#uhh i don't think i talked about individual seasons enough to tag

[gurguliare]

GOGOL I WAS HOPING YOU'D REBLOG IT: 7, 11, 1415, 20 do however many you are inspired to

in your own words: thank you for enabling. you reblogged it right before I left for Tahoe and I reblogged as soon as I came back.

Which gaming system that they have used did you like the most?

Scum and Villainy, I think, just based off the consistent quality of the resulting play, but shoutout to Futura Free for working incredibly well to produce the only actually gripping, listenable turn-based finale FATT has ever done. 

Favourite divine (or Divine) character?

Hee hee hee. No uh, it’s… it’s just Liberty & Discovery, in the past three years I haven’t changed at all. Order and Detachment are runner-ups, then probably Belgard. I also have a soft spot for Anticipation, which I know is not Encouraged By The Text, but it’s hard for me not to find her a little sympathetic, and I was glad of the surprisingly gentle ending given. Twilight Mirage was such an odd season for consolatios that happen to also take the form of “eternal Sisyphean frenzy.” I mean, I guess when I put it like that it’s not THAT odd

(that said, with TM I was probably as or more interested in Polyphony and the other axioms, not least because they reminded me of of C/W-era divines than the divines did, har)

At what point did you realize you liked the show?

sdgjsldgjs I started with C/W, and honestly I dug the intro and found the tablefriends’ rapport enticing from the outset, but I didn’t get into the narrative proper until “The bells are ringing!” Just. Aria Joie, child of my heart, in the industrial robotics warehouse with the tag “perforated”

(15 answered here, appropriately enough)

Name one thing you like about each member of the cast.

I hope you wanted the essay! Actually most of these are what you said but wordier.

Ali: Ali has a knack for really memorable scenes. Part of it is that she’s willing to play emotional states as serious external events, with the power to override established motives. I think most of the cast are good at tracking characters’ private responses to a scene, and even at examining long-term effects of emotional detritus, but Ali stands out for her ability to weave reaction into action—thinking here of Hella killing Calhoun half out of shame and pity because, once he challenges her, she can’t de-escalate; also Aria at the end of her slaphappy rope asking Jacqui out; also frazzled Tender. 

Andi: I like that Andi tries on a lot of different hats, and seems pretty smart and flexible about playing off other PCs/chasing new, specific dynamics; I’ve never gotten really into an Andi character’s individual storyline, but they’re always an asset to scenes. 

Art: Art is probably my favorite roleplayer of the group, I know to your shock; I think he’s really funny, I think he cares deeply about character logic and morality and is an influence on the extent to which the other players successfully separate themselves from their creations, and also I think he’s really funny. In contrast to Andi, he has a valuable ability to make a story About his character, not from any lack of consideration, but because the character saw themselves as the ‘main protagonist’ this whole time, with a natural, staunch self-involvement that—brought to light at just the right moment—can set the whole plot on its ears. It reveals depth without sacrificing a pure jolt of “wtf”

Austin: What does one even say about Austin… Okay, if I’m picking one thing: just that phenomenal ability to pull out details by the fistful, points of friction and mental footholds that bring to life an intact environment. He doesn’t always have complete control of scope, but when he does, it’s amazing to watch him slide from the big picture to the immediate, intimate, honeycombed space for action—and juggle intersecting PC trajectories to boot. GOD I want to relisten to C/W.

Dre: I’ve never been able to warm up to Dre as a player, because his characters often exist in unselfconscious isolation from the rest of the cast, without having the depth to support a solo storyline. I would be interested in his attempts to feel out the selfish, amoral violence of action hero archetypes, except it seems to have no consequences beyond (once or twice) a limp telling-off. 

Jack: I almost find it easier to talk about what frustrates me about Jack’s playing, not because I am often frustrated by Jack, but because they’re so relentlessly brilliant that it’s hard not to take it for granted. But like. They’re super quick and nimble, they’re equally capable of improvising snappy dialogue and descriptive intensity, and if they sometimes get decision paralysis, it’s hard to hold it against them when you know they really are generating a BUNCH of great scenarios. I mean I hold it against them anyway. Unlock the gates, Jack, I want to hear the best four minutes of the episode

Janine: Janine is another one where it’s tough to choose from an embarrassment of strengths, but I will say that more than any other player she’s good at resisting the temptation to escalate, even when the mood of the group runs high; for all that I love Ali and Jack’s “race to the bottom” approach, it’s always pleasant to cut back to Janine for quality character work that builds to something greater than the sum of its parts and doesn’t hare off after each new complication. 

Keith: The exact opposite of what I said for Janine? I love that he’ll go as far as he can on a limb and then settle down to take his new home super seriously, without batting an eye, and without ever backing down on the character traits required to earn both the joke and its savage, unfunny conclusion. Fero is sand now. Keith is one of the only players who I think is at his best in Hieron, in part because the setting itself is so broken and malleable that it’s a relief just to see someone test the elastic.