accepted ASmallCuteCat wants to pet all the department animals (Command app)

[ASmallCuteCat]

BYOND key: ASmallCuteCat

Discord Username: Revenant1367

Character names: Luna Li, Jay Elder

How long have you been playing on Aurora?

Since late April 2024

Have you received any administrative actions? And how serious were they?
No

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?
I see Head of Staff as not a leader who gives commands and tells people what to do or what not to do, but something as more of a guide and provider of resources. As Head of Staff, you help facilitate coordination and communication both within and outside of your department. Command roles get a number of ingame things - items, access, authority, and so forth - that I believe should be used to spice up interactions and provide roleplay hooks that others can engage with. (Example: Head of Security walks around with Columbo, giving someone who plays a character with a phobia of dogs the opportunity to showcase said character trait, or an Executive Officer who opens up the kitchen on a chef-less round so that people can make food and hang out)

A Head of Staff also is like a "guardrail" (I can't think of a better word) in the sense that it gives players the knowledge that there is someone to look to when they need some direction or guidance, especially in cases where a player is new to the mechanics of a certain role.

What do you think the OOC responsibilities of Whitelisted players are to other players, and how would you strive to uphold them?
I think one of the biggest responsibilities of playing Command and having a whitelist for it, is to ensure that you're making the game better for other players as well as not using your status/ingame authority to punish, control, or micromanage. Command players need to be very careful that they strike a good balance between what is realistic and providing that structure of being in command, and what is fun and engaging for everyone else - especially if they play a strict or "hard-ass" character.

Another player (sadly, I can't remember who) said that a Command whitelist basically means that you can be trusted not to screw over roleplay for other people, and I don't think I can phrase it better than that.

I would carry out these responsibilities by encouraging and enabling interaction. I believe that communication is perhaps the most important cornerstone of interaction, so I would do things such as check in with each member of my department regularly, keep them updated on what's going on beyond the department, and make sure that no one is left out with nothing to do. In instances where I had to reprimand a crew member, I would try to mediate resolve things cordially first, and if I had to put my foot down I would try to find options that would not ruin the round for whoever's in trouble.

For lack of a better description, I would be the reliable, sturdy crust of the departmental pizza, providing a solid base for the crew members to build off. I consider the role of Command to be, for the player if not the character, a supporting role rather than a main character.

Explain how the recent events in the Spur changed your character and how they came to be employed on the SCCV Horizon.
Aruzir Izkali hails from humble origins - orphaned in the Contact War, then adopted by refugees who fled to Mictlan, which they eventually called home. They joined the Mictlan Defense Force, serving as a medic for a few years before going on to pursue higher education and a medical doctorate. From there, Aruzir decided that a change of scenery was preferable, and enlisted with the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion, just in time for the Second Solarian Invasion and the Peacekeeper Mandate.

Aruzir might have stayed with the TCFL... if not for marriage, and then parenthood. Becoming a parent was the final straw that pushed Aruzir to retire from military life, and find a career that was less likely to bring their life to an abrupt, violent end. Their service in the TCFL and the connections they made during their enlistment helped them land a position as Chief Medical Officer with the SCC.

What roles do you plan on playing after the application is accepted?
Chief Medical Officer. [i]Maybe[/i] Research Director in the far future, though I'd want to play a science role and get familiar with it before I attempt Research Director.

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

Characters you intend to use for command or have created for command. Include the job they will be taking:
Aruzir Izkali, Chief Medical Officer

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

Have you linked your BYOND account to the Forums?
I'm not actually sure how to check this, so I'll say no I haven't

Extra notes:
Can't think of anything

[goolie]

I don’t want to immediately give this a -1 without giving you a chance to respond, as that would feel unfair. Instead, I’d like to ask: what’s your plan as a command member when you’re inevitably forced to interact with antagonists? Since you’ve joined, I’ve noticed that you tend to stonewall most antagonist types and often go to cryo when you’re converted in conversion rounds. You also seem to avoid interacting with characters you dislike, choosing to walk away or cryo instead. As a command member, you’ll frequently be involved in gimmicks, some of which you might not enjoy. I understand that it can be frustrating or even aggravating to have to interrupt your RP to participate in a gimmick, but that’s one of the unspoken responsibilities of being in a command role. You mentioned on Discord that you feel uncomfortable during antagonist rounds, which makes me wonder if pursuing a command whitelist really is the best choice?

