[Accepted] Hymir Skrell Application

[DiscountDan]

BYOND Key: Hymir

Character Names: Dan MacMillan, Mike Michaelson, Clover Wood, Fiximus, Cuffs, Archon, Liko Byrnes, Sar'kai Arkata, Que'zar Kal'zarama

Species you are applying to play: Skrell

What color do you plan on making your first alien character: Dark Green

Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Aye, that I have read.

Why do you wish to play this specific race: I find a unique interest in alien races. Namely, I like to see how they fare in comparison to other races. In terms of structure, Skrell are bizarre when compared to, say, Unathi or a standard human. Their amphibious nature intertwined with the psionic capacity and their pursuit of technology reminds me of the Old Ones of 40k in some respect, however clearly more tame than that. Playing alien races also allows for a sort of stretching of the mental muscles. Playing a human is easy. We do it every day. However playing a squid-frogman hybrid with psionic herd mentality and a sort of Icon-based society structure? I'm in.

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: As stated before, there's the factor that this race is certainly different than a run of the mill human. Its physiology is peculiar; whether it be the gelatinous-like structure to its skin with the pairing of color changing heavily on diet and the local ecosystem, or the fact that they are sterile mostly due to the AI Singularity from hundreds of years ago. That's only scratching the surface, mind you. They'e psionic, and their whole Dream setup is rather bizarre as well. It makes for a race that comes into its own. Finally there's also the factor of their personality. As stated in the Information Uplink, Skrell famously struggle with conveying emotion to Non-Skrell due to a lack of understanding on the Non-Skrell behalf. As such, this can make for interesting roleplay, something that I can get down with.

Character Name: Jroobi Vurae

Backstory: Jroobi grew up on the homeworld of the Skrell; Qerrbalak in the year 2376. At an early age, her family picked up on the fact that she was more of a Listener than anything. This did call cause for concern in some of her family, as their cohesiveness with Jroobi was at stake, or at least that's what some of them were concerned with. This fear proved to be unfounded, as despite her capacity to not be easily influenced, she took a peculiar interest in the pursuit of health and medicine at a young age, much to the joy of her family. She would carry out her education, and eventually move onto The Grand University to gain degrees in Biochemistry, Surgery, and General Medicine, while not particularly in that order. That isn't to say that her education was lackluster or summarize it briefly. She certainly did have a blast doing what she did best. When she completed her studies in Biochemistry, she visited the Frontier for a while to assist with an outbreak within a colony, and learned firsthand of the harshness and dangers of the frontiers of Skrell space. It was also around this time that the Skrell came into contact with humanity, which Jroobi took great interest in. A new race! One with vastly different biological setup from her own, yet some minor similarities and the very obvious "bipedal" appearance. It was all so exciting! Jroobi would work alongside her many colleagues to bridge a friendship between humanity and the Skrell, and all in her eyes seemed well. Although she may have been one doctor in all of this, it was something she was proud to assist with, and allowed her species to also gain some knowledge on their newfound spatial friends.

However in the year 2437, the humans got their golden ticket, a one way pass to artificial intelligence, and eventually, the IPC. Jroobi was not alive for the heinous years of Glorsh, however she had heard many tales and read thoroughly on it. This stirred concern in her heart, and as she observed the addition of IPCs and AI to human workspaces over time, she would eventually leave to work with her people in other systems and across their known space, finding her discomfort with the horrors of the past being a bit too close for comfort. Years would go by without much cause for concern, and in the year 2457, Jroobi was working alongside the Sol Alliance with her colleagues in an effort to micromanage Ouerea, an Unathi colony that is growing exponentially at the moment. While it had been a while since working with the humans, she managed to mostly avoid any synthetics she came across, and kept to herself. In the company of other Skrell and certain humans, she found peace and quiet, and a sense of companionship. This sense of comfort extended to the Unathi on Ouerea as well. Sure, they were simple at times, but there was a kindness to them that was not present in the ones from the homeworld, the ones from the Hegemony. In short, all was well, and all was somewhat balanced out in her life.

This semblance of balance in her life would not last for too long however, as on June 23rd, the Hegemony demanded the colony back. Surely the Hegemony weren't serious? The colony was running fine as is in her eyes. However, she would learn the tenacity and barbarism of the Hegemony, as they launched an ambush on her people. She fled alongside them, and with that, her contact with many of her colleagues became spotty at best. It seemed that wherever she went, there was always something to bother her. Whether it was the AI or the Hegemony, there's always something to be a bother. She reflected on this, and carried on as a doctor elsewhere, ultimately accepting that it is impossible to have everything go smoothly. If something can go wrong, it will go wrong. Jroobi had not much of a goal, or an idea of where to go next. Over the course of the next few weeks, she found that one of her sisters had moved to Tau Ceti, and had invited her to have a place to stay, a place of comfort and safety. Despite the presence of synthetics in Tau Ceti, Jroobi did find an interest in the massive amount of cultures coming together there. It was a learning opportunity. A chance to see how all of the races get along, and a chance to see how they tick, something she couldn't resist. Sure, there'd be IPCs and the sort about, but there were also Tajarans, Unathi, and other species to drown out their annoying metallic humming. Thus, there she went, and found her way into the employment of Nanotrasen.

