[Accepted] IT IS ILLEGAL TO REFUSE MEMESCOPE PHORON IF THEY NEED IT TO PREVENT SUFFOCATION. (stev/Memescope Vaurca Whitelist)

[stev]

BYOND Key: Memescope McGee 
Character Names: 

Spoiler

Active characters:

Inactive/retired/dead/not-appearing-in-this-film characters:

Species you are applying to play: Vaurca
What color do you plan on making your first alien character: Green, RGB 11, 43, 27 (Zkaii's brood)
Have you read our lore section's page on this species? Yes, I've read important pages through a few times and read most pages in the Vaurca navbox(es) through at least once. 

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 can honestly say that the recent abolishment of OOCly required Avowals has got me interested in playing Vaurca. While it took me a long time to really get the appeal of Vaurca lore in general, I've become increasingly interested in the cool unique parts of the species' lore, especially the importance of VR, the semi-disposable nature the Hives' Bound (and Unbound non-Breeders, to a lesser extent), and the juxtaposition of being a people with an incredibly old history and being complete newcomers to the Spur. The portrayal of the lore by the Ta character Nangeren and of VR in the SCC Relay also played a really big role in kindling my interest for the species.

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human?
So much that it's difficult to sum up concisely! Mechanically they have a Phoron reservoir instead of nutrients, are (mostly) insulated against shocks, radiation, and zero-pressure environments, are susceptible to burns and bleeding out, don't have natural healing, have a night-vision mode... There's a lot.

FLuff- and character-wise, there's also a ridiculous number of differences. Bound of any caste (which are also a big thing) are essentially mindless servile drones, whereas Unbound are much more analogous to other sapient species; the castes are highly specialised and consciously designed for different tasks, with all playable castes but the practically immortal Ta/Breeders having extremely limited lifespans; they physically mature within a year, with around half a year spent raising them in time-dilated immersive VR; at the end of their lives, Unbound enter VR as a guaranteed eternal afterlife, leading to some very fun theology; their names are made up of four designators, one for caste, one for Bound/Unbound, one as a short individual identifier, and one for Hive; Vaurca are part of enormous Hives and born into Broods of individual Queens within them, with numerous ideological and political divides among these... There's a lot, really, and I don't think anyone could list everything due to the sheer quantity of major differences--I'm probably missing something, but like, yeah.  

 

Character Name: Ka'Akaix'Run K'lax, Hephaestus Apprentice Engineer of Brood Zkaii.
Please provide a short backstory for this character.

The worker awoke...

Spoiler

The worker awoke aboard the SCCV Horizon in its earliest stages, amidst Hephaestus blueprints of the ship's design. It was tasked with learning to maintain the SCCV Horizon, as its Ta had secured an experimental contract with Hephaestus Industries to supply specialised, specially-made maintenance workers for the SCC's new exploratory flagship. It would be immersed in the ship, learning of the ship's every nook and cranny from the day it was awoken, the ship it was to maintain becoming its entire world; just as its woken predecessors aboard the Hiveships spent their lives maintaining a singular world of steel containing the last of their species, so too would the workers of this hive-cell become efficient, vigilant in their heroic repairs of the only world they've ever known. These workers were fitted with a limited number of specialised augments for work aboard the ship, including mechatronic claw-arms for easier traversal of the ship's extensive latticework rigging, pneumatic servo-reinforced legs for falling impact mitigation, and a standard complement of the Zkaii brood's sleeping-action enhancements for round-the-clock emergency maintenance capabilities.

The worker awoke aboard the SCCV Horizon in the first stages of its construction, with a skeletal hull beginning to form in the void. It was informed that the life it had known before was a mere simulation and that it must learn to maintain the real SCCV Horizon.

The worker awoke aboard the SCCV Horizon as its hull was sealed and airlocks installed, as the ship's internal structure was erected by unseen construction workers. It was informed that the life it had known before was a mere simulation and that it must learn to maintain the real SCCV Horizon.

The worker awoke aboard the SCCV Horizon as vast steel shells became corridors and workspaces, as the wiring and piping was fit into place just so. It was informed that the life it had known before was a mere simulation and that it must learn to maintain the real SCCV Horizon.

The worker awoke aboard the SCCV Horizon in bright-lit halls, the very ship humming as life-giving electricity poured forth from its freshly-fit reactor. It was informed that the life it had known before was a mere simulation and that it must learn to maintain the real SCCV Horizon.

The worker awoke aboard the SCCV Horizon as its new crew streamed aboard the once-empty ship like a tide, its compatriots flickering as they left the range of security cameras. It was informed that the life it had known before was a mere simulation and that it must learn to maintain the real SCCV Horizon.

