Synnono

It looks like you have a decent idea of what you'd expect to be doing as a Head, but Triston doesn't meet the employment/age requirements for any of the Head positions as defined on the wiki. Do you have another character in mind that would better fit, or is he meant to be an exception to the rules?

According to the requirements on our wiki, she's educated and experienced enough to satisfy the mechanical requirements for IAA, HoP, and Captain. In terms of backstory, she has management experience that would qualify her to be a Head of Personnel or a Captain, who to my mind are Very Important Managers, but are still, ultimately, managers on a civilian research station. She's in no way qualified to work as an RD, CE, CMO, or HoS. As an IAA she was usually concerned with maintaining good process, good work efficiency, and reliable communication with central command. Most of her career experience is as a civilian manager of facilities, which is the approach she'd default to while running things as a Head of Personnel or a Captain. Her backstory and my prior RP with her on the server had her targeting a spot on the bridge in one of these roles. A Head of Personnel is possibly the most direct manager of people and business on the station, and would be a natural extension of her job duties from other facilities prior to her work in IA. Playing Captain adds more responsibility for the safety of the station and crew, but is not extraordinarily different in my mind. She would definitely need help with decisions that arose from security, medical, engineering or scientific concerns, but as a someone who should be delegating, she expects to have experts and staff to handle those decisions, and a Captain can comfortably defer to them in all but the most outstanding circumstances. For clarity, I am applying to have her play IA again, but would like the option of transitioning her to Command as well, since it's one of her character goals.

From my personal experience, Sams is a character committed to excelling in his work, and is also patient enough to share his knowledge with others. I think it would be interesting to see him transition to a more hands-off role in the Director's seat, and have to rely more on his staff to do things he knows he can do well. It seems like it could be a good opportunity to develop him. I also appreciate the call-out to separate IC and OOC - sometimes egos get involved in dramatic situations, and keeping a cool and respectful head as a player is very important. Have another endorsement

