Consensus on Yandere characters?

Jelly Bean

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Oct 21, 2017
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Hey all. I'm currently writing a yandere-ish character who has a decent amount of content already. Thing is, I was looking through some old threads and according to some of them, yandere characters are frowned upon because of their association to death. Just wondering whether writing one for the game is okay or not, cuz if it isn't, I don't want to waste time.

If anyone's curious, here's her summary:

Hiroka* is a seemingly normal girl who is obsessed with Captain Steele and desperately wants to have kids with them. She’ll pop up randomly and the player can either choose to interact with her or ignore her. If she is ignored she’ll basically disappear, so players that aren’t interested don’t have to deal with her.

If the PC keeps on interacting with her, she will get increasingly possessive, culminating in a scene where she asks the PC to be her mate forever. If PC says yes, it goes to immediate bad end. If PC says no, there is a fight scene and if PC loses it goes to bad end. The bad end entails: getting (forcibly) married to a psycho, hard femdom, bondage, and (forced) impregnation. Also giving up SteeleTech to your UNWORTHY cousin.

^Some of this is subject to change, but murder will NEVER be part of Hiroka's storyline, in any way (except maybe for a scene where PC can kill her? Probably not though).

Edit*: "Hiroka" is just a placeholder name, currently using "Jane Doe" in doc
 
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Xeivous

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Sep 21, 2015
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You're gonna need to be mindful of giving players fair warning for those bad ends and removing her, but I could see myself enjoying domesticating a yandere character and getting her to not flip her shit because my Steeles are super slutty.
 

Lancer

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Nov 1, 2016
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If there's a point near the end where you can flip the tables on her and make her yours instead, I'd be down for that. Otherwise I'll probably take the ignore path (thanks for that btw).
 

Jelly Bean

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Oct 21, 2017
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You're gonna need to be mindful of giving players fair warning for those bad ends and removing her
I'm trying to make it as obvious as possible in the tooltips and in the scenes themselves that she's basically crazy.
but I could see myself enjoying domesticating a yandere character and getting her to not flip her shit because my Steeles are super slutty.
I've actually been thinking of writing up a crew expansion for her (and probably a Gastigoth one, too) but of course that is still in the far future.
 
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Xeivous

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I'm trying to make it as obvious as possible in the tooltips and in the scenes themselves that she's basically crazy.

I've actually been thinking of writing up a crew expansion for her (and probably a Gastigoth one, too) but of course that is still in the far future.
I would say that giving her some interesting abilities, psionics perhaps, would be nice. Make her fill a role on the ship that yet to get filled.
 
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Zavos

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Yandares are super easy to screw up. Be ready to take constructive criticism, and some additional alterations of the character to make it work out.
 

Gamer791

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Oct 14, 2015
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Also, maybe make the steele personality types play a bigger role in this character, as i see each of them stand out (maybe even make your personality branch out options, idk, probably not) i can see the nice personality steele have a harder time with her, while the mischievous steele try and crack jokes, have her laugh hysterically, and then be really wierded out, and finally, have the hard ones have an almost stand-offish kind of relation to her actions. This is just my visual idea and take on the character. That idea aside, im down for having a crazI y crewmember, im all for it bby
 

Xeivous

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I dunno, mischievous PCs seem more like they'd be best at using Steele Charm to disarm the yandere.
 

Darkwarpalg6

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Aug 28, 2015
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Yanderes would be pretty hard to do in this setting. Do you plan on Hiroka taking issue with Steele's fucking people willy nilly?
 

Jelly Bean

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Oct 21, 2017
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Yandares are super easy to screw up. Be ready to take constructive criticism, and some additional alterations of the character to make it work out.
Of course! When I feel confident enough to submit her I’ll def be accepting constructive criticism/feedback.
Yanderes would be pretty hard to do in this setting. Do you plan on Hiroka taking issue with Steele's fucking people willy nilly?
I don't want to put a chastity belt on players who like both Hiroka's content and other characters', so probably not. Unless you count the bad end. Steele’s not fucking anyone but her in the bad end.
I'd change her name. Some people don't take well to manganime stereotypes, and giving her a Japanese name wouldn't help matters.
...I don’t see how giving a Japanese name to a Japanese archetype would be offensive to anyone.
 

