[Accepted] Toska's Skrell whitelist application

[Toska]

BYOND Key: Toska

Character Names: Pip Baer (Roboticist), Toska Bellegarde (Chemist), Riley Griffiths (Nurse), Caitlin Pearsall (Xenobiologist).

Species you are applying to play: Skrell

What color do you plan on making your first alien character (Dionaea & IPCs exempt): Periwinkle

Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes I have.

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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 specific race:

Originally I had wanted to create an Unathi or Tajara, having seen some being role-played on the server, but realized they weren't for me when I began reading their lore pages. I started looking into each of the other species and the Skrell ended up catching my eye. The way they view other species in comparison to themselves, the fact that they have the most effective military despite being a peaceful race, and even their religious beliefs (I'm partial to Queblak personally) won me over fairly quickly. I've fallen in love with the more research-related jobs on the NSS Aurora (3 of my characters being based in different areas of science) and as such the Skrell almost resonates with me on a personal level.

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human:

I think one of the biggest differences is the way they view and interact with other species. That's not to say they wouldn't/couldn't be as friendly as humans may be with the others aboard the ship, but they would definitely speak to/view them in a much different manner. A good example of this is how they view Unathi and Tajaran as children who haven't matured to the same level as Humans or Skrell. In addition to that, unlike humans, the Skrell would be wary (if not slightly anxious and suspicious) of the AI and synthetics aboard the ship. This may mean that although they would cooperate with the AI and synth's, they would keep interaction between them to a minimum. I think another key difference would be that human characters tend to be a bit more specialized in what they know, whereas Skrell often have a bit of a wider range of knowledge and can potentially fill an extra role or two upon the ship if need be.

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Character Name: Chlo Qon'ue (Formerly Ieci Uvux)

Please provide a short backstory for this character, approximately 2 paragraphs

Chlo was born in 2406 on Aloise under the name Ieci Uvux. Unlike her parents, who had been lucky enough to survive the Glorsh rebellion, she had it relatively good. The Jargon Federation had been revitalized and the pieces of Skrell society had already been picked up and improved before she even began taking her first steps. As a child she was often found roaming the research facility and surrounding bio-dome, wondering what it was like to live on Qerrbalak with true swamps and real sunlight. When she wasn't wandering about and daydreaming of other worlds, she was busy studying. Much of her early education came from her mother and, on the occasions he wasn't away due to work, her father. Both pursued fairly standard fields, her mother specializing in Biology while her father dabbled in robotics and engineering. Ieci and her family were firm followers of Queblak despite growing up beneath the surface of Jargon V and being unable to view the stars with their own eyes. It did little to hinder them however, and Ieci graciously followed the advice given by her horoscopes whenever her mother was able to read them out for her. It was one of the few things the helped her pass the time growing up as there weren't many other young Skrell in the same facility with which she could socialize and play with due to the genophage and the costly process needed to reverse it.

By age 12 Ieci had become a typical Skrell bookworm. She took an extreme interest in her mothers work and discovered a love for biology. That's not to say she didn't enjoy the little side projects her father would leave her with when he was home, but her true passion was with the study of life. This was made even more apparent with the introduction of humans and Tajaran's. With them came the beginnings of the Extranet and Ieci often found herself glued to a monitor, studying their history, customs, and even anatomy. She was enthralled, and soon her interest shifted to Xenobiology and the study of "alien" culture. It often interfered with her actual schoolwork and it usually resulted in as heated a debate between her and her mother as Skrell could manage between each other. She wasn't unhappy growing up, but she always wanted more. To see more and experience more. She took every opportunity she could to tag along with her father into Human-space aboard a variety of their ships. Her father took great pride in working alongside the humans, helping to improve their systems as best he could and in turn learn ways to improve life for Skrell-kind. The biggest pitfall in his career, however, began with human-made AI. Initially he was wary of them as many Skrell were, though not as outraged at the information being leaked. He stopped bringing Ieci with him however, for fear of her safety, and eventually his trips home became fewer and further between. Whispers started floating around, but being only 15 and engrossed in her studies made Ieci blind to what was happening to her family. It wasn't until some of the other Skrell started becoming openly hostile to her and her mother did she really begin to understand. Unbeknownst to her, her father had been accused of being a secret supporter of Glorsh-Omega. His cautious optimism about gradually introducing human AI, with laws Skrell AI had lacked, back into their society was met with backlash. His career was dragged through the mud and it's widely believed that he died of "unknown causes" while in human-space. All her mother could do to salvage their life was uproot and leave Aloise. They took up new names, Zezip and Chlo Qon'ue in memory of her father, and moved to Gli'morr deep within the seas of Jargon IV.

