<USS Lovisa> On Playing an Alien
- From: MoonshadowsToNEN@xxxxxxx
- To: DrizzellaGL0n@xxxxxxx, usslovisa@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, GroundZero@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, AdmiralCate@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 21:03:54 EST
On Playing an Alien
Hello, I am Julia Kirkland. In this sim (USS Lovisa) I am the chief of
Security, on the Razerwolf I am COS and Tac Officer. I am Moonshadows to
Ennien.
Pleased to meet you.
I have been asked to write on how I handle my character... I play a Sivaoan,
a basic anthropomorphized giant house cat. I got the race from the book Uhuru
âs Song, by Janet Kagan. ITâs a mary Sue, but in spite of Kirk & Co.
trotting through the pages, itâs a pretty good novel, with some very
interesting
characters and situations.
In any case. Sivaoans, while human sized, and having some of the same
characterics as humans, as aliens tend to in the ST universe, are NOT humans,
and
do not react to all situations as humans do. They have eidetic memories,
eschew cities for nomadic existence, are highly technical, and hold grudges.
The First thing that attracted me to playing a Sivaoan was that Ms. Kagan
(who KNOWS her cats) seemed to catch a race that ALMOST fit the human behavior
mold, then at the most delightful, frustrating and tense moments acted like a
cat... behaving contrary to what we humans call logic.
Secondly, Ms Kagan used (as do I in play) tail, whiskers, posture, ears, and
fur to express emotions. Cats, being predators, do not smile to show
amusement or happiness, instead watch them spread their whiskers.
To laugh, we Sivaoans corkscrew our prehensile tails. The tighter the
coils, the harder we laugh. Instead of shaking hands, we extend our hands,m
one
farther than the other, fingers spread, claws extended. Then we slowly
retract the claws and put the hands to our sides, Formally, âI am able to
fight
you, I choose peaceâ.
We detest teh smell of alcohol, and catnip is obvioulsy a drun not to bne
used on duty.
And so forth.
The thing to remember (and I have troubles with this myself) is that your are
playing a person with a different set of core values, behavior patterns and
psychologies than humans. Part of the fun is getting someone in the game
involved in an interaction, and then coming up with a reaction that is NOT
human
pattern. Figuring how YOU, the ALIEN handles the problem... sure, you have
four years of Star Fleet Academy teaching you to interact with Federation mores
and standards, but still you are young, you are NOT human, and your reactions
will be amusing, startle your fellow simmers and amuse them, and give you a n
ice dose of escapism for a while.
I also play (On USS Einstein) a Green Orion animal woman. Her history is
that she was bought at an early age by the members of a good deed doing church
and educated. She entered Academy, graduated as an engineer, and I am proud
to say is now Chief engineer of a star ship.
To keep in perspective, She never forgets the pens, the slave owners, the
beatings and degradation, and this has led her to believe she has something to
prove to those born free. She brawls (at five feet nothing) joyously. The
Federation Marines have adopted her, as, like most Marines, she worked her way
up from humble beginnings, having to fight prejudice and preconception. This
give me achace to play Marine NPCs, those who canât believe she is a real
officer and hit on the green slave girl NPCs, etc.
Mellisari has a drinking problem. But she is a damned good engineer.
Once again, I let her past affect her actions. She is a bit obsessive about
her engines and ship, and has a too familiar relationship with the
engineering subordinates (leading to a staff of regualr NPCs).
Included here is my biof.
Name: Moonshadows to Ennien
Race: Felinoid
Gender (M, F, other) Female
Planet of Origin: Sivao
Age: App. 22 Federation Standard years.
Specialty: SECURITY
Rank: Ensign
Ht: 1.5 (One point five) meters
Weight: 60 (sixty) kilograms (120 lb.)
Eyes: Gold
Description: Gold and black âTortoise Shellâ fur, face half black half
gold. Prehensile tail, retractile claws. Highly dirigible ears.
Special talents/characteristics: Prehensile tail. Eidetic memory.
Extremely agile and strong. Very fast reflexes. Quick to learn, quite
intelligent.
Special cautions: Sivaoans are very honorable. Their names are chosen after
âWalkingâ, a Rite of Passage into adulthood, and their names MEAN a good
deal to them.
Rite of Passage includes emphasis on survival and group cooperation on their
own very savage planet. Few choose to leave for any length of time.
Psychology: They are very loyal. Sivaoans practice ritual combat at
perceived insult, which ends as soon as one combatant cries out. They express
emotion more with body language (especially tail, ears, and whiskers) than
facial
expressions. They are also very understanding and quick to forgive.
Language: Sivaoans have a greater range of hearing, both higher and lower,
than humans... most have perfect pitch. Their language consists of what can
best be described as cat noises, although it is very rich and filled with
fresat
sagas and legends. Smells, fur positions, tail postures, and whisker and
ear positioning enter greatly into showing their moods. The eidetic memory of
the Sivaoans makes it easy to pick up new languages. SIDE NOTE: Most
Sivaoans are also likely to be proficient in one or more of the arts such as
dance,
song, acrobatics, etc.
Food requirements: Sivoans eat both cooked and raw meats, are however
omnivorous in spite of the dental structure. Sivaoans are immune to some
humanoid
diseases, and susceptibnle to others.
Historical note: Sivao was traced as the origination planet for the ADF
plague of the 22nd century that came so close to wiping out so much of the warm
blooded oxygen breathing life in the Federation, see logs USS Enterprise (NCC
1701)
UNIFORM NOTE: Sivaoans possess very thick fur, with a thicker undercoat.
Uniforms are therfor limitied to collars with rank tabs and communicator
badges.
Secondary sexual characteristics are not particularly evident unless a
female is pregnant or nursing.
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