Activity Check Results / HMD

[lucetimods]

The results for the Activity Check are in. Please note that the following characters were either inactive, didn't post to the activity check, or failed to speak to a moderator about their activity. Also added were characters who have dropped recently, for your convenience.

Copy-paste the following here:

manage_circle del_read absolutewill manage_circle del_read brokenpromise manage_circle del_read chibifalenas manage_circle del_read devilsuppressor manage_circle del_read eyesofremorse manage_circle del_read faithfulstudent manage_circle del_read fowlplots manage_circle del_read gungho manage_circle del_read hark_a_suicune manage_circle del_read silpheed manage_circle del_read smackmywitchup manage_circle del_read tenerezza manage_circle del_read tibias manage_circle del_read trashed manage_circle del_read silpheed manage_circle del_read holyknights manage_circle del_read airbound manage_circle del_read sharpness manage_circle del_read penstabby manage_circle del_read chainedraven manage_circle del_read bereavement manage_circle del_read nikori manage_circle del_read divinacommedia manage_circle del_read mythmaker manage_circle del_read burningdownfate manage_circle del_read powdersup manage_circle del_read happierdays manage_circle del_read selfinteresting manage_circle del_read dogboy manage_circle del_read thelittlemacthatcould manage_circle del_read cladinthedark manage_circle del_read skyborne_mage manage_circle del_read former_third manage_circle del_read kindhearted manage_circle del_read abetteryoda manage_circle del_read handmotions manage_circle del_read returnthyname manage_circle del_read fearless_leader manage_circle del_read reversible manage_circle del_read illusionarymoon manage_circle del_read consultsdetective

A number of you passed the activity check, but barely. (You know who you are.) Try to pick things up, as it's no fun to character-squat.

If there are any mistakes here, please let us know! Additionally, if your character was removed and you're still active, feel free to appeal to one of us about keeping your character. However, please remember next time to stay active and post to the Activity Check. Thank you!

And as always:

HMD

How's My Driving?

This is a crit post for both the community and game and for your characters. If you have something you'd like to see us improve upon with the game, PLEASE TELL US HERE! Anon commenting is on, but if anything gets really nasty there will be warnings and thread-freezing. This isn't required but everyone is encouraged to take advantage of the advice of your fellow players!

Just some pointers: no taking cheap shots, no dragging personal issues into things and for the love of all that is wise and great, please double check your replies and comments before posting them. Sometimes a change in phrasing can make all the difference between a helpful tone and a condescending one.

ALSO ALSO: We'd like to clarify that HMD means HMD- which means it's okay to have both good and bad crit. Some people have expressed concerns about posting good/bad crit when a character already has bad/good crit posted. We'd like to encourage you guys to do it anyway! You can drive well or badly, and even good drivers make mistakes. So give it a try \o

Comments

[eyesofstrength]

Leonhardt | Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky | eyesofstrength
Hugo Fact | Ys Origin | luredbypower

Actually, one thing I'd love some advice on that will be upcoming, if anyone has ideas on how I can get Leonhardt to not either become completely depressed and barely active or always stupidly reckless considering that Joshua got booted with the AC. I do want to keep him around, but he doesn't deal with loss well at all.

[mountain_sage]

Well... /scratches head

Since Leonhardt likes to observe people, would it help him to watch how other people deal with loss? Perhaps learn a few things from people who can better cope?

That's all I can think of...

[eyesofstrength]

He does, but from what he's seen, it makes him think less of most people in Luceti. He sees all the crying over people dying when they come back in a week, and happiness about them going home, when they may never come back. All that makes no sense to him and he sees it as the humans being weak and deluding themselves.

That's where I'm running into issues. He's a stubborn git and there's pretty much no one left in Luceti who actually is aware of the fact that he'd rather die than have to lose someone else and that his reckless tendencies come from the fact that he wishes he was dead and would stay that way. Honestly, his next stunt will be to try and get an injury bad enough to leave him comatose for a long time. And I just can't come up with some IC way to get hm to want to live again for his own reasons and not for the sake of a person who might leave.

