Girdo's MegaCorp/Biesel Lore Writer Application

[Girdio]

- What is your BYOND username?: Girdio

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

- Do you have any past experience or knowledge working in a writing team or similar? While not having experience in any team, I have had experience with submitting works to small zines and magazines. 

- Do you have any examples of past work?: I am including an ongoing LCA proposal to provide support for having continued lore interest, and an interest in contributing to Aurora's worldbuilding.

- What do you think you can bring to the setting as the megacorporation lore writer?: Experience writing outside of Aurora has provided me with opportunities to write in a variety of settings, and for a plethora of themes, which I feel like can translate well into Aurora's setting as a whole. 

- What are megacorporations and Biesel lore lacking the most in your opinion? Do you have any ideas on how to rectify such? I feel like there's not enough stuff directly tied to the megacorps for characters to interact with. There are tons and tons of lore about the families and their history, but not a lot of stuff that a character would realistically be able to discuss. This kinda turns something really fleshed out, into hitting only a few repeated notes (Zavod likes guns and does their employees, Heph screws planets over, Idris smile etc). I think there's a multitude of ways to expand this, with one being tackling the roles of non-humans/skrell in each corporation. We already know they get paid less, and that often times non-humans are looked down upon, but how does this play into each corporation? Are certain species being seen as more disposable by certain corporations, perhaps vaurca are less often hired for service-facing jobs from Idris, or something similar. In short, expanding what working for the SCC actually means for each species may better solidify why a character would work for the SCC and their feelings on the SCC, privately or otherwise.

Something that Stripes mentioned that I requested to steal, as I believe it's a really good idea, is adding company mascots as a small and simple way to help expand the megacorp's brand identity, while also being something players and characters could latch onto. It is undeniable that corporations today (and likely in the future) love something cute and innocent to market themselves with, and each corporation having a personification of itself in a mascot would be a clear attempt to look "cleaner". After all, there are still a lot of factions within the Aurora universe that despise or distrust the megacorporations, and taking any steps (in universe) to make themselves look like "just a friendly little guy with a cute mascot" makes realistic sense, I feel.

Finally, intercorporate warfare is something I feel would help put in the necessary underlying competition between the corporations themselves. Currently in lore, most of the corporations (besides Heph and Zavod, I want to say) have pretty passable, if not outright pleasant, relationships. Which makes sense, to keep the SCC afloat. That said, pulling from real-life examples, many organizations and groups that are still on friendly terms with each other continue to work to undermine the other. I feel like this would be even more true for megacorporations that are always searching for more and more, and I feel like this would tie in nicely with the eventual outcome of Anabasis.  

- On the other hand, what do you think is the strongest point of our megacorporation lore? The megacorporations are, currently, blended very well into every character's daily lives. For better or for worse (typically, worse), every character has some part of their existence impacted. If a character doesn't want to be involved in a megacorporation, they're still indirectly impacted by one, as the alternatives are direct responses to actions taken by the megacorporations. The influence and pull of the corporations has done a great job fleshing out the universe of Aurora, and has provided an opportunity where it's all-encompassing, while still providing a semblance of normalcy. Compare this to, for example, the Cyberpunk franchise. Megacorporations hold an all-encompassing amount of control of everyone, and life is shown as generally horrid for those outside the corporate elite. Aurora's ability to avoid this has continued to be a boon. Furthermore, the distinct areas that each corporation covers has provided a well-rounded and believable explanation as to how corporate takeover even works in the universe.

- Based on what has been revealed so far about Anabasis, what are your thoughts on the corporations' place in the new setting, and what ideas do you have about them, if any? I am a very big fan of megacorporations being shown as a transient establishment, and I believe it can (and will) lead to a lot of interesting resentment from characters following into the new setting. Furthermore, it's interesting that despite the fall of the SCC and "galaxy spanning" megacorps, you still see something similar in it's wake - Avarizia. So the question to the characters becomes - is it much different from the megacorporations of a few decades prior? 

Edited 22 hours ago by Girdio

[CatsinHD]

I've talked with Girdio a lot for a decent while.  Even just within the scope of Taj lore, the dedication to detail and interest in the nuances and intricacies of one species is something Girdio manages to handle, seek out, and expand on. Throw in the LCAs and a clear ability to write, I'd have no doubts that Girdio would be a capable writer.

Easy +1

[Kintsugi]

I noticed that you didn’t really speak much about Biesel. Could you elaborate on what direction you feel you’d like to take the Republic of Biesel in, especially in the context of what you know about Anabasis? I would personally argue that Biesel is the far more important responsibility for this new team to handle, especially in light of how the megacorporations are changing to become a less dominant force.

 

With regards to other lore teams, how well do you feel you’ll be able to accommodate their vision? Are you able to accept compromise and defer to other teams when necessary to do so? The changing nature of Biesel and the megacorporations is going to necessitate extensive cooperation with other lore teams, and with much already being worked on behind the scenes, do you feel you’ll be able to mesh in with an internal vision you might not like?

