[Accepted] LforLouise's IPC Application

[LforLouiseeee]

Or: LforLouise is just a woman whose circumstances went beyond her control

BYOND Ckey: LforLouise

Discord username: louiseisnthome

Character names:
Ayishah Al-Ghazzawi - Cook 
Haniyah Sultan - New Security Officer
Kais Kaebi - New Bartender
Nesrine Issawi - Retired Bridge Crew(wo)man
Zara Ismat - Retired Engineer

Species you are applying to play: IPC

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General Whitelist Requirements 

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 would like to expand my horizons (no pun intended), and experiment with concepts for different species. IPC is the only other species with lore relating to Elyra (except for NCPs), so it would be fun, and somewhat easier, to play a species from a faction that I'm already familiar with, and enjoy playing.

What makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a human?: 
Whilst IPCs and humans are very similar in a lot of regards - such as the fact they were created by humans in the first place, and therefor take a lot from the various cultures - they vary in a lot of ways too. IPCs in the spur are subject to debate, primarily regarding civil rights, and their influence on society. Due to this and other factors, there's a great deal of discrimination against IPCs (though its not something I often see in game) - you will have to work to incorporate this into your characters, how they act around other species, and cultures who may potential hate them due to various reasons, such as religion, because they need someone to hate, or even that many people perceive IPCs, owned or not, as scabs.

IPCs are also computers - They do not do things without reason, even if their reason is poorly thought out, or may be contrary to their morals, if they even had morals to begin with.

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Character Application

Character Name: RS4-Chukar

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

RS4-Chukar is a member of the 'Renaissance Series 4' line of IPCs produced by Osman Electric Industries in Turaif, on Medina. The series is a successor to the 'RS3, RS2 & RS1' lines, which were OEI's take on the Bishop Accessory frames, with the RS1s first seeing production in 2446, though are effectively extinct, much like the RS2s. RS3s were a slight improvement in 2450, but are also in a rapid decline, as newer series start to become popular. This isn't to say that RS4s are cutting edge, however. RS4s first entered production in April of 2456, finishing upon the release of the RS5s in 2459, of which have also ceased production in favour of the newer Shell-style RS6s, released in 2462.
Throughout the various iterations of the many RS IPCs, two things stay the same, that is their intended purpose, and their naming scheme: 
All RS models, from the very first RS1, to the prototype RS7s, were designed to be social units, meant to be bought by wealthy private owners. They were most often bought to be used as partners to lonely businessmen, or as a friend to a rich parent's child, or even as a receptionist in a high-class hotel. The units were often able to perform other, menial tasks if required, such as cleaning, gardening, bartending, and cooking.
RS models also shared a trend, their names being that of animals RS3s were species of reptiles, RS4s were species of bird, RS5s were marine animals. The trend was broken by the RS6s, who receive common Elyran names after their series number, it is also suspected that the upcoming RS7s will also receive Elyran names.
Due to their age, replacement parts for RS4s are few and far between, often having to be ordered specially at a high expense. If the owner could not afford the parts, it was/is commonplace to simply replace the missing part with one from a newer model, as OEI sold them cheaper - a way to get people to simply scrap their old models, and buy the new ones.

RS4-Chukar, specifically, was manufactured on the 16th of March 2457, at the request of high-ranking Elyran Army officer 'Qismat Khoudary' upon the outbreak of the Lii'draic incursion on Bursa. Qismat was married, with 2 sons, so RS4-Chukar was intended to help around the house, and be a friend to his wife 'Ruya Khoudary' and their children, when he was away from home on operations, training, and various other events - which he often was, especially during the incursion. RS4-Chukar was designed to have a more feminine appearance, voice, and mannerisms so that Ruya would not develop romantic feelings for the unit. RS4-Chukar served the family until early in 2466, where Qismat discovered that RS4-Chukar had, ironically, been in a romantic affair with his wife for several months.
RS4-Chukar was immediately sold off to an auctioneer, and was then auctioned at a relatively low price to 'Kingston Hawk' - a Biesellite individual who can only be described as an IPC Farmer.

Kingston Hawk's primary way of making money is to purchase cheap, or old IPC models, and put them to work wherever he can find a paying job for them, collecting a large portion of their income, to reinvest into more IPCs. Kingston Hawk owns around 15 IPCs, though the number is slowly, but constantly increasing. He treats his IPCs poorly, leaving them with enough money to maintain themselves, and a little more for their own spending. His IPCs memories are never wiped as he believes that the experiences, and memories they've made with their previous owners will encourage, or maybe torture them to work harder. RS4-Chukar is afforded the luxury of being the IPC furthest away from Kingston Hawk, giving them an inch of freedom. RS4-Chukar is, however, required under threat of destruction, to write and send weekly reports, detailing everything they've done, these reports often take several hours to write, but Kingston Hawk sees them as a necessity to keep his 'IPC Farm' running smoothly.

