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ROC: Survivor 2: The Cast

In ROC: Survivor, there are two types of writers: the excellent and the dead. Essentially, is a Redwall Pass-Along fanfic where the readers, not the writers, have the power to control the fate of the story by voting one character to their death each week. As the much-acclaimed Tsarmina of the Redwall Fanfiction Board and Redwall Digest put it, "You get a fun story written by determined individuals. You get to play with the lives of those individuals (for the more twisted bunch). Basically, the audience calls all the shots, while the writers are the performing monkeys begging for a treat."

Each of the ten authors has a character, whose name they use as their pseudonym. It is their job to convince you that they are the best writer, and that their character is the most interesting. Those who fail, die, until the cast is down to the final three and the ultimate Survivor is decided. The writers pour their all into this story, and it shows. Mackbry Taffellappen, of Fort Ruddler, agrees. "I've found in my years as part of the ROC that the thing that keeps people active is excitement, something ROCS2 provides plenty of. As the quote goes, 'there's never a dull moment.' Either new characters are being introduced, some creature is planning on backstabbing another, or some natural disaster forces enemies to work together. This type of role playing keeps people on the edges of their seats just waiting for the next post to pop up. To put things simply, it makes those ROC RPers that have been dead for ages actually want to get involved again… ROCS2 shows off some of the best writers on the ROC."

So, who made it in this round, which of these characters seem headed for death? That second question has no obvious answer. The ten characters this round are (in posting order); Makala, Kirill Voinomirsky, Masha Arkadiy, Gisgo, Lt. Destale Brushmoore Sr., Thanatos, Throttle, Wolcnum Pendew Oldroot-Stotesbury, and Mittsu. But which will live and which will die? Opinions vary, and each contestant has their supporters and detractors.

Certainly the best way to figure it out for yourself would be to go and read the story, but until you have a chance, here's a brief look at each character, as well as what people are saying about them. By the time this hits the press, one of these characters will already have been doomed to die.

He's an aged Long Patrol hare. Lt. Brushmoore is a stiff upper lipped military beast who's a bit uncomfortable around the rest of his shady companions.

   "The part I like best about him is that he's got the whole constant surprise that he did all this stuff, and the way he's written, the happy thoughts he has are pretty warm." -Retto, of Rw-club.org
   "My favorite character? So far, it'd have to be a toss-up between Mittsu and Lt. Brushmoore. They're both excellently written and very lifelike." -Stormclaw, of Questors Bold
   "My least favorite? That would be Lt. Destale Brushmoore, Sr. While the other characters aren't very stereotypical (especially the vermin and Kirill), but Destale's biography sounds like most other hare stories. I could definitely be wrong, and something could come up later that would change my opinion, but this is what I think from what's been revealed of this character." -Dekar, audience member
   "Brushmoore is very nice and quite appealing, but he's old and perhaps a tinge too genial (although, what can I say, Cayenne got very far by being perhaps over genial) and his character is a little less aggressively set than some of the others. This is not a bad thing, I don't think, but the audience doesn't seem to respond to it as well." -Rane, audience member
   "To me, he's close-minded, although it's typical of hares in general. He doesn't like anybeast who acts like a vermin, goodbeast or not. A special liking, a sort of a fondness or readiness to be friends, appears in Masha and Mittsu, an it appears as if he has an old duel with Wolcnum. He's impatient with who he believes are the inferior group. I think that he'll be singled out later." -Otter from the East, of the RFF

This stoat is a simple bartender, or he was until recently. He's a rather quiet figure, scarred by the loss of his wife.

   "Cool picture. I hope he does the whole quiet thing, and only talks in small bursts that like change the entire flow of conversation. I don't expect him to be in the final few, though." -Retto, of Rw-club.org

In the words of his creator, he's "a weasely little character," in spite of being a stoat. An opportunist and sometimes seemingly insane, he's doing his level best to manipulate things his way.

   "Cool picture, and a good bet for the final few. I like the entire evil-all-the-way-through thing." -Retto, of Rw-club.org
   [In answer to 'Who is your least favorite character?'] "Gisgo. I have a weird reason for this. It's not that the character isn't interesting, that the writer isn't good (they're all remarkably good), but that if this were a conventional roleplay without the voting system, where deaths were decided by the characters themselves, I'd think Gisgo should be killed off first. He knows too much and he tells too much. He likes to flaunt his knowledge in everyone's faces. In short, he's dangerous and he likes to show off how dangerous he is. If I were trapped with nine other creatures I barely knew in a scary situation, I'd like to get rid of those who liked to shove in my face the fact that they could do me harm. Gisgo is just too rotten to survive." -Rane, audience member
   "I think Gisgo will die first. Maybe it's my opinion, 'cause I don't like Gisgo. He's got great talent, but I think some of the things he said in his first message gave me a bad impression. His "the strong always survive" statement." -Iggs, of the RFF

He's probably the least military beast of the crew. This scholarly marten is unfailingly polite, although a bit apart from the other beasts.

   "The whole eye changing thing isn't so good. I'm a big fan of, when making it different, making it really different. The accent is good, I think. Other than that, I hope he stays to being really focused on academics and such for the beginning, too." -Retto, of Rw-club.org
   "Interestingly enough, my favorite character is Kirill Voinomirsky. I like the concept of a scholar on this survival mission. I also think that he is being very well written by... somebody. Way to go, somebody! I do believe that these characters will eventually find the treasure, and that's when the role of the scholar becomes obsolete. Therefore, though I hope to be proven wrong, I predict that Kirill does not make it into the final 3." -Dekar, audience member
   "I like Kirill for the reason that he is sweet without being annoying or clingy, intellegent without being ruthless, and level-headed without being dry. He's a scholar in over his head and dealing with it quite well. I like Kirill because he is very different and very decent." -Rane, audience member
   [In response to "Who is your least favorite character?"] "Kirill. Why? I don't know. He just strikes me the wrong way. Maybe it's his accent. I really don't know." -Iggs, of the RFF

She is a mercenary ferret, who, in the words of her creator, "is not so much evil as generally disagreeable." Despite (or perhaps because of) living her whole life in a war setting, Makala is one of the less shifty characters.