It took Chlo some time to properly mourn the loss of her father and her old life, but instead of allowing it to bring her down she instead focused on leaving Federation-space behind. She already had a name that would be easier for the Humans and Tajarans to pronounce, now all she needed was the proper education to get aboard one of the many company ships that were hiring. Returning to Aloise was out of the question for Chlo and in turn so was attending the University of Medicine located there. Not that medical sciences were anything she was truly interested in. She set her sights higher instead and decided that, though it would be significantly harder, the Gliutip’lyaz University was her best shot at getting the most out of her education. At the age of 20 she put in her application and barely passed the entrance exams. For the next 23 years she poured all her energy into the various courses available to her. It was during this time that the Unathi were discovered, and subsequently much of her research and papers were on their sociobiology. By now she was beginning to feel a great disconnect with her own kind, still heartbroken at how easily the ones she grew up with turned on her family and ostracized them. She felt closer to the subjects of her study than she did with the Skrell around her and in 2449 she was relieved to graduate and finally be free of them. She promptly began sending out applications to various companies and it wasn't long before she was able to pick up internships aboard different ships outside Federation-space. It wouldn't be until 5 years later that Chlo would apply for an official position with NanoTransen with hopes of making it aboard their up-and-coming station, the NSS Aurora.

What do you like about this character?

I think what I like most about her is her perseverance. Despite what happened to her father, and subsequently her and her mother, she soldiered on and used it to fuel her desire to better herself instead of allowing it to bring her down and potentially ruin any future she had planned for herself. She's still kind at heart, which is another thing I enjoy, despite the betrayal she felt at a young age. The idea that, although she'd be friendly with any Skrell she meets, she feels a better connection with the things she studies than her own kind is an interesting one to me and something I look forward to getting to integrate into her overall personality. I do enjoy her childhood the most however. Her love for life is something I can relate to, and her optimistic daydreaming between study sessions I think balances the over analytical nature of Skrell and keeps her from coming off as completely robotic.

How would you rate your role-playing ability? I've been roleplaying on and off for a while now, on a variety of platforms, and I think I can confidently rate myself at about 7-8/10. I do my best to follow lore and common sense when reacting to things in game or going about my characters day. There is always room for improvement, but I feel I'm a capable enough individual.

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Notes: I'm open for any suggestions and feedback! It'd be appreciated actually. c: I'm used to building my characters up over time as opposed to creating an entire backstory before hand, though I thoroughly enjoyed sitting down and actually thinking her out. There were some things I wasn't entirely certain on and I'm hoping I didn't fly too far off the handle with what happened to her father. Her age is another thing I've been debating heavily, though the lore page doesn't really state at what rate they mature, what's considered an "adult" and how old they have to be in order to attend the universities listed. Hopefully using humans as a basis wasn't too far off. Like I said though any and all feedback is welcomed!

[Loow]

Hello there! Loow here.

I want to start off by saying that I really enjoyed reading your application, and I've spotted a few users reading it as well. There is a lot to be said. I hope that by opening a little bit of discussion, I can inspire a few shy readers to chime in while still having an interesting chat with you.

First of all, I want to say that I'm very happy to see that you feel a connection with the species, and I'm ecstatic that it inspired you to craft your own Skrell character in the setting. To me at least, it feels you really had a good time during the creative process of writing this character.

