely limited Sinta drinks choices are. There's essentially only one "Spirit" (Sarezhi) while even Dominia has a couple, such as Geneboosted Wine and Tarasun and Tajara honestly just have their whole own bar. As a result, a lot of the Unathi players I see end up just drinking human booze, and creating IC explanations such as Aut'akh liver processing augments. I'm not against this idea, but I think it'd be worthwhile creating a few new bottles, and a few new cocktails to give these players more of a choice, expressing themselves through their choice in butanol. Two ideas I had is either creating Unathi unique spirits, maybe some form of fermented sap. Maybe it's traditional to have certain parts of animals literally trapped within the bottles, what do pirates drink? What do Aut'akh drink? Furthermore these new cocktails could be mixed with alcohol like the xuizi pulque and could be used to expand the lore of how Unathi live abroad. 5. What aspect of Unathi lore interests you the most? What would you like to work on the most? Essentially, character hooks and gimmicks themselves. I remember when I first started. Unathi were so interesting to me that my IPCs and Humans basically just followed them around and talked to them the whole round. I want to create that experience for new players. But as a result. I think Unathi players should offer a unique form of interaction and RP. They shouldn't just be humans with scales and a funny hiss. A line that sticks out to me is how Unathi "Smiling" doesn't look right. And how loaded with connotations this is. It can be used for a funny one off joke. It can be used for the character attempting to look approachable. Or the opposite, downright threatening. It can show a wish to be more socialized by humanity. But there's always a gap, it doesn't look quite right. I think little details like this are what make the species such a standout. 6. Propose a new group or faction of Unathi. Write 2-3 paragraphs about them. Kra'Sarkaz - Grey Healers While nearly every village has a healer. Most of them lack access to the most modern forms of equipment and knowledge. Which is reserved for the nobility with selective and restrictive recruiting processes. Not every Sinta has the opportunity to become a prestigious healer from the Skalamar University of Medicine. Despite the fact that the need for healers, particularly after the Contact War and 2465 recession is near enough omnipresent. Those who are unable to afford a more exclusive physician may find themselves seeking out the rumours of the Grey Healers. An illusive band of medical dropouts, doctors sickened by their inability to help those worst off, apprentices, faith healers, anti-Hephaestus surgeons and otherwise medically inclined rabble. Humans find themselves drawing parallels to their own plague doctors. As these healers covered themselves in thick strips of cloth to ward off the diseases they combat. And utilize hoods and masks to maintain anonymity in areas where the official medical guild would rather have them removed. The Grey Healers have been a fixture of Unathi Medicine almost since the original founding of the House of Medicine back in the 1600s, where the firebrand physician “Rebik Ziikaz” famously stormed out of the guild hall over disagreements in patient treatment and the guild’s attitude towards those less fortunate. As a result, in every city there is supposedly a “Grey Lodge” in derelict areas, equal parts hospital, rehabilitation center and shadowy secret society. Additional Comments: [Insert Witty Additional Comment]

Likewise, I've known Catsin for a pretty long while now. They're nothing but absolutely passionate for the Tajara lore and the species as a whole. I've been consulted by them practically every time they've made a new Tajara character and they're always well researched. Thought out. Bringing interesting RP opportunities. And most of them flesh out a rarely touched piece of lore. Maryah and the FTC comes to mind. This isn't even bringing up the fact that whenever they create a character they straight up create a Google document with everything from early life to war wounds planned out. +1 all the way!

Tones is the goat, OOCly and ICly, I can't say this enough- that out of all the people that I regularly talk to in my DM's? Tones is the one I most wanna see with a Command WL. They really put 101% percent effort into every character they make, and they're willing to do valuable support work so other players can shine, which IMO is the best trait for any Command member to have. I know they'd make me wanna play Ops as a Manager. I never would. But with Tones as OM, I'd want to. +1

It's Goddamn NM- I can't think of a single person who doesn't think Ren Hartfort is the pinnacle of RP. I know I sure as hell do, let the man play his bobits. Plus he also +1 'ed mine, so uh, take it?

