FighterOfKeyboard - Commanding Officer Application

[FighterOfKeyboard]

Commanding Officer Application - FighterOfKeyboard

What is your BYOND key?

FighterOfKeyboard

What is your Discord ID?

zsolt6256

What is your timezone in UTC?

UTC+1

Player Name You Use Most?

Scotty Willey

Ban Appeals, Whitelist and Staff Applications:

N/A

Have you been banned in the last 3 months?

No

If so, why?

N/A

Command Knowledge:

How familiar are you with command positions?

Im familiar with CIC roles, my second most played role is SO with around 130 hours

I also know how shipside departments operate, even though I have not played much as department heads, I’ve still learned a lot by working with them. For example, I know how the MP consoles work and how to arrest people, how to man the req lines, order supplies and operate the supply pads and so on.

Hours in XO:

79.8

Hours in SL:

74.9

Character Information:

Why did your character decide to become the CO of a ship?

Scotty dreamt big from a young age and was driven by a strong desire to aid others. He dropped out of medical school after two years and volunteered on war-torn planets. He saw the horrors of these conflicts and lost many patients and close friends. Even after all the things he saw, he was directionless until his parents, who held positions in Congress, told him about the United Americas Allied Command and the Colonial Marines. At first, he was uncertain about joining, but their mention of commanders sharing his compassion resonated deeply with him. It was then that he realized joining could mean helping even more people and preventing further conflicts between the United Americas and their enemies.

How did your character attain the position of CO?

Scotty joined the Colonial Marines command with one goal in mind. He wanted to help people. He was assigned to the USS Eridana and served there for years under the wings of Lieutenant Colonel Keaton Howard, first as a Staff Officer and later as Captain. They undertook numerous missions over the years, delivering invaluable supplies and equipment to colonies and space stations. Though satisfied in his role, Scotty knew he had a greater calling. He knew he wanted to be in High Command one day, where he could have a bigger influence on things, but for that he had to climb the ladder. Luckily for him, after being approved by the congress in 2173, Bougainville-class Light Attack Transports became operational in 2179. Thanks to his good record and influential parents, he got promoted to Major and got re-assigned to one of these ships, the USS Blitzfire. What he did not realize was that the tension between the CLF and the USCM grew bigger each passing day.

Provide a short story of your CO.

Prologue:

Abnegation

Main Story:

Unexpected Visitors

USS Blitzfire Technical Documentation:

USS Blitzfire

(The Technical Documentation of the Blitzfire is not really “part” of my CO story, but I thought I’d still add it as an extra. I’d like to clarify that I’ve used ChatGPT for it, so if that’s a problem you can just ignore it as it doesn’t add anything to the story)

Command Actions:

When do you believe it’s appropriate to pardon a prisoner?

Pardons are a powerful tool, and should be used in the best interest of the operation

I don’t have a fixed rule that I will always follow when deciding whether to pardon someone or not. It will always depend on the circumstances. However, as a rule of thumb, if someone has committed a violent crime, I will be less likely to pardon them. But if they have committed a crime for the success of the operation, I’ll be more likely to consider pardoning them.

Give some examples of when you would or would not use pardon.

I would pardon a combat technician if they stole the electronics vendor from the hangar for the operation and seem apologetic about it because:
a) the crime they committed didn’t really hurt anyone
b) the vending machine has more use groundside, and
c) overall they committed the crime with the best interest of the operation in mind.

In some cases, where I think the arrest was due to a misunderstanding, I would pardon a marine if they committed a nonviolent minor or major crime AND they also seem apologetic about it.

If a MT was walking in the halls and saw the liaison kidnapping a marine with the intention of infecting them with a xeno larva, and then chose to break into the CL’s office to rescue the marine, I would pardon them because they acted in good faith and to prevent a possible loss of human life.

I would NOT pardon a friend if they were lawfully brigged and asked me nicely to release them just because we are friends.(since it’s against the rules).

I would NOT pardon an Intelligence Officer if they killed someone that stole their intel pouch, instead of reporting it to the MP

I would NOT pardon a researcher if they made an addictive stim and injected marines without consent.

When do you believe it’s appropriate to use a Battlefield Execution?

