The V1 Read-A-Thon
(Original post by Kermit)
Ian Hargrave is fat!
'The first things someone loooking at Ian would notice are him being massively overweight"
Ian Hargrave is fat!
Ian Hargrave was sad because he's fat and then Slayer Baseball boy #5 is like "join baseball" and ian is hapi! : )
"His weight has earned him the somewhat joking nickname of "Meat" among his teammates (though they're the only people he'll allow to call him that)."
Ian Hargrave is fat! Ian Hargrave is fat! Ian Hargrave is adopted by Kaishi!
"Ian Hargrave, baseball player and fat kid(...)"
Like ok, I get it. He's fat. At least he had other character traits in his profile like his self-doubt and sadness. I feel like if Slayer'd held onto him maybe Ian wouldn'tve ended up being FAT!fodder, but alas it wasn't to be. Characters that are fat and sad and riddled with self-doubt are the best characters [WINKING INTENSIFIES], but hey, sometimes you just need a fodder kid.
Ian is walking along a path and then he thinks about how he'll never be able to do anything ever again and he gets sad and cries. (wow just like someone else WINKINGWINKINGWINKING)
Peri comes along so rip Ian, and the Peri just shoots Ian i guess. Italian!SlayerMurderbot is here too even though he doesn't have much relevance upon the scene. Ian gets hit in the shoulder by the boolet, so he falls over and pretends to be dead. also he thinks about killing peri while his back is turned which is kinda jarring and like "ian no not u too".
Peri's like "no ur not dead" and shoots Ian in the spine this time, while saying "Wakey Wakey Eggs and Bacey" which is like heck peri calm down jeez louise guy. Peri's a dick and Ian's like "INTERNAL SCREAMING" and then Peri cuts Ian's head off while saying "You are lucky.God loves fat kids".
peri y u gotta be so rUuuUude? dont u know hes human toOooOo?
Ian dies because he got decapitated but not before Kaishi throws a flashback about how he was doomed from the start because IanIsFat and like
y'know as a reader I do have a memory of longer than 30 seconds. You don't need to state that IAN IS FAT and IAN IS DOOMED over and over again, because we the reader already know that from the first time you said it.
"Ian "Meat" Hargrave was exactly like his shell on the outside. A big, fat cowardly loser doomed from the start."
sighs
CONCLUSION: Ian had potential to be like, not fodder. If this writeup were just based off of his profile, I'd say he could've actually been a fairly complex character, y'know being all sad and stuff but then trying to prove himself and maybe also meeting up with his baseball buddies. Instead he was SAD and FAT and DOOMED and randomly thinking about murdering people and getting fed to Peri, so it's like "well ok then", leaving like no impact upon the reader. Oh well.
Ian Hargrave is fat!
'The first things someone loooking at Ian would notice are him being massively overweight"
Ian Hargrave is fat!
Ian Hargrave was sad because he's fat and then Slayer Baseball boy #5 is like "join baseball" and ian is hapi! : )
"His weight has earned him the somewhat joking nickname of "Meat" among his teammates (though they're the only people he'll allow to call him that)."
Ian Hargrave is fat! Ian Hargrave is fat! Ian Hargrave is adopted by Kaishi!
"Ian Hargrave, baseball player and fat kid(...)"
Like ok, I get it. He's fat. At least he had other character traits in his profile like his self-doubt and sadness. I feel like if Slayer'd held onto him maybe Ian wouldn'tve ended up being FAT!fodder, but alas it wasn't to be. Characters that are fat and sad and riddled with self-doubt are the best characters [WINKING INTENSIFIES], but hey, sometimes you just need a fodder kid.
Ian is walking along a path and then he thinks about how he'll never be able to do anything ever again and he gets sad and cries. (wow just like someone else WINKINGWINKINGWINKING)
Peri comes along so rip Ian, and the Peri just shoots Ian i guess. Italian!SlayerMurderbot is here too even though he doesn't have much relevance upon the scene. Ian gets hit in the shoulder by the boolet, so he falls over and pretends to be dead. also he thinks about killing peri while his back is turned which is kinda jarring and like "ian no not u too".
