POLY
Personal journal, what is that even. I don't know why I fail at keeping up with life--or, for that matter, why I fail at the numerous things I'm failing at. Reality and I just aren't getting along. A phase, I'm sure.
Right. So, in the interest of avoiding reality even more, how about a proper Poly post for April?
CURSES
5; Go For Broke
I don't know. That's today, isn't it? If I am so inclined, this one could be fun (although I don't think I'll be making any entries). It could be fun to hit Justin with, if only because he's very much not the gambling sort. Might be too IC for Chekov to bother cursing him with it.
8; One Day Resurrection
Yay! I'm pretty sure I'll be posting for Penny, time allowing (I think I'll be rather busy on Saturday and Sunday, but I'll have to check with my manager). She doesn't really mind being dead, but she would really like being alive for a little while. No post for Justin, probably, although he'll get to be alive. He gets kind of bitter when the City teases him with things he can't have.
11; Tabloid Trash
Probably not doing anything. Gossip is so hard.
14-15; I'll Never Let Go
Penny and Chekov will absolutely be cursed; I'm not sure about Justin. I wasn't entirely certain... is this one of the curses where we can make up AU backgrounds? 'Cause I like those. Regardless, Penny is slated to be saved by Dean (and whoever else wants to make sure she gets on a lifeboat?) and there is Chessa to be had. Penny won't be dying, but the boys? Maybe, especially since there's a death exemption. I don't think I could ever kill Chekov off for real and I don't think that he or Justin would be much inclined to jump in a lifeboat. Er. See character tl;dr for more, I guess.
17; A Most Tribbling Development
Tribbles. ♥ I have to post with Chekov, I think, because tribbles. Or is that too obvious? Fff. My goal with this curse is to directly reference TOS at least once.
19; Henshin-a-go-go, City!
What is this, I don't even. I kind of want to get Penny all up in this so I have an excuse to use DYWtDMA icons, but... this curse sounds hard. And then again, Magic Girl Penny.
21; April Showers
All over this, at least for Justin. I think he's the only one who would be suitably embarrassed by photos, although, if other folks like, it could be fun to say some my-character-making-out-with-yours pictures are out there. Chekov and Tessa kissing? Good times. Might be posting, depending on what pictures anyone wants my characters to find.
24; Thirteen O'Clock
I miss trolling around with Jareth on Fourth Wall days, but that is neither here nor there. I won't be posting, probably, but throwing people in the labyrinth would be fun. Another one of those I'll-see-what-everyone-else-is-doing days.
26; Hug an Aussie, mate!
Tempted to have Penny use her powers of being ridiculous to befriend something deadly. Neither of the boys are keen on dangerous wildlife; if I need another Justin post, this would be a fine day for one of his don't-be-a-moron PSAs.
28-29; Grab Bag Weekend
I don't have plans as of now, but there are some curses I'd like to get in eventually. See individual character tl;dr.
STATE OF THE CHARACTERS
PENNY
OVERALL: She wasn't doing well last month. If that continues, I'm going to give serious consideration to dropping her. Three characters seems to be pushing my limit right now (mostly because Chekov is so loud), but I love Penny and, in theory, she should be the easiest to play. Oh, and I can't drop her until after the play, even if things don't improve.
ACTIVITY: Nil all!
CR: If Penny didn't have the amazing CR she has, I might have dropped her this month. As it is, though, she knows the most people, generally tags out the most, and is basically my CR machine. I like all of her friendships and I just... really like having her around. I'm very amused by the man collection she has amassed, too, and I want to see where her various relationships lead. The Thing with Wilson is fun (they're very much fated to be friends, but they can kid themselves if they like) and I'm genuinely surprised by how well she seemed to click with Dean.
JUSTIN
OVERALL: Justin is Justin is Justin is Justin. He's not going anywhere even if I'm not sure why I'm so against the notion of dropping him ever. I'd like to nudge him into sussing out his sexuality (I find it more interesting than he does, apparently). I ought to be more active with him on the police front, too, since Justin is Justin is Justin is...
