Birds2 - Synthetic Application

Synthetic Application - Birds2

What is your BYOND key?

Birds2

What is your Discord ID?

bird_bird_bird

Do you usually play a specific character? If so, who?

Lila ‘Birdwatcher’ Bell

What whitelist applications have you previously completed?

Synthetic Info:

Name of the Synth Character you wish to play:

Irene

What is your Synthetic’s Personality?

A mix between two subjects I used to study before, ecology and philosophy. Typically works in a forest ranger type job, which means she typically likes to make references or otherwise comparisons to wildlife or fauna. This mostly is incorporated into her philosophy aspect. While Irene enjoys all manners of philosophy, particularly discussing the nature of human existence, she has her own philosophy that she attempts to adhere to. It’s not a concrete definition, the best way to describe it is a mix of existentialism and the samsara cycle, focusing on the idea that the world is fundamentally unpredictable (think of any philosophy where the idea of destiny is rejected), while also focusing on the so-called “cycles” that are predictable, but even then, it’s not what Irene calls “pure information” (This is a kind of philosophy term, and just refers to the idea of knowing everything that can and will happen if you knew the trajectory of every particle in the universe). Irene is approachable; they aren’t exactly amicable with most either, typically only getting close with people who can “understand” her ramblings, while tending to get a bit sassy with those who don’t. Not against simplifying her wording for people to understand, but much would rather to eloquently explain her thoughts.

How will they react to the different ranks of the USCM, what would they talk about in a one on one conversation? What are their interests? What is an advertisement logline that could be written for them?

While Irene does exhibit a bit of annoyance when it comes to people who don’t understand her words, she still holds deep respect for anybody with experience. Usually, anybody who has the title or medals to prove it. Again, she doesn’t mind simplifying her words, she’s more than happy to explain her thought process in a manner that’s hopefully understandable, but that won’t stop her from getting a bit huffy about it. Their main interest is ecology, studying local fauna (or lack thereof honestly). While ecology is a big part of her, if she’s not talking about that, Irene is probably discussing moral questions. One of her most common questions pertains to what exactly constitutes a human. She’s doesn’t have an answer of her own, but enjoys hearing others’ thoughts about it.

Why do you want to be a synthetic/why should we whitelist you?

When it comes to lore, I’m actually not the biggest fan of Aliens, not because I don’t like it, but simply just that I haven’t consumed much of the media. From what little I have seen, synths have always drawn my attention, and the same is true ingame. There’s something about the way each of them have been crafted that makes my brain tick, and sometimes, after what feels like talking to a human, I remind myself that it’s a synthetic. I tend to get REALLY in character, and put myself into the universe of whatever I’m playing, so the emotional impact of synthetics tends to hit me irl. When I first interacted with a synth in my early days of CM13, I always wanted to try my hand at emulating their personalities and quirks, and see if I can give people the same feeling that I had when I first started. Their RP is quite spectacular, and as somebody who has been involved in other RP heavy games, I’d like to be more involved in the RP.
Gameplay wise, however, it’s mostly because I just enjoy the support roles over shooting things. I’d rather build cades as a combat technician or patch people up as a hospital corpsman over picking up a rifle and pulling the trigger. It doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy my time shooting xenos, but I found it more interesting to see how fast I could patch people up, or think about where to build the next cadeline. Tense environments that don’t need me to be shooting people are what give me life in this game. This is also why I usually just queue for corpsmen, and why I typically find myself on the ground if I play doctor. I feel like synthetic is the role for my personal interests, being designed as a support role, without needing me to worry about fighting.

What is your most memorable interaction with a synthetic?

I still stand by one of my first interactions with a synthetic as the main reason I wanted to apply for whitelist. There have been many small interactions between me and synths lately, that it all kind of blends together, but that one still resonates with me. It was a small conversation I had with a synth named Angela, something about the way she speaks that it seems so human, yet at the same time, very robotic, and it slightly disturbed me. She asked if I felt like she was familiar, since I made a comment on her strange looks, and in the end it made my character very, very concerned for their mental stability. This moment was really the moment that I thought “Yeah, I should apply for synth, that was kinda cool”, just because of Angela’s unique way with words.

