FlamingLily - Human Lore Deputy Application

[FlamingLily]

Ckey/BYOND Username: FlamingLily (Also my Discord Username)

Been around for: Like, four years? Since just before we switched maps to the Horizon. Not quite there for KOTW, joined in 2021 I believe.
Position Being Applied For: (Wiki Maintainer, Lore Developer, Deputy Lore developer): Human Lore Deputy
Have you read the Lore Team Rules and Regulations wiki page? Yes
Past Experiences/Knowledge:

Much of my writing experience is tied down in either short-form, character based writings such as relay dorm posts or private works I haven't published. However, I have made a few LCAs in my time here and additionally DM a D&D campaign in a custom setting which I'm pretty proud of.
Examples of Past Work:

This one's unfinished but I do plan to return to it (unless I get deputy, at which point ??? i guess we'll see), as Dominia is one of the areas I'd like to work on.

And, something I only now thought of doing as I type this: My worldbuilding notes for my DND campaign:

https://github.com/FlamingLily/Orbiset

This is extracted straight from my obsidian vault (and omits some notes/art I have in there that my players have made and that I haven't gotten their permission to share), but if you do check it out, I encourage checking out the timeline page and "Magic in Orbiset" page in the Codex/History. I'm most proud of those two.

 

Anyhow, onto the questions.

Why are you applying for the position of human lore deputy writer? Why do you think that you would be good in the position?

To put it bluntly, I'm applying for human lore because I love it. I'll go into it more in the next question, but I truly love the breadth and creativity that human lore empowers players to engage with. I'm also applying because I love this server, and want to be a part in shaping its future. Aurora means a hell of a lot to me, has allowed me to explore the depths of my creative potential and fostered some extremely powerful and important relationships in my life, and if I can repay even a tiny bit of that to this community through its lore, I would love to.

As for why I think I'd fit the position? I believe I'm a rather details-minded person, and for a setting like Aurora, where everything is grounded and built out of logically connected cause and effect, I feel like that's a good trait to have. I could go into immense details about, for instance, why my characters do every individual action that they do, down to individual psychological or social foundations. I also, naturally, believe I'm quite creative, and have a good vision for the kind of things I'd like to see in the lore, which should by extension also bring in what others may like to see.

What is your favourite part of Human Lore and why? If you submitted something for canonisation that was indeed canonised you may not select that as the answer to this question.

Generally, my favourite part of the lore (at a broader scale) would certainly have to be just how broad it is, and how many different stories you're empowered to tell. My main character right now is a Martian. A story of the physical and emotional scars that an unthinkable disaster on the scale of Violet Dawn could be. But this is only one story to tell. Within Sol alone, there are stories upon stories, from rich nepotism to corrupt authority to grungy labourer stories to stories of complete corporate dominance of ones home. That's not even mentioning the Coalition, or Elyra, or Biesel, or Goddess forgive, Dominia.

I don't think I can narrow it down to one specific origin, so I won't. I'll list a bunch. Dominia is easily up there- despite my current ideals of a few reworks and changes to how it's currently written, I do believe it is an utterly fascinating setting that has so much intrigue to it, from the internal politics to the external perceptions of it, to the faith and beyond. Mars, obviously, is up there- the origin of my main character would have to have some sticking power with me, would you believe it. I'm honestly extremely fond of New Hai Phong. I think it's unfortunately a little underrated for something I find really compelling- blending the gritty, labourer story with one of rampant corporate corruption plays well with me in a way that I'm sad it's not a more utilised origin. Himeo is also very interesting to me as it's effectively the opposite - what happens when those gritty labourers beat that corporate dominance.

What do you believe are ways that the Human Lore Team could best implement the phoron scarcity to our various factions and locations throughout the setting that would reflect the gravity of the in-character situation without grossly compromising the out-of-character things that make each faction and location unique and compelling?

First of all, the baseline is that every origin/faction/location/whatever needs some impact. No origin can avoid it, no origin can get away scott free, even the ones that have in-built safeguards against it. They can be affected less, sure. They can be on an unsteady peace in the calm before the storm, but they have to have some impact.

I think it'd be prudent to divide each setting into 3 areas that should be addressed, sequentially, as they'll each flow into one another.

