In Which I Say Who My Favorite Of Your Living V7 Characters Is

[Primrosette]

Thank you for the kind words once again, MW. I really do love your opinions not just about my characters but other people's characters as well. It is always interesting and fun to read about your thoughts on different characters. ^^

[Yugikun]

ok but who is your favourite of my characters now

The sad part is my pace fell off so much that your joke can be read as fairly reasonable by now.

I will open a round for second opinions at some point, likely after the 1/3 mark--thus far, my opinions have generally been pretty stable and most of my favs haven't forced me into second choices by dying.

ok but who is your favourite of my characters now

[Sunnybunny]

Please judge me I can take it

(lol I'm a marshmallow but still)

[MurderWeasel]

Who is your favorite of my one character? The people wanna know, it's me the people.

Please judge me I can take it

(lol I'm a marshmallow but still)

Me? Forget a thread?

...whoops.

Anyways, my favorite of your kid is definitely Sakurako Jackson. There's a whole lot to love about Sakurako, but I think one of the best parts about her is how clearly her personality comes through and rings true. Often, characters who are meant to be funny are funny due to how they're written more than what they say and do. That's not a knock--sometimes things are funnier due to perspective, a laughing-at as opposed to a laughing-with--but Sakurako is a character with a knack for being funny herself, intentionally, and her posts really sell that well. She makes jokes that actually make me chuckle, she frames her experiences and observations in novel and interesting ways, and throughout it all she's almost always charming and personable.

Of course, she's more than that too. Sakurako has a real caring core to her, a much more serious and emotional side, and you do an excellent job of bringing that into play at the right moments. Her easy manner and casual charm can mask it, sometimes, but she's someone who cares deeply about her friends and who's trying to do the right thing. She is, in many ways, the heart and soul of her groups, which is a role that can be difficult to occupy while still feeling natural and human, but which Sakurako makes look like a breeze. Whenever I get to one of her posts, I know it'll add interesting insight to the scene, make me smile, and give me a new outlook on everything else that's going on. All of those things are the hallmarks of a very good character indeed.

[Melusine]

since i got more character than when i started v7, can i get another Review?

[Ohm]

I refrained from asking since I only had one at the start, but since I have adopted a few, which one would it be?

[MurderWeasel]

I don't normally do critiques until my work is finished, but this is simply who you like the most. I'll take a quick answer.

My favorite of your crew at the moment is Justin Greene. In a version that has seen a lot of handlers playing with characters who feel inhuman, Justin stands strong for exactly the opposite reason, and in doing so has become one of my favorite villains running around. Justin is scary not because he's a huge physical threat or a tactical genius--he's neither--but because he's a scared guy making horrible, irrational decisions who nonetheless has a strong helping of desperate cunning and follow-through. It is, in fact, Justin's somewhat questionable tactical skills that let him wear so well what sits so poorly in many other characters: the assumption that, having killed once, his only choice is to continue to do so and to target whoever he gets a clean shot at. This leads to a number of squabbles and skirmishes and attempts, which often see Justin failing to triumph, but instead of being rendered impotent by his failures, he turns them into excellent beats, letting them fuel his desperation of crystallize his motivation or offer moments of empathy.

But let's back up a second, because there's another cool thing about Justin. On a plot level, Justin's course is set on the first day, when he cracks Benny over the head. Until the announcements reveal Benny's death, though, it feels like Justin may be able to change course and find another way, and not just IC. OOC, too, Justin feels like a character who's been shaped by this really natural process as a consequence of what he's experienced, often in totally unplanned ways, which is super cool and makes all of his beats feel thoroughly earned. Justin isn't scary because he's the baddest dude in the room. He's scary because he's the realest one, the one you look at and go, "Yeah, yeah that is exactly how someone would act after what he's been through."

[MurderWeasel]

I would like to hear your opinions on my cast as well.

