tushanshu_ooc | How's My Driving

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#hmd

How's My Driving | July 2013

Three months have already passed since the last HMD? You betcha! This means that it's time to kick off the fourth quarterly gamewide HMD here in Tu Shanshu! Things are getting structured a little differently this time, so read on for details.

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.
New! We ask that each concrit provided consist of one positive and one constructive bit of feedback. Bring up something that you like about that player, and in the same comment provide something that you feel they could work on. This is to help round out the feedback and provide a better experience all around.

That's it, that's all!

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

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

I'll take those words to heart.

And you too need to give it your best ~~in bed~~.

I am still planning on tattling to the Emperor. It's scheduled to occur after this event, along with the Iorveth stuff that will be forthcoming.

If you would like to play out some repercussions for murder, I'd be glad to oblige. Javert does not precisely have the power to outright arrest people... not yet. And he still feels uncomfortable exercising that kind of authority considering his past life. But he is under an obligation to report criminals when he is certain about them. Once the Malicant event settles down we can completely look into that. Perhaps Javert is privy to a few police/enforcement files about at-large criminals and/or unsolved cases that he occasionally chooses to look into. It's his kind of thing, to chase a mystery for fun! And he is completely aware that the enforcement services are over inundated and stretched after all the recent debacles.

As for when he'll Hulk out again, not a big deal if it's not in the stars. I imagine it'd get redundant to play up the Hulk transformations too many times! The murder repercussion issue sounds really fabulous, though, and I think we can work on something really fun if we choose to pursue that angle.

(Excuse the journal...)

I figured it was still on the table. Be assured I will stalk it and enjoy. :3

That would be fantastic. Bruce usually gets to scoot out of town and not have to deal with the real repercussions-- I mean, he feels the guilt and responsibility so intensely there's no question that he doesn't get off scott free. But he certainly doesn't have to face any kind of authoritative response, ever, and his natural dislike of police, military, and other officials will complicate this. Because he does feel like it's his fault, so he won't "plead" not guilty, that's for sure, but he also doesn't think there's anything that can effectively be done punitively to him that won't just endanger more people?

So it's absolutely a complicated topic rife with potential. I've mostly handwaved the details about the deaths themselves, but that means we can fill in the blanks as would make sense for Javert to investigate. Some giant green monster angrily tearing up the city and accidentally causing some deaths while fighting specters is without a doubt something he could notice and look into! We can figure out the details of what he'd find after the depowering plot is over?

Player Name Tomato
Character Name: Annabeth Chase
Canon: Heroes of Olympus
User Name:

sophos | journal hmd
Focus: idk idk anything

Character Name: Peggy Carter
Canon: MCU
User Name:

shootingshields | journal hmd
Focus: I was struggling in terms of activity for a while, but June was much better, and hopefully that will continue!! My goal is still getting her out more, despite that. But otherwise, anything c:

I'm glad you're enjoying it! I am too. Clearly we need more CR. All of it.

I'll get them out more!

Aaa it's okay! I'm glad to hear he's working for you, though! :'D

Yes, okay! Yeah, Temeraire's longwindedness is kind of an IC trait, but you're definitely right about making his dialogue more concise, and I'll definitely work on that! o7 Thanks, and we absolutely have to thread sometime!

Player Name Orlando
Character Name: Sam Vimes
Canon: Discworld
User Name:

badge_177
Focus: I just got here, so...anything?!

Positive: I love your Tony, man. I'm not sure when his pullpoint is (I avoid looking such things up when I know a canon but my character is not of that canon, because I don't want to contaminate the headspace), but it really doesn't matter. I'm getting a huge FOR SCIENCE! vibe off of him and that's a wonderful thing to see pouring off of Tony. Sometimes, I feel like that gets lost in people focusing in on Tony the Dick, or Tony the Lech, or Tony the Drunk.

Constructive: I... have nothing. He sounds like Tony, you tag like crazy. I guess the only RELUCTANT and to meet the rules thing I could offer here is whether or not Tony would talk to Bart so much (EXCEPT OMG DON'T STOP TALKING TO BART - this is turning into the most random, unexpectedly fun CR I have ever experienced).

Most intense fight ever?!

Thanks for the advice~!

Ru
Character Name: Clara Oswald
Canon: Doctor Who
User Name:

parallels
Focus: Lots of voice/characterization concerns. Clara has a very difficult voice to pin down, it's not particularly distinct and is in very much danger of sounding flat when Clara is supposed to be sharp and wry. I've also been super flaky with my new job and I'm really sorry for that :(

Ack, I'm sorry I've been slow to return tags! I'm really enjoying tagging around with everyone so I'm glad that so far it has been fun. :)

No problem at all. Let me know if anything strikes you.

