I noticed something. Going by your understanding of classes, the betas had three passive classes and one active while the alphas had the opposite (three actives and one passive). Do you think that influenced their sessions in some way?

Sure. For starters, it would mean both groups are made up of 4 kids with 1  alignment, and three of the other. 413. It also means both sessions were out of balance, only balancing out when brought together.

And each session was subtly designed against the party’s strengths. As Dirk said, he might’ve thrived in a hectic session that required a man of action, like the one the Betas got.

I see this as partly indicative of the fact that Active classes are more inclined to be forceful agents on the world around them, more innately self-assured and directive, and so more likely to take agency directly as a result.

John and Dave spend pretty much their whole games taking direction from either trolls, Rose, or Jade–and Rose spends HER entire game being manipulated by Scratch and the Horrorterrors. None of them are innately attuned to acting as lone agents.

On the flipside, Passive classes are more attentive and reactive to the world around them–including the people in it. Jane, Jake and Dirk all struggle to get out of the loops in their own heads and communicate with each other, and this is a huge part of why the Alpha’s dead session is such a nightmare for them.

That might also be why the dark horse leader of the session turned out to be the kid who broke the mold:

Jade is the only Beta kid who comes up with her own plan as opposed to taking direction from other sources for most of her adventure, and Roxy is singled out for her selflessness and ability to help her friends and prioritize the team over her own personal feelings.

Note that both girls grow into that role once they enter the session, though–early on, Jade is pretty passive as a result of her Prospit dreaming and Vriska-induced narcolepsy. Roxy starts off INCREDIBLY passive aggressive and manipulates the Jakestakes quite a bit for her personal benefit, even as she pretends not to.

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