[Accepted] Mappel6's Head of Staff Whitelist Application

[Mappel6]

BYOND key: Mappel6

Character names: Alaina Winters, Masuno Kukarumo. I also have the characters Joe Picante, Noelle Thompson, and Alfredo Hughes--I've told people about them (mostly Picante) but they have not yet seen a round, whether due to lack of character development or laziness.

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How long have you been playing on Aurora?: Well over a year, but I'm unsure of the exact length. Notably, this was very on-and-off, with me playing for a month or so and going away for a while before returning.

Why do you wish to be on the whitelist?: I wish to be on the whitelist to further the story of one of my primary characters, Masuno Kukarumo. He has a tendency to be relatively calm in situations that don't put him in immediate danger, and don't remind him of traumatic events of his past, as well. Overall I've gotten a lot of good feedback on the character and have played a couple of interim rounds, and I think it's time for him to move up.

Why did you come to Aurora?: I originally come from the BestRP server, which is also where Masuno originates. Eventually that server shut down and the community moved to Unbound Travels, and when that one shut down, I moved to the next server that promised high RP and had a good amount of players, which was Aurora.

Have you read the Aurora wiki on the head roles and qualifications you plan on playing?: Yes, must be at least 30 years of age with at least 10 years of experience in science-related fields, and at least one PhD but preferably more. I've read it once, I've read it again, and I've read it probably more than I should need to as I had to read it yet again before making this app and yet as soon as I finish this I'll probably need to check it again.

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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: At its most simple, roleplay is about building a story. Everyone involved in roleplay is not only a 'player' but a 'writer.' Everybody helps to weave together a story with complex and interesting characters that, in my opinion, can't be done in a book or other story with one or only a few writers. In normal writing a single, rigid story is created, and while it might be interesting, the lore is only as developed as the writer wants it to be. In roleplay, you have a single, ongoing lorebase that's constantly being improved and added on with many individual stories running side-by-side and intertwining to create one, much larger, much more grand story. And, in my opinion, that's exactly what RP should be and that's exactly why I enjoy it so much.

What do you think the OOC purpose of a Head of Staff is, ingame?: The OOC purpose of a Head of Staff (as well as, in my opinion, the Quartermaster) is a few things--one, to provide direction and purpose for the individual players in a department or set of departments (in the case of the Captain or HoP), two, to ensure everything goes as planned and remains as realistic to the lore as possible, three, to provide a point for characters new to the game or to RP to join in, and act as a guide for players new and old, four, to control whatever chaos may come, and five (and my favorite of all), to provide a target for said chaos--as in being the general objective of some antags and being something you can take down to tear down what structure there is. In short, they are meant to provide a 'centerpoint' for RP--someone even the most isolated characters will interact with and someone anybody can go to, provoked or not, to further character development.

What do you think the OOC responsibilities of Whitelisted players are to other players, and how would you strive to uphold them?: The OOC responsibilities of whitelisted players are, no matter what the whitelist is, to become a driving force behind the lore and roleplay of the community. If you are an alien, you should be helping push the roleplay and lore of your species--heads of staff are not much different, as they should be pushing the roleplay of their department and giving people reasons to be playing, communicating, and building a story. A great example of this is one of the RDs, Winoa Summers, who I see constantly asking Robotics for orders such as "two Ripley APLUs and two Firefighter APLUs for Central Command," and one for, I believe, "three Gygaxes to order for the Mendell City Police Force." She will constantly be tasking her department and keeping them busy, and I think this is honestly what many players under the Head of Staff whitelist should be doing. Personally, I will be occasionally doing this at a lower level, and especially coordinating with admins to actually make these actions meaningful--for example, I'd very much like it if the phoron researchers made individual bomb designs, and recorded and wrote the effects and recipes of these designs after days of testing, which I would then store in a 'database' and, later, say that, for example, the Mendell City Firefighters wanted to order X amount of X bomb, and after these are delivered in some way, a payment of some kind is delivered to the Science/station accounts (which means our actions are canonically making money for NanoTrasen). Same for roboticists, RnD's weapons and tools, and hell, maybe even somebody could ask for X amount of X slime cores from Xenobiology. If I could coordinate this and other things with admins, then I feel like I could make what Science does even more meaningful and improve the RP just that much.