Doing something different here and for Backslash too because y'all had more than one character when you asked but I slacked and rolls/other fatalities happened. So I'm going to do a quicker capsule on cool stuff about each of your kids, living and dead, to make up for my tardiness.

Kyle Harrison was cool for his genuine goodness. A lot has been made of V7 as a version of jerks, but if Kyle had lived a little longer, he could've challenged that perception. I was particularly taken by the way you characterized his relationship with Violet; the chemistry between them was strong and Kyle felt like he really cared about her with how he was aware of and willing to work around her preferences and triggers. His death also deserves mention as a fluke act of god sort of thing, in that it took a premise that could've easily come off as forced and instead used it to create a situation with a whole lot of drama and momentum building for Violet, while at the same time playing off environmental damage that had been established in earlier threads. It was one of the best-executed, set-up horrific blameless accidents I've seen and deserves major props for that.

Speaking of, the decision to kill Saffron Fields unrolled was fascinating, brave, and thoroughly thematically appropriate. V7 has seen a lot of reunions, but I appreciated that the dynamic Saffron and Katie shared was neither simple nor perfect. There was tension and doubt, as Katie's violent tendencies flared up in scary ways and caused real questions, and yet at the end Saffron was able to look past that, and to take solace in, if nothing else, perishing hand in hand with her partner. It was the right way to go, and a beat that I suspect many people didn't expect, but it did real work for Erika while also closing out Saffron's and Katie's stories strongly.

Finally, my favorite of your living cast is the one and only Tony Acardi, though I fear he may not be long for this world. Though, let me just say, the fact that I have no idea what or how stuff is going to happen with Tony is great. If he dies here, I'll be totally down for it, and I think you'll rock it. If he somehow pulls through, I will follow with intrigue. Welcome to the "anything can happen!" club. That aside, I appreciate that Tony's been a generally good guy in a background sort of role. He's not the one calling the shots, he's sometimes a bit slow to step in, but he fills out his alliance, brings his own perspective, builds up the other characters, and remains a presence without hogging the spotlight. He's been on support duty, but in a good way, the sort of character who helps the dynamics of the team feel real. And, let me just say again, when he fell on the bar that moment came so far from left field and has had me on the edge of my seat for the resolution since.

[MurderWeasel]

I'm here to add to your workload.

As with Aura, I'm hitting up your whole cast as apologies for taking so long that you got rolled down to one.

When it comes to Mercy Ames, I think the big things to talk about as cool are group dynamics and her death. I felt that she really came into her own negotiating with Madison for access to the house, and in the relatively pleasant moments that followed. Mercy seemed vivacious and decent, and this made the slow mounting of warning signs culminating in her unexpected and untimely death all the more powerful. I think the scene is going to linger in the public consciousness for a long time, as each character did their part to make it land memorably, with Mercy the unfortunate fatal center of attention.

Dolly Upton was interesting to me for a lot of reasons, but I think my highlight with her has to be her conversation with Violet. It was interesting to me because due to their shared occult sensibilities, both characters were operating on a wavelength different from that which they could find with others--even, in Dolly's case, with Marceline, her closest relationship--and yet that didn't mean they saw eye to eye or even necessarily pulled the same things from the interaction. It felt heavy, portentous, and yet at the same time it served as a moment of lightness and comparative levity, a resting point for Violet before she truly committed to her course and a final friendly meeting for Dolly, who would all too soon meet her end.

Speaking of friends, Andy Silverman had some of my favorite chemistry with another character in the version. He and Axel were two peas in a pod from Pregame on, and yet I somehow never got tired of the way they played off each other. There was this special sort of casual machoness to their interactions that never came anywhere close to masking the deep and abiding love and respect for each other that lay beneath it. The pair had enough in common that it was obvious at a glance why they were such a good duo, yet also enough divergence that their identities were always clear and distinct. I really think people working on close friends in future versions would do well to give Andy's story a read, because the relationship captured in his tale is just that good.

