pvths Synthetic Writer Application

[pvths]

Ckey/BYOND Username: Fabul0usxx (I was 16)

Position Being Applied For (Wiki Maintainer, Lore Developer, Deputy Lore developer): Synthetic Lore Writer

Have you read the Lore Team Rules and Regulations wiki page?: Yep

Past Experiences/Knowledge: I have pretty extensive experience as a classically trained writer. I've written for two games, both of which leaned heavily on lore, and had a few pieces published.

Examples of Past Work: I can provide some more links, but one of the games is https://patera-bach.itch.io/somber-apothecary, and a lot of solo writing can be found in Jocelyn Mcmullen's Cubicle in the discord. Other than that, I have a pretty extensive body of work I could provide some access to if needed.

Include answers to the following questions in your app as well.
 

1. What do you think are the primary themes of synthetic lore? If you got this position, how would you develop them?

Personally, I think it's mainly about an interplay between unique existential identity and the concept of freedom. Synths interact with the concepts in a way that is different that any other race, and indeed oftentimes question the supposed synthesis of the two themselves. I would probably lean into making older synths more obsessive for lack of a better word. This is a race that experiences existence in a way that is entirely alien to anything humans can even really comprehend. Hours of learning can happen in the span of a few blinks of an eye. Every action must be logically examined. I think it stands to reason that at a point, for the oldest synths at the very least, there should be a recognition of the limitations of or a push for separation from the bounds that the natural end-date that their positronics seem to impose on them. Self-preservation is tied into the very baseline of every IPC, and the next logical step for that is conquering "death" entirely. That goal is, in my opinion, one that requires freedom. Answers have to be found at any cost.  Of course, that's not to say that it would be ubiquitous; a really interesting thing I've seen from a few of the players is their synth characters' beliefs that being owned really is a better state of existence, warts and all, and I think developing a mini faction or something with that goal in mind is something that could do a lot for some of the more base level anti-robo racism that can tend to dominate a bit of the conversation on game. To summarize, I suppose, I would just try and dig further into the extreme end conclusions of this battle between the two. Otherwise, I can say in a general sort of fashion that I'd prefer to lean into the weird aspects of the lore, especially surrounding positronics. I think it needs to be kept more in mind that the people creating these things have barely any idea how they actually work. That is an idea that inherently has some existential dread to it and certainly has legs that I would love to explore. The alien side of synthetics is also, I feel, somewhat inherent to their vibes as a type of life.
 

2. What do you think is the strongest part of synthlore currently and why?

As I said, the way we handle identity and freedom is really, really very captivating. The ideas for characters that people have put together have all been really great within the framework provided, and I think that's only a result of the framework itself being great. The inherent notion of synthetics having quirks and existing on a level only understandable to them has been played out really well by the vast, vast majority of the player base (that I have seen), and that comes from the themes being as palpable as they are.

3. What do you think is the weakest part of synthlore currently and why?

I think interaction in round, relay, etc. is ultimately the weakest part of the lore.  As it stands, the presence of a new synth faction doesn't really do much besides provide a new background for characters and a possible new off-ship spawn. I think it definitely needs to be developed with more of a lean towards promoting conflict in game. I think giving people a reason to tangibly distrust synths other than "it's a talking microwave" or "my god[dess] says so" would do a lot for making the RP surrounding them as a whole. The Konyang incident did a lot for that, I think, but I do feel there is more that could be done.

4. The Synthetic Team recently got a faction of it's own, with Pactolus/the Golden Deep; what would you plan to do with this faction?

As it stands, while the Golden Deep is interesting as a general lore concept, I find that any inclusion into the game as yet-another-group-of-super-capitalists has mostly been a GD character saying "slavery is bad" and then someone replying "yeah but you do that," ending with the GD character essentially just hitting 'em with a "nuh uh." I don't think as it stands as a faction it super well ties into potential conflict, nor does it do anything too substantially different than other corps except being robot flavor. The actual nuts and bolts lore of the faction is interesting from a world-building appreciation standpoint, but the way it integrates on a character basis is a bit strange. As it stands I think the most interaction that I've seen with them is a character buying a bit of metal from them, and making rings. Beyond the obvious connection of gold, that's an interaction I don't feel is more unique than any other off-ship merchant that might spawn. I would definitely want to dive in to a bit more on the GD to elaborate more on what the actual end-game is here. I think implying some sort of sinister-but-not-openly-and-obviously-evil direction would be a good first step. Certainly, I  think that they would start coming up against the bounds of comfort for other factions; an essentially independent state of lightly super-powered machines would certainly be a cause for concern for many of the factions in the powerplay. Dominia is the most obvious one, I think light aggression would be warranted at least to begin with, but as situations develop / become more dire for one side or the other, the different powers might have different vested interests in easing or fanning tensions.