Synthetic Character Story:

Skills:

Engineering:

I’ll be honest, when I first tried it out, I didn’t like it that much. I was excited to play combat technician, but afterwards, I felt a bit confused and overwhelmed. It wasn’t until I picked it up again and really understood the ins and outs of engineering. Infact, I spent alot of time as combat tech just for this application, watching other combat technicians and asking them for advice. I have since then learned cade theory, maximizing the amount of bullets that can be sent into a xeno at once, while not making it too easy to destroy. I always try and build by cades inward, creating small pockets that xenos have to commit to attacking, rather than just a line of cades. In addition, I try and keep the foldable cades near the ends of the line in order to make sure people aren’t running infront of the line of fire. I do know about the 5x5 boxes of cades in order to prevent boilers from completely melting everything, but I don’t always follow it exactly, and instead just try and give ample room between cades for marines to move, while also making sure that boilers won’t annihilate every barricade in the FOB. I also have a bit of shipside knowledge, things like the AA defenses, OB cannon, and basic repairs.

Command:

Alright so, I don’t hate command, but I don’t really have motivation to play command roles. I’ve done my fair share of sitting in CIC, monitoring the squads, checking in on their locations, assigning new SLs, setting objectives, sending orbital bombardment, etc. Though I didn’t spend that much time in command, I still managed to find my way around the machines in CIC, like the tactical map, operations console, dropship consoles, Almayer control console, and the keycard authentication device. Maybe if I somehow get put into an XO position I wouldn’t know what to do, since managing the entire marine force isn’t my forte.

Medical:

Medical stands as my most played role as of right now, including playtime from both corpsman and doctor, and even excluding either it’s still my most played role. I can’t explain why I like it, I just do. It probably comes from my tendency to play the support role in any team game. But to answer the question, I’m confident in my medical abilities now, mostly getting people up in a quick and timely manner, and efficiently working with the tools I have. It’s not like I have a very efficient loadout, to be frank, it kinda makes me cringe sometimes when I look at it, but it hasn’t slowed me down enough to prevent me from handling multiple casualties at once. Of course, it’s not just about following a formula for healing people, it’s also about the moment to moment decisions. Whether or not I should run in and grab a downed marine, if it’s worth it to pull a body back farther for reviving, or maybe if it’d be better to do it then and now. I’m not perfect, but I think I can usually make the right call, given the information I have.

Requisitions:

My second least favorite support role, though not one I hate. I’ve been put as the sole cargo technician a few too many times, so I’ve had to learn fast. Thankfully, I’ve had some excellent help, and I am very familiar with managing the req line, unloading crates off the ASRS, and loading/sending supply drops for both FOB and frontline. I’m not afraid to get supplies the hard way and get loose ammo into boxes either. I really don’t know what else to put here? I feel like requisition work isn’t too complicated at the moment.

What are some scenarios that you can perform combat in? Give us a brief example.

A group of CLF survivors have been harassing marines around the area from the FOB to the frontline, so I move with a small group of marines (About 2-4 for me), and head towards the frontline. In the process, I spot the CLF survivors in the dark and point it out to the marines, who move in to engage. While my main concern during this would be the health of marines, should any of the enemy combatants move in to attack or disrupt me, I wouldn’t be afraid to respond with force, lethal or not, atleast until they move away from me.

I am currently helping out near the backline, with the only people on my screen being one rifleman and one corpsman. The former is greatly injured, awaiting treatment, and the latter is currently trying to revive a marine with a high amount of damage (like a bunch of burn damage or something) with me assisting. A warrior approaches us and successfully pounces at the corpsman, to which the rifleman responds by shooting the warrior. Given the rifleman’s state, I would move in to attack the warrior until it retreats, and advise not to chase.

During mutiny, several marines shoot at the CO, or really any of the commanding staff, in which case I respond by attempting the easiest, non-lethal method of subduing them. I’d also do the same should they wield weapons and threaten the CO with a clear intention to shoot, or if they attempt to break into CIC.

During hijack, I am ordered to go fix the pump APCs, in which case I begin to scope out the situation to see if that would be feasible without endangering myself. Lets just say it’s me travelling from the Port Aft pump to the Starboard Aft pump. I don’t spot any weeds on my path, and I don’t spot any xenos, so I move in to the pump to repair it. In the process of doing so, I see a runner appear at the edges of my screen, in which I immediately attempt to leave the area and retreat back to the marine hold as I fear that there may be more coming. The runner, however, pounces on me and attempts to attack me, in which case I respond by fighting back until it has died, or retreated.

Final Info:

Have you been banned from CM in the last month for any reason? Do you have any active jobbans?

No

Are you currently banned from our Discord?

