How's My Driving | April 2013

[ironwood]

Spring has been sprung! All over the Western hemisphere, flowers are blooming, bunnies are bounding, and the little clickity-clack of rper fingers at keyboards is in the air! To kick off the season in style, it's time for our third HMD here at Tu Shanshu.

How's My Driving?
While each and every character must have an HMD page available, we offer a gamewide HMD once every calendar quarter. This is an opportunity to get together and discuss IC interpretations and portrayals in a respectful, beneficial fashion. In a nutshell, it's a chance to see how we're doing in the grand scheme of things.

There are a few ground rules to cover off before we can start:

• Participation in the quarterly HMD is 100% optional.
  
• Be respectful, anon or not. It's a lot easier to give and receive crit if all parties are making it a discussion of it rather than an argument.
  
• IP logging is off and anonymous commenting is on. You can offer crit signed-in if you like, but the option's there.
  

That's it, that's all!

And, to make things easier, here's a handy-dandy codeset:

<big><b><i>Player Name</i></b></big> <i>Character Name:</i> <i>Canon:</i> <i>User Name:</i> <I>Focus:</i> Optional. Do you have particular concerns about your portrayal that you'd like to be the focus of crit? You can link any threads you'd like a second opinion on here. If you're looking for structural feedback, or would prefer things like grammar not be mentioned, put it here.

Comments

mods&npcs

[ironwood]

Tu Shanshu Mods & NPCs
Character Name: Ironwood Emperor, Alderwood Commander, Hazelwood Merchant, Eva
Canon: NPCs
User Name: ironwood, alderwood, hazelwood, wroughtiron
Focus:
Do you have any feedback for the way events are run? The schedule for applications? How's our admining? Are there things that you would like to see the NPCs facilitating? General feedback to the mods is always welcome and here's a handy-dandy thread to facilitate it. As always, the mod HMD is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week if you'd prefer to use that.

roy

[cowled]

Roy
Character Name: Bruce Wayne
Canon: DCU
User Name: cowled ✘ thread tracking ✘ anon-enabled/ip off HMD
Focus: I'm always concerned as to whether or not Bruce seems not only IC but canon-congruent. He's been in the game for eight months now and he's been through a lot of stuff in that time, and I'm constantly on tenterhooks worrying if I've pushed his personality too far in one direction or another. Any thoughts anyone would like to share would be awesome! Also totally up for anything related to prose/grammar/overall writing related crit.


Character Name: Aisha al-Fadhil
Canon: The Losers
User Name: emasculates ✘ thread tracking ✘ anon-enabled/ip off HMD
Focus: Aisha is a tricky one because I think I can count on one hand the amount of people who've actually read The Losers. Mostly with her I'm looking for overall consistency. Does she come off as an engaging character? Is there anything I could do to make her more interesting to thread with? If you've threaded with her, do you feel I'm pulling my weight in threads and not being too reactive? That sort of thing would be super appreciated.


Character Name: Spencer Reid
Canon: Criminal Minds
User Name: polyhistor ✘ thread tracking ✘ anon-enabled/ip off HMD
Focus: Overall, Reid is probably the character I'm most concerned about right now. Some problems I've acknowledged are the fact that he seems to be more from the fifth season than the seventh (his current canonpoint) and I think I'm maybe making him too young-seeming? I totally dropped the ball with Reid in March because I got myself in over my head with threads in February and I'm currently suffering a bit of burn-out with his character so any crit at all to help me get on the right track with him would be massively appreciated.


In more general terms, I'm curious as to whether or not anyone has any thoughts or comments about my overall activity levels and/or if I'm coming off as cliquish or exclusive in my interactions. I've received some great feedback in regards to focusing on fewer threads at a time and I've been trying to incorporate that a little bit into my overall tagging schedule and I'm curious to see if anyone's noticed a difference. ... But on that note, I was hiatused for almost the entire month of March, so yeah I basically fell off the face of the planet for the duration, whoops.

If anyone has any thoughts in regards to my writing on a more technical side I'd also love to hear that!

I also play The Emperor and Eva and would welcome any feedback on them as well.

Re: roy

[lostundercover]

Sometimes I feel like you're so caught up in being factually accurate with Reid that you forget to play him.. Like he becomes this projection from the show rather than a character in TSS, if that makes sense?

idk. It's not a criticism of the way he's played, per say, because his voice is great and all. I guess he just seems like less fun for you.

