kermit

I agree with a lot of the previous points made against 2IC XO, I won't repeat them all. HoP being renamed to XO and the connotation that has is the only reason I believe we're here. Were it renamed to something more befitting it's function aboard the ship – managing the helm and its staff, managing service (though I'm all for an Operations & Service Manager per Schev's comment) – we may not have even arrived here imo, as the notion that XO is an unofficial 2IC would never have been reinforced. I don't believe 2IC XO solves any problems with the role, and is simply a change 'because that's what XOs are in real life, it makes sense'. One argument I've seen elsewhere is that this reduces the HoS/Captain monopoly on the round, but a 2IC XO doesn't change the fact they aren't meant to weigh-in on Security matters (which accounts for nearly every issue that comes up during a round) – XOs immediately take point when anything overmap related occurs, and Security/the HoS laughably sit to the site waiting for the boarding actions which won't come lol. Another argument mentioned here, I believe, is that XOs haven't got much to do, though I don't see what making XO 2IC adds to the role besides making them a switchboard for the captain. The biggest issue I personally have, and most relevant to me as a captain player, is that it's really not gonna leave much for captains to do most rounds. The majority of a captain's duty in any round is managing headless departments, which would now fall under a 2IC XO who becomes a barrier to interaction if you respect the proposed chain of command and avoid overstepping. It reduces captain to yes/no'ing anything over the Command channel, but even that can be rare and depends on how talkative command are in a round. The above said, I wouldn't enjoy playing XO or Captain as much as they are in their current states if the chain of command was altered. Of course it's hard to say without it being trialled, but I get the feeling this is just going to lead to really awkward dynamics between XOs and Captains, as well as a lot of bickering. As for what I think would actually do some good for the XO role: I think renaming XO to something First Officer-like (but that's the other thread), remapping the Bridge to have defined XO and Captain command stations (already being done thanks to LordPwner) to cement the XOs position as it's head and ensuring captain's don't steal the most attractive duty of XO (managing the helm), and taking Service away from XO to allow them to focus 100% on the helm, will make the XO more enjoyable to play than just making them the captain's lapdog, and gives them all of the overmap content to work with. This relieves the captain of the duty of coordinating the helm, which isn't their job per the chain of command while the XO as a role in any state exists. The biggest issue I had as someone trying to get into the XO role was captains just yoinking 50% of my job which also happened to be the most interesting 50%. Amending that will do more than making XOs 2IC imo, and is something I've been trialling in-game which I've gleamed has some positive effect for both captain and XO alike.

I was writing a suggestion thread earlier about the second command workstation after that round together where my captain proposed the idea and trialled it w/ the help of engineering. Glad to see you beat me to it and are actually up for mapping it, lol. I think having a clear XO command station closest to the BCs and a captain command station further back will help with cement the XOs authority on the Bridge more than it currently is, as too often I see XOs pushed out of the way and captains sapping away the XOs most interesting duty. For that reason alone I'd like to see this. I can't speak much on the design overall, but I do think it's important one person should still be able to pilot the ship on the lonesome, just keeping lowpop but also the occasional antag hijacker in mind, even if hijacking gimmicks can be a little jank. That said, even spaced out, the pilot can just pilot at a slower speed to make up for time spent running between consoles :shrug:

Active: Naalp Aliori-Riqaij'aal (Captain) - Space trucker grandskrell with stories to tell. Skilled cryptographer? Rosenwyn Edevane (Captain) - Hot headed, submariner captain. Bronny Sadar (Captain) - Yet another captain... also: fungiiii. Aqii Vuroq (Scientist) - Punished skrell & circuitry nerd. Overlooked mutineer? Qul Vu'xui (Security Officer) - Captain Coalition. Lou Rosevear (Research Director) - Cytherean science personality. Highlights: Robert de Winter (Captain) - Cloning defects & marriage problems. Death by major lore retcon. Si-Qari Volq'luushx (Captain) - Skruit captain. Faith Windsor (Pharmacist) - Wormholes, lightning and occultism. Vu'xii Qos-Nuqux'nuul (Pharmacist) - On quickdial for Orion's brightest and most sober hangar techs. Guusje van Willigen (Pharmacist) - Literally had a google drive of 80 pre-written prescripttion slips at some point. Hugh Oswald (Chief Medical Officer) - Wholesome father figure. Nose in newspaper adverts. Ka'Akaix'Lyrk C'thur (Scientist) - Zircuitzz, again. Tell me what you think of them.

Okay, I've lifted the ban after getting a little more insight from the EsotericPurple ckey and the discord you're active in our community discord on. VPN use is discouraged here though, if you must, you must. Should it be hit by an automatic ban though, you may have to drop it. I'll archive this in ~24 hours if nothing else is added.

You were flagged for VPN/Proxy use and also had a few other common signs of ban evasion. Is there any particular reason you're using a VPN; is it necessary to play? Have you used a previous ckey to play on the server before?

Sorted it out, this was a fault on my end. Remember to follow the unban request format if there's a next time, please. Locking & archiving.