The worker awoke aboard the SCCV Horizon amidst the cacophonous voices of its crew, their idle conversation hissing forth from its radio. It was informed that the life it had known before was a mere simulation and that it must learn to maintain the real SCCV Horizon.

The worker awoke aboard the SCCV Horizon in a cool, green-white cryopod, its compatriots welcoming it to its life in the Engineering department. It was informed that the life it had known before was a mere simulation and that it must learn to maintain the real SCCV Horizon.

The worker awoke aboard the SCCV Horizon at a steel-grey table on a yellow-tiled floor, its shipmates greeting it and one another as a new shift began. It was informed that the life it had known before was a mere simulation and that it must learn to maintain the real SCCV Horizon.

One day it will escape the simulations and awake aboard the real SCCV Horizon. One day it will reach Mother K'lax, resting in Her splendour in the majesty of the real SCCV Horizon's Bridge, for there She surely lies. One day it will maintain the real SCCV Horizon.

But first it must learn to maintain the real SCCV Horizon, and until it is allowed to maintain the dreaming Queen's chosen vessel, it will awake aboard these simulations of the SCCV Horizon.

The worker awoke...

What do you like about this character?
I really really like the concept of a character whose entire life is the ship and also really love all the Pilot Dream/Mother Dream simulation theory lore, love all the weird existentialism you can do with it. I also particularly like the K'lax Hive's deal of innovation and heavy engineering and wanted a good excuse to re-learn Engineering.

How would you rate your role-playing ability? Imagine I put like a really funny meta joke about the pointlessness of this question/10

Notes: I can't fucking wait to play some REAL dumb Viax, probably gonna do a Drone Burger worker and mayyybe a TCFL Peacekeeper warrior Viax. Also, I'm probably gonna try and contribute some loadout/marking sprite tweaks and/or fixes in the near future, so that's fun.

Edited June 5, 2022 by stev

[Rookie Eyes]

I think the characters that Stev plays, specifically Khazi and Baqazu, are engaging, fun, and interesting. She goes out of her way to interact with other players consistently from what I've seen, makes characters that manage to still seem like real people while still showing their flaws, and I think she's capable of continuing that with Vaurcae. I also enjoyed the style she chose for Run's backstory. +1 from me.

[Diggey]

Spoiler

Is that JOHN SEX?

Love the writeup you did, it is very snazzy. Also shows you put thought into your character.
The most exciting part about this application is your desire to play Viax honestly.

Also that you play K'lax (which are best boys/girls/neuters (the boys do not matter in the sheme of things)

 

I am excited

+1

[Desven]

You've done your homework, so I don't have much to ask really. The only thing I'm curious, from since when you approached me to ask some questions, is how do you plan to incorporate Run's day to its character and tasks

[stev]

38 minutes ago, Desven said:

You've done your homework, so I don't have much to ask really. The only thing I'm curious, from since when you approached me to ask some questions, is how do you plan to incorporate Run's day to its character and tasks

This question is a little confusing, I'm assuming you're asking how their character and tasks will be incorporated into Run's day/ingame play? I'll answer that, can't hurt.

Run will approach its tasks and the shifts ahead of it with an odd mix of detachment and fervent execution of its duties. It knows this life to not be real, just as it knows that every life before it has not been real, but it also knows that it must perform admirably and learn to properly maintain the real SCCV Horizon if it is to one day ascend beyond the nested simulations. I seem to recall it being mentioned that Vaurca dislike wide open spaces, such as, y'know, space, but can't find it mentioned directly on the wiki; unless I'm completely off-base with that aspect, Run will probably have a mildly uncharacteristic tolerance for operating on the outside of the ship in space and empty space itself, but be utterly terrified of nearby 'things' and objects outside the SCCV Horizon (such as asteroids, space stations, other ships, etc.) as they are alien to the world it's always known.

In its daily life and the work set before it, its experience and its way of relating to others will be a touch dreamlike and surreal; it has some limited knowledge of some notable crew (such as Captain Ahkam) from simulated recordings captured from the SCCV Horizon despite never meeting them face to face and will speak to them in an oddly familiar way. It does not seek death and holds some instinctual self-preservation despite its assured afterlife, as learning to die is not something that would benefit its ability to maintain the real SCCV Horizon, it does not fear death but fears the simulated pain that has accompanied death in its past training simulations.

Its life is a test that it does not wish to fail, lest it be forever resigned to the endless nested dreams and never serve aboard Mother K'lax's true SCCV Horizon.

[Roostercat]

Hi. I really like the writeup you made, and think you have a pretty damn good grasp on what playing a schizophrenic bug is like. Accepted.