Skyglazer

I have interacted with Index and Alice, both have been very well-roleplayed members of the command staff. Very official, very proper, nothing worthy of complaint. Zer0 should surely keep his whitelist. +1

Duke Priceright is a lively yet believable character who left a lasting impression even though I've only seen him a scant few times. Same with Mars. I had no idea they were played by the same person, even- but it makes sense, since they're both so great! +1, even though we might be competing for the Liaison slot if we both get approved...

Ah, the lowpop case. Well, especially in round without other command staff, I don't think the remaining heads should be objectively looked at as "the acting captain," because they're not. At best, the Head of Personnel can be a little bit of a stand-in, but for most other roles, on a normal, (let's say) extended round? Their own department comes first and foremost. Once everything in it is all settled and dealt with, then they can check up on the rest of the station and make sure everything's in order. In other rounds with higher populations, you won't find many cases where they have a specific impact outside of their own department. If everything's going well, people should stay in their own places. It's only really through antagonists or other sorts of intervention (for example, if Command wants to run an inspection gimmick) that you'd see, say, the Head of Security running around cargo. In cases like that, they'd be there to direct their lackeys. Let's say research gets damaged by an asteroid. In that case, the chief engineer's "impact" on science would be delegating his engineers to fixing it, or fixing it himself. Lastly, if there are no problems at all and everything is running optimally, hang out with people! Roleplay, make small talk, share stories... plenty of things to keep people occupied and interested, even at low moments.

+1. Sad you're removing the lube, though, it was hilarious. But if that's the price for peace, I will pay it.

Solid maybe! I've been playing SS13 for a long time, but a lot Aurora's mechanics are really new to me. I would absolutely hold off on playing the head of any department or captain for that matter until I've got a solid understanding on how to perform most tasks in all the departments-- not that I'd want to powergame knowing everything, but just so that I'd never be caught out as that CE that doesn't know why a room is leaking, or the RD who doesn't know how to build a cyborg, or the CMO that accidentally overdoses someone on a painkiller. It might be a while yet before you see me in any of those more mechanically-oriented roles, especially because I'd want to play roles with lesser stakes to learn first. Wouldn't rule it out though! And I absolutely understand that if I were to... jump into a position before I was ready for it and fuck it up in a big way, I'd lose my whitelist. So I don't think I'll gamble on that until I'm absolutely confident in my abilities. In short: It's possible, but not until I'm sure I'm good and ready.

