The Paper Fans

[MurderWeasel]

With the New BRAU headed into Endgame, it's time for the Plastic Hammers! Except, this version of the weapon list didn't assign a plastic hammer, so following Mini Tradition we have rebranded.

As always, you can be as detailed or not as you like when filling these out. It's fun to get reasoning behind each choice, but it's also fun to get a list of names, especially when the alternative is no list of names.

A quick reminder: these threads are by and large a place for positivity. There are a couple spots where we ask you to be more critical, but these usually center around the game as a whole, the plotline, or staff stuff. If you have issues with specific handlers or characters, this is not the spot to get into them—there are lots of other places where criticism of that sort is welcomed and encouraged, so not here, please.

As usual, the whole questionnaire may be found in code at the end of this post (be sure to use "Select All" or scroll to the bottom, as it has its own little text box).

Without further ado:


The Paper Fans:


The Basics


Handler Name:

Your Trademark Character:

Current Status of Trademark Character:

Favorite Character:

Favorite Weapon:

Favorite Scene:

Favorite Death:

Favorite Quote:

Favorite Post:

Favorite Location:


Characters


Best Character Development: What character development has kept you intrigued?

Best Game Impact: Which character do you feel has brought the most positive development to the game as a whole, outside their specific storyline?

Best Innovation: Which character has been a breath of fresh air for you?

Best Realism: Which character is really grounded in reality in a way you find appealing?

Best Heroic Character: Which good guy has you solidly on their side?

Best Villainous Character: Who is your favorite ne'er-do-well?

Best Tragic Character: Whose sad and inevitable fate have you most enjoyed lamenting?

Best Humorous Character: Which character made you laugh the most? (Intentional humor only, please. Be nice!)

Best Tactics: Through elimination of the competition or a solid plan for survival, who's kept you interested in their struggle to make it back home?

The Sympathy Award: Which character did you feel the most for, and most want good things for?

The Empathy Award: Which character could you most easily put yourself in the shoes of?

The Gone-Too-Soon Award: Which deceased character should have stuck around a little longer?

The He-Had-It-Coming Award: Who best earned their (possibly still forthcoming) demise?

Best Adherence To Continuity: Which character did the best job sticking close to their canon iteration?

Best Divergence From Continuity: Which character carved a path distinct from continuity in the most pleasing way?

The Everything Else Award: If it doesn't fit anywhere above but you want to give it a shout-out, put it here.


Scenes and Deaths


Best Tragedy: Which scene or death made you the most teary eyed?

The Stomach-Churner Award: Which scene or death has most effectively played with the gory/violent/overall disturbing side of the game?

Best Impact: Which scene or death do you think best played a positive role in changing the course of the game?

Best Comedy: Which scene or death served as the best comic relief?

The Sunglasses-and-Explosions Award: Which scene or death had the best action going on?

Best Feeling-Inducer: Which scene or death provoked the best emotional reaction from you?

Best Drama: Which scene or death had you on the edge of your seat in the way of conflict, suspense, or drama?

Best Surprise: Which scene or death caught you most off guard in a pleasant way, either through its unpredictable nature or its unique execution?


Predictions, Preferences, and Positions


If you could change ANYTHING that has happened thus far, what would you change?

There are four remaining characters. Which character are you counting on to be the last one standing in the New BRAU?

How do you predict the ending of the New BRAU is going to turn out?

How much did you enjoy/not enjoy the New BRAU?

What do you like the most about the New BRAU?

What do you think could have been better about the version?

What do you think of the overall New BRAU story/world?

What are your hopes for future BRAUs (or similar AUs)?

How do you feel about the New BRAU compared to the BRAU (2010)?

How do you feel about the New BRAU compared to non-BR versions?


Talk About Yourself


What has been your favorite thing to write in the New BRAU?

Which of your characters was your favorite to write?

What are you proudest of in the New BRAU?

What do you wish you could improve?

What is your favorite New BRAU memory?

What else would you like to share? Anything goes!

Code: Select all

[size=150][u][b]The Paper Fans:[/b][/u][/size]


[size=125][u][b]The Basics[/b][/u][/size]


[b]Handler Name:[/b] 

[b]Your Trademark Character:[/b] 

[b]Current Status of Trademark Character:[/b] 

[b]Favorite Character:[/b] 

[b]Favorite Weapon:[/b] 

[b]Favorite Scene:[/b] 

[b]Favorite Death:[/b] 

[b]Favorite Quote:[/b] 

[b]Favorite Post:[/b] 

[b]Favorite Location:[/b] 


[size=125][u][b]Characters[/b][/u][/size]


[b]Best Character Development:[/b] What character development has kept you intrigued?

