Evelyn Crawford

[Elaine]

Basic Information

Player Nickname: That girl that plays Elaine.

Profile URL: roleplay.chat/profile.php?user=Elaine


Do you want other role players to give you feed back?
Yes.

Which DCU Earth are you applying to?: Earth (1-4)
Both.

Please link the URL to our rule page to confirm you have read them. (URL here)
Rules

Please link the URL to our activity policy to confirm you have read it. (URL here)
Activity

Character Origin: (Comic/Movie/TVshow/Mixed? If mixed, state what combinations you're using.)
Birds of Prey Vol. 3, since that is where she first appeared and where she stopped appearing too. I have also edited her as best as I could, filling out her background, since most of it was simply not developed at all, but all of it in an effort to start fresh with the room. I have also tried to make her less of an annoying character in general. Also, the mummy movies were taken as inspiration.


Name: Evelyn Crawford
Alias: Starling.
Race: Human.
Age: 27
Birthday: September 17th.
Alignment: Chaotic neutral at the moment.

Height: 5’6’’, 167cm.
Weight: 120lbs, 54kg.
Hair: Dark brown or black.
Eyes: Blue.
Physique: Small to medium frame, very average in general but firm and toned too. She has several black, and safe, inked tattoos that are mentioned in the audition post.

Training: She is a mercenary, and like many of them, she has an ex-military background. She got an interest with guns at an early age thanks to the brother of her mom, a still fairly young and always more or less single mother. From that it developed into a hobby and eventually into a profession, after she was 18 and started out in the military, later on as a mercenary and also creating her own information network and getting the right people to owe her favors. She proved to be a very good sharpshooter, usually with pistols but she can provide long distance support with precision rifles too.

She favors her modified pistols that can fire different types of ammunition, be it darts in most cases to knock out her enemies, or armor piercing ammunition when darts would prove ineffective. Despite the implicit danger that firearms pose, she seems to have a good enough aim, when not using darts, to not fatally wound her enemies.

She is also able to fight without firearms in hand to hand combat, in this case her training derives from what she had learned in the dirty streets of Gotham, not being afraid any number of dirty tricks in her favor to survive, to what she learnt with her uncle, a high rank ex-military, and later on as a mercenary, for example, karate, jiu jitsu, kung-fu, judo, taekwondo, etc.

Equipment:
Modified Walther P99 pistols: They have armor piercing capabilities. And as exposed above, they can fire darts that temporarily knock out the target or can also use real ammunition magazines instead. She sometimes equips it with silencer, laser pointer or flashlight modules. She does not always uses both of them at the same time but they are her primary weapons.

Modified SCAR tactical assault rifle: Modified to be able to use darts as ammunition without the need of an extra attached module. She can also customize the scopes or reflex sight, the use or not of a silencer, laser pointer or flashlight modules and even include a grenade launcher attachment for different types of grenades.

Costume and outfits: She likes to wear tight pants, boots and a sexy corset like top, its materials are relatively resistant but do not protect her from harm as good as others would. She does seem to prefer mobility over armor and her outfit often allows her to dodge direct hits. She is however not afraid to wear different outfits that cover more of her exposed skin, including more protective materials, plus she will still look distractedly attractive anyway.

Powers / Abilities

- Sharpshooter: She has a very good aim and she is extremely good at using most firearms. While she likes to use her pistols, with darts or real ammunition, with or without silencers, laser pointer or flashlight modules, she can also use sniper rifles for combat support or stay in overwatch from a large distance with very good effectiveness, or assault rifles with a proper long distance scope and in both cases the right kind of ammunition for the situation and enemy unit at hand.

- Team player: While she is great on her own, her performance and results tend to improve when she is part of a team. She is not a natural leader herself but she is not afraid to do so if the situation requires it or if she feels that she can add or contradict on something important to the one leading the group.

- Tactical and strategic brilliance: She is able to figure out ways to solve complex problems and improvise solutions in the field whenever the situation requires or calls for it, it is natural on her but developed over the years with her own experience and specially on her quick wits, which goes along with her creativity as far as tactics and strategy goes.

- Emotionally balanced: Despite being a very active young woman with too many things going on at the same time and during her life, she does enjoy it and does not seem to suffer too much from it. She also has a religious, roman catholic, side that seems to help her remain more stable than others, plus she likes Asian philosophy too ever since she got into martial arts, and she also has the support of her on and off girlfriend, yes, she is lesbian/bisexual/against tags.

- Survivor: While her preference is to not kill anyone, she is not afraid of legitimately defending herself if there is no other choice and lethal force is proportionate with the level of danger that is upon her.

- Favors: Do you need a helicopter pick up? She can do that! A plane? That too! All thanks to the contact network that she has managed to build.

- Pilot: From her time in the military and later on as a mercenary, she is capable of piloting helicopters and planes as well as driving ground vehicles too.

Weaknesses

- She is normal: Starling does not possess anything special about her, as far as superpowers go, she is just human.

- Jess: Her on and off secret girlfriend and always best friend forever. It is unlikely that anyone, except Eve and her own mother know of her existence, since Jess helped Eve tell her mom that she liked girls when she was still a young teenager. But it could  happen at some point.

- Hostages: They are a pain in the ass but her course of action changes when there are innocent lives in danger. She will try to assure to keep those lives alive.

- Impetuous: Her initiative is such that she will not hesitate at being the first to take action right away if it gives her or her friends a clear advantage, although this can cause problems and can be risky for her.

- Favors: Some day she will have to pay a favor with a horrible timing and even if she decides to bite back at said person it might still backfire in her direction.

- Criminal mastermind plans: While Ev is capable of figure out tactics and strategies thanks to her military and mercenary years, she is not used to the dynamics that villains may bring. Against them she tends to act more like a point-man, shoot first, ask questions later, but their plans can always knock her off balance.

Character Time Line

I would like to remark that her activity between 2010 and 2014 was extremely high and then it slowed down as she started to be watched. She has not met any BoP yet as we are starting fresh.

2006-2013
- Military life, missions outside the country too, drops out after several years.

- Meets Dinah for the first time (2007)

- Work on the streets of Gotham, many times for unsavory types and activities.

- Starts to build her own network, gathering information and favors in the underworld, shows subtle tendencies towards good despite everything.