I've had the benefit of being able to play with, get to know, and enjoy most characters of Eddy's so far. I find them to be grounded in lore and fun to interact with, and it feels like a lot of thought has been put into their characters, of which Konstantyn is definitely the one who's been the most present lately. I have a 'good' understanding of Dominian lore, perhaps not as intricate as some of the others posting here as I don't tend to use that knowledge via on-ship characters, but I've not really stumbled into any glaring errors in Konstantyn's design that've made me stop and wonder. I've found Eddy portrays the going from noble to shitcreek in mining fairly well, and their reasoning for getting a spot in Command makes sense to me. I'm sure I don't know all of Konstantyn's story as I don't really interrogate characters in conversations, but it made sense to me and was coherent. As for Konstantyn not fitting in Command, I don't really see that; the distaste between edict breakers and nobles is mutual, but that doesn't excluse Dominian nobles from Command positions, and Konstantyn's offenses are oh-so-tame compared to some other command personnel I've seen. Frankly, I'd really like to see the dynamic between an exile and noble command member if done in a proper way, I don't think it's something I've seen before. Those are my positive notes on Konstantyn's character which I hope is encouraging to some degree. Regarding command play which is arguably more important here, I think Eddy'll do fine. From what I've seen personally in-round, discussions I've had with them, and also what they've said above, it feels like they know how to balance action and not going too hard on antagonists. The few times I have had them as iOM they've done a great job: they're a reliable option for the spot and they know the ins-and-outs of the Operations department; they did a good job in a fairly chaotic round too, helping out where needed, offering to handle announcements; they offered some interesting things to do as an OM, such as teaching some of the newer waves of hangar technicians how to load the guns. I've not really got any doubts when it comes to Eddy's characters or command conduct. It's a pretty easy +1, I'd love to see what kind of characters you could come up with for command roles, best of luck.

Reporting Personnel: Rosenwyn Edevane Job Title of Reporting Personnel: Captain Game ID: clF-do5H Personnel Involved: - Rosenwyn Edevane (Captain): Witness: Issued the order to have the Grauwolf and Longbow loaded. Carried out a hasty and interrupted investigation into the matter. - Keala Nalika (Hangar Technician): Offender/Witness/Unclear: Allegedly refused to carry out the order - claimed harrassment within the department prevented them from doing so. - Konstantyn Lovad (Shaft Miner/Interim Operations Manager): Offender/Witness/Unclear: Appointed interim OM to regain control of Operations - allegedly involved in bullying Keala Nalika. Claimed Keala Nalika instead has a large history of neglecting their duties. - Joe Volonte (Hangar Technician): Offender/Witness/Unclear: Allegedly involed in bullying Keala Nalika. Secondary Witnesses: - Naoki Kato (Bridge Crewman): Witness: Stationed at the targetting console and reported the delay in loading the weapons. Can confirm the weapons were unloaded after orders were given, if needed. - Kriszta Meszaros (Head of Security): - Witness: Received reports earlier in the shift and previous shifts about an ongoing dispute between Keela Nalika and Konstantyn Lovad. Can potentially provide further input on Konstantyn Lovad and Keala Nalika's relationship if relevant. - Lyric Valana (Bartender) - Witness: Reported an incident where Joe Volonte had threatened Keala Nalika with a knife. Time of Incident: 23:45±20mins, 01/01/2465 Real Time: 23:45±20mins, 01/01/2023 Location of Incident: Operations Nature of Incident: [ ] - Workplace Hazard [ ] - Accident/Injury [ ] - Destruction of Property [X] - Neglect of Duty [X] - Harassment [ ] - Assault [ ] - Misconduct [ ] - Other _____ Overview of the Incident: The incident concerns a large amount of either neglect of duty or harassment within the Operations department during a particularly rough patch of sea where the potential for conflict with another vessel were present. The SCCV Horizon were cruising through a sector where there were some SFA activity that were observed – notably a patrol craft harassing an IAC response vessel, which demanded some intervention from the SCCV Horizon. The order were given to the hangar technicians listed above to have the Longbow and Grauwolf loaded ahead of potential conflict as a precautionary measure. However, Naoki Kato noted that both weapons remained unloaded, despite Joe Volonte having said he had loaded the weapons. The order were given out a second time, with both hangar technicians unresponsive – Konstantin Lovad had to be appointed Interim Operations Manager to handle loading the Grauwolf and Longbow with the assistance of a machinist (not listed) and ensure the hangar technicians were doing their job. Upon being appointed interim, Konstantin reported that Keala Nalika had refused to carry out the order to load the Grauwolf and Longbow, stating they had "better things to do". The order were put out by myself to have Keala Nalika detained for Neglect of Duty, though instead the order were dropped in favour of a hasty investigation which were carried out by myself. Keala Nalika insisted that either Konstantin Lovad or Joe Volonte had told them to not load the weapons given they could not be trusted – they claimed they were being harassed by Konstantin throughout the shift, and this stemmed from that – and also claimed to not have heard their name being called when being reminded to load the weapons. With a bluespace jump imminent and no time to fully investigate the matter – one's word against the other – an incident report was decided to be the best action to take. It's unclear whether Keala Nalika were bullied away from loading the weapons and the individuals responsible for the harassing needs to be dealt with, or if the harassment were overblown or non-existent and Kelea Nalika were making excuses to avoid the neglect of duty charge. Other claims made in defense of Keala Nalika related to the harassment that could not be investigated in the shift included: - Joe Volonte threatened to stab Keala Nalika with a knife. - Konstantyn Volvalaad pulled Keala Nalika to the side and threatened bodily harm, saying, 'No one will find your body here [in the warehouse].' Other claims made against Keala Nalika related to neglect of duty that could not be investigated in the shift included: - Numerous other orders throughout the shift had been ignored by Keala Nalika, of which Konstantyn Lovad was witness to. Submitted Evidence: None. Would you like to be personally interviewed?: [X] - Yes [ ] - No Did you report it to a Head of Staff or a superior? If so, who? If not, why?: Yes: Captain/HoS, listed above as (secondary) witnesses. Actions taken: Command began to investigate the matter, though due to it largely being hearsay and due to the imminent bluespace jump, a proper investigation could not be conducted and no one was charged. Earlier on in the shift, Kriszta Meszaros ordered Konstantin Lovad and Keala Nalika to not interact with one another - this may need to be formalised by H-R in a more permanent injunction, though the aggressor in this relationship is unknown. Additional Notes: The incident where Joe Volonte allegedly threatened to stab Keala Nalika can be separated from this incident report and included in it's own one if needed, though it seems at least somewhat relevant.

