[Accepted] Sleepy's Skrell Application

BYOND Key: Sleepy Wolf

Character Names:

Species you are applying to play: Skrell

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

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

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: I love making characters. I have about 100 characters that I've made all with different backgrounds and ideals, and I want to dip my toes into the moist and lush backstories I could make with a Skrell. I want to build my characters from the history of a technology based society that focused on art, design, and diplomacy that you just can't get in the other species. I have so many potential stories to tell that I could likely do with my other whitelists, but they just wouldn't be the same flavour or convey the same emotions.

Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: I feel like, with roleplaying a Skrell, you wouldn't have to just show minimal emotion -- I feel like you can do the complete opposite and describe your emotions in vivid, brutal detail. Only in words, less in physical movements. Where a human would go red in the face, point, and maybe even attack someone, I feel like a Skrell would just say everything, with painful correctness.

'This indentation you've fashioned will be burrowed deeper by yourself, you will be only able to dig down because of all of your actions. Experience your demise when you watch your own 'companions' toss the soot and dirt down on your head for your actions against me and mine. Remember, that it is your own activities that caused me to respond this way.'

And, as a society they are isolationists, watchful and cautious, never too greedy. Just trying to put the pieces of their federation back together.

Character Name: Gex Oxio-Otp (Age - 76 )

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

Rebuilding -- That's what Gex was always told this was. Her colony, Ogl IV, was just a small outpost on the westernmost rim of the old Federation borders. Now, it was part of a new government across about 20 worlds, all colonies, all without real contact with the core worlds, called the Guild of Restructuring, run by the youth of the colonies. This Guild's goal was to change the way their society worked, relying on the youth instead of the elders. The Guild was created 15 years before Gex was born, and was made because everyone on these colonies agreed - This was the older Skrell's fault. The Guild's planets communicated often with each other, supplying and requesting supplies and steadily forming its own economies, with each planet having designated tasks. Gex's planet, Ogl IV, was focused on logistics - focusing on creating and maintaining all the freighters and ships required to keep all 20 colonies connected.

Gex's 'Coming of age' story was much earlier than most other Skrell in history. The previous Skrell had always become wise with experience, but Gex was just expected to be wise off the bat from the elders attempts at accelerated teaching. At only age 19, she was requested to become the figurehead for their little colony on the rusty, desert colony she was raised on. Gex, who had been the only egg in the whole colony to survive, and the youngest Skrell, who had been raised those 19 years specifically to be a leader, was forced to accept. She bore her reluctance to her parents and her friends -- but was scolded and told to remain as the leader.

2 years into her service as the Colony Team Leader of Ogl IV, she was doing below average compared to what was expected of her. She failed to solve arguments and debates regarding rationing supplies, failed to properly create a defense force against outside threats, and failed to meet the deadlines she placed for herself on a new construction of a supply ship she promised. One of the other Colonies, also run by a young mayor, had collapsed from starvation and lack of engineers, evacuating to Ogl IV. Finding trouble managing all the new migrants, Gex denied half of them sanctuary on the colony, but was forced to let the whole group stay temporarily - or risk a hostile situation, as their shuttle was out of fuel. Gex contacted a local colony that could handle these migrants, and began setup to move them there on one of her cargo ships.

The colony, strained on supplies, was about to come to a breaking point. Gex was insistent on sending these frail elders to the other colony, aiming to ease the pain and suffering that would come if they stayed, and sending them to the more prepared and stocked planet. Selecting only a few of the capable Skrell from the migrants to stay, she sent the old and unqualified onto the ship to prepare it to launch off the docking pad with enough rations to get them to the new colony.

Unbeknownst to Gex, the elders that taught her wanted her out of power. They had seen she was unfit to continue governing the colony, and had just taken in outsiders while taking some of her own supplies and putting them on the ship with the leaving migrants. She constantly changed her feelings about things, and refused to step down from her position. Before the shuttle of migrants could leave, the eldest of the wise came forward, Otp Fiexs-Fedas, a veteran from the Incident. Otp demanded Gex step down from her position, and Gex was shocked.