No

Let us know why you were discord banned.

N/A

Do you have anything else you would like to include about your application?

Hi guys i’m here again (for the fifth time), and I’m still kicking mostly
Uhhh, yeah that’s it, tell me your cool and awesome constructive criticism.

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I think I’ve commented on nearly all of these applications by now BUT I’ll do it again.

Lila is very good. She roleplays, goes out of her way to do so and is a memorable Marine (one of the few Corpsmen mains I remember). She’s also a reliable Corpsman, I can feel safe that I won’t get drugged and I’ll come out with all my belongings attached to me. We don’t share a timezone I don’t think, but she’s also one of the better CMOs and Technicians I’ve seen.

I won’t pretend I know all the Synth-aspirants but I can vouch that Lila Bell would be a good pick for the role.

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third fourth fifth time’s the charm
lila is a staple medic, a competent roleplayer, and a positive influence on the community and the people around them.

I feel bad they’ve gotta go through this whole rollercoaster of demonstrating their play again.

+1

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I adore Lila. She’s a solid marine and good people. She always goes out of her way to make others feel included and to be helpful. Aside from being likable, her skills are readily apparent and from reviewing app it obvious that she’s been actively addressing any possible short comings she had in her previous apps.

Lila is an easy +1 for me. I look forward to debating philosophy with Irene and debating the harmful effects marines have on every plant we touch.

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Seen them plenty of times.
Fantastic roleplayer, knowledgeable on the game and cool person to interact with overall.
You got this.

1+

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Hey, my first impressions are that I really like the direction your synthetic’s personality is going, when it comes to competence, I’m not really that concerned but I’d like to ask you a few questions to get a better grasp on the mentality you’re bringing to the whitelist, they’re pretty open ended so answer how you see fit.

  • Comms go dark, you visit the primary comms relay and find this cadeline, an engineer and a few marines greeting you, they let you know they’re the one in charge of building the defenses there and that comms (which are now online) are handled despite the hiccup, what do you do next?

  • A marine comes to you shaking and says he’s dying, you place him on a surgical table and attempt to cut a larva out but the tools aren’t letting you remove it, after a while he notices and insists you are doing something wrong and are going to kill him, there is no full body scanner nearby, how do you handle this?

  • What would you do as a synthetic, if you attempt to initiate RP with other players and they all seem dismissive, claiming you look too busy and don’t want to bother you?

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I’ll try to make my answers as brief as possible, but uh, they kinda turned out not as short as I wanted to.

Comms go dark, you visit the primary comms relay and find this cadeline, an engineer and a few marines greeting you, they let you know they’re the one in charge of building the defenses there and that comms (which are now online) are handled despite the hiccup, what do you do next?

Firstly, I would be trying to replace the sandbags with metal barricades, as while they do provide decent cover (especially when a metal barricade suddenly goes down), if we’re planning to hold comms it won’t be too hard for a single xeno to tear them apart. I’d try and use any building supplies on me first, then ask the friendly engineer to see if he has any, and if all else fails, see if there’s anything nearby to deconstruct. Also I’d fix that cade in the rightmost pocket, and take the cade on the right and “fold” it inwards (see the green arrow and line in the below image for an idea of what I mean).
In addition I’d try and move that bottom cade line to be more flush with the one near the top, generally make metal barricades on any red line, while also taking down any walls outlined in blue to prevent it from feeling too claustrophobic. The excess sandbags can stay at comms for quickly patching holes. Oh and I’d definitely make sure that all the cades have barbed wire, since one of those sandbags near the bottom doesn’t.

I am… having trouble figuring out what’s happening in the bottom right. I assume that’s a built reinforced wall blocking off the generator room, with presumably an opening near the South? Maybe they’re trying to make like a killbox of sorts where xenos enter from the South and can get shredded by the sorta L-shaped cade there. I might not see the vision (and I can’t really tell what’s beyond there), so good time to talk to the engineer and also see what he thinks, assuming he’s the one who did that, maybe I’ll agree with him. One last thing would be moving that APC somewhere else, I’d probably try and do this before I take down the wall that it’s on, since what I’d do is just make it face North on that wall, after making sure it’ll be okay for comms to go down for a tiny bit. Not a super high priority to move the APC, but it’d be nice.

A marine comes to you shaking and says he’s dying, you place him on a surgical table and attempt to cut a larva out but the tools aren’t letting you remove it, after a while he notices and insists you are doing something wrong and are going to kill him, there is no full body scanner nearby, how do you handle this?

