accepted N. Komaeda's Command application - Honestly I have nothing it's just good to be the boss.

[Nagito Komaeda]

BYOND key: N. Komaeda

Discord Username: viego_vol_kalah

Character names: Uskiro Kisisril (Machinist), Kaoloh Siziursi (Bridge Crew), Aqii Tola-Riv (Psychologist), Marina Sanchez (Security Officer), and Jason Hellevan (Xenobotanist).

How long have you been playing on Aurora?

I’ve played on Aurora for a few months, on and off over many many years. I played a little in 2019, some more in 2023, and have finally picked the server back up this year.

Have you received any administrative actions? And how serious were they?
I have not, but I am aware of a note on my account about repeated disconnecting in-round. This was back in 2019, when I just straight up closed the game if I was done with the round instead of going to cryo. No excuse for that habit, but I certainly don’t do that anymore.

 

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?
Delegation and team building

I believe Heads of Staff are expected to help the department take shape in any given round. They’re expected to understand the way their department works, what crew is responsible for what task, and how the operations of any department are best organised. To that end, they’re a facilitator and a manager. The Head of Security shouldn’t be solving a crime on their own, they should be delegating the tasks between all employees within the department. The Chief Medical Officer isn’t expected to make and administer pharmaceutical drugs while also doing surgery - they have a team for that. Of course, they should be able to fulfil a part of their department’s chain, but it should never be their round-start priority. We don’t expect the Chief Engineer to set up the SM, then the INDRA, then the thrusters, before any other engineer can join.

A good member of Command will turn a random group of players into a team. Usually, departments can sort themselves out and assign tasks. A Head of Staff can either play into this or break the norm and create something unique. They can change the flow of a round from your average 2 hour experience into a memorable thing just by making decisions a normal crewmember wouldn’t, all because they have the authority to do so as a Head. You don’t have to be a ‘good’ boss to be a memorable one.

 

Responsibility and mentoring

Furthermore, any new player should feel most comfortable asking questions to the Head of Staff. A Head of Staff should be receptive to teaching others the rough edges and the intricacies of a job. Of course, you’d expect an Investigator (Cadet) to know how to do their job ICly, but OOCly it is courteous to still ‘teach them the ropes’ in an appropriate manner. Naturally, you shouldn’t need to tell a Hangar Technician how to open or sort crates. 

You’re the figurehead of your department, and every Head of Staff runs the department differently. At the end of the shift, you are held responsible for the actions of your entire department. Mentoring does not just apply to newer players - it also means teaching veterans how you, as a Head of Staff, want the department to work. However you do that is up to you.

 

Communication

A Head of Staff needs to be communicative too, which goes hand in hand with teamwork. This doesn’t mean they need to yap over the radio every minute, but it’s expected that a Head of Staff ensures the crew knows they’re there. Really, nobody likes to have an absent Head of Staff in their department. There’s obviously departments where it’s a bit less vital (Research often sorts itself, same for Service and a bit of Operations) and departments where communication is important to the gameplay loop (Command [!], Medical [!!], Security [!!!!!!!]).

 

What do you think the OOC responsibilities of Whitelisted players are to other players, and how would you strive to uphold them?
One of the most vital parts of being a ‘boss’ in a department is the ability to handle stress, in my opinion. A lot of players are looking at you in any given round - your immediate department is expecting you to give necessary orders, your fellow Heads of Staff are expecting updates when a situation is important to them (doubly so for the Captain, as you are the Captain’s direct link to a department), and any antagonists need you to help them tell their story. Knowing how to manage stress and delegate in order to tell a believable story is one of the greatest responsibilities a Head of Staff has on Aurora.

Another responsibility you have is similar to the IC one - you should know your department. Really. The way the various jobs in a department interact differs on a per-department basis (who has what primary task in Medical, who does what part of the procedure in Security), and you can’t manage it if you don’t at least know the who, what and how.

Then there’s also the fact that your behaviour and your application are openly visible to others, which is used as inspiration/input/information for their own applications and behaviour.

 

I intend to uphold these principles by sheer force of will, to be direct. I am really good at handling stress, and making decisions. At the end of the day, SS13 is a game, and it doesn't get to me. That responsibility of telling a story and running a team is what I enjoy the most. I also have the knowledge of what a department does, and how the cogs turn, as I firmly stand behind the principle of delegation. And you can't delegate if you don't know what the hell you're talking about! Finally, the proper behaviour. Because I enjoy Command, and Command characters, I am very devoted to them. As such, I strive to make them believable, consistent and most importantly: Not reductive to the environment.

 

Explain how the recent events in the Spur changed your character and how they came to be employed on the SCCV Horizon.
HOLMES, formerly known as Expo to its mining crew, is a Hephaestus positronic who has managed multiple logistics facilities over its years. After the discovery of Phoron, the positronic who used to be considered equipment turned into a hard-working individual, and Hephaestus recently gave it a datapack to further boost its management skills. It embodies the blue-collar spirit and now finds itself employed aboard the SCCV Horizon to oversee the Operations department, all in the name of industry.