[N8-Toe]

I think your a good Roleplayer, a good writer, and an active member of the community. I do have hesitation similar to  what goolie said regarding antags. As CMO your going to be interacting with them and perhaps even a front  and center target

 

Further I agree and like your answer of a head of staff as a guiding force, but do remember command does involve commanding. Dont hesitate to give firm orders and say what is and is not to happen. In medical as CMO al of what you'll find yourself needing to do is prevent tunnel vision. Making sure you have people where they're needed and while this can be hands off. sometimes you gotta be giving hard direct orders, or assigning people to patiants. So just have the confidence for that! Overall I think you deserve a trial to show us all how you'll do so I am going to +1 tentatively

[Owen]

Hi, thank you for applying! Before we can say yes/no on giving you a trial, we'd like to hear a bit more about what you believe the OOC expectations for Command WL players to be. We would also like to hear how you would see yourself interacting with antags (as, let's face it, having to interact with antags is something which will come up more often than not). The rest of the Command WL team and I share similar concerns that Goolies and N8-Toe brought up, and just want to hear a bit more about that before reaching a decision--mainly that you have put thought into this before applying. 

[Owen]

Oh, and, as for linking your BYOND account to the forums, I think that might be broken at the moment. I've asked and will get back to you once I get a confirmation on that. 

[ASmallCuteCat]

My plan with antags is to keep things roleplay-focused, as I believe this server is Heavy-RP first and foremost. In general, I will try to see what their demands are, and then negotiate to meet their demands, or find a peaceful solution that allows all parties involved to continue their roleplay, continue their gimmick, and continue their interactions. Furthermore the character I'm applying with is in Medical, who should not be going face-to-face chasing antags anyway. I tip off Security, it's their job to directly confront antagonists.

Going to be honest here, I don't intend on playing Command during the high-intensity, high-bodycount rounds. I know my preferences and my limitations; twisting them just to have that command role ingame isn't something in my plans.

As for the OOC expectations for Command players - I believe Command players need to show, both in RP and out-of-game, that they can be trusted with the ingame authority and power that Command-rank characters have. And now that Storyteller is linked to the Command whitelist, this is even more important, since Storytellers have a fair amount of ability to push roleplay. It's essential that staff can trust whitelisted players not to mess around or get up to hijinks at the expense of other players.

Command characters sometimes have to make executive decisions and give orders in RP, so the player behind them needs to prove that they aren't going to give bizarre commands or pass down silly rulings "for the lulz". Also, Command characters are supposed to teach characters in the learner roles, so they need to be willing to put forth good-faith effort to teach.

A Command whitelisted player should have a solid knowledge of the server's rules and code of conduct, as well as a good idea (and handy wiki link) for ingame regulations. They should be well-versed with the ins and outs of roleplay, aware of what not to do (such as metagaming, blurring IC and OOC, to name a couple) and thoughtful+considerate towards other players. Not saying that Command players need to be perfect paragons of the community, but they should have some level of OOC maturity, flexibility, and level-headedness. Roleplay is interactive, it is give-and-take, and when you are in a position of power you need to be extra-aware of that balance and how to maintain it. If you wind up on the "take" side too much, it sours the experience for the players around you.

I'm struggling with how to phrase this and it's descending into word salad again, apologies if it's sort of incoherent: Command characters are "in the spotlight", players will look to them for guidance and leadership, they draw attention for the simple fact that they are in command. The player behind said Command character needs to be aware of this, and make sure they're giving a good impression of the server.

If there's anything I need to expound on or clarify, please let me know.

(Writing all this up makes me wonder if I'm truly ready to try Command or if I need a few more months, lol)

[N8-Toe]

we dont always know if a round will be high body count or intensity. if your in what seems like anice slow RP round and it turns into a disaster or combat. how do you think you'll manage, or will you head to cryo

[Lilly Evans]

I enjoy interacting with you and your characters, they are a lot of fun!

 

One thing I've learned is even an extended round can become chaos. We've got into ship battles, high intensity rescues, and God knows what science gets up to. As a xenoarchaeologist on a extended round, I almost sent us to red because of an anomalies silliness. While these are not snrag related, they can be extremely stressful!

As the CMO that means you might still be the only head of staff on shift and need to get thr captains ID and lead security to the armory or take part in handling the hazard directly.

You might be on the bridge ordering crewman around as solo command during a ship to ship battle. All in extended.

Are you going to be okay with that?

[Owen]

On trial until 12 December 2024. Throughout your trial, please try to play your command character as much as possible. If you plan on adding any other characters to your command roster during your trial, please update your application and post here to let us know. You are encouraged to advertise your application once per round in OOC to gather feedback on your application. If you have any questions/concerns regarding your trial, feel free to reach out over Discord. Good luck

[RatSlav]

+1 amazing player, Great at RP and really conducive to great moments.

[Fyni]

I gotta say I agreed with Goolie (and the others) about your aversion to antags. However, over the past few days I see you have made an effort to be there and present even as antagonism happens. I'm going to give this a tentative +1, though I would really like to see more of this to be certain.

[NekoMarbles]

I'll admit, I had not interacted with many of CuteCat's characters prior to the last couple of weeks. However, sharing multiple rounds with them since, I can very much see all of the effort they put in, and I've definitely taken notice to their communicative nature within as well as outside of the department they command. I'll be giving this one a +1, for sure.

[Owen]

I did, in fact, forget to close this. That's my bad. Accepted!