What do you like about this character?: Good question! There's a lot that I like here. The character of a paranoid but good-intentioned Skrell that is in a new space, with new people. Equally optimistic, equally concerned for the future. Someone that doesn't nap as much as she should, as to avoid anything slipping up in the Dream. A character that has a deep-seated distrust of the IPCs, not out of personal prejudice, but valid concern tied into past events with well recorded records and such. A character that over the course of my writing I've come to be interested in. It's giving me nostalgia to my creation of Sar'kai Arkata from my Unathi app. It's something that clicks. The RP potential here is potent. I can taste it, and look forward to it.

How would you rate your role-playing ability?: I've done over 5-6 years of tabletop roleplay, and mounds more in terms of text-based RP. In addition to this, I've been on Aurora for a while. Not the most active, sure, but I make my presence known. I do my best to make sure I'm remembered in a good way. I'd give myself a solid nine out of ten in the roleplay department, with a CCIA stamp of approval (I'm not CCIA though so clearly someone spent some telecrystals this round, didn't they?).

Notes: None. If you have questions, feel free to ask. I'm all ears.

[furrycactus]

Dan asked me a lot of questions while he was writing this, and I've been helping him out with it over the last two days. I can tell he's genuinely interested in Skrell and their lore, not only because of all the questions he had, but because of the effort he's put into his writing. 

Onto the actual writing itself, I like the character. I like how it touched briefly on her family life, though I do wish there was a little more info there. I like how it goes over her feelings when the Skrell made first contact with humanity, and how that changes when humanity begin production of synthetics. I think it conveys the way a lot of younger skrell might possibly feel about them, not having actually witnessed Glorsh firsthand, instead being raised on horror stories and tales about the boogeyman robots. I also like that she's worldly, and that she displays the xenophilic nature of many skrell, having worked with not just in the frontier, but also with the Alliance and the Ouereans.

Her backstory seems to allude to her having a negative opinion of the Hegemony, for understandable reasons. For clarity's sake though, what are her opinions on the Izweski Hegemony, and the Unathi race as a whole? What about these new aut'akh, for instance?

Edited July 31, 2019 by furrycactus

[DiscountDan]

1 minute ago, furrycactus said:

Dan asked me a lot of questions while he was writing this, and I've been helping him out with it over the last two days. I can tell he's genuinely interested in Skrell and their lore, not only because of all the questions he had, but because of the effort he's put into his writing. 

Onto the actual writing itself, I like the character. I like how it touched briefly on her family life, though I do wish there was a little more info there. I like how it goes over her feelings when the Skrell made first contact with humanity, and how that changes when humanity begin production of synthetics. I think it conveys the way a lot of younger skrell might possibly feel about them, not having actually witnessed Glorsh firsthand, instead being raised on horror stories and tales about the boogeyman robots. I also like that she's worldly, and that she displays the xenophilic nature of many skrell, having worked with not just in the frontier, but also with the Alliance and the Ouereans.

Her backstory seems to allude to her having a negative opinion of the Hegemony, for understandable reasons. For clarity's sake though, what are her opinions on the Izweski Hegemony, and the Unathi race as a whole? What about these new aut'akh, for instance?

Good questions. Jroobi's feelings on the Izweski Hegemony were originally that of mistrust and slight concern. The Jargon Confederation has more of an authoritarian structure. It is an oligarchy and has the few handling the many. Whereas the Izweski Hegemony is more feudalistic in nature. To Jroobi, it's a step backwards. There's too much fragmentation in a Hegemony, and more chance of a lack of cohesion. This is only further proved by the Contact War and the Ouerea situation. It's a society that is frequent with religious and political strife. This also influences her beliefs on the Unathi as a whole. While some can certainly demonstrate intelligence, many to her seem to be simple-minded. Easy to talk to in small talk, but not suitable for an "at length" conversation. This belief is somewhat alleviated on Ouerea. The people of that colony are, at the time, under Skrell and human control. They have a chance to improve! A chance to see that bigger picture and progress as not just a colony, but a species too. This is somewhat dampened when the Hegemony lays claim to Ouerea, but she reserves hope for them yet. As for the Aut'akh, it's the worst of both. Religious strife mixed with a big bottle of transhumanism. The transhumanism wouldn't bother her if it weren't for their "god" being an AI/OS that all Aut'akh are connected to. It's really a terrifying notion to her, and if she were in charge, this would be stopped immediately. However, it is not, so she tolerates it, albeit barely.

