Carver Posted March 21, 2023 Posted March 21, 2023 (edited) BYOND Key: GMR25 Character Names: Constance Marca, Frederick Dayton, Reed Calom, Valeriin Dyrukh'raszyn Species you are applying to play: Vaurca What color do you plan on making your first alien character: (RGB 101, 0, 21) 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: To broaden my options as I've been pondering character ideas as of late, and more than a few of these ideas have been dependent on a couple of whitelists that I do not have. To tell the truth, these ideas are mostly my mind 'shotgunning' to see what I find enjoyable - I can't guarantee I'll strongly enjoy a species until I've tried them. On the subject of Vaurcae specifically, I've had more than a few character ideas that only work for Vaurcae and their particular limitations and mentality. Furthermore, what fascinates me the most about Vaurcae are their broods, with their unique specialties and especially the colourfully imaginative worlds each brood's VR paints in one's head. I adore imagining their virtual realms, miniature universes shaping the culture of every brood and the greater hives. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: Beyond the most apparent mechanical differences of requiring phoron to survive, possessing access to the hivenet and being reliant on K'ois; their mentality is rather unique for the setting, between their dedication to the betterment of their hive and their Queen's will, and a near-dependence on access to their virtual reality. Their manner of communication via pheromones presents a markedly strong barrier in regard to truly understanding, or being understood by, other species - with only vocal synthesizers to really work with. Among their own, conflict is minimal outside of the politics between the three primary Hives as well as the more recent 'Queenless problem' that the Zo'ra are dealing with - then of course there's Lii'dra, but she hasn't been active in some time. Onto more specific differences, the most marked are present for Ka and Ra; the former wholly averse to situations where violence may even just be a suggestion, and the latter designed to securely remove themselves from such situations. While Za have no such limitations, that does not make them foolish brutes incapable of assessing danger. As for Ta, they are wise enough to know there is nearly never a benefit to putting themselves at any risk of harm. One can't talk about differences without bringing up the potent discrimination all Vaurcae face: mechanically evident by a reduced pay for what is seen as a near-disposable innumerable source of manpower, and the widespread distrust of them preventing from being allowed anywhere near Command. I would mention avowals as a nod to historical barriers in their career as well. Furthermore they have a coloured history with Mendell City in particular that paints their image poorly to many an urban Bieselite, owing to the poor state of Flagsdale and the surgent crime committed by Queenless gangs. No other species faces the same disdain, disgust and distrust as Vaurca do. Character Name: Ka'Akaix'Amox Zo'ra, Curator Please provide a short backstory for this character Hatched in the human year of 2459 and bearing no prior memories, Amox is an unbound Type A Vaurca designed to serve as an archivist of Zoleth'akeh, spending it's initial few years of life almost solely in VR tending to Zoleth's vast records. Yet, in the wake of the 35th Battlefleet's invasion in 2462 where it was tasked with recording new battles with a wholly alien force; it found a new fascination in the contemporary study and translation of the wealth of knowledge present in the martial histories, faiths and mythologies of other species. It now seeks to gather notable texts and records that may be of value to furthering Zoleth's interests in both warlike and spiritual matters, hoping to translate such valuable works into a virtual form more readily consumable by Vaurcae. Though it's work contrasts with Athvur's 'library' of human knowledge, as Amox seeks to translate and record only what it views as practical histories and texts bearing potential relevance to Zoleth's brood and the greater hive Zo'ra. In pursuit of this goal it has sought assignment aboard the SCCV Horizon, both seeking exposure to the myriad of libraries, archives and museums of alien worlds as well as the living history that may best be experienced by the one-of-a-kind exploratory vessel. This work so far has brought forth many obstacles, expected and unexpected. It has had to dedicate time toward improving it's mastery of written Basic, in order to fully understand the alien works it seeks to study. Yet this makes reading said works no easier, as it has encountered the uniquely Vaurcaesian obstacle of requiring finely controlled lighting to comfortably read printed text without ocular strain over an extended period. Such work brings an expected, yet ever uncomfortable mental fatigue due to the separation from Zoleth's realm demanded by long periods of research - with Amox choosing to read most texts within a single sitting, in order to then spend the downtime pondering over the worth of what was read. What do you like about this character? I simply enjoy the idea of an alien mind trying to gather meaning and insight from books, encountering obstacles truly unique to a Vaurca as it processes the histories and seeming absurdities of these foreign works and the cultures that birthed them, then exploring it's own perspective on these individual works. I wanted to try and create a character for an uncommon, rather unorthodox role and see how the pieces could fit together aboard the Horizon. On a further note, I enjoy the challenge of trying to write a Zo'rane service character from a brood that isn't Athvur without compromising the greater identity of the brood. How would you rate your role-playing ability? On a motivated day I'd say 7/10, if I'm feeling strongly inspired maybe 8+/10. I generally try to only play when I'm motivated, though this occasionally fades if I lose track of the idea I had going into a round. Notes: I'm never going to perfectly remember when to use Vaurca or Vaurcae, since my brain was trained on not using the e. I suspect I already misused one or the other in this very application despite thoroughly trolling my answers for such errors. My brain crinkled in on itself trying to discern which was correct for the application title, as I'm still unsure if I fumbled the title. Edited March 25, 2023 by Desven
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