Peri's like "no ur not dead" and shoots Ian in the spine this time, while saying "Wakey Wakey Eggs and Bacey" which is like heck peri calm down jeez louise guy. Peri's a dick and Ian's like "INTERNAL SCREAMING" and then Peri cuts Ian's head off while saying "You are lucky.God loves fat kids".
peri y u gotta be so rUuuUude? dont u know hes human toOooOo?
Ian dies because he got decapitated but not before Kaishi throws a flashback about how he was doomed from the start because IanIsFat and like
y'know as a reader I do have a memory of longer than 30 seconds. You don't need to state that IAN IS FAT and IAN IS DOOMED over and over again, because we the reader already know that from the first time you said it.
"Ian "Meat" Hargrave was exactly like his shell on the outside. A big, fat cowardly loser doomed from the start."
sighs
CONCLUSION: Ian had potential to be like, not fodder. If this writeup were just based off of his profile, I'd say he could've actually been a fairly complex character, y'know being all sad and stuff but then trying to prove himself and maybe also meeting up with his baseball buddies. Instead he was SAD and FAT and DOOMED and randomly thinking about murdering people and getting fed to Peri, so it's like "well ok then", leaving like no impact upon the reader. Oh well.
(Original post by Cactus)
So here we go. Edward Rommel. Stream of consciousness time, which means - yeah, it's gonna be long.
Conclusion:
Do I recommend Edward? Kind of. I've gone back and forth on it.
Is he Z's best work as a writer? No. He's a short character, and a lot of his journey is twisted around by weird posting orders and some people who probably weren't as active as they should have been. He's a sweet boy, and none of his pre-written player stuff comes into play, but he doesn't get the same level of characterization or story as any of riser's longer-lived characters, probably because of bad luck in threads he was in. There's also the issue of the characterization of his autism, which is problematic because of what we know today, in 2017. It doesn't hold up, but that's a product of the times, so we need to remember that.
Why I do ultimately recommend him is in service of the characters that he meets along the way. Jacob Starr, Garrett Langston, Adam Dodd, Hawley Faust - even Aiden Ambrose and Daisuke Ando are characters that are worth a read and Edward is surrounded by them at pretty much every turn. You get kind of a secondary look at a lot of the bigger early characters during his story, and you even get to see a bit of Uriel Hunter, who I will always have a soft spot for, and the first in-joke in SOTF site history happens in a thread that Edward literally is in the midst of leaving (Minase and his death from autoimmune disorder).
By himself, I don't know if he's super compelling, but he reacts appropriately to all of the stuff going on around him, and I sort of wish that he'd been around a little longer so riser could have delved into some of the perks of his bio. But you have to remember at this point in 2005, the site wasn't very big, and there weren't a huge number of characters to follow at the beginning of the game like there would be in games today.
So yeah, give him a read. He's reflective of early SOTF site culture and writing, even if he wasn't his author's best effort, he can act as a gateway of sorts. Almost every character he interacts with is worth reading, and his stuff with Garrett is nice, if not really short. Would have been nice to see those two continue on.
I'd take another, if there's one to take.
So here we go. Edward Rommel. Stream of consciousness time, which means - yeah, it's gonna be long.
Spoiler!
Conclusion:
Do I recommend Edward? Kind of. I've gone back and forth on it.
Is he Z's best work as a writer? No. He's a short character, and a lot of his journey is twisted around by weird posting orders and some people who probably weren't as active as they should have been. He's a sweet boy, and none of his pre-written player stuff comes into play, but he doesn't get the same level of characterization or story as any of riser's longer-lived characters, probably because of bad luck in threads he was in. There's also the issue of the characterization of his autism, which is problematic because of what we know today, in 2017. It doesn't hold up, but that's a product of the times, so we need to remember that.
