Solanaceae

IC Inbox for Songerein

2023-07-27T16:38:08Z

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A Brief Character History

2023-01-12T18:22:37Z

( Since the wiki is so woefully inadequate... )

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Application for Songerein

2023-01-05T17:16:42Z

Player: Lox
Age: I am ancient and withered, like bones in a mausoleum. The sad curse of being thirtyish.
Contact: I can be reached at this account, loxagn, or Loxagn#2076 on Discord.
Current Characters: Goro Akechi

Spoiler warnings abound for the game 'I Was a Teenage Exocolonist'. Just warning!
Character: Solanaceae
Canon: I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, After Glow Season (Year 10)
Age: Physically, 20. Mentally, it's complicated. Chronologically... much, much older.

Background Information:
The story of Exocolonist takes place in the Stratos colony, humanity's first ever colony on an extrasolar planet- in this case, the distant planet Vertumna. Solanaceae, the protagonist, awakens on their tenth birthday after an explosion forces an emergency landing. The game follows ten years of their life as they face the challenges, terrors, joys, and heartbreaks of growing up through their most formative years in a colony far removed from any human civilization. Not all is as it seems, however- Vertumna, previously thought uninhabited, harbors hallmarks of a long-dead civilization, and mysterious figures watch from the pastel-colored scenery. The animal life, ordinarily operating under the rules of a fairly normal ecosystem, once a year unify like an army to raid the colony, testing its defenses, executing coordinated attacks against key facilities. And, most worryingly of all, Sol is constantly plagued by dreams and premonitions that they eventually realize are memories- of past lives, of times when they've lived through these scenarios before.

They live their life, growing up, facing hostile wildlife, famine, plague, invasion by occupying military forces. Friends and loved ones die, are driven to terrible acts, suffer through war, and always- the sense that it could've been prevented. If only they'd done different. The real truth of the matter lies in the wormhole that brought the colonists to the planet- and how Solanaceae is tied to it, reliving a lifetime over and over again, never knowing exactly what their past selves had done but always seeming oddly prescient about impending disaster, always knowing, in their heart of hearts, that if they get things right this time, everyone they love might actually live out happy, fulfilling lives.

Personality:
One of Sol's most defining traits is their sense of others' emotions. They're intensely empathetic, paying close attention to the needs of those around them and nearly always willing to offer a friendly ear, to get closer to someone even if they're initially unpleasant or standoffish- and they're annoyingly good at making friends, with a sort of dogged persistence and unshakeable cheer that makes them difficult to actually dissuade, once they've become interested in a person.
Due to a number of experiences in their formative years, this sense of care extends not only to other sapients, but life in general. They care, adamantly, about animal life- to the point of even avoiding meat save in cases of life-or-death situations. They're a great lover of children, as well, and find themself easily at home as a tutor or caretaker.
They're a very inventive soul, with a great fondness for music and art- though they're not an amazing artist. They do, however, have a decent amount of skill with certain instruments and with musical composition, though their style is largely intuitive rather than structured. Sol adores puzzles, and delights in finding unorthodox solutions to new problems, often for the sheer fun of the weird and the new. It's left them slightly prone to daydreaming, but really that's just a fun bonus, in their mind.
Coupled with creativity, they were always an intensely inquisitive child, digging and pulling at every new piece of information to find the answers they crave. They learn quickly and pick up information and new skills at an accelerated rate, thanks in part to gene-mods they've experimented with- but largely because their personality is one that almost inherently hates not knowing. Their curiosity frequently gets them in trouble, especially given that 'new' only sometimes corresponds to 'positive', and they have a devil-may-care attitude with regard to risks to their own wellbeing a dangerous combination that more than once has resulted in their injury- or death.
In spite of a life that has, at many points, proven to be filled with tragedy, walking hand-in-hand with stress and trauma both, all the while dealing with cryptic, half-remembered visions of apocalyptic events, watching friends suffer, parents die, children grow sick and grow old-
Solanaceae is a terminal optimist. They believe, truly, in the capacity of people to come together and sow love instead of hate. They believe that there are few to no obstacles that can't be overcome, given enough time, that everyone is capable of change, if you but lend them a hand at the right moment. This... unfortunately leaves them with a tendency to assume the best of people, or be easily taken advantage of by those who act in bad faith.
Possibly as a result of one of those bad actors, Sol has, for most of their life, had a serious problem with authority. It genuinely galls them to do something so banal as follow rules unless they can see a rational purpose for said rule to exist- and even then, they're prone to deciding that even if the rule itself is perfectly rational, it doesn't apply to them, because they can actually handle themself and anyway it's not as though the wilds are all that dangerous, it's just their elders being scared of what they don't understand-
More than once, this has gotten them into trouble. Their normally calm demeanor, it seems, has an extraordinarily short fuse when it comes to things they perceive as unfair, and more than one screaming match with their protective but otherwise loving mother has resulted from it- to say nothing of helping a friend hide a thoroughly illegal pet, or another to organize a coup d'etat, or even, lacking any other option and being desperate, poisoning a relative to make them ill- knowing that not having done so would result in the man's death.
Unfortunately, one major flaw that Sol has always had is a sense of detachment from the consequences of their actions. The world, at times, barely feels real to them- and they often act without thinking because, ultimately, it's hard to separate the knowledge of other lives lived from their current existence. When it comes to things or people that attract their interest, it's easy to focus, but on other concerns? With people they aren't interested in, or events that aren't relevant to them? They can sometimes come off as aloof, or detached- or even sometimes callous, if they feel they're focusing on something More Important right now.
Suffice to say, when combined with their sense of anti-authority, this can have a tendency to... complicate situations they might otherwise want to stay simple.