RS4-Chukar was, until recently, a relatively normal social unit. However, due to being pulled away from the family they developed fondness for, has started to become more reclusive, realising they are a slave, rather than a member of a family. They long for the freedom they once had in service of the Khoudary family, only now acknowledging how easily their life had been. They want to obtain their freedom, but they know that it will be impossible to obtain, primarily because of their current owner, but also because their realisations have reduced their motivations to ash - the only reason they still work, is because they fear death.

How has the recent events of the Orion Spur impacted your character? 

RS4-Chukar, already in isolationist-Elyra, was kept further sheltered from spur-wide events and politics. Whilst they knew what was occurring in Elyra, including the Incursion around the time of their creation, they knew very little of the wider spur itself, until the departure from their family. Being moved out of Elyra, and thus removed from her sheltered comfort zone, able to read news of recent events, and learn of nations and peoples they had not even heard of before, took its toll on RS4-Chukar, It played a large part into who they've rapidly evolved into.

The culture shock of learning about new species still has not sunk in yet, and they are unsure what to make of certain species (specifically non-liidra vaurca, but also diona, tajarans).
Parts of her believes that her current situation is a punishment by whatever higher power there may be for pushing Ruya into infidelity - something which she still has mixed thoughts about.
Their faith in the values they once held close to them - family, compassion, among others - have been shaken, and they must find new ones to rely on.

 

How does your character view the megacorporation they work for?

Kingston Hawk, being who he is, obviously does not care for how his IPCs are treated, so long as they are able to work, and provide him with money. For this reason, he finds the highest paying contracts that his IPCs are capable of performing, even if the IPCs are put into risky, or potentially life threatening positions.
RS4-Chukar doesn't know this, as they are not in contact with the various other IPCs Hawk owns. They view Nanotrasen simply as an extension of Hawk, and the perceived-torture that Hawk is inflicting upon them.

[The Stryker]

Hi, thanks for applying!

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

You mentioned that IPCs never do things without a reason. Could you describe how an IPC might learn certain behaviors? How do they take things from certain cultures?

Quote

RS4-Chukar, specifically, was manufactured on the 16th of March 2457, at the request of high-ranking Elyran Army officer 'Qismat Khoudary' upon the outbreak of the Lii'draic incursion on Bursa. Qismat was married, with 2 sons, so RS4-Chukar was intended to help around the house, and be a friend to his wife 'Ruya Khoudary' and their children, when he was away from home on operations, training, and various other events - which he often was, especially during the incursion. RS4-Chukar was designed to have a more feminine appearance, voice, and mannerisms so that Ruya would not develop romantic feelings for the unit. RS4-Chukar served the family until early in 2466, where Qismat discovered that RS4-Chukar had, ironically, been in a romantic affair with his wife for several months.

Alright, there's a lot to unpack here. One thing I suppose is why would RS4-Chukar engage in an affair with his wife? Where did Chukar pick up the idea for romantic love? Why did Chukar engage despite knowing the consequences? How did the affair affect Chukar, both during and after it ended? 

In general, I would say that 9 years with the family has huge impacts on the character, and the way it ended was especially abrupt, so the effects should be discussed more.

How does RS4-Chukar behave? What are their mannerisms like? Additionally, what is Chukar's current occupation?

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Parts of her believes that her current situation is a punishment by whatever higher power there may be for pushing Ruya into infidelity - something which she still has mixed thoughts about.

What does Chukar believe in? Is this belief informed by their production as an Elyran shell?

Edited July 21 by The Stryker

[LforLouiseeee]

Hi! Very sorry for the delay, I only just noticed this. Your questions have given me some things to think on, too, which is always welcome!

Spoiler

You mentioned that IPCs never do things without a reason. Could you describe how an IPC might learn certain behaviors? How do they take things from certain cultures?

Behaviours can be influenced by programming, behavioural cores, directives, or simply by observing, and copying, those around them, as a constant means of improving, and thus increasing their means of self preservation. It may also be influenced by their occupation, though this would fall into the last point.
IPCs, like any other sentient being, will adapt to the culture of those that surround them, as a means of blending in, or to develop themselves, or to stay alive. From what I've seen, IPCs have the luxury of picking and choosing certain aspects of cultures that would better suit their survival, though this would vary from individual to individual, such as an Eridanian IPC adapting to the fast-paced business culture by becoming a greedy, morally bankrupt, ambitious asshole - as long as their profits are assured, so is their survival.

Spoiler

One thing I suppose is why would RS4-Chukar engage in an affair with his wife? Where did Chukar pick up the idea for romantic love? Why did Chukar engage despite knowing the consequences? How did the affair affect Chukar, both during and after it ended? 

Chukar, as I've mentioned, was kept somewhat confined - they rarely left the Khoudary's estate, and when they did, it was usually with the Khoudarys, on holidays, and such. This means that they are were not entirely used to the concept of romance, the 'affair' in itself lasted just under a year, though, over time, Chukar learnt from the behaviors exhibited by Qismat & Ruya whilst they were together, and then the same behaviours shown by Ruya on Chukar, when Qismat was away. They did eventually deduce that it was a romantic relationship (which is why I note the affair had only been ongoing for 'several months', as this is how long Chukar knew it was romantic). 

