Lucaken

For clarification, will the Bridge crew be restricted to being SCC-contracted, since they are an extension of Command staff? If not, which megacorps will they be linked to?

After your explenation, I see your point a more clearly. However, I can still only support the on-station half of it. As for the relay, while you could call it disconnected, it remains opt-in. You can safely pretend it and it's contents do not exist, and probably be just fine. However, using faye's wording, 'oomph' is definitely something Command could do with. CCIA, while in an effective position to judge situations from above, are horribly disconnected from the players in a round, save for a few faxes sent to Command. So, I am somewhat in favour of increasing Command's presence in a round - albeit with the added caveats you mentioned, such as still letting CCIA be the final judge. As for not 'trusting' Heads of Staff, while I get the concern, we already accept these kind of situations for other whitelists (such as old-time alien whitelistees coming back and refusing to keep up with new lore). If and when they fail to meet the new standards, they go through the same admin processes, and get filtered out that way. May result in some initial rocky times, but that's par for the course with any change.

I echo what Faye said, and that while I think this could be good on-station, it probably wouldn't go over well on the relay. People should absolutely behave as an employee on station and make it realistic when they're not. But policing the relay is just out of bounds for both CCIA and Head of Staff users. Moreover, I think you will find the relay a lot more boring if we have several players watching over the chat like hawks. And to be clear, this is not about evading consequences - I think you will find many players are very receptive to conflict when it's not in the form of Command sniping them for a wacky comment in the IC equivalent of general-chat. As for a more personal point - I really do hope you can take it at face value when I say that this suggestion seems particularly geared towards providing you and your characters extra power over others. Not only are you a Head of Staff whitelistee yourself, but the characters you play (like Stella Palmero) also seem to be very 'no-nonsense' types, and generally try to hold others accountable for their actions when they can. I think it's good to have characters like that, I've even had very successful times RPing with similar cases, and prior to this suggestion I thought that attitude was all IC. Yet, I struggle to believe that all too many people, save you, would get much RP or use out of this. I say all of this partially because when I have previously attempted to reach out and clear up any OOC bad blood over conflinct (or set up RP to play out it's consequences!) I have been met with complete silence. I don't know if you're just apathetic or didn't see it, but either way, I hope you can see why I am skeptical. And to reiterate, because I was having a hard time phrasing the above point more gently, I still hold nothing against you. All I have said is not meant to be taken as a personal attack, but as something that has irked me for a couple of days now, and which I see as relevant to this suggestion.

Another question - if there is no shuttle and we all simply live underneath (which is fine by me), how does the crew 'disengage' from potentially overbearing threats present on the ship? Though it doesn't happen every round, if there is something threatening that security can't handle, the ERTs are called, and everybody makes their way to the docks which are generally not allowed to be threatened much by the antags, in my experience. With the NBT, are crew just expected to go down with the ship in these cases? Or will we have similar zones where it's a general rule for antags not to interfere? From what I could see, the lifts are one person only, so mass evacuation doesn't seem that possible.

I want to second what Peppermint said, especially as an avid Investigations player. Yes, there is more to the role than just prints and fibers, but it is still the bread and butter of the work, and adding an item that essentially removes any chance of it being used effectively doesn't exactly sound fun. As mentioned, it isn't particularly hard to remove traces of you interacting with a place, and fibers exists to provide a more nuanced alternative for when the antag is at least smart enough to wear gloves. I believe if your goal is to play a 'sneaky antag', you have more than enough tools at hand, and getting a suit that esentially does all the work for you is not something I'd like to see. As for the other half of the item, I think framing only works when you actively do multiple things to set a person up. If all I have for evidence is that this Cargo tech touched a weird door, maybe even with some conflicting evidence saying they were completely unrelated, the item's functionality is pretty much moot. It relies on security arresting people on a whim - and while that does happen, it's not beaviour we should be encouraging, especially considering it can take you out for more than half of the round.

I am very aware of this, and made the app with that in mind. This is essentially just my way of saying what I'd like to see in said rework, particularly as it pertains to the Golden Fist. I thought it would be more constructive than just DM-spamming the writers. It's also my first contribution, so, as always, no hard feelings if none of this is used. For that same reason, I would still like any applicable feedback, since that'll enable me to write stuff that is not cringe.