[b]Best Game Impact:[/b] Which character do you feel has brought the most positive development to the game as a whole, outside their specific storyline?

[b]Best Innovation:[/b] Which character has been a breath of fresh air for you?

[b]Best Realism:[/b] Which character is really grounded in reality in a way you find appealing?

[b]Best Heroic Character:[/b] Which good guy has you solidly on their side? 

[b]Best Villainous Character:[/b] Who is your favorite ne'er-do-well?

[b]Best Tragic Character:[/b] Whose sad and inevitable fate have you most enjoyed lamenting?

[b]Best Humorous Character:[/b] Which character made you laugh the most? (Intentional humor only, please. Be nice!)

[b]Best Tactics:[/b] Through elimination of the competition or a solid plan for survival, who's kept you interested in their struggle to make it back home?

[b]The Sympathy Award:[/b] Which character did you feel the most for, and most want good things for?

[b]The Empathy Award:[/b] Which character could you most easily put yourself in the shoes of?

[b]The Gone-Too-Soon Award:[/b] Which deceased character should have stuck around a little longer?

[b]The He-Had-It-Coming Award:[/b] Who best earned their (possibly still forthcoming) demise?

[b]Best Adherence To Continuity:[/b] Which character did the best job sticking close to their canon iteration?

[b]Best Divergence From Continuity:[/b] Which character carved a path distinct from continuity in the most pleasing way?

[b]The Everything Else Award:[/b] If it doesn't fit anywhere above but you want to give it a shout-out, put it here.


[size=125][u][b]Scenes and Deaths[/b][/u][/size]


[b]Best Tragedy:[/b] Which scene or death made you the most teary eyed?

[b]The Stomach-Churner Award:[/b] Which scene or death has most effectively played with the gory/violent/overall disturbing side of the game?

[b]Best Impact:[/b] Which scene or death do you think best played a positive role in changing the course of the game?

[b]Best Comedy:[/b] Which scene or death served as the best comic relief?

[b]The Sunglasses-and-Explosions Award:[/b] Which scene or death had the best action going on?

[b]Best Feeling-Inducer:[/b] Which scene or death provoked the best emotional reaction from you?

[b]Best Drama:[/b] Which scene or death had you on the edge of your seat in the way of conflict, suspense, or drama?

[b]Best Surprise:[/b] Which scene or death caught you most off guard in a pleasant way, either through its unpredictable nature or its unique execution?


[size=125][u][b]Predictions, Preferences, and Positions[/b][/u][/size]


[b]If you could change ANYTHING that has happened thus far, what would you change?[/b] 

[b]There are four remaining characters. Which character are you counting on to be the last one standing in the New BRAU?[/b]

[b]How do you predict the ending of the New BRAU is going to turn out?[/b]

[b]How much did you enjoy/not enjoy the New BRAU?[/b]

[b]What do you like the most about the New BRAU?[/b]

[b]What do you think could have been better about the version?[/b]

[b]What do you think of the overall New BRAU story/world?[/b]

[b]What are your hopes for future BRAUs (or similar AUs)?[/b]

[b]How do you feel about the New BRAU compared to the BRAU (2010)?[/b]

[b]How do you feel about the New BRAU compared to non-BR versions?[/b]


[size=125][u][b]Talk About Yourself[/b][/u][/size]


[b]What has been your favorite thing to write in the New BRAU?[/b]

[b]Which of your characters was your favorite to write?[/b]

[b]What are you proudest of in the New BRAU?[/b]

[b]What do you wish you could improve?[/b]

[b]What is your favorite New BRAU memory?[/b]

[b]What else would you like to share? Anything goes![/b]

[MurderWeasel]

The Paper Fans:


The Basics


Handler Name: MW

Your Trademark Character: Shinji by default.

Current Status of Trademark Character: Missed the shot.

Favorite Character: Shūya Nanahara, who not only is a very fully-realized character in his own right, but also plays a very interesting game in regards to evoking both his canon version and his previous BRAU appearance. I really cannot say enough good things about Shūya; CLaire took on an incredible challenge and succeeded with flying colors.

