[SotP | April 2011]
State of Me: In terms of activity, it's been a slow month. I'm caught in a cycle of backdating, which I never like, but that's to be expected given my schedule these days. That's another thing I need to remind myself, that it's okay to go slow. It's okay to not do my tags every day. It's okay to not be available at every hour, because it's okay to have a life.
Character: Peter Parker | The Amazing Spider-Man | daretodo
Home Plot: Is still in the process of being played out. Realistically, I don't think we'll do everything I planned out, but there are a couple of threads I'd still like to do before I post everything.
In General: This month marked Peter's two year point, which actually makes him the character I've played the longest, consecutively (non-consecutively, that honour goes to Jamie). He's still the strongest voice in my head, and I'd like to EP him doing something ridiculous next month, because my thing is that I like to echo and emulate canon whenever I can, and the Spider-Man canon tends to vacillate between stretches of intense depression punctuated by wacky adventures, and Pete, right now, is due for a wacky adventure, since his life's been a bit topsy turvy as of late, and this month has been especially rough on him, given the two surgeries he sat in on.
I have an idea for his next item, which will be traumatic in the sense that it symbolizes something upsetting, but will give him a new project to work on. That said, I don't want to give it to him unless I have cause for him to use it in the relatively near future, but I have a couple of ideas going through my head, dependent on a few factors currently beyond my control.
Character: Jamie Madrox | X-Factor |howmanylives
Home Plot: Has yet to be so much as started, but it has happened. I'm just... not entirely sure what has happened, so I've been reluctant to tag Jamie around this month as a result. I might end up just not making reqs for him, unless some folks don't mind super late tags or doing some private threads.
In General: Jamie's lost quite a few people recently, meaning I need to get him out and about, making new friends and connections. I might have him sign up for therapy again (Leshia, would Wanda be interested in taking him on as a patient/would you be interested threading that out on occasion, maybe bimonthly?), which he stopped going to once he thought he was over his issues, but Jamie, sweetie, you are never over your issues, stop trying to kid yourself. We're potentially getting a Guido soon, maybe, so that's incredibly exciting, as he's long been on my list of 'characters I desperately want but doubt we'll ever get.'
I'd like to turn my focus to Jamie a bit more in the upcoming months; he's eligible for two items at this point, as well as a time loop, and he's often the one in my roster who's shoved to the backburner (though notably he's the only one this doesn't concern me with, because of the nature of his canon; X-Factor is a very slow moving canon compared to a Spidey title). More than anyone, Jamie's my baby. He's the one I reapped. He's the one I've already been shown to be unable to drop. I have ideas for an X-Plot, but I think I'd rather plan with someone instead of on my own, so if anyone in that camp wants to brainstorm a few ideas to shake up the local ex-mutant (lulz) population, give me a shout, because I think it's high time the X-folks stop letting the Avengers have all the fun.
Character: Bucky Barnes | Captain America | onlyapassenger
In General: STEVE. *___* In case it's not painfully obvious, I really like bromances. There's just something about that dynamic that just speaks to me on a level I can't quite put into words, and getting to play out a bromance that predates Marvel comics is just such a delight for me, even if things won't be hunky dory between Cap and Bucky for a long, long time. There's a lot of baggage, a lot neither of them are talking about; it's interesting because they still care for each other, deeply, but there's a tension underlying their every interaction. There's no hatred or resentment, but they need to relearn each other.
And speaking of bromances, Jason's item will be throwing Bucky for a loop, so he'll be quietly concerned about the kid while he heals, even as he's quietly annoyed by his machinations to get Bucky to deal with his assortment of issues.
On the strict romance front, we might be getting a Black Widow next month, so that's exciting; while Bucky's appreciated that the girls on the Island are gosh darned pretty, he's never really expressed an interest in anyone. I think having her around will be good for him, because he's shut off a great deal of himself on the Island on the belief that no one could understand.
ITF: I have ideas, since Bucky would have ideas, and I think he's comfortable enough with his situation in that dynamic to start implementing them, so it's just a matter of talking to the relevant parties to get something rolling. For one of them, I might need to run it by the mods, but I think it might actually be more interesting if I rethink it in a way that wouldn't need an outside threat. Vague statement is vague, I realize, but cool stuff! In the near future! Look forward to it!
Character: Matt Murdock | Daredevil | hasnobullets
In General: So, I probably should've waited until May to bring him as was my original intent, but Matt's a case of the right character at the right time. The extent to which I identify with Matt is, perhaps, more so than I do with any other character in my roster. Which isn't to say that I'm an orphaned, blind vigilante from Hell's Kitchen -- I'm obviously not -- but his proactive approach to life is something I can relate to, albeit without the massive amounts of violence. I'm not expressing myself particularly well, but suffice it to say, I get Matt, and while that could be a pretty dangerous line to toe, we're different enough that I never feel like I'm playing myself (which is good, because again, uh, I don't exactly make a habit of punching my problems in the face).
I used to joke that if Peter represented some of my better qualities, then Jamie represented all my awful ones; Bucky and Matt are somewhere around the middle. I don't know about anyone else, but I can't app someone I can't relate to; there's a reason all of my characters are stubborn and arrogant, and that is because I am stubborn and arrogant. On that note, though, I keep meaning to dissect the ways in which I am and am not like my roster, because I think it's easy to use characters as a shorthand for a player's personality, and I think keeping a distinction between the two is important. (In case you're wondering, we discussed avatars a lot in my ethnography class, so that's why this is on my mind.) But that doesn't actually have anything to do with Matt, so let's get back on track.
I am bursting with ideas for Matt. I'm still experimenting a bit with his narrative, because trying to find a style and a tone that's different from Peter is very important to me to keep the two separate, but I think he's sustainable. My goal for the next month is to just get him out more, and I think I might injure him in late May, because Matt's just not the kind of guy who sits around. He pushes limits, and he's going to be pushing his. Hopefully he's close enough to a few people by then that his being injured will have an impact on someone other than himself, but even if he's not, it's a plot I want to pursue, period.
The strangest thing I'm noticing, however, is that after I play Matt, I find myself forgetting that the rest of my characters can see, so that's... a weird bit of bleed to deal with. Also, I need to get better about describing his environment; I've been relying on the same turns of phrase a bit too much, and that could stand for some improvement. I should probably make a list of terms used in canon to help diversify my vocabulary.
As I said earlier, I'm happy with my roster, but were I to app anyone else, it'd be a reapp. The thing is, I've missed Kate Bishop something fierce more or less since I dropped her; it's exceedingly rare that I connect with female characters, but there's just something about her that draws me back in every time to the point where I'm purposefully behind on Children's Crusade, because I know I'll want to bring her in again. Just... ugh. I love her. I love her so much and I miss her so much, I can't even.