forum Pay It Forward with Character Critiques!
Started by @threesacult group
tune

people_alt 71 followers

@sortaslightlysentient group

@MJ-the-Larcenist-Arsonist okayyyy ill go if that's okay!!

  • why do they go by those nicknames?
  • love the name details
  • great detail on her looks, i can seriously imagine her in my head
  • it's shocking to see her uncomposed and professional ? (is this a typo sorry)
  • does she have any other redeeming characteristics?
  • i like that you've given her varied interests!!
  • some of the 'having to be the best' stuff seems a little cliche. why does she feel like that?
  • where does her scottish first name come from if neither of her parents are from scotland?
  • the glass stuff is really interesting!!
  • also great detail about her familial relationships and especially with your other characters

overall, she comes across as very interesting but not overly likeable, idk what you were going for though lol. she comes across a good villain but you could reach into why she's motivated as she is a little more? she seems very interesting though!! :)

if whoever's next (and if i haven't gone too much) could do my baby pip? and be mean!! thank you <3

edit: possible TW, mentioning of grief and death

@HighPockets group

Pog, I'll hop in and take on Pip

  • Unsure as to why you specify his ethnicity is "American (New York)" since generally ethnicity refers to a person's ethnic background. American works there (although I'd be a bit more specific–for example, is he Italian-American? Irish-American?) but you can't be ethnically New York. Better phrasing would be "American (his family has stayed in New York for as long as they've lived in America) or something.
  • Great details on his hair style! I'm always bad at that part lol
  • Overall great detail on appearance
  • Cracking knuckles isn't really a talent. Unless I'm wrong about that, in which case I found a new talent that I have :)
  • dsfgfds as a theatre kid I must know: is Big Spender by Shirley Bassey a cover of Big Spender from Sweet Charity?
  • Liberal and leftist aren't the same thing; which is he?
  • Does he live in New York City or upstate NY? There's a big difference between the two (so I've heard, anyways. I've never been.)
  • We stan parents who don't suck!!

Overall a good start, if a bit cliche.

Here's mine:
Algernon Fynn

@sortaslightlysentient group

Pog, I'll hop in and take on Pip

  • Unsure as to why you specify his ethnicity is "American (New York)" since generally ethnicity refers to a person's ethnic background. American works there (although I'd be a bit more specific–for example, is he Italian-American? Irish-American?) but you can't be ethnically New York. Better phrasing would be "American (his family has stayed in New York for as long as they've lived in America) or something.

okay yes makes sense. i think i'm getting ethnicity and nationality mixed up or something. sorry.

  • Great details on his hair style! I'm always bad at that part lol
  • Overall great detail on appearance

thank you :D

  • Cracking knuckles isn't really a talent. Unless I'm wrong about that, in which case I found a new talent that I have :)

it's a talent. don't let people bring u down. definitely a talent.

  • dsfgfds as a theatre kid I must know: is Big Spender by Shirley Bassey a cover of Big Spender from Sweet Charity?

no! from what i found, the shirley bassey song was used in sweet charity. so kinda yeah but also no, it's the original!

  • Liberal and leftist aren't the same thing; which is he?

whoops. will research and fix!

  • Does he live in New York City or upstate NY? There's a big difference between the two (so I've heard, anyways. I've never been.)
  • We stan parents who don't suck!!

Overall a good start, if a bit cliche.

thank you! if you don't mind though, can you let me know what exactly makes him so cliche since you didn't mention it? thanks :)

Here's mine:
Algernon Fynn

@larcenistarsonist group

@MJ-the-Larcenist-Arsonist okayyyy ill go if that's okay!!

  • why do they go by those nicknames?
  • love the name details
  • great detail on her looks, i can seriously imagine her in my head

Thank you!!

  • it's shocking to see her uncomposed and professional ? (is this a typo sorry)

a;sdlkjfa yeah that's a typo

  • does she have any other redeeming characteristics?

redeeming? not entirely sure what you mean by this

  • i like that you've given her varied interests!!
  • some of the 'having to be the best' stuff seems a little cliche. why does she feel like that?
  • where does her scottish first name come from if neither of her parents are from scotland?

… bro? if you said you love the name details then you should've known that Paisley was named after her father's friend-

  • the glass stuff is really interesting!!
  • also great detail about her familial relationships and especially with your other characters

overall, she comes across as very interesting but not overly likeable, idk what you were going for though lol. she comes across a good villain but you could reach into why she's motivated as she is a little more? she seems very interesting though!! :)

she's a static villain character so she's not really intended to be likable,,, would've liked a little more critique here but c'est la vie.

@larcenistarsonist group

as;kldfjas;k I didn't answer this whoops-

…And @MJ-the-Larcenist-Arsonist's Felix!