2014
- Visits other countries more frequently than normal, mercenary work, information and dangerous meetings.

- Her network reaches a point where she makes it into every government list as a dangerous type to watch.

- Because of that, her activity almost halts. She moves back to Gotham and starts to pay favors back.

2015
- Starts to consider the idea of not working alone anymore.


Audition post

“You know Eve, it’s a good thing that you got tats done, because otherwise you would look too much of a baby girl” Jess teased her, finally laughing briefly before bumping her hips against Eve to reassure her that she was being playful as usual. Eve rolled her eyes of course, being a good sport but still faked shock and offense, fairly well too.

“Okay Sweets, why don’t you like, go fuck yourself real quick. Even without tattoos I don’t look like a baby girl, not even if I dolled up like never before, no way” she said with her hands on her own hips, lies, she did like to doll up and without tattoos she was very much girlish model material, just not an alternative kind of model. Both women were in front of the large mirror of the bathroom at Jess’s apartment, Eve was turned to face Jess, the other was laughing, Eve was shaking her head bemusedly and with a playful smile.

“What do they mean? You never told me” she asked Eve, and Eve, having rolled her eyes, since Jess had subtly moved away from fake confrontation, she paid some attention to the mirror and to her wet long hair, which of course looked closer to black now.

“All of them? Ok, let’s see..." she would then proceed to show her the tattoos and explain them. "I got the one on my lower back, that one s just plain sexy, I know I know, it's basically a tramp stamp but I love it although I almost didn't get it because of all that stuff about future anesthesia maybe being problematic, you know? Then hmm... one on my left wrist, this I got it after meeting you and don't go all aww on me, it's a tribal symbol for love, because I fell in love, then there another behind the neck which I got it because a girl in my class like the way I tend to flick my hair to a side, so that you know, the back of my neck become more visible, it got me into talking to her, she was really cute, the symbol also means unity, both ankles too... those are symbols in Chinese, one means girl, the other actually means bitch" she giggled softly at that "I mean it, not like the insult, you know? Well maybe that too, but I got it when I started to live more dangerously, it was fitting, plus they look great, and finally on the very right side of my lower tummy, that's my name in Chinese. But you know, all of them kind of mean that feeling of being, like... full of life? I’m not getting more though, so fuck you, no Jess name on my skin” she smiled at Jess, whom rolled her eyes back at Eve, no wonder that they had such a close relationship, they were so alike.

“Fine, ok, no tattoo then, but, does that mean that you’re less full of life now? Huh?” Jess asked, trying to delve deeper into Eve, something that wasn’t easy, except for someone like her and probably her own mother. “Geez Jess, no, or you know? Yeah, maybe, just maybe, I don’t have a girlfriend but I’m not the only one to blame for that, bitch, still love you though” To what Jess sighed, having half earned that she simply smiled.

[Deleted]

Oct 2, 2015 4:29:52 GMT -5 Elaine said:

Character Origin: (Comic/Movie/TVshow/Mixed? If mixed, state what combinations you're using.)
Birds of Prey Vol. 3, since that is where she first appeared and where she stopped appearing too. I have also edited her as best as I could, filling out her background, since most of it was simply not developed at all, but all of it in an effort to start fresh with the room. I have also tried to make her less of an annoying character in general.

The lack of development can sometimes be a bonus if you have something you want to do with a character. You have a lot fo freedom as there is very little in the way of canon to say you can't.

Oct 2, 2015 4:29:52 GMT -5 Elaine said:

Character Time Line
I would like to remark that her activity between 2010 and 2014 was extremely high and then it slowed down as she started to be watched. She has not met any BoP yet as we are starting fresh.

2010-2013
- Starts out college, choosing public relations.
- Starts to work on the streets of Gotham, many times for unsavory types and activities.
- Starts to build her own network, gathering information and favors in the underworld, shows subtle tendencies towards good despite everything.

2014
- Visits other countries more frequently than normal, mercenary work, information and dangerous meetings.
- Her network reaches a point where she makes it into every government list as a dangerous type to watch.

2015
- Finishes college, albeit just making it.
- Shows her tendency towards good, again, by double crossing Freeze after escaping together, sending him to Arkham.*

*This is a nod to the comics storyline but she has never been with the BoP yet.

This seems ok, i think in the comic its at least implied she knew Dinah fairly well.
Some kind of relationshipssection might be handy unless you intend to RP her essentially from scratch?

Oct 2, 2015 4:29:52 GMT -5 Elaine said:

Audition post
“You know Eve, it’s a good thing that you got tats done, because otherwise you would look too much of a baby girl” Jess teased her, finally laughing briefly before bumping her hips against Eve to reassure her that she was being playful as usual. Eve rolled her eyes of course, being a good sport but still faked shock and offense, fairly well too.

“Okay Sweets, why don’t you like, go fuck yourself real quick. Even without tattoos I don’t look like a baby girl, not even if I dolled up like never before, no way” she said with her hands on her own hips, lies, she did like to doll up and without tattoos she was very much girlish model material, just not an alternative kind of model. Both women were in front of the large mirror of the bathroom at Jess’s apartment, Eve was turned to face Jess, the other was laughing, Eve was shaking her head bemusedly and with a playful smile.

“What do they mean? You never told me” she asked Eve, and Eve, having rolled her eyes, since Jess had subtly moved away from fake confrontation, she paid some attention to the mirror and to her wet long hair, which of course looked closer to black now.

“I don’t really remember, they were cool at the time I just liked them because they looked interesting and they assured me that they did not mean anything insulting or anything even remotely close to that, let’s see... I got the one on my lower back, one on my left wrist, another behind the neck, both ankles and on the very right side of my stomach, well hold on! Actually maybe they, like, represent my most crazy years? You know, like that feeling of being full of life? I’m not getting more though, so fuck you, no Jess name on my skin” she smiled at Jess, whom rolled her eyes back at Eve, no wonder that they had such a close relationship, they were so alike.

“Fine, ok, no tattoo then, but, does that mean that you’re less full of life now? Huh?” Jess asked, trying to delve deeper into Eve, something that wasn’t easy, except for someone like her and probably her own mother. “Geez Jess, no, or you know? Yeah, maybe, just maybe, I don’t have a girlfriend but I’m not the only one to blame for that, bitch, still love you though” To what Jess sighed, having half earned that she simply smiled.