If someone purposefully hinders the operation and doesn’t stop after being asked to, or in cases where the MP wouldn’t or couldn’t respond efficiently. It should only be used in the most extreme cases.

I don’t like round removing people, but if that’s what it takes to preserve the round flow, i will do it.

Give some examples of when you would or would not use Battlefield Execution.

The only scenario in which I could imagine myself executing someone is if they steal Jones and don’t return him after I’ve asked.

Jokes aside if someone is clearly griefing i would execute them, for example:

If someone started shooting at the doctors in the FOB i would BE them, because they are obviously a griefer and there are no MP nearby to arrest them.

if the XO is giving opposing orders to cause chaos i would BE them to not waste any more time on the matter.

If a marine is trying to start a mutiny or undermine my authority with no MP present on the ship, i would BE them,because they are a threat to the success of the operation

If I were deployed, leading a mission-critical push, and a Squad Leader with a known history of insubordination tells his squad to hold back, I would BE them because they are risking the success of the operation.

If i was in the CIC and someone threatened to kill me i would NOT go out and BE them. I would order the MP to find and arrest him.

If a marine started calling me names and questioning my decisions I would NOT BE them. I would order the MP to arrest them.

[FighterOfKeyboard]

Hello, first of all i’d like to thank everyone who reviewed my app. Sorry for taking so long >_<

Second, here are my playtimes:

[TheeBiggest]

Did you use ChatGPT for all your stories or just the last one?

[FighterOfKeyboard]

Only for the last one. For the other two I’ve asked a few friends who speak native english to help me out, thats why they might seem inconsistent.

[18FlighM1]

I can confirm Scotty asked me to help them out with the story’s if it helps.

Also big +1 they roleplay well and are consistently competent as both XO and SL.
(Plus they bribed me by putting maki in there story)

[LilPenpusher]

Why did you feel the need to publish something written by AI on your Application, when you know that using AI to write your stories results in an immediate blacklist from all Whitelists?

You say your main story was written personally, and it’s good, so what’s your reasoning for not writing the last one yourself, as well? If you didn’t feel like coming up with something then you could have just left it out or asked for help, no?

[FighterOfKeyboard]

I’ve originally started writing my applicaton way back in October, since then i had plenty of time to write the main story, but i only came up with the idea of the Technical Doc about a week ago. I tought it was important to describe my CO’s ship, since it was mentioned throughout the main story (Eagle Eye, Guardian APC) and since it doesnt add any plot to the story just expands the lore, i tought it wouldnt be a problem.

[LilPenpusher]

After internal debate over the usage of AI-generated story content in this application, the following was decided:

You are to redo and rewrite your technical documentation (or any other type of story content that equals it in length if you wish). You must not use ANY AI to assist you, nor third-parties to assist you. This is a writing exercise for you and only you.

You are not to edit your post in accordance with our rules on editing applications. Provide your new story in a Google Doc format via a comment for the Council, and either the Senator or Whitelist Maintainer will edit your application post for you to replace the AI content if it’s deemed suitable.

If your submission is deemed suitable, we will continue with our review of this application. If it is deemed low-effort or otherwise inadequate, then this application will be met with an immediate denial and standard 30 days cooldown until reapplication. You are not at threat of being blacklisted due to being upfront about AI usage and the usage thereof being relatively minor.

Please provide your new story element within a reasonable timespan, ideally before next Wednesday.

[FighterOfKeyboard]

Got it, I’ll rewrite the technical documentation. Thanks for giving me a chance. o7

[FighterOfKeyboard]

Heya, I’ve tried rewriting and expanding the technical documentation but I realized there wasn’t much i could change, soooo I’ve decided to write a completely new story. It’s a bit shorter in length with about 1000 words, but i hope it’s acceptable.

Maiden Voyage

Sorry for all the trouble about the AI thing, and thanks again for letting me fix my mistake.

[Spy23]

I think now might be a good time for me to weigh in, and get the ball rolling on this application once again

Scotty is an excellent commander, something I can personally vouch for through my time played along side them. As their hours clearly demonstrate, they are well rounded in all aspects of CIC management, groundside combat, and a fellow medic of great renown.

