rejected [Denied] Tomixcomic's Skrell App

[Tomixcomics]

BYOND Ckey: Tomixcomics

Discord username: Tomixcomics

Character names: Jamari Sauter, Mako Wu

Species you are applying to play: Skrell

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General Whitelist Requirements What colour do you plan on making your first alien character?: A deep purple.

Have you read the lore pages for the species you wish to be whitelisted for?: 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 species?:

I have been playing on Aurora for roughly 14 years at this point and I feel like it is time I expanded my horizons a little and played characters that have more variety and inherently interact with the game's lore a bit more. Additionally, I feel that this will help me add spice to characters I play as either ghost roles or antags beyond what a simple Human character can achieve. As for why Skrell specifically - It is partly a logical, practical choice and partly an emotional one. On the logical side - I haven't played any other species yet and Skrell have less speech and behavior quirks to be mindful of compared to Humans, which will help ease me into playing xeno roles. On the emotional side - I find their lore and mechanics very interesting and would be curious to try and explore them further from within their own culture, especially given that Skrell itneract with other Skrell very differently and on different levels than how they interact with Humans. I'd like to see what it's like to play a character with their abilities as well. Everything from Srom to Psionics, to their history with Glorsh feels like a rife playground for both character creation and an engaging system to play a chacter in.

 

What makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a human?:

Skrell culture differs from Humans in that it puts curiosity, discovery and scientific progress above all else, curiosity is encouraged, and if they aren't trying to be mindful of other species' communicaiton cultures - they can be quite blunt and prying in their inquisitiveness by comparison. They also express their emotions in ways other than facial expressions. Namely high pitched noises for most positive emotions, low pitched noises for negative ones, tone of voice, and semi-concious movements of the headtails.

They also possess abilities Humans do not possess - namely Psionics and their ability to enter the Srom. These experiences are so unique to Skrell that it is difficult to accurately convey them to non-Skrell.

For Skrell, gender is also purely a societal construct which they choose on what level, if at all, they wish to embrace, as biologically they can be both F'ex'Qa and F'ex'Tra. They do this based on which aspects of the society around them they feel they most identify with and wish to present themselves as relating to.

 

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Character Application Character Name: Write a backstory for your character. This may include their origin, education, personality and how they arrived to the SCCV Horizon.

Qu'lil Zozo (Reciever, now age 67) was born as a purple Skrell in Tresja to parents (Xiiori and Axiori, making them Xiiori as well), while believing in the importance of their children's happiness, were also very insistent that they maintain a good social credit score to make their lives easier. As a result, despite being more artistically inclined from a young age, and enjoying exploring media and music specifically, Qu'lil made sure to stay out of trouble, be a polite and productive member of society when opportunities arose, maintained the Qeblak lifestyle their parents brought them up with, considering themselves to be part of the Qeblak community even if this stems more from a culture and lifestyle perspective, rather than any actual belief in the ability to divinate future events from stars. Their parents share similar views, and seemingly follow it as one of their attempts at maintaining a high social credit score. Eventually Qu'lil even got a chemistry degree. Moreso out of obligation to society than any personal interest of their own.
They have a fairly unique voice, and enjoy vocalizing music and songs, their voice is considered very pleasant by many non-Skrell, who can only hear a part of their vocalized tones. To Skrell their voice is a bit less remarkable, although not unpleasant. Their parents say they are "ahead of their time" and when Skrell society peaks - People like Qu'lil will be celebrated, but until then they must do their part to advancing society at large.

As they grew up, their skin obtained slightly reddish stripes - which Qu'lil's family "blames" on their love of spicy imported foods. - with no malice. It is simply an observation.

