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the-valiant-valkyrie · 6 months

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Beginners Guide to Portraying Solaris

In about 2k words or so

Dialect and Verbiage

Considering Solaris was born and presumably spent her developmental years in Geneva, it makes sense to imagine that English isn’t her first language. Not to say she isn’t good at it, but she certainly has a few quirks with her dialogue that make that easily apparent.

Perhaps the biggest tell is Solaris’ subconscious aversion towards contractions. She will use them occasionally, but a surprising amount of her dialogue breaks them up into two individual words. Generally, she seems to learn towards -have and -are contractions (wouldn’t, you’re), and tends to use them more in reference to herself (I’d, I’ve) than other contexts.

Along this vein, it’s also understandable that she tends not to jump to much American slang. If anything, more often than not she will jump to more complex words, rather than shortening them to be easier for others around her to digest.

Virtues and Vices

For being a Zoraxis employee who built a laser of mass destruction for the richest person on the planet, that isn’t to say there’s nothing about Solaris’ conduct worth admiring. On the contrary, she has a surprising amount of good qualities to her. Which makes sense when you consider she probably wouldn’t be half as good an engineer if she wasn’t.

One of the more deceptive elements of her character is her surprisingly amicable conduct before she realizes she’s dealing with an Agent instead of her assistant. We’ve seen many examples of Zoraxis subordinates being treated anywhere from poorly to downright cruel (the Fabricator seemingly doesn’t pay her guards proper wages, John would sooner kill his butler than risk the Agent escaping unscathed, and Zor will kill anyone they dislike at the literal push of a button). Solaris, however, seems not to stoop to the same level as her peers.

Solaris has several quotes she will only say before the Agent’s cover is blown, implying some willingness to chat with the new intern sent to keep her company beyond Earth’s atmosphere (VO_Space_SQ_PGT_Pickup_01: “Did they finally approve my blaster design? Oh, wait… That’s just a bolt driver…”, VO_Space_SQ_Plug_Meat_Fuse: “Crafty and dangerous… I approve!”, VO_Space_SQ_Drinking_Juice_Cover_Safe_02: “Ehh… Enjoy it if you can. Yes, that’s all we get to drink.”).

She’ll also be wary to keep the safety of her new ‘assistant’ in mind, offering up whatever advice or commentary she deems necessary to keep them from accidentally killing themself (VO_Space_SQ_Fuse_Panel_Unscrewed_02: “I appreciate your proactive attitude. Just mind the high voltage?”, VO_Space_SQ_Life_Fuse_Removed_Cover_Safe: “You know… you need that one to breathe?”). While it’s hard to call her behavior ‘nice’, it’s leagues better than the treatment you would get from other Zoraxis staff.

However, Solaris doesn’t treat everyone with such a level headed deposition. It’s quite obvious that she wouldn’t treat the Agent that way, but she doesn’t exactly have a soft spot for Zor, either. Her insubordination presumably stems from her lack of loyalty to Zoraxis, as addressed in her dossier (“It is worth noting that her relationship with Zor is less stable than some of their other underlings. It is apparent she’s dedicated to herself first and foremost…”). Judging by her surprised remark when getting a phone call from Zor directly (VO_Space_SQ_Zor_Convo_02: “Dr Zor! Something exciting must be going on since you’ve decided to talk to me…"), it can be assumed that she knows they aren’t exactly fond of her, either.

On a better note, Solaris appears to be very detail oriented when it comes to the situations she finds herself in. She takes a very keen interest in the structural stability of the Agent’s shuttle after the Death Engine’s shockwave damages it (VO_Space_SQ_Solve_Hull_Breach: “Note to self… Check on fuses and adjust risk assessment calculations. The chances of the shuttle surviving another blast are… well, low.”), implying that she is ready and willing to add the task to her checklist at the drop of a hat. This is also displayed in the Z-Mail she sends to Zor after being sent the coordinates to fire upon their own HQ. Despite receiving a ‘direct order’ from her boss, she takes the uncharacteristic targeting into account, and refuses to act upon the command.

This also may explain why Solaris takes the time to browse through the Agent’s entire file after it was sent to her (presumably also through Z-Mail). The Agent is a stranger to her. It is difficult to know how to go about solving a problem when you don’t know what the threat is. The more she learns about the Agent, the more aware she will be of how to go about handling them.