Further, since we both sort of wrote our applications at the same time, and both our stories feature crossover characters, I can once again assure you Scotty has gone to no small effort to have his story together and polished. A fact that is once again clearly shown by their submitting of an entirely new story in efforts to make amends for the community

Scotty deserves WL as much as any of us, give the man a second chance, read over his work, I have no doubt you’ll find it above and beyond

As a friend, and a comrade, it brings me great pleasure to +1 this application

[LilPenpusher]

I’ll start this comment by quickly saying that your substituted story element has overall satisfied me, at least to a point where I’m ready and willing to properly dissect your app as normal, once again.

With that out of the way:

@FighterOfKeyboard

What is your timezone in UTC?

UTC+1

As someone in the same timezone as you, I can’t vividly recall every seeing a “Scotty Willey” in CIC.

@FighterOfKeyboard

Im familiar with CIC roles, my second most played role is SO with around 130 hours

Any reason in particular why you played a lot more SO than XO, at all?

@FighterOfKeyboard

Why did your character decide to become the CO of a ship?

The ‘I have family in Congress’ thing feels a bit cliché if nothing else, but otherwise, this background to your military career… works.

@FighterOfKeyboard

How did your character attain the position of CO?

@FighterOfKeyboard

He was assigned to the USS Eridana and served there for years under the wings of Lieutenant Colonel Keaton Howard

Quick question: did Keaton aka Tallfission give you permission to include them in your stories at all? You shouldn’t include people by name if they haven’t agreed to it, and Tall left Council sometime ago due to personal reasons, so I’m not sure if you reached out and got his ok with this or not.

@FighterOfKeyboard

first as a Staff Officer and later as Captain.

Skipping over years of military service across the ranks of 2ndLT, 1stLT and Captain is a bit… meh. I’d have wished for a more elaboration. As it stands you’re simply brushing over it.

@FighterOfKeyboard

Provide a short story of your CO.

Ok, your stories. To be honest: I like them. However, from the perspective of a Councillor, and in the medium of a CO Application, I find that they can be found a bit lacking.

Your prologue is… weird. It’s neat, obviously, but like… this part of the story doesn’t really show me much with regards to your character’s personality, nor their leadership capabilities? They’re just a child, after all.

Then there’s the main story. It’s better in this regard - but a critical mistake here, I feel, is that you’ve already promoted your character to Major… in a story that’s meant to showcase your character’s personality and character and leadership which in turn has them become a Major one day. It reads more like fanfiction that would go into the Stories category here on the forums once you actually get this Whitelist, in my opinion.

A lot of your story/stories don’t focus on what’s important for a CO Story: developing and showcasing their leadership ability, their character, especially when in distress, and so forth. A lot of it is just you developing further on the ‘deep lore’ of your character and while I love that personally, I fear you may have missed the mark on this due to your heavy focus on that here.

This goes not to mention questionable formatting at times. You jump from one scene to another with as little as a simple paragraph, and no narrative indication of having shifted scenery at all. In one scene Howard and Willey were talking, and then suddenly we’re in the conference room an hour later?

Finally, I want to address the heavy-handed usage of player-characters in your story. It’s… oppressive, to be honest. Or I find it so, at least. Incorporating your friends into your CO story is cool obviously, but you should do so - at best - as a little easter egg. Something a normal, uninformed reader might not realise or care about. A casual name drop, that’s it. Instead, I keep re-reading the same names over and over and just know that these are characters you either play yourself or people you frequently play with. It took me out of my element a little because I find it somewhat obnoxious if done so repeatedly throughout.

@FighterOfKeyboard

I’ve decided to write a completely new story. It’s a bit shorter in length with about 1000 words, but i hope it’s acceptable.

As for this: I’ll give it an ok 60% or so.

It’s good enough, but also clearly not as polished as your main story elements (because you had less time obviously). You also go ahead and make some Mary Sue-ish statements in this like “I’m the first one to get a Bougainville ship in the Third Regiment” which is obviously untrue.

It reads alright, although it feels weird you incorporated Sammy but refused to actually name drop her - instead continuously referring to her only as ‘the Colonel’.

@FighterOfKeyboard

When do you believe it’s appropriate to pardon a prisoner?

@FighterOfKeyboard

However, as a rule of thumb, if someone has committed a violent crime, I will be less likely to pardon them.

Define ‘violent crime’.

