[Accepted]LordBalkara's Head Whitelist App

[LordBalkara]

BYOND key: Lord_Balkara

Character names: David, Billy Moretti, Song Of The Wind, Cooper Milne, and more that I don't play enough to feel they're worth mentioning here.

How long have you been playing on Aurora?: Going by my first warning, about 10 and a half months.

Why do you wish to be on the whitelist?: I've had an interest in seeing what playing as a head would be like, and might even try making an IAA char.

Why did you come to Aurora?: It was one of the first servers I'd ever played on, and it's mechanics appeal to me. RP-wise, I feel like there's slightly less snowflake chars. But only slightly.

Have you read the Aurora wiki on the head roles and qualifications you plan on playing?: Yep. Surprised to find out how many roles an IPC can be in, if it's NT owned.

Give a definition of what you think roleplay is, and should be about:

It's about constructing an interesting and likable story, thus why the bad guys are called "antagonists" rather than "enemies". They're meant to be the antagonists of an interesting and enjoyable story. And that extends to the rest of the game. You RP fear at the evil cult because a story becomes too ridiculous and weird if characters respond to an evil magical cult by charging them with crowbars and toolboxes while screaming about "valids".

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

Mechanically, to do the basics of any necessary jobs in their department that the people in said department can't do themselves, such as a CE in a department with Atmos doing engine set up, or a CMO doing surgery, or a HoS guarding brig. They're also an example to look up to, as what someone in that department should behave like. They're also supposed to coordinate their department, though I don't know if that's more IC than OOC.

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

Well, not to ruin their fun and gameplay. If I join as Scientist with the intent of doing RnD and trying the new integrated circuitry, but the RD instead tells me to work on guns, or do toxins, it can ruin the round for me. If I join as Engineer and intend on setting up engine, but CE instead orders me to do solars while they do engine, it can be a disappointment to me.

Character name: David

Character age: 5 years.(I know requirement is 30, but that's literally the limit for IPCs, so I'll just assume it's intended for humans.)

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

David was made by a small upstart research firm. He wasn't pretty, or even that believably human. Wires and casing were visible under his pale skin, his eyes were black camera lenses, and his hair had a fake, plastic sheen to it. But he was made to move and act very human, his blatantly synthetic appearance a sacrifice to allow for more advanced processing and precise movement capabilities. His creator, Quinn, poured his blood and soul into creating the most human-like, not by appearance, but by movement and mannerism, IPC he could.

David was made to be very intelligent, and so soon became an assistant to Quinn and the rest of the lab, eventually even an arguably equal member of it. But in the end, David didn't want freedom, or equality, like many other Synths were t the time, but only to help his creator, and to make him happy.

And then, the 33rd came. They had been there for a while, enforcing an embargo which had put some strain on the research firm. But when they invaded Biesel, it was the beginning of the end for it. Men and Women in dark green uniforms came, and demanded the end to all robotic operations in the lab, and the possession of all synthetics already made and owned by the lab. Quinn tried to defend David, and hide him, but unfortunately David was found. Quinn was executed for his resistance, and David sold to the highest bidder. Only just under a year ago has David managed to regain his freedom after People from the Research lab found him and in a legal battle regained proper ownership of him.

But it was too late. David was changed by his creator's death in defense of him, almost a year enslaved to strangers, and the other hardships he suffered due to the occupation of the 33rd. Though he hides it well, and avoids bringing it into his professional life, David is very bitter towards Organics, Skrell especially, and also harbors a distrust of everything Sol.

What do you like about this character?:

I think his background is somewhat interesting, and he's not just an average everyday shell, since he's very obviously synthetic.

What do you dislike about this character?:

Worried he might be snowflaky/unrealistic.

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

He's professional, and knows his job, and some of the basic elements of other Research jobs as well.

How would you rate your own roleplaying?:

3/5, sometimes fuck up, room for improvement, but I think I understand most of the fundamentals. Generally when I goof up now, it's because I misunderstood some particular intent behind a specific rule, or misinterpreted a situation.

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Extra notes:

[Coalf]

Hmmm, I see why you'd like a head whitelist app because quite frankly I've seen you pulling the department alone as a scientist multiple times now.

Where the issue arises is that, perhaps due to our fault, Research Directors tend to be scientists with extra access without really being heads and well I haven't seen much of initiative from David.

From what I've seen you tend to sit back and work on science which well is in your job description but never anything that would really put you out there as a "leader" rather than "scientist with an upgrade". And the fact you focused completely on the mechanical aspect in your answer to the standart questions also raises five of my one hundred eyebrows.

So my questions are, what do you think are the specific responsibilities of the Research Director and not just heads in general, are there some extra things a director should worry about?

Should a director be less involved in general station leadership or actually more?

Hypothetical situation, say xenobiology is currently leaking slimes and there is no security outside of you that could deal with it a borg requires you to fix him and replace his board because a miner is bleeding out on the asteroid and nobody else can get him. For the sake of argument let's assume you didn't yet upgrade the manufacturer and thus making the reset module and fixing all the components will take you just as much time as killing those slimes.

Now there is another scientist around that's doing circuits and he refuses to either kill slimes or help with the printing, LOOC explained because he doesn't find it fun and ICly that he doesn't want to, what would you do? My point with this long ass analogy is simply that sometimes you are unable to provide fun for other players without simply cutting other players from their fun, so what would you do in those types of situations?

[LordBalkara]

My point with this long ass analogy is simply that sometimes you are unable to provide fun for other players without simply cutting other players from their fun, so what would you do in those types of situations?

I was talking as though things were going normally. In an nonstandard situation, such as a crippled miner meaning a borg needs a reset, and slimes need killed, then standard operating procedure isn't always the best. So, depending on what the scientist's species and qualifications are, I may order them to do one, irregardless of what is and isn't fun. I might also request that AI assist them, in case they don't know how to do it, or tell them how myself over comms while doing my half myself. As for David not really taking charge, that's just him being polite, as most people will get annoyed and just ignore it if someone of equal rank tries to tell them what they can and can't do. Though there are occasions where I'll voice my opinion without "ordering". Really though, if I was an RD, merely being "equal" wouldn't be as much a concern, and I could go from passively voicing my opinion to overtly telling them when something is irresponsible or not okay, like when I see a scientist hold onto Plat and mhydrogen to use as decoration, or a roboticist breaking into RnD simply due to the lack of scientists. Then I could go from trying to alert Sec/Command (and getting ignored because antaggery) to handling it myself, either by verbally reprimanding them, or suspending them.

[Bygonehero]

I would like to comment on this head app, but I cannot for the life of me remember David or Billy Moretti or your dionae. Do you play anyone else D:?

[LordBalkara]

I would like to comment on this head app, but I cannot for the life of me remember David or Billy Moretti or your dionae. Do you play anyone else D:?

Damian Alliman, Matthew Rayburn, Helper 593, and BADA BING. I don't play the first three much anymore, and BADA BING's just my default borg/pAI/AI name. There's more, and the number of characters is probably why none have stuck with you, because I tend to hop between them frequently, meaning there's few that I've played long and frequently enough to leave an impression on people, let alone make many friends. Though I used to play Rayburn a shitton, and at some point became an arguably recognizable member of Security. A lot of people also recognize BADA BING, though how much of that is due to the silly name rather than my skill as an AI and coordinator of borgs, I don't know. Though I have learned somewhat of leadership from playing AI and QM. And to an extent, other roles, when teaching learning roles, like teaching cadets about flashes/sunglasses or engies about wiring.

[Alberyk]

Application accepted.