Silvaeatum Skrell Application

[Silvaeatum]

BYOND Key: Silvaeatum

 (Current)Character Name: Silvia Finch

Species you are applying to play: Skrell Axiori

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

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:
Firstly, I really just like the skrell's design, their appearance is interesting and I really think the cultural importance of their "headtails" as a way of emotions and even rank is a fun detail. Their use of psionics is also something I found fun, as it seems enjoyable to play a race that experiences life in an interconnected way alongside their species, even if some resist that communal pull. The variations on their society were also something I enjoyed, the concept of a meritocracy turned into what was ideal for corporations rather than what would more typically considered "idol behavior" in a less controlling world. I read into this race first for the appearance and psionics alone but that unique culture centered in a mix of government celebrities and literal groupthink got me really interested in playing a character that was part of this heavily interconnected species.

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Physically, there's the importance of staying hydrated, the clothing constraints, the copper supplements, and lower run speed, without worrying about the burn damage. Roleplay wise though, it's a more methodical race, they have longer to live so they have longer to get things done, there can still be a rush of competition or in an emergency, but work life balance is key. While there are probably plenty of exceptions to this that's how I read into the effect of lifespan on their culture. The psionics make for a more understanding, if not highly empathetic character, if some of their best scientists couldn't bear to test psionics on human subjects then I'd bet the average skrell would feel similarly about inflicting harm. There may also have to be a light frustration with communication lacking the zona bovaine, though I don't think I'll explore that too much as I want to play someone with a little bit of experience talking to other races.

Character Name: Lyu Vek

Please provide a short backstory for this character:
A young skrell growing up on their homeworld is surrounded by the psionically layered togetherness that world brings, and yet as with many of their kind, Lyu was drawn to the stars for a potentially exciting learning experience. Selecting a more feminine presentation after a favorite film character, she began to plan for her future amongst the corporate world beyond her own.
A somewhat jumpy adolescent, Lyu showed an early enjoyment of xenobiological studies, and throughout her education in her Uyi'vesi she demonstrated an enthusiastic, if slightly irreverent approach, and managed to graduate a Qro'vesi at respectable age of 70, after which she took two years for personal reflection before entering her work at the Horizon for the foreseeable future. While her mental adulthood is at least slightly up for debate, her determination to her work is undeniable.

What do you like about this character? I really like the idea of playing a cheerful, slightly out of touch science nerd with a love for weird creatures, and factoring in the increased empathy and her own alien appearance compared to the largely human crews, I hope for her to gel nicely with most of the rp going on already and grow both in knowledge of other species and knowledge of herself as well.

How would you rate your role-playing ability? 7/10, I would say I roleplay well, I can't type as fast as some and I do make spelling mistakes, but I have experience playing dnd and in other rp forums, so I feel comfortable saying I can hold my own in an interaction, despite my recent arrival to this particular server.

Notes: I'm willing to alter or shift character details as needed to better fit with the current lore of horizon or any future events that come up, so if you ever need me to do that, you know where to find me.

[WhatsUpBrotendo]

Hi, thanks for applying and sorry about the lack of response. I have a few questions.

 

Regarding your first answer:

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 I really think the cultural importance of their "headtails" as a way of emotions and even rank is a fun detail.

What do you mean by headtails having a cultural importance in rank?

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the concept of a meritocracy turned into what was ideal for corporations rather than what would more typically considered "idol behavior" in a less controlling world. 

Could you elaborate more on what you meant by this?

Regarding your second answer, you focused quite a bit on actual mechanical differences shown in-game. The question is poorly worded to be fair, but could you work on your answer to focus more on the roleplaying/lore side of it? You have touched on this in the second half, but I'd like to see some more details provided.

The backstory is quite sparse. You've mentioned some Skrell-specific topics, but could you amend it to address these as well:

1. Where were they born?
2. What is their Social Credit Score?
3. Are they a listener or a receiver?
4. What are their qualifications? You mentioned they went to university, and elsewhere mentioned they enjoyed xenobiology and that they're a 'science nerd', but you haven't outright stated what they went to school for.
5. How do they feel about the Federation?
6. How do they feel about the non-Skrell species in the Federation? Specifically, Vaurcae and Dionae.
7. How did they come to work on the Horizon? Was it through the work exchange programme, or did they seek employment by themselves?

