The_Ill_Fated

Played RD alongside their CMO, and thought they did an excellent job in the engagement I had with them. We can always use more CMOs! +1

Had what was probably the most chaotic first round with Joe as Captain that I could imagine, and he handled it beautifully. Dealt with boarders, all of security dying, being kidnapped, and then ship-to-ship combat, and did it all in a compelling, fun, and well roleplayed way. +1

I played a round as Research Director with them on shift, and I greatly enjoyed my interactions with them. I believe they offered exceptionally good roleplaying, acted in a very solid manner in terms of Command-play, and made the round more enjoyable. I look forward to playing more with them! +1

BYOND key: The_Ill_Fated Discord Username: The_Ill_Fated Character names: Andromeda Maschera Eliana Laska Noelle Bellec Maaike Houk How long have you been playing on Aurora?: Since early 2022, off and on. Have you received any administrative actions? And how serious were they?: Yes, a three-day ban in 2024, and a warning for shutting down an Antag gimmick in an inappropriate manner. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions in a paragraph each. What do you think the OOC purpose of a Head of Staff is, ingame?: A head of staff serves as one of the primary conduits through which RP is delivered to the wider crew. Due to their authority, and visibility,they become natural anchors during events, antagonist scenarios, and interactions with external factions. Their decisions have real narrative weight, and the way they choose to handle situations can either open doors for engagement or shut them down entirely. A head of staff who approaches the role thoughtfully can help guide the round towards interesting outcomes, rather than cutting them short or forcing them into positions where they stagnate. What do you think the OOC responsibilities of Whitelisted players are to other players, and how would you strive to uphold them?: Whitelisted players have a responsibility to elevate the experiences of other players. That will mean sometimes prioritizing the enjoyment of others over what you might particularly want to do. The choices that would be ‘realistic’, or ‘consistent’ for your character, can often be detrimental to the larger narrative if it shuts down antagonists, kills a gimmick prematurely, or diverts attention from the emerging story, the antagonists and players are creating. Above everything else, I think being whitelisted bears a responsibility to act as a facilitative component, it’s about helping steer the round towards fun, engagement, or opportunities for others, even if it involves missing moments as your character. Explain how the recent events in the Spur changed your character and how they came to be employed on the SCCV Horizon: Maaike’s life has been shaped by concealment, by adaptation. Born into the remote backwaters of Sun Reach, she was raised under the Viceroyalty’s eye, expected to demonstrate piety, and loyalty to a tribunalist order that had, just before her birth begun the long process of stamping out Sun Reacher identity into something ornamental, something politically harmless. For her family, descended from among the few favored under the rule of the Pirate Lords, this was but one face presented. Behind the mask remained the old rites, the shrines at the edge of the swamp. For Maaike, adolescence felt like a choice between surviving quietly or stagnating. She chose survival, and Zavodskoi’s interstellar’s corporate tendrils provided escape, as they sometimes did for the clever. In return she signed contracts, accrued debt, studied in Biesellite institutions, and ultimately found herself within weapons development for Kumar Arms, a life far removed from the humid forests of home. She carved out a career there, competent, well-paid, but alienated from meaning. The Spur’s relentless appetite for armaments ensured her hands were never idle, yet she often questioned if she had merely traded one form of subjugation for another. The recent instability in the Spur, the political fragmentations, shifting corporate power-blocs, and the constant undercurrent of crisis, made Maaike reevaluate what she wanted. For the first time since leaving Sun Reach, she could see that the large institutions could be shaken, that loyalties were less than immutable, and that the powers of the Spur were not the monoliths she once took them to be. That volatility awakened something within her, a sense of possibility, of contingency, and for a woman raised among kaivijadii, and the old rites, a suspicion that perhaps far less was set in stone than she once imagined. Her motivation ceased being profit, stability, or even professional advancement. What she wanted was meaning, the chance to participate in something that wasn’t simply another production cycle, or another tightening of Zavodskoi’s grip. The SCCV Horizon represented precisely that: a vessel where research, politics, and culture collide in real time, where the Spur’s changing future is felt, rather than divined through news feeds. It was, she discovered through the months of interviews and paperwork, a place where a woman of her background could steer research rather than simply execute orders. Being appointed to the Horizon’s research leadership pushed Maaike into a role she never expected. Rather than hiding beneath technical expertise, she now sits in a position to articulate priorities, manage people, and navigate the competing philosophies aboard a vessel that felt as if it sat at the crossroads of the Spur’s future. It has not made her louder, nor more ideological, she remains quiet, serious, and task-oriented, but it has forced her to invest in meaning beyond the next contract, beyond the next quarterly report. The Spur is changing, for better or worse, and Maaike felt it best to witness that change from the front line, rather than within the depths of a Kumar Arms laboratory. What roles do you plan on playing after the application is accepted?: Research Director is all, for right now. Have you familiarized yourself with the wiki pages for the command roles?: Yes, I have reviewed all of the relevant Wiki pages. Characters you intend to use for command or have created for command. Include the job they will be taking: At this point it’s just Maaike Houk Do you understand your whitelist is not permanent, and may be stripped following continuous administrative action?: Yep, I am aware. Have you linked your BYOND account to the Forums? Yes Extra notes: Over the last year+ I have taken a substantial amount of time to reflect on my previous whitelist strip before applying again. I believe that gave me the distance to clearly understand what I did wrong, how my behavior in the past was unacceptable, and why the consequences were justified. I made the deliberate choice not to rush back into reapplying, but instead wanted to take the time to ensure I could demonstrate improvement over a long stretch of play without issue. I believe I fully grasp the responsibility that comes with command roles, and how important it is to uphold those standards, and how failing to do so can have consequences for the rest of the players in the round. I am confident that this has made me a better player, and that this time I am capable of approaching command-play with a healthier, more thoughtful mindset. While I hope I’m accepted, and prove trustworthy in this position, I can absolutely understand if it’s a bridge too far.