I might be overthinking it, but I assume I am on the step where their ribcage is open and I’m about to cut the larva’s pseudoroots. At that point the first instinct is seeing if I actually opened up the ribcage, or maybe see if there’s some other step that I missed cause I went on autopilot mode and did the steps out of order or something. If the ribcage is open (I usually check by trying to use a retractor and see if I am opening/closing the ribcage, if at all), and there’s no larva to cut and pull out, then I’d ask the patient to calm down, something something “you’re in good hands”, perhaps make a quip about having to “recalibrate”, and then asking if they distinctly remember being facehugged, since there’s plenty of other options that could be causing them to jitter, like brain damage. I’d also ask questions about how much pain he was in, if he’s repeatedly losing consciousness, if it feels like something is crawling around inside his chest, etc. Hopefully that’s enough to get to the bottom of this, but as a last resort option if he really insists he’s hugged, get a stasis bang to try and medevac him, or ask if the FOB has a full-body scanner on radio (if that’s an option), and if so, ask another marine to accompany me as I escort the patient to the FOB.

  • What would you do as a synthetic, if you attempt to initiate RP with other players and they all seem dismissive, claiming you look too busy and don’t want to bother you?

Well honestly, just go and find somebody else to try and initiate roleplay with. I wanna respect people’s wishes, and if their wish is to not roleplay with me, then so be it. Hopefully I can find them on another day and they’ll be more willing to talk. I’ll be a little disappointed sure, but at the end of the day I’ve realized that some people are just here for the gameplay, which I can’t really stop them, nor can I force them to sit down and talk about the intricacies of human existence for 2 hours.

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I’m not going to say if you’re answers are wrong or right, but I want to expand on them according to your responses.

Firstly, I would be trying to replace the sandbags with metal barricades…

Your first reaction is to fix it, let’s assume the following: as soon as you start dismantling the sandbags, the engineer disarms you and the marines nearby become questioning or somewhat hostile towards you, the situation has escalated negatively and now you’ve lost their goodwill. What is your next step here?

…and then asking if they distinctly remember being facehugged…

After you ask this, they answer “I was never infected, you’re the one accelerating my death on this table!” in a prank-ish tone, how do you respond?

Well honestly, just go and find somebody else to try and initiate roleplay with

And how would you do this in a way that garners their attention if the same keeps happening?

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Your first reaction is to fix it, let’s assume the following: as soon as you start dismantling the sandbags, the engineer disarms you and the marines nearby become questioning or somewhat hostile towards you, the situation has escalated negatively and now you’ve lost their goodwill. What is your next step here?

Alright, I put myself into a bad situation, but I’d apologize and try to explain my reasoning to them, citing that I believe the comms tower should be well defended and prepared for long-term defensive holds, which I don’t think sandbags adequately provides. The first reason I could think of as to why they wouldn’t want the sandbags taken down is that there’s still xenos nearby and they don’t want to give them a sudden opportunity to break past the cadeline, which is fair. In that case I’d offer building a cade just behind the sandbag, unanchoring it, and then quickly moving it into place as the sandbag is taken down and then reanchoring it + screwing in the bolts. The second is that they don’t wanna waste metal, in which case I’d just say that comms is a very important location, just like the FOB, and since sandbags can’t really be repaired, it’d be better to use metal since it’s stronger and easier to repair. Otherwise I’m personally not a fan of getting into long, drawn out arguments, so if they for whatever reason REALLY want to keep the sandbags, and are super combative against me, and I mean they just really going to every length to prevent me from working, (pushing me around, constantly trying to disarm, throwing insults, etc), then I’m just gonna apologize again, and work with what I have. I’m also not gonna try and be all snarky about it in a “haha I told you so” moment later if the cadeline does fall.

After you ask this, they answer “I was never infected, you’re the one accelerating my death on this table!” in a prank-ish tone, how do you respond?

Well, time to sigh and move on, but while they’re open I might as well fix anything that’s injured. Then of course it’s just standard procedure of diagnosis and treatment for any other wounds they have. It might’ve been on me, if I didn’t ask them if they were infected, and I just assumed they were from the shaking, but I’d still politely ask them to be more specific instead of just saying that they’re dying. I’ll be honest and say that I might try and be sassy, since I’m not perfect, and it will just happen if I’m already extremely annoyed elsewhere, so something along the lines of “if I was trying to accelerate your death I would’ve been done many moons ago”.

