[Accepted] Elohi Adanvdo's Diona Loredev App

[Elohi Adanvdo]

Ckey/BYOND Username: ElohiAdanvdo

Position Being Applied For Diona Lore Developer

Past Experiences/Knowledge: I don't have much experience with actually doing anything like this, however I am a rather creative individual, making graphic novels and the like with their own lore and species. I have also been a consult on some lore and helped others develop and flesh out characters, backgrounds, etc, as well as worldbuilding in general, which I very much enjoy.

Examples of Past Work: I'm certain I've worked with a handful in the crowd, and some have seen me go on a rant about theoretical biology, as well as answering broad lore questions and general ones as well. As a matter of fact, Jackboot sent me here, and I've been entertaining the idea to work with Diona for a while.

Additional Comments: So, my plans. Diona. Wow, where do I start. First of all, fantastic species. They're more or less unique in design and function, and thanks to their mysterious yet calm, docile nature, make excellent creative fuel for both the developer. On top of my biology knowledge that I can apply theoretically (that no one actually cares about), I feel that this species can truly flourish as a people with a solid foundation and yet keep up their mystique to allow diversity and some creativity on the player's behalf. Pun may or may not be intentional. I will be certain to contact Diona players or other interested parties to enrich the lore with their ideas- this is a species for the community, after all. So why not involve them? I promise to do my best and make it a great experience for all involved, and thank you for taking the time to review this application.

[Loow]

Hey there. Loow here.

I'm here to keep things competitive and uncomfortable during this process.

I see a lot of promises, but what I don't see a lot of is promises.

You've said a lot, but not much has been said.

What aspects of Diona lore do you like?

What would you do with them going forward?

What's your own personal take on playing Diona? Do you like playing the species much?

You submitted your application with all the safe answers and broad statements, now you can feel free to rant and rave. This is a blank check, [mention]Elohi Adanvdo[/mention]. Tell me something that interests you, or some things. Don't be afraid to really tear in. Or hey? Maybe I just ignored some stellar statements you already made in your app? If that's the case, let me know. Build off of those ideas.

Give me something so this app stands out over any others that follow it.

Please.

[Elohi Adanvdo]

Understood, sorry about that. It was just pointed out by several others that I was rather vague. So get ready for a possible wall.

For now however, it's 4 AM, and need some rest. But I'll be certain to give a more solid... everything, in reply. I promise to actually delve into it and become more in-depth. I think I was trying to go for an angle where I could pleasantly surprise everyone, but that obviously won't do, and you want assurance that the lore will actually be in good hands. So I'll sleep on it and we'll all wake up tomorrow morning with a small novel on this thread lol

[Elohi Adanvdo]

Okay, back. And let me tell you, looking at something that tired-you wrote is like waking up to reading a text you sent after a night of drinking. "God I sound so stupid."

Now, to actually discuss my evil plans.

What aspects of Diona lore do you like?

From an IC standpoint, just how alien they still are. They've been around for quite a while, the Skrell knowing them the longest- 140 years now, to be exact. And Skrell are well-known for their intelligence and need to discover things. The fact that they have only scratched away at the tip of the iceberg says a lot... And the Skrell knows it. Because of that, Dionae still remain a source of unease and suspicion for all, despite their generally docile nature as worker gestalts. Their biology is not all that understood, their origins are completely unknown and even puzzling to the species itself. Dionae also possess a frightening ability to become a downright god by merging with one another and collaborating.

Yet, there haven't been large-scale aggression- it's only isolated cases with some larger specimens. They're also morally grey; they act as animals. If they see you as food, you are food. Even if you become a friend. Despite their vast knowledge, they seem to operate more off of the laws of nature than the laws of man. Added with their unique life stages, they're in a rather strange spot with the law. Most would try to shrug it off as "that's just what they do, and don't understand/don't feel the same as us". But no matter what, others will skirt the species out pure discomfort for just how creepy they can be.

In an OOC standpoint, the vast amount of unknown data means a lot of wiggle room for creation and exploration of the species-from every aspect. Their origins, their biology, their social life and moral code. But the most important of all, is how they interact with other species and integrate themselves. This species is a wildcard, and are capable of just about anything. To further describe this, I'll use Eywa from Avatar as a reference. Eywa is a force of nature, and is completely unpredictable, doing things on it's own whim. Dionae are very much like that power- capable of helping, or destroying. Or simply going about their business and reading the morning paper as the neighborhood burns to the ground. The species can go in any direction, and even if they become a big part of something or remain isolated for the most part, they will always remain a mystery.