@FighterOfKeyboard

if they have committed a crime for the success of the operation, I’ll be more likely to consider pardoning them.

Define ‘for the success of the operation’. What, in your mind, justifies committing a crime and how far can a Marine push in this regard with regards to you pardoning them?

@FighterOfKeyboard

Give some examples of when you would or would not use pardon.

@FighterOfKeyboard

I would pardon a combat technician if they stole the electronics vendor from the hangar for the operation and seem apologetic about it because:
a) the crime they committed didn’t really hurt anyone
b) the vending machine has more use groundside, and
c) overall they committed the crime with the best interest of the operation in mind.

Fair.

@FighterOfKeyboard

In some cases, where I think the arrest was due to a misunderstanding, I would pardon a marine if they committed a nonviolent minor or major crime AND they also seem apologetic about it.

Your wording mentions ‘misunderstanding’ so I’m led to believe the arrest was made in error and due to a misunderstanding? In which case the arrest is unjustified and/or the charged crime may be appealed, since the Marine is actually innocent. A Pardon should not be used here, in all likelihood.

@FighterOfKeyboard

If a MT was walking in the halls and saw the liaison kidnapping a marine with the intention of infecting them with a xeno larva, and then chose to break into the CL’s office to rescue the marine, I would pardon them because they acted in good faith and to prevent a possible loss of human life.

Realistically speaking, the MT won’t be arrested or charged with anything at all because they were acting in defence of another Marine and against a seditious party (the CL) actively undergoing subterfuge.

@FighterOfKeyboard

I would NOT pardon a friend if they were lawfully brigged and asked me nicely to release them just because we are friends.(since it’s against the rules).

I won’t lie, you mentioning this makes me somewhat worried that this idea crossed your mind at least a couple times.

@FighterOfKeyboard

I would NOT pardon an Intelligence Officer if they killed someone that stole their intel pouch, instead of reporting it to the MP

You cannot pardon them anyway. Murder is Capital

@FighterOfKeyboard

I would NOT pardon a researcher if they made an addictive stim and injected marines without consent.

Fair and square.

@FighterOfKeyboard

Give some examples of when you would or would not use Battlefield Execution.

@FighterOfKeyboard

The only scenario in which I could imagine myself executing someone is if they steal Jones and don’t return him after I’ve asked.

Valid.

@FighterOfKeyboard

If someone started shooting at the doctors in the FOB i would BE them, because they are obviously a griefer and there are no MP nearby to arrest them.

Good, yes.

@FighterOfKeyboard

if the XO is giving opposing orders to cause chaos i would BE them to not waste any more time on the matter.

This is obviously Sedition, but you should be giving the XO an order/warning to shut the fuck up and get in line before you kill them outright. A BE without warning for this is only really justified during Hijack or if you are both at the frontlines (which you shouldn’t be…)

@FighterOfKeyboard

If a marine is trying to start a mutiny or undermine my authority with no MP present on the ship, i would BE them,because they are a threat to the success of the operation

The M word attracts bullets. Yes, fair enough - though be aware that BEing a mutineer is basically guaranteed to incite any existing hate against you into an actual mutiny.

@FighterOfKeyboard

If I were deployed, leading a mission-critical push, and a Squad Leader with a known history of insubordination tells his squad to hold back, I would BE them because they are risking the success of the operation.

Agree.

@FighterOfKeyboard

If i was in the CIC and someone threatened to kill me i would NOT go out and BE them. I would order the MP to find and arrest him.

What if MPs are not present for this?

@FighterOfKeyboard

If a marine started calling me names and questioning my decisions I would NOT BE them. I would order the MP to arrest them.

What if MPs are not present?

[FighterOfKeyboard]

Thank you for taking the time to review my app

@LilPenpusher

As someone in the same timezone as you, I can’t vividly recall every seeing a “Scotty Willey” in CIC.

I’m not really sure when you play as I don’t remember seeing you ingame either. I mostly play either on lowpop(around 12-15) or later in the evening(after 20).

@LilPenpusher

Any reason in particular why you played a lot more SO than XO, at all?

I usually only play XO(and would only play CO) when I’m absolutely sure I can finish a round without anything or anyone interrupting me. I like being part of the command team and ordering around marines, but still being able to cyro if I need to without having to worry about the OP.