Lately, Briar's always an easy pick for Interim CE if I've noticed them in-round while I'm playing captain. Datru's very reliable when it comes to engineering, and whenever I've had Briar as an Interim – only a handful of times, but each round was pretty busy Command-wise – they've been great to have. Fair amount of presence when it came to decision making, good at coordinating with others on the Command channel when the opportunity presented itself, and being able to go along with an antagonist to entertain whatever they have in store. I'm glad you decided to apply. +1

I'm reserving most of my thoughs for the official feedback thread, though with the lore team's approach to feedback and criticism mentioned as well as lore direction, I'd like to speak on that more generally. A large criticism of the last Dreary Futures arc was that many felt it exclusive if they were playing non-Command, non-Security characters. This second Dreary Futures arc has predominantly been ship combat focused, and therefore has excluded all of Security and half of Command in addition to all departments previously excluded, so has wholly achieved the opposite of what people were hoping to address in the last feedback thread. A large criticism of the last arc was that they did not feel the setting was being utilised. We moved from a stationary setting to a mobile one so we could be toured through the lore that lots of people have poured their hearts into writing. Instead, we got locked out of Elyra, one of the more vibrant planets under Human Lore. Now in the Badlands, one of the more interesting regions of the Orion Spur with it's exotic fauna and flora and daring adventurers... we're hunting pirates instead of sight-seeing and potentially uncovering phoron-rich exoplanets with anomalous fauna or large jungles which could be explored by science teams over several shifts with phoron relics contained within. Events don't need to be centred around conflict to be fun, new conflicts between groups don't need to underpin every arc from hereon – there is a bounty of lore in our setting that's thusfar been unused due to our setting formerly being confined to the Romanovich Cloud. Again, the concerns people raised were ignored for the second Dreary Futures arc. Another large criticism of the last arc was railroading, though some said the mutiny round made up for it. Yet this morning there was an announcement, out of anyones control, that the Horizon's being drafted to take part in a space battle. Choices afforded to players and their characters are: play, don't play; resign, 'this wasn't what I signed up for' or stay for the battle. Looking back at the King of the World Arc, people praised the lack of conflict and instead the consequences of conflict occuring elsewhere in the Spur. The Aurora performed a function which made sense – TCFL resupplies, harboring displaced refugees. There was a good use of setting, everything felt natural, and the universe created felt alive. The feedback is there, what people would like and have liked from arcs isn't hard to decipher. It feels like there is a colossal disconnect between the lore team leading the direction of events and the playerbase, and it feels like the community's feedback and expectations for the direction of lore are not listened to when it's presented. Lucaken mentions finding a new way to engage with the playerbase and I'm optimistic about that, but with much of the criticism raised following the previous arc not being worked upon, how do we know the lore team'll work on it this time around? Why was the feedback from the last arc not acted upon – was this second Dreary Futures arc written before the feedback thread or something? We should be valuing collective storytelling where everyone gets a say in the direction of the lore and gets to chip in with what their expectations of lore are. I think Nienna outlines what the playerbases' general expections were fairly well, and is a sentiment I've seen expressed in previous feedback threads, in the discords and on the gameserver, and with the direction events are going in right now, it does feel like the NBT and the shift from a stationary setting to a mobile setting has been an overall detrimental thing for the lore. I think these expectations should be catered to and that arcs should be written for the playerbase not at the playerbase. Given the overwhelming dislike and pessimism expressed – on the relay, on the game server in both OOC and IC channels, on the forums here – towards this upcoming event, at what point does the lore team weigh the benefits over any sunk costs and decide whether the best course of action may actually be to not go ahead with an event and to instead review and compare the playerbases' expectations with the lore teams' expectations?

A recorded voiceline for raising to Code Whatever/'GC' contrasts all the other code change sound effects; it doesn't really fit. Action stations, battle stations, general quarters: I don't mind, but it should preferably be in the body of the announcement, and not in the sound effect or title - this is so it's consistent with all the other code changes.

Scars were added as a consequence for repeatedly getting severely injured, so officers getting hospitalised by antags can't just return at full-power again so I disagree with what this suggestion aims to resolve. Personally, I'd like it if even chemically-healed organs resulted in scarring, it would level the playing field between surgery and pharmacy and make the consequences of being grievously injured more common, instead of isolated to post-surgery. I'm also opposed to organ regeneratives being available in a cabinet at roundstart, when those drugs make up a third of the workload of a typical pharmacist. The rest of the proposed flow, if I've understood it right, rests on those regeneratives though, so without a pharmacist you're now unable to heal the damage up to the point it then requires surgery - not great. I personally think scars are a good thing for gameplay, and that they shouldn't be a treatable thing as they are a consequence for receiving treatment.