[Faris]

1 hour ago, DiscountDan said:

The Grand University to gain degrees in Biochemistry, Surgery, and General Medicine

So with the equivalency in mind, your character has the qualifications of an Medical Doctor, Surgeon and Biochemistry. What role do you intend to play them?

[DiscountDan]

1 minute ago, Aboshedab said:

So with the equivalency in mind, your character has the qualifications of an Medical Doctor, Surgeon and Biochemistry. What role do you intend to play them?

A good question as well. Jroobi shall primarily be a Biochemist. While general treatment and surgery are valuable assets, there's a certain beauty to the structure of a disease, and once it is understood, there's a great feeling of accomplishment to being able to find the cure to it and administer it. Similar to that of when you finish a jigsaw puzzle or crossword puzzle. This isn't just a simple pursuit of knowledge. This is a passion as well, one she deeply enjoys.

[Faris]

Just now, DiscountDan said:

A good question as well. Jroobi shall primarily be a Biochemist. While general treatment and surgery are valuable assets, there's a certain beauty to the structure of a disease, and once it is understood, there's a great feeling of accomplishment to being able to find the cure to it and administer it. Similar to that of when you finish a jigsaw puzzle or crossword puzzle. This isn't just a simple pursuit of knowledge. This is a passion as well, one she deeply enjoys.

Make sense and surgery/MD can tie in nicely with the research aspect as biochemist does touch on the research aspect of this station, maybe even collaboration with science department. I just want to emphasize that the character should avoid stepping toes on other characters being present. It's one thing to help with surgery due to no other surgeons being present and another to take surgery patients when a surgeon is around. 

 

An issue I've had with certain whitelists that I've been cracking down is people knowing too much, in that they end up able to do everything in a department or two, when the wiki states that they specialize and any extra degrees they have fall within the same type/field. I think you understand this given your history on the server but I'd like you to affirm that you understand.

 

Other than that, your whitelist is exceptionally good from my point of view. You gave me a clear timeline of a character that if I made right now, I think I'd get it close enough to how you desired it. Informative answers, no redundancies to inflate word count and a tightly woven/interesting character story. 

 

While I won't give a verdict now, things are definitely looking up for you. I'd encourage you to advertise your application once a round in ooc to garner more feedback. You can expect a verdict within 3 days. 

[DiscountDan]

1 minute ago, Aboshedab said:

An issue I've had with certain whitelists that I've been cracking down is people knowing too much, in that they end up able to do everything in a department or two, when the wiki states that they specialize and any extra degrees they have fall within the same type/field. I think you understand this given your history on the server but I'd like you to affirm that you understand.

I most certainly understand. Kept it in department for that reason, and I generally keep to my own job once I have selected in regardless of qualifications. I spoke with furrycactus on this topic. I don't think it'll be of concern. I look forward to any future inquiries, whether they be from you or other members of the forum. I'll be sure to shoot a message OOC tomorrow when I get the chance. Thanks for your input and advice!

[furrycactus]

1 hour ago, DiscountDan said:

Good questions. Jroobi's feelings on the Izweski Hegemony were originally that of mistrust and slight concern. The Jargon Confederation has more of an authoritarian structure. It is an oligarchy and has the few handling the many. Whereas the Izweski Hegemony is more feudalistic in nature. To Jroobi, it's a step backwards. There's too much fragmentation in a Hegemony, and more chance of a lack of cohesion. This is only further proved by the Contact War and the Ouerea situation. It's a society that is frequent with religious and political strife. This also influences her beliefs on the Unathi as a whole. While some can certainly demonstrate intelligence, many to her seem to be simple-minded. Easy to talk to in small talk, but not suitable for an "at length" conversation. This belief is somewhat alleviated on Ouerea. The people of that colony are, at the time, under Skrell and human control. They have a chance to improve! A chance to see that bigger picture and progress as not just a colony, but a species too. This is somewhat dampened when the Hegemony lays claim to Ouerea, but she reserves hope for them yet. As for the Aut'akh, it's the worst of both. Religious strife mixed with a big bottle of transhumanism. The transhumanism wouldn't bother her if it weren't for their "god" being an AI/OS that all Aut'akh are connected to. It's really a terrifying notion to her, and if she were in charge, this would be stopped immediately. However, it is not, so she tolerates it, albeit barely.

I think these are all good answers. Your app is very good.

It's got a big +1 from me.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Great guy and a good consistent RP'er +1

[Faris]

Application accepted.

Beyond what I've already said, I believe I've had a round or two with you and no red flags.

 

Hope you enjoy it.

[DiscountDan]

Thank you! I will do my best to make the rounds as interesting as I can.