@LilPenpusher

Quick question: did Keaton aka Tallfission give you permission to include them in your stories at all? You shouldn’t include people by name if they haven’t agreed to it, and Tall left Council sometime ago due to personal reasons, so I’m not sure if you reached out and got his ok with this or not.

Yes, as I’ve said previously I started writing my app back in October. Keaton is the first CO I remember interacting with, and they kinda inspired me to try applying too. I contacted them back then and after all, she gave me permission. I can post a screenshot as proof, if needed. I also got permission from everyone else I’ve mentioned in the stories.

@LilPenpusher

Your prologue is… weird. It’s neat, obviously, but like… this part of the story doesn’t really show me much with regards to your character’s personality, nor their leadership capabilities? They’re just a child, after all.

The prologue was not really meant to show Scotty’s personality. It was written in late January after I talked to Steve Murphy and we decided to reference each other’s stories. I (we?) thought going the extra mile and just making that effort to interconnect both of our stories would deepen both mine and his application as a whole.

@LilPenpusher

Then there’s the main story. It’s better in this regard - but a critical mistake here, I feel, is that you’ve already promoted your character to Major… in a story that’s meant to showcase your character’s personality and character and leadership which in turn has them become a Major one day. It reads more like fanfiction that would go into the Stories category here on the forums once you actually get this Whitelist, in my opinion.

While it is true that the main story is a bit unorthodox, I feel like it still shows my character’s personality and leadership (which is the most important part of these stories imo) even if they are already a major. I’m not the first to do this, I’ve seen others write about their character as if they were already a major (Keaton for example).

@LilPenpusher

A lot of your story/stories don’t focus on what’s important for a CO Story: developing and showcasing their leadership ability, their character, especially when in distress, and so forth. A lot of it is just you developing further on the ‘deep lore’ of your character and while I love that personally, I fear you may have missed the mark on this due to your heavy focus on that here.

I kinda have to disagree with you on this one. While my stories are not the best, i feel like the main one(Unexpected Visitors) still shows how my character leads and acts “in distress”(when the CLF shuttle appears on the sensors, or in the 2nd chapter when the 3 squads were attacked at the jamming tower, Scotty came up with a plan in the heat of the moment and gave orders to his squads).

@LilPenpusher

Finally, I want to address the heavy-handed usage of player-characters in your story. It’s… oppressive, to be honest. Or I find it so, at least. Incorporating your friends into your CO story is cool obviously, but you should do so - at best - as a little easter egg. Something a normal, uninformed reader might not realise or care about. A casual name drop, that’s it. Instead, I keep re-reading the same names over and over and just know that these are characters you either play yourself or people you frequently play with. It took me out of my element a little because I find it somewhat obnoxious if done so repeatedly throughout.

I thought making the extra effort to add my friends and linking their characters into my story would deepen the lore, which I think is very important. It certainly could have been done better, and I’ll keep your advice in mind for my future stories.

@LilPenpusher

As for this: I’ll give it an ok 60% or so.

It’s good enough, but also clearly not as polished as your main story elements (because you had less time obviously). You also go ahead and make some Mary Sue-ish statements in this like “I’m the first one to get a Bougainville ship in the Third Regiment” which is obviously untrue.

Since I wrote the whole thing in a hurry, it has flaws, but my goal was not to write the perfect story(I’m not that good sadly) but to show the council that I’m determined to get the WL. I had to come up with something to make the Blitzfire special, otherwise the colonel and a senator wouldn’t have attended its first flight. I might rewrite the story later, to make the lore accurate, but this was the best I could do in the limited time I had.

@LilPenpusher

Define ‘violent crime’.

In my definition, any crime that cause harm or injury is a violent crime, for example:

• If the victim was shoved to the ground and had their gun stolen, it would be a violent crime since force was used against them.
• If the victim was assaulted as they were waiting in the req line, that would also be a violent crime in my opinion, since there was physical force used against them aka they were assaulted.

@LilPenpusher

Define ‘for the success of the operation’. What, in your mind, justifies committing a crime and how far can a Marine push in this regard with regards to you pardoning them?