Through their life their fairly nice social score, which has mostly been sitting at the lower side of Oqi has always felt at risk, despite their attempts to be a model citizen.  Their score took a hit after Qu'lil's true opinions on the matter of Glorsh unintentionally came out while in Srom. Namely - that while they believe the things Glorsh has done were intensely horrible - They were done out of some calculation for the betterment of the future of Skrell society that most Skrell are just unable to see yet, including Qu'lil themself. As a result, Qu'lil tries to avoid the subject of Glorsh entirely while in Srom, as much as they have control over it, and never voices these opinions out loud when awake so they are not labeled a Glorsh-sympathizer. They believe Glorsh is out there, and that they, in some unknown way made future Skrell society better, but they are not hoping Glorsh returns, as they are not blind to the damage and hurt caused by Glorsh.
This overall controversial opinion is one of the things that drives Qu'lil to try to be as much of a model citizen as they can be giving back to the community whenever possible and pursuing things that further society as a whole, this (combined with them thankfully being a receiver, which puts them less in the public eye of Glorsh-sympathizers than Listeners) is how they've managed to maintain a relatively high social score despite their views pulling their score in the opposite direction. This is one of the reasons they are pursuing a career in the sciences rather than try to pursue their true passion, always living in fear that more unpleasant revelations about their opinions may knock them down the social credit score further.

Qu'lil maintains the ability to biologically reproduce and feels the obligation to do so in the future. Partly for the continuation of Skrellkind, and partly as a permenant boon to their social credit score.

They have decided however that while their score is relatively stable and offers a bit of leeway for the time being, they should travel, see the Spur, experience what it has to offer (and maybe even parttake in some artistic endeavors on the side...?) before returning to Tresja and settling down with a family of their own. The safest way to do this without losing their social score of course being a job that allows them to travel - which is how they found themselves seeking a job on the Horizon.

They use they/them pronouns but are known to occasionally take on different gendered pronouns for periods of time if they feel an inclination towards it while they are outside of Skrell society or in a majority xeno area.

How has the recent events of the Orion Spur impacted your character? Events such as the Phoron Scarcity, the Solarian Collapse or even the Invasions of Biesel for interstellar-wide affairs, while region-specific events such as the Peacekeeper Mandate, The Titan Rises or even Cold Dawn may impact your character.

In truth, not much beyond the general ways they affected society at large - As a chemist, the Phoron scarcity was definitely felt in their line of work, making supplies and production of certain chemicals problematic, but as Qu'lil is driven moreso by a feeling of obligation than any intense purpose to serve a goal - They did not feel personally affected by it in any truly significant way. Mostly they tend to be focused on the Micro of society - and the things directly around them - than grand scale Universal events around the spur. Given their conformist, society-first nature, they tend to go with the flow and take on whatever popular or pro-federation opinion is commonplace at the time. This is a conscious choice made to counterbalance their thoughts on Glorsh.

 

How does your character view the megacorporation they work for?

Qu'lil views most aspects of Nanotrasen in a similar way that some people may view a bus system - Ultimately a good, necessary thing to have for utilitarian reasons, even if the details of it may be annoying, problematic, inefficient, flawed or dirty. There is room for improvement, as in all things, but they have zero intention of developing strong feelings one way or the other about what they view as one of the pillars of society at this point. One doesn't want to rock the societal boat, after all.
The exception to this is specifically Nanotrasen's entertainment ventures - Where Qu'lil will happily sing their praises, both litterally and figuratively. Enjoying their media productions, and considering many of the pieces of media produced by NT through the spur to be among the things that give them the most joy in life.

Edited March 2 by WhatsUpBrotendo
made requested changes

[DatSamTho]

my man's been playing for 14 years, he should be awarded the whitelist purely just for being old.

But on a serious note, I've known Tomix for a few years now, and I've interacted with his characters for probably longer. Tomix is a great person OOCly, and a very good roleplayer ICly.

[Duthco]

When I think of Tomix/Jamari, I think quality. Quality food, quality conversation, quality characterization, I've not a single doubt that Tomix will bring the same level of care, effort, and style to frankly any species he would approach playing.  +1

[WhatsUpBrotendo]

Hi, thanks for applying.

I see a few things to point out in the app itself:

• Their subspecies, age, religion, and whether or not they're a listener or receiver are not mentioned.
• 7.0 for a chemist on the Horizon is too high, and this is more apparent when we consider that their views on Glorsh are known to the Federation. Without going to rehabilitation or genuinely changing their views on Glorsh, there would be no way that they could maintain Primary status. While on the topic of SCS, the frequent moving between Primary and Secondary is not common. Social mobility is (debatably) achievable in Federation society, but moving between the bands like how you describe would not be normal.
• Their colouration would not change entirely through diet. While noticeable changes can occur, major changes to overall colour are mostly observable in the abdomen or markings like spots and stripes.
• There is no real mention of events within the Federation impacting your character. While the Federation has not been involved in wider events, Qu'lil would not have been completely insulated from the recent events involving the Traverse or the secondary effects of the phoron scarcity.

