HMD

[etcircenses]

HOW'S MY DRIVING?

Anon is enabled, don't be an a jerk.

This is not a love meme, however, that also doesn't mean it is a hate meme. Someone's driving can be good, feel free to say as much! Just try to give them an idea on how.

Also please make sure if you are asking for crit you are also giving it. If everyone only posts for themselves, no one will get any feedback. You don't need to comment to everyone, but please be sure if you comment to reply to at least 3 other people. We'll be keeping an eye on this post to make sure everyone's commenting around.

There are some helpful crit questions posted here if you are feeling lost on how to word yourself.

Comments

MODS

[gamemakers]

Any comments or concerns for mods can be left here.

Effie and Eddie (And Katniss and Cruentus)

[mannersmatter]

Any crit for mine can be left here.

Besides this last week or so of fail, I have been working on activity and tagging out more/putting up posts (While not overwhelming myself.) And I am open to crit on anything!

[tis_allgood]

You're always good about letting people know when you won't be able to tag, which is great. And there's always plenty to work with in the tags I get from you, so I'd say you're doing pretty good.

Lisa's Goonsquad

[celebrityskinned]

Penny, Venus, Howard, Eva, Punchy and Victory

I was feeling a little stilted for a while there but I think I worked it out! Please let me know if there's anything I should improve on.

Also, should be improving Punchy's activity soon and properly introing Victory.

[the_marshal]

My love for Howard knows no bounds, but even though I don't know the others particularly well myself, I love to read your threads with them. They're all so different and all have such distinct voices. It's a beautiful thing to watch.

Also, I remain forever in awe at how you manage them all and all the tags you get. Five (six now) characters and you remain one of the most reliable taggers in the game.

Wyatt and Wesker

[the_marshal]

I've been having some trouble getting motivated with Wesker since the arena started, but I'm hoping that now it's over and the District Tours are coming up that I can back into the swing of things wit him.

Wyatt's in a good place... with me at least, lol, so to speak. He's definitely the easier of the two. My only concern with him really is when it comes to emotional stuff that it reads as - believable? I always feel like I'm doing too much or not enough. :/

In general, I know I still suffer from "forget words in the middle of sentences-itis", as I have a tendency of writing something, changing my mind, and editing like crazy, but I am working on it!

Re: Wyatt and Wesker

[polyturtle]

If it makes you feel any better, I tend to have a tendency to be an edit fiend myself? Though I never saw that as a major problem, I can understand why others might. XD;

Joan Watson

[formersurgeon]

Hey guys!

I know I've been dropping threads a lot. I'm trying to work back and pick some of those back up, and I'll work on being better at that going forward.

Any other comments, concerns, suggestions, let me know!

[onlyimmune]

You've got a really good solid grip on Joan's voice and I adore our CR. I haven't noticed any thread dropping but then I am slow as hell sometimes 8D

Yami and Enjolras

[orestes]

I was kind of MIA through much of the early part of the Arena due to school, work and rl in general crashing in around me. That said, I've been back for a while and feeling pretty good about things. That said again, improvement is always a thing that I strive for.

So, on that note! I'm particularly interested in making sure my writing has enough hooks, and is easy to reply to! I have a tendency to fall too deeply into introspection, so if I'm doing that with you, please scream at me! Also, as always, if the anachronisms are getting to be too much or too little, or if there's something glaringly wrong with whatever I'm doing, please yell at me over that, too.

Um, and I have a personal HMD stickied on this journal that is anon-enabled with no IP logging if discussing things in public gives you problems.

Thanks!

Re: Yami and Enjolras

[marcato]

I don't think I wrote much prose with you in C&C, and I regret it now. Your prose is excellent. Colorful metaphors, enticing introspection... just generally really good stuff. It's definitely your strong point, and I look forward to writing with you more in the future. c:

Don, Jack and Homura

[iflipmyhair]

I am worried that I am dropping threads, and also, I am aware that I have a tendency to infomod at times. Especially concerning the latter, I am hoping I have improved on that front. Also the fact I can get overexcited about things and...yeah. XD;

If there are other issues that have come up with my playing, please, let me know!