BYOND key: Hawkington Discord Username: Opossum (kodiakopossum) Character names: Lope Cardenas Aheke Han'san Connor Albrecht Ayano Nishioka How long have you been playing on Aurora? 3/4 Years-ish, I joined around King of the World Have you received any administrative actions? And how serious were they? 2 Warnings- both have been expired for three years now. Both only lasted for three months which I've been told means they weren't the most serious. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph each. What do you think the OOC purpose of a Head of Staff is, ingame? I remember years ago whenever I first started playing- I used to play pAI a lot and I remember having an LOOC conversation with a Skrell HOP, whose name I cannot remember for the life of me, and they said "Other players are the main characters, Command are the supporting ones" I personally believe a Command member should help drive RP for the round, but not be the sole focus of it. They shape round dynamics- for example a HOS sets the tone with an antagonist which in turn effects how both the antagonists and the security staff play. I also believe that Command players should be ready and willing to teach newer players mechanics. So many great command staff such as Ioraks, and Han'san have taught me how to play certain roles really effectively, while making the learning a fun and engaging experience both ICly and OOCly- most tellingly, I didn't feel like an idiot whenever we came across something that I didn't know how to do. And I have enjoyed subsequent rounds all the more because of this knowledge. This particular line on the CMO's wiki page stands out to me. "Like any other command member, your job is to delegate all of the work to everyone else, and be liaison between command and the medical department." which to me, basically sums up the job. What do you think the OOC responsibilities of Whitelisted players are to other players, and how would you strive to uphold them? I think perhaps the biggest one is to generate interest in the whitelists themselves. Characters such as Raks Appartu really inspired me as a newer player to put the work in, learn more of the lore. Because they made all of it seem so interesting. Which I think is invaluable to newer players every character with some form of whitelist, is in fact, a walking advertisement for that lore if they're doing their jobs right. I wanted to learn about Unathi Religion- I wanted to speak Siik'maas to understand what those characters were saying. And for older players. I know for a fact some of my favorite interactions are just having two characters chatting about their cultures across a hallway- it's something that really no other server allows you to do and why I've spent the guts of four years here. Secondly, to make people want to play rounds. I remember whenever I saw Ioraks as CE I would immediately play some form of Engineer, I don't even enjoy the department that much but as soon as that name was on the manifest you couldn't stop me from joining, damn the next two hours of my life. And I know it's particularly common for players to sit, to look at the manifest, see nothing of interest and not bother with the round. My hope is that one person sees me playing some form of command member, and that makes them join in. Explain how the recent events in the Spur changed your character and how they came to be employed on the SCCV Horizon. Ozhika Dorviza was certainly unique for her wasteland clan- that is. She was absolutely hopeless with plants. This ended up with her becoming embroiled in the village's guard against Punished raids. After a period of time, and an incident she refuses to speak about she signs up with Dagamuir Freewater Private Forces. Only too well understanding some of the harsh realities of warfare and becoming increasingly willing to engage in pragmatic techniques towards victory, she moved up the ranks quickly, performing admirably in quick-close knit tactical encounters and small-team operations. With increasing unrest at home with the Si'kah and Aut'akh mob- and the increasingly dangerous missions the SCCV Horizon is being given, it only seems natural such a commander would be recommended to the Chainlink with a glowing review...and a chip on their shoulder. Konyang is something that interests her- not the IPC rebellion- but the response to it, how would the Trinary and such respond? Sometimes the organic response to synthetics can be the more dangerous one- and that is what she is wary of. Lastly, being raised from a relatively impoverished Th'akh background has made her wary of the church's militarization- blind zeal and effective weaponry being a particularly dangerous combination. She is however, glad that there were not open hostilities between the two. Moghes has seen enough war as it is. What roles do you plan on playing after the application is accepted? CMO Consular/Liason HOS Have you familiarized yourself with the wiki pages for the command roles? Yeah Characters you intend to use for command or have created for command. Include the job they will be taking: Ozhika Dorviza - HOS Maharaz Mavhstok - CMO Do you understand your whitelist is not permanent, and may be stripped following continuous administrative action? Of course Have you linked your BYOND account to the Forums? Pretty sure it is. Extra notes: Y'all finally wore me down into doing this.

