[Accepted] Rotharia's Skrell Application

[Rotharia]

BYOND Key: Rotharia
Character Names: DERBY, Rose Tomlin, Paxton Martins, Briony Tomlin
Species you are applying to play: Skrell
What color do you plan on making your first alien character: A derivative of ocean blue, it depends on how it looks in game.
Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes
Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph format. One paragraph minimum per question.
Why do you wish to play this specific race: Personally I believe Skrell to be under represented on Apollo and as they were my first alien race I ever played, I have a particular connection with them. I think their unique eagerness and joy for science or medical can make a normally serious or dry department fun and inviting. I wish to bring the fun back to extended rounds without sacrificing role play.
Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Displaying emotions through language and other means is a tricky task. You have to have a good grasp of how things can be perceived. It's a fine balance between using solely noise such as a synthetic, and using solely movements such as a mute. The way this can be accomplished is fairly open ended but in particular Blorp's approach will be to use explicit language to denote their feelings (such as "This troubles Blorp...") and ALSO use low and high pitch warbles that the crew will be able to learn mean certain things through context clues and continuous play. It It's a unique and interesting challenge that I'm certainly up for.
Character Name: Blorp Worshol
Please provide a short backstory for this character Born in a Sol research facility to a medical doctor and a visiting representative for Bishop Cybernetics Blorp was raised mostly in the care of his mother, with his father's work taking him far and wide in attempts to establish interests for Bishop. Unsure of how to raise her child best, Blorp's mother turned to what she knew best and began homeschooling her son from a young age. While originally she had no intention of teaching him about medicine, Blorp's proximity to her own research had sparked his interest and before long biology was a part of his curriculum. His mother's team banded together and he was raised by a tribe of doctors and scientists alike. When his mother's work took them away from Sol and into Tau Ceti,  Blorp's fascination with the sciences rose to new heights. After earning himself an internship within his mother's company Blorp set his sights on the real prize, a seat in the prestigious Biesel Institute of Medical Sciences. Many late nights were spent studying and re-studying material sure to be on the entrance exams, and his work at the facility had earned him a few good recommendations, but it ultimately proved to be not enough. Blorp was turned down by Biesel and he instead was accepted by Solis Cognito University. An honor to be sure, but it was still second place for Blorp. This blow particularly caused tensions between himself and his mother, ultimately leading to them becoming estranged not long after his acceptance. Blorp was broken but schooling and research was all he knew, so he poured himself into his books and studied his youth away. By the time he had graduated he had healed, but was socially stunted. During his residencies Blorp's comments were split equally between outstanding work ethic, and dark moody behavior. Fortunately, this period would not last, but it would come to define how Blorp interacted with others. He tore himself away from his seclusion and looked for a position that he could really test himself, both socially and mentally. Aurora Station would be that chance for him.
What do you like about this character? Blorp's vulnerability socially makes him likely to fall down, but his eagerness to get back up is the fun part. It's very much like watching a toddler learn to walk, the trial and error is funny and I think entertaining to most people.
How would you rate your role-playing ability? 7/10
Notes: 

Edited April 26, 2019 by Rotharia
Requested changes

[Activeknockback]

+1 For the interactions I've had with both Rose Tomlin and Derby, they were fun and very well played. Very inventive in the solutions which a Skrell could certainly do.

[VTCobaltblood]

Hello! I will be handling this application. Just for your information, Skrell aren't harmed by protein on this server, and can eat meats as well, but without gaining nutrition. They simply prefer soft, plant-based foods.

In the meanwhile, I would like to hear your answers to the following questions:

Your character is very eager and enthusiastic after a dark time in his life. How do you feel you would express this in roleplay? Which mannerisms would show that?

What are his views on other races? Is there a reason in particular for him to choose a multicultural, but mostly human-dominated workplace?

[Rotharia]

 

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1.) I intend to play the character not necessarily as conflict adverse, but they try to suppress conflict through sheer force of will/positivity if something DOES come up. Though it'll likely that thoughts will linger and signs will show, so should someone dig too deep or say something specific that ties back to those memories he'll become dejected. To overcome means that there is an increased level of self worth, even if it's fake at first. While he's making his transition from darkness to light he will very much be faking it until he makes it.

2.) Spending most of his life with other Skrell means that he hasn't formed any strong opinions on races, his only knowledge of them coming from schooling or his own research. Aurora is the deep end of the pool and he figures he'll either sink or swim. The only exception to this is with synthetics, to which he is slightly wary of, coming from the federation where they're non-existent. As a player, I of course want Blorp's opinion of synthetics to cool off and for him to forget his bias even if it is slight. However, this particular character point is something I plan to resolve through station time. If he has bad experiences with synthetics then his bias is justified, if not then it's silly and an unnecessary precaution.

I hope those answers were sufficient, let me know if you have any more!

