Arkin100's Head of Staff Application

[Arkin100]

BYOND key: Arkin100

Character names: Arkin Weaver

 

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How long have you been playing on Aurora?:

I've been playing on the Aurora server for just over a week now.

I did had previous experience with Space Station 13 in the past - as I used to play on Yogstation for about a week before I found this community.

Why do you wish to be on the whitelist?:

To be honest, as cliche' as it sounds: It has been something of a little dream of mine to get to the stage where I'm experienced enough to play as the Chief Engineer. I always liked playing the station engineer in SS13, in all its aspects, but playing on the Aurora has presented me with the opportunity to actually work without a CE on shift, and so I had to work twice as hard, and oftentimes manage the shift myself - delegating work between the other engineers and apprentices on duty, and working directly with heads of staff from time to time. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and wish I could do so on a more regular basis. The fact that I often find myself without a CE is another reason why I thought I might try and apply for that position at this time - to fill that slot in the hours which I play.

I know the staff whitelist regards all heads of staff (or at least that is what I gathered), but really I am only interested in the CE position. If there was a way to apply for just that I would. I hope that doesn't ruin my chances for applying, but it is the honest answer.

Why did you come to Aurora?:

Well, long-story-short: As said, before finding the Aurora I used to play on the Yogstation server. For the longest time I struggled to enjoy the rounds on that server - they were always short, fast-paced and completely chaotic. Normally I'd barely set up the singularity before coming back into engineering to find half the station missing, the shuttle already departing, and the antagonist waiting there to shoot/blast/eat me.

I raised my opinions in the OOC there, and someone mentioned I might be looking for a more RP oriented server. I took that advice and leafed through the other available servers, and sure enough there was the NSS Aurora dubbed 'Heavy RP'.

I joined in a game, went through a whole shift with the worst incident being a meteor shower that punctured the R&D department, and had the time of my life just being immersed in the game itself. Needless to say I was hooked, it was the only server I played for the following week, until the crash.

Have you read the BS12 wiki on the head roles you plan on playing?:

Yes, I have. I have also read the official SS13 wiki on the CE, I've read the guides on engineering, construction, hacking, watched what little Youtube had to offer, and even recently read up on Atmospherics so I can have a more complete knowledge of the task. I believe the CE needs to be a master engineer, with hands-on understanding of all the departments under his care, and I plan to portray that in my character as best I can.

 

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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:

In my humble opinion, roleplaying is about immersing yourself in a fictional life and story which you were a part in creating. It's a game of imagination and empathy: Imagination - because the possibilities are literally endless, and a certain measure of creativity is needed to fill in for what the interface lacks, and empathy - because a roleplayer needs to view the world from the eyes of a fictional character. To see as they see and feel as they feel. It's a very personal experience, in my opinion, and different people like to take it to different levels: Some, like myself - play characters they can easily identify with. Others - play characters that are extraordinary, or the complete polar opposite of what they are. The diversity is truly what makes SS13 so colourful and alive.

I always fancied roleplaying to be somewhere on the border between books and games. On the one hand roleplaying is all about the story: The characters, the settings, the plot and the drive. Except unlike a novel, you actually get to take an active role in the story and influence its progression, just like in a game.

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

In my opinion the role of any good HoS in game is divided into 3 categories:

1) The game:

By this I mean that, in my opinion, a HoS should strive to help drive the story of any given round. These people have the experience, the knowledge, and the means by which to direct the flow of the game itself, and allow it to progress in avenues they think would be interesting to explore.

This can be as simple as setting up the basic stuff at the beginning of the round (Singularity at engineering, etc.) and really complex, like making difficult decisions under pressure (like abandoning a missing crew member, etc.)

It's the admins or the game mode that throw the obstacles at the players in a round, it's the Heads of Staff that direct the general population on how they're going to deal with those obstacles.

2) The players:

I've played with some very good Heads of Staff on the Aurora, and I have to say that what I especially liked about them is the way they strive to create an interesting experience and encourage the players under their care to participate in these scenarios. I honestly think a good HoS would engage the players under his department so that they find any round interesting, regardless of conflict or situation. There are many times where players of certain jobs or departments can find themselves bored when there's lack of things to do - but even the most laid-back rounds can become immersive and interesting when a HoS delegates a job to a subordinate, suddenly giving him a purpose in the grand scheme of things.