Squall Voidsuit Helmet: A voidsuit helmet seemingly made out of plasteel. A respirator lines the bottom which gives somewhat less airflow that one would expect. It has an enhanced communications receiver on one side and a gyroscope system on the other; loose wires trailing out of both systems. The four yellow eyes give it a uniquely aggressive look similar to that of the hakhma beetle. "Property of Engineering Department" is handwritten on the side in small orange text. Next to a small logo of Hephaestus Squall Voidsuit: A voidsuit that has been bedecked in the Yeongseon colours, namely navy. The entire thing is custom built out of spraypainted plating and a much softer synthleather underlayer; networks of tiny tubes carrying coolant liquids are laminated between the fabric layers. These active cooling systems help regulate the temperature inside the suit. There is particular padding around the joints and spine. Notably a series of dark-brown cables pulled taut around the legs brace them somewhat. While metal reinforcements that resemble a ribcage surround the chestpiece and form into a "Spine" on the back. A Hephaestus brand wristbound has been integrated into the forearm of the suit, it's capable of controlling the levels of cooling and the rigidity of the spinal support system. It looks comfortable for a voidsuit. (Mostly just removed any reference to it being made out of scrap etc.)

Mainly when needed, it's designed to be worn for longer, but honestly it's mainly for my gimmick of I try to give my engineers a bit more of a specialisation than "Can do everything" by giving them an area they prefer when there's a time when you can pick between tasks. Ashkii's whole thing is EVA Repair, so I seemed like a good idea and hopefully get some RP going just through visual interest if nothing else. Would you guys want the new description posted in here or does it even need one?

Alright, thanks for the heads up. If I were to change the lore to something like a smaller corporation or even a Branch of Zeng-Hu or Hept making specialised voidsuits for offworlder employees that allow longer working hours, etc would that be more acceptable?

Seless was a very engaging character that taught my dumb ass to use the Tesla, which I had been avoiding figuring out for about 3 years OOCly, they did the entire thing in very easy to understand steps including some more "Out There" tips and tricks for efficiency that I now do roundstart, and most surprisingly I didn't feel like a moron, like +1 absolutely.