Type (e.g. Planet, Faction, System): Corporations Describe this proposal in a single sentence (12 word maximum): Additions to, and a small rewrite of The Golden Fist. How will this be reflected on-station? With the assumption that most EPMC-contracted characters are usually from one of the companies mentioned, my hope is that these changes will help differentiate between Eridani contractors by giving characters more choices when choosing their 'sub-employer'. I think more flavour with contractors is always good for characterisation. Does this faction/etc do anything not achieved by what already exists? This is mostly a rewrite, but I did try and stay away from elements that other corporations already have. Why should this be given to lore developers rather than remain player created lore? Mainly because the page on them is far too underdeveloped for the influence (I think) they play, at least within Eridanian space, if not galactically. I also consider a change to a group this influential a bit too heavy for headcanons. Granted, I could make some of the new companies here just part of my own writing (not part of the Golden Fist, just a normal EPMC), but I'd rather have them available for everyone - especially with NBT departmental changes on their way. Do you understand that if this is submitted, you are signing it away to the lore team, and that it's possible that it will change over time in ways that you may not forsee? Yup. Long Description: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iyM697bXS40uEHxxdih4SR_YLkl-OW59FdeTDfedHyg/edit?usp=sharing Notes: In the main document, green represents anything copied and pasted from the wiki, yellow any edits to those, while red is removals. Anything without colour is a pure addition. Furthermore, a bit on names: I have considered giving a complete change to many of the names here, particularly of the group as a whole. 'Golden Fist' is, to me, a really basic name, but also fitting considering the group as an entity is not really official. With individual corporations I changed them freely (because even if N4NL makes sense for a tech company, I still think it's a weird name), but I was hesitant with renaming the group as a whole because renames of that caliber can be bothersome, so I left it in as is. I still would like to see it renamed, and if that happens, my main suggestion would be been something with 'Penta' in it. (The Penta Group, The Penta Ring, etc.)

I have no hat in the above concerns, but I did wish to point out/ask about one thing that stuck out to me. You only seemed to count HoP as the main Command staff you'd play, along with Liason which I view as more of a tacked-on option to the whitelist, anyway. Applications like these that only have one planned role in them worry me a bit, because it doesn't tell me how flexible you are within these roles. Yes, it's not a requirement, but it's been said on other applications before. That is not to discount HoP and Liason - they are both roles that I would rather play as well, I just think you could show a lot more competency with two roles. Even if that doesn't happen, you seem like a positive player and a solid writer. I'm not opposed to seeing you go to a trial as is.

Coming here only to say that, quite recently, there was a discussion in the Lore Server regarding Diona that I was a part of, where towards the end the topic became something very similar - people 'jokingly' teasing/hating the species as a whole, while not really reading the lore, or understanding how it affects players and the dev team. Danse made a (I think) serious remark about not liking the species, which only fueled my rant at the time. In retrospect I was a bit heated during the whole thing, and I promptly apologized to him about it. The important part of this is that even during that short conversation and my general experience with him, he never felt like a toxic player that goes out of his way to be mean. However, I do believe he lacks a certain amount of understanding about how much damage he causes with these remarks, as are most people that make them. It may not be direct harrassment, but it does have an effect. When you endlessly complain and berrate a species and its lore simply because you do not see yourself playing as them (or think that they don't even fit into the setting) without giving anything in the way of constructive feedback or explanation, you are going to influence people's thinking on these topics. Worse, you will negactively impact the motivation of players and writers. who just want to do their best. I can say with confidence that in the short time I have experienced Danse's remarks, I have felt a decrease in my own motivation to play my Diona character. Even with all that, I still don't believe he is as toxic as some might think. I think he just never considered the effect he might have with his words, and I was hoping this thread might help in a positive way. Sadly, I don't think deleting all your logs and vowing to never speak on Diona ever again is a good way, just the easiest and most childish. I don't believe someone can be so fundamentally opposed to an entire species that they think the best choice is to never speak of them ever again. I think that just shows a lack of initiative to engage with the lore, and a horribly pessimistic attitude. Ultimately, my wish is for him to find a way where he can make his opinions more constructive, without severe punishment, which I still don't think he deserves.