Why I do ultimately recommend him is in service of the characters that he meets along the way. Jacob Starr, Garrett Langston, Adam Dodd, Hawley Faust - even Aiden Ambrose and Daisuke Ando are characters that are worth a read and Edward is surrounded by them at pretty much every turn. You get kind of a secondary look at a lot of the bigger early characters during his story, and you even get to see a bit of Uriel Hunter, who I will always have a soft spot for, and the first in-joke in SOTF site history happens in a thread that Edward literally is in the midst of leaving (Minase and his death from autoimmune disorder).
By himself, I don't know if he's super compelling, but he reacts appropriately to all of the stuff going on around him, and I sort of wish that he'd been around a little longer so riser could have delved into some of the perks of his bio. But you have to remember at this point in 2005, the site wasn't very big, and there weren't a huge number of characters to follow at the beginning of the game like there would be in games today.
So yeah, give him a read. He's reflective of early SOTF site culture and writing, even if he wasn't his author's best effort, he can act as a gateway of sorts. Almost every character he interacts with is worth reading, and his stuff with Garrett is nice, if not really short. Would have been nice to see those two continue on.
I'd take another, if there's one to take.
(original post by Cactus)
Katherine Marks - a character that on first glance, I blanked on. So this will be as illuminating to y'all as it will be for me.
Conclusion:
So, Katherine Marks - how was my trip through your short but eventful life? Actually, pretty good. Kaishi was one of the strongest writers in the original v1 run, and it's clear that she knew exactly what she wanted the site to be before any of the rest of us figured it out. Katherine is a fully formed character, and while I feel that maybe her story got expedited a little bit after her battle with Jacob, I actually really enjoyed her death post and her encounter with Aaron.
There isn't much to say, outside of yeah, give Katherine a read. She's a solid, short character and I think she's well done. Hearing that Kaishi is still writing today, 12 years later doesn't surprise me at all, because you can see that the talent is definitely there from the get-go.
Katherine Marks - a character that on first glance, I blanked on. So this will be as illuminating to y'all as it will be for me.
Spoiler!
Conclusion:
So, Katherine Marks - how was my trip through your short but eventful life? Actually, pretty good. Kaishi was one of the strongest writers in the original v1 run, and it's clear that she knew exactly what she wanted the site to be before any of the rest of us figured it out. Katherine is a fully formed character, and while I feel that maybe her story got expedited a little bit after her battle with Jacob, I actually really enjoyed her death post and her encounter with Aaron.
There isn't much to say, outside of yeah, give Katherine a read. She's a solid, short character and I think she's well done. Hearing that Kaishi is still writing today, 12 years later doesn't surprise me at all, because you can see that the talent is definitely there from the get-go.
(Original post by Kermit)
DAAAaaaAaaAAaAAAhhhHHLiIIiIAAaaAAA RIiiIIiIIIiiIiVIIiiiIIEeEEEEEEEEeeeEeEEEeRAaAaAAa!? hADDY SAYS ITs TiMe fOR US TO play HiDE AND SEeEeEeeeEEeeK! AUAUahUHUAUHAUHahaH aHaHAHaHehEhe HEHahaHAhEHEhuau ahuhUa AHuHUAuh AhAhahAhaHA AAAAAaaAaaaAaAaaAA aaAAaaaaaaaAaaAa!
Profile!
Dahlia's appearance is p. good for v1. She's got a h o t b o d but a n o t h o t face and big feet also
her bio is normal and i dont have much to say about it it's decent i guess
Island!?
Dahlia is sad. Reasonable.
The announcements come on and she's like ": O" because "Fawley Hawst" killed four people, so she goes and looks in her bag to see what weapon she got, and discovers a pickaxe. This makes her A N G E R Y so she tries to throw the pickaxe at a wall but, well, I'll just let the post speak for itself.
i h8 physics ugf wrote:
dahlia how
wat r u doin
Dahlia makes A N G E R Y noises at Danya, but then Oh NoOoOoOoOOOoOOoOoO! IT's CILLian CrOWe!
Cillian does Cillian things and Dahlia's like "get the fuck away what the fuck are you doing". Cillian does more Cillian things and Dahlia does more reasonable person things like run away, and Cillian being Cillian thinks this means it's time for some hIDE aNd gO sEek!