Immediate Circumstances - How does the scarcity immediately impact this origin at the current point in time? What does their immediate amount of access to phoron look like, and how has their current economic foundation shifted in this changing environment? Eg, for a manufacturing heavy setting, let's say Himeo, perhaps their manufacturing is struggling as they lose access to independent (not-corporate controlled) phoron sources. Or maybe it's a trade based economy, like Valkyrie, who might be struggling to fuel and supply long-haul cargo ships on account of the lack of phoron? Maybe the phoron isn't the problem, but maybe the nation (Elyra)'s isolationist economy is causing stagnation in other areas, and maybe there's growing internal pressures to take advantage of the scarcity while they can for economic growth?

Corporate Influence (Or otherwise, corporate-free solutions) - Accounting for these immediate circumstances, how do the megacorps get involved? Assuming that the megacorps are the primary way any of these settings could get phoron (or, perhaps, the best phoron-free alternatives, if they're desperate), how does this influence the faction's decision making? Does Himeo make an uneasy alliance with, say, Zavodskoi, to bolster its manufacturing, even despite internal pressures to be rid of corporations? Does Valkyrie further tie down with the corporations? They'd probably be getting bailouts from the SCC to keep running, considering how essential they are, but if Valkyrie is stretched that thin, do they have the resources to police themselves? Ensure the well-being of their people? Or is everything being pushed into the corporate transaction? Does Elyra open its boarders and start trading with the corporations? (This one might be a bigger question for Trio and the lore admin on account of the direct impact it has on phoron's scarcity, but I'm just using it as an example). While the corporations would be the default "solution" many factions have, there's also the option of outright refusing corporate help and trying to go it alone. That option should be used with careful consideration so as not to just. Cut out a large part of the setting from the origin, but it should still be considered. An example might be Himeo choosing to refuse corporate assistance, and attempt to maintain production without the help of phoron.

Aftermath - Once the faction has decided how it's going to respond to the crisis, we examine the implications of what that means. Does Zavodskoi attempt to worm it's way into Himeo's daily life like it has in Dominia? Or, if Himeo refused, how do the working conditions fare? Do they start crunching desperately for more production? Do they become notoriously unsafe in working conditions? Does the economy tank and people suffer as a result? I covered a bit of this idea above, but this stage is really where we should consider the long term impact of the faction's attempt to address the scarcity, such as Valkyrie's internal resource situation, or any corporate influence that might be exerted on a less isolationist Elyra.

What do you believe are the current strengths and weaknesses of human lore? Why? What would you do to improve upon the weaknesses? Please do not mention offworlders in your answer to this question. We know that they are a weak spot and that they require action and would prefer to hear perspectives that do not highlight this area of human lore.

I could go here and mention specific origins. I have ideas about Dominia, Elyra, areas in the Coalition such as Assunzione, and more. But, chances are, you've all heard them before. You know about offworlders, for a start, I can't imagine Elyra has escaped your view as something in need of a look at.

Instead, I want to tackle this from a greater perspective. Ironically, I think one of Human Lore's greatest strengths - its broadness and expansive and diverse nature - is also one of its greatest weaknesses. Let me explain.

Human Lore consists of five nations, each with sub-locations that make up its origins, These are Dominia, Elyra, Sol (I'm including Eridani in here), Biesel, and the Coalition.

But classifying Human Lore this way is a little reductive, as "Sol" and "The Coalition", and to a lesser degree, "Biesel" are all terms that kind of impose a super-culture to the exclusion of more niche subcultures.

Meanwhile, "Dominia" and "Elyra" do the same, except for one key difference. In these two settings, the super-culture actually exists to a significant degree. Yes, Dominia has a large number of detailed and interesting nicher subcultures, from Caria to Sun Reach to the Lyod to Fisanduh, but all of them directly draw from the super-culture of the theocratic, imperialistic Empire of Dominia. The same can be said for Elyra, and although I think it has its issues in the greater picture, I actually think it does this element of being a setting quite well. Despite being all blatantly Elyran, Damascus, Perspolis, Medina, New Suez all feel like distinct, unique subcultures.

On the contrary, Sol, Biesel, and the Coalition sort of struggle with this in my eyes. For the Coalition it's not a huge problem - by nature of being less of a nation than the other two, and inherently so expansive, it doesn't have a super-culture, and that in and of itself can make for an interesting pseudo-culture. How do we all get along when Burszia and Himeo are meant to be buddy buddy with each other? Biesel does have a bit of it, though I may think it's a little weak, I think it does have a solid foundation of being the multicultural, melting pot, breadbasket of the spur. If it can lean into that- really dig into the vibes of being The Place You Want To Be that's Better Than Elsewhere (or so they claim)- I think it could really go somewhere.