Turns out, opening a portal onto a dangerous away site full of monsters has downsides.

+1! Dude's an amazing roleplayer, Darvan in particular is multifaceted and complicated character beyond what most would expect.

Hello, apologies for the delay. I'm traveling for the holidays right now. 1/1. Do you think the current structure is effective? Why or why not? I believe the current structure certainly has the potential to work successfully, I particularly believe that its structure enables a high degree of consistency that’s essential for the plans for NBT2. While I can see how this might cause bottlenecks, I think that is worth the uniformity of oversight as to allow a cohesive vision that’s critical for such a foundational rework. 1/2. How would you structure the lore team if you had full freedom to redesign it? Honestly, I don’t currently possess the insight with the information I have right now. I think any adjustments would best be based on how the structure works as we progress towards NBT2. I.E. what works, what consistently bottlenecks, and what the team actually needs during NBT2 development. My priority would be a data-driven approach rather than reshaping the team according to personal preference, ensuring stability while letting real results guide any future restructuring 2/1. Are you confident you can stick out the tedious or uninteresting parts of NBT2 work? Yes, long, tedious projects are something I’m already accustomed to in my professional life, and I understand that major reworks require substantial amounts of unglamorous groundwork. I’m fully capable of pushing through the less enjoyable stages to ensure the project reaches completion. Consistency and follow-through are two of my strongest professional habits in my opinion, and the end-goal is worth the labor. 2/2. How would you describe your work personality? I believe I am generally goal-oriented, communicative and somewhat structured. I believe clarity, accountability ensuring everyone understands the full breadth of both the purpose, and expectations of what we’re doing is essential. 3/1. Please expand more on how you see NBT2 moving toward a more dynamic state. NBT2 allows us to shift from a static corporate setting into a freelancer-driven universe where conflict, exploration, and change are natural parts of daily life. With the galaxy fragmented, and technology lost, and waiting to be recovered, characters have believable reasons to take risks and encounter danger without breaking canon. The contract-based gameplay loop, persistent technology tiers, and redesigned away sites create constant movement both IC and OOC, ensuring the setting evolves through player action supported, rather than constrained by the lore. 3/2. How would you stop stagnation from occurring over time? Stagnation is prevented by making the universe inherently unstable and by ensuring that gameplay/lore progression never fully plateaus. Contracts, rival freelancer groups, shifting resource scarcity, and evolving relic technologies give the IC world continuous pressure points that naturally generate change. I think the predominant problem will be, after we’ve achieved this, to keep it fresh and dynamic rather than a repeating cycle. 3/3. How do you envision strengthening the connection between lore and regular rounds? The new systems make lore directly tied to in-round actions: money earned or lost affects the ship, relic discoveries grant temporary mechanical advantages, and interactions with away ships become persistent narrative threads. Instead of lore being something players only read on the wiki, it becomes a feedback loop where what happens in a round has visible IC consequences. By letting round-to-round gameplay meaningfully influence the world, through persistent resources, evolving tech levels, and contract outcomes, the lore becomes something players actively experience and shape. Allowing players to make moderate, and minor changes to the settings through their actions

