The Great Illuminatus Review Thread

How would you rate The Great Illuminatus on a scale of 1-100?
100. Perfect culmination. From a competitive standpoint it only could have been better with a full house of rps. But that didn't affect how it was written, and as usual, you gave everyone - even those who couldn't get something up - something to hang their hat on.

What was the best 'tier'?
Gotta agree with the majority and say Tier 2. I think the game shifted the moment the TRIAD holders entered the fray, and it became a different sort of competition. That was actually really useful to prevent the match-ups feeling repetitive, but in Tier 2 it felt like the stakes rose exponentially from Tier 1. Maybe it's a product of not having the no shows, but it was also a product of the way the matches were written. Everyone was fighting for their lives.

What was the best spot?
I really liked Meyhu's leg getting taken out. It provided a great equaliser for someone with one less match under his belt so theoretically being 'fresher'. With King, the equaliser was often the TRIAD piece. Meyhu's was just about good wrestling psychology.

What was the best segment?
The absence of LCP.

What was the best line(s) of commentary?
Hood: Getting a little taste of his own medicine. Meyhu working over a bodypart and, if we’re being honest, probably the most important one.

MoMo: Yes, the brain is pretty important.

Best moment of the show?
Parker beating SEB. Knox beating Stratford. Raven is the best bird. Flip a coin. Then flip it however many more times you need to in order to pick between three options.

Most shocking moment of the show?
Poor PIC.
Also, fuck him for taking some of King's power and then wasting it on the rest of those bozos. If King had kept that power...

What did you think about the match/event concept?
Awesome. I had seen one of the prior Illuminatuses... Illuminati... whatever, and thought it was fantastic. TRIAD as a whole added a whole extra emphasis to it.

How was your experience in TRIAD?
The story of what was and what could have been. I've only just started stretching out from my usual comfort zone, and the 2k rp limit definitely took me even further from it. I've really appreciated to have the opportunity to participate twice and learn and grow from it, not to mention get to know a few other weirdos in this hobby.

If a Great Illuminatus event was held once a year would you participate?
It's all about availability for me, hence why I didn't sign up for Bravery even though I was in the Discord and everything from the outset. If the stars align.

Suggestions?
So... because you Princess Brided us, we can choose whether or not that's the real ending right? Cause Kieran feels that's not how it ended at all.

Anything else you'd like to add:
I did this for Strength, and there was no review thread for Wit so didn't do it then, but I'll bring it back here. A few words to everyone:
Cat Cortes - Goddamn it. 0-3 against you?! You were just so in the zone it was a tall order for anyone to crack. Congratulations. You sure as he'll earned it.
Matt Meyhu - One of the best things to come out of this for me is having gotten to work both alongside and against you. It's been an absolute pleasure and I hope that even if you're stepping back, you pop into things like a potential annual Great Illuminatus.
Vhodka Black - I'm not sure I would have been drawn to this if it wasn't for you. Partly to get the opportunity to work against you, and partly just because the way you were my main link into Arcadia at the time it gave me some faith that if you're in then it must be okay.
Sean Parker - Thanks for being an absolute gem. You were an excellent sounding board for me, but outside of that, the growth in your rping is second to none. Well maybe first equal...
Alexander Raven - The mantle is yours, baby. First bird. What a story. I both love and hate that my shithead character was the one to stop the rise. Let's just agree to keep the TRIAD Discord full of trivia at really inopportune times for the Americans.
Shawn Warstein - If there had to be one of your characters in the finale, I'm glad it was Shawn. Something I can always give you credit for is the random messages of feedback you send about great things you see. Can't understate the positive impact that has on the recipient (i.e. me) - even if you did jinx me a couple of times.
SEB - I said this after Strength but I'm so glad I caught you early in that trial. You've even fixed the biggest critique I used to have about your writing, haha (the way you used to handle speech tags). Your style is a great fit for where you are now the Universal Champion, and at some stage I'll owe you a match. At some stage...
Matt Knox - The way you participated here is a testament to what can happen when people play this game for fun rather than for keeps. All I can say to that is: respect.
Sarah Wolf - Great appreciation for the collaborations during Strength, and seeing the story we set up playing out in your rp here was great. Maybe I have some bias in that, but I really thought that story was excellent, and I love how you try to build consistency in character from story to shoot sections.
Paul Freedom - The stones on ya to bring something completely different to the finals. Like Knox, that shows you're here for fun above all. It's been great to get to work with you a little and see some of the little things you do that sell Freedom as a slightly bumbling mess. See ya around.
Sahara - Was curious if you had it in you for those final, but a part of me suspected you might give it a miss. It's a shame. Your handle on storytelling is phenomenal.
Stephen Stratford - While life has caught up for you right now, you're another of the people who I'm grateful that TRIAD had given me the opportunity to get to know. I very much value your perspective on stories and creativity of ideas, and hope to see you back soon.
CYPH3R - Apologies for missing you first time. I still think it takes a lot of balls to write this character. To peel back the curtain for myself, when I left King back in 2010 I had him going down a nasty path. Ive had to do a lot to rehumanise him since bringing him back. Meanwhile, there's you having your cake and eating it too: a dastardly sack of shit while still adding some really human elements. A tip of the cap, sir. Looking forward to what you do next after the Thad story.

TLS - Thanks for reaching out after the show went up, and I also want to highlight that I think it's awesome your view on rps was somewhat different to the other two. Helped keep the event fresh, haha but also keep us trying to find the secret to improving rps so you all enjoy it.
Welsh - Almost all of the feedback for the event itself is for you. Like with Vhodka, getting a chance to work with you was one of the biggest draws for me to give this a shot. You didn't disappoint, and one of the things I appreciate most is how receptive to feedback I found you - both broadly (eg our chat after Strength) and when I would pitch ideas. Thanks for doing the thankless stuff.
PIC - Thanks so much for taking a chance on me twice. It's an amazing vote of confidence given we didn't really know each other. While you were a three headed beast as owners, I think people tended to view Welsh as running the ship because of his OCW history. I think the more I looked at it, the more I saw you doing so much of the day-to-day people management stuff which sounds kinda horrible NGL. Thank you, and best of luck.

Now I finish up a few more rps (including 2 for these CD boards) and then I'm fading away for a while. See ya around.