Dahlia hides underneath the gazebo and Cillian, having finished counting to ten, opens his eyes, and not being able to immediately spot Dahlia, has an A N G E R Y temper tantrum. Dahlia gets scurred and screams, allowing Cillian to know where she is.
Damn it Dahlia, you had one job.
Cillian kills Dahlia using his FINGERNAILS (WAT) like the slasher villain he is, so rip dahlia i guess.
Conclusion: She had a decent base to work off of, but she just ended up being Cillian fodder so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
DAAAaaaAaaAAaAAAhhhHHLiIIiIAAaaAAA RIiiIIiIIIiiIiVIIiiiIIEeEEEEEEEEeeeEeEEEeRAaAaAAa!? hADDY SAYS ITs TiMe fOR US TO play HiDE AND SEeEeEeeeEEeeK! AUAUahUHUAUHAUHahaH aHaHAHaHehEhe HEHahaHAhEHEhuau ahuhUa AHuHUAuh AhAhahAhaHA AAAAAaaAaaaAaAaaAA aaAAaaaaaaaAaaAa!
Profile!
Dahlia's appearance is p. good for v1. She's got a h o t b o d but a n o t h o t face and big feet also
her bio is normal and i dont have much to say about it it's decent i guess
Oh you poor, innocent thing. I am so sorry about what will happen to you.Dahlia absolutely abhores violence and the sight of blood enough to make her faint. She has a particular fondness for babies and small furry animals.
Island!?
Dahlia is sad. Reasonable.
The announcements come on and she's like ": O" because "Fawley Hawst" killed four people, so she goes and looks in her bag to see what weapon she got, and discovers a pickaxe. This makes her A N G E R Y so she tries to throw the pickaxe at a wall but, well, I'll just let the post speak for itself.
i h8 physics ugf wrote:
lolA pickaxe? What was she supposed to do with a pickaxe. Dahlia let out a scream of frustration and tossed it behind her head aiming for the gazebo platform. Instead of reaching it's target goal, the sharp blade of the pickaxe came down and stabbed her in the shoulder. She screamed out in shocked pain. The rain poured down around her as she clutched the spot that bled bright crimson.
dahlia how
wat r u doin
Dahlia makes A N G E R Y noises at Danya, but then Oh NoOoOoOoOOOoOOoOoO! IT's CILLian CrOWe!
Cillian does Cillian things and Dahlia's like "get the fuck away what the fuck are you doing". Cillian does more Cillian things and Dahlia does more reasonable person things like run away, and Cillian being Cillian thinks this means it's time for some hIDE aNd gO sEek!
Dahlia hides underneath the gazebo and Cillian, having finished counting to ten, opens his eyes, and not being able to immediately spot Dahlia, has an A N G E R Y temper tantrum. Dahlia gets scurred and screams, allowing Cillian to know where she is.
Damn it Dahlia, you had one job.
Cillian kills Dahlia using his FINGERNAILS (WAT) like the slasher villain he is, so rip dahlia i guess.
Conclusion: She had a decent base to work off of, but she just ended up being Cillian fodder so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
(Original post by Blastinus)
It's actually kind of odd that I'd get Kichiro Taka right after Umi Martin. Call it serendipity, I suppose. Or just that he was one of the last kids remaining. Either way, his bio is pretty much nothing but his relationship with Umi, so let's just dive right in to the meat of the thing.
Oh jeez, we've got the ungrateful gits thing happening right at the start, as Kichiro tries to find shelter in a house, has his hands above his head, and yet the folks inside are still discussing how suspicious he is and how they should totally kill him. Like, here's how Kichiro responds to Terry Woodard accusing him of having a gun:
But, bygones having been declared and all that, they let Kichiro go, and it's time for Japanese 101 as he runs into Kiyoko and the two of them have a lengthy conversation that's only subtitled sometimes. Bonding over the fact that he actually knows her language, Kiyoko and Kichiro team up, and Kichiro's locking his arm around hers in just one more thread, though he claims it's just so he can "protect her". Sure, buddy. They meet Cassandra Roivas, and after a bit of initial distrust, they realize that they're not playing and settle down to discuss what their plans are and where to go from there.