What would you do with them going forward?

As stated in the paragraph above, the species is an unpredictable, mysterious wildcard that leaves a lot of room for creativity to take root. They can be directed anywhere in any way. My first plan of attack is to actually ask the players what they would like to see more of. This is a species with a community, and it involves the players and how they play their character. Depending on the answer, I can have them be further explored biologically and exploit more of what they are capable of. Or, I can look more into their dynamic with other species, become more involved with others- but it would more or less remain glancing blows. They are a species that seem to act more on a whim than anything, after all. I can also work more on their 'culture', or mechanics if players feel a need that something should be there and feel it's missing. Even though they are generally an autonomous species with no rule or culture, there's no such thing as true anarchy. Dionae as a species will, and do, function off of a common view, a base feeling or instinct on certain things such as morality, although 'deviancy' isn't really a thing for them. If one or two decide to suddenly go, "I refuse to consume sentient flesh" or "I wish to worship God", others will not bat an eye if they had eyelids.

Overall, no matter what the community chooses that needs more attention first, all aspects will be looked at, tweaked, added, or redone if need be. If there's no reason to touch it, then I'll leave it be. Why try to fix something that isn't broken?

What's your own personal take on playing Diona? Do you like playing the species much?

Despite my not playing my Diona much, they're very fun from an RP aspect, and a player has a lot of artistic licensing they can use. The species have individuals that can vary as much as any other, and I have yet to see any Diona that isn't simply "drifting". The characters don't seem to have every little detail fleshed out, and simply seem to be wanderers enjoying a walk in the park. Players are free to make up things on the spot, or have a solid background, maybe change it entirely because of the Dionae nature of splitting and merging/accumulating information, manipulate it, or act like Master Oogway form Kung Fu Panga as another reference- senile and slow, but deceptively sage. Don't judge me, I have a little sister that had me watch it with her and it was a good movie, okay? Or, they can simply act like a child, naive and new to the ways of the world outside of what they know. But even then, all of it can be changed. It's a rather flexible species.

Because of their slow and unique nature of a species, they make for very good RP- they're not very capable of rushing after something, so they stay behind with the others- such a civilians- while the others run about. Plus, they're just outright alien. People often want to talk to them out of curiosity more often than not, and being seemingly docile for the most part, makes it easy to do so. Others can also fear them- I've stumbled across one or two that have, and it created an excellent and interesting chance to interact with the characters. Overall, they are a creative species with a lot of freedom. But if there is a need to change that- which I doubt there is- it will be handled. The most likely outcome from that aspect is simply more refining of their individuality and more species lore.

As for my not playing them often, it shouldn't be too much of an issue. There are plenty of developers out there that don't play the species they moderate; as long as they're kept an eye on and make sure to keep on top of the duty and responsibility of a lore developer, there shouldn't be a problem. When I am able to play (I have some restricted internet access REE), I do it based off of who's playing and which department needs more help. When I don't or unable to, I always keep on eye on things such as lore news and discussions to keep on top of things.

If there are any more questions or you want more clarification (I know I can be vague until I actually do things or ideas are more focused on), feel free to go ahead and ask, and I'll do my best to answer. The format for this kind of application is rather vague, and my mind can meander a little in thought, so I have no problem with doing this in a Q&A style, and in fact would much prefer it. So please, ask away!

[Zundy]

Ok, lets say you got the position - What do you do next week for the Diona? What's your plan?

[Elohi Adanvdo]

Position-wise, I would do as I stated earlier and first contact the Dionae whitelist and hold a discussion of what they'd like to see for the species as a good place to start.

I would also contact the other loredev staff and communicate with them. What was planned to happen with the previous loredev? What were their own ideas that they had planned for their species' interactions with Dionae? What would they like to see?

More or less compile complaints and suggestions as well as generally work with the community to find out what they would like to see done with the species before I jump into wonderland and start directing where the species would go.

Even after then, I would look to the community for tweaks that need to be done and inspiration if needed, but I'll be certain to do my best to keep things fresh and interesting. Although a generally freeform species in several aspects, Dionae are a peoples and aren't static.

[Alberyk]

Some questions that I want to ask you:

From our interactions in ooc and discord, you seems really focused in applying biology to the universe that you want to write about. We also had the issues of lore writers filling pages with scientific information, such as the case of planets having their mass and etc. Do you think you can get yourself away from such if ignoring biology will be more beneficial to story telling than just applying scientific accuracy?