Its nicely written and it shows a somewhat cutesy side, i don't really get a feel for her as Starling however.
Could you perhaps add a part where more of her Starling side comes out?

Ev, not Eve.

[Elaine]

In the comics yes, but we are starting fresh, we as in BoP, therefore she has not met Dinah yet, unless Dinah wants me to but I do not believe that we ever said it for sure, or I might have forgotten, in either case I am open to having previous connections but without confirmation I am not placing them in of course.

As for the post, I focused on her personality. I could add a few paragraphs of her using guns and such, but her personality remains the same so I did not find it necessary. She is somewhat distant but still extroverted and easy going, charming, foul-mouthed at times, pretty direct too. I am not entirely sure as to what are your expectations, in there are any, for a Starling feel, if you could clarify then I would appreciate that.

[Black Canary]

Oct 2, 2015 4:29:52 GMT -5 Elaine said:

Basic Information

Player Nickname: That girl that plays Elaine.

Profile URL: roleplay.chat/profile.php?user=Elaine
profiles.rphaven.com/Elaine

Do you want other role players to give you feed back?
Yes.

Which DCU Earth are you applying to?: Earth (1-4)
Both.

Please link the URL to our rule page to confirm you have read them. (URL here)
Rules

Please link the URL to our activity policy to confirm you have read it. (URL here)
Activity

Character Origin: (Comic/Movie/TVshow/Mixed? If mixed, state what combinations you're using.)
Birds of Prey Vol. 3, since that is where she first appeared and where she stopped appearing too. I have also edited her as best as I could, filling out her background, since most of it was simply not developed at all, but all of it in an effort to start fresh with the room. I have also tried to make her less of an annoying character in general.

Your statements make me wonder what do you feel is annoying about Starling? What aspects do you want to emphasise? Which aspects do you want to minimalize? What draws this character to you?

Oct 2, 2015 4:29:52 GMT -5 Elaine said:

Face Claim's Name: Elena Wood.

Name: Evelyn Crawford
Alias: Starling.
Race: Human.
Age: 23
Birthday: January 17th.
Alignment: Chaotic Good.

Height: 5’6’’, 167cm.
Weight: 120lbs, 54kg.
Hair: Dark brown or black.
Eyes: Blue.
Physique: Small to medium frame, very average in general but firm and toned too. She has several black, and safe, inked tattoos that are mentioned in the audition post.

Being a mercenary she is more neutral, than good. She dances the line between them, although she does aim for doing good, since she picks her own jobs.

Oct 2, 2015 4:29:52 GMT -5 Elaine said:

Training: She has a mercenary background. She got an interest with guns when she started to play with them with her uncle, Earl, the bother of her young high class and still fairly young and always more or less single mother. From that it developed into a hobby and eventually into a profession, after she was 18 and started out in college, keeping college as a cover for working on the streets, creating her own information network and getting the right people to owe her favors. She proved to be a very good sharpshooter, usually with pistols but she can provide long distance support with precision rifles too.

You added a lot to her history to fill in her gaps. This may not be needed, since Ev is a woman who focuses on the right now. Not the past and not the future.
But I found it interesting as to why you focused so much on her going to college. This character does not need such ties, due to her focus, and it cuts into her experiences and training. Other than making a good cover (which she could do with fake documents). Why would she follow such a conventional path?

Oct 2, 2015 4:29:52 GMT -5 Elaine said:

She favors her custom made pistols that can fire different types of ammunition, be it darts in most cases to knock out her enemies, or armor piercing ammunition when darts would prove ineffective. Despite the implicit danger that firearms pose, she seems to have a good enough aim, when not using darts, to not fatally wound her enemies.

She is also able to fight without firearms in hand to hand combat, in this case her training derives from what she had learned in the dirty streets of Gotham, not being afraid any number of dirty tricks in her favor to survive, to what she learnt with her uncle, a high rank ex-military, and later on as a mercenary, for example, karate, jiu jitsu, kung-fu, judo, taekwondo, etc.

Equipment:
Custom built twin pistols: As exposed above, they can fire darts that temporarily knock out the target or can also use real ammunition magazines instead. She sometimes equips it with laser pointer or flashlight modules. She does not always uses both of them at the same time but they are her primary weapons.
Costume and outfits: She likes to wear tight pants, boots and a corset like top, its materials are resistant but do not protect her from harm as good as others would. She does seem to prefer mobility over armor and her outfit often allows her to dodge direct hits. She is however not afraid to wear different outfits that cover more of her exposed skin, including more protective materials, plus she will still look distractedly attractive anyway.

Powers / Abilities
- Sharpshooter: She has a very good aim and she is extremely good at using most firearms. While she likes to use her pistols, with darts or real ammunition, with or without silencers, laser pointer or flashlight modules, she can also use sniper rifles for combat support or stay in overwatch from a large distance with very good effectiveness, or assault rifles with a proper long distance scope and in both cases the right kind of ammunition for the situation and enemy unit at hand.
- Team player: While she is great on her own, her performance and results tend to improve when she is part of a team. She is not a natural leader herself but she is not afraid to do so if the situation requires it or if she feels that she can add or contradict on something important to the one leading the group.
- Tactical and strategic brilliance: She is able to figure out ways to solve complex problems and improvise solutions in the field whenever the situation requires or calls for it, it is natural on her but developed over the years with her uncle and with her own experience.

This all looks good. I would emphasize on the job training and using her wits for her experience.

Oct 2, 2015 4:29:52 GMT -5 Elaine said:

- Emotionally balanced: Despite being a very active young woman with too many things going on at the same time and during her life, she does enjoy it and does not seem to suffer too much from it. She also has a religious, roman catholic, side that seems to help her remain more stable than others, plus she likes Asian philosophy too ever since she got into martial arts, and she also has the support of her on and off girlfriend, yes, she is lesbian/bisexual/against tags.

I would not call Starling emotionally balanced. She is opinionated and has a strong temper.

Oct 2, 2015 4:29:52 GMT -5 Elaine said:

- Survivor: While her preference is to not kill anyone, she is not afraid of legitimately defending herself if there is no other choice and lethal force is proportionate with the level of danger that is upon her.
- Favors: Do you need a helicopter pick up? She can do that! A plane? That too! All thanks to the contact network that she has managed to build.

