[Accepted] Loco's Vaurca Whitelist Application

[LocoTokyoFunBus]

BYOND Key:

LocoTokyoFunBus

Character Names:

Alec Dempolous - Surgeon

Irvine Pikari - Phoron Researcher

Joni Mercury - Chef

Corey Ginsberg -Pharmacist

Species you are applying to play: 

Vaurca

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

The white color of the lesser queen Mouv'lek'tanta's brood (RGB 90, 150, 255)

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: 

Primarily for the unique roleplaying opportunities offered by their lore and gameplay mechanics. Most of my characters tend to be motivated by self-interest, and I think the very eusocial, communal aspects of the Vaurcae's lore could help me expand my range of character traits I could comfortably roleplay. My characters also tend to err on the side of being very calculated and rational, and the idea of playing a Bound Worker Vaurca, whose decisions are more based on an intuitive sense of what is good for the hive, as well as their sense of smell, sounds like a fun new avenue of roleplaying to explore. Beyond lore reasons, I'm really interested to see how the Vaurca's gameplay mechanics enable me to play roles like Janitor and Cargo Tech in interesting ways that I wouldn't necessarily be able to as a human character.

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

From a roleplay perspective, Vaurca society is host to a chasm of inequality between the Unbound, who have the luxury of spending much of their time in VR, and the Bound, who are stuck performing menial labor for the betterment of the society as a whole. These two radically different perspectives, the juxtaposition of the entitled Akaix and the humbled, brainless Viax plays a very deep part in how individual Vaurca characters would react to everyday situations. An Unbound will sooner, and likely often lament at there not being any of the same stimulation available on the station as there would be in a virtual environment, whereas a Bound hardly knows any better. Mechanically, Vaurcae characters are unaffected by phoron,  can engage in EVA comfortably provided they have internals, and are less prone to radiation poisoning, among many other traits unique to their biology.

Character Name: 

Ka'Viax'Glubi C'thur (Janitor)

Please provide a short backstory for this character (Aproxomately two paragraphs)

Glubi has always understood their programmed purpose intuitively since they were hatched. Look to those that are bigger, find what obstructed their path, and take it elsewhere so they could pass. It came so easily to him, he never had to think of it. He did it for other, larger Bound Vaurca as a hatchling, then the Unbound Za Vaurca of his brood's small militia, and then, when it came to for employment to another group, for the Skrell scientists of The Moonvine, a station in orbit around the planet Aliose in Federation space. As time passed, his perception of what his role was became, slowly, more nuanced. It involved cleaning chemicals, changing light bulbs, mopping, and, increasingly lately, moving big canisters of pink gas to special places. But in principle, it was always the same. Look up, clear the way. 

One day, though, they woke up to a loud, shrieking alarm, and that pink gas hung in the air. And when Glubi looked up, there was nobody to see. When he looked down, he saw all of the scientists he had been accustomed to seeing laying down, as if they were resting. Glubi was alone, until several days later, several men from a Skrell-managed mining vessel, who were mostly human, responded to the distress beacon. They explained that the Skrell scientists aboard The Moonvine had died, and that they were the only survivor. They offered to take him to Aliose, were they were on the way to anyway, to which Glubi agreed so he could receive orders as to where to go next. 

Upon arriving, Glubi made an effort to speak with Ka'Akaix'Shekh C'thur, the Preeminence Shaper who had communed with Glubi during every time of hardship he had had during his past two, long years of life. Shekh suggested to Glubi that their rescue by the mining vessel, who he soon learned had lost several crew members, was a significant sign in determining his calling. It was clear to Shekh that Glubi should be the custodian aboard this ship, and after verifying that this was an acceptable new position to take with the Ta responsible for his hive cell, Glubi took off into Tau Ceti space aboard the ship. He worked there for one year until, at the request of his hive-cell, going aboard the NSS Aurora for Nanotrasen's competitive pay.

What do you like about this character?

His simplicity, innocence, and altruistic personality are all characteristics that I tend to unconsciously avoid when creating characters, and I think he would be a much-appreciated, wholesome presence on the Aurora.

How would you rate your role-playing ability?

8/10 . I have a decent amount of experience with tabletop roleplaying games outside of SS13, and I feel confident that I could get the hang of roleplaying my character correctly very quickly.

Edited April 19, 2020 by LocoTokyoFunBus

[DeadLantern]

There are some lore problems with this application.

