And in fairness, it's a delicate balance to strike which requires a lot of open and honest conversation, which isn't always easy to do especially at an unfamiliar table.

Like I said - I feel like reframing it to draw comparisons to kink has helped me personally "get it" in a way I didn't before

(which I think is more to add on to what you've said already than anything else)

It's a style of play that requires an enhanced level of trust and comfort, and definitely not for everyone, but it's also something I find deeply and fundamentally rewarding

I really like how the Expressionist Manifesto presents it - the push-pull between bleed and alienation when it comes to playing a character, where neither is inherently something to be avoided, but both are part of the tapestry of engaging with the game and the other players/characters-

IMHO bleed is an inevitable consequence of emotionally inhabiting a role, but it can be accounted for in safety discussions.

I've recently taken to reframing my view on table safety as more akin to kink negotiation in terms of setting boundaries and expectations, and encouraging communication-

One thing I will say - I don't think bleed over is necessarily something to be avoided, but it is a topic that should be addressed at the table and subject to ongoing conversation...

My frame of reference on this is Jay Dragon's Expressionist TTRPG manifesto and Stanislavski's thoughts on acting-

It requires a level of trust and communication with your table, and commitment to playing the role honestly, but it is 100% worth it. It creates moments that you won't be able to stop thinking about, and a feeling of stakes that go beyond mechanics and into the realm of real emotions.

I cannot overemphasize the pure joy born of playing a deeply flawed person who is ultimately just trying to claw her way through life. Some of the most transcendent moments of connection with other characters have come out of some of my character's worst choices-

Yeah, I do agree that was a good choice. I'm really digging the pacing and writing of the show so far.

Yeah lol I remember that. I didn't play the game that much because while I liked the story, "single player werewolf" wasn't really very compelling as a gameplay conceit. This is one of the reasons I love the anime so much!

And since the computer can only say which credentials have been issued and not if the person who has them is still alive/not in cold storage...

Ooo, I hadn't actually considered that! Might've been the case, yeah. In which case the way they all handled it made more sense, it just wasn't called out specifically.

Parvati was my girl but even she seemed really disconnected from everything.

The whole main plot feels kinda disconnected from itself though, so maybe that's just par for the course. (I like the game, but it feels weird)

I Saw the TV Glow hit in a very specific way for me as someone who was born in the 80s and didn't really feel safe or comfortable coming out until my 30s.

So I think that bled through in a lot of what I wrote around the time. By the time I'd made the decision to come out it just felt like something I couldn't avoid any longer - do or die and all that. But it was also a new beginning, not an end.

I feel like my own thoughts on the whole thing have been... idk... I've always seen my experience pre-transition as one of an actress playing a role more than anything else, so it kinda felt like "okay, I'm gonna stop pretending now" and the various associated baggage-

Looking back on the narrative podcast I wrote when I was first coming out, a lot of it had to do with themes of survival and change - with the overall tone being one of cautious hope in a future where I could simply exist as myself-