  • I'm a little confused by the sentence "Felix has wide, sparkling eyes that are usually narrowed from his near constant expression of joy"—by narrowed from joy, do you mean the lower lids being pushed up from smiling? Otherwise, his Looks section is great. You really have a knack for descriptions!

oh yeah, I mean kinda narrowed because he's smiling or smirking a lot a;lsdfkja thank you!!

  • Really my only critique in his Nature section is to elaborate more on why he has the fears that he does instead of just listing bullet points, but everything else in there looks good; I feel like I have a pretty solid understanding of who he is from it.

thanks! I have a hard time kind of really decided how and why people fear things, so I guess I have to work on that

  • Does he actually cheat at poker? Or do people call him a cheater unfairly?

He never cheats, he's just actually that good a;dsfkj

  • For his flaws, how do they manifest outwardly? When does he know when to stop, if ever? He likes pushing people's buttons and generally can get good reads on people's emotions, but if he's pushed someone too far and they're getting angry or violent, will he try to deescalate the situation or backtrack? Basically, when does the "bringing out the worst in people" stop and the "saving his own skin" begin?

ooo this is a good point

  • Everything else in here is solid, though I'd love to see more on him putting together outfits since that seems like a fun aspect of his character :)
  • Both Mannerism sections are incredibly detailed, I have nothing to add for those!
  • Social looks good too!

thank you!!! :D

  • Not a critique, I'm more so just curious, but you mention WWIV in his History section—how far into the future does the story take place? Or is this more an alternate history sort of deal?

currently in the process of forming a timeline, but it takes place ~200 years in the future

  • Is there a reason Felix is allowed out of the Compound and able to more or less live his life outside of it? Do people in the outside world know about Donovan Ent., and is he allowed to talk about it? Does he find it weird or does it seem normal to him?

ooo I should probably create a field on my character pages for this,,,, The Six are basically allowed free reign with permission from Donovan, but everything they ever need is in the Compound so a lot of The Six rarely leave unless they're going on missions. Las Vegas, which is now in Concordia instead of the US, is one of Felix's frequent destinations. Donovan Ent. is a well-known organization (it's like the Evil Amazon of the world right now) that has its hand in every country across the globe. Felix and the rest of The Six aren't allowed to talk about their line of work (but I mean,,, who would want to talk about their assassin job). It's not weird to The Six because it's all they've ever known.

  • Powers and Voice are great! My only critique is that Hispanic is not its own accent; rather, Hispanic refers to any Spanish-speaking country. Clarifying what Hispanic country (or even better, what specific part of the country!) his accent is from would be great.

oh, thanks! it's primarily Mexican with a slight Costa Rican flair a;dk;fj

  • Also not a critique, but the phrase "emergency glowsticks" being listed in the contents of his backpack just gives me joy.
  • Once again, amazing detail when it comes to describing his relationships with his family and others! I am now Jackpot the ferret's biggest fan
  • The idea that Felix can't separate love and violence from each other because of his job is super, super interesting!

Thanks for letting me critique one of your characters again! To be honest, I really don't have any major critiques on Felix since he's so well-developed, but hopefully I pointed out at least a couple of things you might add to his profile.

Once again, thank you so much a;ksjdf;la This was epic and thank you, you're fricken epic!

@sortaslightlysentient group

  • does she have any other redeeming characteristics?

redeeming? not entirely sure what you mean by this

see end line

… bro? if you said you love the name details then you should've known that Paisley was named after her father's friend-

asgdsj im so sorry. i did read that it just completely slipped my mind. my bad.

she's a static villain character so she's not really intended to be likable,,, would've liked a little more critique here but c'est la vie.

ok ok sorry, i know she's a villain but it comes across a little two dimensional-ish because she's almost entirely negative qualities other than in her childhood which im guessing no longer applies. and okaaaaay. sorry if there wasn't enough critique, i thought it matched the amount of most the other critiques in this thread, including those both of us have received/given, but, yeah. im sorry if it wasn't enough for you. and i am genuinely sorry for forgetting the name thing, it's just that there was sm detail :/

@HighPockets group

Wait I changed my mind about the character I'd like critiqued since I just revamped his profile: Sal Bryhme, aka "poor little meow meow who will almost certainly be one of my most divisive characters if I ever write this thing"
TW: brief mention of suicide in "relationships" part (of a SC)

@threesacult group

@threesacult alright nobody's done this for a while so I'll step up!!

