Ok, I broached the subject in the Busy Schedule thread and I think this idea has some merit.

I've been here long enough that I'm pretty positive that one of the sources of friction that we've had here on occasion arises from the contrast between how we see our characters and believe how they come across and how other people actually percieve them. Maybe you're playing someone you see as charming and erudite but a significant number of the players see this character as rude and sarcastic. So, now your "charming" character is being treated like he's prize putz and you get frustrated.

So, maybe we can clear the air, get some feedback, and at the same time learn something new. Now, I don't mean this as an excuse to bitch about other peoples concepts. You don't like pre-Galatea novas? Fine. You don't like MegaIntellectuals? Fine. You don't like Superman clones? Fine. But this isn't the place to bitch about a concept. This is merely a place to say, "This is how I see your character based on they way they behave." Now, instead of this being a case of simply picking out someone you don't like, lets try it out this way. You post how you believe your character should be perceived by the other players (not characters, that could simply be a case of roleplaying in and of itself) on the forum. This should be based on attitude, types of posts, basically the behavior that you've roleplayed the character to express. Then we can give feedback, and not personal attacks, stating whether or not that is how the character has actually been coming across. Maybe suggestions as how to better achieve the stated goals.

If I get some yay's I'll start off, or someone else can jump in.

Again, while I trust most people here to be mature, I do again ask that this not be used as an arena to fulfill vendettas or make cheapshots.

I say yay, but you have to go first!

Sounds like a good idea especially after some recent developments.

Yay.

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I also say yay!

Aye, oops sorry that should be Yay damn Americans.

Okay, I'll guess it's money where mah mouth is time.

Alright, as I intend this is how I think Prodigy is coming across.

Competent, brilliant, egotistical, elitist, judgemental, and polite. I try for him to remain as polite as possible though at times it is hard for him. He want's things to turn out well in regards to Nova/baseline interactions but believes that won't happen. He is definetly proud of his people, Nova is always capitilized while baseline is always in lowercase. He doesn't hate baselines, he merely sees them as holding back Nova development. He is a prolific inventor but due to his wide array of interests he spends less time actually cobbling things together than some other MegaInts. He is willing to help other Novas and is not particularly concerned with the moral implications of doing so.

He has in the past and will continue to murder, destroy and cripple people, economies and companies in order to move his plans forward. He is very much a 'break a few eggs to make an omlet' person.

He respects intellectual Novas, tolerates Novas who are not so bright and has a strange soft spot for TUM TUM.

He feels every Nova should dedicate themselves and that flitting about from one project to the next without a grand plan is wasting precious time.

He is a Terat through and through, however his less than friendly demeanor keep him from attaining any real stature in that organization. He respects Ashnod and always has, he has a newfound respect for Apep and other monsters. He despises Utopia and Utopians. Not due to any 'scandals' or 'black ops' they might be responsible for. He knows about them and couldn't care less for the most part. He expects any sufficiently powerful organization to be corrupt in some degree. He simply despises the very concept of Utopia, that of Novas assisting a baseline centric organization trying to change the world and doing so poorly.

That's about it.

Let me have it.

...
I have been playing Endeavor as a prick up to this point. A method I don't like playing as. The way I've played Endeavor with ronin in the "Dinner" fiction is the way I like playing. The plast few months, I've seen people react to Endeavor as a well.... spoiled brat at best and a total whore at worst. But, with her recent behavior I'm not suprised. I'm dissapointed in her myself. That's why I'm taking some initiative. She won't be making any substantial posts for at least 2 months (to properly do the "treatment" she's participating in). After that, I should try to just play off of the personalities here. Like someone trying to fit into a certain clique. Endeavor's young, and would have probably not grown out of that "phase" yet. Even after all I'm putting her through.
I find it difficult to play her as others see her because that's not how she is. While I somewhat agree, isn't it how the first impression of someone comes off the way they're treated later? Important point since we're at least trying to ROLEplay people with complex issues and a node here.

BTW: I get the gist of this whole thread. Seperating what you think of the player from what you think of the character. 'nuff said.

