jusa297 Posted February 7, 2023 Posted February 7, 2023 (edited) BYOND Key: Jusa 297 Character Names: Stefan Flores, Cato Mansley, Adel Edwards Species you are applying to play: Our favourite psychic frogs, the Skrell. What color do you plan on making your first alien character: A nice shade of red. That's what years of eating red algea and spa treatments does to a fellow (for legal reasons, this is a joke, it's because he's a Xiialt) Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: I have, I find it a very interesting spcies, hence why I wanted to apply. 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've played humans for a good while now. I find their many cultures to be interesting but recently I've had a craving for the more united and meritocratic nature of the Skrell. I chose to apply for Skrell over any other species because of I like playing roles that interact with people socially so it will be interesting to explore social interactions through the lense of another type of culture. challenging, for certain, but something that I think I can live up to. I also find their differences to """standard""" humanity to be very interesting, but I'll cover that on the appropiate section. Their psychic "powers" are also something that I find particularly interesting as a method of possible neat little interactions. I can imagine a bartender Skrell using his powers to light a complementary cigar (they come free with the drinks) as a way of cultural service. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Skrell are... I wouldn't say fundamentally different from humans, but they are certainly radically different. Their culture centers around a tight knit majority pressed into a democratic meritocracy. And while that sounds nice, it's seemingly psychically enforced through The Wake as an opinion, and forces its citizens to live under a social credit score and culture that coherces them into "appropiate" behaviour, which does have some similarities to compliance tactics within human space. Since Skrell have much longer life-spans than humans, they also come with the added perk (and responsability) of dismissing things that won't affect them for a long period of time. I guess the best way to put it would be "If a Skrell had to wait a decade to get an arm replacement, it would be as if a human had to wait a month". This is without yet even touching on their latent psychic abilities that makes them able to influence and interact with others (though this has been mostly deemed illegal if non-concensual) and their ability to interconect with other skrells while asleep through the Srom. To make it short: They eat different foods (due to having gums instead of teeth), they have a different (if mostly unified) culture, they have different views (due to their elongated lifespans), they have different wants and needs (due to their biology and psychic abilities) and they have different ways of interacting with others than humans. Character Name: Q'balAb Uq'raq Please provide a short backstory for this character Q'bal (as I'll call him to make it short) is a Xiialt Skrell that was born in the Naralakk Federation, in the (nowadays not so icy) planet of Aweiji. He was born the first child to a small Quya of only 4 skrell. In the Great Lotery, they found the blessing of being a reciever, happy to conform and be a productive member of society. Their caretaker was very demanding of Q'bal, since they loved him very much and wanted to see him succeed, and as a result he was very focused on his studies and standing which came at the cost of having to sleep less than most. He would often glance up at the surface of the water from his home in Tresja and ponder on the possibilities open to him in the federation. Sure, he was never going to reach the influence of the Magister he'd see every day on the public display, but he still wanted to improve himself and protect others as well as the history of the Skrell. Every day he would pass the Tresja Monument on his way to university, which continued to inspire him to never forget his origins. His first diploma came at the young age of 60, after finishing his Junior Graduate on Medicinal Aid, as he thought he would want to become someone capable of saving the life of those in danger. Despite his upbringing, Q'bal never became a Skrell of super high ambitions, being happy with his status as a secondary numerical, hoping to never become teriatry. At the age of 68 he became a Graduate on Medicinal Aid, but of course he wasn't just going to stop at ONE diploma. Imagine with his Caretaker would say after spending so much time working on making him a hard-working individual. For his second one, he chose something that could broaden his horizons and went for Nlom and Psyonic Theoreticals, with the idea of maybe one day becoming an agent of the Sromkala (which didn't came to be as he was deemed to not have the neccesary psychic potential.) After his 3rd degree at the age of 90, he felt he was ready to leave his home and begin working. He worked for Xomor for about 27 years and found that he'd been missing out on a lot of bonds and relationships due to his continued applied studies. Now, at