Gex loudly argued, "You - You want me to step down? You raised me for this job, you gave me knowledge for 21 years of my current life, to simply have me throw all my teachings away? You always told me that you failed my generation by failing to stop Glorsh before it began. You told me every day that I would be better than you, without teaching me how to be better - saying that I would simply learn how to be. Well, I am going to learn how to right now. Otp, you will go onto the shuttle and leave with the migrants to the other colony. Along with all the elders of the colony."

Otp heard this command, and left willingly with 5 of the other elders of the colony. Gex was left with only 400ish Skrell, a crowded little colony, and yet still felt completely alone. She sent the migrant ship with the Elders towards the other colony, watched the launch, and then began thinking properly for the first time - in her eyes. She spoke more fluently, giving commands and making friendships, ordering shipments of supply and rations, finally finishing the planned cargo shuttle from her plans, and organizing a Youth Council of ages 150 and under to help her delegate.

Things were going well for about a year, and then a ship arrived. A Federation shuttle with a purple insignia on the side landed on the same pad the migrants and elders had left from a year ago. Gex went to meet the newcomers with her Youth Council, and came face to face with Otp Fiexs-Fedas, the Elder she forced to leave earlier, in Federation Ambassador clothing. Otp moved to the stunned Gex, and requested the immediate release of the Mayorship title to a properly qualified elder of the group, and if none were present, one would be stationed on the colony to help reintegrate it into the Federation.

This was both a gleeful experience and a gut wrenching tear in the gut. Gex was finally functioning to her full potential, and an Elder she'd slighted years ago came back to take her role from her. Gex tried to refuse Otp's integration - but was interrupted by the crowds behind her cheering and gathering around Otp and his shuttle. As the crowd distracted Otp, Gex ran towards the shuttle bay where her newly constructed Cargo Shuttle awaited, a Custom GX-io class that could get her away from the system. Filled with raging emotions, she flew the shuttle haphazardly (due to little training) over to the main landing pads, and scraped the bottom of her ship with the top of the Federation shuttlecraft. This was completely on impulse, and it was luckily only a bit of paint and armor damage, but it definitely made her regret her decision immediately. Fleeing Ogl IV, she set out on a journey of revenge.

Gex moved from backwater colony to backwater colony, trying to find someplace with the same Youth Leaders idea -- because although she had experience now, she was still only in her mid 20's, barely an adolescent in most Skrell's eyes. She was looked over, and had to find regular jobs where she shipped cargo. She did this to survive for 10 or so years, and then moved to investigate the core worlds. After getting the paperwork to allow her into the core worlds, she went straight for Jargon to know what life is like -- and it was much better than any other planet she'd been to. She made friends in the political area by asking a lot of questions, and following politician's secretaries around.

Eventually, she gained herself a job in the government -- A secretary under a 'Reintegration Director', one who goes to qualified planets and colonies to see if they can reintegrate into the Federation. She didn't know who it was until he came to meet her. That's when Gex Oxio met Otp Fiexs-Fedas again.

Otp smiled, but was very obviously hiding his true emotions. Gex immediately cursed loudly in the City Meetings building where their 'surprise' meeting was planned. Otp suggested that "Gex could learn a thing or two from him", and Gex responded with "You will never teach me anything again." and stormed out of the building. But, just outside the doors to the City Meetings building was her cargo shuttle, with a Skrell officer aboard at post. Gex froze in place, and Otp slowly came to her side saying, "This shuttle is under investigation for endangering a Federation Reintegration Director. I suggest you do decide to learn from me, because you have so much potential." And so, Gex was forced to be the secretary of Otp.