Solaris is also very dedicated to following rules and protocol. It is unclear whether or not she enjoys it, but she will follow it thoroughly, with a heavy emphasis on the safety it provides both for her and others around her (VO_Space_SQ_Pre_Fuse_Banter_01: “Sit tight. We do have security protocol for a reason.”, VO_Space_SQ_Open_Airlock_Cover_Safe: “Oh, right… There’s radioactive waste in your docking bay. You can get to that after you’re cleared by ground control.”, VO_Space_SQ_Cameras_Online: “Where’s that camera feed… Ah! Not dead yet. I’ll put you to work as soon as I can confirm your arrival with ground control.”). Even once getting in contact with ground control, the formal way in which she opens their discussion (VO_Space_SQ_Phone_Convo_Start: “This is Death Engine Commander Solaris, clearance 20R7…") implies great respect towards the obligations of her job.

However… One of Solaris’ biggest flaws is her confidence. And if she encounters a situation that she feels confident she can handle, she is willing to break protocol in order to handle the situation herself. The most blatant example of this is her reaction to the Agent moving faster than she was accounting them to- breaking open the docking arm container before she even gets ground control on the phone (VO_Space_SQ_Not_Assistant: “You’re not my new assistant, are you? Stop messing with things while I figure out what to do with you.”).

This also seems to be the reason why Solaris does not act immediately after she identifies the Agent for what they are- underestimating them out of a sense of clearly misplaced confidence (VO_Space_SQ_Computer_Press_X_Buttons_Cover_Blown_02: “Looking for answers? Hah! I enjoy watching you struggle…”).

Confidence and Control

As aforementioned, Solaris seems to have a bad habit of succumbing to her confidence. It’s moments like these that shine a light on her villainous underbelly that Zoraxis is known for.

While willing to play nice with an assistant, Solaris will completely change her tune once she reveals the Agent for who they are. She’ll pick and taunt at the Agent from the safety of the Death Engine’s control center, her comments ranging from threatening to downright cruel at times (VO_Space_SQ_Recieved_File: “I received your file and there’s more here than I expected… I’ll read it while I watch you squirm.”, VO_Space_SQ_Operate_Airlock_02: “Sure, go ahead. A little radiation can’t hurt. Oh, why not open the other door as well?”, VO_Space_SQ_Low_O2_Cover_Blown_01: “You can ignore that alert. Oxygen starvation is not a bad way to go.”, VO_Space_SQ_Read_File_06: “Your file is unbelievable… You know a normal agent would have died dozens- hundreds of times… Note to self… Conduct post mortem examination of agent.”, VO_Space_SQ_Life_Fuse_Removed_Cover_Blown_01: “Decided to end it all so soon?”). She takes blatant pleasure in playing with her food, to the point where she will prioritize it above her work.

However, confidence requires control. And the more of it she loses, the less confident she becomes. Solaris has a very interesting vocal quirk that is easy to go unnoticed. That being that the more dangerous the situation gets- the more nervous the situation makes her- the more aggressive she becomes.

Prior examples of her threats- while certainly hostile- ride the range of playfully sadistic in nature. Once Phoenix appears genuinely capable of dismantling the Death Engine, however, she quickly changes her tune, jumping into remarks devoid of her usual villainous mirth (VO_Space_SQ_Rip_Panel_03: “Stop that at once! Mess with the reactor and you die!”, VO_Space_SQ_Rip_Panel_01: “What do you think you’re doing?! Blowing up the Death Engine is guaranteed to kill you.”, VO_Space_SQ_Post_Controller_Banter_03: “Are you ready to sacrifice yourself? Because your odds for surviving this are zero.”, VO_Space_SQ_Post_Controller_Banter_02: “If you blow up the Death Engine, you’re going down with it.”).

It is only once the Agent is inches away from completing their objective that Solaris finally lets the mask fully slip. And it's in this moment that it becomes blatantly apparent what Solaris is truly afraid of. More than failing the mission. More than the destruction of the Death Engine (though, not to say that is of no concern to her).