Finally, my favorite survivor, Myles Roux, stands out for several reasons. I think part of what I've most appreciated from Myles is the flow of pettiness and control. These two things tend to inform most of Myles' actions, in one way or another. He's willing to put himself at a resource disadvantage in hopes of securing a social boon. In an ally, he finds obedience among the most desirable traits, and is skilled at securing it. At the same time, Myles' day can be ruined by something relatively minor; he's more willing to sulk over the loss of his hat than he is over the death of a friend (though, to be clear and fair, that says less about Myles' priorities and more about what he chooses to let himself think about; Tristan's fate is repressed, but the hat is safer ground and thus can be mulled at length). Myles has earned his reputation as an individual of dubious trustworthiness and reliability well and truly, but that makes him constantly interesting to follow, even (or especially) if his schemes don't meet with quite the success he hopes for.

[MurderWeasel]

I meant to jump onto this earlier but I didn't! So now I am! Wow!

My favorite of your crew is Aurelien Valter. I think the thing that stands out to me most about Aurelien is the way his story is wrapped up in the push and pull of emotion against reason. This is a theme that can be difficult to pull off, especially while keeping the character sympathetic, but Aurelien does an excellent job of it, and I think a lot of that's built up through Pregame. We see him getting into difficult situations, fumbling when Myles puts the moves on him before going head over heels for Dante or jumping on Claudeson without being totally sure he's right. Having these moments and this core impulsivity in Aurelien's past makes moments like his freakout on the beach have a lot more oomph; we've seen how easily he can follow his heart, which makes the points where he exercises self control carry a lot more narrative heft. And, moreover, we've seen that at his core, even when he's going off, it's for sympathetic reasons. He means well, more or less.

Two other cool things about Aurelien: 1. I know it may not have been the original intention, but I actually liked that he was too late to meet up with Dante. V7 has seen a lot of reunions, which made a missed connection all the more tragic, and gave a different, low-closure vibe to Aurelien's ongoing grief, which has been characterized excellently. 2. You do a great job bringing some real heft and physicality to the way you write his weapon, and even though he has yet to do much of anything material with it, the thing feels weighty and dangerous, a real presence. That's cool.

[MurderWeasel]

Better late than never, so, yeah, me too please.

I'm giving the nod to Zachary Beck, for a few reasons. Zach as a character is intriguing to me, and a lot of that comes from his sometimes inscrutable motives. My read on Zach, which may or may not be right, is that he's someone who'd like to be a good guy on some level but also has a pretty hard time giving much thought or consideration to the feelings of others, especially when weighed against his own wants. This actually springs really well from aspects of his character established before the game; he's a prank streamer, which shows both a desire for popularity and success (building his following and being viewed as a cool guy) and also a somewhat casual disregard for the comfort of others (he's totally down to jumpscare random people for the sake of his videos). These traits ripple through quite a bit of what Zach does in-game. When he experiences horrors, he seems to have this feeling like maybe he should be more torn up by them, but it just doesn't happen. When, on the other hand, he thinks a friend is going to think badly of him and misunderstand what he's done, that's cause to try to straighten the record and to run away. He's perfectly content to tell himself he's running an intensive survivalist plan... until there are people in trouble, and then right there are the fantasies of saving the day and being the guy people like. This sort of tension also fills Zach's recent killing of Brandon, and I love that you didn't let it be just an accident. Once he's started down his path, unintentional though it is, Zach buckles up and takes responsibility and lays out the coup de grace, and while that doesn't crystallize the swirl of motivations and possible paths for him, it raises the stakes no matter which way he goes.