[Silvaeatum]

Ok for the first question:
It's not so much literal rank, older skrell have longer headtails and skrell value experience and wisdom so highly that mental maturity is what decides when a skrell is an adult rather than just physical age. Besides that they will adorn the headtails of skrell with various awards for scientific achievement in the depth colleges, longer adornments usually mean greater achievements. Additionally the arrangement of the headtails could be used to take a guess at the level of fashion the skrell occupies. (Lyu herself is at the Ix level, pretty much average, wearing some simple patterns that she enjoys, though what patterns I can find in game for her will determine what those are)

In terms of their society? The corporate use for social media and its connection to their social credits system means that any behavior that is favorable to the Federation or businesses that may be entangled with it will likely be rewarded with increased standing, even if that behavior might be frowned upon in a less monetarily influenced system. Researchers may have refused to psychically torture human subjects, but they still were encouraged to begin that test in the first place, which begs the question to if that type of experimentation would be allowed at all in a less monetarily motivated society that might perhaps be looking into keeping its employees thoughts in line as it does to its machines. So the usual idea of doing good work to earn a reward is twisted slightly, in that the judge of what is good work may not have the greater good in mind over monetary gain. I'm not sure exactly how much corporations influence the federation, but I'm not sure Lyu does either, so I suppose it pans out.

Second question stuff:

In rp, everything from how my character dresses to how she speaks is a product of her social standing and upbringing, skrell are largely more receptive to group consensus owing to their usual psychic compulsion to conform to it, and old habits die hard. Additionally they may struggle with forming connections with others, without a link to their minds it can be hard for a less facially expressive species to pick up on things like a subtle nod or a frown. There may be an urge to interact primarily with other skrell if they can be found, especially if the character is more of a receiver. I interpret this as playing a polite but slightly distant character who works diligently to increases their social credit score and attain a fraction of what their cultural idols achieve.

1. She was born on Qerr'Malic, the moon of their homeworld Qerrbalak (and her accent reflects that)
2. Her social ranking is a 5.72, as I said she's in the Ix fashion level, and that's for good reason (see irreverence)
3. She leans towards the listener side of the scale, which is mostly the cause of her weaker grasp of social cues
4. As a Qro'vesi she has two degrees, one for xenobiology, and the other in xenoarcheology. she has interned on various vessels since then to build her experience, but her main love has always been studying other species.
5. She's had a good life under the federation, and while she does fluctuate between being frustrated at it (while caught up in an experiment and feeling confident) and justifying their actions while wishing she was slightly less chaotic (while not experimenting/while doing what everyone does late at night, staring up at the ceiling and regretting your life choices). Overall her relationship with the Federation is positive.
6. She's delighted by the appearance of the Vaurcae and Dionae in the Federation, though her enthusiasm largely comes from wanting to pick apart their culture and ask about their biology, though to her the Dionae are slighty less interesting, as her encounters with Xenobotany earlier in life weren't as engaging.
7. She's employed by the Horizon on her own merit, though she may bow out for a time in the future to get her third degree if something really catches her interest, I'd like to avoid that and would probably have her earn that through a work study and off session courses on the subject.

Hope that clears up anything I left vague

Edited July 8, 2022 by Silvaeatum
My brain skipped over parts of the question that was asked, so I fixed it

[WhatsUpBrotendo]

I'm satisfied with these answers. Just to clarify something regarding corporations though since I saw these:

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The corporate use for social media and its connection to their social credits system...

...I'm not sure exactly how much corporations influence the federation, but I'm not sure Lyu does either, so I suppose it pans out.

The Federation has state-owned enterprises rather than corporations, which are owned and managed by the state directly. Zeng-Hu had some small successes in expanding operations into the Federation since first contact, but only recent developments have allowed other megacorps to operate within the Jargon Federation - and even then they're relegated to Special Economic Zones. Megacorporations don't have as much power in Federation space like they do in the rest of the Spur.

 

[Silvaeatum]

Gotcha, I'll make sure not to have corps be a huge part of Lyu's backstory before graduating depth college then, thanks for the heads up.

[RyverStyx]

ACCEPTED