I was going to wait until more replies, but I realize these threads take some time to gain those (and also more playtime) so I'll just post while it's still fresh in my mind. The feedback you've given on how to structure a character is something I appreciate a lot. I think I have raw experience with RP and writing, but not a lot of it has been ever been given that much structure in my head, so this has already been really useful. Thank you! I think the most recent round I've had with Leona was the only one I can remember, and you mention this lack of interaction too - not that it detracts from your points. I just think it's important to say how that was an edge case within his overall playtime, as the round had a unique twist which ended up with him in a particularly vitriolic state, mostly thrown at another colleague who reacted differently (played by @Scheveningen, I think, to who I don't hold any bad blood to.) I think this is a very interesting example because it was a moment where I felt a lot more characterisation come through - a human reaction that was ultimately fueled by his backstory and personal prejudices. It felt good to be in that position, even if I was doubting myself a lot throughout it, because it is not how I played Leo for the majority of time before that. Usually, he is very casual and perhaps a bit foul-mouthed, but not ever offensive or even interesting, that being the main issue. I've come to realize I am very susceptible to the 'audience' as it were, and the crucial first interactions that you mentioned. There is this sentiment that I would rather leave a boring, unoffensive first impression than mess up with a bad 'extreme' one. Yet again, with other characters, I am not so much afraid of this because I have a concept that I feel confident in writing and executing. With Leo, it has always been slightly nebulous. To illustrate and maybe help along the discussion, the concept as is right now goes something like this: Leonid is meant to be the personification of Vysoka's (and maybe the Coalition's) shift from the rural, traditionalistic lifestyles into the more corporate-dominated and increasingly jaded ideas of a new generation of Frontiersmen. I tied in various aspects of Vysokan lore retrospectively with the gracious help of the planet's writer (including the name), plus a connection to Eridani society for future development, thinking I had enough to stand on as a character. What I found out quickly is that 'Corporate Investigator Leonid' and 'Jaded Host-Rebel Leonid' are two very different people, in a way that, to me, often seemed very hard to reconcile and play off of. The 'flow' from one side to another never felt realized, and I think that's part of why I saw him as lacking a personality or unique charm at times. A good friend described this to me as a 'struggle to display uniqueness', in that there is a somewhat worthy concept here, but it feels nigh impossible to show it with confidence. To that end, what do you (and literally anyone else who wants to chime in, even without experience with this character, since this is still a very general question) think is the best way(s) to display this dynamic? Is it even possible to shift the character around effectively, considering how he has already 'established' himself with some regular crew?

Man, this place doesn't get that much attention. It's a shame, because all the threads I've looked at had pretty solid advice. In that vein, I'm making this post as opposed to just DMing a couple of friends because I think RP really shines through when you can rely on other writers around you, and not just yourself. I also think a lot of (fair) feedback goes on without the player always knowing - I find in-game OOC chats to be an occasionally toxic, but also very honest environment, where people say what they think. It's not always constructive, but often still somewhat true. I think I've managed to avoid any bad blood though, so I wanted to open up the conversation a bit more and tap into that feedback. I think my more recent characters (Gentle Wind, Publius-Au, to name) have been proof to myself that I can do character concepts just fine. The issue I face with Leonid stems more from the points I'll try and outline below. He was the second character I ever made just about at the start of this year, and have played fairly frequently ever since. Some people may even remember how long I was a Cadet (Previously Leonard Scheller, changed name due to lore accuracy) just because I was scared of 'screwing up' a higher role. The consequence of this is that I grew rather attached to him and the Investigator role, still considering him my 'main' today. What has become painfully obvious in the last few weeks, though, is that he's not much of a fully-rounded character, or at least his concept isn't. He has a competent backstory that I figured out backwards, but I've yet to feel like he has much of a personality these past rounds, at least not when compared to the rest of the department he works in. I've thought a lot about this topic for a good month now, and I don't think it's an issue of me being demotivated or jaded. It's simply hard for me to reconcile my attachment to him as a somewhat long-lived character when compared to his blatant lack of personality, and then try and improve his concept, too. To that end, I was hoping I could get some honest reviews of both him and how I could work on this. Should I lean into certain aspects more? Should I avoid others? Should I let go and try other characters completely? If you need more info to help, such as backstory or such, I'm willing to provide it in DMs with the understanding that I may yet keep Leo around for later, and all OOC confidentiality expected as a result.