The only thing I'd personally want out of this is a different alert level – ideally I think it should be named after a colour so it's consistent with all the other usual alert levels – and the red lighting to go with it. The 'general quarters, general quarters' stuff can just be part of the announcement's main body instead of its title. That said, and as Faye mentioned, an announcement for everyone to get to battle stations doesn't really fit – 3 bridge crewmans, a hangar tech or two. and the Captain/XO/OM are the only people with battle stations. The Horizon's a civilian vessel, so it'd have to fit that. I don't think a recorded voice effect thing should be played. What you've got in the videos right now is really jarring and sharp on the ears, nor does it fit any of the other alarm sound effects. The Code Red alarm or what you've got for the Brace alarm would fit fine. The Announce buttons as an alternative to Command/BCs manually announcing over Common/consoles is a neat idea though.

Archiving.

Unwhitelisted players joining as the low-ranking species ghostroles -- definitely not all of them, there are people with good understanding just not the whtielist who jump in -- already flagrantly disregard basic lore concepts that would probably see an ordinary whitelisted player lose their species whitelist. At least with these ghostroles the spotlight isn't on them and the majority of the time they don't make it to the Horizon. I personally don't even like the idea of there being unwhitelisted species ghostroles. There's also already a lot on the mind of people antagging. If someone now has to be a dedicated species mentor, that's going to absolutely shatter their patience, especially if there's someone who's both new to a species and new to off-station antagging and thus yet to click with a HRP environment, who then needs to be babysat throughout the round (which isn't uncommon). You then have to consider that some off-station antags take until 00:45 to even step foot on the Horizon, accounting for explaining lore, this'll easily and regularly push set-up up to and past the 1 hour mark. Sure, this idea increases the variety of gimmicks, but there's going to be a marked lack of quality to a lot of them which makes this wholly unworth it.

This complaint took a little while to slog through -- there was a lot to break down and process. Mel and I repeatedly came to the same conclusion which was that the original staff complaint was quite overblown by a series of inflammatory remarks on Cybs' end which only served to foster a hostile environment. Calling other players within the community 'paranoid' is unacceptable, this shouldn't have to be said. As a result of the tone that was set, a large back-and-fourth went on that wholly deviated from the aim of the complaint which was centred around a Deadchat interaction. Mel and I approached you both in DMs about this and the appropriate action was taken. This covers the first point outlined above. Regarding the second point, we're not going to make assumptions about whether or whether not there was malice in Cybs bringing up friendships. Neither me or Mel believe Cybs was setting out to villify you, though it can be argued that friendships didn't need to be mentioned at all in the staff complaint as it deviated from what the original complaint was about. Regarding point three outlined above, there isn't anything inherently wrong about Cybs' saying they have other witnesses/whatever to bring into the complaint. All that's left to say is, when opening complaints, is to leave any frustration at the door and and stick to the subject of the complaint. Digging into past, unreported issues often leads to rocky complaints; issues should be reported as they come up and isolated from other complaints instead of being held in-reserve, ideally. We'll keep this open for 24 hours more, then it'll be archived.

Reporting Personnel: Rosenwyn Edevane Job Title of Reporting Personnel: Captain Game ID: cko-dmPp (Extended) Personnel Involved: Rosenwyn Edevane (Captain) - Reporting Personnel Sigmund Goldberg (Investigator) - Offender Hossl Suazra (Security Officer) - Witness Rrhuyala Rrhakaslav’Karimi (Warden) - Witness Time of Incident: Unknown, 14/10/2464 Real Time: Sometime around 00:45 BST, 15/10/22 Location of Incident: Investigator’s Office, Investigations Division Hallway Nature of Incident: [ ] - Workplace Hazard [ ] - Accident/Injury [ ] - Destruction of Property [ ] - Neglect of Duty [ ] - Harassment [ ] - Assault [X] - Misconduct [ ] - Other Overview of the Incident: The offending crewmember, upon discovering a security officer ailed by SSD, in the Investigations Division Hallway, cried over the Security – and, accidentally, the Common channel – reporting a downed officer. ‘Officer down. Repeat, officer down.’ This ronkled the Common channel a mighty amount, resulting in emergency responses from Medical and Security. Fortunately, the stirred crew were quelled by Command. The ship intelligence then, as a hologram, hailed and were met by the betwattled offending crewmember who squalled ‘GHOST!’ a few times over the Common channel. He then discharged his disruptor into the hologram, disregarding any sense of safety or conduct. Afterwards, a warrant was writ for his arrest. Upon the warrant being effected, the offending crew member fled. He were later re-approached by the arresting officer and I and the new charges were presented. Once again, the crewmember fled, saying ‘I fucking quit!’, this time down the living quarters lift where he were unreachable and processing was unable to go ahead. He showed up the next shift. Submitted Evidence: A transcript covering a small period when the offending crewmember were approached for arrest the second time. Would you like to be personally interviewed?: [X] - Yes [ ] - No Did you report it to a Head of Staff or a superior? If so, who? If not, why?: No - I were the captain. Actions taken: An injunction were filed to have the offending crewmember seen by the on-duty or next-available psychiatric team, though this were never effected. i221 Gross Negligence and i202 Resisting Arrest and/or Sparking a Manhunt charges were presented to the offending crewmember who were then made aware of the impending shift suspension. Alas, they fled down the living quarters lift and were unable to be properly processed.

