#bc if they're the same character w the same personality/history/motivations and the only difference is like... 'well this character is a-

[thefossilwhale]

gender and gender variability in IF is so weird and there is no way to fix it god bless

#representation should never be a numbers game except in IF where it kind of has to be bc if romance is a major part of the story then you- #-want players and MCs of all genders n sexualities to have the same amount and range of options #but that usually means you fall into the ~ secret 3rd gender ~ trap even if u r actively fighting it #bc ur like. counting off nb identities and presentations to mirror your male n female ROs #'ok so you make them gender-selectable to maximize the freedom for each player!' #which is cool. except ur writing a character that is basically nonbinary in ur head bc they exist across genders but in the Actual Written- #-Work that all goes away and they're only ever encountered by the reader as one of two cis gender-conforming versions of themself #like idk maybe this is bc of Me and the way i think of characters but it's so hard for me to imagine writing one of my own as two different #-genders and having them be separate?? and not just different gender expressions belonging to one person. and reconciling that w the fact- #-that that's how ppl are going to see them and ur no longer doing justice to their actual identity #and even if you DO get past that. making those 2 versions distinct based on gender?? #bc if they're the same character w the same personality/history/motivations and the only difference is like... 'well this character is a- #-girl now so she has longer hair :) bc that's what girls have :) ' #(and disclaimer yes attraction can be based on presentation even tho that can't tell you someone's gender and that affects gender in IF) #but that's Real Life People making their own choices and not. one author with their own unique relationship to gender trying to represent- #-everyone #(you cannot ofc represent everyone and it's more important to do right by your individual characters but gender in IF is so impossible to- #-escape bc of the prevalence of romance) #final disclaimer that there are trans/nb authors out there doing good work and i don't think anyone is evil for doing any of the above #bc as i said. it is basically impossible to get this right. love always loses <3 #HIIIIII everyone who read this. i tried a fun thought experiment of what my WIP would be like as an IF and now i'm having this crisis

[krispdreemurr]

a lot of the stuff i see in the tag for Alt Character Snowgraves is like super cool and I totally encourage anyone who's having fun w them to keep doing so but. I've been thinking abt why none grabbed me and I think it's bc like. all of them just kinda see to map Noelles behavior and motivations onto the new attacker?

under readmore for like. frank discussion of snowgrave, also maybe salty (haha) vibes

like salt route kinda gets a pass bc it was. a dream. but i feel like snowgrave works the way it does bc it makes a terrible sort of sense for Noelle - she's easily pushed around but doesn't want to be, she's trying to trust a childhood friend, she's half-convinced nothing happening is real. she falls into this weird brittle mix of passively agreeing with kris while also exercising her newfound "strength" to get what she (thinks she) wants without caring, she dissociates and tunes out things she's not ready to accept (something she probably has practice with, looking at her family history). the soul exploits the relationship between kris and noelle that already exists, twisting it from "a childhood friend she trusts" to "the only person she can rely on". it all Tracks

so when I see, like, swatch or whoever else behaving in the same way - concerned but unable to object, dissociating, trying to convince themselves in specific ways - it doesn't quite track for me, and neither does the soul's execution method. the method of "push unwaveringly and refuse to let up" worked on Noelle bc she's Noelle. find other methods for other characters! tell spamton it's the only way he'll ever be big again and showcase that the soul is the light of heaven to convince him that this is his Last Shot. deceive swatch into thinking this is what queen wants them to do and offer praise on how well they're murdering people. tell nubert it's part of bro code that they have to help you (altho this would never work). whatever. and have them react accordingly, justifying this shit in their own special ways - some might be too eager and go after targets without you, some might snap and try and fight kris, some might take it on with a smile and serene grace, whatever. they're different people and that's half the fun ("""fun""")

also while I'm here the soul can't give long gaslighty speeches unless I missed the Give Long Gaslighty Speech button on my keyboard. is it j

#deltarune snowgrave / #arrow dont look