It can even be simple as a HoS teaching an apprentice how to do certain aspects of a job, when the round is relatively quiet, and thus helping another player learn the game itself, and enjoy it all the more.

3) Himself:

Any HoS is a player in the game. If he's not having fun then he's probably not doing it right.

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

In many ways, many of the above points can apply to this. As players who are oftentimes veterans of the franchise they can provide guidance and insight for newcomers in the OOC.

I don't think it's their job to enforce the rules, as that would only result in stepping over the admin's feet, but helping maintain a friendly and welcoming environment in chat can't hurt.

Personally, I don't use the OOC often while I play IC - either I'm too immersed in the game itself, or feel I shouldn't be butting in on other people's conversations. That being said, certainly do strive to be a positive influence on the OOC, and plan to remain that way.

 

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Please pick one of your characters for this section, and provide well articulated responses to the following questions.

Character name: Arkin Weaver

Character age: currently his age is 28, if promoted to Chief Engineer his age will be appropriately set to 32, and his biography updated to account for the time it took him to become certified.

Please provide a short biography of this character (approx 2 paragraphs):

Weaver was born on the 17th of January, 2429, in Lowell-city, Mars, of the Sol system.

He always had a knack for computers and was arrested at age 16 for hacking into his city's hospital records for reasons which he refused to specify. Because he was a juvenile he was sentenced to 500 hours of community service and was assigned a parole officer.

Upon finishing school he was accepted as a Computer Engineering student at IMIT (the Illustrious Mars Institute of Technology) and completed his degree after 3 years, with honors.

During his degree he worked part-time at a NanoTrasen QA office, and after his studies was promoted to a system engineer at NanoTrasen's Lowell-city ground control center. It was there that he was first introduced into the actual concept of space-travel. He became obsessed with it - insisting on taking the physical tests and the qualification exams that same year, so that he may apply for work off-planet.

2 years after starting to work at the ground control center, he was accepted for work as an electrical engineer on board the NSS Tiberius - a space station orbiting Titan that served as a midway refueling station for passing spaceships.

During his time on board the Tiberius he completed his EVA certification, but his 1 year contract on board the station came to an abrupt end when a syndicate infiltrator implanted a bomb that destroyed the station's engineering department, killing most of his teammates in the blast.

Weaver survived the ordeal, albeit slightly injured - and was prescribed Hydrocodone as a painkiller, due to his Ether allergies. He was later transferred on board the NSS Cyberiad as an EVA engineer, where he signed a 3 year contract. During his last year of work he developed an addiction to Hydrocodone. He was eventually caught by a chance scan by one of the on board doctors at the time, and was suspended by security and sent to rehab for 2 months. He was later reinstated to limited duty in his department until his contract ended, whereupon he requested a transfer to work as a station engineer on board the NSS Aurora, bringing us to present day.

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What do you like about this character?:

I like his drive - I like that this character knows what he wants, what he needs to do to get it, and that he has the capacity to do so.

I like his decisiveness, his ability to think on his feet, and the fact that he talks to cyborgs like people.

His relative calm and level-headed approach to matters which I wish I personally had in real life. In a way he seems like he always had a plan. I like that about him

What do you dislike about this character?:

I dislike his obsessive nature. I know it's a part of what makes him good at what he do, but it's also what makes him lonely and oftentimes misunderstood. He's a complete workaholic. All he has is his job. In short: He's the kind of guy that orders water at the pub, just on the off chance there'll be work to do.

I dislike the fact that he comes off as crisp and humorless. He feels so strongly about being professional and formal he sometimes forgets that he's talking to people, and not ranks.

The fact that he's so strict with everyone, including himself. His reliance on corporate policy and protocol, his bossiness, his complete incompetence in a fight, and his drug problems.

What do you think makes this character fit to be a head of staff?:

Weaver is responsible, professional, by-the-books kind of man. He's level-headed, reliable and generally honest (if he can't tell you the truth the he'll opt to say nothing).

I'll even add the reasons that make this character not so fit to be a head of staff -

He's obsessive, he can delegate tasks, but often oversees them anyway to make sure they are to his liking.