[virginprice]

Chloe
Character Name: Alcuin nó Delaunay
Canon: Kushiel's Legacy
User Name: virginprice

Character Name: Randolph Lyall
Canon: The Parasol Protectorate
User Name: cravats

Character Name: Tybalt
Canon: The October Daye Series
User Name: shadowroads

[disfavored]

Cass
Character Name: Tarrlok
Canon: Legend of Korra
User Name: disfavored
Focus: Anything! He just got back recently, so any comments are good.

Chel

[angermanaging]

Chel
Character Name: Bruce Banner
Canon: MCU
User Name: angermanaging
Focus: I know I'm so new the shine is still on me, but I'm a huge fan of getting concrit, so if anything's come up already, please let me know! His app is also in his journal if you have feedback on that.

I will mention that although I've played Bruce quite a bit before, this is my first time playing him since the Avengers came out, and I'm struggling a little with how drastically they reinterpreted his personality traits as Mark Ruffalo. I'm toying with incorporating a little of that into this portrayal, and any feedback would be appreciated. Additionally, Edward Norton's speech patterns are something I'm trying to be conscientious of, so input on how his voice comes across would be good.

[wintershepherd]

Li
Character Name: Jack Frost
Canon: Rise of the Guardians
User Name: wintershepherd
Focus: Completely open to any kind of crit!
→ My biggest concern is that I'm over-investing Jack in too many things or trying to get him involved with too much, but a) his personality enables it horribly and b) I really really freaking love this game and want to tag All The Things. (That's the reason I have a second character on reserve to help spread out my CR a little better.) Still, if you feel it's a detraction from the game or if you just find it plain annoying, I will do my best to tone it down.

eta: my personal, anon-enabled hmd post if you prefer that!

[inseine]

Lari
Character Name: Javert
Canon: Les Misérables
User Name: inseine
Focus: I'm happy to receive anything! But I know I obsess quite a bit over Javert's speech patterns - if you've threaded with me, you've probably noticed my extreme tendency to change my mind and suddenly see a thread in a new light, and for that I apologize. I'm also trying to find a good balance concerning his overall mental state. It's a touchy thing, but I am attempting to work toward a good balance between 'reminded of unpleasant things' around Marius/Cosette/Other Frenchboys/Hot-Button Topics and cool, calm, in-control in most other contexts. If there's anything 'off' about how I'm handling his mental state in my threads, pleeeaaase feel free to drop me suggestions!

I think that covers my greatest concerns. I'll be happy for any feedback you can send me. Thanks!

[brokenweapon]

To me, Javert's speech patterns have seemed very Javert-like! Granted it has been a while since I have read the book but that seems spot-on, as does his characterization, and I am constantly in awe of all the little details and so on you put into your posts. Like wow. :D

[squint]

Chasekat
Character Name: Dominick Cobb
Canon: Inception
User Name: squint
Focus: His voice has been seeming weird, like, a little off? I'm not sure how much of it is because of his canon point in limbo or me as a writer or just imagination. If he IS wonky, let me know!

Character Name: Gavroche
Canon: Les Miserable
User Name: chiot
Focus: You may have noticed Gavroche's 'accent' changing somewhat--that's because I wasn't sure about how he should speak. He's a lot better than he was this month, and I hope it shows. I could DEFINITELY still use crit!

[lostundercover]

I commented on this already, but I hear Cobb's voice in our threads. I haven't noticed a difference, but I admit that I haven't been looking for it? idk. I'd say don't worry about it and maybe just canon review.

[sciencewhizard]

Dino
Character Name: Wally West
Canon: DC Animated (Young Justice)
User Name: sciencewhizard

Character Name: Noh-Varr
Canon: Marvel-616
User Name: nohsatsu

[iwillnotlookback]

Hiccup
Character Name: Daenerys Targaryen, titles titles
Canon: A Song of ripping your heart out, lighting it on fire, and smashing it into the dirt
User Name: iwillnotlookback
Focus: I'm new to the character so I'm still feeling my way around with her! But I do hope I'm striking the right balance between ferocity, strength, practicality, and youthfulness. I think I may be overplaying her strong distrust of magic, so I'll be trying to tone that down.