This all looks good. I like the mention of Favors and hint at her network.

Oct 2, 2015 4:29:52 GMT -5 Elaine said:

Weaknesses
- She is normal: Starling does not possess anything special about her, as far as superpowers go, she is just human.
- Jess: Her on and off secret girlfriend and always best friend forever. It is unlikely that anyone, except Eve and her own mother know of her existence, since Jess helped Eve tell her mom that she liked girls. But it could maybe happen at some point.
- Hostages: They are a pain in the ass but her course of action changes when there are innocent lives in danger. She will try to assure to keep those lives alive.

I would add her temper/confrontrational attitude as a weakness.
Also adding in paying her debts,is a big thing for her. She works for anyone to get where she has. She owes some people too. And will jeopardize her missions and friends to pay her debts back.

Oct 2, 2015 4:29:52 GMT -5 Elaine said:

Character Time Line
I would like to remark that her activity between 2010 and 2014 was extremely high and then it slowed down as she started to be watched. She has not met any BoP yet as we are starting fresh.

2010-2013
- Starts out college, choosing public relations.
- Starts to work on the streets of Gotham, many times for unsavory types and activities.
- Starts to build her own network, gathering information and favors in the underworld, shows subtle tendencies towards good despite everything.

2014
- Visits other countries more frequently than normal, mercenary work, information and dangerous meetings.
- Her network reaches a point where she makes it into every government list as a dangerous type to watch.

2015
- Finishes college, albeit just making it.
- Shows her tendency towards good, again, by double crossing Freeze after escaping together, sending him to Arkham.*

*This is a nod to the comics storyline but she has never been with the BoP yet.

I would like all characters to know Dinah or have known of her before BoP starts. So adding in how they met, and having experience together would be nice. We could rp this if you would like.

Oct 2, 2015 4:29:52 GMT -5 Elaine said:

Audition post
“You know Eve, it’s a good thing that you got tats done, because otherwise you would look too much of a baby girl” Jess teased her, finally laughing briefly before bumping her hips against Eve to reassure her that she was being playful as usual. Eve rolled her eyes of course, being a good sport but still faked shock and offense, fairly well too.

“Okay Sweets, why don’t you like, go fuck yourself real quick. Even without tattoos I don’t look like a baby girl, not even if I dolled up like never before, no way” she said with her hands on her own hips, lies, she did like to doll up and without tattoos she was very much girlish model material, just not an alternative kind of model. Both women were in front of the large mirror of the bathroom at Jess’s apartment, Eve was turned to face Jess, the other was laughing, Eve was shaking her head bemusedly and with a playful smile.

“What do they mean? You never told me” she asked Eve, and Eve, having rolled her eyes, since Jess had subtly moved away from fake confrontation, she paid some attention to the mirror and to her wet long hair, which of course looked closer to black now.

“I don’t really remember, they were cool at the time I just liked them because they looked interesting and they assured me that they did not mean anything insulting or anything even remotely close to that, let’s see... I got the one on my lower back, one on my left wrist, another behind the neck, both ankles and on the very right side of my stomach, well hold on! Actually maybe they, like, represent my most crazy years? You know, like that feeling of being full of life? I’m not getting more though, so fuck you, no Jess name on my skin” she smiled at Jess, whom rolled her eyes back at Eve, no wonder that they had such a close relationship, they were so alike.

“Fine, ok, no tattoo then, but, does that mean that you’re less full of life now? Huh?” Jess asked, trying to delve deeper into Eve, something that wasn’t easy, except for someone like her and probably her own mother. “Geez Jess, no, or you know? Yeah, maybe, just maybe, I don’t have a girlfriend but I’m not the only one to blame for that, bitch, still love you though” To what Jess sighed, having half earned that she simply smiled.

This snippet gives us very little background to set this scene. Also it doesn't show the full range of what you can do with her.
The big part of Starling is that she is all attitude and can back it up with her skills and quick tongue. While she may be compulsive, she always has a reason.
You show a lot of her attitude and playfulness, but I think every tattoo would have reason. Whether it be sentimental, expressive,or just pretty.

[Elaine]

Good morning Dinah, thank you for taking the time to post some feedback!

I am not good at quoting so I will go step by step:

1.- Canon comic book Starling is annoying in the sense that she makes no sense, this is reinforced by the writers lack of background explanation. She does things "just because", she is great "because unexplained reasons", her background is never explained after all. In the comics she's downright useless in combats, because of course you cannot have bullets hit the villain and kill it realistically, so she is usually the first to get knocked out time and time again. There is no clear motivation or explanation behind her actions in the comics and the huge problem of having a gunslinger in a team, that is against killing, and when killing happens it is "ok". In canon it is a messy character, annoyingly close to being a Mary Sue.

I think that I came with a good solution for the no-kill problem. My version is also more down to earth, she can make bad and even dangerous choices, but at least she's not suicidal and still somehow doesn't die like in the comics. I think that she can be more useful too. She has now a background that makes sense with someone with a contact network.

What drew me to the character was that, even though she was a mess, there was still potential in making her interesting to play with, for others and for myself.

2.- Alignment. Yes it is true that she is somewhere in between. I can change it but since her alignment is likely to move up in the scale of good due to influences with the other BoP, I figured that I could simply leave it at chaotic good.

3.- The background. This I disagree with. It is ok for a character to be focused on the present, but if the character had spent years building a contact network, it does not make sense to say that she is exclusively living in the present. She cares about her future and worries about it.

I liked the college idea because it remarks a time where she is half there and half over there, meaning she is developing her Starling persona and at the same time her Ev persona too by going to college. It sets up her overly active "doing as many things as possible" theme. It is not that she does amazingly well in her studies either so I am sure that she spent plenty of time developing Starling, but it also helps justify her more mature personality. Also, a real cover is better than a non-existent one!

4.- Wits, yes I suppose that makes sense too. I will see how I can edit it after this.

5.- Emotionally balanced and opinionated + strong temper are not mutually exclusive. I think that it is part of her charm. What I wanted to emphasize here is that I am developing her religious side, and that she has that and her on and off girlfriend to reach out when she needs support.

6.- Weakness - Temper: I do not know, I do not remember her throwing temper tantrums in the comics, or whining and screaming for the matter.