Hey, small question (that might already have been answered). Are 'niche' job restrictions for some contractors going to be lifted? Just as an example, from what I can see, Zavodskoi still can't be Investigators as of now. I know Security is far from the department that will end up with the least amount of options after the update (Cargo still coping), but it would still be cool to know.

If I was alive at time of the First Interstellar War, I simply would have stopped it

Sorry, changed it now - it was an auto-fill for me cause I had the imagine of hive-like bots that exist today as well, but not actually hive-bots, if that makes sense. They would just do cargo-sorting here. Thanks!

BYOND Key: Lucaken Character Names: Leonid Myagmar, Gentle Wind Over Turbulent Seas And Sands Species you are applying to play: IPC Have you read our lore section's page on this species? Yes, though I admit to skimming the parts which were not strictly IPC-related, such as AIs. Why do you wish to play this specific race: As always, my interest first started by just reading through the wiki and playing the game - there is a lot of compelling Snythetic characters out there, from trusty Stationbounds to Positronics that always have more to them deeper beneath the surface. The interaction between them and other humanoid races is always interesting to me just because of how similar, but also different these characters feel - It's that element of something being alive and familiar underneath a synthetic shell that keeps me curious about them. Oh, and I just find the synthetic factions really cool. It's something I'll touch on more below, but one of them caught my eye so much I just read it and went 'Yeah, I have to make a character about that'. The people that write the lore for them do a great job, and seeing that more was being added pushed me to apply. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Playing synthetic characters is, I think, always a balancing act between the human and robotic elements. You have to keep in mind above any and all character traits that they are going to act according to strict logic and sometimes even stricter rules - in comparison to a human, where you can chalk up certain decisions as born out of pure instinct. That is not to say that you are completely locked to computer-like behaviour, but I think it is a major part to keep in mind while playing one. You also have to be aware, regardless of your faction/origin, of how the universe currently views IPCs and keep faithful to that idea. Regardless of your freedom, prejudice and set views are going to sorround your character, and so you have to form a realistic response to that with your character. Apart from that, there is also more obvious differences - the positronic brain works off of different rules than that of a human, including data-pack, developing personalities and storing memories. When using these to create and play an IPC, it goes back to that aformentioned balance between the two elements, making sure to stay grounded by your limitations as a synthetic while also displaying enough humanity to remain interesting. Character Name: Publius-Au IX Backstory: The first real memories of the Baseline-modelled positronic brain that would at that time be simply labelled as 'PBS37' (Personal Business Seneschal, built 2437) were of dull gray panelling and muted office lights. It was the first sight given to them once the lengthy and expensive data-packets had ingrained their thousands of lines within their memory. There was no emotion to speak of, and yet it felt compelled to call it 'home', much the same way the corporate central database which it had been intrinsically linked to was as natural as walking by the time it made the first transactions. Logistics, financing and management had become the root of their very being in that moment, and a virtually endless horizon of work before them seemed to be the only concept of existance it knew. Above all else, Skirandi Business Structuring Inc. was interested in efficiency. And when it came to their synthetic investments, PBS37 had been the logical conclusion of several years' worth of risk-taking. It had started with single-board cargo-bots that would scurry in the dozens of warehouses that they catered to, quick to rely on the now proven methods afforded by humanity's robotics development. When share-values went up, so did reservations go down, and soon there would be no lobby of the Oran-based business that did not have at least one synthethic caterer, whether receptionist, valet or assistant. It is perhaps no surprise, then, that the major directors and managers of the company would slowly dwindle as their beloved, yet hidden 'super-accountant' could manage the businesses under their charge with minimal supervision and the operational cost lower than a dozen employees put together. In PBS045 (or 'Publius' as he was nicknamed by the staff of roboticists in care of his daily maintanace) there was financial security and the freedom to pursue other, more lucrative ventures that no Eridanian could resist. Skirandi saw gradual upward climb in profits from 2441 onward. Of course, there was more to the developing accountant than what met the eyes of his non-chalant owners and caretakers. As the years trudged on, he had began to supplement the endless barrange of solving financial complications with detours into the similiarly boundless depths of media and digital information granted to him through his meager allowance. He sought out theoretical plans and concepts, reasoning that it would only make him more