Abilities & Inventory:
-Premonitions: Solanaceae is trapped in a time loop, spanning from the moment of their birth to the moment of their death. They do not preserve all memories between loops- but do receive, fairly frequently, dreams of other lives, other selves that have come before. These premonitions aren't always relevant or helpful, but become most vivid when disaster looms- particularly that which would result in the death of a loved one, or some other traumatic event. This isn't always helpful, given that unless a past self has already worked out what the solution to the problem is, they don't know what to do with this information, but it does manifest as a sense of impending doom and a desperate need to do something- even if they have no clue what that is.

Sometimes, probably more often, it merely manifests as remembering minor bits of information they haven't been told yet, like a friend's birthday, or what an unknown species needs in its diet.
-Gene Mods: Sol comes from a culture where mild genetic modification of children is fairly in vogue- and as a result of that they have some minor benefits that probably don't count as superpowers on their own, but are worth mentioning. Sol has a lowered stress response- not necessarily 'not feeling' the effects of stress or fear, but not suffering from the debilitating long-term side effects of heightened stress. Additionally, they're possessed of a near-eidetic memory, with better recall and information retention than most people. As a result, they tend to pick up new skills fairly quickly in comparison to baseline humans.
-Holo-Palm: A small computer with a holographic interface, coming in the form of a cybernetic implant in Sol's left hand. In practice, it's functionally just a really high-tech smartphone.
-A face-fitting mask designed to cover the mouth and nose, filtering out airborne toxins.
-As a note about Dreamotion abilities, potential ideas to play with include making plants and fungi just generally flourish around them- though probably not to the full extent of conscious control until later. I'd also love to explore the idea of being able to 'project' emotional states, but I'm not sure if that's something that Dreamotion can already just do or not.

Suitability & Plans:
Honestly, Sol already interacts with weird dreams all the time, and I feel like they'd be a good fit. There's a lot of characters dealing with trauma in this game, and I'd also really like to insert Sol in the role they take in the run I'm basing their characterization off of- as an amateur counselor, someone to lend a friendly ear to peoples' emotional troubles, and maybe help them to have healthier relationships with themselves. A lot of their actual dream recordings are probably going to tie into these past lives, who may turn out to be very different people.

Also, not to put too fine a point on it, but they're just about as far from Goro Akechi as it's possible to be, and having someone fun and upbeat for a change sounds like a good time to me. Plus, they'd probably happily interact with portions of the cast that Worst Boy wouldn't be caught dead with. Apping them last time coincided with some mental health problems that prevented my really getting to 'do' it, but I'd love to give it another go. <3

Test Drive Sample:
Sample

Questions:
None, really!

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Opt-In/Opt-out Post

2023-01-02T17:44:03Z

( Mild spoilers within )

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Character Info

2023-01-02T13:40:06Z

			SOLANACEAE
		
		        BARISTA. BOTANIST. DIPLOMAT. REBEL.

