FrozenDahliaRose - Human Lore Deputy Application

[FrozenDahliaRose]

Ckey/BYOND Username: FrozenDahliaRose

 

Position Being Applied For: Deputy Lore developer

 

Have you read the Lore Team Rules and Regulations wiki page? Yes!

 

Past Experiences/Knowledge: This would be my first experience with writing for a lore team, but I believe that I can make for a great addition!

 

Examples of Past Work: None so far

1. Why are you applying for this position and why do you believe you would make a good Human Lore Deputy?

I’m applying for this position to get more involved with the community, especially in regards to the server’s lore, and also because Aurora’s human lore is something that interests me greatly and I would love the chance to be a part of that process. I believe that I would make a good Human Lore Deputy because I often pay a great amount of attention to detail and, when making my characters, I’m always very thorough with their backstories, trying my best to keep everything in line with the lore (though I often find myself having to ask questions to fill in the blanks - which I also make sure to do to ensure my characters fit in nicely). 

 

2. What is your favorite part of Human Lore and why? What is your least favorite? (Note: If you submitted something that was canonized and is now part of human lore, you may not select your own canonized submission as your favorite or least favorite part of the lore.)

 

I couldn’t decide on one over the other, so my two favorite aspects of Human Lore are Mars, especially in regards to Violet Dawn and its lasting effects on Martians throughout the Spur, and Dominia and Dominian culture (with the Lyod being especially interesting to me). My least favorite part of human lore would have to be the empty spaces in areas of the lore, especially with Sol. It can be hard to create a character from a few paragraphs, and especially when a lore page gives very little in the way of culture.

 

3. What are three projects (medium to large sized additions, reworks, or arcs) you would like to do or help organize if made Human Lore deputy? (NEW PLANETS OR FACTIONS ARE PROHIBITED FROM ADDITION AT THIS PRESENT TIME. DO NOT INCLUDE THEM IN YOUR ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.)

 

One project I would love to work on if possible would be a rework of the lore of Solarian planets, particularly the Jewel Worlds. Rather than changing anything that currently exists, I would like to expand on some elements of the lore that’s lacking, and fill in some of the aforementioned blank spaces. Another project would be to expand on relationships between different areas of Human lore, and expand more on how different nations, or different planets would interact with each other. There’s already quite a bit of this in some aspects, such as Elyra and Dominia, or Gadpathur and all of Sol, but I would also like to take a deeper dive into how relations between Solarian planets look, or how different planets in the Coalition feel about each other outside of what currently exists. Another project I’d like to work on, though it’s a lower priority in my mind, would be to expand on the other planets in the Eridani Federation aside from Eridani I. It could give a better sense on what’s available both to native Eridanians that live on the planet, but also visitors, or those training with an EPMC.

 

4. What do you believe are the current strengths and weaknesses of human lore? Why? What would you do to improve upon the weaknesses?

 

In my opinion, the greatest strength of human lore is its sheer variety. There are so many cool and interesting places with different cultures, histories, and more to choose from when creating a character. The greatest weakness of human lore, in my opinion, is the lack of substance in some areas. Like I’ve mentioned above, while creating a character, running into holes where there’s nothing written can be a little frustrating when trying to really flesh out a character. As an example, if I wanted to talk about my Martian character’s favorite foods, or activities, I’d really have nothing to go off of, and would just have to make something up. Which isn’t a bad thing necessarily, but it can leave a feeling of incompleteness to the character. 

 

5. What are your thoughts on the past arcs that have been organized by the human lore team?

 

I’m really fond of the past arcs from the human lore team. Unsurprisingly, my favorite would have to be the King of the World arc, just for the sheer ramifications it’s had on human space as a whole, with lingering effects seen even nearly three years later. The arcs really give a sense that this world isn’t just isolated to a station, or to a ship, and that there’s a whole world out there, experiencing life at the same time as your characters. It’s a great way to better immerse players into the world. 

 

6. What is an idea for a future arc that you would like to have a part in writing and organizing in the future? (Note: If you provided an arc or arcs as part of your answer for question 3, you may expand on the ideas for that arc or arcs here, or you may provide another idea.)

 

While I don’t currently have any specific ideas in regards to a storyline, I think a future arc that could be interesting would be to have something happen with Dominia and the larger Spur. While there’s a lot going on within Dominia, there’s not much of a reaction from other nations in the Spur, except for maybe Elyra. With how much the actions of Sol, or Biesel, or the Coalition have on human space, it would be interesting to see something in Dominia happen that affects not only Dominians, but other humans in the rest of the Spur as well.

 

7. Have you ever been subject to any strikes or bans of any kind from Aurora's moderators or admins? If so, how long ago were these actions and what were they for?

 

I have not!

Edited October 26, 2023 by FrozenDahliaRose
Missed a chunk I needed to fill out, sorry!