[MurderWeasel]

What's your favorite for me? (I have three that I control, I don't know if for the sake of this Jessica counts as mine)

Right now, I cleanly favor Christina Rennes. Christina's interesting to me in large part because of the way her advantages are playing out; she's calm, cool, and collected, and that has shined through basically from the word go. Christina is quick to assess her gear and situation, makes sure to keep track of her weapon, and even when she's on the back foot is busily judging her attacker's chances of making it through the next few days (and, guess what? She's right on the money; three days later and Ron's been dead a nice little while). These moments do a good job establishing Christina's narrative voice. She's blunt, succinct, and deadpan, but with a certain air of smugness behind her. She thinks she's more equipped to survive than many of those she meets, or at least more aware of the situation, and that lets her take things in stride, even, say, the revelation that her sister got tossed off a waterfall.

All of this makes her recent linking up with the somewhat more whimsical but equally logical and driven Daria pretty intriguing, because the girls compliment one another's strengths in some ways but have some fundamental differences in ultimate aims. I'm certainly interested to see whether the alliance lasts and how far it carries; I think Renz hasn't found anyone she quite believed could keep up with her until now, but has perhaps sensed in Daria a more kindred spirit.

[MurderWeasel]

ok but who is your favourite of my characters now

The sad part is my pace fell off so much that your joke can be read as fairly reasonable by now.

I will open a round for second opinions at some point, likely after the 1/3 mark--thus far, my opinions have generally been pretty stable and most of my favs haven't forced me into second choices by dying.

ok but who is your favourite of my characters now

I think we all know the sad part now.

[MurderWeasel]

since i got more character than when i started v7, can i get another Review?

It's after the 1/3 mark, so okay! I'm not gonna make a habit of it right now 'cause I may start another thread soon, though, for a slightly different deal.

That said, while I've quite enjoyed the work you've done with the new additions to your roster, I am still in camp Willow O'Neal. Last time I talked about plot and broad characterization stuff, so this time I'm going to talk about one of the biggest things that endears Willow to me besides that: unique details. Willow is, to put it bluntly, not like the other people in her class. That difference isn't overblown or the sole core of her character or anything, though; it's something that's just casually presented in her posts, and this couples with the consistency and sheer creativity with which her quirks are drawn to let her get away with lots of stuff.

I'll get into a few specific examples. First off, Willow can identify people she knows by smell to some degree. This is something I would've never thought of in a thousand years, but is just such a perfectly odd thing about her, one that doesn't really offer particular advantages or anything (outside I guess very niche circumstances) but that makes everyone around her raise an eyebrow and maybe scoot a little bit away. She's also after something a bit different from most of the others; she flat out states that the actions of those in the game don't really matter, and what gets her most excited is a warm feeling of belonging or a totally useless book to read, rather than more practical or traditional things. This leaves Willow a really unique character in an understated way, one with a niche I don't really think anybody else could fill, and one she occupies without even seeming to try.

[MurderWeasel]

I refrained from asking since I only had one at the start, but since I have adopted a few, which one would it be?

I'm going to go with that one from the start, Sean Leibowitz. Sean is unique among V7 characters in that he's had some real strong continuity in his island journey; it has all been in a group of some description, and he's stuck with Thomas Buckley the whole way. This is cool for a few reasons, but a big one is that it's given Sean a constant presence against which to measure his growth, mentality, and experiences.

I read Sean as, in some ways, the grounded, stable, sane member of the team. He's managed to stay clear of the particularly dramatic moments, has been there to offer comfort and condolences when bad stuff happens to his allies, and has reacted quickly and stepped up when, say, a surprise bear trap goes off in the middle of a pleasant afternoon stroll. Sean is in a lot of ways the everyman, the normal guy stuck in a really messed up situation, and you're also able to pull some humor from that where appropriate (and from Sean's horrifying weapon pull; I've smelled durian many a time and eaten it a couple times [which is a couple too many] and its appearances in scene are always good for a smile, especially since you don't overplay it and save it for the moments where it fits the best). I guess what I'm saying is, Sean's a pretty decent, normal guy in a crazy abnormal situation, and there's a really good reason that's one of the most popular stories to tell. And he pulls it off very nicely indeed.