Other concern might be about how you react to criticism, since some people did tell me you can have issues when it is about your works. How well can you handle criticism and people complaining about your work?

[Elohi Adanvdo]

I do realize I have my shortcomings, and have been working hard on improving that. However, this is more for the community than me. Yes, I will work on the biology- but it would be more of a fun freetime thing for me personally and not the actual focus. If I write something and the community doesn't like it, then I won't post it. I believe I've learned to become far more flexible as of late to meet the needs and expectations of the community. And it would be heavily applied here- this isn't about my character(s). This is about a community species. On top of that, this species is far more of a whimsical, mysterious entity that doesn't have to make sense all that much biologically.

As for criticism. That has been a slight issue for me in the past, yes. But as I stated, I'm learning. I feel that I've become flexible enough to take what I can get and toss the rest, and start from scratch. My personal works I can be more sensitive on, especially when I've thrown so much work into it. But I think I've gotten over it for the most part- I'm not sure how recent the complaints are, and I don't remember any current issues, but that should be water under the bridge, and I've learned. This is going to be a community effort, and there are going to be many rough drafts and revisions on certain things like events and the like, which is fine. It's all a part of the worldbuilding and creating a story. With things that arn't considered a spoiler, I will be looking to the whitelisted for approval or ideas. They're the ones that are going to be playing them, after all. But words don't mean that much as compared to actual efforts made, and I hope to get the chance to prove myself.

[Faris]

A few questions about yourself.

If accepted, you understand that you will be working with a team, which means interaction with others. I feel you burn hot one day, the next you're very cold. How confident are you in being able to handle applications, receiving complaints and working with others. Are you able to work with others, both the community and the staff team?

You won't be working on your own here, you'll be developing your respective species, you'll be dealing with the quality of roleplay presented by the current whitelistees, you'll be dealing with feedback and sometimes less than savory critique to your work, you'll be working with developers and you'll be working with the moderation teams, both the IC one and OOC one.

Now, I'm not really sure how you are on a personal level, I don't speak to you much yet I have seen you quite a bit on the different Aurora platforms we have. I'm still quite skeptical about your ability to work cohesively with the team. I'd like to hear your thoughts.

[AllyBearsley]

I talk to Elohi quite often and would say I know them pretty well. I think they could do well in the position given their creativity. However, I just don't like this app too much. It's one of those apps where the applicant put a lot of words and said very little. Still I like the idea of actually going forward and exploring the Diona as a species biologically and perhaps socially.

I do have some gripes with Elohi though. I haven't seen them take much criticism before of any kind and Aurora likes to throw a lot of criticism around, constructive or not. I just don't know how they will handle that. I also don't know how they will handle working with the rest of staff. They haven't shown signs of aggression against staff or anything like that, I just don't know how they will mingle with others.

Can't say much else, I think they could be an alright dev but am uncertain overall.

[Elohi Adanvdo]

Sorry for the overall vagueness of my application. Sometimes I do have difficulty in explaining myself, but in this case it is more related to the fact that what can happen with this species is that it can go in many directions. I don't quite yet know what I'm dealing with, but that's more or less because I'm without feedback from the community on what they'd like to see. My ideas will become more solid as I get more suggestions and the like along the way, and give me a better direction on of where I should head with their arc as a species. Overall, not much will be changed on the wiki, if at all- what's there is rather good, and I see that many feel the same way.

And yes, my moods can fluctuate a little at times (although- I don't remember being "cold" or "hot", probably sometimes just a little depressed or passionate). I'm going to admit here and now that I have Autism Spectrum Disorder, as well as Seasonal Affective Disorder. It can make some things difficult to do once in a while, but I can power through it, and my disabilities shouldn't affect my performance at the position. I just need some understanding and patientce (yes, that "meme" is real and is actually irl effective) when it's needed. But, I've had my view on things changed, and a few eye-openers on how I handle myself and others, and basically did a little growing up. I feel far more capable and confident in my abilities as an individual and how I interact with others now, and that the frequency at which my disabilities actually affect me should be greatly reduced. If I felt that I was incapable, I wouldn't be wasting anyone's time on applying for the position. And if I ever do struggle a little, I can always ask for advice from the team on how to handle certain matters.

