[Accepted] Iron Chaos's Dionaea Whitelist Application

[Iron Chaos]

BYOND Key: Iron Chaos
Character Names: B-4, Oscar O'Neil, Pip Riley, P.I.A.R.
Species you are applying to play: Dionaea
What color do you plan on making your first alien character: N/A
Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes

Why do you wish to play this specific race: I want to be a plant. More specifically, I'm attracted to them not just from a mechanical perspective but a lore perspective. I love playing characters who feel different from humans in both mechanical and roleplay perspectives; And out of all the races we have on Aurora, I feel Dionaea are probably the most alien out of them. Not just from an origin perspective but their life-cycle, their nomadic-hivemind existence, and interesting cultural quirks. 

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: As I stated in my previous answer, I feel they are one of the most alien races available to play. To start, one of the more well-known differences is their communication methods. Though capable of speech, the way they do causes many languages to be slow and some impossible to replicate. They have the ability to garner language as a nymph by absorbing DNA from blood. They have emotions like other races, but are limited with more complex emotions, requiring them to be learned over long periods of time. Even then, cyclops tend to be logical due to their collective form. If you play an older cyclops, it is possible to have more emotion as they have adapted more to their collective nature. With these things in mind, roleplaying a dionaea is a balance between logical responses and emotional. You also have to consider which language you are speaking when considering pacing of speech, Rootsong being the most fluent and clear, compared to a slower paced common speech, broken up among the nymphs that compose the dionae gestalt. I should probably also mention here, that pronouns and identity vary between Nymph and Cyclops gestalt, using plural to refer to themselves while cyclops and singular while they are a nymph.

Outside of the communication realm, a roleplay element to consider is their motivations. When they take up a job, what is the reason behind it. Unlike other species, they don't really value credits, and have more of a focus on survival. Though they work jobs, it is mostly just to ensure they can have a safe and secure place to live. This means that while roleplaying, dionaea would likely not be concerned with a loss of credits, or bribed by the promise of more. Also, this means the reason for their desired field of education or occupation is more likely caused by the dionaea's drive to learn, or even a skill that aids them survive wherever they call home.

For a bit more obvious things: they feed off radiation, need light, can grow back limbs if exposed to enough radiation, pretty darn durable and slow. Oh and also, they differ from humans because they can literally fall apart when their life is threatened.

Character Name: Grown From Stone
Please provide a short backstory for this character:
Grown From Stone was not originally Grown From Stone. Before that, they were 'Carried by Tides'. Carried by Tides was a gestalt from The Original Conglomerate. A newly formed Cyclops gestalt was forming from some young nymphs as well as one that had parted from a larger gestalt to impart knowledge upon the new growth. Upon forming, the resulting gestalt felt a subtle wanderlust and a curiosity about humans and their creations. Driven by these factors, Carried by Tides left the conglomerate and began to journey to human space. At first, Carried by Tides hopped from various shuttles, serving as crew hands and labor to pay for their passage. Eventually, Carried by Tides reached the world of Tau Ceti and began attracted to the city and sought to explore and learn what it could.

Over the years to follow, Carried by Tides would become a citizen on Tau Ceti and eventually be registered with a new name. They took up an education, began learning about human construction and engineering. A couple more nymphs would be grown, new merges and splits would occur, and eventually only half of the original nymphs from the conglomerate would remain. With these experiences of building and engineering, Carried by Tides took up the name they have today, Grown From Stone. Recently, they learned about an engine powered by a powerful radioactive crystal owned by NanoTrasen. Driven by curiosity, they applied for a job on the NSS Aurora.

What do you like about this character? I'm hoping this background is normal for a dionae. Because from my understanding of what I read about dionae, this shouldn't be too unheard of. In order to grow and learn more, it'd be natural for gestalts to venture off on their own from larger groups to grow in new places and learn new things. They have nothing incredibly interesting about them and that's the way I would like it. A standard engineering dionae. Just another alien coworker on your space station.

How would you rate your role-playing ability? I'd say I'm about standard. Nothing extraordinary but not terrible.

Notes: For the most part, I've played synthetic characters, so I do have an understanding of how to limit the emotional aspects of characters.

Edited June 14, 2019 by Neinbox
Application accepted.

[Neinbox]

Hi @Iron Chaos! I've stumbled across your application and now here we are!

So first off, I love the information you listed for why you want to play, but mostly the length you went through for their differences. It shows you really know your stuff, which is very important to be able to play this species.

The backstory is also nice; simple and vague, but leaves a lot to the imagination. With how many times it sounds like it's merged and separated with other nymphs, I can imagine how old they are and think of their experiences in life. It's rather whimsical, which is fitting. It's also good to see a mention of one of the original discoveries as their origin!

Now typically, you'd have to go to school to be working with a big, dangerous experimental engine that can literally wipe out the entire station- at least, that's my belief on how it should be. Apprentices don't get access for a reason last I checked. Are they going to be trained and get certified to work with the engine? What made them interested in the engineering field anyhow?

Also, do you have a story behind their current name? Dionae names are typically a summary of their lives, and tell a story. How did this gestalt come to obtain theirs?

[Iron Chaos]

To answer the questions somewhat in order, they will be trained and certified to work with the engine. They garnered interest in the engineering field while serving on the shuttles on the way to Tau Ceti. Part of the fascination came from their curiosity of humans and their creations in comparison to say the Skrell, which were next door in a sense. The time on the shuttles allowed Carried by Tides to gain a form of interest and desire to try their own tendrils at creation, as it is quite different from the natural forms that Dionaea can form of themselves. So, when Carried by Tides arrived in Tau Ceti, one of their goals in mind was to better understand human engineering, and by extension other races. This fascination turned hobby eventually became more professional when they observed the demand that engineering had with space faring. The stories of the engine on Aurora would have provided significant motivation to be certified to work it, not only from the engineering view, but the racial affinity to radiation also appealed to it on a more primal level.

 

As for the name, take the above in mind. They began learning engineering, construction, building, creation from metal and non-organic materials. The more they learned and made, the more they felt a shift in their name. Grown From Stone was to reflect this. They grew not only from their natural state, but have grown mentally from the use of metal and stone. They also wanted to have a name that paid homage to human's ability to build and create, and by extension many other organic races. Grown From Stone was no longer Carried by Tides, but now firm in a new understanding and a willingness to aid creation.

[Doxxmedearly]

Iron's one of the best synth RPers on the server and has done great things with synth lore. Sad I don't see B-4 or Oscar as much as I used to, but I'll absolutely back Iron on his RP ability alone. +1

[Neinbox]

Thanks for responding @Iron Chaos!

 

Out of curiosity, why is it human technology in particular that interests them and not any of the other species as well? Skrell technology is particularly advanced.

[Iron Chaos]

Happy to answer @Neinbox

To answer your question, it isn't how advanced the technology is that is interesting. It is just that it was something different. Carried by Tides came from The Original Conglomerate and is pretty much next door to the Skrell on a galactic scale. If it was about just learning about the most advanced technology, they would have started there. But this was because humans wouldn't be as common in Skrell space. This is what drove them to seek out humans and learn how they did things. To sum it up, they wanted some new experiences and culture away from home, and humans were one of the bigger species in the galaxy.

[Neinbox]

Whew! Alright, with the forums now back online, we can finally get this over with. You've waited long enough @Iron Chaos, and now I can process it.

Anyways, you've sated my curiosity and it matches up well with their nature. So, I'm happy to welcome you to the fold!

 

Application Accepted.