And so that leaves us with Sol. Sol, I think is the worst at this at present. And ultimately, I think it's kind of inevitable that it is. For AAAGES, Sol's prevailing Super-Culture was uh. Kind of just being awful fascist xenophobes and imperialists and bad guy sol marine larp gimmicks. Then they blew up, and that kind of just slightly prevents a solid super-culture from forming. So, what now? Well, I think the recent path of reconstruction Sol has been on is where our solution lies. Sol should really lean into being the Home of Humanity (not in an ugly xenophobic way, of course, but almost the way Nralakk does it, like caretakers). They should lean into their survival as proof of humanity's drive and determination, and build a super-culture in that way- where Biesel can be the exceptional nation where anyone, even the poorest of non-humans, can make their footing, Sol can be the place where humanity is cared for and empowered, and nurtured into greatness. (but again, really want to stress here. Shouldn't make the mistakes of the past and make them awful xenophobes.) It's definitely trickier to form a super-culture like this, as Sol has a much larger and more diverse set of sub-locations, but I think it'd work.

What are three projects (medium-to-large size additions, arcs, or reworks) that you would like to complete during your tenure as a Human Lore Deputy writer? Please do not mention new locations or factions in this answer.

I've mentioned it a few times through this, but I would really like to put some work into Dominia. I think Dominia does a lot of things well, but one thing I've always found lacking is depth for the average Ma'azal. Nobility and Secondaries tend to have a lot of focus, and I want to see the life of a Ma'azal get a bit of a boost in focus too. I know Dominia is the war machine that crushes Ma'azal's underfoot in the eternal march of conquest, but I want to see it and read it and know exactly why a Ma'azal might stay or go. A big part of this is my half-complete Tribunalism LCA which, if I'm accepted, I want to work closely with the lore team to expand upon and really develop in depth exactly just how the Tribunal gets you slavishly devoted to the Empire in the way that it does.

A second project I'd like to do, and one which would most likely be best as an arc is de-isonaltionising Elyra. This is a big task and I don't expect to be able to do it in a single story arc, but I would at least like to set the foundation and the wheels in motion, perhaps by running an election campaign arc or something similar. There is material to work with, on account of the major opposition party's de-isolantionist perspective, but it does remain a bit of a complex ask. This one might need some detailed discussions before kicking it off.

Thirdly, I think I'd like to give Assunzione a bit of a poke and prod at. What we've got is definitely good, but I think it's missing that little bit of kick to really make it shine. Perhaps a little bit of something lying under the surface- everywhere has an underbelly, and I'd love to figure out what Assunzione's is. There's a little bit there with the expeditionary corps and their predatory contracts and NDAs, and I want to really break that down and expand upon how that looks elsewhere on the planet. Also, I really want to look into the ties between the Luceist church and the purportedly secular government. It's known that members of the planet's government are most often highly religious, but is that just convention or is the church playing a role in keeping it that way? 

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

I mentioned running an Elyran election arc, and if I did do so, I think I'd want to do it a little differently from the recent Solarian election arc (not that that arc was bad, but I have an idea that might keep things fresh). Ultimately, I'd want it to be one of those elections that boils down to a single issue, that being how Elyra approaches the phoron scarcity and which way it does. The incumbent RRS would maintain their position, remaining isolationist and disapproval of foreign interference, while the opposition LUR would be proposing much less isolationism and expanding the field to some megacorporate influence. In my vision, it would involve a lot of campaigning and probably more than a little heated protests on account of existing tensions between the corporations, between the rest of the spur's actors especially Sol and the Vaurca in Biesel and elsewhere- though I doubt they'd get violent, these protests. In this arc I'd like to really hammer home the Elyran spirit and their exceptionalism from the rest of the spur- especially Sol.

Have you ever been subject to any warnings, strikes, or bans from the Aurora moderation team? If so, how long ago were you and for what actions did you receive moderation action for? Answers for this question should include actions taken on the game server, discord servers, and forums.

Nothing permanent. I've been spoken to a few times eaaaaarly in my time here, about tone and adopting to the setting, but I don't believe that anything was made official as a warning or strike (my memory sucks ass though, so forgive me if I'm wrong.) No bans.

OPTIONAL: Do you have any miscellaneous comments or remarks for the Human Lore Team or the community?

After seeing who else has applied for this position, and knowing this community, I'm extremely confident that no matter who gets the spot, good things will come of it. I wanted to wish everyone that applies good luck.

[Caelphon]

I’ve always enjoyed our lore discussions, and your nuances on certain takes with the Peacekeeper Mandate way back when. I have no doubt you’d be able to positively contribute in any capacity as a member of staff. Goodluck.