BYOND Key: Hawkington Discord Username: Opossum #8999 Character Name: Ashkii Yeongseon Item Name: (if you are applying for multiple items, it should be made into a list with the description, name and appearance together): Squall Voidsuit Modkit: Item Function(s): A modkit that can turn engineering voidsuits into the squall voidsuit. And vice-versa. Item Description: A spraypainted box in Su-Yeongseon colours with a number of wires, circuit boards, metal plating and a whole cracked-open wristbound computer barely fitting inside. Written along the front in yellow is "Replace Anything you Take." Refurbished SLS Cloak: Item Function(s): A Cloak with the same functions as the poncho (The ability to go over armour, etc) But, also similarly to the surgical masks, the ability to put the hood up as an alternate sprite that can be toggled. As opposed to the way that hoodies/winter coats usually work wherein the hood takes up the headspace slot. Item Description: A black cloak with a notable grey and orange plastic trim. The bulk of it is made out of a number of nanoceramic fibres giving it a distinctly synthetic sheen particularly in bright light. Some tiny and worn white writing on the side and the hood mark it as the property of "Spur Logistical Solutions" a small cargo company that went bankrupt years ago. (Descriptions for the Voidsuit) Squall Voidsuit Helmet: A voidsuit helmet seemingly made out of various other scavenged and now discontinued elements. A respirator lines the bottom which gives somewhat less airflow that one would expect. It has an enhanced communications receiver on one side and a gyroscope system on the other; loose wires trailing out of both systems. The four yellow eyes give it a uniquely aggressive look similar to that of the hakhma beetle. "Property of Engineering Department" is handwritten on the side in small orange text. Squall Voidsuit: A voidsuit that has been bedecked in the Yeongseon colours, namely navy. The entire thing is custom built out of spraypainted plating and a much softer synthleather underlayer; networks of tiny tubes carrying coolant liquids are laminated between the fabric layers. These active cooling systems help regulate the temperature inside the suit. There is particular padding around the joints and spine. Notably a series of dark-brown cables pulled taut around the legs brace them somewhat. While metal reinforcements that resemble a ribcage surround the chestpiece and form into a "Spine" on the back. A wristbound has been integrated into the forearm of the suit, it's capable of controlling the levels of cooling and the rigidity of the spinal support system. It looks comfortable for a voidsuit. Images: Why is your character bringing this item to work?: Modkit/Squall Voidsuit: Ashkii finds the ship's gravity is still a little too strong for his tastes, he often seeks out padded surfaces and near always turns the gravity off in the holodeck, just to take the weight off his shoulders and occasionally complains of finding the standard issue voidsuits too warm and uncomfortable which compound the aforementioned issues. Ashkii being an engineer with an immense sense of pride would of course, think he could create a better voidsuit than a standard issue NT/SCC model with plenty of padding inside. SLS Cloak: Despite his pride in his engineering capabilities, I doubt Ashkii has full faith in the voidsuit, especially for the first few shifts, and the materials of the cloak are specifically designed to be waterproof, nonconductive and highly resistant. Considering he's fallen into an antimatter engine, been blasted with the scrubbers hundreds of times and has come across many many stains and glowing sludges of unknown origins around maint, it makes sense to me that he'd bring an extra layer of protection. Furthermore, he doesn't really trust the crew yet, and commonly feels a sense of distance and a lack of community that he felt towards the people on the Su-Yeongseon, so it helps him "Cover Himself Up" as he feels like an outlier with the lack of other offworlders on the crew. How did your character obtain this item?: Modkit/Squall Voidsuit: Over the past month Ashkii has been building this voidsuit out of literally any parts he could get his hands on. I personally imagine it to be a mixture of components he bought himself, either through cargo and flea markets on any inhabited planets such as Crevus and mothballed plates of old hardsuits that have fallen out of usage (The older Advanced Hardsuit in particular) alongside spare parts he brought himself from the Su-Yeongseon, the cooling system is very similar to the venter assembly in the offworlder's loadout options. Occasionally in the relay and in conversation on ship I'd have him mention the project, ask for some help with it or just complain about how stubborn the components were being. SLS Cloak: It's mentioned on the wiki that offworlders essentially cannibalise any derelict ships they come across for their own use. The cloak, didn't even originally start off as a cloak, instead it was more than likely a form of tarp for keeping sensitive cargo covered that Ashkii took alongside a number of spare parts from an old cargo hauler. One of the first times he disembarked from the ship and realised the world around him was actually much larger than what he'd grown up in, he'd never admit it, but it does have significant sentimental value to him, and holds a similar personal function to the scarves scarabs are gifted with. What value does this item have to your character, and what story does it tell?: Both pieces, highlight the scarab's need for self-reliance and their ability to scavenge, alongside making Ashkii very visually distinct in quite a unique way. Their ramshackle, slightly jarring appearance made out of the "Natural" repurposed debris materials one would find in space feels like quite a nice contrast to the ultra sleek appearance of the ESS RIGSuit and the Horizon in general. Both of them highlight elements of Ashkii's personality, namely the eccentric collector and inventor traits I've tried to highlight at times. To Ashkii, these pieces would be a way of proving his engineering skills to the department on the Horizon, most of the workers there have been on the ship for longer than he has, and know all the mechanics and the layout inside out. No longer having the "Home Field Advantage" would slightly bruise his ego, resulting in not only the modkit being brought back, but also the reappearance of the cloak. Ashkii didn't know his parents, and as such the Pioneer Scarf he was gifted has very little emotive connections to him, while he brushes off thinking about it mostly, the cloak is something that has much stronger ties to his heritage, which he does have an awful lot of pride over. To him, it's little different than a Dominian noble wearing a cape, or a security officer placing a flag behind their locker. And hopefully, they garner interest for an offworlder character just by appearance alone, the same way for Vaurca/Skrell or Unathi characters. Sprites: Additional Comments: Currently taking all the shots I poured out for saying "Why doesn't that look right" while I was spriting this thing. jointsuit.dmi

I think a lot of situations are really dependant as well, an antagonist, like a Ling could be either a CMO, a HOS or a RD's main concern, if at any time an XO just gets to overstep any of these command members it'd breed resentment or at least, I personally think it would especially with relaxed command roles like RD who don't often get heavily involved in events such at this, plus, pre-existing XO's would have to be near entirely rebuilt to justify why they're allowed such power over such a wide-ranging breadth of issues and as previously mentioned, race restrictions would likely have to be put in place which would then remove pre-existing characters this is especially relevant considering the current sector the Horizon is in and the fact that any Tajaran could be an XO, who would then have executive power over weaponry, mining operations etc is an powder keg I cannot see the SCC allowing ICly.

Building off of previous points here, I distinctly remember a round where TAKMAN basically charged down a techno, by themselves, who had just appeared, and had done basically nothing, insofar, especially nothing hostile, but TAKMAN shot them numerous times with a disruptor and cornered them in a maintenance tunnel, I genuinely thought they were an antag after this, maybe doing a rogue IPC gimmick and was surprised to learn at the end of the round that they weren't. However my major concern would be: I understand there has been a previous time investment with other servers. but I think a lot of behaviour, particularly the frag-happy elements, can be tracked down to not playing Aurora for a long enough period of time, and that there should be more experience built up before going for a moderator position on the server. -1

I imagine, Hengsha is pretty big and as a result security forces from any company would be designated to separate departments, which do separate patrols. Some with higher or lower risk. That must be designated. Hence "K6" being where Aheke started as his first post.