You see that, Terry? It's what you call polite conversation.
The two having become three, they hear about Terry and August dying, and Kichiro is sad and vows revenge. Standard stuff. They then arrive at the Andrew Lipson death scene, which we've covered plenty of times, and oh no, Umi's right there, but he doesn't recognize her! Then he hears that the bamboo coppice is on fire and that Umi was just there, so he's off to the rescue, leaving her unknowingly behind at the cliff.
The way he dies is...odd. Basically he goes charging into the burning bamboo and chokes to death on the smoke, only realizing right before he collapses that he actually left Umi behind. I guess it's supposed to be tragic, but I dunno. Something about it isn't resonating with me. It seems so unmotivated by reason or logic and it's a bizarrely stupid way for a guy who was acting fairly intelligently before to meet his demise. Overall, it's a neutral ending, and that's how I feel about Kichiro in general. I didn't really hate or like him. He was just sort of there. I guess being average is better than being awful so...props for that, I guess?
If there are no kids left, then I'll bid this Read-a-Thon adieu. It's been fun!
It's actually kind of odd that I'd get Kichiro Taka right after Umi Martin. Call it serendipity, I suppose. Or just that he was one of the last kids remaining. Either way, his bio is pretty much nothing but his relationship with Umi, so let's just dive right in to the meat of the thing.
Oh jeez, we've got the ungrateful gits thing happening right at the start, as Kichiro tries to find shelter in a house, has his hands above his head, and yet the folks inside are still discussing how suspicious he is and how they should totally kill him. Like, here's how Kichiro responds to Terry Woodard accusing him of having a gun:
And Terry responds:"Common sense here, let's use some common sense," he started, not being able to stop the sarcasm, "I would have shot you already, had I a gun. Because, frankly, you don't. Or you would've shot me by now instead of having this little interrogation. I'm not here to play games, especially not their sadistic one where some serial killer wins. I just want to see where I stand on this!"
Like, seriously, there's a bit of an edge to Kichiro's defense, but he's not being a jerk, as far as I can tell. He's just somewhat impatient with a couple of folks who are dead-set on murdering him for something he isn't doing. Even when he does comply and show them his weapon, a stun gun, Terry still threatens him and acts like he's some high-strung murderer when he clearly isn't. He's just a sarcastic kid. It's actually KICHIRO who apologizes for how HE acted in the end, and that's...just a bit nonsensical. He gave up his bag when asked, never made a threatening move, and it was Terry and August Masbeth who were constantly plotting to murder him."The reason you're not dead yet asshole is because I'm. not. playing.," Terry yelled back saying each word slowly and clearly.
Terry gripped the handle of the bat tighter in anger. God like he actually thinks that attitude is going to get him anywhere with us.
But, bygones having been declared and all that, they let Kichiro go, and it's time for Japanese 101 as he runs into Kiyoko and the two of them have a lengthy conversation that's only subtitled sometimes. Bonding over the fact that he actually knows her language, Kiyoko and Kichiro team up, and Kichiro's locking his arm around hers in just one more thread, though he claims it's just so he can "protect her". Sure, buddy. They meet Cassandra Roivas, and after a bit of initial distrust, they realize that they're not playing and settle down to discuss what their plans are and where to go from there.
You see that, Terry? It's what you call polite conversation.
The two having become three, they hear about Terry and August dying, and Kichiro is sad and vows revenge. Standard stuff. They then arrive at the Andrew Lipson death scene, which we've covered plenty of times, and oh no, Umi's right there, but he doesn't recognize her! Then he hears that the bamboo coppice is on fire and that Umi was just there, so he's off to the rescue, leaving her unknowingly behind at the cliff.