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

Character name: Masuno Kukarumo

Character age: 36

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

Ready for a funfest? Warning: This actually goes very much into detail on Masuno's character and backstory, and explains why he does what he does and why he acts the way he does both normally and as an antag. Read at your own risk--if you RP with him enough, you will eventually find out most of this on your own anyways, so if you don't want to spoil yourself then feel free to jump into a round whenever you see me and get my attention.

Masuno Kukarumo comes from Olympia, Mars, and is one of two children of the Kukarumo family. His father was a NanoTrasen researcher, who worked on various laser weaponry, and Masuno and his twin sister, Mana, decided to follow in their father's footsteps later in life. They lived a relatively normal life, and the two Kukarumo twins were very close, Masuno going so far as to dye his hair blue when his sister dyed her red, and both choosing to go into the same field of work: station engineering. The two eventually entered a collegiate high school program at Mars University, with scholarships and internships provided by NanoTrasen--achieved in part due to their father's ties with the company. Both worked hard and eventually earned their degrees before entering a work-study internship program, and gaining experience on various grounded and obsolete, smaller stations that were scheduled to be decommissioned in favor of newer designs and technology. They learned well and gained experience quickly, but unfortunately, eventually Masuno's father disappeared without a trace in a suspected kidnapping or murder, and his mother died shortly after due to an illness which had plagued her for over a year before.

Even worse, there was a freak accident in one of the training sessions--when Masuno and Mana were learning to set up and maintain the singularity generator engine, there was a malfunction in the particle accelerator. It caused a small explosion which launched various lattice and supports everywhere. Masuno was lucky enough--though he lost his right arm in the incident as the support beam that hit him cleaved it right off, he was quickly saved by the Chief Engineer training him, stabilized, and shipped to a triage station. Mana was far from lucky--a large support beam pierced her abdomen, and the bleeding and depressurization killed her within seconds. She was unable to be recovered; though many details of this incident are blocked from Masuno's immediate memory, he is still haunted by this incident. Occasionally he goes into psychotic fits and it has since been recommended that a psychiatrist remain on standby whenever Masuno is around, as well as recommended that he show up for more frequent than usual psychiatric evaluations. Notably, and probably due to the increased psychiatric evaluations, this behavior has since mostly subsided and only shows in times of dire stress and similar conditions, and has been classified as a more sporadic form of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Since then, Masuno's life and career has been fairly normal. He woke up in the triage center in the middle of the calibration of his new prosthetic arm, and after a few months of time spent in a mental hospital, decided to fully abandon his pursuit of station engineering altogether. The encounter with the biomechanical engineer that gave Masuno his new arm led to him going and applying his previous station engineering knowledge towards a biomechanical engineering and robotics degree. Eventually, after witnessing someone at work in Toxins, Masuno went back to Mars University and worked his way up to eventually obtain a PhD in Phoron Studies, with a minor in General Sciences, using his pay from NanoTrasen as well as extra funding from NanoTrasen (in exchange for a twenty-year contract upon graduation). He has since become a fairly efficient and slightly notable weapons designer, focusing on 'utility weapons' while occasionally trying new things out to further knowledge of phoron. Notably, much more of his experiments have failed than have actually led to the creation of viable weapon designs. Beyond this, his personal life has also been successful despite everything--having already been married (and divorced) twice, and having a child from each marriage to show, a family which he takes care of well.

 

What do you like about this character?: I honestly like how well-developed Masuno is, having developed his story over the course of my stay of the three major servers I was a part of, with elements added in from a couple of other things that happened in servers I played only once or twice. He's a character that has genuinely let the story take him and shape him into who he is nowadays, making him into a realist and very much safety-oriented person, as well as choosing his friends carefully and being somewhat wary of newcomers (though not letting it show, generally). He is somewhat of a loose-cannon though very much controlled in that aspect--generally it only shows when he is an antag, or from the actions of another antag, and personally, given what he's been through, he's very much justified in that aspect. His story adapted well for Aurora and I absolutely enjoy playing him here, though some stuff that made little sense (namely ages of himself and his two ex-wives--which were both played by other SS13 players on the servers I mentioned earlier--and the points of which certain things happen in his story) had to be changed or cut out, but it still worked to create what I think is a great character. However...