Alright, I don't do this often. But reading over this. It was just a genuine joy, to me, I see passion for the species and a deep understanding of the lore. I understand that +1'ing apps like this isn't often done. But nonetheless, I just wanted to say that I have RP'ed with quite a few of Murdoch's chars, they are well built and engaging. And I believe that they are worthy of the WL.

BYOND Key: Hawkington Discord Username: Kodiak (Formerly Opossum) Character Name: Aheke Han'san Item Name: (if you are applying for multiple items, it should be made into a list with the description, name and appearance together): Hengsha Thermal Coat Item Function(s): A standard jacket with two items of storage space. That stops the Unathi "Your scales bristle with the cold" statements. Worn on the suit slot. Doesn't have or really need a zipped sprite. Item Description: A very heavy, well padded and generally quite large grey overcoat, probably made for an Unathi, made out of a rather stiff, almost leathery type substance. With a brown synthetic fur collar and even more fleecing inside. Interestingly enough there does not seem to be an easy way of closing it. Emblazoned on the back in a large red letters is "K6" Why is your character bringing this item to work?: Aheke has tried a number of coats that align with his new position as an investigator, from trench coats, suit jackets and even more recently an antiquated bomber jacket. However, all of these jackets have left him still feeling the chill of the ship. To rectify this, he retrieves an old coat from an older position out from personal storage. Furthermore, it's slight bulk from all the padding generally creates the impression of largeness. Which could be effective when your main methods of defence are a mini disruptor and a flash. Or if you just need to intimidate somebody in interrogation. Maybe, if the worst comes to pass, used to warm someone else up if they get trapped in a freezer or the colder yet vacuum of space due to a breach or something else on the Horizon. How did your character obtain this item?: In his first post with Zavodoski, either by some seriously bad luck or intentionally done by his higher-ups, Aheke was assigned to work in New Gibson, and quickly found the company issued coat while warming, just not warm enough and frankly, a bit too tight. So, with his newly bolstered pay check, he placed a custom order to a local tailor and wore the coat until his eventual transfer to the Aurora. Pulling it out of personal storage for his investigation work with Zavodoski on the Horizon What value does this item have to your character, and what story does it tell?: To Aheke, this coat surmises the benefits of corporate work and of course, that means it has sentimental value for him, the ability to provide for himself and others is a feeling for him that was almost as good as serving Dominia in the military. Continuing from this, it represents somewhat of a mental maturing for Aheke as the investigator position asks more than the basic Soldier or "Gun-for-Hire" thinking that is stereotypically assigned to Han'san's, of course, there is the quality difference between this and military surplus clothing, and it would not be a stretch to say this coat may be the nicest thing Aheke has bought entirely for himself, albeit for practical reasons. While the "K6" on the back is a permanent reminder of where he started in the company and arguably the far more "Senior" position he occupies now working on an SCC starship. Sprites: Additional Comments: Massive thanks to CNEGecko and Dekser for helping me sprite this thing. Could not have done it without you two. HTCcoat.dmi

This man got great takes, characters I enjoy, and doesn't want everything to be too gritty miseryguts, and enthusiasm for the lizard people, take my spirits-damned +1

Jumping off of Faye's point about power centralization here, as Headmin, Taj maint, and now even possibly Loremaster Deputy. I'll be frank, you have excellent points and a really good plan for the future of the lore, but my main concern, besides the centralization, is that if you get the position, would you have the time to give all of the jobs the time that they need? I personally would rather have a few separate people focused on one job solely and doing their best to keep it up to date and interesting for the Community, rather than one person being swamped by work and eventually resenting all of their positions themselves.