the age of 117 he looks fondly on the first time he performed a Duel, the first time he joined a Quya and when he decided it would be best to leave it, his first Abyssdancer that really made him push himself to surpass... His new-found want for discovery had lead him to want to try to know the outside of the Federation, so he applied to the Work Initiative Programme and got a hire from Irys' Security Branch. And when they offered him the opportunity to represent their corporation aboard the SCCV Horizon along side a full science team and a host of all different species in the Spur... Well that was just an offer he couldn't say no to. What do you like about this character? I like characters that want to protect others, and with this one in particular I much like how his love and desire to protect are confirmed and emboldened by his expiriences with others, instead of diminished. I like the connection between Tresja's history and this desire to protect his ancestry. I liked the connections I made while trying to display as much as the knowledge I had of the Skrell and the Federation but at the same time tying it back to the Horizon and it's crew. How would you rate your role-playing ability? I belive myself to be an overall good roleplayer. I can think from the perspective of my character instead of my own and I'm capable of seeing when a story might be more interesting if I do something that would make sense even if it's not mechanical. For example, in a recent I remember a consular officer pulled a gun on and aimed at me. I took out my own and would've been able to fire away and probably win the engagement since I was able to fire straight away, but I decided against it since I thought "Okay but my character's not wearing armor and he doesn't want to be shot." and decided to surrender instead. Notes: I want to thank you for taking the time to read this. I've been playing on and off for a while now and since I've been recently getting into the lore I though It would be a good time as any to apply. I hope you've had positive interactions with me and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. (Edited the backstory to comply with the request of the writer) Edited February 11, 2023 by WhatsUpBrotendo Complying with re-writes. Numbers in ages were a little messed up
WhatsUpBrotendo Posted February 7, 2023 Posted February 7, 2023 Hi, thanks for applying. Your character's backstory has several issues: Lekan village/The Starlight Zone has only been around for 2 years. There is little information regarding Skrell lore in the backstory. Please edit the backstory to include more Skrell-related lore and to account for the fact that they would not have grown up in the Starlight Zone. I suggest reading through previous applications to see what we're looking for, and you can always come onto the lore discord to ask either me or Butter or other Skrell players any questions you might have. 1
jusa297 Posted February 10, 2023 Author Posted February 10, 2023 On 07/02/2023 at 14:13, WhatsUpBrotendo said: Hi, thanks for applying. Your character's backstory has several issues: Lekan village/The Starlight Zone has only been around for 2 years. There is little information regarding Skrell lore in the backstory. Please edit the backstory to include more Skrell-related lore and to account for the fact that they would not have grown up in the Starlight Zone. I suggest reading through previous applications to see what we're looking for, and you can always come onto the lore discord to ask either me or Butter or other Skrell players any questions you might have. Thank you for the feedback, I've made a more "normal" character that allows me to display the knowledge I've gathered in the discord and in readings.
WhatsUpBrotendo Posted February 10, 2023 Posted February 10, 2023 Quote in the (nowadays not so icy) planet of Aweiji. I don't know if this is a reference to something since it was mentioned on the discord that Aweiji is a reference. In case it's not Aweiji was never icy, it was incredibly hot and humid which is why it was terraformed before it was colonised. Quote after finishing his Junior Graduate on Medicinal Aid chose something that could broaden his horizons and went for Nlom and Psyonic Theoreticals After his 3rd degree at the age of 90, he felt he was ready to leave his home and begin working. He worked for Xomor You haven't mentioned what the third degree is, but this is a very broad education. From my reading of the backstory, your character has a medical and scientific background, and has been hired by Idris in their security division. Cross-departmental knowledge like this is not allowed, even for Skrell where it might be possible thanks to their lifespan. On to the questions: Q'bal is a secondary, but you haven't given a score for them as far as I can tell. What is their social credit score? Thanks to their upbringing, would you consider Q'bal to be an undersleeper or oversleeper, or have they returned to a normal sleeping pattern post-education? What religion does Q'bal follow? How does Q'bal feel about the Federation? How do they feel about non-Skrell in the Federation? Specifically Dionae and Vaurcae.