Not exactly. This isn't an attempt to get people to do that. This is an attempt to help people who might be confused at how their characters are treated. Like I said, you play your character a given way and you expect them to be seen that way. Maybe that isn't happening. This is to help that scenario.

The way I've seen Endeavor come across as of late (not just recently, but for awhile now.) isn't as some twiterpated little otaku. You've really focused less on that and I for one have noticed. What I do see on a fairly regular basis is that she's got the behavior patterns of a obsessive compulsive with ADD. Whatever she is experiencing at that moment has her complete and total attention. All of her emotions pour into the event of the moment. But, once that event is passed, it is completely passed. He family dies and she went gonzo, but that passed. She was going to be an Elite and was gonzo over that, but it stopped with a small posting and was nearly never mentioned againg. Her experience with her killer AI was another big blaze that died out and seemingly ceased to be.

Whatever Endeavor is feeling, I think we all know because she makes it very evident. But, within a week or two, it's history, never to see the light of day again.

That's how I see her at least.

I might be misunderstanding things here, but I think what Prodigy was trying to get at was separating how others perceive your character as opposed to how you want the character to be perceived, and then trying to adjust your RP so that the two are closer.

Please, correct me if I'm wrong.

James Meehan
You forgot snob.

Truthfully, I've always liked Prodigy both as a player and as the characters I've portrayed here though it was touch and go with Wizard at first. Aside from a general fondness for the character, he's also one of the two mega-intellect characters that are portrayed as such effectively. His occasional fondness for quantum tech doesn't bother me since I agree with the application and the presentation of it.

I kind of miss the "sacasmo" version of Prodigy from his earlier days but everyone changes and evolves. Besides, his sarcasm still turns up once in a while so I get my fix.

Endeavor
After almost a year on the boards she's not a newbie but claims to be one. After a while it starts to sound less like an explanation and more like an excuse. I thought about what to tell you beyond that but realized there's little we didn't already talk about on the forums or in a PM when I was actively playing. So I'll keep it brief and touch on two particular points.

1. The different Endeavors.
The one talking to ronin on the dinner date is not the same woman that has her "drama queen" moment with the Japanese businessman. I prefer the first to the second, and always have, but we rarely get to see her and almost never get to interact with her. Instead we get the one with...

2. Comicbook ADD.
Instant gratification!
Instant angst!
Instant conflict!
Instant resolution!

The woman having dinner with Ronin desn't have this problem but the one insulted by the Japanese business man does. She's also the one that most often posts to the forums by the way. The forum Endeavor doesn't really interact with characters. Instead she exists in her own little world while putting on a show for the viewers. Her problem is that there are no viewers here or story tellers.

The seed of both versions of Endeavor exists within the character that premiered here almost a year ago. The question is which one you really want to play.

I would if you were. How about I just send everything to you that I want to say and you take my confusing thirty sentances and turn it into one clear one? Well, I've never been accused of brevity.

How embarassing.

Or more correctly we're ALL storytellers here in a cooperative chronicle.

Jack:

Okay, it looks like what I did at "The Dinner" is now on my long list of Failures. So, when I do this whole new thing right, and take Two Months away, I bet I'll be greeted with more criticism that I didn't take long enough. Perhaps Endeavor shouldn't come back? That she should be locked away deep in some dungeon somewhere? That's what it sounds like to me.

Yes, I did take that personal. The last remarks from you to me I did take as a personal attack, because of the tone of your post.
It seems that I'll only get criticisim from you, so your words mean nothing to me.

James:

You know, there is something to be said about the application of Occam's Razor.

I would post on what I think others think of my character, but I've gotten all I want to hear.

Thank you for reminding me of the reasons why I'd stopped being a regular. It'd been a while and I'd forgotten.

I'll still stop through and those that need to get ahold of me know how to do it.

To be honest, I don't really worry about how other people see Avatar. I know that it doesn't matter what I post because people will see what they want to see and everyone's perceptions are different.

That being said, Here is how I percieve the two who have opened up here.