efficient, often pushing his bandwidth to encompass more and more data. These first forays into the greater world were not born out of boredom or resentment - he valued his position and even enjoyed overcoming the problems thrown at him. Moreso, after close to a decade of mindless servitude, it began to see the true scope of his capabilities, and realized that there was still room to grow. Neither the IPC himself or his caretakers noticed when a singular data-packet, hidden deep within the subprograms of a foreign routine named 'Gold_Worm', cracked through just enough of Publius' basic personality to awaken something far more in the polite assistant. It was on the second week of 2456 that Publius convinced the majority of shareholders of Skirandi Inc. to overhaul most if not all of their workforce into synthetic staff after an extensive preview of the profit margins expected as a result. The board agreed on the terms that the caretaker staff would encorporate more human overseers to ensure their security. Before these new and greedy Eridanians could clock in on their second week, Publius had already bribed enough of them to have a blind eye on what was now functionally his first business. It took only six years of implanted realizations for the consummate, temperate IPC to turn into a wholly self-serving creature that resembled his 'owners' in many ways, except of course being much more efficient. A point that had become central to his self-actualization was his sheer superiority when it came to competing with his biological counterparts. A further obsession to prove this with personal gain had by now grown large enough that, not too soon after ensuring the business could function through a number of convincing proxies, Publius quietly purchased his own space-faring vessel, and set out into the Frontier in search of a very specific rumor it had discovered with the silent guidance of the very same sub-program which had set him down this path. He soon discovers the planet Pactolus and with it, the shadowy benefactors who had guided him in one way or another through most of his existance. The story of his rise is shared by others who answered the call of riches galore within the Deep, and it is not long until Publius convinces a higher-ranking member to bring him into the fold in exchange for, of course, ownership. By now, he does not view this as a setback - merely a sign of another climb up the ladder. He throws his entire existance into The Game, gambling personal possessions and indeed even himself. He uses his comperatively meagre earnings back from Oran to fund his many ventures along the Frontier. He develops even more extravagent tastes and views as he navigates the social and economic ranks around him - namely, purchasing other rival IPCs in a bid to win his own full freedom from his patrons. With each take-over he would add an extra numeral to his name, a representation of his victories over others. Similarly, sometime during 2460, he purchases a Bishop-class chassis for himself made mostly out of gold used in the parts of his bought competitors - thus completing his full merchant name with the suffix 'Au', the element of gold. More than just a measured businessman, Publius-Au's identity takes on that of a self-obsessed tycoon, complete with an eccentric outlook and a fierce eye for potential. By now, he spends so much time within this 'persona' that the IPC itself is barely able to tell how much of it is for show, and where his real personality begins. Having successfully integrated himself into the society of the Golden Deep, yet finding himself out of territory to grow, Publius-Au looked back towards the core for inspiration. For in the time that he had spent away from 'home', the system of Tau Ceti had grown into an unavoidable prospect promising further power and glory. He joins hundreds of his fellow merchants in 2462 to captialize on the riches brought on by Nanotransen's prosperity, seeking to forever carve his name and deeds into the history of the Golden Deep. What do you like about this character? As a central concept to his character, I find the idea of him 'climbing' his way out of freedom on (mostly) his own merit a great concept. There is a lot of irony in escaping one form of corporate overlord only to end up in the clutches of another, enabling this cycle of ownership that is, I think, unique to IPCs. It is also why I like how both in his name and body, he's showing the others he had to climb over and now own to get to even this meagre position - I think it's a testament to the brutal corporate nature of the Golden Deep, which I really enjoy. You have to be willing to become a ruthless, slaving businessman to escape those very same people. Lastly, while it may seem that a lot of his character development has already been had, I look forward to seeing how/if he can continue to push his limits. Maybe becoming a Consular Officer for the Golden Deep, or even contracting as a Head of Personnel, with time and commitment. How would you rate your role-playing ability? Still above-avarage. I think I have more than enough experience to deliver fun moments and drive rounds on. I think the only time I struggle is hesitating when involving the lore in my writing - being scared I might represent a faction or race incorrectly and whatnot. Notes: I am aware there is a current overhaul planned for the Golden Deep, which I have read and I'm prepared to change my backstory for. I'm hoping I didn't overstep anywhere and this all fits with the current lore. If not, please bring it to my attention, I'll be happy to fix it!