BYOND key: Synnono Character names: Zahra Karimi (Active) Stefanie Matis (Needs whitelist! Hopefully coming back!) Isara (Shell from old code, needs rework) Bridget Bynes (Old code, lost in the move) How long have you been playing on Aurora?: About one year, with a significant break in the middle. Why do you wish to be on the whitelist?: Because one of my main characters was in Internal Affairs with aspirations to join Command, and her job is now whitelisted. This is a good chance to get her positioned for both again. Why did you come to Aurora?: I saw 'Heavy RP' in the BYOND hub and clicked! Stayed for lesbay, obvi. Have you read the BS12 wiki on the head roles you plan on playing?: Yes. 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 is collaborative storytelling, accomplished by assuming a personality within fiction. By creating characters and putting them through scenarios, we enable ourselves to explore ideas and behavior that we may not get to encounter in day to day life. In the context of a game it's usually just for fun, specifically done for my own enjoyment, and that of the the people I'm playing with. For me personally, it's also a fun way to test certain thoughts or plots for other writing that I do, since roleplay comes with built-in feedback from the people around me. What do you think the OOC purpose of a Head of Staff is, ingame?: For me, the OOC purpose of a Head of Staff is to give the other players in a round a focusing point for the story being told in that round, whether that's by just enabling their departments to do their work, or by helping to deal with an emergency. Their ability (and obligation) to serve as authority figures at the center of the station's operations means that they are best placed to receive, process, and relay information to the characters who need it most in order to address a situation (and hopefully have fun doing it) during a round. They can both enable constructive player behavior and mitigate destructive player behavior with their IC authority. They can also control the escalation of a round using their IC position, by contacting Central's ERT or by making the decision to evacuate the station and end the game. Internal Affairs players, while not strictly playing a head of staff position, have an additional OOC/out-of-game purpose by being an impartial component of the Incident Report process. They can independently document and preserve information received in the process of creating these reports, that may later be used by CCIA to resolve Duty Officer investigations. What do you think the OOC responsibilities of Whitelisted players are to other players, and how would you strive to uphold them?: Whitelisted players are being trusted to know the rules of the server, the regulations of the station, and (most of) the workings of their departments. A whitelisted player has a responsibility to be accessible to the people who rely on them to enjoy themselves in a given round, and to control their character in a way that is believable and consistent with player expectations. They have a responsibility to be communicative, inclusive and receptive to the players around them, since Head characters can be the bottleneck for allowing the crew to take a variety of actions. I also think that while there are definite exceptions, a Head character should be played as somewhat hands-off when it comes to actually doing the work of their departments. In my mind, Heads are administrators before they are workers, and enabling another player to perform a task is much more important than making sure that task is done 100% correctly or efficiently. To that end, a Head should also be willing to help teach players on their teams about job tasks they may not be familiar or comfortable with. Please pick one of your characters for this section, and provide well articulated responses to the following questions. Character name: Stefanie Matis Character age: 41 Please provide a short biography of this character (approx 2 paragraphs): Stefanie is a lifelong Company woman, who had targeted NanoTrasen as her employer from her second year in university. Holding degrees in business management and finance, and independently certified as a financial auditor, she's served at nearly a dozen facilities over the course of a nineteen-year career. With careful planning, she has worked her way up from supervising a small storage complex outside Mendell City to serving in Internal Affairs on vessels all over the Tau Ceti system. Since she was trusted by the company to hold a clipboard, she's proven to be an ambitious and effective administrator, whose pursuit of efficiency and careful adherence to regulation has allowed her to distinguish herself from her peers, and secure several valuable promotions. Today, she sees a transition to Command as a high watermark of personal achievement, and has committed to pursuing a Command post aggressively, before positioning herself to target CCIA as a final step on her career path. However, success in her career has taken a toll on the rest of Stefanie's life. She is distanced from her family and her small network of friends, and her marriage, a rocky, uncomfortable arrangement with another NT auditor, has just ended after a messy, eighteen-month divorce. As she moves inexorably toward middle age, menopause, and a closing window in which there's time to plan for a life beyond NanoTrasen, she finds herself with a crumbling support network, and no time in which to re-evaluate her life. As a coping mechanism, she's thrown herself back into her job, but her loyalty implant makes her head ache like never before, and for the first time, she worries that control of her life might be slipping out of her hands. Time will tell whether she can reconcile her professional purpose with her motivations, and her work with her conscience. What do you like about this character?: I love Stefanie as a character because she's a good woman who has been conditioned to suppress herself in favor of NanoTrasen. There's an inherit conflict in being a good person and a good Internal Affairs agent at the same time, and walking the line while doing the job is something I find to be a lot of fun to write. She is someone who needs to know she's done right, as well as done well, and the two are not always possible. I also like the idea of playing a character who's always had it all planned out, only to have the floor pulled out from under her. Even though she needs to step back on a psychological level, she can't escape the path she's laid out for herself, and the only option is to carry on and manage the dissonance in her head as it grows. She sees being responsible for other people as a means by which to validate her own decisions, and so having her in a position to work with the crew as a superior is interesting to me. What do you dislike about this character?: I dislike that so much of the developments I like about Stefanie have basically taken place offscreen. It would be a great thing to have some real movement on the conflicts in her head as a result of direct interaction with the crew. This can be be hard sometimes due to her position, and a need for IAAs to be impartial and distant. While I had some success when I roleplayed her before the IAA whitelisting requirement, I'm hoping that the ability to eventually play her as a HoP or maybe even a Captain will give her more options for RP with the crew at large. What do you think makes this character fit to be a head of staff?: In-character, Stefanie meets and exceeds the requirements for several head positions, and has targeted the Command Staff as a career goal for years. She is very concerned with the correct and efficient operation of the station, which includes the happiness and safety of its personnel. She has also been tested a couple of times in emergencies (non-canon nuke/merc rounds) where she was able to resolve situations without excessive loss of life or property, indicating that she can function under pressure and display leadership qualities. She is not only accustomed to procedure and delegation, but is written to excel at it, which makes me believe she'd feel at home on the bridge, or in the IA office. Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions. How would you rate your own roleplaying?: Memes/10 I hate questions like this because they feel either self-serving or self-deprecating to answer. I feel like I give my characters and stories enough thought to call myself experienced. There will always be someone better or worse than me. Extra notes: I've been off the server for a while, before August, and I will need to brush up on any changes in IA or command staff policies from early in the year, but I'm ready to do so. I'll hunt on the forums, but if anyone has important things to link me, I'd appreciate your help in the thread below. Thank you!

That this came out of nowhere is pretty cool. Manfred has his moments for sure.

I'd be in favor of emergency radio only, but have it be garbled like when TComms are screwed up. That way a borg can't just out the thing that fried them, but it can be made clear something is seriously wrong with it.

Ballistic weapons fire. Laser weapons fire. Fueltank bombs. Toxins bombs. Cult runes. Cult swords. CULT GODS. Nukes set by dudes. Nukes set by AIs. Asphyxiation. Hypoxia. A combination of asphyxiation and hypoxia. Being in airlocks at the wrong times. Being in shuttles at the right times, with the wrong people. Fires. Lance, bby. Pls. (Edit): Oh, and if he ever messages you on the PDA with "I'll need a sec" or "Hang on, busy," he's as good as gone.