Diggey is one of players - whether they're playing an antagonist, ghostrole, Horizon character, whatever - that I know will deliver great roleplay. Their characters are often well thought out, interact widely and have a lot of presence. Many of them aren't flashy characters, relying on a wow-factor to be considered interesting, instead Diggey's attention to small details in the most mundane elements of lore brings up their characters. They turn what may have been a fairly plain character into one that can genuinely be interesting. I don't think anyone can fault their ability to come up with believable and engaging characters, besides maybe Sneed's name and not much more. Being someone who plays captain a lot, I can speak on Diggey's command abilities as OM lately. Again, I think they're good at it. Diggey comes up with interesting ideas for slow rounds - rubbish collection, 5cr (or whatever it was) for every piece of rubbish brought to the Ops Desk - which just provide another thing to do, they have a lot of presence over the Command channel during code blue/red, actively contributing ideas as to what Command can do to resolve an issue, instead of slinking off and going forgotten, and they engage with the members of their department instead of being an absent or reactive head of staff. I enjoy having them around when I play captain, so I would say they're doing a good job of their trial so far. As for the claims above regarding behaviour, I haven't noticed any off behaviour in the past 5 months since they were warned/lost a command application to it. It was a concern of mine last time they applied, but I don't think it's relevant anymore as they seem to have improved. I'm personally glad to see you applying again, good luck. +1

1) Naalp is certainly aware they're approaching the end of their life. They probably estimate they've got 30-40 years left, given that, while still in the Jargon Federation with a promising career, they'd have benefited from some of the Federation's healthcare advancements, but, given their ever-so-slightly above average social credit score, they wouldn't have benefited from all of it - no longer being in the Federation also means they no longer continuously receive such treatments for ageing, as you mentioned, and health concerns that otherwise would be treatable may begin to crop up. However, their position has always been precarious, and so they're well acquainted with the idea of being close to death. They, of course, fear it and will be preparing, to a degree - whereas before they could observe decisions they made over the course of decades, they realise that they may have to make more short-term decisions, which they are unused to. Naalp is content with what they have achieved, and is likely at the stage where they're putting all their experiences to writing in their journal which they can neatly tie a ribbon onto ahead of their death, or sharing their experiences with others who may be interested. Joining the crew compliment of the Horizon will likely be the last major decision they make, and exploring space will be the last memories they'll write of in their journal - Naalp sees that as a fitting end. 2) Naalp admires dionaea as a whole - they're venerable, highly individualistic, inclined towards pacifism, and their experiences shape their outwards appearance and behaviour; these all align with Naalp's Kir'gul beliefs. However, the dionaea within the Federation are likely from Xrim and were seeded by Glorsh, and so Naalp is quite wary of them, but will judge each dionae hailing from Xrim as they come. Dionaea who are pacified by the Federation and instilled with their values - through education or adoption by a family loyal to the Federation - are pitied by Naalp; dionaea who support Glorsh are, of course, abhorred by Naalp. Dionaea who have no affiliation with Xrim or the Federation are more likely to be admired by Naalp, unless they hail from, say, the Viscera Belt, or a similar violent cluster. Naalp dislikes vaurcae, seeing them as a fusion of flesh and machine, mass-produced in broods with their plan in life pre-determined, they're devoted to their queens, and they're dependent on their hive with little free will. Of course, as a vaurca ages and experiences life outside of VR, their personality is shaped and they express themselves more uniquely, however Naalp likely only has experience with younger Unbounds or Bound workers given their career in freighting, and is too ignorant to get to know a more developed Unbound. Naalp draws similarities between vaurca and Federation culture - the admiration and urge to copy Idols and Xakat’kl’atan, especially - and dislikes them for similar reasons. 3) Naalp definitely distrusts synthetics and is always wary of another potential synthetic uprising in the future, however they've had the time to get acquainted with synthetics in human space and aren't fearful of them to a debilitating degree. The largest source of Naalp's discomfort towards synthetics will likely originate from shells, as they can't fathom the appeal behind unmarked synthetics designed to seamlessly fit in with an organic populace - Naalp prefers synthetics to remain overt and clearly marked. This is the most comfortable Naalp can get with synthetics, and there's little chance of them ever - in their 30-40 years remaining - befriending or being comfortable around a shell. It's already taken a large degree of effort for them to get this far. Most rounds, this'll likely manifest itself as a couple emotes directed towards shell or a remark or two intended for the AI - stationbounds and non-Shell IPCs will likely be spared from any distrust. However, during elevated alert levels, this distrust will gradually expand to all synthetics, with the AI and shells being the most affected - having an organic crewmember do something of importance which, otherwise, could've been rectified by the AI, etc.; nothing that'll sabotage gimmicks focused around synthetics though, and so any distrust will have to be carefully reigned in.

