Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I'll admit that even with the level of comfort I've developed with the game, I still get nervous about some things, just like everybody, and some of them have always been ... things you addressed here!
I'll be honest too about this, and I'm not trying to sound egocentric in any way, but I got nervous about bringing Lois here in the first place, because I also had never ever seen a Lois that I thought was played well. I've seen her played repeatedly as a caricature of her quirks, where people force them all to the front but don't seem to put a lot of energy into what's going on underneath, or I've seen people stereotype her as a bitch, with few redeeming qualities, or I've seen her used simply as a vessel to ship someone with Clark Kent, etc. etc. etc. I've also stalked a few Loises around other games, and I never see her used as anything more than a character who quietly moves around in the background, doing her own thing. That, to me, isn't Lois at all. Even in a place populated with superheroes, Lois should be able to hold her own: it's what defines her as a character in the comics world, after all. Next to people like Wonder Woman and Supergirl and other DC heroes, Lois still manages to come off as a 'hero' without any powers whatsoever, because of her attitude, her persistence, and her commitment to justice. So I knew that if I was going to really commit to having her in a game with an amazing DC cast, I was either going to have to resign myself to letting her fade into the background and doing it wrong, or work my ass off in order to make her shine, even amongst a community of superheroes. I realized within a week of being here how fantastic this place was, and knew that it was worth it for me to go the second route. I put a lot of time into making her a prominent character right off the bat, because I knew it would be harder to do that down the line, and I wanted her to leave a solid first impression. It isn't as if I've done another project since that's as time consuming as her first research post, but that will always be there, and I can continue to have her add to it over time - so it seems as if she's constantly doing that kind of thing, even if I'm not. I don't want to get lazy with it, so I'm trying to work on another report with Pan, but I haven't had a lot of OOC time, but luckily I have IC reasons right now for Lois to not be publishing that kind of report until she gets over the mental block of the castle having used her body to wreak havoc and kill her friends, probably as a result of all her digging. I figure as long as I can do something of that kind of research scope at least once a year, Lois will continue to maintain a reputation in the castle world as someone who always has the scoop, and I won't stress myself out too much by trying to do it constantly in game. It's for that second reason that I don't have her doing something like trying to start up a newspaper and maintain it week to week, etc. Luckily with Hard Harry around, there's already someone reporting the weekly news, so it makes sense for her to not feel the need to fill that gap.
I really love everything you said here about Lois & Lana's individual research methods, because that's exactly how I see it too. One reason I love your Lana so much is that she seems to embody those latter-season qualities that develop over time in Lana - the Luthor-like way she hedges information to herself until its needed, and likes to handle things her own way instead of throwing it out there for anybody else to take care of, etc. She has her motivations for doing it that way, and it's one thing that separates her from Lois as a character. Lois is not a secretive person, and she doesn't see information as 'belonging' to her, except for in terms of a 'scoop' being hers - and it's only 'hers' in that she gets to be the first one to tell it to everyone. It's an entirely different mindset, and I would also love to explore the differences between them more by having them work on something together. I hope something comes up that will be logical for us to do this with! I'll keep it in mind as time rolls on and we'll figure something out.
no subject
I'll be honest too about this, and I'm not trying to sound egocentric in any way, but I got nervous about bringing Lois here in the first place, because I also had never ever seen a Lois that I thought was played well. I've seen her played repeatedly as a caricature of her quirks, where people force them all to the front but don't seem to put a lot of energy into what's going on underneath, or I've seen people stereotype her as a bitch, with few redeeming qualities, or I've seen her used simply as a vessel to ship someone with Clark Kent, etc. etc. etc. I've also stalked a few Loises around other games, and I never see her used as anything more than a character who quietly moves around in the background, doing her own thing. That, to me, isn't Lois at all. Even in a place populated with superheroes, Lois should be able to hold her own: it's what defines her as a character in the comics world, after all. Next to people like Wonder Woman and Supergirl and other DC heroes, Lois still manages to come off as a 'hero' without any powers whatsoever, because of her attitude, her persistence, and her commitment to justice. So I knew that if I was going to really commit to having her in a game with an amazing DC cast, I was either going to have to resign myself to letting her fade into the background and doing it wrong, or work my ass off in order to make her shine, even amongst a community of superheroes. I realized within a week of being here how fantastic this place was, and knew that it was worth it for me to go the second route. I put a lot of time into making her a prominent character right off the bat, because I knew it would be harder to do that down the line, and I wanted her to leave a solid first impression. It isn't as if I've done another project since that's as time consuming as her first research post, but that will always be there, and I can continue to have her add to it over time - so it seems as if she's constantly doing that kind of thing, even if I'm not. I don't want to get lazy with it, so I'm trying to work on another report with Pan, but I haven't had a lot of OOC time, but luckily I have IC reasons right now for Lois to not be publishing that kind of report until she gets over the mental block of the castle having used her body to wreak havoc and kill her friends, probably as a result of all her digging. I figure as long as I can do something of that kind of research scope at least once a year, Lois will continue to maintain a reputation in the castle world as someone who always has the scoop, and I won't stress myself out too much by trying to do it constantly in game. It's for that second reason that I don't have her doing something like trying to start up a newspaper and maintain it week to week, etc. Luckily with Hard Harry around, there's already someone reporting the weekly news, so it makes sense for her to not feel the need to fill that gap.
I really love everything you said here about Lois & Lana's individual research methods, because that's exactly how I see it too. One reason I love your Lana so much is that she seems to embody those latter-season qualities that develop over time in Lana - the Luthor-like way she hedges information to herself until its needed, and likes to handle things her own way instead of throwing it out there for anybody else to take care of, etc. She has her motivations for doing it that way, and it's one thing that separates her from Lois as a character. Lois is not a secretive person, and she doesn't see information as 'belonging' to her, except for in terms of a 'scoop' being hers - and it's only 'hers' in that she gets to be the first one to tell it to everyone. It's an entirely different mindset, and I would also love to explore the differences between them more by having them work on something together. I hope something comes up that will be logical for us to do this with! I'll keep it in mind as time rolls on and we'll figure something out.