Yep, yes, thanks for bringing that up-- I was wondering if I had issues somewhere along that line! I'll do my best to come to a happy medium, because I want people to have lines to be able to reply to easily while staying true to Amaterasu's dislike for talking too much.

Thank you! I'm glad that you like him. Sometimes (okay, all the time) he has all of the above going on at once so I always hope I don't get stuck on one interest or persona of his for too long. He's all of the above, but an engineer at heart. :'D

I do agree. Some of it is me trust trying to figure out where to end threads. It's always a challenge for me to know where to break them off. But I think he'd end up there eventually anyway. Bart's talk of his powers coupled with having limited understanding of the place makes him more inclined to talk... even if it is just to collect useful information. And then he went and doubted Tony, which turned it into something else too. They just happened to click! I am really enjoying it, to be honest. ;;

whoops i'm a bit late

Kat
Character Name: portgas d. ace
Canon: one piece
User Name: flagrate
Focus: iiiii have been a bit slower than i usually like to be because i'm settling in to ace's voice again after not playing him for a while and right after i app'd a got a new (but awesome!) work project sprung on me so... hopefully this will change soon!

as for things i'm concerned about... i'm usually kind of meh at finding a good mix between dialogue and introspection in tags. i either do too much or too little and i'm never quite sure where the line is. how'm i doing so far?

This is just a general observation from the time we've played, but I notice you tend to target a very specific type of CR with Peter in particular, aimed at teenaged girls? It always has a slight current of ship-pushing, even if you're careful about it, but I've noticed a tendency to come into completely unrelated conversations (on plurk or what-have-you) to bring up teenaged girl characters that Peter has CR with or that you've expressed an interest in him having CR with, and I think it's potentially making people uncomfortable, especially since I've noticed you have a tendency to drop threads with characters who don't fit that demographic, which can lead people to think you're really only after that specific sort of CR. Just something to be cognizant of, maybe?

I've also noticed that your replies don't tend to be very dynamic, or give people a lot to reply to. I'm not sure if this is a time constraint issue on your end, or a matter of you not being particularly invested in certain threads, but I do think you might find your threads end up a little more fulfilling if you conveyed the thought or consideration you put into writing them - maybe include body language if it's a succinct verbal reply, just so people have the cues there to reply to. I know that the thought is there, because your characters are always really well fleshed out, but it can sometimes be harder for other people to recognize or see.

That said, I really enjoy Livewire's diction and how she presents herself. I feel like you've got a good grasp on her motivations and I love the fact that she's basically got Jim half-convinced she's a more sympathetic figure than Superman.

I actually see Jim as the sort of person who can't still long enough to spend a significant chunk of time talking on the network (it's too much like paperwork!). I prefer doing logs with him because body language is such a huge part of his personal charisma and he likes the face-to-face so he can read/gauge people a little more intimately than the consoles allow. But I can definitely try tagging around a bit more there!

(omg your poor phone, I pity having to load some of those threads on it shriek)

Also: spoilers henceforth, highlight for visibility!

It has affected him a great deal! It's possible I'm not conveying it properly, but Jim's actually been finding himself being overwhelmed with fear quite a bit lately and it's lead to him being markedly less reckless than usual, which is bothering him so much because he knows it's because of the fact he watched himself die and he doesn't know how to fix it. Being afraid for his life is a seriously novel concept for him. He's used to just falling back on his luck and natural skill to make it through anything by the seat of his pants, so those little moments where he has to stop and remind himself to breathe are really taking their toll on their psyche. Of course, it's actually making him more reckless in some respects, because every time he goes 'I'm afraid' to himself he turns around and pushes himself past his comfort level because he refuses to give into or tolerate that apprehension.

... so yes. I hope that helps justify/rationalize some of my choices! And thank you so much for the feedback ugh I love talking about stuff like this. /reaches!

It's less ship-pushing, and more...age-pushing, I guess? Like I try to hit people in the teenage range, and it's usually girls. I think Jaime and Bart are actually some of the only ones I haven't hit yet from the age group (and some of hte TMNT cast, though I'm also not sure if I ever tagged YJ!Robin), and I think that's just because I've missed their intros. I'm actually really aware of it and nervous about it as it is, so I'll definitely try to pay more attention to it, I guess? Since I am definitely not ship-pushing, just trying to keep him most focused on his own age range and anybody science-related who shows up.

As for the dynamic-ness, I'll try to work on it. It's probably just something simple on my end (e.g., thinking an action can be assumed when it shouldn't be), but I'll see what I can do. I don't know if I'll make any progress with body language things though, considering how poor I am at reading it myself, I'm not sure if I'd be able to really write it in any useful fashion.