Otp's current plans were to reintegrate all of the Guild's planets into the federation and have their 'youth' leaders replaced with more experienced mayors. Otp brought Gex along to increase relations, as she once was a Young Mayor like the others, but it was sabotaged by the fact that Gex conducted secret meetings with the Young Mayors to refuse integration. She believed that the planets would lose their new culture they were creating, and joining the Federation would allow them to completely discombobulate what these young Skrell had created. For 3 years, Otp tried to integrate these planets, and gave the reigns over to another Director of Reintegration so he could retire at an old age.

Gex, after 3 years of being with Otp on those planets, decided to follow Otp willingly, still as his secretary. At this time, Humanity had just been discovered, and Gex followed Otp on his retirement to tour the new planets the Humans had. Seeing everything that Humanity had built just felt so right - Culture, much like what she was endorsing in the far west Guild colonies, with young aspiring human Colonists that could just make ends meet, independence and expansionism with vibrant arts and varying culinary dishes ... Gex was amazed at what she could see, and followed Otp around for years - not as a friend, but just simply there. Otp never minded Gex anymore, and Gex didn't constantly insult his techniques, simply because over time, they had come to a situation where they just knew the debating didn't mean anything anymore.

Otp and Gex spent a long time silently wandering around Human space, simply watching everything. Gex would endorse independent governments in the outer frontier of human space to make connections with other colonies to create stronger alliances, and Otp would watch silently from the sidelines nodding as he withered away in old age.

Eventually that old age caught up with him, in 2439 Otp became comatose mid bluespace warp after trying to make a trajectory, and was rerouted to a hospital. Gex landed on Tau Ceti, near crashing into the hospital entrance with Otp's shuttle, and helped Otp into the front doors. She waited in the lobby for a day, Otp's shuttle being towed off at some point. No Skrell trained doctors were at the hospital, and Otp was proclaimed dead. Gex, since then, added Otp into her life forever - making an addition to her name.

Gex Oxio-Otp

After a few days, Gex began to regain herself and tour alone, finding little things she enjoyed in the culture that she had seen a lot of before - but had never admired. A large majority was pushing for independence in the system, and as she listened to speakers in the city square she understood their struggles more - and Gex thought to herself that this was the perfect thing to see what she could do by herself. She went straight to work, speaking to the main speakers at these rallies and helping them organize better locations for their speeches and meetings, better connections with other speakers, and contracting catering!

Gex even begins to advocate the independence herself, seeing everything around her as a system that is too diverse and ever-changing to be in the Sol Alliance. The needs of these people are vastly different from the Alliance's goals, just like when she was in the Guild. This place was like one large canvas, with several artists - you could find acrylic paints on one corner, oil pastels in the center, and then quilting in the bottom. She helped along with the independence movement until it finally came true in 2452, when the Alliance accepted the independence. This was, what she felt, her first true victory for her as an adult - even if she was just a small part in it.

After Tau Ceti independence, she found how influential Nanotrasen was in the system. Constant advertisements to work for them sprang up in her emails, her friends and allies in the independence gatherings all worked for them, and she was soon going to be in need of credits. Gex applied for a mid-level logistics and people-managing as a Quartermaster at the many shuttleports in Mendell, and worked alongside a few of her friends for a good few years. The shuttleports were where she could see the most diverse cultures come and go - Cargo ships packed with Tajaran migrants, bringing with them their warm soups and otherworldly government styles. High-class Unathi shuttles with warriors coming out in slow pace, spears coveted in gold and silver, with extravagant robes. Human mining ships coming back from a haul, chatting about their last meal or their lovers.

Without a proper education, though, from a university or college, her work has quickly stagnated. Now, in 2459, she's planning to get on board the NSS Aurora to grab a chance at the Miranda Trasen Scholarship - so she can go to Nanotrasen Academy and rise in the ranks.

What do you like about this character? She is EMOTIONAL. Her main thing is going to be writing poems, song lyrics, and haikus on the job. She's qualified for a Quartermaster position but I want to have her start at the roots and try and get an IC promotion and recommendation. There's some sort of program I recall that I'm going to investigate ICly about getting a low-budget character a degree at the Miranda Nanotrasen University.