Favorite Weapon: I felt like the time bombs really put in some work this version, allowing for some nice oomph moments.

Favorite Scene: Sho, Hirono, and Kyoichi hang out in the lighthouse. This scene does a bunch of cool things that have been attempted before but usually haven't worked very well, and it nails them. It's just an incredibly strong scene, with everyone involved bringing excellent performances even as it takes some real risks.

Favorite Death: Mayumi's death is an absolute winner, and could also make a really solid run at "favorite post" or "favorite thread" in my book. Laurels did a great job pouring so much research and creativity into a character who has a super minor role in the source material, and her death post realizes an entire world within a world. It's a huge accomplishment, and I hope folks will read and appreciate it.

Favorite Quote: "Hey, speaking of finding people - any chance you saw where Takako went? I was hoping to...

"apologize to her for that whole dating rumor. It'd suck to die while she still thinks I'm a jerk, you know?"

Gundham did such a good job of keeping Niida scuzzy and somewhat reprehensible while also building nuance and complexity and deftly sidestepping the really uncomfortable stuff. Here we see Niida in his element, telling the 100% literal truth with no ulterior motives whatsoever.

Favorite Post: Gonna go a bit leftfield here and nominate Tatsumishi's memories one-shot. It's just a super well-realized portrait of Tatsumichi and his relationship with his grandfather, and despite being about sports stuff I don't fully understand or care about, I was invested in the scene and was able to get what I needed from it about the relationship in question. Well done, Pip!

Favorite Location: All kinds of interesting stuff has happened in The Orchard.


Characters


Best Character Development: What character development has kept you intrigued? Hiroshi's arc is a quiet one, and his changes aren't necessarily huge, but both RC and Ohm did an incredible job playing the psychology of his killing several people and then his role as the quiet kingmaker of the Family. How do you deal with being the real power when you just want to follow orders? Hiroshi isn't the loudest voice in his plotline, but he's arguably the most important, and his sometimes-inscrutable and shifting stance is a big part of that.

Best Game Impact: Which character do you feel has brought the most positive development to the game as a whole, outside their specific storyline? Chisato has been a little quiet about it, but she's woven her way through a number of storylines and is ultimately one of the parties responsible for the collapse of Peace Village and the end of the Family as a force. I'm always a sucker for a slow burn, and Chisato rolls into Endgame with some real credibility under her belt.

Best Innovation: Which character has been a breath of fresh air for you? I really appreciate Yuichiro's tangled path from comedic character to extremely dark and disturbing one... especially as there have been elements of both sides at play the whole time, just the proportions change. Jack has done a great job with him, and I'm excited to see where he goes in the rest of the version.

Best Realism: Which character is really grounded in reality in a way you find appealing? Yukie is a really solid take on someone trying to stay true and live up to her own ideals as a leader in a situation far beyond what she could've ever expected to face. Gundham did a great job with her, and while it's a huge shame we didn't get to see more of her, I feel like her exit was also very well executed.

Best Heroic Character: Which good guy has you solidly on their side? I'm going to give Hirono Shimizu the New BRAU protagonist award. She's got a little bit of the "anti" about her, but has generally made her way through the game trying not only to look out for her friends but also to make amends for some of her misdeeds in the world outside the game. She's a strong character who's been a blast to follow.

Best Villainous Character: Who is your favorite ne'er-do-well? I'll give the nod to Ryuhei, who isn't the most villainous character (and is actually mostly cowardly and pathetic) but manages to incite so much death and chaos precisely due to those qualities.

Best Tragic Character: Whose sad and inevitable fate have you most enjoyed lamenting? I'll give the nod to Mitsuru Numai. Toxie did a really great job with Mitsuru in doing something both in touch with his previous work and also blazing new ground. Mitsuru is a good guy, but rough around the edges, but his care for and loyalty towards his friends also forms his tragic flaw. He keeps extending benefit of the doubt, trying to trust in others and patch things over and give the benefit of the doubt, and for that he is horribly punished, seeing even his final sacrifice come to failure.

Best Humorous Character: Which character made you laugh the most? (Intentional humor only, please. Be nice!) Just the little pieces of voice Toshinori Oda has going on cracked me up on several occasions. Elena's got a nice knack for delivery, and Oda's posts are full of quiet little turns and subversions that never fail to earn a chuckle.