1) What do you believe you can bring to the team as Deputy Loremaster? I believe I can contribute a blend of worldbuilding expertise, leadership experience, and broad technical knowledge that can support a wide span of Aurora’s lore. More importantly, I want to play a part in helping to shift the lore from something many players see as a passive background, to something active and consistently relevant to the average round. I think it essential that players and their characters be invested in the setting because their actions matter, because the lore is responsive, meaningful, and present, not just decorative. 2) Do you have any experience managing a Team? The duties of a Deputy Loremaster often revolve around being a Project Lead, not necessarily just writing. This is especially true going forward. Yes. A substantial portion of my professional career has been spent in leadership roles across multiple fields. I currently work as a project engineer, leading a team of nearly 40 people, and I have held positions in the past with over 100 under my direction. 3) Aurora is starting development of NBT2, and as Deputy Loremaster, you will be heavily involved at a high level in this - what do you believe fundamentally needs fixing from a lore perspective that can be accomplished with NBT2? NBT2 gives us the opportunity to address two issues that are interconnected. First, the background lore, despite its excellent story arcs, and high-quality events, is constrained by the current circumstances of the setting. We are boxed in by a static status quo, which makes major shifts difficult to justify, or execute. NBT2 will allow us to move the setting into a more dynamic state, where significant changes can occur naturally, and believably. Second, the average round lacks strong engagement with ongoing lore. Event rounds and canon odysseys show 2 - 3x the usual player count, which clearly shows that everyone wants the lore to matter to them. Even small acknowledgements, articles, bulletins, IC announcements, go a long way. Strengthening this connection in everyday rounds will make the lore more vibrant, and improve the server as a whole. 4) On the other hand - what do you believe is the strongest point of our lore currently? Aurora’s greatest strength lies in the sheer breadth of options available. Within the bounds of the setting's believability, players can find, or create, cultures, origins, religions, identities that resonate with them, that they care about and are excited for. The diversity, the flexibility, it allows players to engage with the setting in personal, meaningful ways. It’s a beautiful, fun part of the server’s identity, and something that I believe should be strongly preserved moving forward. 5) Furthermore, regarding NBT2, give a general description of how you think the logistics of such a massive rework should be done - I.E, what should be decided on and written first, and then what should follow? In general, no more than a paragraph. A top-down approach is the most effective. First define the core pillars of this new era: The unifying themes, tone, and structural foundations that are essential. Once those are nailed down, and thoroughly understood, expand outwards into the supporting elements, how to integrate these changes into the factions, institutions, and cultural frameworks of the Spur. This method keeps the worldbuild cohesive, while allowing the rest of the lore to be developed in an organized, intentional way. 6) What timezone are you normally awake during? I alternate between US Eastern and US Central timezones.