jusa297 Posted February 10, 2023 Author Posted February 10, 2023 1 hour ago, WhatsUpBrotendo said: You haven't mentioned what the third degree is, but this is a very broad education. From my reading of the backstory, your character has a medical and scientific background, and has been hired by Idris in their security division. Cross-departmental knowledge like this is not allowed, even for Skrell where it might be possible thanks to their lifespan. I didn't mention it because I felt it wasn't important, I simply wanted to get across that they had no real expirience with the world as they were too focused on their education. If I had to say, I'd probably go for Skrellian History in the Spur to reflect his constant exposure and interest in preserving Skrellian History due to being born and raised in the historical landmark city of Trseja. I understand that this wouldn't be reflected in the gameplay. He would be a security officer (in the station), granted, but I would consider that their degree on medical sciences would mostly apply to skrellian anatomy since he wasn't a Star Graduate, simply a Graduate. This was (ideally) meant to reflect that he may be able to perform some first aid to a fellow Skrell if the necesity was to arise, but I wouldn't go as far as to take him to another role. As I said, this was meant to reflect that he had no real expirience and was too focused on his education for the sake of being educated, so maybe it would have been more appropiate to make him a more generalist Junior Graduate instead of a full Graduate? I would like to hear your thoughts on this one. 1 hour ago, WhatsUpBrotendo said: On to the questions: Q'bal is a secondary, but you haven't given a score for them as far as I can tell. What is their social credit score? Thanks to their upbringing, would you consider Q'bal to be an undersleeper or oversleeper, or have they returned to a normal sleeping pattern post-education? What religion does Q'bal follow? How does Q'bal feel about the Federation? How do they feel about non-Skrell in the Federation? Specifically Dionae and Vaurcae. 1. For this, I'd say we need to consider the factors in the backstory. First, that he's continously applying himself and learning new skills and diplomas having a generalist education, and due to his fear of becoming a tertiary (he is a reciever after all, he wouldn't want to be a ""bad citizen"") he would've taken steps to ensure that his score doesn't drop too low, like supporting the institutions of the Federation that he believes in, so those would be positives. On the other hand, he had a history of under-sleeping and while he did enter a Quya it was only recently and is no longer in one, so those would be negatives. All in all, I would say that his final score would be somewhere around a 4.1. Nothing super spectacular, but nothing that would arise suspicion from his fellows or his state. 2. It was only after started working that he realized he could ease up a bit and has put more focus on interpersonal relationships. I would say he has returned to a more "normal" sleeping schedule. probably just above an hour. 3. I will acknowledge now that I neglected to directly state it and I'd like to correct that. Due to the way character is portrayed, I'd say he would be originally a follower of Qeblak both due to his academically inclined nature and as a way to maintain and increase his social standing, but due to the way he conducted himself I doubt he would have been very... "into it" on a personal level. It was simply a means to an end. After his education and subsecuential change due to his openness with others and especially after he exited federation space, he would've probably fallen more for the teachings of the Weishii and it's most introspective and spiritual nature, especially considering how introspective he became. 4. Q'bal loves and supports the Federation. There's not much to say here, he's been in constant exposure to the Wake and is a reciever so he's supportive of most of it's policies AND he has all of his family and people he cares about in the Federation. There's no reason for him to dislike an institution that has provided for him and for all intents and purpouse IS his home (and a good home at that) 5. In his early years he would have probably not found too much in common with Dionae, seeing them as simply different than him with no real malice to it. Sort of like "this is a being that is fundamentally different than me and my piers" but due to his support of the status quo, he wouldn't be inclined to hate them. Perhaps mistrust them on an interpersonal level, but seeing he wasn't interacting with many people already, Skrell or otherwise, he'd overall had a neutral to slightly mistrusting attitude towards them. In his later years with much more contact with them, he probably holds the same view but with more nuance, understanding exactly what makes them different but also with a little more of respect, since they share some aspects of their culture like unity and a sense of communal love. Varucae on the other hand, I belive he would be mistrusting, to the the point he would outright dislike them. As a history student he would probably draw parallels to the drones subdued nature to a central authority as analogue to Artificial Intelligence, their fundamental cultural differences like their organization and their lack of loyalty towards the Federation as reasons to dislike them. He believes that they are a a way to mend the lack of manpower the Skrell have until they can recover from the X'lu'oa and that they should be closely monitored. Thank you for your time!