What do you dislike about this character?: I personally think that, though Masuno's lore was 85% created by IC actions over several servers, he is very much a 'snowflake.' I honestly don't believe that any one person could be so unlucky, and yet still so competent at the end of it all. I've heard from others that Masuno is 'definitely unique, but not too snowflakey or cringey' but honestly I do believe some of the stuff in his backstory should be toned down--or at the very least, he should be developed further to make sure some good stuff actually happened to him and it's not all a tragic anime backstory.

What do you think makes this character fit to be a head of staff?: Masuno is smart, capable, and calm in the face of danger (as long as, again, he himself is not in immediate danger). He is definitely willing to push things but, in his interim rounds, he has cared for all of those in his department, and has taken a very much safety-first policy. He keeps up with paperwork and absolutely loves when employees do their paperwork without him having to ask--especially in high-risk cases like Genetics, Xenobiology, or any live specimen testing overall. Anyone who knows his work in Science will also know that he genuinely cares about his research and will do what he can, even taking some controlled risks and going EVA to assess effects of his research personally, to advance his research and understanding. All of this put together, and I, personally, believe you have one highly competent RD.

 

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Please provide well articulated answers to the following questions.

How would you rate your own roleplaying?: I'd honestly rate myself at an 8/10. I personally believe that I could improve highly, but also that I have a lot of experience in roleplay, with roleplay being a major hobby of mine (along with gaming and game development) for about 8 years now. I have a lot of experience with writing and roleplaying, but am far from perfect and acknowledge that I do occasionally slip up and make mistakes.

I'd like to add in though, that I'm much better at the actually roleplaying and pushing the story parts than I am with things like character creation. I personally believe that many of my characters tend to be a lot more bland to start and gain a lot of their traits through RP--which is why Masuno here takes a lot of his story from other servers, mainly. So individually, I'd probably put the character creation part at around 6/10 while the actual in-game RP part I'd put closer to 9/10.

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Extra notes: I don't believe I'm on the bad side of many people on the server, and know myself to be very honest but polite. However, I do understand that I have recently been known to lurk as a ghost instead of actually playing. I've been trying to play Masuno a lot more recently whenever I've been available, and trying to interact with as many people as possible and do what I can to spur some form of RP even when I'm not an antag. Usually this involves Masuno hanging out at the bar but hey, RP is RP.

Edited August 31, 2017 by Guest

[JKJudgeX]

Earlier today I played as Captain and had a headless research staff, so, since I knew this character was trying for RD due to OOC conversation, I decided to lean on the character to adopt a semi-leadership role and keep an eye on the department.

The character RPed well in our exchange and made an effort to keep an eye on things for me in a satisfactory manner. Mappel seems like a pretty good player and this is a well-written whitelist request. Based on this, and previous experiences with the player, I'm giving a big thumbs up for a whitelist for this player.

+1

[BRAINOS]

I've played on another server with Mappel a while back, and he was just as excellent a player then as he is today - his characters grow and react to IC events and everything has a consequence, which makes interacting with Kukarumo very, very interesting. He's a dynamic character who has clearly been through a lot and his experience shows.

Mappel as a player is always fun and helpful to be around, their knowledge of game mechanics is very solid and their ability to be a pleasant player interested in making other people's rounds enjoyable is something I see fit for a player seeking a head role.

+1

[JhnKing]

Mappel6 has been a great player as long as I've known them and has developed Masuno Kukarumo "Kooks" into a fun, interactive character. Mappel6 as a player is very helpful to others, and strives to engage the players around them. They have a firm grasp on the game's mechanics, and develops his characters dynamically through their interactions with others. Masuno Kukarumo as a character has been through a lot, with many of his quirks coming from IC interactions with other players. Both the character and the player seem to be very much qualified with their attitude and knowledge of game mechanics, and I would love to see them become a head role.

