RyverStyx - IPC Application

[RyverStyx]

BYOND Key: RyverStyx

Character Names: Loc Darrin - Engineer

Species you are applying to play: Integrated Positronic Chassis

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

 

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 want to play as an IPC because I find their lore and aesthetic incredibly fascinating! The many different backstories that can be created with IPC lore is also a huge draw to me; the struggles of both free and owned IPCs could lead to many interesting roleplay scenarios on-station. The many different ways that an IPC character could interact and communicate with both human and xeno characters aboard the Aurora is extensive, leaving a large amount of story and character arcs to be played out! Overall I want to play as an IPC to create both interesting roleplay scenarios for myself and my fellow crewmates; whether this be by utilizing the various IPC specific game mechanics (repairs, anatomy differences, human mimicry) or just my IPC character's history is completely alluring to me.

 

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

Roleplaying as an IPC is incredibly different than roleplaying as a human. For starters, whenever an individual roleplays as an IPC they have to put themselves in a completely different mindset. The individual shouldn't think about how they would react to the situation as a human; instead, they should think about how a character who merely mimics a human would react in that situation. As an IPC your character could have a large range when it comes to speech patterns! Will they try to mimic human cadence as close as possible to put humans at ease or will they simply talk how they please with a completely unique speech pattern? With this line of thinking there would also be a fine balance between mimicking human behavior and trying to preserve yourself when playing as an IPC. In many scenarios a human may put themselves in immense danger, risking life and limb, where an IPC would stand back and attempt to formulate a rational response that not only benefits themselves but the scenario as a whole.

Not only do you need to think in a rational and critical manner for every situation, you would also need to think about how your specific model would react to the situation. These responses can vary drastically from that of humans! The three main types of models, and even their sub categories, would have to take their different pros and cons into account when trying to formulate how they should act for a variety of situations during their station-bound work on Aurora. For instance, an industrial model will have to take their incredibly slow speed into account; if a time sensitive emergency is happening they should make sure they are well out of harms way before it is too late. The industrial models even have to take into account whether escaping into space may be best for their survival (if the First and Second Generation has a suit cooler that is). As baseline and shell models can vary immensely even within their own category it is important for the player to take their own character's history and strengths/weaknesses into account.

As a human you are rarely (if ever) "born" into your job; however, the same could not be said for an IPC. Unlike human children an IPC's creation could never be a mistake; they're typically tailor-made for a certain job or application. This is something that absolutely needs to be taken into account when playing as an IPC! There shouldn't be an immense job history covering many different fields; instead there should be a clear designation that shows throughout your IPC's work history. You would even need to take into account whether your character is owned or free. This distinction will affect how you play your character; if you are an owned synthetic you must worry about your performance to ensure self-preservation. If you are a free synthetic then you may be in a state of disarray to due to the costs of repair and maintenance. Free IPC players also must have a well-written history designating how they became free; something that may vary based on player preference. While there are distinct pros and cons for being either free/owned the main decision as to what you should roleplay as comes down to what you believe will be the most interesting and/or spark the most roleplay scenarios for you and your fellow crew!

While an IPC may attempt to mimic human behavior it may not always ensure that humans take a liking to them... The player needs to take the active discrimination that humans have towards IPC into account when making and roleplaying as their IPC character. For instance, an owned synthetic may not face the same discrimination in their past as a free synthetic; whether this is due to being a company's property or just the overall cleaner state that many owned synthetics tend to be in is up to the discretion of the player. Will the IPC in question attempt to kiss-up to the humans who work around them or will they simply let their work show how useful they are? There are many different scenarios and backstories that can be made to determine how your IPC character will react with those they meet in their day-to-day life.

 

Character Name: Rusty (Formerly MU-1525)

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

MU-1525 was created as a standard Baseline Medical Unit with the designation of Physician Assistant at a corporate practice within Mendell City. MU-1525 was part of the 2440 "baseline boom" in which pro-synth organizations distributed the baseline frames. As an owned medical unit mainly working in the affluent districts of Mendell City MU-1525 had commonly faced discrimination from those who they helped. Often called derogatory names like "Rust-Bucket" and "Scrap Heap". However, they would frequently hear of District 14; an area where synthetics were supposedly free of discrimination at the hands of humans; even though MU-1525 knew the district was in incredibly poor standing it still sounded like a type of paradise to them. This discrimination they faced only fueled them on their path to freedom and working with wealthy residents as patients ensured that MU-1525 was able to allocate the needed "funds" in around ~20 years; although their supervisors would often attempt to sabotage the progress being made.

