head of staff [Accepted] Cheap31's Command Whitelist Application

[cheap31]

BYOND key: cheap31
Character names: CORE, Kekk'es Zuka, Johan Wurst, Bo-RING

 

How long have you been playing on Aurora?:

Three years, but I have been absent intermittently throughout that time. I always get drawn back.
 

Why do you wish to be on the whitelist?:

I have reached a proficiency in the way that all of the jobs on Aurora work, in their own rights. Now I want to experience the different challenge of being a part of the command, or harrassing them as a Liaison or Consular. I've been de facto 'HoS' for a few tempestuous shifts as Warden and while I am not perfect or ROBUST per se, I think I've handled things as sufficiently as any other 20-something year old behind a keyboard would be expected to.
 

Why did you come to Aurora?:

I played on /tg/ for a few years when I first got into SS13. I really enjoyed testing my memory and exercising as my favored roles, but I didn't really get into it's shotgun roleplay and lack of continuity. When I first moved to Aurora I said it was to get more into roleplay and that statement still stands. I used to LARP in the pre-coronavirus age and so that idea of immersive roleplay really gets my goat, especially when I feel like my characters actions can help to drive another person's experience. And Aurora has really hit the spot for me in that, especially nowadays.
 

Have you read the Aurora wiki on the head roles and qualifications you plan on playing?:

I am intimately knowledgeable with what the wiki contains in its job guides. I enjoy poring over the wiki to plot prior to playing a job. Since the beginning of my time on Aurora, I have researched and made a character plan for each character within the constraints of what knowledge is available on the wiki. And I think that habit will make my future Head characters all the more real.
 

Have you received any administrative actions? And how serious were they?:

My only blunder was 2 years ago and resulted in a Warning, but no temp bans or action was otherwise taken. I totally deserved being called out and getting my hand slapped. Instructing players ICly to repeat a bug was a shitpost that I needed not to repeat, and thus have not for a long while.

Since then I have had zero admin actions on my account.

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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 a conversation between the imaginations of two people. We work together to make a story that has each of us as the main and side characters. We may each be roleplaying a cog in a machine, but the dynamism between each of those cogs is what makes roleplay feel real for the people behind the keyboard. Roleplay is a replacement for social exercise as well as an exercise for our creativity and memory.

At least, that's what it is to me and what I think it should be.

 

What do you think the OOC purpose of a Head of Staff is, ingame?:

To be an engine to drive plot forward. Antagonists may create the gimmick and set up the pace of the round, but it's really the Heads of Staff that can make the station click together and really be engaged. An antagonist gimmick that is not a big deal by itself can be made into one with a few well-selected words spoken from an ingame voice of authority. Together Heads and Antagonists decide the path of the round and whether or not the crew itself is entangled in it to create drama.

They are also viewed with prestige, as earning a whitelist ensures a certain competency and mechanical knowledge. While they set the pace of the round, they are also intimately responsible for giving a department purpose beyond its base job guide implicates. This often includes IC training that is translated in a way that players behind the keyboards can learn the game in a more kinetic fashion. Or it could just as easily be used to create a gimmick goal that their department has. Either way, a good Head is looked up to as a leader with knowledge to back it up.

 

What do you think the OOC responsibilities of Whitelisted players are to other players, and how would you strive to uphold them?:

Stay in practice enough to be at least as competent as most of your fellow players and learn how to engage more people than just yourself. I will use gimmicks to drive drama and make the station feel more like a living breathing thing with goals beyond just this singular round. I intend to work the players into the overall story and use the ongoing Aurora storyline to drive each round to make every round an event.

 

Could you give us the gist of what is currently happening in Tau ceti and how it affected your character and their career?:

 The Tau Ceti system is currently undergoing a harsh reduction of phoron drought which is making NT more desperate for outside help. And as all that is happening the Sol Alliance is dissolving slowly, but surely. This ensures that the Aurora somehow gets caught up in the action that results in different parties convening on it as an unbiased witness.

Alright, I will admit that I am not as knowledgeable because I have recently returned to playing after hiatus and things move fast in Tau Ceti. That doesn't mean that I haven't done my research though since the Lore Overhaul on Aut'akh. Kekk'es Zuka, who is arguably my main character, has not been incredibly affected by canon storyline events in Tau Ceti as he lives on Oran in Epsilon Eridani. But I suppose if one were to force my hand and say what he 'might' be affected by is the Phoron shortages that will undeniably affect his ability to work so remotely from his home at "The Factory". He might be forced to get a Biesel Visa and pull away from his commune for an extended time. He may become frustrated and distant from other Unathi or form a community of Aut'akh. He might even be convinced to step down from his position as a Warden to work in Mendell as a shaman if enough Aut'akh had need for guidance from an elder.

 

What roles do you plan on playing after the application is accepted?:

Probably Head of Security or Research Director because I look at those two as very capable of generating drama within the round, despite antag intentions. Head of Security I chose mostly because I have fun as Warden and would love to actually be able to enforce expectations within that department moreso than a Warden is capable of handling the Brig and Officers. The Research Director however has much more of a sandbox approach of devising some goal for Sceince to be aiming towards instead of just aimlessly performing their duties as expected. Such as research expeditions and material excavations on the Asteroid's surface as an entire research department.

However, I think that I would be enticed by a Corporate Liaison position because I think that those have access to bring a fun outsider into NT business to push an agenda over several rounds. Maybe they would even be able to convert other employees into loyalty with that company or work to get labor visas for certain employees to work elsewhere.