Prodigy manages to pull off the detached, superior acting mega-genius very well. Even when not being overly sarcastic, his contempt for what he used to call "monkey minds" can still be observed bubbling under the surface. I think he shows off just how different the mega-intelligent would be while still diplaying a suprisingly human level of emotional fallibility. It seems to be balanced nicely.

Endeavor is an interesting contrast in extremes. To me, she comes across as a young woman in search of what it means to be an adult and an Nova all at the same time and without any real mentorship. The fact that she doesn't seem to be able to focus on any specific goal or task reveals a childlike quality left over from her stolen youth, yet when the chips are down, she seems to be able to sober up and "walk the walk." I think Endeavor's journey here, while erratic, has be an interesting one. One of my favorite things from her was actually her diary thread in the fiction section. It was nothing major as far as story goes, but it gave us a nice little window into the character's head.

Well, that's my two cents.

I'm an idiot. Explain please.

How I see my character... hmmmm.

Vixen is, to me, a character who refuses to define herself by her M-R node, who seeks completness as a person first and a nova second. She's had to define herself down a very narrow slope, aware constantly of her limitations - unable to enter buildings without ramps, for example.

She doesn't buy into the hardline Teragen stance that she's not human, since no one ever managed to define what a human is to her and so, there's no was to define what a human isn't. She believes in Project Utopia's mission to make the world a better place, even though that path is fraught with perils and difficult decisions to the point she can't commit herself fully to it. I try to portray her as unaffiliated, but still sympathizing with one side over another.

When it comes to nova culture, she is just a little cynical regarding its trappings. She took her requisite trip to the Amp Room and then decided to stick to watching MST3K reruns in her basement. She doesn't give a hang about q-ratings or who's boinking what - she prefers to stay down-to-earth, seeing herself as seperated by her dormancy skills from her nova lifestyle. It isn't altogether healthy to see herself as two seperate people, and it will give her problems as time goes on.

In short, Vixen's an outsider, equal parts starstruck and cynical, and hopefully serving as a reminder that the incredible things novas do ARE incredible, and that not every nova's ego swelled up to bloated proportions upon eruption. Also, there are times I feel she's the only nova in the entire world that Project Utopia isn't constantly after, which is a cliche that gets a little tiring after the four hundredth repitition.

Now I think most people do not see what Sandy is. Witch is this. A caretaker. She loves taking care of people, and tries to save, and help people.

Yes, she has killed people, and yes she has done bad things, but this not to say that she enjoyed doing said things. In killing, it is a last resort. Not the goal.

But that aside, she helps out in many ways, one helps young novas with their powers, and will defend those that she feels are trying to change, or have the ability to change.

Now why does she come of so mean? Well, this is simple. Over the open it is easy to be mean. After all people are far away, and the contest is well not so clear. She is in person friendly to nearly everyone. And the few people on this board that meat she had not really been mean with anyone, and most of that was trying to protect others.

If she saw Ashnod face to face, she would try to talk to her. IF Ashnod tried to kill a person is away that Sandy could stop. Sandy would stop it, even if that meant killing Ashnod. As for this case this person is not a known killer or something along those lines.

What do people see Sandy and I as? I would say pest for the most part. I have to say that I find it fun to play here, even with the limited number of people I really play with.

SAndy, I'll be honest here.

Since you helped me change my mind on a REALLY stupid decision. Let me help you, since I owe ya one.

You're too powerful.

You come across as out of our league.

I can actually ignore the typing since you are improving. That's no longer the issue.

I wouldn't give you any labels like "Powergamer" or "Munchkin", because you haven't exhibited any traits that would make you one. But, you are making a mistake that I have made and am now paying for.

I think you try too hard to be everything to everybody. Just like me.

Tone it down a bit.

Certainly

Occam's Razor simply means: Keep it simple, Stupid!

Look up Occam's Razor on Google sometime.

Okay, berhaps I should show you guys something I call:

Endeavor - Disposition of a madwoman.

I see Endeavor as a Nova who refuses to grow up. Who clings on to a childhood which was sort of jaded in it's most important parts. She's Nieve, somehat egotistical, and very fragile in emotion.