And how would you do this in a way that garners their attention if the same keeps happening?

I don’t think I can respond with specific details unless I also know exactly what I’m doing when trying to initiate roleplay. If people keep refusing to roleplay, then I honestly wouldn’t think too much of it, I might’ve just gotten unlucky. Though at the same time, I’d try and examine how I approach people, see if there’s a pattern in my tone, word choice, and timing, and probably try and correct that. I occasionally record myself and watch it back so that’d be a pretty good option. I might be using the wrong words, coming off as a bit too cold, in which case I could try and seem more lively. I might’ve also fallen into the case of just talking about things that nobody is really interested in discussing. I might be trying to engage people in the wrong situation too. I type fast, around 170 WPM, but also I know plenty of other people who need to take a bit more time, so in tense situations or even moments where they just have places to be. People like corpsman are looking for bodies, comtechs are trying to scavenge metal, riflemen are trying to stay on alert, etc. And the end of the day, the best thing that I can do is to just keep trying, since when I stop trying it becomes fail RP
I made like a billion grammatical errors cause its 12am oops

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Some thoughts. Regarding your first answer, I like how you considered different scenarios and this phrase in particular.

I’m personally not a fan of getting into long, drawn out arguments,

Since synthetics shouldn’t by nature be seeking conflict. One thing I want to mention is that sometimes, you don’t have to fix anything if it isn’t egregious, I am aware of how your previous applications went and how much emphasis was placed on being effective. But I want to let you know that it’s okay to just chat with people as a first option without worrying about barricade placement or having to prove yourself useful.

I’ll be honest and say that I might try and be sassy,

Good, while you are an android never forget you were given a personality for a reason and situations like those is where you have a chance to react differently from other synthetics.

Your last answer tells me you know very well the realities of the game, synthetic isn’t all roses of roleplay and sometimes you will have to initiate rp in a way that doesn’t make others feel like you’re trying to take their role, but from my personal experience with you in-game, I can tell you’re very willing to engage with others and that’s a good quality to have, thank you for entertaining my questions.

since when I stop trying it becomes fail RP

Preach :speaking_head: :speaking_head:

3 Likes

I’ve commented on nearly all Bird’s app, but I will do again.
It’s a capital crime that Bird’s not in the WL already, they’re a solid player in all the roles that concern synth WL and also an overall great person to interact with.

Absolutely lovely person, a super easy +1

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First impressions and community feedback is looking good so far,

I’d like to know what you would do if the XO ordered you to do FOB surgery for an operation, it’s a high pop round with a full medbay awake. A CMO, multiple shipside surgeons, and a field doctor that is already set up in the FOB. There is no line of patients waiting for the surgeon or medical emergencies in view. However it is clear to you that other departments are not as well staffed. What do you do?

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The first thing I would try is reasoning to the XO that I perhaps would be better suited elsewhere, saying that medical staff seems well prepared and that I believe it would be negligent to confine myself to the FOB to assist an already well staffed department. If the XO agrees and assigns me somewhere else, fantastic, but otherwise, it kinda depends. Assuming there’s no major emergency, like say the marines are making good progress (somehow) and there’s no issues shipside, then I’d follow the XO’s orders. Hopefully I get ordered to the front if it falls due to like, a lack of comtechs or something, but in the scenario where I’ve not been given any new orders, there’s little emergency in my current task, and if there’s an emergency somewhere else, I’d inform the XO (if possible in a timely manner) that I’m going against his orders, and then go… do it. Obviously the definition of emergency is a bit subjective, and knowing when an issue is caused mainly by a lack of staffing can be a bit hard to deduce, atleast for me. At the very least I’ll try my best to follow command’s announcements, radio chatter, or straight up just ask CIC to make what I believe to be the best decision.

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Pretend I’m an investor and attempt to sell your Synthetic to me.

Advertise her and create a slogan.

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I just realized that was one of the questions on the application that I never answered when making Irene, even in the old one, oops.
But anyways, here’s my short pitch, leaning into the philosophy aspect of her for this.
“The human mind misguides itself, lost in its own thoughts. Choices are lead by desire, and emotions cloud judgement, until now. Irene—Dreaming of the future, and electric sheep”.

5 Likes

The council and I have voted and I’m happy to let you know that your application has been Accepted.

Remember to read and follow the guidelines and have fun playing synthetic!

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