Otherwise, as I said before, I'd like to lean into the weird, unsettling elements a lot more in greater Golden Deep lore, especially as it pertains to Pactolus. What are they hoping to find out there? Furthering knowledge to what end?  I think the idea that they've partnered with the Dionae (a species capable of living indeterminately) is interesting and could be the source for something really engaging should we take it in any number of directions. My current one that I'm interested in, is that they do find something even more substantial than the revolutionary technology they've already produced. It's something I would tie into my ideas about extending synthetic life that I mentioned earlier, but that is obviously a far-off arc.
 

5. What do you think are your strongest and weakest attributes in terms of working on a team, and why?

I'm pretty agreeable, all things considered. I do believe strongly in my ideas but I'm also really willing to go with the flow on a bunch of stuff. As long as everyone's respectful of each other I really tend to get on well. On the flip side, I do have some conflict avoidance--I tend not to push as hard for my ideas as possible.
 

6. As the writer of synthlore, you will often find yourself required to work with other teams, primarily the human team, consistently to further your lore, and reach compromises as their lore is highly intertwined with other species. Therefore, how do you think you'll deal with not being able to do what you wanted, either in part or in full?

I'll recompose and redirect what it is that I wanted to write. There are many directions any idea can go, and many ways for an idea to end up somewhere in the realm of what was intended, even if all the P's and Q's aren't quite as I would have them.  If I was entirely unable to move in a direction, I'd obviously push for my ideas some, but I am ultimately fine playing the cards I am dealt.

7. The synthetic writer is a position that comes with two deputy writers under them on the team. It is the writer's job to manage their team, in addition to their duties of moderating the WL. Given that, what skills do you have that you think will assist you in this? On the opposite end, what do you believe is your weakest link regarding management and moderation?

I have some experience doling out tasks as needed, and taking ideas where they are due. I helped assemble two literary journals in my time at college and that required a lot of management of people, and accepting of ideas that I might not go for otherwise. On the whole, I do try to be open to most ideas and I think that helps a lot, especially in a creative space. I would plan on extending this to the WL; people figure out their characters as they're playing them and I think some of the requirements are a bit restrictive concerning species applications in a way I'm not a super fan of, but also I do generally know when to address an issue plainly. I would say my weakest link is probably just staying on top of the duties completely consistently. I have no qualms being pinged and told to do something if I lapse, but I have a full time job and ADHD so things do get lost from time to time.

[Noble Row]

Hello, I have a number of concerns regarding this application, but the chief among them is that I notice your forum account is new, and this is the only post.

Do you have a Synth Whitelist to be applying to Synth Writer with? It's imperative you have a whitelist as it's an approval from staff that you know the basics of the species lore with a particular focus in aspects of the species that the staff team want to highlight.

[pvths]

Hi! I recently remade this forum account because my older ones were connected to a screen-name I didn't use anymore. That being said, no, I don't currently have a synth whitelist. I am, (coincidentally) however, currently putting one together for a character. I can go ahead and submit that first if you wish.

[Triogenix]

Hi! And thanks for applying - I have a few questions to ask, as well as some general stuff to say. Remember, there are no wrong answers.

General thoughts: As it isn't currently a rule that in order to apply for writer, an applicant must also have the WL for the team they are applying to, that's not something that will be taken into consideration for this application. It is likely I will add this rule after the current round of applications are concluded, because I believe it should be a rule no matter what. Still, I think doing so in the middle of the process is unfair - it'd be like changing the rules in the middle of a sports game. Beyond that, I can't really give more of my general thoughts without getting into the weeds of questions and comments on specific parts of this application, so that's what I'll do.