BYOND key: Skyglazer Character names: Hazel Delano, Drarak Lezakh How long have you been playing on Aurora?: A little over two months. Why do you wish to be on the whitelist?: I have a character idea that's been knocking around in my head. Talked about it with a few friends, they said it would be a good idea and they'd like to see me roleplay it, but it requires the Command whitelist! So, here I am. Why did you come to Aurora?: Well, Aurora has been a really new experience for me! I've never made any serious commitment to any High-RP Space Station 13 servers, even though I've been playing on servers like /tg/station since 2014. Took a loooong break from BYOND games after 2017, got into some other things, but eventually towards the end of 2019 some friends of mine were jostling my nostalgia-bones and told me they were playing on this server called Aurora. It had been a long time since my /tg/-days and although I had been on the higher-end of the low-RP spectrum (which isn't saying much), my writing and roleplay had matured a lot in those years from various other media (D&D, other roleplaying servers in other games), so I decided to give a high RP environment a try and join my friends on Aurora. Hasn't disappointed so far! Have you read the Aurora wiki on the head roles and qualifications you plan on playing?: Yes. Have you received any administrative actions? And how serious were they?: Nope! I haven't played very long, but I hope to keep my record clean. I'm a good boy, I swear. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph each: Give a definition of what you think roleplay is, and should be about: Roleplay should be, above everything, a fun and enjoyable activity for all involved! More specifically, it's a complex narrative woven together by all those involved. In Space Station 13, that narrative is the most horrible patchwork tapestry of so many different colors and even materials, but when you look at it from the wide angle, it's a beautiful work. People getting along well in their departments! Horrible antagonists tearing the station apart! Drama! Intrigue! Friendship, love, hate, all the things you would expect from a bunch of weirdos jam-packed onto a state-of-the-art research vessel and told to work together. Immersion is key in these High-RP environments, allowing everyone to really sink into the setting and together, really feel out what it'd be like inside these characters' heads on the station. What do you think the OOC purpose of a Head of Staff is, ingame?: The OOC purpose, huh? Well, OOCly speaking, I think they're there for a few reasons. Firstly, with most heads, you'll serve as a leadership role both in-character, but out of character as well. The Chief Medical Officer and Chief Engineers, for example, should be able to give out reliable advice about their own department, or, at the very least, organize their subordinates well. They also serve as higher-value targets for Antagonists to shoot for, considering their access and, in some cases, special equipment. Be it from antagonists or their fellow crew, Heads of Staff should expect to be regularly under scrutiny and are subject to high expectations, as they move the round forward and further their department's interests. What do you think the OOC responsibilities of Whitelisted players are to other players, and how would you strive to uphold them?: Well, a lot of it overlaps with what I said above: they help newbies, push a round (and the players in said round!!) forward. Some of them provide a believable "boss," while others provide organization, or a driving force in the round. I would absolutely strive to uphold these to a T. I plan on playing mostly Consular Officer, which isn't really delegated to a specific department, but I think I will provide a lot of interesting RP for other players in the rounds I partake in to play around. My responsibility, as I'll be striving to uphold it, will be to add a certain spice to the round... many people get used to their 'usual' routine in a round. Having an officer hanging around, coming to visit, pushing their agenda, will shake things up! Not majorly, but just enough to make it interesting. Could you give us the gist of what is currently happening in Tau Ceti and how it affected your character and their career?: Tau Ceti? Ah, but who cares about all this Skrellian drama? Skrell terrorists abound around the Aurora or not, where the real action is happening that I care about is in Uueoa-Esa! Why, haven't you heard!? Moghes is in the midst of another civil war at the moment, and I, cleverly, must drum up some awareness around the station for my brothers in the Hegemony. It's all quite preposterous-- some radicals, determined to challenge Not'Zar for the trespasses of his now-dead father... and unfortunately, us loyalists are outnumbered. So... now you must see why I am petitioning for support in such places as the Aurora, yes? Powerful allies like Nanotrasen are what the Hegemony needs right now... What roles do you plan on playing after the application is accepted?: Hegemony Consular Officer (Nanotrasen Liaison) Characters you intend to use for command or have created for command. Include the job they will be taking: Siohazk Arhaziik will be a new character of mine, created for his role as a Hegemony Consular Officer! He is the older brother of Sioheze Arhaziik, who is a Head of Personnel. He's the second in line to inherit the clan's leadership, but he's made a good enough name for himself through familial ties, has managed to land himself a cozy Consular Officer position for the hegemony. A somewhat eccentric character, a loud deep voice that will be reminding everyone what is honorable and what is not, and why he is clearly the authority on such things. Always quick to further himself, or his likeminded fellows alongside him. Of course- the command staff would be assured that such allowances would appease the Hegemony, he is here on their behalf, after all. How would you rate your own roleplaying?: I've got enough experience to know what's bad and what isn't. I try my best, but I wouldn't consider myself to be the greatest roleplayer ever to exist! That said, I'm pretty competent in my ability. That, however, is for everyone else to decide. Do you understand your whitelist is not permanent, and may be stripped following continuous administrative action?: Yes, I'll be a good boy. Promise. Have you familiarize yourself with the wiki pages for the command roles?: Sure have. I'm excited! And besides, even if I don't get the whitelist, I've learned a thing or two, and I'll be able to try again later! Extra notes: My schedule has the potential to be a little volatile for this coming week, as it's my first full week of classes this semester. Still, I've been spitballing the idea for this character for a while now and I figure it's about time I shoot my shot at getting a whitelist so I can finally realize it. If it turns out I'm too busy with coursework or something, my playtime might be reduced-- and if it gets around to that, I'll request an extension if need be... just figured it might be best to include here, so it doesn't seem like I'm pulling it out of my ass later. Might not even come up. I'll try to play as much as I can if you give me a trial period!

If anything ends up getting changed as a result of this discussion, please don't make it so that Technicians can't approve gun orders. It'd just be a hassle if security comes by to order a replacement gun and then I have to go all the way out of my way to grab the HoP. There is not always a quartermaster. I understand that it might create more "bureaucracy RP" by having to go grab your superior, but there are often times- especially during less populated rounds, where I find myself as a lone Tech occupying cargo. There might not even be an HoP for me to grab. Just make it so that security has to be the one to place the order, and it'll be fine.

Have had plenty of good interactions with Cairath, they make for both a very interesting antagonist and very pleasant coworker. They have a very solid understanding of the server's lore and I think they would make a rockin' Aut'akh with this cool idea. +1 When I first made my own Unathi application, someone helped me out by leaving some helpful questions for me to answer that helped me figure out the character better, and show off the thought I'd put in. I can't say I'll do as good a job, but I came up with some for you. Feel free to answer them, or not: How does Mahasik feel about other, non-Aut'akh Unathi, now that she has been one for a while? Does she pity them for not being connected to the Mesh? Does she despise them for disliking her people? Et cetera. Does she have any long-term aspirations aside from expanding her horizons? Like many Aut'akh, she was heavily augmented to escape from a frail, sickened body. But if given the chance, would Mahasik want to go back to a completely fresh body, or is she strict in her adherence to Aut'akh stricture, believing that her casing is superior in every way?