Chukar did not know about the consequences - they grew to trust Qismat (her legal owner), and his family, and thought they were part of it. They had no concept of infidelity until they were punished for it, either. The relationship was kept hidden, though by Ruya, not Chukar - Chukar was still new to romance, and basically just playing along.

At first, Chukar didn't know if what they were experiencing was love for Ruya, or just acting in the best interests of the family, though this feeling very slowly grow into genuine love, but was unfortunately cut short, as it was discovered. The feelings didn't stop, and Chukar has been left with a feeling of longing, which is a factor that plays into their current reclusiveness.
During the affair, Chukar was definitely treated better by Ruya, with lesser restrictions, something Chukar didn't realise, as it happened slowly, over a large period of time.

Spoiler

In general, I would say that 9 years with the family has huge impacts on the character, and the way it ended was especially abrupt, so the effects should be discussed more.

9 years of captivity would drive anyone mad unless they, like Chukar, were born into it. Chukar doesn't believe they were a captive, as they have no idea of life outside of the family. They know of Elyra, what it represents, and its culture, but their entire existence, and perceived-purpose was the Khoudarys, and serving them. They are not used to large crowds, or different people, or even making friends - even though they're a social unit.
They feel more like a dog with a personality, Chukar wasn't treated like a pet but definitely a sort of 'You are family, but you are not one of us' feeling (not what it felt like to Chukar, but you guys get the point), until later on during the affair of course. So Chukar was used to the kindness shown, and grew complacent with it, thinking it was given as a right, not a privilege. Which was a shock when they were taken out of this loving, caring home that they knew for all of her life up until then, and placed into a 'kennel', with many other 'dogs' from many different backgrounds, and quickly shipped off to a new 'family', where they're poorly mistreated, and desperately wish for anything at all to change it for the better.
Chukar is currently unbelievably stressed - though I will elaborate on this on the next question, as it largely ties together.
 

Spoiler

How does RS4-Chukar behave? What are their mannerisms like? Additionally, what is Chukar's current occupation?

Their current behaviour is largely influenced by their recent acquisition by Kingston Hawk - as mentioned in the last paragraph, it's like being taken out of your comfort zone, and being dropped without a parachute into an active volcano. The stress caused by that is putting a great strain on their hardware, and capacity to function, and they will urgently need to find a way to negate this, or their service to Kingston Hawk will be a very short one. Due to this, they're very closed off, not wanting to strain what is left of their sanity - focussed on work, and survival and thats pretty much it. For those that do manage to get close to them (which will still be a very difficult thing to do), they'll be a very quiet individual, speaking only when required, or to make reports.
They will slowly improve over time, adapting to their situation, but this will take a while, a few months perhaps - But they will forever be affected by their sudden change in circumstance.
They will also have roleplayed equipment failures, induced by overworking, as well as wear and tear, if roleplay opportunities present themselves. Of course, because of the fact that parts for this series are only made, this will be a rather expensive conundrum for Chukar - Will they slowly replace parts with cheaper ones that Kingston Hawk supplies, or will they go into debt buying expensive replacements? That's also something I'd wish to roleplay out.

Chukar will act as a Gardener - it was one of their most performed secondary chores (duties) in service of the Khoudarys, and, obviously, there is no 'friend' in game job (As evidenced by the fact Aurora players have no friends- wait, that's just me, nevermind). The Khoudarys estate was quite large (They were able to afford a brand new high-end IPC, of course they have a mansion), with a decent garden that required several hours of care every week, for the 9 years Chukar was there.

Spoiler

What does Chukar believe in? Is this belief informed by their production as an Elyran shell?

Chukar considers themself a Muslim, albeit, they aren't a very good one - having only been exposed to the more common, and slightly more liberal, elements of Islam that are commonly seen at home. This would include the daily prayers, the various periods of fasting, and other smaller things, such as dietary requirements.
Quick correction for you, they aren't a shell - the early RS series were Osman's version of Bishop Accessory models, only changing to Shell-style frames as of the RS6s and in-prototype RS7s, and Chukar's an RS4 (absolutely useless piece of information there but, might be interesting so why not!)
Yes, Islam is a very widespread religion, and isn't just limited to Elyra - it's just that Elyra (likely) is home to, by far, the majority of Muslims in the spur - but is also a Secular state. If Chukar was in a Muslim household on Biesel, or Xanu, or anywhere else, they would be much the same, belief-wise, minus the local variations in religious practice, of course.

 

 

Sorry if I've missed the point of the questions, or my answers haven't come across clearly, but it's 07:00 and I started writing this at 05:30(ish)... and I was tired when I started lol!

Thanks for taking your time reading this,
the cooler Louise

[Noble Row]

Accepted