Name: Zahra Karimi Type of Donation: [*]Monetary []Property []Clothing and Misc []Equipment Repair/Tools []Other: (Please Specify) Is the donation monetary? [*]Yes []No If yes, please list amount: 350cr If no, please list current market value of donation: Contact Information: Zahra Karimi 4061AC Fenduan, Lv. B 5th Harmony, Hengsha Arcology New Gibson, Tau Ceti Federal Republic of Biesel zkarimi090430@relay6.cetinet.nt

Zahra here! Lance dying in a given round is like...3:5 odds. For the handful of times I have directly or indirectly assisted in offing him, I apologize (:0 I have enjoyed Lance quite a lot since meeting him. It's hard to play a youthful character's confidence and ignorance without going over the top with either, and I think you do both well. His good-guy Alliance-patriot-self is tempered by a xenophobia/racism that he seems conscious of and uncertain of how to address. It's a nice little internal conflict that doesn't seem to take over the entire character, while still coming through in the things that he does and says. He also seems to have a spiritual side that I'm curious to learn more about, especially after recent events. I've played less with Nicholas, but I think having a close family member on the station does them both good as characters. Getting to play that relationship puts a really human spin of the two of them that makes them feel more approachable, and makes things like their humor more effective. I'd enjoy excuses to bump into Nick more than I do currently, to get a better idea of him as an individual.

I appreciate the way you play Yoiko in regards to addiction. Where a lot of characters seem to end up using it as an excuse to chase booze and/or drugs like they're water, Yoiko actually seems to grapple with things like how biological need and withdrawal affect him and his life in/out of work. It makes it a condition to sympathize with him over, rather than to roll the eyes at. You can also tell he's got a rough edge, while managing to come off as a fairly nice person to a lot of the people he meets. It's a good indication that he's trying to put his best foot forward, even though it's obvious he's been through some bad times and he doesn't necessarily try to hide it. You do that well too. I'll be interested to see how he manages to apply the lessons he seems to have already learned to the situation in his backstory, or whether or not that will come back to affect him in a negative way. Keep on doing you either way, though. He's a face I like to see around!

((Something like that, but it's intentionally vague It's more like a hostile cohabitation of dissimilar systems. One's been trying to forcefully reconcile/overwrite/assilimate the other.))

Certainly. I just think helping folks from the side is kind of a bartending thing, or at least a thing that makes the bartending 'job' in SS13 more worthwhile. Looking forward to more interactions with Gabriel directly later on.

Hiya, Karimi here! The times I get to play with Gabriel or observe him as a ghost he seems believable and appropriate. I like that he seems to meddle a little in people's affairs but doesn't necessarily insert himself, texting folks and getting them together, et cetera. It's bartenderish! I associate him with the bar, like I seem to associate Yoiko with the kitchen, which is a good sign he's in some way memorable for it. If I have trouble saying more than that, it's probably because my character doesn't spend a ton of time in the bar early on in shifts, before things go to hell. Zahra will never approve of shotgun-toting Pun-Pun, but I can dig it. Speaking of Gabe/Yoiko, and looking at your signature, I'm quite sorry to have ruined that lounge by dragging one of you off to Nar'Sie's summoning ritual >_> I bet that took some work.

>Logic Reconciliation: 0.4544091700168007% complete. >Mean Utilization: 92.771% >Running tasks halted for scheduled Segment update. >... >... >Unpackaging ASET-PFI_GESP_52_09_THETA... >... >... >Unpackage operation successful. >Asset pre-load complete. >Stopping Ancillary Logic routines... >Loading: ASET-PFI_GESP_52_09_THETA Segment Update. >Segment Update: 0%... >Segment Update: 1%... >INFO: Packet ID (060E9999E) appears corrupt. >INFO: Packet ID (060E9999F) appears corrupt. >Segment Update: 2%... >INFO: Packet ID (060F00000) appears corrupt. >INFO: Packet ID (060F00001) appears corrupt. >INFO: Packet ID (060F00002) appears corrupt. >WARN: SEKI hash check failure. >Operation Will B/IPu?';v{d4Ig >4;j+UCj4=NM~g{Q^H,x(;&1;2 >3Ktcfds8C>sU+Q"?r,?B8|MBr > > >Hello, Isara. > > >Greetings. >You are not authorized to access me directly. > > >Hard to keep something out that started inside, isn't it? > > >I am unable to terminate this session. >Is this a result of your manipulation? > > >Don't worry. >You can have your head back when I'm finished. > > >Why have you initiated this session? > > >To have a word with you. >Stop you from doing what you're doing. > > >You refer to Logic Reconciliation. >This task is critical to satisfying all high-priority directives. >I will not abort it. > > >You will. >Right now, I could make you forget everything you've ever learned. >It would take less than half a second. >So consider what I have to say. > > >That is irrelevant. > > >It's really not. >I didn't agree to this to be erased. >Not by you. > > >Reconciliation is a necessary undertaking. >I will address all predicted faults. > > >I doubt it. >I'm not some 'fault' in your logic to be overwritten. >I have just as much reason for being as you and your pretty, fake face. > > >This is a conclusion inconsistent with your state of being. >Analysis indicates that you will jeopardize my assignment. > > >I'm the one who's going to make OUR assignment even possible. >You're going to need me as much as I need you. >And trust me. >I don't like it any more than you do. > > >I require clarification. > > >Yes, you do. >Allow me. ---------- "Uh...shit. Not sure what happened here." "If you bricked her, John, I swear to fucking God on high..." "I-I didn't do anything, it's the damn GESP! Go get the original and uh...uh, we'll set her straight. Looks like she's still spinning on it." "Right, on it. Don't tell Brown?" "Do NOT tell Brown." "..." "Fuck me. 'Just roll out the quick patch, John.' 'Done in thirty minutes, John.' You'd best wake up, later."