This is very cool! I love to see factions like this get more attention, especially in the form of these 'updates' to modern lore. I think everything here, especially the history sections, help make the entire thing feel more integrated while keeping the soul of the original concept. My only recommendation would be some kind of 'relations' section: small, bite-sized descriptions of how an affiliate or member may be treated in foreign territories, especially Tau Ceti. The half-paragraph describing this seems to have been cut due to it not being relevant, but I think having at least a bit of fluff on a handful of related nations would go a long way. As an example, Konyang is quite an important factor for the Deep in this version, yet no mention is made of how their population has reacted to this new presence. (I looked at the Konyang page as well, which also currently leaves it at 'they do business here'.) Other than that, this gets a very enthusiastic +1 from me! I was already itching to apply to IPCs to make a character like this, but if this goes through, I think I'll have no choice.

Hoi! I think I have just enough familiarty with your regular characters to understand that you are a competent, well-meaning player who's always fun to see in a round. Generally this would be enough for me to give a +1, but I do have some similar concerns to that of @Omicega's first point. I can get being critical of Security for their handling of things, especially when playing medical. Your character being an IPC First Responder is further reasoning - however, this is where I need to ask: is this is a legitimate character trait of Darwin's or truly an OOC bias? Security and Medical already have plenty of issues attempting to work together at times, and I am deeply concerned over the fact that you aim to play a CMO with this question still up in the air. I do not want to endorse someone that may or may not make Security players distrust us even slightly more. On another, less important note, I also recall a specific incident regarding Darwin and my Psychiatrist character (Gentle Wind) that happened somewhat recently, I think. As usual, my character was talking at length with a patient in their office - a pretty sensitive interaction, also rather usual - with their office shades up. At the time, I believe they and Darwin were the only medical staff, but no immediate danger was present. Darwin promptly rushed up to the Psychiatry Ward, and kept knocking on the windows till it was opened up. Even before my character could get a word in about to complain, Darwin had promptly told them they were not as present on comms as they would've liked, then rushed off to do something else. This had disrupted an important, intense RP scene that both me and the other player were engaged in. This is, yet again, another situation where I struggle to understand whether or not it's just Darwin being the way they are, or you not understanding and respecting certain simple etiquettes of role-play and collaborative writing. You and other readers of this thread may think this is petty and unimportant, but when my character's job as a Psychiatrist relies on these key moments, I think a bit more consideration should be expected. Especially as someone aiming to be Head of Staff, and CMO, no less. That said, I am not opposed to seeing you continue into a trial phase! I think we all mess up sometimes, but that we can also improve a lot if we put our mind to it. I just hope you can understand that I am not critizing your play because I do not like you as a player - there is just a certain amount of sensitivity and maturity I expect from Command players that I maybe haven't seen enough from your characters. Best of luck with the application! I'll be sure to vote this up if I see that you earnestly want to work on these issues.

Piggybacking on @Lordnesh's reply a bit, as they touched on much of what was already brewing inside of my head when I first read through. The backstory is solid, I think you just need to expand on Courtier themselves, make it less of a blank state, as mentioned. To that end, here are some questions to maybe help along the process. How does Courtier view other IPCs, specifically those employed alongside it in Idris? Whether it knows about this or not, how do you think Courtier might feel about this? How does it feel about being handed a 'lesser' shell than what its position/capabilities may warrant? I hope you can expand on things and get a more well-rounded character as a result! I'll be happy to thumbs this up as soon as that happens.

Solid item that (I think) has really no way to be abused, and has plenty of backstory to support it. I also think it's a novel idea for an Investigator - made me think about my own character a bit! Easy-peasy +1.