Thanks so much for the support! It means a lot. And thank you even further for some thought-provoking questions to work with! I'll jump right in: I only touched on this briefly in the section about his religious expression, but Drarak is fairly ambivalent towards "normal" Unathi outside of the Queendom aside from the others mentioned. Personally, he feels like the Queendom's customs are the best way of doing things, but he understands that no matter how many reasons one might put forward, there are always reasons to the contrary. It's just a sheer fact of how stubborn the Unathi are as a people. The great thinkers of the Queendom might hypothesize that the more coveted sex may naturally tend towards being the submissive ones, while others may argue that men should always be going out and fighting, and et cetera, et cetera, et cetera... Drarak is proud to hail from the Queendom- but he doesn't think it makes him any better or worse than other Unathi. Just different-- which is okay to him, but not to everyone. Although this question seems a bit abstract at first, it's not hard for me to hypothesize that Drarak might feel exactly how women do in male-dominant societies. Especially among the Unathi, the providers tend to wield all the freedom within families while the housekeepers are kept on a short leash. If Drarak completely accepted that his role as a man was just to stay home, wait for a woman to choose him, and keep house- he would've stayed back with his folks. That isn't to say he completely resents the idea of keeping house or doesn't want to eventually find a wife- he does want to settle down someday-- but he believes that there's more to it. And that ties in nicely with my answer to the last question: Immediately upon leaving, I don't think he would've suspected himself of having any ulterior motives, but I think that deep down, Drarak has something to prove. Different societies dump a lot of different expectations onto people, for better or for worse, and once he gets on-station he'd get the unique perspective of being able to see things from the corporate perspective: a sort-of... meritocracy. People of all sorts, men and women, doing all sorts of various jobs- while it might be normal for them, they're certainly defying his status quo. I think once he gets his proper space-legs, Drarak would want to find out "the truth" about people, and what they're capable of when they shrug off the limits of a pre-defined role based on something as uncontrollable as the sex one is born with. And once he figures these things out, he'd be in the perfect position to exceed expectations and perhaps make something more of himself than just a pittance-worker who sends spare change back to his family.. And that should about cover it! Thanks again for your support, and thanks again for the questions! You are absolutely right when you say they're a great way to show off characters, and simply thinking up answers to these really helped me explore exactly what I want to do with this character. I appreciate it.

BYOND Key: Skyglazer Character Names: I only have one so far, her name is Hazel Delano. What color do you plan on making your first alien character: Probably a combination of some sort of black and the orange-brown "sand color," though I'm not fully decided yet. Have you read our lore section's page on this species?: A better question would be 'how many times...' I was quite unoccupied on a recent long car ride, and have been looking forward to making this application for a while... I've done my lizard homework, for sure. Why do you wish to play as this specific race?: Well, to start I should probably say that I have a bit of a personal bias when it comes to herpetology and reptiles of all sorts-- but "I like lizards :)" is probably not a compelling reason to be approved for a whitelist... I have to say, I'm very fond of some of the ideas of their culture in the lore. I like the idea of a struggling homeworld almost entirely unable to right itself- the fact that Moghes is on a nigh-irreversible decline has such important implications and the fact that the Contact War in and of itself is such a fresh wound in the collective Unathi consciousness is very compelling to making a character that would be concerned with such issues. Identify what makes role-playing this species different than role-playing a Human: A harder question would be identifying the similarities- Unathi are so unique when compared to humans, physically and culturally. These carnivorous lizards are quite different from humans- and not just on account of their cold blood. Earth may have had its share of hardships, but almost complete destruction of its ecosystem as a result of nuclear war is not one of them. Humans were able to take their time in developing their space-legs, while many Unathi are being basically forced up into the stars, to seek out better homes. Their unique perception doesn't stop there, though. Given that contact with other races was made extremely recently, Unathi are more likely to have extremely varying opinions on other races- from anywhere to very prejudiced to very welcoming. And the one thing that wasn't blasted away in a nuclear blast was their strict adherence to traditions- regularly exercising social norms and social castes that humanity haven't practiced in hundreds of years. Character Name: Drarak Lezakh Backstory: What do you like about this character?: Coming from strict traditionalists like those that exist in Unathi culture can sometimes pigeonhole characters into becoming hyper-focused on following guidelines that exist. I'm fond of Drarak because the particular paragraph about the Queendom in the lore caught my interest, and I think that a great way to explore Unathi culture would be to play a character that slightly subverts it, within reason. How would you rate your role-playing ability?: I've been role-playing for a great number of years in a wide range of mediums-- Pathfinder, other Space Station 13 servers, D&D 5e, and other miscellaneous role-playing communities. I would say that I'm fairly well-practiced when it comes to RP, but I'm still getting my bearings on Aurora as it's my first time in a SS13 high-RP community. I'd like to say that I'm pretty good, though. Notes: Edited (11/30/2019): Added a tiny bit about religion to the backstory segment-- I had it in-mind because it's mentioned in the paragraph about the Queendom, but I should probably include it for clarity's sake, since such things are important to Unathi characters.