   "The story of her mother can best be described as "um?", and it's things like that, sharp descriptions when it isn't quite needed, that make me think she isn't going to be in the final few." -Retto, of Rw-club.org
   "Makala is a strong, straight-forward character with no hidden agendas (at least as far as I can tell) and no real tendency to hurt other beasts intentionally. She's not the sort of character that makes the reader put a hand to her mouth gasping, "What a deep and complex character!" but her slight archetypal (not stereotypical, mind you) qualities make her likable and familiar, a steadiness in the heady chaos of many of the other survivors." -Rane, audience member
   [In response to "Who is your favorite character?"] "Hmm...Makala, I'd have to say Makala. I like her style, she's a true vermin, warlord style. And she has a good accent too. ;)" -Iggs, of the RFF

She's a somewhat atypical female mouse. Unlike her green-cloaked Redwall contemporaries, Masha excels in the arts of assassination, thievery, manipulation, and seduction.

   "I don't really feel one way or the other right now. But I hope she does something really surprising later, like start a new way of thinking." -Retto, of Rw-club.org
   "Masha is clever and definitely worth watching, but she often comes off as the most outwardly hard of the bunch and not as carefully developed as some. Her insistence on forgetting about other possible survivors might have also chilled the audience." -Rane, audience member

He's the youngest beast of the group, and some claim he's the cutest. This squirrel, although a thief, is a generally silly and uncomplicated soul.

   "It kinda seems like he's going to get together with Gisgo. A bit of time as Gisgo's pupil would be interesting." -Retto, of Rw-club.org
   "My favorite character? So far, it'd have to be a toss-up between Mittsu and Lt. Brushmoore. They're both excellently written and very lifelike." -Stormclaw, of Questors Bold

Thanatos is a male ferret, is covered in tattoos. One eye is gone, probably lost in battle, and this mysterious figure has an air of ever present death.

   "Not only does he have a cool picture, but a cool name, too. I'd play up more on the thrillseeker if I were him. But he did do the "find someone in the snow and kill them" like everyone else, so I'm not really sure." -Retto, of Rw-club.org
   "Thanatos just seems... vanilla to me. It's like he's reading a book titled 'How to be evil.' There's no creative spark, no witty mannerisms... He's just evil. In my opinion and experience, a character with a one-word personality has a one-dimensional feeling." -Stormclaw, of Questors Bold
   "I like Thanatos. He's cunning, and quick minded. He's also manipulative, perhaps a little too manipulative. His plans may backfire on him sooner or later, he can't always predict how people are going to react." -Digger, of the Forum at Redwall.net
   [In answer to 'Who is your favorite character?'] "Thanatos! The way he acts around strangers is definitely original, and understandable. His character is one that makes you lift an eyebrow, and with the tattoos and his way of acting makes it appear that he has a secret, an unknown past. He acts differently to everybody, and is incredible at deceiving people." -Otter from the East, of the RFF

Without putting too fine a point on it, Throttle is an anti-social little shrew. She feels more at home with vermin than goodbeasts, and although not actively evil, is certainly devoid of morals.

   "Throttle seems (This is advice, Thro) somewhat anachronous- she's using expressions such as 'guys'. You'll never see that word in a Redwall book. I know I'm nit-picking- but the writers are all good enough that minor flaws seem bigger than they are. And yes, I know that I, among others, was guilty of anachronisms during QB." -Stormclaw, of Questors Bold
   "Errrrrrr.I'm not expecting much, and though being mildly surprised, not getting too much either. From the first post, you get the idea that she, unlike most evil-minded creatures, feels like proving herself through respect, instead of killing and being the most deceitful. A better opening scene maybe would have been looting someone's dead body." -Retto, of Rw-club.org
   "I definately don't like Throttle, she's evil. But not cool, cunning evil, she's just mindless evil with no purpose." -Digger, of Rw-club.org
   "I think that Throttle will die first. She sounds interesting, and is different from most in that she doesn't waste time explaining to her prisoners exactly what she'll do when she accomplishes her goal, but she wasn't explained as well as she could have been in the intro." -Dekar, audience member

Bluntly, this rat is a loveable idiot. His creator describes him as "stupid, talkative, and cheerfully spoiled."

   "I'd have to say Wolcnum's my favorite character, but that could just be his speech. If this didnt involve votes, and instead was realistic, Wolcnum would die soon, he's just too carefree and careless. But because of the votes, it's hard to say." -Digger, of the Redwall.net Forum
   "Has a bit of a mystery in heritage. He speaks like a hare, though hares have a notorious dislike of rats, and he has a "wealthy, indulgent father". How'd his pa get that way? Has he ever asked? I can practically feel the potential plots. If he can pull it off, I think he's got the potential for the final few." -Retto, of Rw-club.org
   "Wolcnum is very funny and very good natured, but he also seems to be confusing readers. I think his British accent is charming, but for some reason, it actually seems to draw hostility from the audience because a rat is 'talking like a hare.'" -Rane, audience member

By: Erin