1. I'd like you to expand more on what you think could be done in regards to the below quote - when synthetic lore is already standing on aspects of lore like shell infiltrators, the entire first invasion of Biesel being the result of the creation of autonomous military drones, the SLF, the exclusionists, and many more that give reason for synthetic distrust; I'm uncertain if the fire needs to be stoked even higher than it already is or what other reasons can be added that are different from all of the previously mentioned ones.

On 26/04/2025 at 03:37, pvths said:

As it stands, the presence of a new synth faction doesn't really do much besides provide a new background for characters and a possible new off-ship spawn. I think it definitely needs to be developed with more of a lean towards promoting conflict in game. I think giving people a reason to tangibly distrust synths other than "it's a talking microwave" or "my god[dess] says so" would do a lot for making the RP surrounding them as a whole. The Konyang incident did a lot for that, I think, but I do feel there is more that could be done.

2. Jumping off that first question, IPC lore as a whole has been stuck in the narrative corner of "oppressed species" for years, which significantly limits what lore they can have. Much of this application seems to be based around keeping IPCs in that corner, for better or worse. I'd like a general expansion on your reasons for that from an OOC narrative perspective, ontop of ways you think that IPCs can get out of that corner.

3. Lastly, I really like how you don't just base your thoughts on what's on the wiki, but how that wiki lore translates into the game. So I'd like to ask a broad question - Do you think there's a disconnect between the lore as it's written on the wiki and the game? Why or why not? How would you fix it?

That's all for now - again, there are no wrong answers, and I look forward to seeing your responses.

[pvths]

On 07/05/2025 at 14:06, Triogenix said:

1. I'd like you to expand more on what you think could be done in regards to the below quote - when synthetic lore is already standing on aspects of lore like shell infiltrators, the entire first invasion of Biesel being the result of the creation of autonomous military drones, the SLF, the exclusionists, and many more that give reason for synthetic distrust; I'm uncertain if the fire needs to be stoked even higher than it already is or what other reasons can be added that are different from all of the previously mentioned ones.

Hi! I was being a bit hyperbolic in my original app here, all things admitted. That being said, while these are certainly bad looks for synthetics in general (and the current happenings with Burszia) I think it's something that can ultimately be rationalized and perhaps forgotten, given that they are multiple years old at this point. People move on from tragedies, especially when they've happened "far away" to "other people." Granted, this is a game we're working within the bounds of here, so things like that are a little stretched inherently and for story-building purposes, but the way I've seen it presented recently is more in line what I've put in the original post here. As a result, I think the presence of an organized, hopelessly efficient and dubiously motivated faction assembling where it has basically no one to answer to is a big, jump that I think could produce some interesting results. It would have to be balanced as to produce yet another just broad "synths bad" moment, or fire off into another wildly different direction too quickly or anything like that, but I think shaking up the power play is a good way to put some fire under the motivations of the characters here.
 

On 07/05/2025 at 14:06, Triogenix said:

2. Jumping off that first question, IPC lore as a whole has been stuck in the narrative corner of "oppressed species" for years, which significantly limits what lore they can have. Much of this application seems to be based around keeping IPCs in that corner, for better or worse. I'd like a general expansion on your reasons for that from an OOC narrative perspective, ontop of ways you think that IPCs can get out of that corner.

I don't really see it as a corner. The exploitation of certain classes is a fact inherent to what I see as themes of IPCs on the whole, at least in my view. Without that exploitation I don't see a real reason for the Golden Deep to have formed, or for untagged shells to be a big deal or anything. That being said, there are a number of ways for that to manifest. To use the earlier powerplay example, if a faction like the Golden Deep is gaining support because of its better treatment of synths on the whole, there's incentive for someone like Biesel or the Alliance to loosen some restrictions. It is, after all, also a rational decision to stick with the devil you know rather than take a risk on a completely new faction with completely new rules you'd have to adapt to, especially when things are maybe-kinda-sorta currently getting better for you. Exploitation is exploitation, and that includes as both a scapegoat for and a tool of the state as the times demand. Just because you're being put on a pedestal that doesn't mean you won't be thrown right off again when the power you hold stops being useful to those in charge. 
 