While he makes for a good engineer - capable of managing the department itself - he's afraid of making decisions beyond that scope. In fact, he generally seeks to approval of a higher authority before making a difficult decision (even within engineering) - making him somewhat dependent.

And, of course, there's his history.

 

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Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions.

How would you rate your own roleplaying?:

A difficult question to answer for two reasons:

1) In my country they say that a baker can't attest to the quality of his own bread

2) I don't really believe such questions can be quantified on a numeric scale.

I think I am an avid roleplayer. I've been roleplaying for years both on the computer and beyond it. I hardly think I'm an expert - oftentimes I run into other players and see how they conduct their own character in the game, and get filled with a sense of envy at their skill.

I do try to learn from them - especially when it comes to the subtle details that really draw the character out and make it more tangible.

I tend to sin when I panic - especially when I recognize an antagonist. I'm working on it. Honestly I am.

That being said, I feel I can certainly play a role given to me relatively consistently, and that I can really immerse myself in a story, given enough context.

 

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Extra notes:

I know I'm a relatively new member of this community (I only created my forum account today) and I know many people won't know me as I generally play the engineer (which is a relatively understaffed department when I play) and the fact that I don't use OOC often.

I really do like this community, and I loved playing with you guys and partaking in all these crazy adventures on the server. I hope you will consider me worthy of your approval.

Until then see you on board!

[Baka]

This is for whitelist of characters and heads of staff.

Applications for moderation goes in a different forum, when it's open. (Currently, it is not.)

[Arkin100]

But... I am applying for a head of staff, I was given to understand from the guidelines that this was the forums section in which to post this.

[Jboy2000000]

I know Ive had interactions with Arkin in the past, via PDA and in person, but they've never had any lasting impression on me, take that as you will. However, he does go out of his way to inform command of happenings in Engineering, which is VERY admirable, I wish lots more people did that. Also, look at his app, this above and beyond any other application for anything Ive ever seen here, this is like a Meowy's flavour text of an app, 10/10, cheers mate.

[Arkin100]

I know Ive had interactions with Arkin in the past, via PDA and in person, but they've never had any lasting impression on me, take that as you will. However, he does go out of his way to inform command of happenings in Engineering, which is VERY admirable, I wish lots more people did that. Also, look at his app, this above and beyond any other application for anything Ive ever seen here, this is like a Meowy's flavour text of an app, 10/10, cheers mate.

 

Thank you!

[Guest]

I like how you seem to have a really strong grasp on what makes a head character both fun, and how they have an impact on the round and the experiences of other player characters under their purview. My only real gripe is that you mention other servers station's as if they're part of Aurora canon. I'd definitely suggest giving the Aurora wiki a nice long read through. While much of the race lore is facelifted baystation lore, the universe and NT lore is different enough to warrant a read. For instance; NT basically LITERALLY owns the system and government which houses the Aurora. And the differentiation between core and rimworld factions is very firefly-esque.

All in all, though. Looks solid man! Looking forward to seeing him around.

[Arkin100]

I like how you seem to have a really strong grasp on what makes a head character both fun, and how they have an impact on the round and the experiences of other player characters under their purview. My only real gripe is that you mention other servers station's as if they're part of Aurora canon. I'd definitely suggest giving the Aurora wiki a nice long read through. While much of the race lore is facelifted baystation lore, the universe and NT lore is different enough to warrant a read. For instance; NT basically LITERALLY owns the system and government which houses the Aurora. And the differentiation between core and rimworld factions is very firefly-esque.

All in all, though. Looks solid man! Looking forward to seeing him around.

 

Honestly my views of Head of Staff are based on my experiences with some of the exceptional players we have on the server. Credit where credit's due.

I did read the Aurora wiki, and most of the Baystation12 wiki too. Since the other stations are also NT stations, I didn't think it would be a problem, but I can always rework the story to fix this issue if needed. The NSS Tiberius, for example, is a made-up station that was inspired by one game I had in Yogstation. I thought it would be interesting, since I did create the same character in every server I played so far - to consider his past experiences as something valid. Either way, I'm not too attached to the story, it can always be remodeled a bit to suit the canon.

Thank you very much for your review and support!

[Guest]

3) Himself:

Any HoS is a player in the game. If he's not having fun then he's probably not doing it right.

Somehow, somewhere, I have forgotten this... probably because me having fun usually ends with a character complaint, but, no matter.