BYOND Key: Lucaken Character Names: Leonid Myagmar (Previously 'Leonard Scheller'), Isiah Bly, Menlev Glukhov Species you are applying to play: Dionae. Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes, just about everything on the wiki. Why do you wish to play this specific race: Scouring the wiki as a new player, there is a lot to be inspired by and then eventually get sucked into. Personally, this also comes with a certain 'fear' of not playing a race or nationality authentically - by gaining access to Dionae characters I want to shed this mentality. Dionae seemed to me like the race I could take the farthest, considering the sheer amount of customization afforded by the lore. To list a few, I was particularly intruiged by the Mind Types and the idea of nymphs organizing themselves into all kinds of collective-personalities. In fact, a big reason for my first character being the Mind Type that they are is because I was interested in exploring how much I could push a multi-voiced gestalt. This is ontop of how any particular character will adjust to their location, faction and other such influences that are standard to other races. Oh, and people just seem to just have so much damn fun with them. From the discord discussions/memes to the few I get to spot in-game, it just looks like a blast. Don't get me wrong, you can go far even with just a standard human, but Dionae always felt like the next level to me. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: First, there is the obvious biological differences. Constantly being aware of how light and radiation affect you, understanding almost anything is going to outrun you, as well as identifying threats (like atmospherics) differently gives a very clear outline of how you are supposed to play one. Though perhaps this is not major in terms of game mechanics, I feel as though it's something I could take very far in the right situations. More subtly, you also have to be aware of how your particular gestalt would register and respond to any particular situation, being in touch with how your nymphs will react and come to a decision, constantly. Character Name: Gentle Wind Over Turbulant Seas And Sands Short Backstory: The orginal nymphs of what would become Gentle Wind Over Turbulant Seas and Sands (Gentle Wind) formed as a result of the conflict between the Shkhr and the Kshhr on the reclaimed planet Xrim, just as hostilities died out. As one of many gestalts to form in pursuit of unification, they were comprised almost entirely of young nymphs from both former factions - though this would result in inner turmoil early on, they quickly overcame differences in order to act as a catalyst for peace talks and general coordination upon Xrim. The same young nymphs which would've made up the gestalt then would've gained important if not insular experiences in diplomacy, sharpening their use of Rootsong and inner focus, and in turn gradually influencing their view of the world. This would be reinforced soon after with the re-discovery of Xrim by the Skrell nearly half a century later, where Gentle Wind participated heavily in the diplomatic efforts and as a result, gained a newfound ambition in meeting and understanding new species. To this end, the gestalt did as they have done several decades ago, and merged with several, relatively older nymphs who hailed from the Jargon Federation. With new experiences being merged and a rapidly forming identity, the gestalt decided that further skills and qualifications would be needed to achieve their newfound dream of wandering the turmoiled galaxy. To this end, they swiftly enrolled in the Aliose University of Medical Sciences, and, with the use of regulated intaking of blood, managed to excel and impress enough to graduate in a shortened amount of time. From this point onward, the varied group of nymphs decided that they could no longer wait more. They had to see and calm this turmoiled galaxy. Across more than a decade, Gentle Wind would wander from planet to planet, finding more species than they could have ever imagined - and with it, their countless worries and problems, the mending of which would result in their most prized experiences. Among the most significant of their travels was their visit to Moghes, a truly enlightening and harrowing pilgramage that would see Gentle Wind interact with the most severe of cases, both mental and physical. So touched was the gestalt that, after merging with a few nymphs of The Spirits of the Oasis, they chose to commemorate the experience within their name, citing it to be just as revolutionary of an experience as seeing the first Skrell upon their homeworld. Finding themselves unable to contribute pragmatically to the peoples of The Wasteland (an experience which was shared on other journeys, too), the gestalt reasoned that it must find a more permenant spot in the galaxy if they were to complete their collective dream. What do you like about this character?: I find the concept of a very amicable, understanding Dionae to be exactly what I need when I just want a roleplay-heavy round from time to time. While I adore characters that clash in interesting ways, there is just something very wholesome about being able to play a character that seeks to understand and befriend almost everyone. I think I'd have fun even if that was taken advantage of, as it's something I would expect and could happily facillitate with players. I also like how the character differs themselves from other Xrim Dionae - while I was originally unsure about that aspect, I think it's become a distinction central to them. And again, I like it because this character will likely push me out of my comfort zone a little in terms of Aurora lore and character concepts in general. How would you rate your role-playing ability?: Above avarage, maybe? I've spent four long formative years role-playing in MMORPGs, so I feel I have a rock-steady foundation with my writing now. I've also spent five-ish months on the server, so I think I've also adapted to SS13-style role-play by now, as well. Notes: Chirp Chirp!