Edited April 23, 2019 by Rotharia
Grammar

[VTCobaltblood]

On 23/04/2019 at 16:52, Rotharia said:

Though it'll likely that thoughts will linger and signs will show, so should someone dig too deep or say something specific that ties back to those memories he'll become dejected.

My question is: what would these signs be? How do you imagine a Skrell expressing themselves?

On 23/04/2019 at 16:52, Rotharia said:

The only exception to this is with synthetics, to which he is slightly wary of, coming from the federation where they're non-existent. As a player, I of course want Blorp's opinion of synthetics to cool off and for him to forget his bias even if it is slight

Why is it only a slight bias? They're from the Jargon Federation - not only that, but also from Querrbalak, where there are entire tomb cities dedicated to preserving the memory of those who fell victim to Glorsh's terrible reign. Young Skrell are, most probably, taught that synthetic intelligences are nothing but a great evil. How come that Blorp only feels wary, and not terrified and/or disgusted?

[Rotharia]

1.) Primarily through withdrawn behavior, burying themselves in their work, minimal contact with friends that he's made aboard, getting a psych check up, sad warbles. The works, regressing back to the same behavior that he used to find comforting.

2.) The same reason that not all Germans hate the Americans or Russians, or not all Japanese hate the Americans. Everyone is capable of great evil, but this didn't happen in his lifetime, it wasn't his war to fight.
Even if you equate this more to African American slaves, prejudice is certainly present. But there are those that have moved on,

[VTCobaltblood]

1 hour ago, Rotharia said:

Primarily through withdrawn behavior, burying themselves in their work, minimal contact with friends that he's made aboard, getting a psych check up, sad warbles. The works, regressing back to the same behavior that he used to find comforting.

To phrase the question more bluntly: what is the difference between a human emoting and a Skrell emoting?

1 hour ago, Rotharia said:

The same reason that not all Germans hate the Americans or Russians, or not all Japanese hate the Americans. Everyone is capable of great evil, but this didn't happen in his lifetime, it wasn't his war to fight.
Even if you equate this more to African American slaves, prejudice is certainly present. But there are those that have moved on,

But with our Earthen nationalities, we know that we're all just people. Synthetics are a technology, and they're completely unlike an organism to the very core. Not to mention, Blorp may have seen entire dead cities emptied - not by a fellow Skrell, or something organic, but by a machine - a machine that made itself able to enslave an entire race with little warning, almost out of the blue. Thus, all sentient machines must be hated and feared, and this is something constantly taught in Jargon, a civilization where information censorship and media brainwashing are possibly the most invasive in the galaxy - whereas we, on Earth, are encouraged to voice our opinions, and are free to expose ourselves to whatever information we want, instead of government-sanctioned recommended media made by Idols. Why hasn't he been affected by this constant influence? If you want to create a Skrell that comes to terms with synths and learns to tolerate or even embrace them, why make a Jargon character if you can make a Skrell who is born in human space (something I sadly never see in whitelist apps)?

[Rotharia]

I specifically made the Jargon character because I assumed human space skrells were the norm actually that's certainly something I'm willing to change, but to be honest there's not a single conceivable style of government that completely eliminates skepticism (in my opinion.) While yes the propaganda machine is strong it would seem to me that in a society that values rational thought and the scientific method it would behoove one to question what they're being told, that being said I'm definitely open to using human space if he can't be justified from Jargon. Not trying to change anyone's lore haha.

Thank you for being blunt I'm terribly dull Skrell display emotions the same way humans do, however they emphasize sounds and noises that are usually inaudible to all but other Skrell, Thus, most of the emotions that other races receive are displayed through movement and word choice

[TheGreatNacho]

+1 I've played with Paxton in Cargo. He was a little odd at first, but then I got what he was going for. He would stick to character well.

[VTCobaltblood]

2 hours ago, Rotharia said:

Skrell display emotions the same way humans do

That isn't entirely correct. There is a deep difference, which you can find in the Biology section of the page, which I suggest you familiarize yourself with, and put a summary of the difference in emotional expression up in your app (in the "what's different in roleplay" section).

2 hours ago, Rotharia said:

 but to be honest there's not a single conceivable style of government that completely eliminates skepticism (in my opinion.) While yes the propaganda machine is strong it would seem to me that in a society that values rational thought and the scientific method it would behoove one to question what they're being told

Yet Skrell are an alien race. Not to mention, the scientific method doesn't necessarily mean questioning established history and moral values. 

I suggest you re-write your application to have a non-Federation Skrell instead. You may choose to retract this one or to edit it.

[Rotharia]

I've edited the topic to include the requested changes.

[VTCobaltblood]

While the backstory may beg the question "why not play a human instead", I believe that you've outlined the answer to that adequately in the "differences in roleplay" section. Accepted, archiving.