In many ways, Chlo's story is a sad one. One detail that strikes me as particularly regrettable is the passing of her father. The way you've written him, I got the impression that he was a hopeful sort of person that suffered because of his own optimism. All in all, a pretty interesting character. Still, I'm a little curious about how he actually died.

His career was dragged through the mud and it's widely believed that he died of "unknown causes" while in human-space.

The way I read this, it seems the conclusion to reach is that he was killed for his views while away from home.

I'm sort of iffy about that idea. First, I'd like to know "Is that the case? Was he killed because of his beliefs, or did something else happen?" For the moment, I'm going to type up some more while assuming that it is the case.

Rumors are unpleasant, nasty things that can really damage one's reputation. Concerns about one's beliefs can definitely lead others to view them in a different life. Crime does, despite some of the semi-utopic themes of the Federation's image, does exist among Skrell. So it's not impossible that he could have been killed due to a misunderstanding about his optimistic attitude. It is however very strange. We can continue to discuss this back-and-forth if you'd like. I like to ask questions and prod to get a better idea of what kind of characters people apply with. It's a fun time.

Next, I'd like to talk about Chlo's name-change.

All her mother could do to salvage their life was uproot and leave Aloise. They took up new names, Zezip and Chlo Qon'ue in memory of her father, and moved to Gli'morr deep within the seas of Jargon IV.

To get the ball rolling, was her change in name secret or a matter of public record? It seems like Chlo's mother had her name changed as a means of protecting her daughter(which, I'll admit, could be an understandably extreme reaction if she believed her spouse had been murdered). It's a much harder sell if they tried to simply move and take up completely false identities. Minor changes to one's name are quite common in Skrell society, and it's plausible that she could have her name changed completely as you have here. It might not, however, be a very effective means of "hiding" from their previous reputation. There would be a sort of "paper trail" connecting their former names to their current names. It's not really a very secretive process.

BUT

This does not mean that moving wouldn't be enough for their family to feel safe. The mother and daughter would be away from the people who judged them previously, and they would be able to assimilate into a new community. They could have new names or old names, but seeking a new home would be about as successful either way. One's life doesn't revolve completely around the concept of the synthetic. A Skrell hoping to get along may be able to fit in with new people just by being a good neighbor, student, coworker, or friend. Her family has been through rough times and is dealing with the loss of Chlo's father. There are Skrell who would be able to sympathize with the loss of a family member.

I may have gone on a little too long with that tirade, but I just want it to be clear that young Ieci would seem like a victim, not a traitor. Even if her father were treacherous, many would separate the mistakes of her father from the potential of his daughter.

Oh and it also says "in honor of her father" in there. Is the new name related to her father's name? That's one detail I might have missed.

Next, let's talk about the University.

Returning to Aloise was out of the question for Chlo and in turn so was attending the University of Medicine located there. Not that medical sciences were anything she was truly interested in. She set her sights higher instead and decided that, though it would be significantly harder, the Gliutip’lyaz University was her best shot at getting the most out of her education. At the age of 20 she put in her application and barely passed the entrance exams.

First, it's something of a small miracle for someone to make it into or through Gliutip’lyaz. As I recall, you're the first one to apply with it as part of a character's backstory.

For a lot of reasons, the University is essentially a crucible for forming snowflakes. Actually, I've played with the idea of writing/posting a few stories about students in the university. But that's an unhealthy obsession for another time.

Anyway, attending Gliutip’lyaz is a pretty big deal. Since you're the first one with the boldness to take it on, I'm super interested in telling you about it. If/Since Chlo graduated she'd be expected to go on to do something spectacular at some point. She may be "just" a "normal" scientist now, but quite a few people would be confident that she'll be making huge contributions to her field by the time she's done working. The place sort of demands that students pull together to better themselves, and it's likely that Chlo (provided you want to keep the university as part of her backstory) would have quite a few lifelong contacts from her days at Gliutip’lyaz University.