ACTIVITY: Zilch.
CR: Euuuphie. I friend!ship Justin and Euphie with great enthusiasm; they both seem to need someone to talk to without romance complicating anything. I really enjoyed the bonding moment with Dean last month and wouldn't be opposed to poking that. I'm feeling a disconnect between Justin and the poets; I haven't been as active with Justin as usual and I think it shows, at least there. More Rosiel would be welcome (I don't understand, but it makes me happy). In general, Justin needs to prod his friends and the local psychopaths (Blonde!) more. Peter, too, because... I don't know. Something was working there.
CHEKOV
OVERALL: I don't know if it's just because he's still shiny and new or if he's just bound to be a loud character, but wow. Considering how much research I have to do for him and how paranoid I am about playing characters that people actually know about, he's remarkably easy to play. Reminds me a lot of playing Carl, actually. Same sort of genuine friendliness and cheerfulness disguised by teasing and ridiculousness (although, incidentally, I think Carl would have been intensely annoyed by Chekov had they ever met in-game).
ACTIVITY: Naught.
CR: ALL OF IT, nnf. I need to check my desire to throw Chekov at everyone in the game. Chessa kills me even though my feelings towards romance are of the linefacing variety; this is kind of my first big RP romance ever. I mean, Justin had Shilo and Penny has had--well, she's Penny, so yeah... but all of those were kind of quiet. This is Teenager Love. I find such love baffling and I'm afraid of Doing It Wrong. Adorable, though. And there's McCoy, of course, and that needs to go places. I'd like to get Chekov closer to his friends, do a this-is-how-you-drink-alcohol-the-right-way something or other, get in more science (either with Doc and Amory or at City Solutions), and encourage more characters to adopt him. Eventually, I'd like to muck around more with the Fright Night cast, too. Chekov hasn't actually met Ed in person and he doesn't know about Jerry outside of a vague warning from Charlie.
TEAL DEER
PENNY
There is no reason why she should be as difficult to play as she has been. -_- Of the three characters I have right now, she involves the least footwork. I don't have to run to Wikipedia for her or agonize over her word choice. She's the least complicated and... that might be the problem. I don't need to figure out what's going on in her head like I do for Justin or keep her compartmentalized like Chekov. Penny isn't all that prone to character development because she's... you know, she's good. She's not tormented by guilt or accustomed to keeping certain aspects of her personality hidden. That's nice in a lot of ways (I don't have pages of notes for her, for one), but I feel like, of all of the characters I've ever played, she's the most likely to lose my interest. It's not because I don't love playing her! Maybe I need to feel challenged by a character to be fully engaged?
Penny is a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of character. She really is that nice, she doesn't have any huge issues (yes, that's in spite of being an orphan and being a Joss baby). She's cheerful and optimistic, but I do try to play her with a certain sense of... not sadness, really, but an acceptance of the world as a place that kind of sucks. That makes her a bit odd to play sometimes. I wonder if, maybe, she's taking everything too well, and then I remind myself that that's part of why I like playing her. Things are ridiculously okay!
I'm glad there's a resurrection curse this month. Like I said, Penny doesn't really mind being dead, but being alive for a day is nice. The Titanic curse should be fun with her, too... as fun as anything involving the Titanic can be. Penny isn't a martyr or conditioned to be self-sacrificial, she just wouldn't want anyone to get hurt because she was silly enough to want to not drown.
Maybe another problem I have with her is her tendency towards romance. Not grand romances, but crushes and kisses and dinners. It's something I don't understand and something that just sort of happened with her character without any conscious thought on my part. Penny loves being in love. She didn't mind when talking to Dean turned into kissing Dean (and I don't think she'd be much inclined to mind now even though she has A Thing with Wilson), she keeps half-flirting with Derek. I don't know what to do with her.