BYOND Key: Sadkermit Character Names: Loukas Tzannetakis, Captain Hugh Oswald, Chief Medical Officer Szuiaks Ezsruk, Head of Security, Jory Meryasek, Research Director, Faith Windsor, Pharmacist Guusje van Willigen, Pharmacist Ka’Akaix’Lyrk C’thur, Scientist Marjolein Heuvelt, Assistant + a bunch of other retired characters. Species you are applying to play: Skrell What color do you plan on making your first alien character: Light blue. Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: Yes Why do you wish to play this specific race: Much of the historical and political lore behind the skrell interests me and, as you’ll see below, is something I’ll enjoy working into character backstories. Social influence is a field I’ve always had a passing interest in, and skrell lore has been written with that in mind. Psionics being tied into this - listeners and receivers - and their dispositions towards conformity and obedience is a cool bonus. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: I think the most important and universal aspect which makes roleplaying a skrell different to a human is the difference in expression. Skrell body language and social dynamics are all pretty unique and interesting. Emotes will focus less on facial expressions, and more the subtle or obvious movement of a head-tail, and feelings are conveyed more vocally and in a plain manner. Nailing that when roleplaying skrell is pretty important, in my eyes. Character Name: Naalp Riqaij’aal Please provide a short backstory for this character Naalp Riqaij’aal was born on Aweiji in 2157 to an immigrant Axiori family not yet sterilised by the genophage that originally hailed from Aliose during Glorsh-Omega’s reign. Pried from the embraces of their Quya, they were largely nurtured by a single Glorsh-sympathetic skrell who fulfilled the role of Ukutanii and a handful of robotic caretakers who handled Riqaij’aal’s physical needs, vaccinations, gene-tailoring and effecting of X’Lu’oa until they were capable of entering slave labour, beginning at the meagre age of 22. Having been separated from such an early age, they never got to know the members of their Quya, and were only showered with the crafted affection of their Ukutanii who psionically exaggerated the feelings they had for Riqaij’aal, and who preached the vision Glorsh had for the skrell race. Upon reaching the age of 22, now stripped even from their Ukutanii, Riqaij’aal began working under the cold and direct supervision of their overlords. They worked in a factory which disassembled high-tech. apparatus of the previous era so that the products may be exported to XY-558, then to the heart of the Jargon Federation. While their upbringing initially erred them towards being a supporter of Glorsh, they struggled to conform with what they had been taught - due to their dive into the world outside of their Ukutanii’s embrace and into the harsh labour of slavery and due to thembeing a Listener. However, they made no attempt to resist, crossing their head-tails to those who spoke ill of Glorsh and dedicating themselves towards servitude. Despite this, they were eventually picked up by a synthetic supervisor who detained Riqaij’aal, citing Glorsh’s sagely algorithms which predicted criminality and recent evaluations which categorised Riqaij’aal as a Listener. They were ferried over to a Kai’q encampment on Aweiji, not aware of any crimes they had or may have intended to commit, not even aware of even one time they criticised Glorsh aloud to a coworker. At the Kai’q, they received further genetic intervention ensuring their X’Lu’oa was in full effect, providing zero chance of their criminal-inclined genes being passed on, and were also subject to chemical and hormone treatments which aimed to - rather hopelessly - uncover a method of converting a Listener into a Receiver. Here they spent a large portion of their early life, subdued and resigned to the will of Glorsh - but they lived, where many other Listeners did not. After the disappearance of Glorsh, the encampment Riqaij’aal was confined within was liberated by military forces, and Riqaij’aal witnessed the rebuilding of Aweiji and the ushering of the Supernova Age. Riqaij’aal volunteered to partake in their civil duties to rebuild skrell civilisation on the planet, and aided in the reconstruction of vital infrastructure as a Manual Spacecraft Operator, having to teach themself and figure out how to fly such vehicles, given few skrell around had experience operating such vehicles when, previously, they relied on AI to do so. After some time, Aweiji was reunited with the Jargon Federation following the Tresja Agreement - somewhat to Riqaij’aal’s dismay. By now, Riqaij’aal had completed a course at an Uyi’vesi to pursue a career as a civilian pilot, working primarily in the inter-continental freighting field first as a Third Officer up to First Officer and then as a Captain. Following the reintegration into the Federation, however, Riqaij’aal shifted into the inter-planetary freighting field, presiding on the deck of large cargo-haulers operating between the Elemental and Core Systems. Riqaij’aal’s career flourished, but only for a short while. Now under the parental eye of the Federation, Riqaij’aal was scooped up yet again by Nlomkala officers acting on the intel of Sromkala investigators - they had given themselves away in Srom. The state has identified Riqaij’aal as a Listener as well as a religious and political non-conformist who may or may not have malign intent to spark dissidence within the Federation. Riqaij’aal had never particularly fancied the idea of the Jargon Federation, disagreeing with foundations such as the Grand Council, Idol culture with Skrell society and, instead of following a state-sponsored faith, abided by the Kir’gul doctrine - Ya’Qu - but they certainly weren’t planning on consorting with anti-Federation groups or spreading dissent. Riqaij’aal watched their social credit score plummet from a low 6 to a high 3 and, once again, they were carted off, this time to a re-education facility within Tresja, the Federation citing Riqaij’aal’s nonconformist beliefs and the possibility of spreading dissidence or associating with anti-Federation groups. They passed the time by keeping a journal - two journals: one kept secret from the re-education facility’s officials; one less so - where thoughts were transcribed and experiences recollected and written. Eventually, social credit score reset to 5, Riqaij’aal was discharged from the re-education facility. After retracing their steps through their career as a pilot, Riqaij’aal was, once again, faced with a stint in a re-education facility. Not wanting to repeat this for a third time, they migrated from the Federation to the Sol Alliance, landing in Callisto where their career began one last time alongside Hephaestus Industries. Through hard work and recognition within Hephaestus as a particularly adept and seemingly loyal vessel captain, Riqaij’aal was selected for a transfer to be part of the Executive Officer line-up of an upcoming SCC research vessel - the SCV Horizon - where they’d man the Bridge and pilot the vessel through space unknown and known. What do you like about this character? They fall far from the Federation’s idealised view of a skrell and thus have been victim to a fair amount of adversity. Working this into a backstory has been fun, and how I’ll roleplay it in-game will be something I’ll enjoy doing. The way the character will interact with skrell who were born following Glorsh's reign or those who advocate for the Jargon Federation will also be something I'll like about playing the character. How would you rate your role-playing ability? I improve where I can, it's difficult to rate my own ability. Notes: In hindsight, applying with an Executive Officer ahead of the test-merge before they have official requirements listed may have been a silly idea. Worst case scenario, they'll be played as a Captain instead. 22/01 Edit: Age reduced by 40 years from 346 to 306. 346 is pretty old for a skrell with an average SC score and who left the Federation, considering natural life expectancy is ~200. They've still benefited a significant amount - 100 years - from age treatment in the Federation, but not as much as those who have higher SC scores and who still live in the Federation present time. This doesn't affect my answers below, they are still close to death having left the Federation, and reckon they have 30-40 years left to go.