Best Tactics: Through elimination of the competition or a solid plan for survival, who's kept you interested in their struggle to make it back home? Mayumi had a plan, and unlike almost everyone else in the game she both thought it through carefully and did a decent job of sticking to it.

The Sympathy Award: Which character did you feel the most for, and most want good things for? I wanted to see things work out well for Mizuho. Catche did a great job playing her delusions in a way that was both believable and sympathetic, and it was very sad seeing all of that crumble around her.

The Empathy Award: Which character could you most easily put yourself in the shoes of? Kyoichi Motobuchi is just incredibly relatable as an often-awkward nerd who has a hard time being open about things, even to himself. Inhuman does a great job portraying him, and also managed to write one of the most surprisingly sweet/romantic island makeout scenes I've ever read.

The Gone-Too-Soon Award: Which deceased character should have stuck around a little longer? I wish Mitsuko had gotten a little more time and space to play around. Decoy had some interesting angles he was working with her, and I really appreciated seeing a take on Mitsuko that spun her towards more of a survivalist pragmatism.

The He-Had-It-Coming Award: Who best earned their (possibly still forthcoming) demise? Kayoko was very much the author of her own demise, and Catche did an excellent job of making her schemes falling apart feel simultaneously inevitable, somewhat karmic, and yet also slightly tragic. Kayoko was the one who kicked off all the killing, but she acted from fear instead of malice, and she never got away from that fear.

Best Adherence To Continuity: Which character did the best job sticking close to their canon iteration? On a voice level, Jilly nailed Shogo, doing an excellent job of using little details in phrasing and small movements to make him recognizable without ever coming across like a simple aping of the canon.

Best Divergence From Continuity: Which character carved a path distinct from continuity in the most pleasing way? Sho Tsukioka is given so much more to do, and while there are definitely pieces of things that are vaguely recognizable as similar to what little there is of canon Sho, instead of a relatively shallow stereotype we're treated to a deep character with an involved internal life, who ends up one of the version's most emotionally-complex characters.

The Everything Else Award: If it doesn't fit anywhere above but you want to give it a shout-out, put it here.

I'm sick and the BRAU cast is small, so I'm just going to give a general shoutout to Megumi Eto who didn't cleanly fit anywhere else but is a high quality character. AnimeNerd did a really good job writing her into a sort of... secondary protagonist role, and she has a wide-reaching and interesting journey. Definitely worth checking out if you're looking for characters to read!

Scenes and Deaths


Best Tragedy: Which scene or death made you the most teary eyed? I'll give this to Yoshio's demise, because it's such an avoidable tragedy with such wide-reaching implications. In one scene, Mitsuru's careful work is undone, the seeds of the Family's destruction are sown, and Chisato is pushed along the first steps towards her own darker path. And, of course, Yoshio dies thinking he's been betrayed.

The Stomach-Churner Award: Which scene or death has most effectively played with the gory/violent/overall disturbing side of the game? Anything involving Yuichiro and the hand. Jack has a real talent for getting into characters' heads, and Yuichiro's mix of... almost innocent thought processes with self-loathing and horrible violence creates a potent and disturbing combination. Powerful stuff!

Best Impact: Which scene or death do you think best played a positive role in changing the course of the game? Maybe cheating here, but I was super pleased with how well everyone worked with the "Prologue", with almost the whole version getting to appear and at least briefly interact with the game. Overall handler participation was a lot higher than in the first BRAU, and I feel like just generally speaking people did an excellent job of using the thread to kick off their characters' stories—it makes me want to bring stuff like this to future versions.

Best Comedy: Which scene or death served as the best comic relief? Not even a scene, just one specific chunk from this post:

Hiroshi seemed to have the right idea in questioning this jackoff, and not wanting to be left out, Ryuhei quickly thought of a snappy way of supporting his bro in getting their voices heard.

"Yeah!" he'd snarl and point before crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

Fucking nailed it.

This cracked me up, and I still love it.

The Sunglasses-and-Explosions Award: Which scene or death had the best action going on? I'm going to give this to the messy, confusing first-night shoot-out. It combines the darkness and general paranoia with some bad gun safety to create a messy situation where characters who aren't even really at odds end up in what could have easily become a life or death situation regardless, and that's a lot of fun.