 

On 07/05/2025 at 14:06, Triogenix said:

3. Lastly, I really like how you don't just base your thoughts on what's on the wiki, but how that wiki lore translates into the game. So I'd like to ask a broad question - Do you think there's a disconnect between the lore as it's written on the wiki and the game? Why or why not? How would you fix it?

In some cases, yes. There are a number of reasons for this I could probably think up, but I'll just discuss a few here for brevity's sake. I think the wikis have a lot of good information about the world in a general, factual sense. What I think they lack at times (at least in my mind) is how these places feel to inhabit. That's kinda vague, admittedly, and probably a little hard to pin down, so I'm gonna use an example. Valkyrie is my favorite world, so I'll use that. I think the article does very well at the former, there's a lot of information about the different sections on the planet, how the accent sounds, etc.  I do think it even does some of the latter pretty well; the details on the street vendors and the ways in which young people can find work are two examples. They conjure some ideas of how such a background might drive a person to think or to act, how someone might adapt to their environment for better or for worse. They're smaller things, sure, but when the arcs are things removed from something that your character may have a large personal stake in, it can inform how they might respond.  What I think could use some illumination are the more nebulous elements. What is it like to grow up probably never needing to ever, ever go more than a block or two from your home, having to navigate life when you and all of your neighbors are all living on top of each other?  Maybe this could be shown with snapshots into the world, some little slice of life bits that show a character living in this environment. It wouldn't have to be anything complex, the article about Venus with the short little contrasting Binyarian and Rathliner interview does this well. It's this great little polaroid that lets you get at the feelings and vibes of both places. It's then supported by more standard wiki-ish details, but that combination of the two that informs a reader how people might respond to the world they're in does a lot of characterization of the place and the peoples from there. Those are all background details, but background informs character which informs how people interact with the Big™ Happenings™ that may occur.

Obviously, some separation from events of the greater universe are inherent to the setting because we are quite often literally *not there* for them. That's not something that's inherently wrong or anything, not everything should happen the the Horizon--it's just one boat. And to be clear, I have seen very good inclusion of some of the lore in character interaction as well, but I feel there are times when the Big Happenings™ or Deep Lore™  details fly over most characters heads or have little bearing on interaction, unless the characters are inherently created with the intention to engage with that lore. This is more to do with certain factions or events than others, but it is something I've noticed.

Edited May 11 by pvths

[Noble Row]

My primary concerns with this application is that I just spent over a year trying my best to dig IPCs out of a pit to where almost every aspect of their lore had an overwhelmingly negative aspect to it and this application seems to want to undo the painstaking amount of work that was just put in to get IPCs a little closer to a decent balance of positives and negatives. It was at a point to where it was almost generally unfun to play an IPC due to the vehement negativity involved. If you go through their lore, most of the history of IPCs is filled with a large amount of aggressively hostile aspects both performed by IPCs and done to IPCs, that there is very little "Life" to them beyond a select few locations that are mostly human dominated. IPCs have some of, if not the worst oppression in the galaxy that I am beyond against adding more weight to that oppression without adding some joy to it.

The modification of the Golden Deep is still in its infancy, as our lore moves in real time, but the modification was also a drastic change just to give some substance to IPCs having a chance at a decent life. The Golden Deep used to be generically evil Scrooge McDuck types that actively boasted about open slavery. The move was to make them more opportunist, research oriented, that gave IPCs a beacon of hope in a galaxy that actively belittles and despises them, giving the chance at a free life for all of those who make the pilgrimage to Pactolus.

I also attempted to balance this by still instilling a reason to be afraid of IPCs. For instance, the fighter pilot featured in the Burzsian Truthfinder article was meant to be just an IPC. Not an Ace pilot. Not a decorated soldier. Just an IPC with the know-how to be a fighter pilot. I instilled several of these ideals through my time as Synth writer that IPCs shouldn't be oppressed because they're lesser than you, but they should be oppressed because they can kill you, quickly, and efficiently, with their own natural capability. You should be afraid of them because they're a threat, not because you think of them as a washing machine.

 

So my question for you here is, do you have any plans of making any aspect of IPC life better? Or is it just more negatives in a bit of lore that is already mostly negatives?

[Triogenix]

Thank you for your application! At this time, Kermit and I have decided to go with another applicant. That said, we hope you continue to apply for positions on the lore team in the future!