[Accepted] Hocka's Skrell Application

[Hocka]

BYOND Key: Hocka

Character Names: https://i.imgur.com/0b0Nx3e.png

Species you are applying to play: Skrell

What color do you plan on making your first alien character (Dionaea & IPCs exempt): Probably a fairly light blue.

Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes.

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Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph format. One paragraph minimum per question

Why do you wish to play this specific race:

I can't quite tell specifically, but Skrell in general just seem like a fun race to role play in general. You could argue that compared to the other aliens they have their own uniqueness that the other races don't share - that being the Skrell are seemingly in a good position right now. I'd say that the Skrell having the strongest military and being considered more technologically advanced than Humans are dead give-away signs of this (obvious, I know.) I feel like it'd be something of a refresher to roleplay a Skrell, all in all.

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human:

Skrell are amphibious. One of the main stand-out points in my opinion. They ae more than capable of living underwater, as well as their own language that can be perfectly spoken underwater. On the same vein as language, however - Tau Ceti isn't a language that lives up to how Skrell usually speak in Nral'Malic. They find themselves not expressing much emotion in their speak, using very to-the-point sentences, whereas Nral'Malic is capable of allowing Skrell to express themselves in what would seem, in comparison, a myriad of ways. They also have something of a stricter requirement on what food they can eat as they only have hardened gums rather than teeth, limiting them to soft foods and liquid foods.

 

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Character Name: Sqrlesh Wuib-Xrl

Please provide a short backstory for this character, approximately 2 paragraphs

Sqrlesh was born in 2403 on the planet of Aliose. Aliose being a cold planet, she naturally came to posess a bright blue colour. Her mother worked in medical science, trying to research new ways to improve treatment and medicine whereas her father worked with hydroponics, mostly attempting to find new and better ways to safely introduce plants to colonised planets while minimising negative environmental effect. Both followed the ideas of Qeblak which were imparted to Sqrlesh. Throughout her childhood, Sqrlesh had been fascinated with engineering rather than performing studies and research itself. This was met with some disapproval from her parents, who wanted her to pursue a more Scientifically-inclined path. Sqrlesh's pursuit of Engineering would not falter, though she was always looking to try and convince her parents she was still capable of making advancements for Skrellian society.

Sqrlesh made an application to enroll at the Gliutip'lyaz after finishing her appropriate schooling. While not the best, she had performed well and believed she had her chances. This was not enough, however, when competing with other eager Skrell across the Jargon Federation for one of the very few positions available, finding her application rejected. This did have a harsh effect on Sqrlesh, but it was something she knew was a very likely chance. Enrolling at a local university on Aliose she chose to try and use this as a drive to help her seek her parent's approval. She passed through the University at the same standards. In line with wanting to find her place among the stars - beyond Aliose - Sqrlesh sought what work she could within the Tau Ceti system. By 2438, she had managed to land herself a job on New Gibson assisting with maintaining the atmospheres of the Biodomes. By 2448, she had moved onto a contract with NanoTrasen. She would work in a NanoTrasen facility, assisting in both structural and atmospheric Engineering while receiving education to achieve a Doctorate in Engineering from a partnered establishment in Biesel. Come 2460, Sqrlesh has finally fulfilled her doctorate and finds herself employed abord the Aurora.

What do you like about this character? I'm hoping I can try to catch the idea of the pressure Skrell undergo to make advancements for society (Present in the backstory I've written by the disapproval of Sqrlesh's chosen occupation) while making it something a bit more personal that can motivate the character (seeking approval of her parents.)

How would you rate your role-playing ability?

I'm likely going to be biased in this rating, but I'd go with a 7/10. I can at least be sure that my role play has been improving gradually over the time I've spent on Aurora.

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Notes:

It was brought up to me that I never mentioned any tie-ins to Glorsh in my backstory. While I'm aware it has a very big impact (pre-Glorsh Skrell were capable of having eight children where-as now they're only capable of three, as an example) I didn't think I'd have to bring it up given that Sqrlesh was born a few centuries after it had happened. She would be incredibly wary of any form of synthetic intelligence, as most (if not all) Skrell would. I'm willing to change my backstory to try and show the impacts of the Glorsh-Omega events, if requested.