The way he dies is...odd. Basically he goes charging into the burning bamboo and chokes to death on the smoke, only realizing right before he collapses that he actually left Umi behind. I guess it's supposed to be tragic, but I dunno. Something about it isn't resonating with me. It seems so unmotivated by reason or logic and it's a bizarrely stupid way for a guy who was acting fairly intelligently before to meet his demise. Overall, it's a neutral ending, and that's how I feel about Kichiro in general. I didn't really hate or like him. He was just sort of there. I guess being average is better than being awful so...props for that, I guess?
If there are no kids left, then I'll bid this Read-a-Thon adieu. It's been fun!
(Original post by Cactus)
So this'll be... short. Since I've apparently become allergic or air or something and I'm barely coherent, thanks to antihistamines. Wheeeeeeeee.
Conclusion:
Do yourself a favour and SKIP THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF THIS. It's very short, and very, very much a waste of my time. The best part about this was getting to listen to the youtube video "how is prangent formed" and its sequel "curse of the weggy board" a few times while writing it, because this just sucked.
Also, Ash Holmes fully no-sells a bullet to the chest that LEAVES A HOLE IN HIS CHEST.
I read ahead to see if he fully forgets about it. He does, but he only lasts another page before Cillian Crowe comes along and knives him in the brain. Oy, V1.
*bows out*
So this'll be... short. Since I've apparently become allergic or air or something and I'm barely coherent, thanks to antihistamines. Wheeeeeeeee.
Spoiler!
Conclusion:
Do yourself a favour and SKIP THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF THIS. It's very short, and very, very much a waste of my time. The best part about this was getting to listen to the youtube video "how is prangent formed" and its sequel "curse of the weggy board" a few times while writing it, because this just sucked.
Also, Ash Holmes fully no-sells a bullet to the chest that LEAVES A HOLE IN HIS CHEST.
I read ahead to see if he fully forgets about it. He does, but he only lasts another page before Cillian Crowe comes along and knives him in the brain. Oy, V1.
*bows out*
(Original post by CPB)
Blaine Eno:
Kids.
Yes, you.
"Eat your greens. Stay in school. Don't do drugs."
Common advice in today's world, right? But in the end, most of us choose to play by a different set of rules. Don't lie, none of you eat your greens. I know this to be true. I have more faith in this than I do the ability of pigs to play the acoustic guitar.
...
Well, even if you don't follow these rules, at least you can go to sleep at night knowing you didn't turn out like Blaine Eno, of Barry Coleson High. Gather 'round the campfire, and let me play you a tune.
It's called,
...
*ahem*
It's a story that, at its earliest known date of sharing, was told by my great-great-grandfather to his son, who passed it to his children, and then to his children's children, and then to his children's children's children, who passed it along to me. There are many inconsistencies in the story, mostly with the kid's behavior, and some of the choices he made strike me as bizarre.
But as long as there's a campfire and an acoustic guitar, I'll play this song and sing these words to anyone with a willing ear.
...
What's that?
...Pigs can't play guitar?
...
Well, how about that.
Blaine Eno:
Kids.
Yes, you.
"Eat your greens. Stay in school. Don't do drugs."
Common advice in today's world, right? But in the end, most of us choose to play by a different set of rules. Don't lie, none of you eat your greens. I know this to be true. I have more faith in this than I do the ability of pigs to play the acoustic guitar.
...
Well, even if you don't follow these rules, at least you can go to sleep at night knowing you didn't turn out like Blaine Eno, of Barry Coleson High. Gather 'round the campfire, and let me play you a tune.
It's called,
Spoiler!
...
*ahem*
It's a story that, at its earliest known date of sharing, was told by my great-great-grandfather to his son, who passed it to his children, and then to his children's children, and then to his children's children's children, who passed it along to me. There are many inconsistencies in the story, mostly with the kid's behavior, and some of the choices he made strike me as bizarre.
But as long as there's a campfire and an acoustic guitar, I'll play this song and sing these words to anyone with a willing ear.
...
What's that?
...Pigs can't play guitar?
...
Well, how about that.