WhatsUpBrotendo Posted February 10, 2023 Posted February 10, 2023 The titles are based on how many degrees you have, and all Skrell degrees are the same. A Junior Graduate with a degree in psychology will have the same knowledge as a Star Graduate that also took psychology for example. From the wiki: Quote Lu'vesi - Dropout - Lvs. - Void Graduate Aqm'vesi - 1 degree - Aqvs. - Junior Graduate Qro'vesi - 2 degrees - Qrvs. - Graduate Qu'vesi - 3 degrees - Quvs. - Star Graduate A Star Graduate might have gone further by gaining multiple degrees that are all related to each other, but that isn't to say that a Junior Graduate doesn't have the same level of education. You will have to change your character's studies to all be relevant to each other. If they're a security officer, degrees related to police work would be acceptable. More "general" degrees mixed in with job-specific qualifications would also be acceptable, such as history. From what you've said it seems like Q'bal taking a basic first aid course would give them the same ability to provide basic medical care without also meaning they have a degree in medicine. Your answers are fine but I do want to point out something about social credit scores thanks to how it works in-game. 4.1 is fairly close to entering the tertiary numerical band, and the code for the Federation passport in-game randomly changes your SCS by a few decimal points to reflect random changes to it. I can't remember the deviations exactly but in-game you might want to change this to be a bit higher so you're not dipping into tertiary territory every now and then. Other than that though I'm fine with what you've put down here. I'll try and discuss this with Butter and come to a decision by tonight or tomorrow morning.
WhatsUpBrotendo Posted February 11, 2023 Posted February 11, 2023 Managed to discuss with Butter and we both agree that the app is fine, but we would like you to expand on question 5 a bit more. Does Q'bal have any specific thoughts about either species' contributions to the Federation? How do they reconcile their general mistrust/dislike of either species with the fact that they're well-received by the Federation as a whole?
jusa297 Posted February 11, 2023 Author Posted February 11, 2023 52 minutes ago, WhatsUpBrotendo said: A Star Graduate might have gone further by gaining multiple degrees that are all related to each other, but that isn't to say that a Junior Graduate doesn't have the same level of education. I see what the problem was. I mis-read it as if the different qualifications denoted the intricacies of a specific field, sort of like the difference between bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees. I will make a note on correcting this when I translate it in-game. 1 hour ago, WhatsUpBrotendo said: Your answers are fine but I do want to point out something about social credit scores thanks to how it works in-game. 4.1 is fairly close to entering the tertiary numerical band, and the code for the Federation passport in-game randomly changes your SCS by a few decimal points to reflect random changes to it. I can't remember the deviations exactly but in-game you might want to change this to be a bit higher so you're not dipping into tertiary territory every now and then. I wasn't aware of this, I'll make a note on increasing it a little as to not fall to tertiary. 56 minutes ago, WhatsUpBrotendo said: Managed to discuss with Butter and we both agree that the app is fine, but we would like you to expand on question 5 a bit more. Does Q'bal have any specific thoughts about either species' contributions to the Federation? How do they reconcile their general mistrust/dislike of either species with the fact that they're well-received by the Federation as a whole? In regards to Diona, as I said nowadays he doesn't view them so much with mistrust as he does with neutrality. "They're different but we share common aspects". He treats them as he would other Skrell (within the limitation of lacks of psyonics, the cultural difference and the bounds of good taste). In regards to Varuca, he takes a pragmatic approach. He doesn't trust them and he doesn't like them but they provide undeniable tangible benefits that strengthen the Federation and therefore the wellfare of Skrell. They don't think they should be exiled or anything, they just think that they're the means to an end, the end being labor and even though he doesn't like them the benefits outweight the alternative of not having them around.
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