[orestes]

My one critique is that you do kind of have a tendency to drop threads. At first I wondered if it might have to do with not really feeling a character voice at a particular moment, if you're aware of it, it seems like it's maybe just a matter of being distracted? Perhaps you could try and establish a schedule for tagging with each character, or something like that, just so you don't leave people hanging.

On a more positive note, I actually really enjoy how enthusiastic you are in tagging around. It brings a lot of great energy to the game, and while if you know you've got an infomodding problem, you should definitely watch that, I would hate to see you become over-hesitant, or otherwise overcompensate for it. So uhh, that's basically my long winded way of saying "keep up the great energy"!

Eponine and Johanna

[gardienne]

My concerns - well, Johanna is the first character I have written outside Eponine in about 3-4 years. And i am scared. So please, please tell me if she doesn't sound right. Because I want to get her right. I know she's been in game for precisely 23 comments, but shhhhh.

Eponine is definitely quite easy to tag with, and I feel pretty comfortable with her. My concern is that I'm maybe too comfortable? I dunno. She's spent most of Christmas crying over Howard and Marius and other MEN in general. (pffft men!) I know I haven't tagged out too much with her, especially in the last arena. I do try to make a conscientious effort to do that - but this time, with the Howard drama playing out, I felt she needed to keep more to established CR to ride that out. Now things are shaking out, though, I am definitely game for lots and lots of threads, new CR and old!

Anyway, yeah. Thanks, guys.

[the_marshal]

I haven't interacted with her yet, but what I've read so far from your Johanna is really encouraging! I'm excited for a chance to play against her. 8D

And Eponine - oh, Eponine. I'm forever amazed at how such a mean, angry little character comes from such a sweet person. Cx I'm really impressed; by that and the fact that even as mean as she can be/is, I still find myself feeling bad for her and understanding - at least in certain circumstances - where she's coming from.

That's some great depth.

Britt - Maximus / Sherlock / Ellie

[gluteus]

I've been really careful not to drop any threads during this AC round! And I'm fairly sure I've managed that.

As always, I worry about voice and consistency and I hope those of you who felt left out with my tagging before have been feeling about that. I've been trying my best to get through all of my tags at least once every one/two days.

Are you having any problems plotting with me? Am I too intimidating? Not intimidating enough? Are you getting what you're looking for out of our CR?

I've been making lots of spelling mistakes and not noticing until i get the reply email which is fun, and i'm very sorry :|

any other issues/problems, please let me know

[the_marshal]

You are forever intimating. I have the coat-flap for myself, I know it to be true!

...But that said you remain a delightful person that I am so happy to have in my life. :D You're always up for hearing out new ideas, and to give things a shot, and even if they don't work you try to keep them in mind for when they might.

You get really deep into the motivations and emotions of your characters and I know you've elevated my rping by being so awesome and unafraid and I am so thankful for that.

Sigma Klim

[futilecycle]

Recently dropped Lin because I felt she was getting in the way of my tagging speed. I probably can't handle two characters during school, or at least a character as high-maintenance as Lin.

Yikes, sorry about my speed, lately. I work in a Bakery which is basically the same or worse as working in retail during the holidays (all your Christmas goodies are made somewhere by hand!) so the holidays up until basically today have been an absolute nightmare for me tagging wise and I apologize. Including exams, I had zero days off since the start of December. Holiday season aside, since the last HMD meme I have tried to work on not dropping threads and tagging in a timely matter, but in exchange I have had limited opportunity to tag out with new CR. Let me know if you agree, I am going to try and fix this and tag out with a lot of new people in the coming month!

So yeah, let me know how I'm doing. If there's anything you can help with in terms of characterization that would be swell, I've worried about being IC lately. Sigma is a very socially crippled man and I hope his growth, his mistakes, and his warming up to others in general has been somewhat natural.

Re: Sigma Klim

[polyturtle]

Yeah, the main thing I'd say is your speed, though its not something that can really be helped in that situation. But other than that, I have no complaints about how you play Sigma as a character. He seems sufficiently awkward and hopeless, which is a wonderful thing. :)

Pruna, Ian Gallagher and Shion

[knifewithnoname]

I haven't been as active this time round, as November was a bit of a fail in my part but I will take crit on anything!