(Original post by Catche Jagger)
I have returned from my quest, and with me I bring the spoils of my success:
So, would I recommend Martyn Ferdinand? I guess so. He's got some troubles and his story really doesn't get going until "Today's The Day, I Pray That We Make It Through". I'd also say that you can get his whole story by reading Jill Gatling instead, who I perceive to be a more well-realized character overall. Still, his story is an important part of that whole Jack O'Connor virus thing that apparently also showed up in V3 somehow. Recommended!
I have returned from my quest, and with me I bring the spoils of my success:
Spoiler!
So, would I recommend Martyn Ferdinand? I guess so. He's got some troubles and his story really doesn't get going until "Today's The Day, I Pray That We Make It Through". I'd also say that you can get his whole story by reading Jill Gatling instead, who I perceive to be a more well-realized character overall. Still, his story is an important part of that whole Jack O'Connor virus thing that apparently also showed up in V3 somehow. Recommended!
(Original post by Ruggahissy with few alterations, mostly due to spoilers being finicky.)
Sometimes I make mistakes.
MADELAINE SHIROHARA
FINAL THOUGHTS
Holy jesus, I can't believe the river thread is longer than Lord of the Flies (Not an exaggeration, we word counted it and it's almost a full third longer than Lord of the Flies). Oh, Madelaine. I said it already but I guess I can see how at the time of V1, since she's written competently and with some style and approaches some nice bonds she would be a big deal. For the time, she's pretty impressive and if you took her story from before "Though We May Not Survive It" in isolation I'd say she's decent. Perhaps nothing special, but nothing particularly offensive and someone who could be dropped into any version.
However .
"Though We May Not Survive It" does happen and her meeting with Nanami is what starts her long slide downward. Readers don't like being told how much you should love a character or how great they are and that's all Nanami is. Following this kill Madelaine sucks all action towards her and her motivations and views become wobbly and change frequently. There's a bit of a fascinating switch where Madelaine becomes very cruel and dismissive, but the narrative wants to have its cake and eat it too, telling us that she's still the hope and light. I feel like Makaze wanted to experiment with the effects of trauma, but also didn't want anyone to think Madelaine was anything but the best, most good hearted character around. A bit Mary Sue-ish following the introduction of Nanami. By the time she's dead Dodd laments her death, saying she was the hope and the kindness and heart of their group but in the same thread she says she'll kill or play to save the people she likes. I don't know how to reconcile those two different versions of Madelaine that Madelaine tries to sell us.
Recommend? Uhhhhhhh, mmmmm no. I would instead recommend Hawley who may be the best V1 character I've read so far. All the best Madelaine moments come from Hawley so that will showcase the best of her, and you don't have to read an empty rape scene that contributes nothing to the character's story.
Sometimes I make mistakes.
MADELAINE SHIROHARA
Spoiler!
Holy jesus, I can't believe the river thread is longer than Lord of the Flies (Not an exaggeration, we word counted it and it's almost a full third longer than Lord of the Flies). Oh, Madelaine. I said it already but I guess I can see how at the time of V1, since she's written competently and with some style and approaches some nice bonds she would be a big deal. For the time, she's pretty impressive and if you took her story from before "Though We May Not Survive It" in isolation I'd say she's decent. Perhaps nothing special, but nothing particularly offensive and someone who could be dropped into any version.
However .
"Though We May Not Survive It" does happen and her meeting with Nanami is what starts her long slide downward. Readers don't like being told how much you should love a character or how great they are and that's all Nanami is. Following this kill Madelaine sucks all action towards her and her motivations and views become wobbly and change frequently. There's a bit of a fascinating switch where Madelaine becomes very cruel and dismissive, but the narrative wants to have its cake and eat it too, telling us that she's still the hope and light. I feel like Makaze wanted to experiment with the effects of trauma, but also didn't want anyone to think Madelaine was anything but the best, most good hearted character around. A bit Mary Sue-ish following the introduction of Nanami. By the time she's dead Dodd laments her death, saying she was the hope and the kindness and heart of their group but in the same thread she says she'll kill or play to save the people she likes. I don't know how to reconcile those two different versions of Madelaine that Madelaine tries to sell us.