Best Feeling-Inducer: Which scene or death provoked the best emotional reaction from you? Takako's death is a really neat piece of writing that makes good use of the unique aspects of the BRAU, letting Takako think she's in the clear only to have it ripped away at the last second without her even properly realizing it.

Best Drama: Which scene or death had you on the edge of your seat in the way of conflict, suspense, or drama? Yuko infiltrates Fort Kiriyama, disaster ensues. Everyone here deserves a nod for making a scene where a lot of things happen at once and absolutely nobody comes out of it with anything that they want. All the characters here make choices that are natural progressions from their motivations but at the same time are heavily against their own interests, and this scene is a huge part of why every one of them dies, even the ones who last several threads longer.

Best Surprise: Which scene or death caught you most off guard in a pleasant way, either through its unpredictable nature or its unique execution? The (very) slow-burn reveal of Noriko as Sho's killer is something that wouldn't have really worked in any traditional version, and the folks involved pulled it off really well.


Predictions, Preferences, and Positions


If you could change ANYTHING that has happened thus far, what would you change? I sort of spaced out for a few months in the middle of this due to multiple IRL deaths in my family and I would've had a better time without that happening.

There are four remaining characters. Which character are you counting on to be the last one standing in the New BRAU? Whoever it is will be cool. No bad options among 'em!

How do you predict the ending of the New BRAU is going to turn out? I think it'll be a blast!

How much did you enjoy/not enjoy the New BRAU? I've had a lot of fun with it—more than I expected!

What do you like the most about the New BRAU? I was super pleased with how into it a number of handlers got. I honestly didn't have super high expectations, so it was really cool seeing some folks break out their A-games for this.

What do you think could have been better about the version? There were a few little hiccups where I wish folks had engaged with us as versions runners in a more constructive fashion. I'm pretty sure we said yes to everything we got asked over the version, so... next time ask, please!

What do you think of the overall New BRAU story/world? Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of writing in other folks' settings. It's difficult and constraining for me, and that was a continuous challenge. I like the original BR story/world a lot, though.

What are your hopes for future BRAUs (or similar AUs)? I hope that if/when there's a New New BRAU, someone else is running it and I can just kick back and relax! Check out the very bottom of this post for info on that.

How do you feel about the New BRAU compared to the BRAU (2010)? I like that it seems more likely to finish. It's also really clear that the 2010 edition was made by a fledgling site with lots of passion but also some growing to do, while this one saw a lot more confidence. I will always have a soft spot for the first game on Mini, though.

How do you feel about the New BRAU compared to non-BR versions? The differences are interesting. I think there were a lot of good lessons from the New BRAU about improving play accessibility, but also there were clear areas where more traditional games have the edge (freedom and investment being biggies). It's done a lot to inform my future plans for how to approach other versions, and I think will lay the groundwork for some really exciting stuff.


Talk About Yourself


What has been your favorite thing to write in the New BRAU? The classroom thread was a lot of fun!

Which of your characters was your favorite to write? I only had Shinji.

What are you proudest of in the New BRAU? I'm a big fan of surprises and being able to surprise-launch an entire version was great and is something I've wanted to do for almost a decade. Oh, also the private thread ban didn't seem to cause any major problems, so that's nifty and somewhat vindicating.

What do you wish you could improve? I sputtered out really hard near the end of my personal run, for a bunch of reasons. I feel like in a different year I could've probably had a better run with Shinji.

What is your favorite New BRAU memory? It was super funny during the ~24 hours when everyone thought we were kidding about this version happening. Also making the goofy signature gifs like it's 2003 on Livejournal was a blast. I can't believe I misspelled "puppy." xD

What else would you like to share? Anything goes!

As always, this is mostly off the cuff, not proofed or edited much, and might look totally different if written tomorrow. I'm sure I'm forgetting characters and scenes I enjoyed a lot!

Also, Yugi and I discussed this, and we're open-sourcing all our New BRAU prep if anyone else ever wants to run one on Mini. You're welcome to use any or all of our stuff, including our character assignment system, weapon list, island design, any fluff we have, and so on! If it's anything made by anyone else, though, please ask them before taking it verbatim. The only caveats are that we ask that you give credit, and we ask that you wait until at least one full calendar year has passed since the conclusion of the previous BRAU. But yeah, if you want an easy, mostly prefab AU without character applications to worry about to get you checked off as a capable AU host or whatever, you can use ours. Enjoy!