                        IRREVERENT GOBLIN.
		
			Empathy
			⬛⬛⬛⬛

			Persuasion
			⬛⬛⬛⬛

			Creativity
			⬛⬛⬛⬛

			Bravery
			⬛⬛⬛⬛
		
			Reasoning
			⬛⬛⬛⬜

			Organization
			⬛⬛⬜⬜

			Engineering
			⬛⬛⬜⬜

			Biology
			⬛⬛⬛⬛
		
			Toughness
			⬛⬛⬜⬜

			Perception
			⬛⬛⬛⬛

			Combat
			⬜⬜⬜⬜

			Animals
			⬛⬛⬛⬛
		
?
				PLAYER. Lox
				CONTACT. Loxagn#2076 || loxagn

				Code. Tessisamess
			
			🏠
			About
			Traits
			CR
			Permissions
		
                                 NAME.Solanaceae
CANON.I Was a Teenage Exocolonist
NICKNAMES.Sol
SPECIES.Humanish
AGE.20ish
DOB.27.01.-10NVC
GENDER.Any/All
SKIN.Tan
HAIR.Blue, yellow highlights
EYES.Red-brown

                                 The only child of a (extremely loving) couple aboard the colony ship Stratospheric, Sol was among the three hundred or so members of a secluded enclave of humanity that abandoned a dying Earth- with the intention of starting over on a distant, habitable exoplanet- the distant, mysterious, and fantastic Vertumna IV. The ship landed shortly before their tenth birthday.

                                 As a means of crossing the vast interstellar distances of space, the ship passed through a wormhole, approximately ten light-years from Earth, the other end close enough to the planet to be visible to the naked eye, for one month out of the year.

                                 Everything got slightly complicated, after that.
			
EMPATHY

                                 One of Sol's most defining traits is their sense of others' emotions. They're intensely empathetic, paying close attention to the needs of those around them and nearly always willing to offer a friendly ear, to get closer to someone even if they're initially unpleasant or standoffish- and they're annoyingly good at making friends, with a sort of dogged persistence and unshakeable cheer that makes them difficult to actually dissuade, once they've become interested in a person.

                                 Due to a number of experiences in their formative years, this sense of care extends not only to other sapients, but life in general. They care, adamantly, about animal life- to the point of even avoiding meat save in cases of life-or-death situations. They're a great lover of children, as well, and find themself easily at home as a tutor or caretaker.
				CREATIVITY

                                 They're a very inventive soul, with a great fondness for music and art- though they're not an amazing artist. They do, however, have a decent amount of skill with certain instruments and with musical composition, though their style is largely intuitive rather than structured. Sol adores puzzles, and delights in finding unorthodox solutions to new problems, often for the sheer fun of the weird and the new. It's left them slightly prone to daydreaming, but really that's just a fun bonus, in their mind.
				CURIOSITY

                                 Coupled with creativity, they were always an intensely inquisitive child, digging and pulling at every new piece of information to find the answers they crave. They learn quickly and pick up information and new skills at an accelerated rate, thanks in part to gene-mods they've experimented with- but largely because their personality is one that almost inherently hates not knowing. Their curiosity frequently gets them in trouble, especially given that 'new' only sometimes corresponds to 'positive', and they have a devil-may-care attitude with regard to risks to their own wellbeing a dangerous combination that more than once has resulted in their injury- or death.
				HOPE

                                 In spite of a life that has, at many points, proven to be filled with tragedy, walking hand-in-hand with stress and trauma both, all the while dealing with cryptic, half-remembered visions of apocalyptic events, watching friends suffer, parents die, children grow sick and grow old-

                                 Solanaceae is a terminal optimist. They believe, truly, in the capacity of people to come together and sow love instead of hate. They believe that there are few to no obstacles that can't be overcome, given enough time, that everyone is capable of change, if you but lend them a hand at the right moment. This... unfortunately leaves them with a tendency to assume the best of people, or be easily taken advantage of by those who act in bad faith.
				REBELLION