Firstly, with the "Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human" section, you speak a lot about the relationship with the unbound and bound. While this is an important facet of Vaurcae life and culture, there is a lot more that you left unexpanded. What about their relationship to Sedantis, or the way they treat their Queens, or their relationship with non-vaurcae entities, etc etc.

Secondly, it is a minor thing, but I do not think a bound would "serve" a bound like Glubi does. Additionally, vaurcae respect is not based on size, but on rank. There is the bound (all in the same tier), then the unbound ka/za, then the Ta, then the Queens. Glubi would only work for those above them.

Also, most of Mouv's bound work in underwater installations, though a few could be working on orbital stations.

Thirdly, there is no way that these Tau Ceti humans could just escort this bound to Tau Ceti space, and there is no way the bound could agree with this. All Vaurcae work for Nanotrasen under "contracts"--essentialy, a queen lends some Vaurcae to Nanotrasen for work. The individual bound/unbound has no say in this deal. The bound would not work on the Aurora (or go to Tau Ceti) without permission from a higher Vaurca.

You applied with a bound. Not many do it, though it is possible to be accepted (after all, I was). I do admit, applying with an unbound would make it easier to show your knowledge of Vaurcae lore. In this application, you show various inconsistencies with the lore, so I do not think you have a great understanding of the lore, or you misunderstood some parts. I would suggest editing your application for a different concept, or modify this one to fit.

[LocoTokyoFunBus]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm a relatively newer player, so my understanding of the nuances of Vaurca lore may be somewhat lacking, and I'll try to edit it as needed to fit the setting more appropriately. However, I think some of the "lore inconsistencies" present are more owing to my inability to convey some of the qualities of this character as an individual, and some accidental omissions of specific traits. 

For example, Glubi, even as a grown Vaurca, stands only at 4'11". I understand that Vaurca aren't subservient to the will of others who are larger than them on those grounds alone, but for this character as an individual, their size has played a large part in how they perceive their duties to the hive and places they're contracted to work. When I refer to him helping other large Bound Vaurca, what I intended to imply was that he assisted Bound male Ta in preparing the environment for new Bound workers to be born.

The part of his backstory involving the Tau Ceti mining vessel is, admittedly, an inconsistency that kind of flew under my radar, and I'll do my best to go back and edit the post to give the character a more appropriate reason to enter Tau Ceti space, and then the Aurora. 

[DeadLantern]

Thank you for explaining! Now, that makes much more sense. I like your answers, and you are making sense. With that edit, I will probably support this application.

[JamOfBoy]

Hi, vaurca lore writer here.

The biggest issue I have with this app boils down to the fact you applied with a bound.

Why did a bound worker seek out a Shaper? They wouldn't do this; bound are already content doing the work they were made to do, Shapers wouldn't really be able to have the deep philosophical and existential conversations about assigned roles in the universe with a bound - they're too plain and not able to grasp the bigger concepts. All they know is their work, and the hive. Whatever they're told to do, they do it to the best of their ability. If no more instructions, they're content to do nothing. They don't face hardships that require counsel.

[LocoTokyoFunBus]

1 hour ago, JamOfBoy said:

Hi, vaurca lore writer here.

The biggest issue I have with this app boils down to the fact you applied with a bound.

Why did a bound worker seek out a Shaper? They wouldn't do this; bound are already content doing the work they were made to do, Shapers wouldn't really be able to have the deep philosophical and existential conversations about assigned roles in the universe with a bound - they're too plain and not able to grasp the bigger concepts. All they know is their work, and the hive. Whatever they're told to do, they do it to the best of their ability. If no more instructions, they're content to do nothing. They don't face hardships that require counsel.

I was having trouble determining exactly how large a hive cell would be, and the most descriptive thing I could find was that their size "can vary drastically." 

I thought of Shekh's character as being a kind of parental figure within a larger hive cell of around 40-50 Vaurca, who occupied an unofficial strata of authority between other Ka/Za Vaurca, and the Ta who they were all overseen by. Glubi wouldn't necessarily come to him out of a sense deep existential dread or angst, but in the same way that an engineer would sooner talk to the CE for help with something than the captain.

The mention of "hardship" was referring to, primarily, reassignment after having not had a position for some time, which I assumed was displeasing to even to Bound Vaurca, so thank you for clearing that up. I know that the Bound don't experience pleasure, but I thought that they may have been wont to seek guidance when in that position so that they aren't useless.

Hope this clears everything up! If their backstory needs any edits from here, I understand, and would be happy to make them. 

[JamOfBoy]

Alright, I'll be accepting this application. You really didn't do yourself any favours by applying with a bound character.

Looking forward to seeing you in game.