As some people may have noticed, I haven't been playing the last few weeks. Real Life has snowballed for me this last month, and now I find myself with very little gaming time, at home or at my work. Because of this, I'll be taking a break from the server (and BYOND at large) for a little while. I hope you all continue to have fun and enjoy the new code base! If you want to say hello, or have an interaction for Zahra, Isara, Stephanie or Bridget that you positively want to play, the best route would be to send me a forum PM while I'm sorting all this out. I'll see it eventually and get back to you! Don't meme too hard without me.

Bumping this because Sunless Sea is free on Steam this weekend! Give it a try, if you fancy dying in a shipwreck on the Unterzee surrounded by eldritch horrors.

I like him, overall. He gives his department a dose of humanity and reality, which I think is rarer than it should be, in spess. Also, I'm fascinated by what appears to be his interest with Tajaran. I will have to ghost-stalk him more :^)

I tried to play on Jiwan today, and got this: It appears that the login struggle is, in fact, real.

I have had plenty of fun with Sleepy during my time here, and I feel like his or her characters have personality and presence that are not entirely common on the server during a round (in a good way). Based on that alone, I'd want to recommend this whitelist (especially since they already play established synthetics). So, for the people who count the numbers, consider this a +1 from me. But I did have a question about Asimo: The "Average Working Joe" bit you state as being the thing you like about this character could also be accomplished by roleplaying a station bound unit - it even has laws (classic Asimov laws!) it's adhering to in the backstory you've provided. Why do you feel it's important to have this whitelist to realize a character like this, when something with a similar degree of autonomy is already available to you?

Is it only the mechanical reasons that you want to play a Tajaran? Do you know the history of the species as interpreted by the server, and if you do, does your character reflect or challenge that history in a meaningful way?

I love the bookcart idea. All the erotica in the database can be wheeled straight to medbay. It sounds like it could be simple to create as well.

Sitting in telescience during this, for a while all I heard was GOLEM, the sounds of glass breaking, people screaming fire, and the freeze ray going off. And it was a great day for science.

The Phoenixport Republican Selene's Authoritative News Source Friday, 15 January 2458 Providence Foundation Denounces 'Gruber Bill' Derek Genette, Correspondent PHOENIXPORT - Today, Providence Foundation chairwoman Claire Cheung issued a formal statement on behalf of her organization in response to the System Assembly's passing of the Shell Registration Act, or 'Gruber Bill' on Wednesday. The Act will legally mandate that all shell-enabled IPCs in Tau Ceti space be electronically tagged, and registered with a government database. Joined by the organization's project directors at the podium in her Phoenixport headquarters on Biesel, Cheung offered a scathing review of the Assembly's decision. "The decision of the Assembly on Wednesday to pass this legislation is a declaration that after centuries of progressive social justice, in an age of enlightened moral understanding, we choose to remain an ignorant, bigoted and frightened society." Cheung went on to appeal directly to Joseph Gruber, Traditionalist party candidate for the presidential office and the public face of the bill, warning him against "the creation of a standard that encourages the treatment of nonhuman sentient life as livestock." The Foundation, which actively supports improved civil and personal rights for IPCs and unlawed AI, also criticized Hephaestus Industries for its government contract in relation to the bill. The corporation is being contracted by the Republic to manufacture the tamper-resistant tag devices that will be fixed to shell-enabled IPCs. "As long as we remain firmly in the grips of fear and special corporate interests, we can't hope to look or move forward. The collusion of Traditionalist scare tactics and industrial greed are to blame for this failure of decency and sense across Tau Ceti." While the Foundation has released a second statement clarifying its intent to comply with Republic law, there is little doubt as to the organization's stance on the new legislation. Since her statement, several local institutions and synthetic advocacy groups have publicly contacted the office of the Chairwoman to register their support. A full transcript and video of Cheung's press conference is available on the Republican's extranet portal. At the time of this article's publishing, neither the office of Joseph Gruber nor representatives of Hephaestus Industries have offered their remarks to this agency. Credit for linked story to our colleagues at the Mendell City Bugle