Also this is just a heads up, I never drop threads so if I have it has been an accident and please poke me about it, sometimes I lose notifications!

Re: Pruna, Ian Gallagher and Shion

[nooneleft]

I love Ian. End of. And I am so happy that you play from 'Shameless'! I know that is not constructive crit, but I really have no complaints there. (also, do you wanna wrap up the wedding thread there, with them going to dance?)

I really like Pruna too. She's such an engaging character and Eps is quite fascinated by her. She reminds her of a street child from Paris, which is probably not so fabulous but let's ignore that. I think it's really good that you manage to give your characters such distinctive voices.

Michi (Terezi Pyrope)

[pythianjudgment]

I'm open to any crit that you might want to throw at me.

My present concerns: I've been concentrating on quality over quantity lately, so I haven't been actively tagging out as much, except for specific threads that people have asked to play out. Instead, I've been leaving open posts in various mingle logs, in case anyone would like new CR with my girl. From my end, it seems to be working out? But if that's not the case from the other side, I'd like to know.

[tis_allgood]

I've never had trouble with the content of tags I get from you, they're always easy to respond to, even if I'm a slow thing about tagging. I haven't had an issue with things being dropped, either, so I'd say you're in good shape. Mostly I'm just looking forward to some more with you.

Aunamee and Katurian

[marcato]

Hello! I am Nai and I play:

Aunamee | (marcato) | original character
Katurian | (pillowmania) | the pillowman (au)

I have had problems overextending myself in the past, so my goal this activity period was to keep pace with my busy RL schedule and not drop threads. This means that my presence is a bit sparser overall, but I hope it's been consistent!

I am very open to criticism. c:

Re: Aunamee and Katurian

[celebrityskinned]

As always, you are a fantastic writer whose prose is extremely visceral. You set mood so well and select just the perfect metaphors and turns of phrase. I've definitely noticed improvement in your consistency, and just want you to know how much you add to the Games with both Aunamee and Katurian. :)

Cuthbert

[tis_allgood]

I had a really hard time around the beginning of this arena and I'm finally starting to pull out of it for real now.

Also, last HMD I got the suggestion to add more action to my tags to make them easier to respond to, so I've been working on that. Please let me know if I've been bad with this or have any other areas I need to improve on.

Re: Cuthbert

[onlyimmune]

I've never had any problem with responding to your tags! You've always given me plenty to work with.

You've been a bit slow recently BUT THAT BEING SAID since I follow you on plurk and stuff it's never bothered me? Also I'm slow as hell too and I know that you'll backtag into oblivion so it's never really been an issue - especially since you've always been pretty on-the ball for plot relevant stuff.

also i just adore cuthbert i want to pinch his cheeks

tl'dr ilu keep it up

LINA- Holiday and Gabriel

[casaerotica13]

Holiday has been doing her same old stuff, but Gabriel is the one I would really really like crit for. He's still new and he's getting around quite a bit. Is he too active? Not active enough? Do you think he's as IC as possible? Same goes for Holiday, though she's changed quite a bit from her canon point, tbh.

Anything you find difficult about me? Are my tags easy enough to reply to? Are they good on content? Are there a ton of typos? Am I difficult to approach OOCly for you? Anything on your mind, please bring it up here.

Here is Gabe's private HMD which can serve for me and all my characters. Mostly because I'm too lazy right now to find Holiday's, too. Anon is perfectly a-okay with me.

Re: LINA- Holiday and Gabriel

[acroodawakening]

I LOVE Gabriel to death.

But I can think of some crit to make him slightly better. You tend to write tags that are more dialog and outward action - which you have spot on, because you have the character voice down really well - but he's ancient and the waters probably run deep there so it'd be interesting to get more of the internal dialog. That's not even something you're doing wrong really so much as mostly I'd just love to see what you came up with.

Tipple - Guy Crood

[acroodawakening]

Since this is my first gamewide hmd at the game, let me know what you think, for good or ill! Especially if you've seen the Croods because he's such a rare character and not everyone's seen it so I don't know how IC I am. It's been a while since I RPed so I'm still getting the hang of it again.