Dekser is someone who does care about the quality of RP that people experience, as shown by the fact that they've managed to get two WL's in succession quite recently which is something I've never actually really seen before, and honestly, I was impressed by it, I understand they may have had a few administrative actions, but they have proved they're capable of rising above them and it shouldn't define them, their characters are usually very good, with a few of them actually being the things that will make me join certain rounds and I believe they should at least be given a shot, They're also the one who taught me quite a bit about engineering, such as setting up the SM, and I think they'd be an excellent CE. 1+

Well, due to being a hive species, Vaurca would prefer to work in teams forming social bonds and can come to view their co-workers as a "Second Family" so Vaurca may get unnerved about being alone for long periods of time without communication from their own, Their sensitivity to light and their familiarity with cramped spaces means that some Vaurca may utilize Maintenance tunnels to move around rather than main corridors, the common practice of creating barely sentient bound, mean that discrimination may seem well-founded to some Vaurca, and their VR training, and the time dilation that follows this means that some of them have lived incredibly long lives, despite unbound workers and warriors only commonly lasting around 20 years, and their neural socket being transferred means that some Vaurca won't fear their own death, expereiencing it in their training, some even preferring VR, or not even being to tell the difference between VR and Reality, which in the cases of some Queens, means that strange and downright nonsensical events can see quite common to some Vaurca. Since Vaurca are inherently designed to preform one task well they tend to lack inter departmental and social knowledge when it comes to some species, unless specifically trained, a Vaurca may have no idea what some common objects actually are, or how to perform tasks "Outside their scope" Dex views their fellows with less social training as something that just is, they understand that those few had a different purpose from their own and that they may have more training in other areas that Dex cannot comprehend, and in any situation that requires any of those K'lax to interact with another species, Dex outwardly offers to help "Translate" between the two if they lack the correct training, though they are noticeably more reluctant to do this with other Hives, particularly Zo'ra, and usually has to be asked to perform this duty in these cases. Dex follows his Queen's view of finding Zkaii and her hive "Sleepy", and has commonly got annoyed over their tendency to tinker with technology rather than stick to what is known to work, usually preferring not to "Bicker" out loud, though commonly attempting to "Show Off" when working with Zkaii's brood, attempting to complete their work far faster and more efficiently than their opposition when paired, Dex also finds the whole "Mother Dream" religion ridiculous, and views it as a complete waste of time that could be better spent working, and that this world's problems require the Hive's full attention, there is no true "Reality" where everything is simply better, and they must improve the reality they're in. Dex fully understand why their hive hates the Zo'ra and tends to not fully trust their work, commonly "Double-checking" it themselves, to observe faults and then fix faults if there are any, viewing them as incompetent as best, or downright malignant at worst, though due to their social training, they tend not to outwardly voice this, not even to most other K'lax, just other members of Vetju's brood, as they understanding sowing dissidence in the workplace is heavily frowned upon. I imagine that, yes this is one of the first times that Dex has been out of Tret, as they were excellent at working in Hazardous conditions that most other Hephaestus workers were unwilling to indulge in, mostly EVA and K'ois infected areas and with one of the main "Missions" Dex was brought along on, was retrieving and decontaminating ships that had become lost within the "Cursed Asteroids" and either sending them back into the Hegemony, or scrapping them for parts and using them for other Hephaestus projects, Human space is intriguing to it, the amount of freedoms, yet discourse one could face was a fascinating concept, albeit one they don't fully comprehend, as their VR experiences told them about some political situations, but mostly how to avoid insulting those involved in them, e.g. Don't say "Sol Rocks" to a TCFL Member, however, they weren't really told how these stalemates and cold wars began, to Dex, these situations only "Exist" and they don't comprehend the reasons behind them, or how they would affect other empires and the people within them, only how their views could affect the K'lax or Hephaestus, and Dex's attempts to work. Dex's most advanced social training was reserved for Unathi and Humans, and as a result, their training on Tajarans and Dionae is much sparser, and mostly focused on how to keep them "Functional" like how Dionae are actually multiple beings that feed on radiation, and that Tajarans can overheat if kept in voidsuits for too long, but, this also has the side effect that Dex doesn't have the best social interactions with them, believing that the NKA's Queen was actually a Type C Breeder, until corrected, and wondering if the discrimination against Zhan-Khazan was actually because Zhan's ancestors were some form of bound, though, knowing enough to not say this out loud. They understand Dionae slightly better though, comparing rootsong to "Less Advanced" hivenet. Dex follows the Classical Pantheon, mostly because they were told about it early on in life and assumed it was part of their duties, they view their queens as important due to their ability to birth life, and understand the whole of the Vaurca would disappear, if they were not born to help them work and survive. However this is not as important as Dex resilience to all other forms of Religion viewing the Modern pantheon as Zo'ra Domination that Vetju's brood would never accept and the Pilot and Mother Dreams as wasteful fiction that distract from a Vaurca's true purpose. They haven't heard much about Preimminence, but from what they hear, makes more sense than most of the other religions.