+1

[Tequilajoe]

I dont play as much as I once did, but from what I've seen of Musano, he's a pretty good fella. And I feel that, at a year, Mappel has the experience needed to roll a head of staff. I look forward to seeing him among our glorious leaders. o7

+1

[Mappel6]

Some edits have been made (mainly just to his age here, a lot more went/is going into the records) after speaking with an admin on the realism of Masuno's character. There will almost definitely be more going into it further, but as this only calls for a brief summary, some of it may or may not be reflected here. All I can suggest is for everyone to continue RPing with me, I'll probably speak any relevant changes to anyone who is familiar with Masuno and what has changed if I recognize them.

[UnknownMurder]

Masuno Kukarumo is a wonderful character with interesting roleplay insights. Masuno can also be an interesting character as an antagonist to work with or against, furthermore Masuno himself is an interesting antagonist. The player, Mappel6, will in his best efforts to make the round interesting enough to involve everyone and I believe this particular habit can also be stretched out his command whitelist.

+1

[Regularity]

Decent guy, doesn't get worked up when things don't go his way. Really dedicated roleplayer, even when putting himself at risk. Not many players go that far, so I'd be okay seeing him in a position with more power without too much worry.

+1

[cloud]

I really like Mappel OOC'ly, I think they're a great player and have a wonderful attitude. I also had no idea you had a whitelist app up, so advertise more you loser.

Aside from being my favourite ghost stalker, I think Masuno seems like a great character from everything I've seen here. I can't honestly say I've had the pleasure of interacting with him a great amount, beyond talking to him briefly as Owl. But if the replies here are any indication, they'd be a great fit for a head of staff. I've also got no doubt that Mappel could create another character and be a fun, great head of any other department if they wanted. Good luck!

 

I've played on another server with Mappel a while back, and he was just as excellent a player then as he is today - his characters grow and react to IC events and everything has a consequence, which makes interacting with Kukarumo very, very interesting. He's a dynamic character who has clearly been through a lot and his experience shows.

Mappel as a player is always fun and helpful to be around, their knowledge of game mechanics is very solid and their ability to be a pleasant player interested in making other people's rounds enjoyable is something I see fit for a player seeking a head role.

+1

also brainos I just wanted to say thank you. Your feedback on everything I see is always really concise and informative. It makes me smile to see your responses

[Espa]

Great RPer to be around They seem like a good influence on other players around them and don't shrink from danger!

Played Annika Petrovka around Masuno as we both accompanied Sydney Grace! Hope to see them get the RD position!!

+1

[Tailson]

Masuno cares about paperwork. Masuno is passionate about paperwork. When interim Masuno actually reads paperwork. This alone makes them perfect for an RD.

Honestly though, they are a fantastic roleplayer and are very enjoyable to be around. I can quite easily give this a +1 with little complaint.

[AmoryBlaine]

I like him. I've only really seen him around a few times but the character seems like he'd fit the bill of Research Director. I hope he makes the cut.

[Mappel6]

[mention]TishinaStalker[/mention] One month has passed, I think it's time to either get this pushed through or get slapped in the face, slightly more likely. Idk who else is doing these for sure, but I know this is your domain.

I don't have a clever 1 month picture like the others did but I do have this 'motivation' from a friend to share. https://gyazo.com/3d08eb7c211643f94253afaeccaa4d10

[Faris]

Let's get into this, shall we? Now, the application itself seems well written and eloquent from my time reading it. It also utilizes the tragedy theme at least moderately well as I've never really seen it as a defining characteristic through my time playing around with Masuno, as certain others fall into a habit of. A minor peeve of mine is hair color and especially among command staff but it in this application it's really irrelevant. Masuno is also capable of their job and puts the proper amount of emphasis role play.

I've given him interim but I felt he went into shock but then again I'd chalk it off as a inexperience and my somewhat demanding playstyle as Captain. So all in all, you have my support. +1

[Faris]

Application approved.