7.- Weakness - Debts: I actually had this on this section in an earlier revision, but I decided to remove it. The reason behind it was that I designed this version of Starling to be a fresh start for the BoP, therefore assuming that she has debts elsewhere would be too messy for other roleplayers. Why messy? Because I would have to name who those debts have to be paid to, and it may or may not conflict with future roleplays and NPCs that may or may have not been played in the past. In the end it is easier this way. Later on, I can be open to Ev having to pay a favor to someone in particular during roleplay, that someone being another player's character, but it would be no different than saying that Dinah has to pay a favor too, so that is why it is not listed.

8.- Sure, I will talk to you later when you wake up and see at which point during the timeline would you like these two to have met. We can play it too, that is fine.

9. The post, I might edit it after giving some thought to the tattoos. It is one of the things that I changed in her appearance, they are not going to look as massive as in the comics, smaller, still sexy, no need to use colorful unsafe inks.

[Black Canary]

Thanks for the coments and thoughts!
I appreciate the feedback and seeing your reasons.

Oct 6, 2015 5:12:49 GMT -5 Elaine said:

1.- Canon comic book Starling is annoying in the sense that she makes no sense, this is reinforced by the writers lack of background explanation. She does things "just because", she is great "because unexplained reasons", her background is never explained after all. In the comics she's downright useless in combats, because of course you cannot have bullets hit the villain and kill it realistically, so she is usually the first to get knocked out time and time again. There is no clear motivation or explanation behind her actions in the comics and the huge problem of having a gunslinger in a team, that is against killing, and when killing happens it is "ok". In canon it is a messy character, annoyingly close to being a Mary Sue.

I think that I came with a good solution for the no-kill problem. My version is also more down to earth, she can make bad and even dangerous choices, but at least she's not suicidal and still somehow doesn't die like in the comics. I think that she can be more useful too. She has now a background that makes sense with someone with a contact network.

I know that a lot of her history is not there in the comics.
It is because her character is somewhat mysterious and stubborn and doesn't feel she needs to explain herself. Her focus is always completing her mission. Its just others, don't always know what her true mission is.

Your solution is good. But a weapons expert can shoot and not kill, wounding is fine for this group. Other characters in BoP are willing to make kill shots too. This is something we can talk about. Please don't limit her for these reasons. Her actions are not suicidal, just high risk. She trusts her own skill and her trusted teammates well enough that she is willing to take these risks. Or that the consequences are high enough she needs to take them.

Oct 6, 2015 5:12:49 GMT -5 Elaine said:

2.- Alignment. Yes it is true that she is somewhere in between. I can change it but since her alignment is likely to move up in the scale of good due to influences with the other BoP, I figured that I could simply leave it at chaotic good.

I would hope to see her loyalties to be able to shift for potential conflict and storylines. Which is why I say neutral. Would you like stories like this? Or not?

Oct 6, 2015 5:12:49 GMT -5 Elaine said:

3.- The background. This I disagree with. It is ok for a character to be focused on the present, but if the character had spent years building a contact network, it does not make sense to say that she is exclusively living in the present. She cares about her future and worries about it.

Her contacts and list of favors are there to support her missions, they are not her goal. With her fast paced and dangerous lifestyle, she knows any mission can be her last, she always gives her all. What kind of concerns do you think she has for the future?

Oct 6, 2015 5:12:49 GMT -5 Elaine said:

I liked the college idea because it remarks a time where she is half there and half over there, meaning she is developing her Starling persona and at the same time her Ev persona too by going to college. It sets up her overly active "doing as many things as possible" theme. It is not that she does amazingly well in her studies either so I am sure that she spent plenty of time developing Starling, but it also helps justify her more mature personality. Also, a real cover is better than a non-existent one!

Evelyn is not using Starling as a secret identity (like batgirl) or alter personality in the comics. It is who she is, it is just her codename. It could have been given by her uncle or the Penguin. She is a dangerous woman who can do amazing things with her skill and contacts. She has been since she was trained and went on assignment with her uncle as a teen. I don't think a cover is needed.

If you find this really needed, you can, but I think we should scale down some of this.
While I appreciate and encourage people to make a character more familiar and their own. We risk that you make so many changes with Starling, that she is almost an original character and not Starling.

Oct 6, 2015 5:12:49 GMT -5 Elaine said:

5.- Emotionally balanced and opinionated + strong temper are not mutually exclusive. I think that it is part of her charm. What I wanted to emphasize here is that I am developing her religious side, and that she has that and her on and off girlfriend to reach out when she needs support.

I mean that Starling is impulsive. But yes she can find a stability outside of a mission or can be cool and collective when the heat is on. But this can be disrupted.
I would also like Starling to have one or two confidants to lean on in the BoP group.

Oct 6, 2015 5:12:49 GMT -5 Elaine said:

6.- Weakness - Temper: I do not know, I do not remember her throwing temper tantrums in the comics, or whining and screaming for the matter.

By temper I mean easy to annoy or get angry. Starling has a firey personality. She wants teammates to hold their own, she doesn't trust everyone. She sometimes wants revenge. She often acts first, and lets everything else settle when the smoke clears.

Oct 6, 2015 5:12:49 GMT -5 Elaine said:

7.- Weakness - Debts: I actually had this on this section in an earlier revision, but I decided to remove it. The reason behind it was that I designed this version of Starling to be a fresh start for the BoP, therefore assuming that she has debts elsewhere would be too messy for other roleplayers. Why messy? Because I would have to name who those debts have to be paid to, and it may or may not conflict with future roleplays and NPCs that may or may have not been played in the past. In the end it is easier this way. Later on, I can be open to Ev having to pay a favor to someone in particular during roleplay, that someone being another player's character, but it would be no different than saying that Dinah has to pay a favor too, so that is why it is not listed.

Birds of Prey is an addition to other rps. I expect characters to have complex and messy backgrounds. It helps add new rp scenarios, and potential conflict in the group for new challenges.

Oct 6, 2015 5:12:49 GMT -5 Elaine said:

9. The post, I might edit it after giving some thought to the tattoos. It is one of the things that I changed in her appearance, they are not going to look as massive as in the comics, smaller, still sexy, no need to use colorful unsafe inks.