She'll avoid attacking people and instead attack the character of those people, and she'll probably have a mixed relationship with older than 200 year old Skrell.

How would you rate your role-playing ability? I like to think I'm good at creating characters and playing them, but bad at maintaining them past about 5 months. I've had over 100 characters I think.

Notes:

Tl;Dr -- Skrell girl gets put in position of power and is bad at it because she's 19. She never learnt to grow up and instead learnt how to handle cargo and other people, never herself. When she's working she's functional and happy, so when she gets older she resorts to poems and songs as a way to cope.

~~please leave constructive feedback on my roleplay and my application, questions about the character are recommended because im sure there's things i forgot~~

p.s. i am aware my writing skills are sub-par but I excel at telling a story in character. i like to make things fit into the world and it's easy in singular sentences and /me's but hard with a story. PLEASE don't judge my story based on the story and its grammar, please don't try and correct the grammar unless it's something shitty that could be misinterpreted and mess up the lore. judge my character based on who they are and their actions.

Hey there. Loow here.

I suspect that people might have a difficult time responding to this application. Let's break the ice.

Bold move using this app to canonize some stuff about Skrell history and space, but it's not an entirely unprecedented one. Apps have led to more lore quite a few times. I do enjoy it when people work on stuff. To me at least, it suggests a certain amount of passion. It's fun to see that.

I'm going to take a guess at how feedback might go. We might get comments about how long the app is, which is understandable. I'm making such a statement right now. You went above the minimum, and that's not a bad thing. It might make it harder for people to respond to your app in its entirety, but I guess we'll see how that plays out.

I expect we'll see testimonials about previous rp and characters, which is always a plus.

I bet we'll see commentary about the character you've made here. Maybe even questions.

I believe we might see some questions about your character's background/home/lore.

Here's to hoping.

Let's start with some easy questions and comments. I want to make sure I understand what you've put forward. You've shown quite an interest in lore here, so I hope you don't mind if some of these questions and statements are lore-related.

The Guild of Restructuring seems like an interesting concept. I hope more people share their thoughts on it.

If Gex Oxio-Otp is 76 years old, that would mean she was born around 2384. This would mean she was head of her colony around 2403. If the Guild of Restructuring was formed 15 years before Gex was born, then it would have been formed in or around 2369.

Are you familiar with the Tresja Agreement?

https://forums.aurorastation.org/search.php?keywords=tresja+agreement https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&profile=default&fulltext=Search&search=tresja+agreement

https://forums.aurorastation.org/viewtopic.php?f=95&t=5161&p=62515&hilit=tresja+agreement#p62515

https://wiki.aurorastation.org/index.php?title=Notable_Skrell_Systems_and_Locations#The_.E2.80.9CIndependent.E2.80.9D_Solitary_Systems

There's some reading material on the matter.

It happened in 2398. Basically, it was a "last chance" for any straggler-systems or colonies to "rejoin the Federation" (or join the new Federation, depending on your perspective). Everyone who did got in. (Yay.) Anyone who didn't was put in time-out for a few decades.

These kinds of places have gotten a fair bit of attention in recent arcs.

If the Guild of Reconstruction stresses that old Skrell are responsible for the race's woes and young Skrell should be made into leaders, then why are the people with sway "elders"? It seems strange to me that the older people would willingly endorse a government or ideology that supplants them, but maybe I'm just too human. I'd like to hear your thoughts and reasoning on this matter.

As a side note, I do appreciate that the elders did leave willingly in this story.

"Things were going well for about a year, and then a ship arrived. A Federation shuttle with a purple insignia on the side landed on the same pad the migrants and elders had left from a year ago. Gex went to meet the newcomers with her Youth Council, and came face to face with Otp Fiexs-Fedas, the Elder she forced to leave earlier, in Federation Ambassador clothing. Otp moved to the stunned Gex, and requested the immediate release of the Mayorship title to a properly qualified elder of the group, and if none were present, one would be stationed on the colony to help reintegrate it into the Federation."