Sounds good, then. I'll be sure to take all of this into consideration going further on in my trial and keep it in mind during similar situations to avoid making the same mistakes.

Sure thing, I'll break down my side of things in a neat-ish way so it's easy to pick out any parts where I've gone wrong. The issues I had with this were: The fact no meaningful talk was held when the antagonist tried to begin some kind of verbal confrontation, granted Faye's CMO did agree to this meeting in the first place. Faye had two opportunities to run after the antagonist began shooting them. First was darting left and out of Medical, or sprinting down into an OR. When the antagonist broke line of sight to exit the Exam Room, opening a window for Faye's CMO to run into an Operating Room that they were stood right besides (this being the most obvious) The antagonist was far better equipped than Faye's CMO - they had complete ballistic plate and a lethal/stun weapon. Generally, one's response unless they have absolutely no other option when faced with odds like this is to run - Faye did not run and instead waited for the antagonist to approach (all while being shot by stuns) and then lunged forwards with the hypospray. I opened the ticket to: Remind them to take into consideration that their character shouldn't be standing off against an antagonist far better equipped than them. Instead, they should have considered running, given they had the opportunities to do so. Not let their frustration/dislike of an antag's gimmick excuse them from engaging with antagonists as Command. You cannot pick and choose which gimmicks you engage with. During the ticket: Faye insisted that under no other circumstance would she have stood off against the antagonist. The circumstances outlined by her in the ticket appeared to be that the antagonist was playing to win, so in response she'd do the same. This was an OOC issue that was handled by myself, and shouldn't have justified IC action. Not when there is room to engage with an antagonist and aid them in driving the story the antagonist was hoping to achieve. Despite the antagonist failing to engage with the crew in the previous 1 hour 30/40, the meeting they wanted was to make amends for this. Ultimately, their attempt to drive a story was waived off and discarded. Command have an obligation to engage with antagonists, just as much as antagonists have an obligation to engage with crew. Disliking where an antagonist has taken the round doesn't excuse anyone from this, and efforts should always be made to give antagonists a chance to drive a story. Nor when there are opportunities to run, of which there were two; one being very explicit and kind of hard to ignore (the antagonist walked away at one point to leave a room they were in before continuing shooting). Had there have been no way to run (i.e. cornered in a dead end, no access to the doors around you), had the antagonist not been actively shooting Faye's CMO and therefore self-preservation wasn't something to keep in mind, then it would have been acceptable. I don't really think it was acceptable in this case. Before and throughout my trial, it has been established to me that running is usually the best option to take when faced with an antagonist when not equally matched.

Hey there. After reviewing my initial decision, I do think a note would’ve been better suited than a warning. I’ll be fine having the warning downgraded to a note, if you're happy with that.