One thing I have noticed on my own is that sometimes my tags get a little thin and insubstantial when I'm tired so I am working on giving more to work with. Also sometimes I have Guy talk too much in one tag when I need to split it off to let the dialog flow more naturally. I'm working on that too, because he's a little bit rambly but there would be points others would probably cut in and talk.

And of course, feel free to comment on OOC stuff like tagging speed or if I'm tagging out enough, stuff like that.

Anyway, my usual HMD is here, for whenever anyone needs it.

Re: Tipple - Guy Crood

[shambler]

I think the dialogue thing was basically the only crit I would've had. You play Guy with a really fun dialogue voice and internal prose voice, but I think maybe cutting back to the dialogue would be easier to react to. That said, you're great with the back-and-forth plotting to get threads done and what's coming out of the thread. You're also great at tagging out and keeping up on tags.

Hawkeye Pierce

[swill]

It's my first time playing this character and so I'm really looking for some feedback here, if you've got it! I'm worried about maintaining a consistent voice with him, even though he bounces all over the place. He's big on acting out contradictions, but deep down should be the same. Having him be too hyperactive/moody is something I want to avoid, but at the same time he's a loud and emotional guy when he's not making an effort to contain himself. He's an active, involved nosy guy and any pointers on how to write that better would be loved. ...Anything at all on characterization, I'd love to hear!

I know I've been pretty bad at pacing threads, and tagging speed in general. I'm trying to work on that, but feel free to nudge me on it still.

If there's anything with my tags- length, content, do I give you enough to work with/too much at one time to keep up with- please let me know! I know I tend to overuse run-on sentences and broken thoughts so I worry those will become a problem in the story telling flow of things.

Hawk's got a private HMD on his journal which I'm too lazy to link, if you'd rather voice anything there. Any OOC behavior- availability, speed (again), friendliness/openness- feel free to bring up, too!

Re: Hawkeye Pierce

[acroodawakening]

hiiiiiiii

I really need to rewatch MASH but from what I remember you really are spot on. There's a big risk with Hawkeye to turn him into a kind of caricature like ihawk from Futurama but rather than him having a maudlin switch, you have a really natural flow to his moods and thoughts. He meanders but that's in character for Hawkeye to do and you transition it all well. I think that's one of the things I love most about him is you do that internal monologue where you see where his brain is going.

It gives other people a lot to work with because naturally, the characters aren't mind readers but there are usually several IC actions or things to say that a character can take at any given time that would make sense and it makes it easy to pick out what might be the most interesting way to respond.

So keep doing that. It's really fun to read and makes it really easy to come up with interesting responses.

Camille - R

[shambler]

I've been trying to keep up with tags but if I miss any notifs, feel free to hit me up! I usually tag every day or every other day if possible. I'm also still working on trying to include more action and physical descriptions into my tags. Another note is if you want me to be less gory or more gory, I'm totally fine with it. I'm usually fine with weird/awkward things with R.

Re: Camille - R

[onlyimmune]

all the gore

all the gore

I don't really have any notes beyond that - I really enjoy all our CR and I hope that I've improved my tagging with you since the last HMD!

Manda - Eren/Psiioniic

[titansnack]

The holidays were rough, RP-wise, and I know my speed has never been high, but the past few months were just Unacceptable.

And Eren hasn't gotten out much, yet, so I'm not sure how much people can say re: characterization, but! I am open to any and all suggestions and what not.

[thefallout]

I know your playing had not been where you want it, but I just wanted to thank you for taking on all the mod stuff so head forward. I know extra got dumped in your lap you didn't sign up for, and we really appreciate how much you've taken to it.

Seph - Lindsey McDonald

[hartless_cowboy]

I know I've been somewhat MIA since the last arena and my speed is on the slow side, but I am hoping to get myself back into RPing in journals and hoping to be able to speed up some.

I don't think I've done an HMD with Lindsey in the Games before though, so on top of the recent things, how have I been overall? For everything?