I mean, from the description of the direction the setting will be moving towards. There's plenty of reasons for your currently rich character to at minimum, not be quite as rich. The whole setting will have shit the bed metaphorically speaking.

Lore Impact: Small Species: Human Short Description: Some additional details to the Southern Reconstruction Mandate world of Sankt Frederick, former capital of the Solarian Provision Government. This takes the entry on the wiki from 224 words to 519, just about doubling it, while adding some nuance and complexity to Sankt Frederick's situation. Additionally, I've put together an accent tag, banner, and Flag all of which I'm hoping to get someone to code-in for me. How will this be reflected on-station?: It provides more context, and detail regarding Sankt Frederick for players to use in their backgrounds, it'll also be intertwined with the flag, banner, and accent as previously said. Does this addition do anything not achieved by what already exists?: Yes, it expands on the existing relatively minor detail, and gives more breadth to another Solarian world outside of the Sol system. Which is nice. Do you understand that the project may change over time in ways you may not foresee once it is handed over to the Lore Team? I do! Long Description: The other of the prominent worlds of the Mandate is Sankt Frederick, formerly the capital of the Solarian Provisional Government of the Southern Reaches (SPG). One of the few worlds that did not collapse into anarchy after the events of 2462, Sankt Frederick has remained among the most stable planets in the Wildlands and quickly became a common destination for refugees fleeing violence in regions such as the Wasteland and Corporate Reconstruction Zone. Only one warp gate jump away from the broader Alliance, most residents of Sankt Frederick were spared the worst direct impacts of the civil war. Instead, they have had to contend with its consequences. The planet, long a patchwork of fertile farmland, winding river valleys, and small agrarian towns, had for centuries served as one of the Alliance’s primary breadbaskets. A combination of intensive planetside agriculture and sprawling orbital hydroponics platforms once enabled it to export far beyond its own needs, feeding much of the middle and outer rings. Today, that same agricultural system struggles to keep pace with the millions of displaced Solarian citizens who have flooded into the colony in the years since the Collapse. Housing, feeding, and integrating these new arrivals have transformed what was once a sleepy but prosperous agrarian world into a strained and divided society. The sudden influx has brought profound change. Sankt Frederick’s modest cities have swollen with hastily built prefabricated housing and sprawling encampments, while several orbital hydroponics platforms have been partially converted into emergency shelters. Refugees now make up much of the planet’s labor force, but their presence has driven down wages, overburdened schools and clinics, and fueled sharp competition for basic resources. Prices for food and goods have skyrocketed, harsh rationing has become the norm, and resentment has deepened. Many long-time residents see the newcomers as both an economic threat and a societal burden, while refugees in turn accuse local authorities of discrimination, neglect, and exploitation. These tensions have been sharpened by what locals see as neglect from the greater Alliance. Aid and resources are funneled primarily toward the devastated Northern Mandate, while the naval stronghold of Visegrad remains the clear priority in the south. To many Sankt Frederickers, this is a bitter insult: their world has remained stable, fed countless millions, and sheltered the displaced, yet their efforts are met with indifference. The presence of a substantial Solarian Army garrison has done little to ease frustrations. Soldiers, stretched thin and often embittered themselves by the lack of naval assistance, struggle to maintain order, further reinforcing the sense of abandonment. Culturally, the planet finds itself in a state of upheaval. Traditional Fredericker life, once centered on farming festivals, cooperative associations, and a distinctive agrarian identity, is steadily giving way to the myriad customs, languages, and faiths of the refugee communities. Overcrowded districts in the cities have become incubators of hybrid dialects, strongly influenced by Tradeband and Freespeak, in contrast to the firmly Solarian Common dialect spoken by long-time residents. For some, this blending is seen as a sign of resilience and renewal; for others, it is proof that Frederick’s cultural identity is slowly being eroded. Banner, Flag, and Accent tag art are attached. For reference.