This sounds great, thanks!
I would also be tempted to have you add some context or drama. What has Starling been struggling with? Is she about to go on a risky mission? Did she just got done with one? Trying to relax? Knowing they both know she does high risk jobs and they both avoid it, to prevent a fight?

[Deleted]

Stephanie and Dinah make a lot of good points. Dinah's hit on the fact that if you change too much about Ev it won't be the character but a type of OC I can also see.

However with that being said, she will be your character. Just like when I started to play Helena Wayne there was very limited knowledge about her current character, especially from the comics coming out because they were far in between and I picked up the character after only two...maybe three issues were released - so a lot of the history I built myself, and was just kind of lucky that it fell quite similar to her canon status. I also play her at a much younger point than the comics have her (six years I believe) so I can have that deep character development. In saying that...I agree that it's perfectly fine if you want to give Starling something to work forward to, since I'd say you're not planning on killing off the character? Her being in college can explore another side of her, and it opens up the potential for a lot of RP, but heed Dinah's words and be careful that you have good explanation as to why she'd want to do these things...while maintaining the base integrity of the character.

For Helena? Pre-Crisis she went to college to become a lawyer, that didn't stick with the new canon, but I put her into school anyway, not because she wanted to, but because that's what she knew her father would have wanted and she struggles with trying to meet up with his expectations even though she thinks he's dead. It sticks to her stubborn canon, but that underlying desperate need to acceptance.

If you can find a reason for Starling to want to do something, then go with that. Character building is what we do here, just make sure it can be explained. If you want to develop her to not liking her past life, and perhaps wanting to become something more with herself?That works too. Just hang onto that base character personality while figuring out how to do it.

Also, having her neutral seems like it would be more fitting for the original character, having her walk that line, maybe even fall off of it could be some great stories we could all create together. Give it a thought.

[Elaine]

I added "impetuous" as a weakness after speaking with Dinah and also removed Freeze from her timeline and replaced it with meeting Dinah for the first time. I forgot to ask her where would it be ok to place it so, it is subject to change, for now it is in 2015 so, very recently.

I have not addressed the rest yet. I will think about it all but basically I think that the essence of Starling is not about betraying her team and friends like in the comics, or working against them, because I think that that is the writer not knowing how to properly write and, like I told Dinah, let us face it, Starling betrayed the team to freeze and rpeviously worked against the team just because the writers decided to remove Starling from the BoP vol 3 comics, which is why she never appeared again after freeze. It is really why no explanation is given, because there is no logical way of explaining why a character is behaving stupidly without actually being stupid, it damages the narrative and I dislike that and Starling's behavior is depicted as stupid in other parts of the comics for no reason whatsoever, which is why I have modified her.

This said, if everyone thinks that the idea that I have of Starling is more of an OC then I have no problem on giving it up for someone else to pick her up. But I will not play a Starling, or really any other character, that behaves stupidly out of the blue when she is supposed to be intelligent and experienced.

[Batman]

Oct 2, 2015 4:29:52 GMT -5 Elaine said:

Basic Information

Player Nickname: That girl that plays Elaine.

Profile URL: roleplay.chat/profile.php?user=Elaine
profiles.rphaven.com/Elaine

Do you want other role players to give you feed back?
Yes.

Which DCU Earth are you applying to?: Earth (1-4)
Both.

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Character Origin: (Comic/Movie/TVshow/Mixed? If mixed, state what combinations you're using.)
Birds of Prey Vol. 3, since that is where she first appeared and where she stopped appearing too. I have also edited her as best as I could, filling out her background, since most of it was simply not developed at all, but all of it in an effort to start fresh with the room. I have also tried to make her less of an annoying character in general.

1. You're best to stick as close to canon as possible in terms of personality. Just because the canon story arc made her do something stupid to get knocked out or something - factor in that Starling is entering into a different field of adventure with the BoP. For all intense purposes, she hasn't dealt with people like Poison Ivy or Harley Quinn and while they are "normal" people, they aren't soldiers / terrorists / mercenaries - which is what Starling is accustomed to fighting.

Oct 2, 2015 4:29:52 GMT -5 Elaine said:

Face Claim's Name: Elena Wood.

Name: Evelyn Crawford
Alias: Starling.
Race: Human.
Age: 23
Birthday: January 17th.
Alignment: Chaotic Good.

Height: 5’6’’, 167cm.
Weight: 120lbs, 54kg.
Hair: Dark brown or black.
Eyes: Blue.
Physique: Small to medium frame, very average in general but firm and toned too. She has several black, and safe, inked tattoos that are mentioned in the audition post.

Training: She has a mercenary background. She got an interest with guns when she started to play with them with her uncle, Earl, the bother of her young high class and still fairly young and always more or less single mother. From that it developed into a hobby and eventually into a profession, after she was 18 and started out in college, keeping college as a cover for working on the streets, creating her own information network and getting the right people to owe her favors. She proved to be a very good sharpshooter, usually with pistols but she can provide long distance support with precision rifles too.

She favors her custom made pistols that can fire different types of ammunition, be it darts in most cases to knock out her enemies, or armor piercing ammunition when darts would prove ineffective. Despite the implicit danger that firearms pose, she seems to have a good enough aim, when not using darts, to not fatally wound her enemies.

She is also able to fight without firearms in hand to hand combat, in this case her training derives from what she had learned in the dirty streets of Gotham, not being afraid any number of dirty tricks in her favor to survive, to what she learnt with her uncle, a high rank ex-military, and later on as a mercenary, for example, karate, jiu jitsu, kung-fu, judo, taekwondo, etc.

Equipment:
Custom built twin pistols: As exposed above, they can fire darts that temporarily knock out the target or can also use real ammunition magazines instead. She sometimes equips it with laser pointer or flashlight modules. She does not always uses both of them at the same time but they are her primary weapons.
Costume and outfits: She likes to wear tight pants, boots and a corset like top, its materials are resistant but do not protect her from harm as good as others would. She does seem to prefer mobility over armor and her outfit often allows her to dodge direct hits. She is however not afraid to wear different outfits that cover more of her exposed skin, including more protective materials, plus she will still look distractedly attractive anyway.

2. I would make her older than 23. I would envision her kind of like Lara Croft with having already been through her newbie stage and is at a point where she's working on her second career. I would aim for 26-29. If she were in the military it would be around this point she would be looking to continue her career or move into the private sector for work.