Also, to revisit her name-change, any secrecy surrounding who her family is/was would be out the window if she applied to enroll in The Grand University. Again, that's assuming she didn't just file paperwork for a name-change. I figure you know, but secret identity plus high profile school would equal no secret at all. If she's applying for schooling, she's gotta use whatever her legal name is at the time. If she never changed it, she'd be Ieci. If she did, Chlo. Either way, one can't really "pull a fast one" on a star studded 23-year-University.

I appreciate your positive attitude as well as the thought you've put into writing your character. There is a lot more to say about this application, but I would absolutely love to see what other people have to say about it. Don't forget that you can post a link to this application in the server's OOC chat one per round in order to generate some more traffic. The way I process applications, there has to be some feedback from players about your application, your character concept, and your rp on the server in order for me to accept an application.

I too enjoy feedback, so I hope some of what I've provided is helpful or at least entertaining for you.

I look forward to seeing more discussion on this application.

[Toska]

Hello! Thank you for taking the time to read through the application and giving me some feedback, I really appreciate it! You brought up points that I hadn't even considered and I'm looking forward to maybe bouncing some idea's around to improve/clear up some details.

You described her father better than I probably could have, and I'm glad he didn't come off as too vague or bland. As for his death.. Truthfully, though now I'm a bit embarrassed about it, I had been going with the idea that he had been killed. I wasn't entirely sold on it myself, however, and opted for a more vague ending for him. I knew that he died, but couldn't really settle on a "how" and him being killed for his belief just seemed to fit at the time. I was thinking that perhaps instead he could be a victim of circumstance. An idea that got brought up while talking to my boyfriend about it was that perhaps an engineering mishap is what caused his death. Would it be plausible that, while fixing something aboard a human ship, something caused a hull breach and in an attempt to save the rest of the crew the AI bolted the room he was in?

The name change thing, in retrospect, would be a very drastic response. I hadn't considered that simply moving to another area and keeping their heads down would be enough to get their life back on track. For whatever reason I had it in my head that word would've spread, but that doesn't mean it would've spread that far. I could drop that reason for a name change and simplify it to her changing it to something she feels would be easier for humans (and the other species) to pronounce. I believe it makes more sense, especially if I change her fathers death and tone down how the other Skrell reacted to his ideas. I should've mentioned his name, Uebo, as it probably would have explained the last name addition a bit better.. Though would it make more sense to use the entire first name and not just the first half?

The university bit was, admittedly, something I struggled quite a bit with. The mentioning of "snowflakes" makes me somewhat nervous.. I prefer relatively average characters and hopefully her attending The Grand University isn't taking her into the realm of being a "mary sue" character. I knew Gliutip'lyaz was something she'd be lucky to make it into and originally I had toyed with the idea of making up some lesser university for her to attend. I wasn't sure if I'd be allowed to do that however and decided that, especially with the drive she's got as a character, she'd shoot for the best she could possibly manage. I would love to be able to keep it as part of her backstory though. Is there a certain age range for applicants? Were her class choices viable? I'd love to hear more about it (especially the stories you were planning) so I can better understand Gliutip'lyaz and perhaps flesh that bit of her story out a bit better and improve it.

Everything you've brought up is incredibly helpful and I'm so glad you've mentioned all that you have. So, again, Thank you! I'm away from home at the moment (using my phone to reply) but as soon as I get back I'll try to post in OOC and hopefully get some others to give their opinions!

[TG_Griffin]

I have in the past played with many of Toska's characters, Mainly Caitlin and it has been a blast, she sticks to the lore, rules and the RP involved is always very fun for myself and other people around her. I have seen her make the effort to include others and generally it is a blast, as for the application itself, while I do not know much on the Skrell I did find the read to be gripping, the tragic background really kept me invested in the character and I love the general concept behind her.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Hello! I'm sorry for the delay in your application's processing.

I've read through your application and all of the feedback. You have an extremely delightful application and character, and you show a genuine eagerness to play to the best of your ability, all riding on top of your fun to read backstory.

I will be happy to accept this application.