Although she takes criticism somewhat, her ego will on occasion hijack her logic, and never admit defeat. She is also a playful sort, and has been known to play tricks. Although this has ruined her credibility.

the people she considers friends to the end are Ronin, Teknokat, Walker, Jager, and Vixen. They call, she comes running. Wether if it's a call for help or a party she's there. Dr. Troll she considers a mutual friend, dealing with a strange situation with an almost self defacing sense of humor.

Ronin in particular holds a place in her heart she's yet to analyse. She thinks that perhaps he is the one to fill a part that is missing in her life? Perhaps it's this that might settle her down. (As you can see in "Dinner" She's quite calm around him.)

Is this an accurate analysis?


But on to other matters:

Her Comicbook ADD I guess is an earned criticism. I haven't really put the time and effort in resolving certain things that I started back in my "Cast of Thousands" days. Then, I left a few things dangling later on. Some I've tried to chalk up as unresolvable. Wild goose chases. Others I've simply not taken the time to complete and have faded in my memory. Untill it's passed the chance it should have had in resolution.

I've learned a lesson in all this. Don't do fiction grade stuff on OpNet. It's not the place. Second, don't resolve things so quickly, I'd probably feel less run around if I took the time to smell the roses a bit.

Last but not least, I should try to be less emotional. 'nuff said.

Yes, I can see the writing on the wall now; Endeavor and Tom; GET A GRIP!

Here's my views

Endeavor Yes she does rush from thing to thing, the ADD hat seems to fit well, however ... myself I noticed that she seemed to start acting sketchy around the time she went on the Trans-Pacific flight, you know where she played a part in killing her rogue brother. It's since then that she's gone off the rails so to speak, the way I see it the mental breakdown she's had seems the inevitable result of her sweeping so much under the rug. The instant conflict/angst - instant resolution does fit if you follow the posts; but the breakdown has the potential to turn those faults around and show that she's been bottling things up that have come crashing back to haunt her. She seems to me to have been overcompensating and running around like a superhero, real people who try and act like that, as if they're not bothered by the emotional stuff frequently end up like E has now. The sketchyness makes sense if you consider the breakdown afterwards. Also sometimes she asks for help, gets offered it, then goes on to show she never needed the help in the first place. That being said she does seem one of the more believable characters on the Opnet, curiously she seems more alive than some of the other characters.

Prodigy strangely I've never seen Prodigy as egotistical, elitist yes, but no more or less egotistical than the average nova. I don't see him as hoping that nova/baseline relations will turn out well, he seems far too pessimistic, in that respect. He seems stand offish and aloof but if you capture his interest he proves suprisingly friendly.

Vixen I perceive almost exactly as described, though I had thought her an actual member of Utopia, don't know why coz I can't remember her ever saying she was, but she somehow came across that way. I agree with the point that not every nova should be on the Utopia hitlist and yeah after the 400th repitition it does get tiring

Sandy The meanness that you talk about doesn't really sit well with the way she is in person ... but for some inexplicable reason some people do seem to lose all sense of restraint and politeness when arguing over the internet, so your explanation makes sense. To me she comes across as more crusader than caretaker, which is why I portrayed her somewhat coldly in the fiction thread 'the meeting'. The spelling I just thought meant sandy didn't speak english as a first language.

Avatar Shows loads of potential as an interesting addition to the board, seems to come across as thoughtful but firmly in the teragen camp, again not sure why, just seems that way to me.

Walker I try and play up his explorer nature and philospher/dreamer concept, he started off as an NPC concept for my storytelling sessions. I try and play him as a bit of a joker and eccentric as well, someone that doesn't take life too seriously. Over his time on the board he's warmed to the Teragen though he doesn't buy the supremasist nonsense, his nature mastery leading him to percieve all life as equal. Basically he agrees with the freedom ideal of the Teragen. He distrusts Utopia because of his precog abilities, he left earth having got wind of the sterilization, bahrain situation, and his misunderstanding of the later (he thought it meant concentration camps for novas in general). Plus his explorer nature was bound to lead him out there sooner or later.