BYOND Key: Hawkington Character Names: Aztari Rezkathan, Tau, EXO4, Oquq Ieliu Koqun, Akhtar Zaman, ISU-Char0n. Species you are applying to play: Vaurca What color do you plan on making your first alien character: (RGB 11, 84, 31) Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Not at all I don't even know what a Vaurca is, I've never even seen a bug IRL 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: Vaurca have always been pretty interesting to me, I had no idea what one was first time I had every played on the server, and every interaction with one was pretty interesting, and seeing the different subspecies, augments, and even a Warform one wizard round, were all pretty memorable experiences for me, reading up on the lore was interesting and fun, and they way each hive is intertwined with another species was probably one of my favourite concepts that I've seen in Aurora lore. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Firstly let's start with their diet, Vaucra consume K'ois a highly volatile fungus that reproduces at an incredibly quick rate, capable of strangling out near all other plant life on a planet, or jumping from asteroid fields onto ships and leads to mycosis in other species, K'ois produces phoron, which Vaurca breathe and they utilize filter ports to keep breathing via internal phoron tanks, and nitrogen is poisonous to them which means chemicals like dexalin actually suffocate them, their exoskeleton functions like a voidsuit, meaning that if a Vaurca has a supply of phoron they can go EVA, which the worker caste being the "best" at this being able to go on extended, several day-long EVA expeditions, but other castes such as Warriors can also go EVA, just not for as long, hours at most. This can create crises and controversies from other species about Vaurcan food, their farms are inherently dangerous to other species and the logistics of cultivating it have become a problem for some Vaurca, Even when barren asteroids are used to grow it, it can hop onto passing ships and still kill anyone inside. Some Broods have dedicated themselves to attempting to solve this problem, and some Vaurca may not think much of this problem while others may be outwardly frightened or constantly thinking of new ways to combat this. Before a larva is hatched, its purpose is determined by a Breeder (A Type CB) in a process called imagotis, where they essentially use pheromones and consciously imagine what they want this larva to look and think like which facilitates their growth into different castes and if the larva is to be an unbound then it is raised in VR for 6 months where time can pass differently so this means this process can feel like years to the larva it will receive several augmentations depending on circumstance throughout its life, or if it's to be bound then it is given implants almost immediately implanted with a neural socket once they are finally "ready" This VR training is incredibly extensive and can cover every single skill a Vaurca needs to know, even dying, however, something this in depth can have a large effect on Vaurca, multiple Vaurcan religions are based around the idea that everything they experience is VR, some can no longer tell the difference between VR and Reality, and some vastly prefer VR to Reality. And the dilated nature of their training could possibly leave a Vaurca with a warped perception of time or they fail to estimate how short their lifespans are when compared to other species. Vaurca have different "Castes" or subspecies Type A, the Workers who are designed to keep the hive in stable condition preforming maintenance on VR systems, or on the hiveships themselves , this means they typically avoid conflict, in contrast to Type B "Warriors", who can be bipedal, quadrupeds or hexapods, which are type BA, BB and BC respectively and usually have some form of weaponry augment, this caste are essentially designed for conflict or guarding things and aren't well suited to much else, however NT only really employ BA without most of their more advanced augments, and usually stick to unbound, because warforms tend to be unwieldy, having such intense physical differences due to having different functions are completely normal to Vaurca, however this may make concepts such as switching jobs seem like utterly alien concepts to them, a Type B designed for security work may not even know what a microscope is. Vaurca prefer to work in a team however Unbound will typically assign Bound to do the more "Menial" tasks, and they use "Hivenet" to accomplish this their rhythmic twitching of antenna and release of pheromones can be used for long distance communication between Vaurca who have a very well developed sense of smell to facilitate this. Character Name: Ka'Akaix'Dex K'lax Please provide a short backstory for this character: Dex was born from Vetju's brood, their assigned purpose was to work with the Hephaestus workers on Tret to gain credits and improve relations for the Hive, and as a result their VR training included experience working with Unathi and Humans, and some slight information on minor repairs on G1, G2 and Xion IPC units, which were compared to bound for Dex. Simulations of Hephaestus Orbital Superfactories which was planned for construction above Tret, their inner workings, and common layouts and errors they may experience were all simulated and used for training along with all the basic, though in depth experiences for engineering and construction work expected of one of Vetju's engineers, however, their training was not free from Vetju's influence, as it was told to Dex that the other species, and even other Vaurca, were fallible, and that their true skills lay in their ability to maintain and deconstruct technology for future use, This became their primary purpose when working with Hephaestus, deconstructing old parts of mining bases on Tret, and sending the materials for use elsewhere on the planet, commonly being under the command of others, or occasionally being sent in to work with teams of other K'lax, however, when news of the new Orbital Superfactory was announced, Multiple hives was asked to supply more engineers and miners, bound or unbound, and as a result, there was a slight overflow of Vaurcan workers for the project, and a few were reshuffled around Hephaestus institutions, some bound being sent to mine on Burzia, and a few being sent to other stations owned by Hephaestus or less occasionally stations belonging to other Megacorps as "Peace Offerings", particularly with the formation of the SCC encouraging the exchange of skilled workers on each others stations, Dex was one of these, sent to work on NT stations, with the blessing of their hivecell breeder. What do you like about this character?: Dex is a good starting point for the species I feel, they're going to have enough quirks to stand out, but also be efficient at their job and not derail gameplay in any major way until I get even better at playing at the species How would you rate your role-playing ability?: Solid 7/10, could always be better, could always be worse, will probably improve the more I play bug, the more it'll improve