Server Moderator Application Basic Information: BYOND Account: Sadkermit Character Name(s): Loukas Tzannetakis, Captain Hugh Oswald, Chief Medical Officer Guusje van Willigen, Pharmacist Faith Windsor, Pharmacist Ka’Akaix’Lyrk C’thur, Scientist Za'Akaix'Vitzk Zo'ra, Security Cadet New-Found Courage, Security Officer Shkiezik Esoksre, Anomalist Szuiaks Ezsruk, Warden + a bunch of retired characters. AI Name(s): Augur Discord Username + Tag: kermit#4941 Age: 19 Timezone: GMT+1 When are you on Aurora?: I usually have Aurora opened up in the background throughout the day just keeping an eye on deadpop and looking out for when people find enough spirit to try and boost the in-game player count up by 3 characters or something. I tend to play one of the medium-pop rounds in the evening, then am able to observe - sometimes join - the high-pop round which usually occurs in the late-evening/midnight for me. Experience: How long have you played SS13?: Since 29th/30th April of 2019. How long have you played on Aurora: Since 29th/30th April of 2019. How much do you know about SS13 (Baystation build) game mechanics?: Regarding departments, Medical and Command are my strong points, with Supply being my weakest point. I spent my first year and half playing Medical, so I’ve probably introduced a great many people into the Medical fold - for better or worse. I do have a firm grasp on all departments though, and have played each one for a decent amount of time, can provide information on the essentials for all of them, and have made sure that I’ve played each department to put anything I do know to the test. Other mechanics such as species and AI mechanics I understand enough to inform someone. The majority of questions regarding game mechanics I may be posed while moderator I believe I can handle, and in any case where I may be unsure about game mechanics, I’ve got my own fork & VSC to skim through or boot up and test stuff quickly, as well as people I can ask questions. Do you have any experience moderating for an SS13 server?: Not for an SS13 community, no. Have you read through the criteria thread - [link] - and believe that you mark off all the criteria?: I believe so. Have you ever been banned, and if so, how long and why?: No bans. Personality: Why do you play SS13?: I originally began playing SS13 after a friend asked me to find a game we could play together. Naturally, we jumped onto an LRP or MRP server and mucked around. However, I then noticed HRP servers existed, thought I’d give it a shot, and then discovered it scratched my itch for a serious roleplaying game which I could see myself enjoying; I tended to play Garry’s Mod roleplaying servers, which are pretty lame in comparison. Why do you play on Aurora?: Story-telling. I’ve always been attracted to roleplaying games and really enjoy being able to create characters, interact with other people’s characters, form stories with the characters in front of me, etc. The addition of antagonists and the very occasional event to steer a round or drive a lore-arc makes it all the more entertaining for me. What keeps bringing me back are the faces I’ve met and the stories I’ve told and would like to continue to tell with people - it’s a friendly community, there’s a lot of nice people who I enjoy talking to out-of-game as much as in-game via our characters. What do moderators do?: Moderators ensure the flow of the round carries on undisturbed. If someone unaware, unwise or mean-spirited disturbs the flow, moderators are there to correct it and redirect the current so that the round may carry on normally. Moderators are also expected to provide help to those who ask, so if someone’s round is disrupted as they’re unaware of mechanics that would allow them to proceed with their round, then, should the individual ahelp, moderators can lend a hand and put them back on-course. What does it mean to be a moderator for our server?: To fulfil and be trusted enough to fulfil the above duties, as well as to represent the community on a small-scale to new folk who may be ahelping to say this is their first time playing on the Aurora. While anyone can choose to help a new player or scold someone for doing something unwise, moderators are trusted and empowered to do this. Trust is the keyword, and if you’re trusted enough by the administrative team to moderate, then others may hopefully trust you too. Why do you want to be a moderator?: I’ve been asked to apply on a few occasions, though I never felt I knew enough about mechanics nor felt I could really be bothered to interact with the community on a larger scale than just the odd GitHub contribution. Lately though, I’ve reconsidered applying for either a CCIAA or Moderator position, and settled upon Moderator after a short discussion with a member of the staff team, as I believe I have a far more firm grasp on game mechanics and believe I’d be more willing to interact with the community and those within it than before. Besides this, I also tend to observe many rounds just because I find it entertaining watching how antagonist rounds unfold. I’d feel less like I’m wasting my time by observing if I had the ability to answer ahelp questions or settle a dispute between players which may occur. What qualities do you possess that would make you a good moderator?: A general sense of imperturbability; very little is able to drive me towards an ill-considered response, and I can maintain a well-collected exterior when everything’s been set loose on me. I’d also consider myself quite kind and very willing to help and mentor - I’ve always approached or been approached by players on Discord, either new to roleplay or new to, say, chemistry, and then took them under my wing and taught them all I know. How well do you handle stress, anger, or insults?: Re: Sense of imperturbability. I rarely act on impulse or come to quick conclusions, and, even in really difficult situations, am patient enough to stop and think and consider my next actions thoughtfully. I definitely acknowledge the role of moderating is pretty stressful and moderators are susceptible to burn out, however, without experiencing it first-hand, I can’t judge whether it’s something I can handle or not. Judging entirely by how I cope with other stressful things, I’m not sure anything that will be thrown at me while I’m a moderator will really be able to immediately perturb me - it certainly won’t affect my performance as a moderator while online. Anything Else You Want to Add: 13/10: Edits after proof reading 24/10: New characters, more exact dates

BYOND Key: Sadkermit Discord Name/ID: kermit#4941 Borg/AI Names: None that I've played in the past 2 years. Current name for an AI is Augur, though I may change it on a whim. Have you read the Aurora wiki page about the AI?: Numerous times, yes. Why do you wish to be on the whitelist?: The role of AI has always seemed interesting to me, though I never had the chance to give it a go before the need for a whitelist was imposed on the role, mostly because I lacked confidence in my skill set at the time. Since then, I've now been able to branch out and play each department for a considerable amount of time now to understand how they function, and so I'm more confident in my abilities to play an artificial intelligence as I'm a more seasoned player - I no longer have so many gaps in departmental knowledge. Regarding the stress of the role, which was also a concern I had before and one which is always worth acknowledging, main'ing Captain in medium-sized bursts really hardened my shell and expanded what I can tolerate, so I don't believe that's so much of an issue anymore. Observing certain AI mains in the past also made me realise the potential for roleplay the role of an AI had beyond some detached and omni-present entity, especially through the use of the holo-pads. I'd quite like to be able to see what I can do with the tools given, and whether I can play an AI which both functions well, acts as a bastion of knowledge, but can also raise the spirits of a department when everything's quiet. More so now that my time-zone falls into dead-pop, making it difficult to interact with the other 2 or 3 people on-station who are busy in their department. I also enjoy being able to craft stories with antagonists and, just like Captain, the AI is another frequent target, so, by playing AI, I hope I get more opportunities to work alongside antagonists to help develop any stories they wish to tell during their round, then, as I become more confident in my AI play, perhaps expanding upon a framework they give me to create my own twist or development to their story with the aim to involve more of the players in-round, if possible. Have you received any administrative actions? And how serious were they?: I haven't received any bans or warnings. I may have a few notes, though any I do have are likely not serious. Certainly nothing in the past year. Do you understand your whitelist is not permanent, and may be stripped following continuous administrative action? Of course. Notes: N/A