Also that's because Livewire's a lying manipulative little radio troll << ... she's the one I need to figure out body language for the most though, considering she's incredibly flirtatious at the best of times, and I haven't got a freaking clue how I'm doing in that regard, but it's definitely going to come up when she meets anyone in person.

I really love what you've done with Ace so far! I'm completely canon-blind on OP but I feel like you convey a really amazing sense of 'character' to the way you write him. And I've loved the balance of introspection and dialogue I've seen from you so far? Your writing's pretty polished, and it feels really natural, so I don't think you're padding it too far one way or another.

As for crit: I don't really have any yet! I know you intro'd in the middle of a huge event where a lot of characters were tied up ICly and players OOCly so that makes it a little hard to judge. I'm excited to see where you go with the character from here, though. <3

*also I'm hoping I have the thread dropping thing handled now, since I switched everything over to GMail and have a system set up now to keep track of what I've actually replied to and what still needs to be hit.

Before I'd make the mistake of reading the notif in Outlook, taking a look at the post, then going off and forgetting I hadn't replied yet and losing track of the thread. I'm still tracking down threads I've lost, with Spidey and Livewire both :\

(Speaking of: Anybody I owe a tag to, seriously, DO NOT hesitate to poke me about it. I probably lost it, and no I don't care how old it is)

I love your characters, the thought and depth you put into writing them. You're a fun, dynamic player and you have no problem reaching out or creating your own plots - on a broader scale or a one-on-one scale.

I do think that maybe that stagnation might have something to do with having a lot of slice-of-life threads on the go at once? I find I start side-eyeing my inbox when I have too many things that boil down to 'these characters sit around and chat' I start feeling that same malaise.

Maybe pull back a bit, and go at your threads with more of a defined purpose to the threads?

-- AND THEN I READ THE COMMENTS ABOUT THE PLURK DISCUSSION welp

carry on then.

I definitely think that maybe taking a more pro-active approach - with Una particularly, since Henry can be a little more passive overall - might help. Do you have a player plot you could throw at our mod page, or could she do something with the diary pages she has? (aha)

I have to say, Javert's thread with Asti is one of my favourite things I've seen you write (in a rather long list of things I've enjoyed with you!) because of how fractured Javert's psyche is. I absolutely love the aspects of his personality you've chosen to explore, and he always feels so completely well-rounded and such an interesting human, rather than a character. HE JUST FEELS REALLY FLESHED OUT OKAY

and then your particular turn of phrase, even in actionspam comments, evokes the particular narrative style of Les Mis so well it's like I'm actually reading ye olde brick itself.

Basically it's just really excellent and I love reading it.

Crit-wise... I honestly don't have much. I'm excited for you to have more free time after house-things so you can be around a bit more, but I know what it's like when RL falls on your head and demands all your time/attention. Do you have any particular plans for his involvement with the police force? /chinhands

NO SEE THAT WAS GOOD because now I understand! I was wondering if it was something that's hard to express like that. Since it's hard to express the reasons for not doing something when you... don't do it. So there's not any place to say that's the reason you're not doing it! (I'm sorry you're having to read my circular thoughts at night as well as my rambling ones in the morning.)

But yes, it sounds like you have everything worked out! I'm glad I can understand now why you're doing the flawless things you do~ /reaches back

also woop woop too lazy to log out of my main

You already know that I think you're fabulous. I am so ridiculously privileged to play against your Clark, and I love having you as a castmate more than words can possibly express. You are brilliant, easy to tag, you're always willing to compromise and it's so easy to thread or plot with you that it's a little surreal. I AM PUNCH DRUNK ON OUR SUPERHUSBAND LOVE OKAY.

Crit-wise, I'd love to see you branch out a bit more, and/or follow through more on the ideas you come up with? You have a lot of really awesome ideas or plans, but I don't see a lot of follow-through, and I'd love to see that change.

I don't have any comments on Frank because I am a) canonblind! and b) have yet to thread with him. SO UM. Let's fix that at some point. <3

I really love your Korra so much. She's the perfect balance of enthusiastic teenaged girl and Avatar. I think you bring everything you've got to the table when you play her, and she is so fantastic and dynamic to read. You put a lot of thought into every tag, and I feel like you are amazing at reaching out to everyone and pulling them in ICly and OOCly both! It's amazing to see and I love having you in the game even though we don't have much in the way of CR, if I come across a thread you've done in someone else's post I almost always stop to go over it and it always puts a smile on my face.

My crit is actually pretty minor - I've noticed you confuse homonyms sometimes? (you're, your, etc) and although not a big thing, it's maybe something you could watch out for in the future.

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How's My Driving | July 2013

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