[withoutaworld]

Aubrey
Character Name: Rikki Barnes
Canon: Marvel 616
User Name: withoutaworld

Character Name: Natasha Romanoff
Canon: MCU
User Name: tendnottoweep

Character Name: Olivia Dunham
Canon: Fringe
User Name: nolimitation

Character Name: Georgia Mason
Canon: Newsflesh
User Name: 97_percent

[epigrammatical]

Karin
Character Name: Lord Henry Wotton
Canon: Confessions of / Picture of Dorian Gray
User Name: epigrammatical
Focus: So how badly am I sucking?

...I kid. Mostly. I feel bad about not getting him out more, but I blame February and March for having been a pile of bugshit insanity (this applies to Una as well). Sometimes I also feel kind of flat with him—again, the drain on my brain that was March didn't really help. Am I being consistent? I know I can't quite match Wildean heights of wit, but is he at least plausible? That sort of thing.

Character Name: Una Persson
Canon: Michael Moorcock's Multiverse
User Name: una_persson
Focus: Still feel like I'm only just getting off the ground with her, thanks to the clusterfuck that was March for me, so I don't have specific concerns. (Yet.) Anything you've got for her, come at me; I'd be glad to hear it.

And just. Any comments you have about my RPing and thread management and response time in general. Like I said, RL was really chewing on me hard there, and my hope is that the next few months (at least until the next thing blows up at work) will be a lot better, and I will definitely be working to improve my response time and whatnot. Fire away.

ETA - A PSA-Thing: If it's IC for your character to get Henry's title and mode of address right (i.e. if they're knowledgeable about British nobility ranks AND/OR have read The Picture of Dorian Gray), please take a look at this quick explanation of how it all works. I am a terrible pedant and I'm sorry. I don't mean to be a bore about it, but there have been questions, so there you go. And of course if it's IC for your character to not have a clue, that's totally legit and get it as wrong as you want to.

[traitre]

doc
Character Name: qilby!
Canon: wakfu!!
User Name: traitre
Focus: it's only been like two weeks, so if anything-- anything!

[imaginate]

Zee
Character Name: Kyle Rayner (Green Lantern 2814.4)
Canon: DCU
User Name: imaginate
Focus: Any and all welcome \o/ I have an anon avenue as well but I would vastly prefer putting a name to crit <3

[lostundercover]

I know basically nothing of canon (other than the utter most basics), but I have to say that I've noticed a distinct difference between joking Kyle and soldier/work Kyle, which I really like. I assume that's appropriate for the voice, because it's a wonderful effect and really helps to flesh out the character.

[backwordscompatible]

Hina
Character Name: Zatanna Zatara
Canon: Young Justice
User Name: backwordscompatible
Focus: I'm probably going to regret saying this later on, but...I actually feel as if I've improved a lot since the last HMD. I took a lot of the advice that was given to me to heart, and tried to apply it not only to how I approach each tag, but how I approach the game as a whole. Posts and tag-ins now have more of a purpose than just casual interaction. I've slowed my roll a lot so I could focus on using more bracket meta and putting more content into tags, and I've made myself available for constant communication regarding "important" threads. Plotting and planning ahead, while two of my weaker points, have been a central focus of my Plan of Improvement.

But, of course, I am hardly the Mary Poppins of RP ("Practically Perfect in Every Way"). The problem is that I've been RPing for four years now, and Zatanna for nearly two. This means I've picked up four years worth of bad habits that are hard to get rid of. And I am working on it, but I know there are plenty still out there. Not every tag is going to be a masterpiece. So if you ever see anything that you question, or feel needs a bit of an explanation as to how or why a certain tag came out the way it did (particularly since a lot of people sometimes have comics!Zatanna expectations that...don't apply to Earth-16!Zatanna), feel free to ask! I love a good discussion over characterization and CR.

[cowled]

I'm popping out the door in a few minutes so I don't have much time, but I can definitely tell you've incorporated those elements into your rping. It's been a very notable change and I really appreciate you taking the time to listen to my initial comments. :3

[shorttempered]

Kaitie
Character Name: Mark Grayson/Invincible
Canon: Invincible
User Name: shorttempered
Focus: Mark is still a relatively new muse, so any sort of crit is welcome.

[depicted]

Farrah
Character Name: Dorian Gray
Canon: The Confessions of Dorian Gray
User Name: depicted
Focus: In general, he's very much at a crossroads, so a lot of my concern is about balancing the very different directions he can and might go in. I also worry about trying to balance his involvement in interpersonal things and his interest in larger, game-plot things.