[witchbells]

This application reads very well. You have a great eye for detail, I can easily tell you've read the wiki pages, and I'm also loving your ironic angle of a skrellian underdog. Just a few questions, as per the status quo.

What made Sqrlesh Squish choose Nanotrasen, specifically?

Being a younger skrell, how does Sqrlesh Squish see artificial intelligence? Are they more lax than an older skrell would be?

Unlike the warring on Adhomai, Glorsh isn't an ongoing crisis. Even though there are still survivors who remember, it's long since passed, and all that's left of Glorsh now is the imprint it left on society, and the consequences that come with that. It is, however, absolutely necessary that you reflect these consequences in designing your character.

As always, your application will be up for about a week to collect comments and critique. Don't feel sheepish about advertising it! [mention]Hocka[/mention]

[Hocka]

1) Sqrlesh less chose to join NanoTrasen, and mostly accepted the offer extended to her out of a sense of incredibly opportune timing. At around 2450, umeployment in Tau Ceti hit around 20% since the after-effects of the Second Great Depression were still being felt by the Republic of Biesel. I believe it also ties in well with the idea of NanoTrasen being one of the very few corporations still capable of offering in Tau Ceti in the 2 years following 2450. While it does say she joined up with NanoTrasen in 2448, I'd assume that an event as big as the Second Great Depression was still being felt in Tau Ceti, then there would be more than just a pay-rise to take into account, but job security for the future. Coupled with entering a program that allowed her to do work and get funding towards achieving a doctorate, I would say it would have seemed incredibly beneficial when the offer was extended, and obviously a better choice to remain with the company in the following years.

2) Sqrlesh was born centuries after the events of Glorsh-Omega, so while she had no first-hand experience of the atrocities committed against the Skrell during the time, she is still incredibly wary of Synthetic Intelligence as I doubt there'd be no shortage of the Jargon Federation depicting them as a type of boogie man who's just waiting to prey on the naive minds of the younger races. I'd say it's fair to say that while she wouldn't immediately be lashing out at Synthetics as soon as they approached her, she'd very much treat them like extremely unwelcome house guests, and be very wary about all interaction if not afraid at most times.

3) Knowing something like the events of Glorsh-Omega had occured easily within the reach of a Skrellian lifetime would be terrifying to realise. The Skrell population still has not fully recovered, with the current population of the Jargon Federation landing somewhere around 48 billion, 16 billion off the Skrell population pre-Glorsh. As well as this, you have the threat that it could happen again. Humans employ widespread use of synthetic life in many places (similarly to the Skrell pre-Glorh). Humanity might possibly be seen as a ticking time-bomb by Sqrlesh, just waiting for another singularity to occur. Most Skrell are still affected by the sterilization to this day, managing only around three children at once if they are the lucky minority who are not still completely sterile, where as they could have around eight pre-Glorsh - something that, until scientists can fully reverse the damage done - all Skrell are going to have to live with, almost as a harsh reminder of the dangers of synthetic life. The effects this has Sqrlesh would be mostly fear - it happened once already, so it can happen again.

Edited October 13, 2018 by Guest

[Doxxmedearly]

Wow. Nothing for me to do here but echo nursie's sentiments. A lot of care was put into this app. The attention to detail in the original app and followup answers are incredible. You have a definite sense of both Sqrlesh and Skrell culture.

And, of course, your roleplaying chops are some of the best. Vex is a great and memorable character, and one of the ones who inspired me to look into a Vaurca whitelist.

Absolute +1. Very well done.

[Conspiir]

(I find it really funny her name is Sqrlesh and can't wait to hear people tease her by calling her Squish)

This Skrell is only slightly older than the other Skrell app, you know! This one can be seen as "more successful" but both have to suffer the idea of parental disproval and I really want to know how that dynamic between them will pan out and how they will influence Skrell perception (let's call it Skrellception) aboard. Many characters have had some interaction with Vedai and Qblie Jeshja, and I can't wait to see how Squish is going to represent her species! Plus, Hocka's good people. I've only had real interaction with their Vex, and I definitely don't have complaints. +1

[witchbells]

That's pretty acceptable. Nanotrasen is without a doubt one of the largest employers in Tau Ceti. I think you've made some great choices in writing this character, especially one that's going to be seeing just how close humans can be with their synthetic counterparts.

I look forward to seeing how fear plays a part of Sqrlesh Squish's life.

Application accepted.