Grey is without a doubt one of the best RP'er's I've seen in a while, they've put a ton of effort into making their char realistic and believable, seriously you should have seen some of the drafts they sent me for the records in Discord DM's, they were a work of art, so 1+

Q1. There are numerous themes that permeate the Skrell but perhaps the most obvious is their psionics, this influences everything, from the way the interact with one another to the wake causing a schism within their species due to the differences between Listeners and Receivers that doesn't take the form of outright violence but instead in rebellions such as self-isolation or counterculture against the Federation's "Norm", their long age combined with their long memories meaning that Skrell and their descendants can fall victim to long-running political games with many young Skrell in the Federation trying to make their way could fall victim to age-old rivalries that could have been born from somthing as petty like because one of their ancestors may have copied the research of someone in a far higher position now, and their longer lives mean that their education, entertainment and even worries takes longer to be considered more "Worthwhile" with Skrell often not worrying about being socially rejected viewing it as something "Minor" but viewing existential threats as a major threat they may have to contend with, they also have a higher resistance to accumulating stress but once they get into a stressed state it becomes harder to relieve with many taking a year or two to take time off in relative isolation, and finally due to their longer lives and therefore longer education Skrell usually have more of a scholarly side, with their universities being some of the hardest to remain within such as the Gliutip’lyaz which excludes those who score below 70% on a applied knowledge exam or any other graded activity, meaning most tend to work within Medical or Science Departments on the Aurora Q2. To a Degree, yes, Vol has been heavily influenced by the teachings of their far older Caretaker in the Supernova Era not long after Glorsh has caused them to have this undeniable wish to protect the Federation and the people in it, hearing stories of Marauders and Rebellious individuals has moulded them and they've become concerned that these people might be leaving Skrell space to foster rebellion and other forms of dissent, and they worry about the rational law-abiding Skrell falling off the "Right Path" and this worries Vol, and while they may not be following the traditionally more intellectual path of the common Skrell, they view their job with a far more cerebral edge and use the same focus other Skrell would use when studying or doing Lab Work /creating Art rather than just brute strength which I think would be incredibly interesting to RP and work with the other members of the ISD, and their receiver tendencies still show even in this job, Vol far prefers to run their plans past the rest of the ISD rather than just acting by themselves and is prone to agreeing with the way command is handling the situation unless they see it as objectively awful and the rest of the ISD members are also against it. Q3.Alot of the reason I like Skrell are the same reasons I mentioned above about their core themes, I think the Psionics will be incredibly interesting to work with in an RP environment, how people may distrust my character as a result will be quite fun to experiment with, Also I believe there's a market for Skrell, there are a few in Medical, a couple in Research and I think a handful of Command members but there is a vacancy when it comes to Security and when the effort has been made to make a Federation Enforcement page, I think it wouldn't be too out of left field for one of their forces to end up on the Aurora especially after finding a terrorist cell on there with the events of Warbling: the Musical, and give a little bit of Jargon influence within it, which should be pretty fun. Q4. Due to their education it was pretty difficult to come up with a backstory that didn't lead to a Science or Medical member, and that remained internally consistent and relevant. But that's about it really.

Apologies due to an Error I had to screenshot my reply instead of post it