JUSTIN
There's not much I can say about Justin without repeating myself. I've played him for a long time (even before Poly, I was playing him--not entirely willingly, but still--in a one-on-one RP situation) and so I'm comfortable with him. I don't need to worry about obsessively reviewing his canon because... you know, I'm probably the only person who is masochistic enough to watch M8N enough to memorize everything there is to memorize and he's mostly a product of my brain. Odd to say since he's not an OC, but that's what you get when canon is all events and no character exploration. There's also no threat of being hit with more canon info for him, which I do like. That's my least favorite thing about Penny and Chekov: wondering if new material is going to mess up any headcanon I have. I love headcanon.
I love playing Justin. He's not nearly as active as Penny or Chekov just by virtue of being quiet and private but, with Justin, I feel like I have almost limitless room for development. He's not okay like Penny is and I don't think I'll ever reach a point where I'm done with him. He'll always make new issues for himself by picking everything apart. That's not to say that he hasn't come a long way since I started playing him. He has. That's why I couldn't restart him entirely when I picked him back up. Development is slow and painstaking and almost invisible, but I know it happens and I'm absurdly attached to Justin. He feels more real to me than other characters I've played and I do enjoy playing someone who is cerebral and philosophical and capable of thriving (as much as Justin can thrive) in an environment like the City. I like him because he can entertain thoughts like "maybe I'm a fictional character" without going completely insane, but he's stumped by emotion.
Justin's my Vulcan. He's kind of like the Spock to Penny's McCoy. They're nice to play at the same time because they're coming from entirely different places.
Anyway. Resurrection! It would almost be kinder to skip that curse. Justin can accept being dead as long as he doesn't have to think about what being alive is like. He's stranger than Penny, I think, because things that should be pleasant make him surly and horrible things tend to give him a certain peace of mind. I'm not sure whether or not to put him on the Titanic largely because he'd end up dying and he wouldn't mind it in the least.
That's not quite true. Justin has died three times now and, although he acts like he doesn't care, the first two times left him comatose. Still, putting him on the Titanic doesn't seem entirely fair because there's no way he'd try to get out of the curse without dying again.
Justin and death. It is a complicated relationship.
My internet is acting up and I'm finally tired, so I'll just... stop there. I do have to get up so I can go clean in a few hours.
Right. So, in the interest of avoiding reality even more, how about a proper Poly post for April?
CURSES
5; Go For Broke
I don't know. That's today, isn't it? If I am so inclined, this one could be fun (although I don't think I'll be making any entries). It could be fun to hit Justin with, if only because he's very much not the gambling sort. Might be too IC for Chekov to bother cursing him with it.
8; One Day Resurrection
Yay! I'm pretty sure I'll be posting for Penny, time allowing (I think I'll be rather busy on Saturday and Sunday, but I'll have to check with my manager). She doesn't really mind being dead, but she would really like being alive for a little while. No post for Justin, probably, although he'll get to be alive. He gets kind of bitter when the City teases him with things he can't have.
11; Tabloid Trash
Probably not doing anything. Gossip is so hard.
14-15; I'll Never Let Go
Penny and Chekov will absolutely be cursed; I'm not sure about Justin. I wasn't entirely certain... is this one of the curses where we can make up AU backgrounds? 'Cause I like those. Regardless, Penny is slated to be saved by Dean (and whoever else wants to make sure she gets on a lifeboat?) and there is Chessa to be had. Penny won't be dying, but the boys? Maybe, especially since there's a death exemption. I don't think I could ever kill Chekov off for real and I don't think that he or Justin would be much inclined to jump in a lifeboat. Er. See character tl;dr for more, I guess.
17; A Most Tribbling Development
Tribbles. ♥ I have to post with Chekov, I think, because tribbles. Or is that too obvious? Fff. My goal with this curse is to directly reference TOS at least once.
19; Henshin-a-go-go, City!
What is this, I don't even. I kind of want to get Penny all up in this so I have an excuse to use DYWtDMA icons, but... this curse sounds hard. And then again, Magic Girl Penny.