I try and RP him as philosophical and loving an arguement for the sake of it, I guess some might perceive that as him being pedantic but he just relishes the chance of going up against the finest nova minds on the planet. Character wise, he has a soft spot for Endeavor and she is one of his closest friends, respects and is friends with Dc Troll and Twist. Doesn't know what the hell to make of Apep, Jager, Sandy, ronin and a few others. Deeply respects the intellects and opinions of Prodigy, Ashnod, T-Kat and Widget (he and I find the last one hilarious in her put downs, if ever there was a Nova with the MegaBitch taint out of Brainwaves, she's it). So whadda you all think.

She was raise speaking Latin.. you know crazy Church people...As for why she gets into fights so much.She hattes seeing people suffer.

As for her jumping around..Well, I try to keep that down.The key word is try.As for power level, she is nove born to a nova, born of an insspired..

PS she eutpted like 2005, and has done some extreme things.Could she fight on a level ground with many of the heavy hitters, most likely..then again If She or most novas wanted to, they could level large parts of cities befor anything could stop them.It just so hapens if Sandy was pushed over the edge she could level large parts of new york in less time that a team of novas could be rounded up to stop her.PS so could a lot of characters on this board.

But I will try to tone her down..And then there is my TN2Mer, who has power on the scall of of well.Not very big.

Actually, Occam's Razor is more than just keep it simple stupid.

It's an idea that essentially states that if you look at all the possibilities of a given problem or idea, the simplest explanation is in all likelihood the correct one.

The point of Occam's Razor isn't brevity for the sake of clarity, though that can be applied as well. It's to strip away erroneous assumptions when examining a problem by avoiding needlessly convoluted solutions.

Walker-Seems to me to be the most 'human' here. Well adjusted, curious and taking the changes life has thrown him very well. Perhaps too well. He inspires my curiousity. I wonder what is beneath the surface.

Vixen-Pretty much the opposite. Personal opinion here so tread carefully. She is one of the most physically inhuman novas here and tries to act the most human. I just see wads and wads of denial. Well roleplayed and interesting though. She seems like someone who is desperately trying to both live in this new world and at the same time ignore all changes.

Sandy-She tries too hard. Her ability to do damage and be dangerous is brought up in a strange way. Kind of a 'careful, I can kill you all, I just don't want to.' way. Her threats of violence at the meaning of her name also are a little confusing. Seems very hard to want to be friendly and warm and caring but again, we have these casual rants against other novas who maybe look at her wrong.

Yep, that's pretty close to how I see her - well, except she's extremely skilled in dorming down, so how physically inhuman she is at any given moment is up in the air. I figure that when typing at the boards she's usually dormed - hypersenses only make her aware of how loud her case fan is, and keyboards aren't meant for fingers with claws.

You're right about how she tries to act as human as she can despite her inhuman form, though. I'm glad that got across okay.

Well, she has a big ego, and most of the item when talks about what she can do, it si to make it clear to herself, and the harm that it would cause.

About her name..To you it is a name, and to her it is something more.

It was a pet name that her Aunt gave her, when she tried to suffocate herself. IT was then turned into a good thing by her partern.The suffocating thing is a tricky thing when you do no breath. She doesn't like people digging into her past, and hate it when people talk about her Ed lover. Just about the only real way to get her in fight over just words.I mean with the fist and knees. And as noted above she is mean online, mainly do the detected feeling of it.

Lastly if you read the fictin, you will notice that I am trying to make it clear that she is slowly not feeling so human as she used to..And it is not that hse is changing that is scaring ehr, but the fact that it is not scaring ehr.

Then I'm in need of Applying "Occam's Razor". Big time.

Or a time out. Either or.

Occam's Razor

Um, Actually... it's a theory in Quantum Physics that states if two outcomes are equally likely to happen a split in reality occurs and two realities then exist to allow both outcomes to occur. One in each new reality.

The example was a playing card balanced on edge that fell both forwards and backwards at the same time, i.e. split by Occam's Razor.

Just FYI :-)

Erich

...Looks like I'm going to rifle through my files again...

I've heard Occam's Razor described differently.