[amonfire]

Dash Kat
Character Name: Amon
Canon: Avatar: Legend of Korra
User Name: amonfire
Focus: Amon is supposed to be a well-spoken, erudite character that chooses his words carefully. Sometimes I'm too concerned with him "sound convincing" that I slip into an almost archaic and high-toned cadence with him that doesn't fit either the character or the canon. My other concern is that he isn't being terrorist-y and Viva la Revolution-y enough which I hope to rectify come Landfall.

[animalhats]

Mat
Character Name:Astrid Farnsworth
Canon: Fringe
User Name: thewaythatiam
Focus: Um, mostly any thoughts you have, positive or negative? If you think I'm doing well in something, I'd really love to know so I know what I'm doing right. Also let me know if you think she comes off as too abrupt or standoffish? She's supposed to, but I don't want to go too far on that.

Character Name: Molly Hayes
Canon: Marvel 616
User Name: animalhats
Focus: She's brand new, so go wild! Mostly first impressions at this point, of course, but please lemme know!

[lostundercover]

Kate
Character Name: Billy Costigan
Canon: The Departed
User Name: lostundercover
Focus: Is he too attentive and/or not paranoid enough? General concerns.

[onefouroneseven]

Ammay
Character Name: Soranik Natu
Canon: DCU
User Name: onefouroneseven
Focus: Anything! I will admit that my medical knowledge is pretty much nil, so feel free to call me out if I've done anything terribly wrong. Even google has its limits on useful information surprisingly enough.

[dominare]

Mireille
Character Name: Haytham Kenway
Canon:Assassins Creed III
User Name: dominare
Focus:
I'm really worried about anachronisms. ACIII isn't the most careful when it comes to period speech, but a lot of it can be dismissed as the animus being a faulty translator; the same can't be said of Haytham in game! Unfortunately I'm pretty shoddy when it comes to grammar as well, and I worry a lot of my phrases come off as stilted when I try to keep them... more formal? Finding the balance between ease of reading and in characterness is difficult, and it's usually exacerbated by the fact that I've stared at a tag for so long that my grammar starts going wonky.

YOU KNOW HOW WHEN YOU STARE AT A WORD FOR TOO LONG IT STOPS LOOKING LIKE ONE? yeeeah, kinda like that.

Beyond that, it's always a bit difficult to struggle between being his normal sassy self, and the sort of scheming personality he can take when he wants something from someone.

[notamachine]

I haven't noticed any major problems with Haytham's speech, but if you're ever worried about anachronisms, I'm also a historian in my other job so if you ever want to ping me with questions, feel free!

[littlecousin]

Carolyn
Character Name: Namorita
Canon: Marvel 616
User Name: littlecousin
Focus: I'm actually feelin' pretty solid this time around. /shades

Hit me if you've got something, though.

[amonfire]

Solid as a rock.

(is that a song? I know that sounds familiar)

[beganwithamask]

Nekky
Character Name: Arthur Curry
Canon: DC Comics
User Name: relentlesstide
Focus: Iiii am still kind of feeling things out with Arthur (especially when it comes to castmate interaction), the sheer amount of history and inconsistencies can be kind of overwhelming sometimes considering I'm primarily a Marvel person and haven't really been into DC for as long. I haven't had time for another full canon review, but it's on my to do list. That said, any input is welcome!

Character Name: James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes
Canon: Marvel 616
User Name: beganwithamask
Focus: Still has that new character smell on the turtle, but comment away anyway. I've been playing Bucky at different canon points for a couple of years so it's possible I'm slipping up sometimes. :|a

[flamingshortshorts]

Kathrine
Character Name: Kaldur'ahm
Canon: Young Justice
User Name: apologiesmyking | HMD
Focus: Kaldur is a hard character to balance his formality with his snark and his sense of duty, so I hope I am getting better about that. He's a rather quiet guy for the most part, but I hope he doesn't come across as boring. If so, please do tell me so that I can work on that. I also hope that I'm not being overbearing with his leader-y behavior since he can be rather focused and responsibility-driven.

Character Name: Toro Raymond
Canon: Marvel 616
User Name: flamingshortshorts | HMD
Focus: I am sorry I haven't been as active with him as I could be. I know he's still new but I want to branch out with him more. I hope that characterization-wise I'm being consistent with him and he's interesting enough without coming across as bland or one-dimensional. If there is anything I could work on with him, feel free to tell me. I am also trying to keep in mind his technological awareness and how much he will be able to learn/use (Toro just sucks with technology, even when he's older), so if he's coming across too savvy I will try to adjust that.