21; April Showers
All over this, at least for Justin. I think he's the only one who would be suitably embarrassed by photos, although, if other folks like, it could be fun to say some my-character-making-out-with-yours pictures are out there. Chekov and Tessa kissing? Good times. Might be posting, depending on what pictures anyone wants my characters to find.
24; Thirteen O'Clock
I miss trolling around with Jareth on Fourth Wall days, but that is neither here nor there. I won't be posting, probably, but throwing people in the labyrinth would be fun. Another one of those I'll-see-what-everyone-else-is-doing days.
26; Hug an Aussie, mate!
Tempted to have Penny use her powers of being ridiculous to befriend something deadly. Neither of the boys are keen on dangerous wildlife; if I need another Justin post, this would be a fine day for one of his don't-be-a-moron PSAs.
28-29; Grab Bag Weekend
I don't have plans as of now, but there are some curses I'd like to get in eventually. See individual character tl;dr.
STATE OF THE CHARACTERS
PENNY
OVERALL: She wasn't doing well last month. If that continues, I'm going to give serious consideration to dropping her. Three characters seems to be pushing my limit right now (mostly because Chekov is so loud), but I love Penny and, in theory, she should be the easiest to play. Oh, and I can't drop her until after the play, even if things don't improve.
ACTIVITY: Nil all!
CR: If Penny didn't have the amazing CR she has, I might have dropped her this month. As it is, though, she knows the most people, generally tags out the most, and is basically my CR machine. I like all of her friendships and I just... really like having her around. I'm very amused by the man collection she has amassed, too, and I want to see where her various relationships lead. The Thing with Wilson is fun (they're very much fated to be friends, but they can kid themselves if they like) and I'm genuinely surprised by how well she seemed to click with Dean.
JUSTIN
OVERALL: Justin is Justin is Justin is Justin. He's not going anywhere even if I'm not sure why I'm so against the notion of dropping him ever. I'd like to nudge him into sussing out his sexuality (I find it more interesting than he does, apparently). I ought to be more active with him on the police front, too, since Justin is Justin is Justin is...
ACTIVITY: Zilch.
CR: Euuuphie. I friend!ship Justin and Euphie with great enthusiasm; they both seem to need someone to talk to without romance complicating anything. I really enjoyed the bonding moment with Dean last month and wouldn't be opposed to poking that. I'm feeling a disconnect between Justin and the poets; I haven't been as active with Justin as usual and I think it shows, at least there. More Rosiel would be welcome (I don't understand, but it makes me happy). In general, Justin needs to prod his friends and the local psychopaths (Blonde!) more. Peter, too, because... I don't know. Something was working there.
CHEKOV
OVERALL: I don't know if it's just because he's still shiny and new or if he's just bound to be a loud character, but wow. Considering how much research I have to do for him and how paranoid I am about playing characters that people actually know about, he's remarkably easy to play. Reminds me a lot of playing Carl, actually. Same sort of genuine friendliness and cheerfulness disguised by teasing and ridiculousness (although, incidentally, I think Carl would have been intensely annoyed by Chekov had they ever met in-game).
ACTIVITY: Naught.
CR: ALL OF IT, nnf. I need to check my desire to throw Chekov at everyone in the game. Chessa kills me even though my feelings towards romance are of the linefacing variety; this is kind of my first big RP romance ever. I mean, Justin had Shilo and Penny has had--well, she's Penny, so yeah... but all of those were kind of quiet. This is Teenager Love. I find such love baffling and I'm afraid of Doing It Wrong. Adorable, though. And there's McCoy, of course, and that needs to go places. I'd like to get Chekov closer to his friends, do a this-is-how-you-drink-alcohol-the-right-way something or other, get in more science (either with Doc and Amory or at City Solutions), and encourage more characters to adopt him. Eventually, I'd like to muck around more with the Fright Night cast, too. Chekov hasn't actually met Ed in person and he doesn't know about Jerry outside of a vague warning from Charlie.