3. Background is your biggest problem with this character and you're ignoring a lot of factors with her because (like DC comic Writers.) you don't understand a military life style or a mercenaries life. And the more you push that aspect of this character away from her, the more you find no support or justification for anything she does.

First and foremost...She. Is. A. MERCENARY.

Black Canary = Female James Bond
Starling = Female Richard 'Rick' O'Connell from The Mummy

She's not supposed to be college educated, she's supposed to be street smart and school of hard knocks.

Like O'Connell, she's gone through some pretty terrible shit, she doesn't want to RELIVE that shit, so she doesn't let it bog her down. Instead she keeps moving forward (Like a soldier's philosophy) you adapt and overcome whatever obstacle comes your way.

O'Connell isn't the sharpest tool in the shed and he is very abrasive, opinionated, rude, but also compassionate, understanding, and easily angered. He makes impulsive plays that sometimes backfire and are very bad decisions. But he ALSO makes impulsive plays that work in his favor.

It's a gamble of chance especially when you're against something that you've never done before despite ALL of the experience you may have accumulated in life.

You need to step back and stop thinking "This doesn't make sense because she's supposed to be smarter." or stop thinking "Being emotional like this doesn't make sense."

You need to think "She is a soldier. She understands the sacrifice you have to make. Sometimes you have to cut off your own arm just to survive - especially if the arm is infected or poisoned." or look at her as "She is a Mercenary. She knows what betrayal means and eventually someone will betray her, so screw them over before they screw her over."

She's a character who's motivated by something greater than "Good" BUT (This is where you're creativity as a writer comes in hand) she can begin to see the error in her ways. She can begin to see that Dinah is someone she can trust fully.

And I'm sorry, you're not going to convince me that she was taking classes at College while doing 2 tours in India, 5 tours in Africa, 3 adventures in South America, 5 or 6 adventures in Europe...She's a mercenary. She gets paid to do a job and she does it very well. She's not quite Han Solo, but she's not quite Boba Fett, either.

Oct 2, 2015 4:29:52 GMT -5 Elaine said:

Powers / Abilities
- Sharpshooter: She has a very good aim and she is extremely good at using most firearms. While she likes to use her pistols, with darts or real ammunition, with or without silencers, laser pointer or flashlight modules, she can also use sniper rifles for combat support or stay in overwatch from a large distance with very good effectiveness, or assault rifles with a proper long distance scope and in both cases the right kind of ammunition for the situation and enemy unit at hand.
- Team player: While she is great on her own, her performance and results tend to improve when she is part of a team. She is not a natural leader herself but she is not afraid to do so if the situation requires it or if she feels that she can add or contradict on something important to the one leading the group.
- Tactical and strategic brilliance: She is able to figure out ways to solve complex problems and improvise solutions in the field whenever the situation requires or calls for it, it is natural on her but developed over the years with her own experience and specially on her quick wits, which goes along with her creativity as far as tactics and strategy goes.
- Emotionally balanced: Despite being a very active young woman with too many things going on at the same time and during her life, she does enjoy it and does not seem to suffer too much from it. She also has a religious, roman catholic, side that seems to help her remain more stable than others, plus she likes Asian philosophy too ever since she got into martial arts, and she also has the support of her on and off girlfriend, yes, she is lesbian/bisexual/against tags.
- Survivor: While her preference is to not kill anyone, she is not afraid of legitimately defending herself if there is no other choice and lethal force is proportionate with the level of danger that is upon her.
- Favors: Do you need a helicopter pick up? She can do that! A plane? That too! All thanks to the contact network that she has managed to build.

4. I would suggest spacing these, it's really annoying to read this as a wall of text.

5. Emotionally Balanced would be that she doesn't have a lean or incline in any particular direction. Which is not true for Evelyn as it's well known she is impulsive due to her anger. Dick Grayson is very much the same way throughout his career, as well Huntress is also the same.

6. You like to emphasize that she's goal seeking and looking forward - but Willpower or Iron Will are not listed here.

7. Favors - I immediately think of Payday 2. I'll come back to this one later on because I do have quite a bit more critique with this in reference to the Timeline and what was said earlier.

Oct 2, 2015 4:29:52 GMT -5 Elaine said:

Weaknesses
- She is normal: Starling does not possess anything special about her, as far as superpowers go, she is just human.
- Jess: Her on and off secret girlfriend and always best friend forever. It is unlikely that anyone, except Eve and her own mother know of her existence, since Jess helped Eve tell her mom that she liked girls. But it could maybe happen at some point.
- Hostages: They are a pain in the ass but her course of action changes when there are innocent lives in danger. She will try to assure to keep those lives alive.
- Impetuous: While she will exhaust every other logic course of action thanks to being intelligent and experienced, such as asking her friends for help, she will eventually think that doing something alone is acceptable as long as it is for a good reason, such as protecting her friends from further harm, this however may or may not go wrong for her.

8. It would be fair to say Criminology is a weakness to Starling - as she isn't experienced with criminal masterminds - like Mr. Freeze, The Penguin, Ra's Al Ghul, or David Cain...As these characters can manipulate Starling into disposition allowing them to Blackmail her or control her. Even if you aren't following canon, you should recognize traits like this. Even if you find her being "knocked out" stupid, you need to analyze ALL of the factors into the situation and particularly her weaknesses under such circumstances.

Oct 2, 2015 4:29:52 GMT -5 Elaine said:

Character Time Line
I would like to remark that her activity between 2010 and 2014 was extremely high and then it slowed down as she started to be watched. She has not met any BoP yet as we are starting fresh.

2010-2013
- Starts out college, choosing public relations.
- Starts to work on the streets of Gotham, many times for unsavory types and activities.
- Starts to build her own network, gathering information and favors in the underworld, shows subtle tendencies towards good despite everything.

2014
- Visits other countries more frequently than normal, mercenary work, information and dangerous meetings.
- Her network reaches a point where she makes it into every government list as a dangerous type to watch.

2015
- Finishes college, albeit just making it.
- Meets Dinah for the first time.

9. Okay, I don't want to rant at every BoP member who ever applies for the characters...But you ARE aware we move up and down the timeline, correct? That's rhetorical.

