[SotP | August 2011]
STATE OF ME
July was a complete wash due to SDCC and moving, but it maybe it shouldn't have been, because I've been about 20 times busier this month (not to mention sick for a week), and managed to get all my reqs covered before I left for another trip to the States, so. Then again, July's historically been a bad month for me at TR, anyway, meaning I probably shouldn't be all that surprised by this particular turn of events. There just comes a time every year where I want to be as far from a computer as humanly possible, and the summer is usually it. Something I should keep in mind for next year, perhaps.
Anyway, yes, August was pretty successful, all things considered. Everyone got a decent amount of play, even if it was necessarily loaded at the beginning of the month, and it's a method of gameplay I might consider continuing in the future. Despite consistently having 30 tags in my inbox all month, it hasn't been particularly overwhelming, and it was nice, having a variety of threads open. September should be relatively quiet on the homefront, but provided the house sells, I'll be moving to the east coast in October, so I'll have to time things accordingly.
That said, my narrative's been a bit sloppy for the past couple months; I'm never a particularly pretty writer, a fact that I've come to more or less accept in the past year (I'm not quotable, I can live with that), but I've been floundering to remember narrative styles just from being out of practice. I'm sure the problem will correct itself once I'm back into the swing of things, but I'd just like to make a note that I'm aware I've been a bit off, and as always, if you spot a typo or something doesn't make sense, please tell me, I want to know, and will edit.
PETER PARKER
I purposefully put him on the back burner for the past couple of months, but he has a fun little plot coming up soon with Tony and Chase (and others, albeit not as directly) that I've been looking forward to for an age. I have a few preliminary threads I need to write to set up a couple of the required elements for the plot proper, and an email or two to send out; basically, Pete's gonna be getting a (comedic) concussion on the 11th, and I'll need a doctor who's willing to do a short three-way thread with Pete and Tony (ETA: taken care of), both of whom'll presumably be lying through their teeth about what happened, because it'll be so ridiculous.
Has a few projects in the works, at least one that 'll need mod approval before I can introduce it in-game, but I'm kind of excited about it.
In terms of his mood, he's outwardly pretty normal, these days; there's a lot of grief he's suppressing, not to mention a crap load of guilt over Jessica, but that'll be addressed shortly. Also, I'd still like to do a thread with someone finding him immediately post-nightmare; maybe that could be a September EP? Except that could conflict with...
Powers roulette: I had a hilariously awful idea for an EP if he gets this one particular power, but he has plot coming up, as I said, so I don't know how wise that'll be.
JAMIE MADROX
Finally received his item, which will rattle him, but the thing about Jamie is that he internalizes his feelings so much that he'll more or less be acting normally, anyway, now that the initial trauma has passed (even if I'm still in the process of threading it out). I'm enjoying his age switch thread with Layla, though, because that was a nice thing to counteract the seriousness of his other threads this month
No immediate plans on the horizon, or at least nothing concrete. I really just need to sit down one of these days with someone, and talk my way through a nice complicated plot for him to be a BAMF in, since that's how I tend to do my best thinking. He's probably my quietest vote at present, which saddens me a little, but I think putting the work in to get him more active will wake him up. There's no danger of a drop, because I've proven incapable of not playing him, I just need to get excited enough about his plots that he can fight for the spotlight in the chaos that is my head.
Powers roulette: Probably, because I think anything he'd get would be fun, if only for the novelty.
BUCKY BARNES
I need to talk to Mala, but I think we're starting the pre-play on Steve's time loop this month, since it's fairly involved, though it won't be posted 'til November 11th. I can't really say much about it since we haven't threaded anything, obviously, but it promises to be traumatic, as they'll be reliving the moments of the iconic plane crash. Good times.
In terms of more current things, Bucky killed Atlas (or is in the process of killing him, I've been so slow with this thread, sorry, Di D:), and is feeling a bit lousy over how many lives were lost on what he considers his watch. In happier news, though, he spent a weekend as his WWII era self, which was exactly the sort of mindless fun I needed to ease myself back into the game. I was telling Scott that I do so much dark stuff that I forgot I'm actually capable of writing lighter fare, and I'm definitely going to be making a conscious effort to do some fluffier stuff on a regular basis, as applicable.
Powers roulette: Maybe, maybe not. He's always prided himself on not having powers, so it could be interesting, but it's not a priority.
MATT MURDOCK
I am so in love with Mark Waid's take on the new Daredevil run they've not yet invented the words to accurately convey my enthusiasm. I am, admittedly, drawing more characterization from that than I am Bendis at the moment, but Waid's stuff is a lot more relevant under these circumstances, as I've not yet systematically destroyed Matt's life (though God do I have ideas). I'm enamored with every single one of his age switch threads, even if I probably could've written a tighter narrative on most of it, and I look forward to making use of what he's learned to accelerate some of his training.
I'd really like for someone to learn about his past, eventually, but I'm in no rush to do so, since while he has people he threads with regularly, he hasn't really made the kind of deep connections that'd make something like that worthwhile just yet. Maybe in a few months. Or when he finally becomes interested in a woman who isn't already taken. It's a bit strange, playing Matt as a bachelor, because he's such a serial monogamist, but I don't want to orchestrate anything, as that never works as nicely as something organic, and I'm in no rush to get him into a relationship, anyway. I worried I was doing something wrong for a while, but he's still a shameless flirt, it's just... Not getting him anywhere.
Powers roulette: Probably not, no.
THOR ODINSON
Has a brother! That's exciting. He finally found Mjolnir this month, when he was all tiny and age switch-y, too, since he lost it in his debut, and timing was preventative in me writing the post earlier, which means he'll be starting to build a pretty epic house in the next couple of months (that Loki will inevitably crash in, I'm sure). I'll need to coordinate stuff with the building crew, probably, but first I want to get a better idea of what, exactly, he's gonna build, so that'll wait 'til I know what I'm doing.
Moving along, I'm going to really work on tagging Thor around in September, since he really should know more people than he does, and he's so gosh-darned friendly that I just want to tag everyone with him, anyway, so this really shouldn't be too difficult.
Am considering building an island-wide plot around him, because it's only just occurred to me he's a better choice than Pete to do this with, but that won't happen 'til mid-next year, at the earliest, because of other plots I know are going down.
Powers roulette: Possibly?
CHARLES XAVIER
Half of his current threads are destined to end hilariously, so I'll very much appreciate if you folks could put up with my slow time just a bit longer, because comedic gold awaits.
While I probably could've had better timing in apping him, I'm very glad I did, anyway, because he's a very easy voice for me to tap into -- which either means I understand the character or that I'm deluding myself and playing him awfully. I always worry when new characters come easily, particularly one from a movie most of the game is familiar with. Like Thor, he's also gonna be building a house -- which means more coordination with the building crew and a few others -- though his will be more modern in its design. That's my only real plot for him at the moment, barring Erik's time loop. Manda, what's the timing on that, just out of curiosity?
Powers roulette: Maybe, maybe not. It might be fun if he could get a physical mutation, I suppose.
KATE BISHOP
My plan is to have her app submitted for the 1st, and I'm... More or less on schedule for that. I finished the bulk of my reread today, at least, and I have parts of her app mapped out already.
OTHERS
In a perfect world, I'd app either another girl or teenager after Kate, just to maintain a sense of balance. I find I manage my time better if I have pairs who are similar in temperament for some reason. (Peter-Bucky, Jamie-Matt, Thor-Charles, etc.) That said, no one's grabbed me in an 'I MUST APP THEM' kind of way, so I think I'll just keep that slot open until someone does. I don't want to app someone just to soothe my OCD, that'd be lame and destined to failure.