My main conflicts on criticism and the like stem from the fact that what has been criticized in the past is "mine", namely my characters. I felt that I worked long and hard on them, that they were perfect, and was from the start, attatched. From the years that I've played, turns out I was dead wrong. I had to scrap a lot of things, which was admittably frustrating, yes. Like I said, I poured a lot of work into something if my own that I was proud of. To be told that it wasn't actually good at all stung a bit, as it always will. After my initial complaining and general confusion, I shut up, sat down, studied up and got right to work on improving my creations to make them more acceptable and fitting in Aurora, with plenty of help from others for clarification on some things and to make certain that I was headed in the right direction.

In fact, I've recently went through some things personally and scrapped a lot of things of my own violation, noticing a lot of things on my own without the help of others that, "hey, this isn't quite right". Recently, I've learned that I need to become a lot more flexible and that I have no choice but to work with others, even if the creation is mine. There are rules, and they must be followed. I thought I was doing fine, but recent complaints have helped me see that I've still made plenty of mistakes that have gone unchecked, and worked hard to fix that. In the end, it was less of a frustration and more of a somewhat fun learning experienced that challenged my creativity.

As an artist, I've made just as many mistakes with my work, but most of all, when doing commissions. Commissions make a situation where I'm to create something the customer wants to their liking, even if to me, the design may be flawed, improbable, or just downright silly and ridiculous. I was entrusted with a task, and must see it through. And much to the surprise of all parties involved, there's a LOT of communication that happened regarding what was requested. The customer would tell me what they wanted, but instead of ending there, it had turned into me constantly checking in with the customer. In fact, one of my more recent works had turned into something completely else- going through several iterations before settling on the final design. Me and the customer worked as a team, and although there were challenges, we both shared the enthusiasm to see the finished product and had a lot of fun to get it perfect. It was, in the end, a collaborative effort.

With this species, much like the work I'm commissioned to draw, is not something of my own creation. Rather, it is a collaborative effort handed down from person to person. I would be entrusted with something to create a product that others would enjoy, and because of that, would expand the collaboration and be constantly looking to others for feedback and suggestions, the community and staff alike. Some things that the community might like and the staff suggests to add, I might not like. But it'll be added anyways. If I have something and present it, and it's declined? Oh well. I'll toss it and move on. This is a group project that I'll be heading, and not a personal creation- I can promise that there will be no qualms on criticism.

And finally, for who I'm going to work with. Everyone's entitled to their own opinions, and not everyone sees eye to eye on them with others. Yes, I have some things I don't entirely agree on with some people, but it won't get in the way- they're more or less rather minor things that I can simply ignore and work around. You have to work with people in life, and you won't always agree with them, but you can still work with them rather well as a team. For more personal matters, I'll just get over it, but critiques I will take in equal consideration from everyone. But I'd like to say I actually have a good relationship with the staff despite the mayhem I created in my earlier days in the community, mainly just by not understanding how anything works- I was TERRIFIED of staff, then. But now, I realize they're just people like everyone else who have dedication to the game they play, and that's pretty cool.

As a final note, I've been with this community for two years, going on three right now. I've learned how to become a better creative writer, get the chance to have fun and interact with others when I'm otherwise isolated, and gained friends who do a lot for me. I figured it was high time I did my part and give back with my own contribution. My ultimate end goal is to just make good things for the community to enjoy. So, I'm committed to doing my best to improve the experience and have fun with the community. This is a game meant to be enjoyed, after all.

[NebulaFlare]

Back in the short stint of loredevving, I had one regret: I tried too much to appease the whole community. Instead of building up on the species and making it a rich playground, it was all over the place, and I never cleaned it up. Players will have different ideas of how a species is to be portrayed, and they are at times, polar opposite. It is difficult (and ill-advised) to compensate for all play styles. This leads to a broad spectrum with no real cornerstones to build up a strong character.

Being a loredev is more than finding a collaboration; you will be the lead designer of the species. If I can give any advice, don't let it become too undefined. Create structured little 'packets' that players can pick up and play with. What kind of culture is there? The history? Their quirks, personalities? Instead of one large canvas, make several little pictures.

I will leave you with a link to two videos. One explains how to 'sell' ideas and is good to keep in mind in any kind of collab. The other is more of an insight on leading a group of roleplayers. (Second vid is a whole series, which you can watch at your leisure)

 

 

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Hello,

This application sat for some time longer than anticipated as various posters in this thread asked me to allow them time to respond and ask questions.

You have a good application and I am glad to see you are happy to remain transparent and eager for self-improvement in your creative endeavors. I also appreciate that while you want to flesh out the diona race you also understand their main motifs. I will be happy to accept this application and have you come on as our diona species maintainer.

Application accepted.