Black Canary's career started in 2008 and in Earth 4 canon, she meets Batman in 2010. That means she has 2 YEARS of unaccounted experience in Crime fighting and adventuring before meeting something as infamous as Batman, WHO at this point would be fighting crime for almost 5 years.

In this 2 year window, Black Canary has worked along side Wildcat, Green Arrow, and Zatanna...And these are the characters we KNOW about - this isn't the side things that have been left blank for a reason - in case someone wanted that history with Black Canary...Additionally Black Canary does adventure on her own without Batman, Green Arrow, Justice League, or Birds of Prey.

So for sake of my point you are saying...from 2008-2015, Starling has NEVER met Black Canary? And yet you also claim she is "Experienced" and "Smart." - Here is where I have the problem. In a very Detective Columbo-esque manner. "Its details like this that bother me."

The answer is - you're over simplifying and you lack vision. If you want to start at the "beginning" of her career, do an RP about it. Your Timeline should reflect what you WANT to do. Black Canary and Birds of Prey SHOULD be on your timeline. Lady Blackhawk (Diana) did this same mistake and completely ignored that in 2013 I was planting the seeds for Birds of Prey with Huntress, Black Canary, and Oracle. - Now it's not my place to say what or when you guys do your BoP thing...but this is the 3rd BoP character application where someone has done this very same thing without realizing you can work from the past so that it doesn't hurt your present or future.

10. I don't find it likely a college student at 23 is venturing around the world and gaining this educational wisdom and I don't believe this character to be experienced at the age of 23. Skilled? Sure I can believe her to be skilled at 23. Wise, knowledgeable, and experienced? No. She needs to be shoved into the mud and crawl through it like a soldier.

Oct 2, 2015 4:29:52 GMT -5 Elaine said:

Audition post
“You know Eve, it’s a good thing that you got tats done, because otherwise you would look too much of a baby girl” Jess teased her, finally laughing briefly before bumping her hips against Eve to reassure her that she was being playful as usual. Eve rolled her eyes of course, being a good sport but still faked shock and offense, fairly well too.

“Okay Sweets, why don’t you like, go fuck yourself real quick. Even without tattoos I don’t look like a baby girl, not even if I dolled up like never before, no way” she said with her hands on her own hips, lies, she did like to doll up and without tattoos she was very much girlish model material, just not an alternative kind of model. Both women were in front of the large mirror of the bathroom at Jess’s apartment, Eve was turned to face Jess, the other was laughing, Eve was shaking her head bemusedly and with a playful smile.

“What do they mean? You never told me” she asked Eve, and Eve, having rolled her eyes, since Jess had subtly moved away from fake confrontation, she paid some attention to the mirror and to her wet long hair, which of course looked closer to black now.

“All of them? Ok, let’s see..." she would then proceed to show her the tattoos and explain them. "I got the one on my lower back, that one s just plain sexy, I know I know, it's basically a tramp stamp but I love it although I almost didn't get it because of all that stuff about future anesthesia maybe being problematic, you know? Then hmm... one on my left wrist, this I got it after meeting you and don't go all aww on me, it's a tribal symbol for love, because I fell in love, then there another behind the neck which I got it because a girl in my class like the way I tend to flick my hair to a side, so that you know, the back of my neck become more visible, it got me into talking to her, she was really cute, the symbol also means unity, both ankles too... those are symbols in Chinese, one means girl, the other actually means bitch" she giggled softly at that "I mean it, not like the insult, you know? Well maybe that too, but I got it when I started to live more dangerously, it was fitting, plus they look great, and finally on the very right side of my lower tummy, that's my name in Chinese. But you know, all of them kind of mean that feeling of being, like... full of life? I’m not getting more though, so fuck you, no Jess name on my skin” she smiled at Jess, whom rolled her eyes back at Eve, no wonder that they had such a close relationship, they were so alike.

“Fine, ok, no tattoo then, but, does that mean that you’re less full of life now? Huh?” Jess asked, trying to delve deeper into Eve, something that wasn’t easy, except for someone like her and probably her own mother. “Geez Jess, no, or you know? Yeah, maybe, just maybe, I don’t have a girlfriend but I’m not the only one to blame for that, bitch, still love you though” To what Jess sighed, having half earned that she simply smiled.

11. This was very plain, very calm, and yet it does show her personality in a "toned down" setting. She's not under gunfire, she's not pressed for time. And she's not infiltrating a secret base. Which I think is what Steph, Lois, and Dinah were perhaps expecting.

12. Dinah is correct. Unlike most vigilante's who take up "Alter Egos" Evelyn's call sign isn't an alter ego - her call sign is a military Code name to identify her on the field. Like in Payday 2...Dallas, Chains, Hoxton, Wolf are their code name. Rather than "John, Robert, David, Harry."

with CB radios you would give people your "Handle" which would be your code name like "HR22" - Meaning Hellraiser #22, implying there is Hellraiser #21, 20, 19, etc

It's that culture, like the military's culture for "Big Ben" or "Rubber Duck" or "Sword" "Lance" "Blue Bird"

Batman's code name is "Blackbird" so if something were to happen and if an enemy is monitoring communication they can't be like "Batman is down!" Penguin: "SQUAWK?! BATMAN IS INCAPACITATED? TIME TO SELL THAT NUKE I'VE BEEN WAITING TO SELL."

Instead "Blackbird is down" Could be Batman...could be Cassandra, could be Nightwing...why risk it, criminals?



Overall, I'm "Okay" with it. I don't like that you're rounding out some of the estranged things in her character by simply "removing it" rather than working around it or with it. My entire explanation above should tell tale as to why I disagree with your approach.

Starling is stepping into the World of Superheroes with no real experience dealing with them or their villains. Even according to your timeline - she has no villages nor even tour of duty under her belt.

I mean you could LITERALLY have Starling apart of the Arab Spring in 2011 doing Black Operations or some such...instead you have her in college. Doing ordinary things and getting "smarter."

To contrast this - My Oliver Queen protested the 2003 War on Iraq (Rather than Viet Nam war like in the comics) The timeline works out just perfectly for it to fit in time for him to become Green Arrow in 2008 where he could team up with Black Canary.

It's creative things like this - with some research you can keep the essence of your character and change some of the dynamics to a "modern" vision.

Finally - I wouldn't just state a "custom gun" I would pick a pistol of your choice and state it as "Its X model custom moddified by Starling."