TEAL DEER
PENNY
There is no reason why she should be as difficult to play as she has been. -_- Of the three characters I have right now, she involves the least footwork. I don't have to run to Wikipedia for her or agonize over her word choice. She's the least complicated and... that might be the problem. I don't need to figure out what's going on in her head like I do for Justin or keep her compartmentalized like Chekov. Penny isn't all that prone to character development because she's... you know, she's good. She's not tormented by guilt or accustomed to keeping certain aspects of her personality hidden. That's nice in a lot of ways (I don't have pages of notes for her, for one), but I feel like, of all of the characters I've ever played, she's the most likely to lose my interest. It's not because I don't love playing her! Maybe I need to feel challenged by a character to be fully engaged?
Penny is a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of character. She really is that nice, she doesn't have any huge issues (yes, that's in spite of being an orphan and being a Joss baby). She's cheerful and optimistic, but I do try to play her with a certain sense of... not sadness, really, but an acceptance of the world as a place that kind of sucks. That makes her a bit odd to play sometimes. I wonder if, maybe, she's taking everything too well, and then I remind myself that that's part of why I like playing her. Things are ridiculously okay!
I'm glad there's a resurrection curse this month. Like I said, Penny doesn't really mind being dead, but being alive for a day is nice. The Titanic curse should be fun with her, too... as fun as anything involving the Titanic can be. Penny isn't a martyr or conditioned to be self-sacrificial, she just wouldn't want anyone to get hurt because she was silly enough to want to not drown.
Maybe another problem I have with her is her tendency towards romance. Not grand romances, but crushes and kisses and dinners. It's something I don't understand and something that just sort of happened with her character without any conscious thought on my part. Penny loves being in love. She didn't mind when talking to Dean turned into kissing Dean (and I don't think she'd be much inclined to mind now even though she has A Thing with Wilson), she keeps half-flirting with Derek. I don't know what to do with her.
JUSTIN
There's not much I can say about Justin without repeating myself. I've played him for a long time (even before Poly, I was playing him--not entirely willingly, but still--in a one-on-one RP situation) and so I'm comfortable with him. I don't need to worry about obsessively reviewing his canon because... you know, I'm probably the only person who is masochistic enough to watch M8N enough to memorize everything there is to memorize and he's mostly a product of my brain. Odd to say since he's not an OC, but that's what you get when canon is all events and no character exploration. There's also no threat of being hit with more canon info for him, which I do like. That's my least favorite thing about Penny and Chekov: wondering if new material is going to mess up any headcanon I have. I love headcanon.
I love playing Justin. He's not nearly as active as Penny or Chekov just by virtue of being quiet and private but, with Justin, I feel like I have almost limitless room for development. He's not okay like Penny is and I don't think I'll ever reach a point where I'm done with him. He'll always make new issues for himself by picking everything apart. That's not to say that he hasn't come a long way since I started playing him. He has. That's why I couldn't restart him entirely when I picked him back up. Development is slow and painstaking and almost invisible, but I know it happens and I'm absurdly attached to Justin. He feels more real to me than other characters I've played and I do enjoy playing someone who is cerebral and philosophical and capable of thriving (as much as Justin can thrive) in an environment like the City. I like him because he can entertain thoughts like "maybe I'm a fictional character" without going completely insane, but he's stumped by emotion.
Justin's my Vulcan. He's kind of like the Spock to Penny's McCoy. They're nice to play at the same time because they're coming from entirely different places.
Anyway. Resurrection! It would almost be kinder to skip that curse. Justin can accept being dead as long as he doesn't have to think about what being alive is like. He's stranger than Penny, I think, because things that should be pleasant make him surly and horrible things tend to give him a certain peace of mind. I'm not sure whether or not to put him on the Titanic largely because he'd end up dying and he wouldn't mind it in the least.
That's not quite true. Justin has died three times now and, although he acts like he doesn't care, the first two times left him comatose. Still, putting him on the Titanic doesn't seem entirely fair because there's no way he'd try to get out of the curse without dying again.
Justin and death. It is a complicated relationship.
My internet is acting up and I'm finally tired, so I'll just... stop there. I do have to get up so I can go clean in a few hours.