Recommend? Uhhhhhhh, mmmmm no. I would instead recommend Hawley who may be the best V1 character I've read so far. All the best Madelaine moments come from Hawley so that will showcase the best of her, and you don't have to read an empty rape scene that contributes nothing to the character's story.
(Originally posted by CPB)
Redemption.
I'd like another, if there are any left.
Redemption.
Spoiler!
(Originally posted by Iceblock)
Finished Peri Barclay.
Finished Peri Barclay.
Spoiler!
(Originally posted by Jilly)
So let's talk about Clare Shephard.
Overall, would I recommend a look at Clare? Yes and no. I say "yes" because Clare has good writing and Toukan really does try their best to contribute and play fair with the more actiony scenes that Clare gets involved in, specifically Neville's death scene and her share of the Vince fight thread are good reads. I say "no" because I am legitimately mad at the fact that Clare's group was railroaded by people who felt they had to completely dominate scenes for no reason at all, or their sole reason was to try and get as high of a kill count as possible.
Ugh. Clare didn't deserve this fate even considering the nip slip. I don't think I'll take another kid, for now.
So let's talk about Clare Shephard.
Spoiler!
Overall, would I recommend a look at Clare? Yes and no. I say "yes" because Clare has good writing and Toukan really does try their best to contribute and play fair with the more actiony scenes that Clare gets involved in, specifically Neville's death scene and her share of the Vince fight thread are good reads. I say "no" because I am legitimately mad at the fact that Clare's group was railroaded by people who felt they had to completely dominate scenes for no reason at all, or their sole reason was to try and get as high of a kill count as possible.
Ugh. Clare didn't deserve this fate even considering the nip slip. I don't think I'll take another kid, for now.
(Originally posted by CPB)
Lyndi Thibodeaux:
Now THIS is a character that exists!
Overall I think Lyndi is recommendable, but with the caveat that she drops off towards the end of her run. However, the good parts of Lyndi are sane and coherent, a shining beacon of comprehensibility in a world of Shinyas and Codys. She actually develops as a character a decent amount, and her reason-you-suck speech to Vince is a good moment, even if it is, ultimately, for nothing.
Another one, please. Let's get this ball rolling just a liiiiiiiitle faster.
Also I want Hawley rngesus plz
Lyndi Thibodeaux:
Now THIS is a character that exists!
Spoiler!
Overall I think Lyndi is recommendable, but with the caveat that she drops off towards the end of her run. However, the good parts of Lyndi are sane and coherent, a shining beacon of comprehensibility in a world of Shinyas and Codys. She actually develops as a character a decent amount, and her reason-you-suck speech to Vince is a good moment, even if it is, ultimately, for nothing.
Another one, please. Let's get this ball rolling just a liiiiiiiitle faster.
Also I want Hawley rngesus plz
And that is every review posted so far. These are the characters left.
26 - Devi Satome - (Yugi)
43 - Hawley Faust - (CBP)
92 - Chance Burton - (Mimi)
99 - Jill Gatling - (Endellion)
106 - Takara Asano - (Espi)
108 - Scott Jameson - (Tonyksin)
110 - Ryan Torres - (Jill)
111 - Toby Valerik - (Rugga)
123 - Adam Dodd - (RIP Zee)
Just hit us up in this thread if you want a character, as for those who have a character already. We'll be shamelessly stealing rules from the V3 RAT Redux, you have to tell us within two weeks or the character will be put back on the board.
26 - Devi Satome - (Yugi)
43 - Hawley Faust - (CBP)
92 - Chance Burton - (Mimi)
99 - Jill Gatling - (Endellion)
106 - Takara Asano - (Espi)
108 - Scott Jameson - (Tonyksin)
110 - Ryan Torres - (Jill)
111 - Toby Valerik - (Rugga)
123 - Adam Dodd - (RIP Zee)
Just hit us up in this thread if you want a character, as for those who have a character already. We'll be shamelessly stealing rules from the V3 RAT Redux, you have to tell us within two weeks or the character will be put back on the board.
I would like to help in the effort. ^_^