 

I would also disagree to an extent with your characterization of Avarizia and other freelancer groups as resembling the megacorporations and having the potential to become new ones, but that’s a relatively minor point.

 

I hate to bring this up because it was an incident that happened all the way back in 2024, but one major concern I have is how you are able to handle friction and disagreements. While we sorted this out and the matter is several years old, I recall a point in time where you blocked me over what I believe was a minor lore disagreement, if my memory serves me correctly. While obviously this is not reflective of how you might be in the present as there’s a significant time gap involved here, I still have my concerns about how you’ll be able to handle players and other lore writers disagreeing with you or saying things you find objectionable - do you feel you’ll be able to do so without having to cut off contact entirely?

Edited 22 hours ago by Kintsugi

[Girdio]

3 hours ago, Kintsugi said:

I noticed that you didn’t really speak much about Biesel. Could you elaborate on what direction you feel you’d like to take the Republic of Biesel in, especially in the context of what you know about Anabasis? I would personally argue that Biesel is the far more important responsibility for this new team to handle, especially in light of how the megacorporations are changing to become a less dominant force.

I did - part of that was because I worried about the application going on for too long (which in hindsight, was probably a non-issue), and also partly due to, admittedly, my ideas for Biesel being more vague and areas that needed more improvement/ironing out.  For example, something I've always thought of when I view Biesel is the idea that it lacks the character pull that makes people say "oh, yeah, that person really feels like they're from Biesel," or similar traits of solidarity you could have, as you can from Sol, Eridani, or Dominian. The influence of corporations on Biesel is ingrained within itself at its core, and that's a biggie - as is its status as a "melting pot" faction, but there is more than can be pulled through here. The only issue is that I don't know what that direction is at the moment. 

 

Another element of Biesel that I feel like has more to dive into is the immigrant experience as a whole, and what Biesel is currently going for it that keeps this status. Something that underlies a lot of Biesel lore is this projected image of a unified, successful home for so many, while underneath it is a crust of lesser privileged groups being ignored and oftentimes taken advantage of. Taking a light to both the positives that Biesel has accomplished, and bringing forth the negatives into more detail, gives players the opportunity to engage with this, and to express either their disdain or love for Biesel. Outside of just the "it gives me my job, and I don't get shot for being different" avenue. 

 

3 hours ago, Kintsugi said:

With regards to other lore teams, how well do you feel you’ll be able to accommodate their vision? Are you able to accept compromise and defer to other teams when necessary to do so? The changing nature of Biesel and the megacorporations is going to necessitate extensive cooperation with other lore teams, and with much already being worked on behind the scenes, do you feel you’ll be able to mesh in with an internal vision you might not like?

While I haven't worked with creative teams such as Aurora's lore writing team, I have worked extensively with teams in the workplace. In these settings, this is a requirement quite often. Should it be recognizing when you are wrong, or reaching out for assistance, or even checking in with different people to make sure you aren't misunderstanding or misremembering something?

I will be the first to admit that I haven't memorized all of Aurora's lore. I also acknowledge that I have a lot of improvement as a writer and being able to work with people more experienced in Aurora's writing style is, in my belief, a boon.  Being able to work with people who have a clear set vision and more experience in the setting's writing will provide a good set of guideline for what the lore side of Aurora wants for the future. Working towards this is not anything a person can do alone, and therefore, takes everyone being willing to take steps to meet each other in the middle.

 

3 hours ago, Kintsugi said:

I hate to bring this up because it was an incident that happened all the way back in 2024, but one major concern I have is how you are able to handle friction and disagreements. While we sorted this out and the matter is several years old, I recall a point in time where you blocked me over what I believe was a minor lore disagreement, if my memory serves me correctly. While obviously this is not reflective of how you might be in the present as there’s a significant time gap involved here, I still have my concerns about how you’ll be able to handle players and other lore writers disagreeing with you or saying things you find objectionable - do you feel you’ll be able to do so without having to cut off contact entirely?

In regard to this situation, at the moment, I was representing myself solely, and therefore did not have the motivation or desire to keep communication with someone responding combatively to what I saw as my genuine attempts to engage with lore. When representing a team, there is the acknowledgement that players have a driven motivation to engage with the lore, and when disagreements occur in good faith, then it's important to engage with them. Not doing so leads to a disconnect between the community and player base, where people do not enjoy the lore presented, and can feel as if the story and universe no longer matter. As a lore writer, I feel it's vital - regardless of the team- to be at least open and communicative with a community and be willing to listen to constructive feedback from any player.

 

[Arbiter_Ambrose]

12 hours ago, Girdio said:

- What do you think you can bring to the setting as the megacorporation lore writer?: Experience writing outside of Aurora has provided me with opportunities to write in a variety of settings, and for a plethora of themes, which I feel like can translate well into Aurora's setting as a whole. 

Is it possible you could elaborate more on this? I feel like it is a bit short.