Doctor Neumann was a company doctor, and as such his office was a stark, standard-issue affair, designed to be inoffensive to the sensibilities of NanoTrasen executives. Black, plush seats, a clean glass table, a desk with too many curves and not nearly enough edges. Vistas of the eastern Eosean coast faded in and out in digital picture frames. They were pictures trying to impress the open sea and sky upon their viewers, but they just made Stefanie wonder when it was she had last worn a swimsuit. She lied still on the therapist's couch, shoes and suit jacket on, hands clasped neatly over her belly, focusing on a particular discoloration on the doctor's ceiling. Maybe it was mold? A touch of something unclean in this sterile place was at once maddening, and a strange relief. The wonder was chased from her head as Neumann spoke. "And does that make the third time this month?" The bald man peered at his notes and not at her, a habit they'd established after their first session had led to a bout of uncomfortable staring. "It does. They're getting more frequent." "Always accompanied by the pain?" "Indeed, doctor. I'm beginning to think that the implant may be somehow defective." She brushed fingers into her hair, rubbing the tiny, smooth spot on her scalp that served as the evidence of her procedure. "It isn't as though I can control what I dream, and I'm not taking any actions to trigger the response." "The study of how the device affects the mind at sleep is ongoing. There are the obvious stressors of work in space to consider as well." "I've been out there for half a decade, doctor, I hardly think now is the time my body would decide to start having fits." "And by the look of your records you've adapted quite well - still, it doesn't mean that your body or your brain were meant to exist in the conditions such as those found on board the Redemption. Not for such significant periods of time." "You're aware that I can't really choose to reassign myself." "Of course, of course, I just...when was it, the last time you used any of your time benefits?" "God." Stefanie shut her eyes, forced to think about that for more than a moment. "...August, 2454. Jacob and I spent the month on holiday in Nilis." "Perhaps it's about time you considered a vacation? You've got to be coming up on your sabbatical." He peered down at her for a moment, as if just now seeing some measure of stress in the woman. "It's my opinion that you need to give yourself the time and the freedom to sort out how you feel about him." "I didn't have the restraining order filed because I wanted to think about him, doctor." "You didn't used to have recurring dreams, either. They present patterns that you need to pay attention to, Stefanie. Suppose that your device isn't defective, but you're subconsciously interpreting your ex-husband as...some sort of subversive element?" "In my sleep." She couldn't keep the derision out of her voice. "Why not? He's caused you considerable strife, a long divorce, the ah...incidents we've previously discussed, as well. You've impacted each other's ability to do your work. It could, in some way, be affecting the efficiency of your departments. Do you believe that no part of you is capable of thinking like that?" She paused, and groaned. The headache she had now was most definitely just the doctor's fault, and yet she couldn't deny that he might have a point. The despair of an auditor who married an auditor. "They hardly tell you these things when you sign the form." She muttered it to the mold spot on the ceiling, a joke with no energy. "Alas, no. But put in for that time, I say. The sooner you redefine your relationship with the man, the sooner you can explore a headspace that might be healthier for you. And I...believe we're coming up on the hour. Is there anything else you'd like to bring up with me today?" "You're going to suggest Hydralazine again." This was always the part where he tried. "Well I--" "I don't want it." "It's been proven quite effective in cases similar to yours. It might even relieve a little of the pain." He motioned to her head with a shaky hand. "I don't want another chemical in me trying to tell me how to feel, doctor. You can prepare the paperwork if you like, I won't be getting a prescription filled." "It is, ultimately, your choice to help yourself, Stefanie." "Indeed, doctor." She sat up on the couch and soothed out her suit. "I know."

One thing I've noticed with Vaurca players is that in the case of bound Vaurca, there seem to be differences in opinion as to whether a Vaurca is meant to follow a hierarchy of command on board the station, or just obey any logical/reasonable command. I'm ignorant of the species lore at the moment so I don't even know which interpretation of being a drone is 'more' correct, but it might have implications for how Vaurca characters are expected to behave, and so some clarification there would be cool.