Re: Seph - Lindsey McDonald

[celebrityskinned]

One slight concern I have is that you don't tend to put much effort into reconnecting with the game when you've been gone. For example, when you returned you asked the mods whether Lindsey was alive or dead by posting to the same post that actually listed that he was still alive. Also, when you didn't know the character Lindsey was paired with, you didn't make the effort to go to the taken or contact lists to find out. It's kind of a pattern of behavior I've noticed over several months of modding.

It's a small, petty thing, but it's kind of demoralizing as a mod when people don't bother to read things. It creates extra work for us and makes us have to pay extra attention to see that other things aren't getting overlooked when you play. You're perfectly IC and, when you're around, pretty fun to play (I'd still like more CR between Howard and Lindsey - he'll probably try to hunt him down next Arena), so I'm looking forward to you getting back into the game, I just have concerns about the effort you're putting or not putting into getting back up to speed.

Zoidberg

[crabulous]

I just rejoined after about five or so months, so I am easing back into the swing of things here. For Zoidberg specifically, it's been a little over a year since I've played him so I'm also trying to settle back into his voice and mannerisms. Any and all feedback is appreciated!

Re: Zoidberg

[wiredup]

I am very excited to get a thread with him. Like I said when you apped, I was really impressed with how your app walked the line so well between gag character and actual depth and sincerity.

Katz - Zelos

[wronglychosen]

I'd love to hear any thoughts you guys have on him! I know he's still somewhat new, but I've been tagging out quite a bit, and threw up a network post for him.

I've been trying to maintain some kind of balance between him being serious and him joking around as he tends to do, since this is a much more serious and immediate setting than his usual place.

Re: Katz - Zelos

[iselldrugstothecommunity]

I'm really enjoying Zelos so far! You're very communicative on plurk which is helpful for plotting out future stuff, and I'm looking forward to what you have planned for him. :) You're very easy to play off of and I can already see you making Zelos much more complicated than just "the flirty guy".

Tricks (Kankri)

[privilegecheck]

I know I haven't been so active since my first post! Holidays have been quite stressful for me. Slowly getting back into the swing of things now. But feedback is of course appreciated c:

Ian Chesterton

[splendid_roman]

I know I haven't been around that much the past couple of months as that's when work's busiest and I tend to find Christmas distracting. I am hoping that since January is quiet I will get to a lot more.

In terms of my tags I worry if there's enough/the right content in them. I am better at dialogue than anything else, so I tend to write that first and fill in the rest - especially if it's a chatty thread that doesn't have any specific action stuff going on. I know most people aren't familiar with Ian's bit of canon, so do I put enough in there to help you know the character and therefore what to reply? Or alternatively put in things that make no sense?

[casaerotica13]

I don't know anything about his canon, but I've tagged with Ian via Holiday and Gabriel now, and I do really like him and how you play him. You give enough to reply to, certainly.

If anything, I would ask for more CR/more activity from you, cause I think my characters getting to know him better would be fantastic. :3

Prim, Barbara, Ruby,Nathaniel, and Charlie

[acro_bat_ic]

I'm finally off hell week at work - which means I'm getting to work on my RP (quality and quantity, thankee. >,> )

[(Anonymous)]

I'm not sure if it's because real life is really busy for you and you have a hard time keeping up, or if maybe you're just not really that interested in the game, but how out of your touch your characters can be with what's going on around them makes it really difficult to take them seriously. I mean, as a recent example, I saw the thread where Ruby didn't know who the most recent victor was (and she talking to him) - despite the massive crowning plot that even if you weren't able to put them in ooc, icly they were required to attend - and then when pointed out you just brushed it off.

Not only does this make it difficult to interact with them on a character-to-character level, but it's disheartening from a mun standpoint. It makes me second-guess threading with you because if you're not putting any effort in, why should I?

Outside of that, your tags can be difficult to reply to even when you're on top of things simply because you don't give much to work with, and your characters seem like cardboard cutouts rather than real people. To use Prim as the example here, every post you mention how tiny and sweet and cute she is.... and little else. What's going on beneath that? There's more to her than her pigtails and dresses.

I'm sorry if this seems harsh, you seem like a really nice person and I would really like to be able to thread with you and enjoy it, but these are things that I've really struggled with in threading with you and watching you thread with others.