Now a free synthetic MU-1525 moved into District 14. However, their jobset being that of a Physician was not entirely needed within the district as there were little to no organic lifeforms. Due to the apparent lack of work paired with rough living conditions MU-1525 quickly deteriorated in appearance; accumulating rust and cosmetic damage to their outer components. Mu-1525 had to do multiple odd-jobs for whatever organic they could to make a living wage and whenever MU-1525 would come into contact with an organic they would often be called derogatory terms that targeted their appearance. MU-1525 decided that they had enough of being discriminated against and decided to reclaim the name "Rusty" - showing that the human's words could no longer have any hold on them since they are a free synthetic. Rusty, now with a new outlook on life, decided to apply for a position at NanoTrasen (the company whos large skyscraper they would often see in District 1). A position had been open aboard the Aurora and Rusty eagerly accepted a shot at a somewhat stable income.

 

What do you like about this character:

I love that the struggles this character has been through (and even the struggles they currently face) can be shown in how they communicate and engage with others onboard the station. The reclaiming of the term "rusty" is also something that I think showcases the personality of this character. The struggles that Rusty has faced will be apparent to anyone who looks at them; especially since coming from a life of servitude to then living their life in the slums of District 14 would be incredibly taxing for them not only on their body but also on how they view the world and others. Another facet of this character that I find interesting is the irony that they are not a fan of humans due to the discrimination that they face but their job is dependent on humans and other organics. Overall, this character is somewhat tragic, but they are happy with the life that they have carved out for themselves and to me that is truly special.

 

How would you rate your role-playing ability:

I like to think that I am fairly decent at roleplaying (although sometimes I tend to lean towards the goofier side of things). I also take roleplaying incredibly seriously and try to not only ensure that I am having a good time but everyone else around me is having a good time as well! I will also often make a google document detailing everything about my character. This ties into one of my strengths; if my character has an extensive and well planned out history I can easily stick to that 100% of the time. It really helps me get into my characters headspace when I have documents laying out their history, motives, and personality.

 

Notes: Sorry if this seemed incredibly rambling... On a sidenote check out my IPC picrew maker (mostly bay items are added in) https://picrew.me/image_maker/897415

[niennab]

Hello, thank you for applying, I like the idea of reclaiming a word.

What do you mean by this line here?

18 hours ago, RyverStyx said:

would have to take their different pros and cons into account when trying to formulate how they should act for a variety of situations during their station-bound work on Aurora.

When MU-1525 became free, why couldn't they find work as a physician in Mendell City or elsewhere? Especially if later on they were able to find work with Nanotrasen. Was the discrimination MU-1525 faced only verbal? Does Rusty have any particular purpose? How do they view themselves?

Quote

working with wealthy residents as patients ensured that MU-1525 was able to allocate the needed "funds" in around ~20 years; although their supervisors would often attempt to sabotage the progress being made.

How did it allocate the needed funds? Was this through tips, friendship between the patients or by just doing a good job? If it was money offered by its patients, how did MU-1525 feel about organics in the face of such kindness? Did MU-1525 cut contact with these people once free?

Edited May 2, 2021 by niennab

[RyverStyx]

3 hours ago, niennab said:

What do you mean by this line here?
"would have to take their different pros and cons into account when trying to formulate how they should act for a variety of situations during their station-bound work on Aurora."

My meaning in this line is that each different type of IPC is played in a very different way, whether it be due to game mechanics or lore. The Industrials are often slow and sturdy but use power at an increased rate - meaning that they should not volunteer for tasks that are time sensitive while also taking into account their charge levels. They may not be suitable for extensive EVA or any type of "away mission" that does not have a charger. Baselines and Shells vary immensely so their different reactions to the scenarios aboard the station will depend highly on their individual backstories.

3 hours ago, niennab said:

When MU-1525 became free, why couldn't they find work as a physician in Mendell City or elsewhere? Especially if later on they were able to find work with Nanotrasen. Was the discrimination MU-1525 faced only verbal? Does Rusty have any particular purpose? How do they view themselves?