[mountain_sage]

Well, being in a long coma won't help his issues, obviously. And it won't help you get him out there to fix those issues. Unless you mean to put him on hiatus while you ponder it over?

Perhaps this draft might open up some opportunities? I can imagine Leonhardt and Saleh having a discussion about protecting those they care about, and what it's like to lose them, etc. It could happen either after putting down Kain, or in the draft aftermath. Again, it's just a thought. I'm seeing a great opportunity for CR here, whether Leonhardt gets infected or not.

[eyesofstrength]

The draft might, the main thing is getting him to open up and actually speak of his troubles. He's so horrible about that and so good at hiding them. So it sounds like Saleh will have quite the challenge getting him to open up more because he only opened up with Joshua and it takes prodding.

Do you think Saleh would be upfront and direct if he suspects Leonhardt may well want to die and outright ask him? It's tricky because he can deny being suicidal quite truthfully.

[mountain_sage]

I'm sure Saleh would definitely notice how reckless Leonhardt is being during the battle, especially if he's in such a messed up emotional state. I think Saleh would directly ask him about it, but I don't know if it'd be during the draft or afterwards.

[eyesofstrength]

My advice would be that if approaching him with anything very personal, ask yes or no questions. Don't give him wiggle room to avoid or deceive by withholding information. He's an honest man, but he will withhold information and mislead and he thinks his abnormal views are very normal and it's everyone else who doesn't see the truth and is deceiving themselves.

Definitely will be a unique challenge because of how very warped his personality became.

[mountain_sage]

I'll keep that in mind. This should be interesting.

Another idea could be to talk to children more, since he likes protecting them? I know that won't solve the "living for his own reason" issue, but it's something to do while he's figuring that part out.

[daisy023]

My suggestion would be drowning himself in military/plot-like activity. Spartans, for instance, tend to numb or otherwise ignore their pains and losses by keeping themselves busy in any other way: Missions, exercise, research, etc. Because otherwise, the moment they start thinking about it, the moment they get sad. And even then, they still get nightmares.

In blood knights and people not as affected by combat, it seems to be a bit of a common trope, as with fictional military characters. Sam Fisher of Splinter Cell, for instance, with the loss of her daughter, pleaded to be given a mission when Command discharged him because of his evident depression.

It wouldn't precisely close him off, since he'd need peopleto work with, but they'd notice something's not quite right with Leonhardt.

[eyesofstrength]

Oh yeah, he still gets nightmares because he's seen some horrors. And that was before he even got into the military! Poor guy's life has been a disaster since he was a little kid.

So pretty much, get him on missions with other folks and thread some stuff out so people can see he's being stupidly reckless when on missions and not acting like his normal self? Only drawback there is missions are normally handwaved and all. And he'd need to be forced to work with people because he prefers working alone.

[daisy023]

The draft and the tornado may be good ways to get him in action and still be with people. It would keep his mind focused, but still troubled and with him unwilling to deal with it.

Alternatively, he could also continue to research and call some friends to help him with it, and still have people notice he has a loose screw someplace because of losing Joshua. His closer CR beside him could be of help for that.

Fortunately for him, if we get the reserved Chiba, he's finally going to have a therapist!

[lostinmyway]

Oh geez, about all I can think of is Grune pestering him into helping with the Memory Garden or something (it's probably going to need help after the tornado). She won't be leaving him alone--actually, I need to tag his post today--but unless she gets a few of her friends like Rapunzel involved, she's just one person. :/

[eyesofstrength]

Pestering is fine. He's going to actively try to push people away, but I know Grune is determined.

[lostinmyway]

Definitely. Especially since he kind of concerns her on a good day. :D;;

[eyesofstrength]

That's because on a good day he's still got issues. He just hides them better and doesn't act as cranky

[lostinmyway]

Hmm.... If Leonhardt can hang on a month or so, Grune will be getting her memories back around then. She'll be a hell of a lot more perceptive then--not that I really expect him to want to talk to her.