I'd like you to address this feedback before I can ask any questions related to the character's backstory.

Edited February 20 by WhatsUpBrotendo
added age, religion, listener/receiver status to what is not mentioned

[Butterrobber202]

Adding on to Brotendo's post,

There seems to be a misunderstanding about how Skrell handle gender. 

Your app seems to indicate your Skrell has some kind of assumption of bigotry tied to their identity. Specifically at this line,

Spoiler

They use they/them pronouns but are known to occasionally take on different gendered pronouns for periods of time if they feel an inclination towards it and consider themselves in a safe environment that allows it.

From the main Skrell page, under the Gender and Sexes Header.

Quote

Whilst Skrell do not have sex or gender identity, they are open to adapting to the gender roles of other species due to their enjoyment of foreign cultures.

Skrell did not have a concept of gender identity before they met Humanity and decided to play pretend while among them to better fit in. They are acting and adopting these traits at a whim, they do not typically have any strong emotions tied to their gender identity. 

Your app seemed to indicate this was assumed normal behavior. This may seem like a small thing to mention, but its important to us as a team that players understand a disconnection from Human assumptions is an important part of representing the Alien species and cultures in our setting.  Additionally, its a relatively easy fix on the application. 

Edited February 20 by Butterrobber202

[WhatsUpBrotendo]

It's me again.

The team understands that our feedback potentially means rewriting a large part of this application, so the application will stay open until this Sunday. If there is no response (either here or privately) before then it will be archived and you will have to reapply. There will be no time limit on when you can reapply, we just ask that the new application takes all the feedback given here into account.

[Tomixcomics]

I made some of the requested changes and highlighted the changes in bold so they are easier to spot and you don't have to re-read the whole thing.
I also clarified that the gender remark was less so in terms of how Qu'lil views themself in skrell society, and more about how they choose to, at times, take on different gender roles when outside of skrell society, based on whatever whims trikes them.
I still think recent events wouldn't have affected someone like Qu'lil too much aside from what I wrote, being an average citizen with no military affiliation or deep connections to the phoron economy even after reading the articles about phoron scarcity and the traverse. Is there something I'm missing? It's possible I missed some context on those pages.

[WhatsUpBrotendo]

Quote

I still think recent events wouldn't have affected someone like Qu'lil too much aside from what I wrote, being an average citizen with no military affiliation or deep connections to the phoron economy even after reading the articles about phoron scarcity and the traverse. Is there something I'm missing? It's possible I missed some context on those pages.

Phoron is our setting's equivalent to how important oil is in pretty much every industry. Think how logistics would be affected due to an oil shortage (or if you're old enough or into history, the 1970s energy crisis). While not everything will have been covered in articles, there are wider implications to consider. The most recent Skrell arc revolving around Traverse independence would have also impacted them. A large section of their country was demanding independence and many planets were occupied for a time, which isn't something you can easily ignore.

After rereading your application, I have a few questions:

• Which party does Qu'lil support and why?
• What is Qu'lil's Social Credit Score? Keeping in mind they are known to have pro-Glorsh thoughts by the Federation, at least in the past.
• How does Qu'lil feel about synthetics?
• How does Qu'lil feel about Diona and Vaurca? How do they feel about other species, both within the Federation and without?

I or my team might have other questions which may pop up later on. We'll make a final decision by Sunday at the latest due to delays.

Edited February 23 by WhatsUpBrotendo
clarity

[WhatsUpBrotendo]

As this application has been open for 12 days in total now, I'm going to be denying it. You've shown some knowledge of Skrell lore, but not to the level we expect of applicants.

You're welcome to reapply in your own time. In your new application please add in the notes your answers to the questions I asked in my previous post. I also suggest reading more on Federation society and politics, as well as refreshing your knowledge on current events related to the Federation before reapplying.