As always, of course this will also depend on the circumstances, but in this case I mostly referred to minor crimes like in my first example. If a combat tech stole the electronics vendor from the hangar, that would be theft and DTGP if they broke a window to get in. These crimes were committed in good faith and didn’t cause any major damage to the ship.

A more serious example would be if the delta Sl committed insubordination by flanking the xenos against my orders and actually succeeding. Even though the CO is aware of the big picture, sometimes leaders on the ground know better, when a flank could be worth it. In this case, I would pardon them ( or cancel the arrest, if they haven’t been arrested) because even though they committed a major crime (major insubordination) , overall they helped the operation by killing half a dozen xenos and pushing back the remaining hive.

@LilPenpusher

Your wording mentions ‘misunderstanding’ so I’m led to believe the arrest was made in error and due to a misunderstanding? In which case the arrest is unjustified and/or the charged crime may be appealed, since the Marine is actually innocent. A Pardon should not be used here, in all likelihood.

Valid point

@LilPenpusher

I won’t lie, you mentioning this makes me somewhat worried that this idea crossed your mind at least a couple times.

It might sound like it crossed my mind, but I can assure you it hasn’t, and I would never do such a thing. It’s kind of and unfair thing to say, since i can’t really defend myself, tho what i can tell you is that I’m sure my friends would understand if i didn’t pardon them, and even if they think I was wrong, they could text me on DC and we could talk through it after the round.

@LilPenpusher

You cannot pardon them anyway. Murder is Capital

My bad there, I meant to write assault, not murder.

@LilPenpusher

Valid.

A crime this serious could NEVER go unpunished under my command

@LilPenpusher

This is obviously Sedition, but you should be giving the XO an order/warning to shut the fuck up and get in line before you kill them outright. A BE without warning for this is only really justified during Hijack or if you are both at the frontlines (which you shouldn’t be…)

Again, my bad here, wasn’t clear enough. Your point is valid and of course I would ask them to stop giving opposing orders or just not say anything if they don’t know better(if I saw they were new, I’d probably ask them to overwatch a squad or something). I’d only BE them if they don’t stop after I’ve asked them to.

@LilPenpusher

The M word attracts bullets. Yes, fair enough - though be aware that BEing a mutineer is basically guaranteed to incite any existing hate against you into an actual mutiny.

Noted, thank you for the advice. While on paper, it does sound good to BE a mutineer and just get over with it, in game it would probably cause an even bigger riot like you’ve said. I’d probably try calming down the marines and try reasoning with them if they are willing to listen.

@LilPenpusher

What if MPs are not present for this?

This is a tough one…firstly, I’d have to find out if they are actually a threat to me or if they just have a big mouth. If they are an actual threat, it probably wouldn’t be safe for me to go out and try to hunt them down. I would probably deputize one of my officers and have them arrest the suspect.

@LilPenpusher

What if MPs are not present?

Since name-calling command is only DASO to my knowledge, if there were no MPs on the Almayer I would probably not go out of my way to get them arrested, since it’s not a very serious crime.

[BadAtThisGame]

I personally have seen Scott a lot in the past and now as XO and especially SO, he was pretty good in my opinion (but then again I play CL) so I don’t pay announcements much attention. But from my interactions with him I can give a +1.

[Murphers]

Scotty is a real one, but I got a super serious question for him: have you finally fought and beaten the urge to salute with BOTH hands???

[FighterOfKeyboard]

Yes…yes i have

[Murphers]

Sry I got muted and couldnt respond but I’m +1ing you, don’t make me regret this bro

[naut]

After debating on this for a bit the Council has, unfortunately, determined that you don’t have enough vouches from CO or the CO Council to make us comfortable with accepting you just yet. You’re very close, as your story and roleplay ability are good; however, we have concerns with your pardon and BE answers that were addressed by LilPenpusher above.

I’d recommend you reapply in 30 days or later, but only after getting yourself known more and working on your pardon/BE answers to be more inline with what’s said in CO Code of Conduct. Remember that CO privileges such as BEs, pardons, and discretionary arrest (DAs) should use common sense and as a last resort if other options are infeasible or unavailable in time. Community support and recognition are everything on these apps. If you can’t garner enough people who’ve even seen you in action, let alone COs, then the app process’ll be pretty difficult.

I’m sorry, but this application is denied. You may reapply in 30 days on April 27, 2024.