[canon35]

1. What is your current thoughts on parts of the setting where human and non-human lore cross over? Do you think there should be more? Less? What are the strenghs and weaknesses, in your eyes, of these crossovers?

2. What are your plans to advance the setting for the nations besides Sol? It obviously has gotten the most attention with active lore developments like with the article arc for San Colette, I am curious to know what you think other nations should be doing.

3. What is your thoughts on Off-worlders? Do you think they should be expanded, cut down, or removed?

[FrozenDahliaRose]

1. I really like where the crossovers between human lore and non-human lore is right now, though if I had the opportunity to suggest any additions, it'd probably be to give a bit more attention to the Tajara community that had once lived in Sol and were displaced from their homes. Tajara that had lived or even were born in Sol certainly would've had some lasting impacts from having lived there. Even if they're not welcome in Sol now, they once were, and it'd make sense for that identity to be represented. Other than that, I think the strengths would be how well it makes the Spur feel like a whole community of multiple species trying to live in this space together rather than just boxing each species in their own separate spaces. This mainly comes from how well these species are integrated into the areas they share with humans. As for weaknesses, I think that there is a bit of a lack of information on how these diaspora communities interact with their worlds of origins and the communities there that could be more expanded on.

 

2. More of my ideas for Sol have to do with expanding what has already happened (or well, really more to do with culture a la the expansion to Dominia), but as for events going forwards, I would definitely aim for something to do with Elyra (maybe concerning NCPs or conflicts with Dominia outside of skirmishes with the Goddess's Flotilla) or possibly even something with Dominia, whether it's an internal conflict or a conflict with Elyra as mentioned previously or even the Coalition. There is definitely a lot of internal tension as far as Elyra goes, and the idea of Dominia as an expanding threat could both be utilized well. 

 

3. I think Off-worlders are at a good place at the current moment. I don't really see the need to cut them down and I think they make for an interesting sub-group of humans. If anything, an expansion on the Off-world NCPs in Elyra or the refugees in Biesel and the specific challenges they may face being at the crossroads of both a displaced people and also Off-worlders in an environment literally not built for them could be a good addition. 

[Triogenix]

Hello! Glad to see you've applied, and I especially like the ideas you have of focusing on expanding already existing planets, and their relationships in both the Alliance and Coalition. With that said, onto some questions.

1) What would you say is your biggest flaw in terms of potentially writing for the lore team?

2) As a human deputy, you will need to comprise alot, not only with Lain, but with other teams or the LTA to get things you want added. What do you think is the best attribute that would help you reach these compromises?

3) Human lore is one of the most oft-criticized sections of our lore and has a large player base as it is the only unwhitelisted species. Given this, do you think there are some topics you'd be nervous to approach due to how player feedback may be massively negative? If so, how would you go about approaching such topics? If not, why?

4) What are your thoughts on the current size of human lore? Is it too much? Is it not enough? With reasoning.

5) Lastly, what are your thoughts on article arcs vs in-game events? Is one better than the other? Which stories should be told using which?

Good luck with your application!

[FrozenDahliaRose]

On 31/10/2023 at 17:18, Triogenix said:

Hello! Glad to see you've applied, and I especially like the ideas you have of focusing on expanding already existing planets, and their relationships in both the Alliance and Coalition. With that said, onto some questions.

1) What would you say is your biggest flaw in terms of potentially writing for the lore team?

2) As a human deputy, you will need to comprise alot, not only with Lain, but with other teams or the LTA to get things you want added. What do you think is the best attribute that would help you reach these compromises?

3) Human lore is one of the most oft-criticized sections of our lore and has a large player base as it is the only unwhitelisted species. Given this, do you think there are some topics you'd be nervous to approach due to how player feedback may be massively negative? If so, how would you go about approaching such topics? If not, why?

4) What are your thoughts on the current size of human lore? Is it too much? Is it not enough? With reasoning.

5) Lastly, what are your thoughts on article arcs vs in-game events? Is one better than the other? Which stories should be told using which?

Good luck with your application!

Hello! 

1) I think my biggest flaw currently would be that this would be my first time being involved with the lore team and I don't have as much experience with the formatting, process, etc., though I have not doubts that I would be able to learn fairly quickly!

2) I think my best attributes that would help me reach compromises would be both my experience in problem solving, which means I'm always going to be looking for ways to achieve the best possible outcome for everyone, and my ability to cooperate and work well with others! I know that when it comes to working with a team, there will be a lot of different opinions and perspectives that will be brought to the table, and so not everything will necessarily go the way I personally would think to do it, and being able to readily accept that and move forwards, I think, is one of my best attributes when working with a team.

 

3) I think one of the subjects I would be the most nervous about handling with public reaction in mind would probably be Dominia. Dominian lore and Dominia as a whole, I've noticed, is incredibly polarizing and most people have very strong opinions about it one way or the other. Personally, however, I really enjoy Dominia, and so I would probably handle approaching it with a great degree of thought and care, and make sure to take into consideration all facets of Dominian lore to make sure that I'm doing it justice to all sides.