When MU-1525 became free they wanted to experience a life that was partially detached from the human gaze. This is why they went to District 14 knowing that their work may be scarce due to the lack of organic life. MU-1525 would work on the occasional organic that may wander into District 14 needing help while also venturing outside the district to work house calls when their credits ran low. This ensured that MU-1525 had a work history throughout their existence even while living as a Physician inside a predominately synthetic area.

While the majority of the abuse that MU-1525 faced was verbal there were times when it would become physical. For instance, an enraged patient who may be in pain due to an ailment or the treatment itself would have been more likely to lash out at a non-human like MU-1525; kicking or hitting the IPC. Even in District 14 MU-1525 was not totally safe from vandals. Organic vandals would often treat the synthetics as nothing more than junk that they could toss around or beat-up as they please; something that would have happened to MU-1525 when they ventured outside the safety of their community.

The newly named Rusty now looks to bridge the gap between humans and synthetics; even though they may not particularly trust humans fully. The reason they chose to take on a more permanent role at NanoTrasen is to show that while an IPC may be discriminated against and abused they are still more than capable of doing what they were made to do. Rusty hopes that this may alleviate some of the discrimination that they, and other IPCs, face in their day-to-day life. Rusty views themselves as an IPC who is dependent on organic life to hold their job as a physician; while this dependency is not to their liking... It is something that they have to life with and they intend on making the best of it.

3 hours ago, niennab said:

How did it allocate the needed funds? Was this through tips, friendship between the patients or by just doing a good job? If it was money offered by its patients, how did MU-1525 feel about organics in the face of such kindness? Did MU-1525 cut contact with these people once free?

The funds that MU-1525 allocated during their time at the clinic were merely the projected monetary gain that they had brought in during their work there. So while they were not receiving physical credits, their production and their monetary value was still tracked by their supervisor. This is also partly why MU-1525 had a rough start outside of their work at the clinic; they were basically destitute in District 14 until they were able to pick up some small work here and there.

[niennab]

Thank you for the clarifications and additional content. Just to clarify, Rusty continued to work at the clinic once free?

[RyverStyx]

1 hour ago, niennab said:

Thank you for the clarifications and additional content. Just to clarify, Rusty continued to work at the clinic once free?

Rusty was more like a private contractor that did house calls after they left the clinic. They did not explicitly return to the clinic; instead they contracted their services out to those that needed them. For instance, if an organic was too sick to leave their home or immobile then Rusty would be independently contracted to take a look at them.

[niennab]

Sounds good. In order to understand the backstory a bit more, what changed between Rusty starting out in D14 to now that meant they got work at Nanotrasen? Why did they struggle to find work in Mendell City initially? District 14 might not have a sizable human population but there is the rest of Mendell as well as nearby space stations. What were the odd jobs that they did here and there?

[RyverStyx]

1 hour ago, niennab said:

what changed between Rusty starting out in D14 to now that meant they got work at Nanotrasen?

Rusty, at first, was very hesitant to work with humans. The discrimination that they had already faced both physically and mentally soured them on the idea of working in a predominately human atmosphere. Around the same time that Rusty reclaimed their name they came to realize that they could not let humans dictate how they live their life. The year before they started working for NT Rusty had actively looked for contracts with wealthier residents of Mendell City; bolstering their resume. This ensured that Rusty was still a competitive candidate for a role aboard the Aurora.

1 hour ago, niennab said:

Why did they struggle to find work in Mendell City initially?

Rusty struggled to find work in Mendell City initially because they were reluctant to leave the relative safety of D14. They were well aware that IPCs who were free were at a greater risk for harm at the hand of others so they decided to live frugally; only taking contracts outside of D14 when they absolutely needed to or the money was too good to pass by.

1 hour ago, niennab said:

District 14 might not have a sizable human population but there is the rest of Mendell as well as nearby space stations. What were the odd jobs that they did here and there?

In the beginning of Rusty's time in D14 they would often treat the odd organic that would enter who needed medical assistance; whether the organic may come to D14 for help due to the cheaper rates or for wanting to stay out of the eyes of the law did not matter to Rusty. They would also treat any organics who may have entered D14 and injured themselves there. They wanted to stay as close to D14 due to what I stated above- Rusty was worried about potential harm to their chassis if they were to spend a lot of time with humans as a free IPC.

[niennab]

Understood, thank you for the clarifications! Your application demonstrates an understanding of IPCs, accepted!