ERP Carp glibs, "Remember kids." Samantha Harrison exclaims, "Wah!" ERP Carp glubs, "Use protection!"'

ckey: The_Ill_Fated Reporting Personnel: Andromeda Maschera Job Title of Reporting Personnel: Bartender Game ID: cy7-dde4 Personnel Involved: Andromeda Maschera - Victim Ini Ugonma - Offender Secondary Witnesses: Leonides Montaigne-Ramsteinn - Head of Security, On Duty at the time. Lynn Reyer - Warden, Processed charges. Bava Schoffer - Potential Witness Time of Incident: 09:00 Real Time: 9PMish EST Server Time 04/14/2025 Location of Incident: Bar, Captain’s Office, Security Department Nature of Incident: [ ] - Workplace Hazard [ ] - Accident/Injury [ ] - Destruction of Property [ ] - Neglect of Duty [ ] - Harassment [ ] - Assault [X] - Misconduct [ ] - Other Overview of the Incident: During this shift last night, Captain Ini Ugonma requested that a pot of ‘Konyang Tea’ be delivered to her office, early in the shift. At the time I was occupied with creating a pricing list, that she had aggressively insisted be in place in all service departments, and as a result there was some delay. Roughly 5 - 10 minutes later, as witnessed by Ms. Bava Schoffer, I brewed the requested tea, and departed to deliver it to the Captain’s office. As I did not see the Captain inside of her office, I went to place the teapot down on a tray outside, however I tripped doing so and shattered the teapot. I did not alert the Captain of me doing so at the time, as I became distracted with someone talking to me, I also fully intended to immediately brew a replacement teapot and deliver it to her office as soon as I could. I became distracted by several clients at the bar, and by attempting to locate a replacement type of teapot as the bar is only provided with a single of the ‘Konyang’ style teapots. Some time later, the Captain and Head of Security arrived at the Bar, and asked about the tea. I did not inform them of what happened, as I feared retaliation for my mistake, as I’d noticed on several different instances, that the Captain was quite aggressive towards the crew, and wanted to avoid any retaliation for what ultimately, was a simple mistake on my part. At this point, I filled a coffee pot with the requested tea, and hand-delivered it to her office. She was quite aggressive, and upset about the tea. I informed her that I’d brought Tea to her office earlier, but didn’t know what happened to it. At this point I figured that the Captain would be annoyed with me, but ultimately just settle with having her tea now. Instead, the Captain had security organize a search of the Horizon for the Tea Kettle, apparently involving both the detainment of an IPC (so I heard), and security questioning me regarding the appearance of the kettle, what it looked like, where I’d left it, etc. Later into the shift, security approached me with a warrant, detained me, and escorted me to the brig for questioning, where I repeated what I had told the Captain earlier. At that time, Ms. Reyer stated she believed the charges were clearly hearsay, that they wouldn’t proceed, and attempted to release me. However the Captain insisted that I had ‘Trespassed’, and ‘Failed to obey a Legitimate Order’, and had me incorrectly fined 700 Credits, prior to security later returning 200 CR, as it was ‘a mistake’. While I fully admit that my breaking of the tea-pot, and fear of an excessive reaction by the Captain started this series of events, I contend that Captain Ugnoma’s response lacked any sense of proportionality for what was, ultimately, a genuine mistake that I saw corrected, by delivering a replacement pot of tea. This demonstrates a lack of tact, diplomacy, or understanding seems grossly inappropriate for someone in such an elevated position. Submitted Evidence: N/A - witness testimony only 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, the majority of on-duty heads of staff were complicit in this misconduct. Actions taken: Beyond my spoken protest, I was unable to do anything further to attempt to address this misconduct, due to the personnel involved. Additional Notes: N/A