Interesting twist.

Let's talk about Otp Fiexs-Fedas for a moment. Why does he have the "-Fedas" name addition?

Otp smiled, but was very obviously hiding his true emotions

I feel like, with roleplaying a Skrell, you wouldn't have to just show minimal emotion -- I feel like you can do the complete opposite and describe your emotions in vivid, brutal detail. Only in words, less in physical movements.

Let's address something important.

Lately, I've gotten word that some Skrell may be acting "too human." This concerns me, and I can see where such actions may come to light in this character design.

Certain parts of this story strike a chord with me, because they're so human. If this application were to be accepted, which is not to say it will be, I would be very cautious.

I appreciate that your approach involves showing that Skrell are not completely devoid of emotion, but I ask that you proceed with some degree of caution if this application gets accepted. I've always either reinstated WL or allowed people the chance to reapply after a Skrell whitelists is stripped.

But I do strip WL. So be cautious.

You also, of course, lose points for saying "Glorsh" in your application.

Lightning round. Feel free to give your thoughts on any and all of these details.

-Props for using the word "discombobulate" in your app.

- In my opinion, a good backstory drama about reintegrating governing bodies into the Federation ought to happen either in the 2300's or late 2450's-60's . If they didn't agree to rejoin in the Tresja Agreement then they're likely in time-out. (If that statement doesn't make sense, follow the above links.)

-There's a whole bag of complaints and comments that I could see arising around the tiny detail of "my Skrell was the leader of a small nation."

- Gex was the leader a colony, a cargo-mover, a government official, and went on to work in a casino before becoming a Cargo Tech.

There's a lot more to be said about this app, and I hope to see some quality discussion between the applicant and members of the community. I also hope to see some responses to my post here.

Parts of this story whip around very quickly and don't make complete sense to me. But this is a start.

Don't forget you can post a link to your app once per round in the server's OOC chat. [mention]SleepyWolf[/mention]

This story zips around a lot. It moves very quickly through some details.

To put it simply, why is this character on the Aurora at all? If she worked in politics, couldn't she just go back to Jargon and pursue that field further? Why stick around while she's "almost going hungry"? She's the kind of person who held "secret meetings" that apparently had notable political impact. Why would she sing for spare credits when she has the credentials for much better work? Why be a cargo tech when she could at least be a minor political worker?

It seems to me like a lot of the details seen here were written for the sake of being extra dramatic. It seems like a character was being written, but then had to be reigned in to be a cargo tech.

Feel free to respond to any and all points and questions brought up here.

I encourage any readers to chime in with their thoughts on this application as well.

Are you familiar with the Tresja Agreement?

I had COMPLETELY forgotten about this and, when writing this character, was too focused to remember or investigate the timeline too intensely. I was just in the 'I need to write this down and figure the timeline out later' feeling. It does make me have a question though, during the Tresja agreement would regular citizens of the Federation be allowed out of Federation borders to these 'isolated' colonies? Could a lone Skrell try and convince a colony or outpost to rejoin the Federation, when their time came? Or was the Federation regulating the borders so much that they would need a reason to leave - and if their reason was to reintegrate a colony by themselves would the Federation allow them out?

Anyways, I'll make sure to refine the timeline and a bit of the story to reflect it on the Tresja agreement.

If the Guild of Reconstruction stresses that old Skrell are responsible for the race's woes and young Skrell should be made into leaders, then why are the people with sway "elders"?

The elders were still the teachers of these young skrell, and the even with their new mindsets on the future they were still held in the past in a way. They wanted the future to be good for their younger Skrell, but still wanted to be able to help and guide them, give them wisdom and knowledge so they'll be able to learn the rest on their own.