I can honestly say I like your app, you seem to have a very engaging and prolific writing style. That, and I'm pretty sure I've had some positive interactions with you ingame, but at some point in the past my ability to remember SS13 character got weakened to the point I can't remember anything past the name. So, yeah, I'm pretty positive you are a nice and responsible engineer.

[Arkin100]

Somehow, somewhere, I have forgotten this... probably because me having fun usually ends with a character complaint, but, no matter.

Never lose faith! FOR NARNI - oh wait, wrong movie.

 

I can honestly say I like your app, you seem to have a very engaging and prolific writing style. That, and I'm pretty sure I've had some positive interactions with you ingame, but at some point in the past my ability to remember SS13 character got weakened to the point I can't remember anything past the name. So, yeah, I'm pretty positive you are a nice and responsible engineer.

You're too kind, thank you very much for the kind words and support.

Your forgetfulness is not entirely on you - as Jboy2000000 said: My character doesn't leave a strong impression. Weaver is the kind of guy who generally stays out of people's hair until he's needed, and he has a rather mild personality as it is, for the most part. I don't mind that about him all that much. His work is his life, so it sort of makes sense to me.

[The lancer]

I know arkin in game, not too well but he often runs engineering alone and roleplays pretty well. Now I dont have much to say for I dunno him that well, but he seems an alright chap. Not to mention his application...

[Arkin100]

I know arkin in game, not too well but he often runs engineering alone and roleplays pretty well. Now I dont have much to say for I dunno him that well, but he seems an alright chap. Not to mention his application...

 

Thanks for taking the time to read the post and write a review! Even (and maybe even especially) if you don't know my character that well at all.

Cheers!

[Killerhurtz]

I remember Arkin Weaver.

And all I can say is that everything is solid. His character, his application.

I give this player all of my approval.

[Arkin100]

I remember Arkin Weaver.

And all I can say is that everything is solid. His character, his application.

I give this player all of my approval.

 

Wow! I can't thank you enough for the compliments! But thanks!

Who do you play in game? Forgive me if I've already asked and forgotten - I try to write these things down when I'm able to. Either way, I'd like to know who I have the pleasure of talking to at the moment.

[Killerhurtz]

*points at signature* XD

But for a quick answer, if I'm not mistaken, the character I played with that I met Weaver with should be Ebba Sailor.

[Arkin100]

*points at signature* XD

 

Well I can honestly say I feel quite silly now xD

I'll be looking forward to seeing you in game!

[Code2200]

I have had the pleasure of running into Arkin a few times. He was always a rather nice person to be around and treat. I have never had to treat him for anything serious, that alone shows that he can do his job. I do believe I see him on the night shift more than anything, and we really need more CEs for coverage.

I forward to seeing him in a command position during one of my shifts.

P.S. I love your backstory very well thoughtout!

[Arkin100]

I have had the pleasure of running into Arkin a few times. He was always a rather nice person to be around and treat. I have never had to treat him for anything serious, that alone shows that he can do his job. I do believe I see him on the night shift more than anything, and we really need more CEs for coverage.

I give him a loverly +1 and look forward to seeing him in a command position during one of my shifts.

P.S. I love your backstory very well thoughtout!

 

Thanks! And thanks for keeping Weaver healthy xD

[Dreamix]

Arkin is the most competent (competentest?) engineer I was recently seeing. Always doing what he is supposed to do, using his headset correctly (saying over what he's doing; generally communicating, something people rarely are doing), messaging my captain about what's happening in engineering, being helpful and such, and being a great and experienced engineer, at the very least.

The application itself is well written and with extensive answers to questions, backstory is alright, too.

I see no reason for this to be denied, I'm sure it would be pleasure to work along Weaver.

[Arkin100]

Arkin is the most competent (competentest?) engineer I was recently seeing. Always doing what he is supposed to do, using his headset correctly (saying over what he's doing; generally communicating, something people rarely are doing), messaging my captain about what's happening in engineering, being helpful and such, and being a great and experienced engineer, at the very least.

The application itself is well written and with extensive answers to questions, backstory is alright, too.

I see no reason for this to be denied, I'm sure it would be pleasure to work along Weaver.

 

Thank you very much!

[Aqy]

Application Approved.

 

 

Glory to Aurora.