After my trial, and once there’s a final decision on the 2iC XO debate, I’ll also be bringing a new character to the table: Osisra Devorask, Ouerean ex-space mercenary turned Dagamuir peacekeeper. Having lived her life as a Unathi gunner aboard a mercenary vessel, Osisra is no stranger to being the boss. She’s a hardass commander, taking charge over the Horizon’s Bridge and its operations (while also advising Security at their request). For what reason? The pay, really.

 

What roles do you plan on playing after the application is accepted?
I’m primarily interested in Operations Manager, Executive Officer, Head of Security and Research Director. Secondarily I’m interested in Chief Engineer, Captain and the Liaison roles. It is incredibly unlikely that I'll play Chief Medical Officer, like, ever.

 

Have you familiarized yourself with the wiki pages for the command roles?
Sure have!

 

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

HOLMES, Operations Manager.

Osisra Devorask, Executive Officer.

Lioxui Oruexi, Research Director.

Do you understand your whitelist is not permanent, and may be stripped following continuous administrative action?
Yes, although I firmly expect Aurora administration to reinstate my whitelist once the sun burns up and the servers die.

 

Have you linked your BYOND account to the Forums?
Yes.

 

Extra notes:
I am relatively young compared to others here on Aurora, which may weigh against me. But I have a LOT of experience playing Command on HRP (most notably, Polaris), and personally the game is a lot more fun to me as someone in charge of the department. The two characters I currently play a lot balance gameplay knowledge & escalation (Machinist) and communication, initiative and delegation skills (Bridge Crew), and I hope to prove I am equally capable of combining these as Command characters.

Furthermore, I am a busy person. Outside of weekends, I don’t have that many opportunities to play a lot of rounds. I’d be more than happy to find a suitable middle-ground for the trial period, though, and I can be contacted over Discord to arrange that (while also giving more insight into why I have little time).

 

Edited March 30 by Nagito Komaeda
Added an RD.

[N8-Toe]

Cant say I've had a bad experience with any of their chars, as well their application is really well written and reflective on the role of a command member

 

+1 from me!

[NekoMarbles]

I've had the fortune to be taught not only the functions of BC under Komaeda, but also many other mechanics and functionalities found in-game. Komaeda shows a great deal of knowledge both through the way he chooses to play his characters, as well as how to adjust well to help provide others with a better in-round experience. He's always been a pleasure to interact with both IC as well as OOC, and I'd be more than excited to see what he can do with a command whitelist under his belt. 
This application gets a definite +1 from me, I think he's a great candidate for a trial in the near future.

[Jaeger Brothers]

Hey, man First time I saw him he was playing a machinist and since I saw him then he has become really good at the Role so I see Willingness and the ability to Learn new things which is one of the More Important things to me and the IC Interactions have been always fun too no matter what so its a Good +1 from me.


+1

[Mneme]

I don't normally post on the forums, but I wanted to give my support for this application. Recently, I had a round with Komaeda where I made them (Kaoloh Siziursi) an Interim Executive Officer. They handled the position well, and as Captain (Xria Lya-Tiipis) I was able to rely on them fully, without any oversight. They are an excellent communicator and roleplayer, and I think they'd make a great addition to the growing number of Command players. I am excited to see what they do.

+1

[MattAtlas]

On trial until 31MAR2024.

[Crozarius]

I was Bridge Crew with HOLMES during an interesting (controversial) Rev Round, where due to the events of the round some crew needed to be promoted to Interim Heads of Staff due to Anti-Dominian Racism being the gimmick of the round. HOLMES was good, I liked him, I believed him as a Command staff. Due to our timezones intersecting I've had him as Command for a handful of rounds over the past week and I've never had a problem with him, and he's been so far dependable and solid. 

+1

Edited March 30 by Crozarius
Thought I should add the fact that I've played more than one round with the guy.

[4000daniel1]

HOLMES is solid, no complaints!

+1

[Shimmer]

I've held off on writing feedback until the very last moment on account of both being lazy wanting to try to figure out what sort of traits Komaeda expresses as a command member. Trying to gauge as a trial member of command and as crew.

 

Saaaadly the trial period does not last NEARLY enough for me to be able to do the latter, however I do think I want to comment at least from the perspective of rounds I participated in as Laura, and of rounds I've ghost observed.

Holmes came across to me in a way that an established command member did, at least with my limited experience with the role. They were responsive, and they facilitated something I wanted to give one of my service members. I don't think there was a point where I tried to communicate with Holmes and failed to get across to them. They interacted with the crew I sent over to them in a diligent manner even after not being able to find something on their own.

 

Edit: Most recent round with them me and Holmes were the only command members present during an intense hostage situation. I took lead, but everything would've been a lot more overwhelming and probably impossible without someone else taking off some of that pressure and focusing on tasks they are more experienced in. Something Komaeda did diligently and effectively.

 

Leaving a positive note here, +1.

Edited March 31 by Shimmer
another fucking edit because there is a POINT TO IT FUCK YO

[Jasorn]

HOLMES has been fun to interact with, a fun dynamic of a socially detached corporate shilling IPC lol, seems to understand what it takes to be a head of staff too.

+1

[Toomie]

Nagito Komaeda really knows how command works and how to use the role to make the round more fun for everyone. They find a way to give everyone a roll and the chance to RP under their command. HOLMES is a great part of the command crew, and are a joy to see around. 

+1

[MattAtlas]

Accepted.