It seems strange to me that the older people would willingly endorse a government or ideology that supplants them, but maybe I'm just too human. I'd like to hear your thoughts and reasoning on this matter.

These elders had just lived through the Incident, and were trying to grasp at anything they could to restructure and ensure things were different. They endorsed this because they had failed the future generation once already, and it was a general consensus that was popular and accepted in this colony.

Let's talk about Otp Fiexs-Fedas for a moment. Why does he have the "-Fedas" name addition?

I chose Fedas for Otp to show the Incident had an impact on him in some way that he would never forget - I had it put in to show where he was during the whole thing and that he is old enough to recall it. I chose Fedas because in the notable Skrell's page, it was said Fedas was a 'Liberated City', and even if it was only a liberated city for a few months, it must have held strong a lot of emotions to many Skrell about how they can make it past the incident. In my original whitelist I had written up Otp was actually the main character - but I'm not one to just say 'And then 100 years of oppression went by', and I didn't want to make this application 30 paragraphs long.

Otp smiled, but was very obviously hiding his true emotions

An accident, I'm not completely in the mindset of a Skrell and their biology. I should have done something like, 'Emanated the feeliings of simpering victory.'

Let's address something important.

Lately, I've gotten word that some Skrell may be acting "too human." This concerns me, and I can see where such actions may come to light in this character design.

Certain parts of this story strike a chord with me, because they're so human. If this application were to be accepted, which is not to say it will be, I would be very cautious.

I appreciate that your approach involves showing that Skrell are not completely devoid of emotion, but I ask that you proceed with some degree of caution if this application gets accepted. I've always either reinstated WL or allowed people the chance to reapply after a Skrell whitelists is stripped.

But I do strip WL. So be cautious.

I can understand that completely. Can I ask what parts made you think they're so human?

I can think of a few parts primarily - Maybe the impulsiveness all throughout her character. There can be a way of trying to skrell-ify impulsiveness by having it go through multiple stages of planning, where the impulse isn't the action but the planning beforehand.

You also, of course, lose points for saying "Glorsh" in your application.

It was part of the speech against Otp, using the name Glorsh would hurt more than just implying to the situation with 'The past'.

-There's a whole bag of complaints and comments that I could see arising around the tiny detail of "my Skrell was the leader of a small nation."

I wasn't really SURE how big a 'Colony' would be. The colony of Ogl IV is only about 500-700 people, which is probably more of an 'outpost'. And she wasn't the leader of the Guild faction I made up, but just a 'mayor' of one of the 20 planets. I can easily say Ogl IV only has 50-100 people, but I feel like a larger number would help influence how she failed in the beginning.

- Gex was the leader a colony, a cargo-mover, a government official, and went on to work in a casino before becoming a Cargo Tech.

There is a LOT you can do in 78 years. I held off on making a 200 year old character because I CANNOT fill up that much space in time with meaningful content that helped shape the character every moment it could. Even with just a 78 year old character, I was having trouble keeping the vast expanses of 'And then 30 years passed' from popping up. I believe that having a diverse history can be part of age, and I'll probably make up more fun little jobs she did for her 20 years on Tau Ceti, like ... Pool cleaning, or a translator for a tourist group.

Parts of this story whip around very quickly and don't make complete sense to me. But this is a start.

I'm editing the final bit after Otp's death to feel more organic and into the story, it also includes Tau Ceti's independence and how she got to work at Nanotrasen.

All changes are in the spoiler. I removed everything after Otp's death about Pheonixport and the singing, it WAS kinda stupid.

Oh, and I plan on making her a Quartermaster planning to be an HoP, not a cargo tech. I finally decided on that.

I've only ever seen good role play from sleepy. They have a tendency to subvert your expectations in a character in the best ways possible. There is not a single doubt in my mind that they could reasonably role play anything they decide to, including skrell.

Hello,

Sorry for the delay. Application accepted.