 

Characters you intend to use for command or have created for command. Include the job they will be taking.:

Kekk'es Zuka would be aiming for Head of Security. After several shifts acting as de facto lead of the Security team in lieu of the HoS, he feels like there is a certain dependance upon him that would make him excellent for the position. And especially with him not being able to return to "The Factory" to assist his commune he would feel it necessary to have an Aut'akh that locals could look up to with their best interests at heart.

Bo-RING would step down from contract work in Robotics to become a Corporate Liaison for Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals to better push the Bishop Cybernetics agenda. He was literally created as a Public Relations IPC that would push Bishop Cybernetics prosthetics and other medical technologies. I want to keep his Robotic Engineering intact by using medical device gimmicks to 'license' to medical for future use or cater other products to whoever's on his list.

CORE would be another IPC that I designed because I refuse have any other humans on my character roster other than Johan. They function as a Research Director and I am using them to give science a little bit of higher purpose than just performing their base duties. So far, I've used them to create interesting overarching goals to facilitate roleplay such as preparing for employee evaluations. And they also serve to keep communications open and transparent (within reason) between the department and command. Thus far they have proven to succeed in empowering their crew and keeping them composed.

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How would you rate your own roleplaying?:

"9/10 I've been at this whole roleplaying thing for a long time. I've made and broken a large amount of habits I can and like put myself into a lot of challenging and uncomfortable roleplaying scenarios. I think a sure way to show my 'veteran' roleplaying is that I enjoy putting myself outside of the spotlight to allow other newer roleplayers to learn the same way I did, instead of just being unenthused about being forced to deal with a newer player."

I wrote that for the answer to this on my first applications and I still stand by it. My storytelling methods have improved even since then and I am a constant student of my mistakes.

 

Do you understand your whitelist is not permanent, and may be stripped following continuous administrative action?: 

Yes, but I do not think that that will come to happen. I do not often bend rules for my advantage and my record on this server shows that. However, if I am proven wrong in the future, you can show me this application and I will most likely agree with whatever decision that has been made.

 

Have you familiarized yourself with the wiki pages for the command roles?:

Oh yeah... All of them, even the ones I don't intend on playing right now. While I believe in my abilities for the jobs I intend on playing, I can say I also have knowledge to play every job on station at least to a satisfactory degree. But if it were to come down to it, another Head character from me would likely start with another job to get used to the workspace before moving up into the Command role.

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Extra notes: I thank anyone who looks this app over. Every time I have posted an application it always comes with a wave of anxiety first. Thanks for caring enough about the community to critique or support me, bro.
Extra Edit Notes: Added CORE, my new RD character.

Edited August 17, 2020 by Shadow

[Flpfs]

While I haven't seen your other characters much, I have played with Zuka in Security as the warden and they are a very good team player and coordinator when shit hits the fan, I have no doubt that they will do very well as HoS.

+1

[4000daniel1]

I've had a lot of fun playing with Johan  and can definetly vouch for your ability to drive fun RP resulting in entertaining rounds. I'd love to see you play some command roles.

1+

[icedcabbage]

His Warden Zuka has some great RP and I had a lot of fun working with him. When he was a interim HoS he did a great job. Big +1

[Valkrae]

Johan Wurst is a cool character to RP with. I've enjoyed every interaction I've had with Cheap, and his RP is amazing. It'd be a crime to deprive this man of his Head Whitelist.

+1 from me, homie.

[ThelonTV]

I vote Johan Wurst for RP president 2024

+1

[Shadow]

Trial starts today and ends in a week.

[Boonshucks]

Going to be a +1 from me after a few rounds with CORE as Research Director.

I had the pleasure of working alongside CORE during the horrifying Bad Moon on the Rise episode 2, in which they proved to be an effective and exemplary leader, responsive and attentive to department employees' needs, and calm in the face of crisis. During non-nightmarish shifts, CORE has been quick to encourage new developments and research, while being just as attentive and responsible. All-in-all, a solid boss that I'd like to keep around. ?

[XChrisUnknownX]

I would also like to +1. CORE has been enjoyable to play with. My only criticism is that CORE tends to be very against promoting acting heads of staff, but that can be written off as a personality conflict or an interpretation of station protocol and therefore adds to RP rather than hurts it.

Edited August 11, 2020 by XChrisUnknownX
I made a mistake.

[cheap31]

17 minutes ago, XChrisUnknownX said:

I would also like to +1. CORE has been enjoyable to play with. My only criticism is that CORE tends to be very against promoting acting heads of staff, but that can be written off as a personality conflict or an interpretation of station protocol and therefore adds to RP rather than hurts it.

It's an interpretation of station protocol thing. Since he's a synthetic, while not law bound, he's still liable to follow rules as written. However, he is usually not against promoting if a volunteer steps forward of their own accord though. I do remember our IC discussion on this the other day. I think it is because the wording of 'finding an Interim Head' made it seem like someone was going to be pushed into becoming an Interim Head instead of actively wanting and searching for a venue to become one, which wouldn't be necessary at green alert.

Thanks for letting me know what your worry was! Hopefully, my answer clears the airway there.

[DickFreedomJohnson]

+1 great RD and great leader all around.

[Estoytrucha]

CORE and Taika have had some pretty depth RP and it feels genuine. There's a distinct air of authority to CORE. They lean more on the micromanagement side of command, but this doesn't make them a bad RD at all. Each RD should feel distinct, after all. They have my +1.

[Shadow]

Accepted.