 

4) While I don't think there's too much to human lore, I think it's quite expansive in terms of how much there is overall. That being said... I think it's very lacking in some key areas in terms of substance. A lot of planets definitely need a lot more attention, lore-wise. So rather than expanding, I think it would be better to take a look at what we have and add to that.

 

5) Personally, I enjoy both articles and in-game events and while I personally prefer in-game events, I don't necessarily think one is better than the other. I think both serve their own unique purposes, with in-game events being a good choice for what's going on in the Horizon's immediate surroundings, and articles being good for keeping the characters (and players) up to date with what's going on in the rest of the Spur.

Edited November 3, 2023 by FrozenDahliaRose
Missed a word

[The7thLain]

Hi, pardon the delay on these questions. I've had some personal events delay these for you and all other applicants. I will ask you three questions, the first I will ask to all applicants and the latter two will be tailored to your application specifically. Consider these questions as being from both myself and my deputy.

1. On balance, how do you see the Human Lore of the server being different with you than without you; what is something that only you bring to the table as a deputy?

2. We are happy to see that you enjoyed our past arcs. What about the arcs specifically did you find enjoyable and how would you try and replicate what you liked most in how you wrote an arc in the future? Note: This is not asking you for ideas for a future arc, but rather, how you would try to achieve the things you enjoyed in past arcs with your writing and storytelling techniques.

3. You've mentioned in your application that you believe that there are some areas, namely planets, that human lore needs some more attention. Please give me some examples of the places that need more attention in your view, and how you would like to proceed to making these additions. Please provide a minimum of two and a maximum of four areas you believe need improvement. Note: There was a new rule implemented after Xanu Prime's update that limits planet pages to a hard capacity of 15,000 words, so brevity is more important than ever.

[FrozenDahliaRose]

On 23/11/2023 at 00:47, TheBurninSherman said:

Hi, pardon the delay on these questions. I've had some personal events delay these for you and all other applicants. I will ask you three questions, the first I will ask to all applicants and the latter two will be tailored to your application specifically. Consider these questions as being from both myself and my deputy.

1. On balance, how do you see the Human Lore of the server being different with you than without you; what is something that only you bring to the table as a deputy?

2. We are happy to see that you enjoyed our past arcs. What about the arcs specifically did you find enjoyable and how would you try and replicate what you liked most in how you wrote an arc in the future? Note: This is not asking you for ideas for a future arc, but rather, how you would try to achieve the things you enjoyed in past arcs with your writing and storytelling techniques.

3. You've mentioned in your application that you believe that there are some areas, namely planets, that human lore needs some more attention. Please give me some examples of the places that need more attention in your view, and how you would like to proceed to making these additions. Please provide a minimum of two and a maximum of four areas you believe need improvement. Note: There was a new rule implemented after Xanu Prime's update that limits planet pages to a hard capacity of 15,000 words, so brevity is more important than ever.

Hello! No worries at all, and I'm sorry for the delay in the responses! I wanted to take a bit to really think about the questions being asked.

 

1. I think that I can bring an amount of attention to detail to the table that's really unique. Particularly, I dedicate a lot of focus to thinking about how one area may interact with other areas, since these places within the Spur don't exist within vacuums. The lore of Sol, for example, is informed not only by itself but its interactions with, say, Biesel, or the Coalition, and so on. Furthermore, I would also bring experience from the point of view of someone who’s thought a lot about different characters from different corners of the Spur, and can easily put myself in the shoes of someone approaching the lore with the goal of making a character.

 

2. The thing I liked most about the past arcs are how far-reaching and long-lasting its effects are, especially on the characters. My goal in working on an arc would be to think about how the events could potentially impact characters involved, whether directly, or even distantly. Interesting characters change and grow in response to their environment, and a lore arc can make for an amazing vehicle for the type of change necessary for interesting growth. 

 

3. Some planets that I believe need more attention in particular are Jewel Worlds of Sol in regards to their culture, though there are certainly other planets as well. On these pages, there's a lot of focus placed on history, and while I think that's certainly important, there's not as much given towards information on how someone from these places would behave, interact, live, etc. As an example, while Mars has a very rich history and Violet Dawn is given loads of detail, there's not much on how Martians really lived before Violet Dawn. What foods are stereotypically Martian, what type of music people listened to, popular activities, etc. While that level of detail isn't fully necessary, a bit more of a sense of how your Martian character would've grown up, even if they were off-world for Violet Dawn, would make a huge difference. In making additions to the planets, I would take a look at what we already have available, particularly with the mindset of someone making a character from that location, and adding information to help fill in the blanks. 

[The7thLain]

Hello. Thank you very much for applying, I'm happy to see that we have passionate people in the community who want to contribute to the human lore of the server. Unfortunately, we've decided to proceed with another candidate. I hope that this does not discourage you from continuing to be an active member of the community who cares about human lore.