  • a;dfkja the "role" made me laugh a little bit
  • your "looks" section looks good and I can easily visualize Anthony in my mind! However, the order of the fields in "looks" kind of reads odd… I would put outfit maybe at the bottom and skin tone, ethnicity, body type, and race a little more towards the top just so it reads easier.
  • nice job on his mannerisms! I would add maybe a few more for emotions like anger, sadness, nervous, etc just to show us what the flipside looks like
  • his nature looks epic! he's such a fascinating character
  • with his relationships, I would explain a little bit of their backstory together and give us insight to maybe how he acts in different relationships! How did he become friends with Dally in the first place? How did he and Cyrus decide they want to be detectives together? What's Anthony like with Quill? Just kinda stuff like that.
  • On his favorites! Why are they his favorites? I would also add a few more of these favorites (weather, pastime, location, etc) because they really bring characters to life!
  • oooooh! Dally's his love interest?? The grim reaper guy!?!?! yo that's an epic dynamic. I wanna know how they meet, how they become love interests, what they're like around each other, etc, etc, etc
  • I would also look into bipolar disorder a little more and really try to expand on it! As someone who is diagnosed bipolar it was fun seeing a character that was represented but their character didn't center around being bipolar, y'know?
  • Other than a few nitpicks (and I really had to nitpick here) his character is so intriguing and I really want to know all sorts of stuff about him!

Dude, like, out of the two characters I've critiqued, I've become so fascinated with your story and I would love to read/watch/listen/whatever it so much!!!

aaah that really means a lot, thank you!!! I'll do some more research into bipolar disorder so I can go into more detail with it and I'll definitely elaborate on his relationships with other characters. Rearranging the categories on his Looks page (and probably all the other pages) is also a good idea since I never bothered to change the default besides adding the nationality/ethnicity text box lol. Thank you so much for the feedback, I'm super glad you like my characters/story so far!

@4lagoon4 group

(I love your characters so much [imagine the emoji with the big eyes; I'm on my chromebook so I can't use it])

I got you fam “🥺”

@larcenistarsonist group

aight (cracks fingers) it's been a hot minute but I've finally completed a character profile yeeehaww

@MerrilyWeRollAlong let's dissect your little meow meow

  • i would maybe re-order your overview to make it a little easier to read. Like, put "aliases", "full name" and "other names" next to each other and put "tags" at the bottom. Also, you could probably merge a few of those name categories
  • LOOKS! again, potentially reorder to make things easier to read. (height and weight at the top, then maybe to a top-to-bottom type organization just so it's easier to visualize) Also! His eye shape, his nose shape, face shape, what does his smile look like, his posture? Just kind of stuff like these that'll really help cement Sal's looks in their brains
  • just because I'm a whore for extensive mannerisms, maybe include some of his mannerisms that emerge when he's feeling different emotions!
  • have you ever thought about a different category for relationships and such? it would probably be easier to navigate and there you could elaborate on so many more relationship
  • ooo maybe go in depth on why those things are his favorite
  • all in all, eva, your characters are epic! i love reading about them a;sdkl

aight, here we go with Rhyda O'Connell

@HighPockets group

Okay, obviously I'm tackling #3 my beloved

  • Lesbian icon, we love to see it <3
  • I know I've told you this before but I ADORE how much detail you put into the name section!
  • Great detail in the face as well
  • This is a very small detail, but maybe elaborate on how her blindness ties into her hatred of life spinning out of control? Just bc I think it's a nice detail that strengthens an otherwise basic motivation and is good food for thought
  • I think you forgot an "is" for "her demeanor too careless/lazy"?
  • Does her dislike of nurses tie into her power at all? I assume she was surrounded by them before and after the procedure–did that strengthen or lessen her emotions towards them?
  • We stan a queen who sits improperly in chairs <3
  • It's interesting that she's a very fast runner but a slow walker. Is there any specific reason that she takes it slow when she walks?
  • Does her blindness coupled with her power impact her running? I'd imagine that it was a big shift to go from completely blind to being able to visualize her outlines and that probably impacted her movements. Can she even visualize the map while running since it takes so much focus?
  • Maybe include a brief breakdown of the differences between the different cities–what makes Los Angeles a Ghost City but Glasgow a Utopia City?
  • I've said it before but her mother's death and the way she thought she caused it…ouch my heart :(
  • It says she was experimented on from ages 11 to 16–when did her power start to appear? Did it develop slowly over that time or was there a "eureka" moment of sorts where everything just clicked? Among the rest of the Six, did she gain her power at around the same time as the others? Sooner? Later?
  • I know the other members of the Six had family and friends who were deeply impacted by their kidnappings. How did Rhyda's disappearance impact Caleb, Jadyn, and Thomas? Are they still actively searching for her, or do they assume she's dead?
  • You have her sexuality listed twice; once under Love and once under General. I don't know if this was intentional or just a leftover from before you reorganized your profiles.

All in all, amazing detail. Rhyda is amazing, but you already knew that, duh. All of my critiques are super minor and mostly just elaborations.

My next one: Joey Puglisi

@HighPockets group

OH another minor bit: I noticed between Rhyda's profile and other profiles that you alternate between abbreviating World War Four as WWIV and WW4 and I don't know if that's on purpose or not