                                 Possibly as a result of one of those bad actors, Sol has, for most of their life, had a serious problem with authority. It genuinely galls them to do something so banal as follow rules unless they can see a rational purpose for said rule to exist- and even then, they're prone to deciding that even if the rule itself is perfectly rational, it doesn't apply to them, because they can actually handle themself and anyway it's not as though the wilds are all that dangerous, it's just their elders being scared of what they don't understand-

                                 More than once, this has gotten them into trouble. Their normally calm demeanor, it seems, has an extraordinarily short fuse when it comes to things they perceive as unfair, and more than one screaming match with their protective but otherwise loving mother has resulted from it- to say nothing of helping a friend hide a thoroughly illegal pet, or another to organize a coup d'etat, or even, lacking any other option and being desperate, poisoning a relative to make them ill- knowing that not having done so would result in the man's death.
				DISSOCIATION

                                 Unfortunately, one major flaw that Sol has always had is a sense of detachment from the consequences of their actions. The world, at times, barely feels real to them- and they often act without thinking because, ultimately, it's hard to separate the knowledge of other lives lived from their current existence. When it comes to things or people that attract their interest, it's easy to focus, but on other concerns? With people they aren't interested in, or events that aren't relevant to them? They can sometimes come off as aloof, or detached- or even sometimes callous, if they feel they're focusing on something More Important right now.

                                 Suffice to say, when combined with their sense of anti-authority, this can have a tendency to... complicate situations they might otherwise want to stay simple.
			
					[+] Calm Mind
				
					The result of in-utero genetic modification, Sol is gifted with a stress response that, unlike most people, leaves them oddly serene. They certainly seem to take most things in stride, remaining calm in even the most chaotic situations, and while they do feel fear and stress, the long-term effects of exposure to such stimuli don't seem to bother them nearly as much as other people.

					[+] Absorbent Brain
				
					The result of extremely ill-advised post-pubescent genetic self-playing around, Sol is also gifted with a brain that retains and recalls information much more easily than most other people. It doesn't quite verge on photographic memory, but he's certainly more likely to recall information, or names and faces, than the next person. He also picks up new skills at an accelerated rate.

					[+] Holo-palm
				
					The result of perfectly ordinary cybernetic augmentation, Sol is in possession of a holo-palm, a personal computer with a holographic interface embedded in her left hand. It's very useful for research and communication purposes and has definitely never been used to goof off with her friends.

					[=] Timey-wimey Wormhole Stuff
				
					The result of extraordinarily stupid messing around with psychedelic fungal spores, alien hiveminds, and cosmic wormholes, Sol suffers from the unfortunate but extremely useful condition of occasionally inheriting memories from past lives. In the mundane day-to-day, this doesn't often have an effect- but when it comes to major events? Sometimes, he's gifted with flashes of incredible insight, knowing precisely what to say or do to avoid complete disaster. He doesn't often bring this up, because it makes him sound like a dangerous lunatic- and also because he has distinct memories of that ending up with him heavily drugged with mind-altering medications, losing access to them entirely, and causing an apocalyptic genocide.

Perhaps understandably, Sol plays that particular card very close to his chest.

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BACKTAGGING

					Absolutely! I may drop older threads if I'm getting overwhelmed, but I'm also perfectly down with handwaving events if that's the case.
				
				THREADJACKING

					No specific objections to it.
				
				FOURTHWALLING

					Ask first.
			
				MINDREADING

					Ask first.
				
				TOUCHING

					Sol is incredibly physically affectionate and will definitely hug you, unless you indicate such contact is unwanted.
				
				SHIPPING/FLIRTING

					Emphatically yes. (They will probably flirt with you.)
				
				FIGHTING/INJURY

					Sol will avoid conflict at every possible opportunity, and will only fight if no other option presents itself.
				
				DEATH

					Strongly not preferred.
				
				ADDITIONAL NOTES

					Sol, as previously mentioned, frequently has senses of 'Deja vu', born of memories inherited from previous lives. They may show insights about your characters without having previously been told them. 

Please see their opt-in post here if any of this seems like your jam.

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NAME.	Solanaceae
CANON.	I Was a Teenage Exocolonist
NICKNAMES.	Sol
SPECIES.	Humanish
AGE.	20ish
DOB.	27.01.-10NVC
GENDER.	Any/All
SKIN.	Tan
HAIR.	Blue, yellow highlights
EYES.	Red-brown