Solaris is afraid of being hurt- of the Agent killing her in their reckless little stunt. It is unclear whether she verbalizes these concerns instinctively, or as a last resort in a bid for her life (VO_Space_SQ_Start_Chain_Reaction_02: “You reckless fool! Okay… I can fix this…”, VO_Space_SQ_Start_Chain_Reaction_01: “What have you done?! We’re both going to die-!”, VO_Space_SQ_Grab_Crystal_02: “It only takes one stupid decision with that crystal and we’re both dead.”, VO_Space_SQ_Grab_Crystal_01: “Do you realize how dangerous that crystal is? … You’ll kill us both!”). Regardless of the reasons why, it emphasizes an aspect of Solaris that often goes unnoticed.

She is also not above trying to disguise genuine fear behind the use of threats, though it becomes a lot less convincing the more dire the situation gets (VO_Space_SQ_Catch_Thrown_Object_02: “Oh… Just… safely throw the crate towards earth and nobody will get hurt-”, VO_Space_SQ_Catch_Thrown_Object_01: “How… dexterous of you… Don’t get any silly ideas, now-”, VO_Space_SQ_Grab_Wincon_01: “Put that down! Before you, uh… hurt yourself-!”, VO_Space_SQ_Start_Chain_Reaction_03: “Idiot! You killed us both! … Well, I’ll probably be fine-”).

Assorted Curiosities

Below are some other quirks of Solaris that I couldn’t fit into any of the prior categories.

She seems to talk to herself rather frequently, and makes a habit of doing so throughout the Death Engine mission (VO_Space_SQ_Solve_Hull_Breach: “Note to self… Check on fuses and adjust risk assessment calculations…”, VO_Space_SQ_Controller_Impact: “Note to self… Make sure docking arm manual override container is securely fastened to hull and not sliding all over the damn station.”, VO_Space_SQ_Read_File_06: “… Note to self… Conduct post mortem examination of agent.”)

While going over the Agent’s file, she seems rather nonplussed about the majority of their feats- despite the fact they all involve her tech. This may be because the damage caused more impact to Zor than to her. The only thing she seems to get genuinely upset about was the destruction of the Prototype-Machine Z, which may be because of its inevitable importance to the Death Engine (VO_Space_SQ_Read_File_04: “Ahh, so you’ve encountered my gravity tech in Zor’s lodge before… You’ll note I’ve made improvements since you destroyed my prototype.”)

Despite building many successful inventions, as well as the Death Engine- which the Agency would go on to deem “[one of] the most powerful weapons known to humanity”, Solaris seems to have occasional doubts about her abilities as an engineer (VO_Space_SQ_Use_Offline_Gravbox_Cover_Blown_01: “Watching you struggle with concepts like electricity really puts me at ease.”)

She is incredibly good with math, and will not only solve equations by hand or even in her head, but seems to derive pleasure from this. Somehow (VO_Space_SQ_Solve_Lock: “… Aligning trajectory… Calculating force… And… catch!”, VO_Space_SQ_Computer_Press_X_Buttons_Cover_Safe: “Automatic computer? Agh… Who wouldn’t want to do their own computing?”)

Speaking of computers, she seems to have a disaffinity towards them, and potentially even struggles to use them (VO_Space_SQ_Computer_Press_X_Buttons_Cover_Blown_01: “The security on these new computing machines is horrendous… I’m sure future generations will solve this issue.”, VO_Space_SQ_Zbox_Unlocked_01: “Gah-! I knew people wouldn’t take Z-Mail security seriously.”, VO_Space_SQ_Computer_Press_X_Buttons_Cover_Blown_03: “Tsk, tsk, tsk… You should really enjoy the view instead of staring at that screen so much.”)

She seems to hold great importance on the thought of how technology will evolve and impact the future, both in general (in regards to the aforementioned computer quote), as well as in relation to the Death Engine specifically (VO_Space_SQ_Post_Controller_Banter_01: “Destroying this station will set humanity back generations of scientific progress!”)

As ecstatic as the Death Engine makes her, Solaris will make a habit of cutting herself off upon getting too excited, composing her reaction while the Agent is overhearing (VO_Space_SQ_Admire_DE_04: “Yes… Yes, YES!” [Excited cackling] “... Ahem… Yes.”, VO_Space_SQ_Admire_DE_06: “ZAP!” [Excited cackling] “... Ahem.”). It is unclear if she does this to save face, to maintain a professional appearance to her assistant, or for some other reasaon

#ieytd #commander solaris #i expect you to die #breaking out the main tag for this bc it took me too long to write #look at my flop post boy #my beautiful princess with a disorder...

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