Kesil

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Aug 26, 2015
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I never said it'd be offensive. Just... "facepalming" or "cringe-worthy", if you will. That's why I used the word "stereotype" instead of "archetype". As someone who dislikes -deres (among other common tropes seen in run-of-the-mill manganime works), giving a -dere character some Japanese name would make me avoid her like the plague.
 

Jelly Bean

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Oct 21, 2017
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I never said it'd be offensive. Just... "facepalming" or "cringe-worthy", if you will. That's why I used the word "stereotype" instead of "archetype". As someone who dislikes -deres (among other common tropes seen in run-of-the-mill manganime works), giving a -dere character some Japanese name would make me avoid her like the plague.
That’s fine, but I didn’t give her a Japanese name just to be cliche. The thing about yanderes is that they’re kinda hard to identify from normal shy girls. And one of their key distinguishing traits is Japanese characteristics. So in order to prevent misleading a player, I have to make sure she’s as stereotypically yandere as possible.
 

wallpaper

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Nov 29, 2017
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I don't have much constructive content, but I think I'd be glad of a clear avoid option at the get go. I'd be more interested in exploring how a character infatuated with Steele manages his or her jealousy in a slutty universe. I guess that's more difficult to write with less kink-based payoff though.
 

valk42

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It's Cold Here, Midwestern US
Isn't the whole point of yandere types getting yourself literally murdered in a sexualized and highly romanticised manner? It is for me.
That being said, I am interested in the concept, especially if you can experience some of her possessive and mentally unbalanced content before you reach full bad end.
Heavily interested in Gastigoth content for her because Everybody Wins, I have an obsessive psychopath on tap and she will get the children she wants, albeit raised FAR the fuck away from her.
 

Darkwarpalg6

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Aug 28, 2015
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I don't want to put a chastity belt on players who like both Hiroka's content and other characters', so probably not. Unless you count the bad end. Steele’s not fucking anyone but her in the bad end.
It doesn't necessarily have to mean 'repercussions', what I'm afraid of is that she'll be cheapened as soon as she's recruited, losing her yan status. What I would like to see is a slow grinding down of said status until the obsession remains, like prior to recruitment Anno might complain she couldn't go clubbing because some girl was stalking her, to after recruitment where Hiroka starts mimicing what Steele does to try to understand them more, Steele will catch her manning gloryholes if they do it (and she might try manning one if she knows a dickwielding Steele is a regular customer), masturbating and stripping in public, or whoring in Tavros or the New Texas stocks.
 
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Foxono

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Aug 29, 2015
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Have you thought having Hiroka want to change herself to whatever species the PC wants to get their affection?
 

Jelly Bean

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Oct 21, 2017
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Uuuuuuuuuughghghghggghhh
I honestly don't get what's wrong with the name! I literally went on a random name generator, chose the gender and the ethnicity, and that popped up. Would it really be better if I changed her name to like Madison or something? :negativeman:
Have you thought having Hiroka want to change herself to whatever species the PC wants to get their affection?
That sounds... really hard to implement. Like, Bess/Ben levels of mindbreaking coding. So, probably not. Sorry.
 

Evil

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I think the problem people might be having with the name is a sort of negative connotation.
She's Yandere with a Japanese name, so is that close to stereotyping? Is she insane because she's Japanese?

I mean, the yandere trope isn't a uniquely Japanese trope, after all, "bunny boiler" has been in the Western lexicon since the late 80s. So its just a little odd and perhaps a little disheartening to see an almost default to a Japanese character, especially since, as I said, it isn't uniquely Japanese. Films like Fatal Attraction, Gone Girl and Misery have proven that you can have a seemingly shy, quiet person turn into a deranged stalker.
 

TheDevilYouKnow

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Oct 21, 2015
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It seems more racist to say she can't be a certain race because of her personality. It's not like there is a stigma against Yanderes in Japanese media. Let that attack helicopter have its animu waifu!
 
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Jelly Bean

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Oct 21, 2017
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I think the problem people might be having with the name is a sort of negative connotation.
She's Yandere with a Japanese name, so is that close to stereotyping? Is she insane because she's Japanese?

I mean, the yandere trope isn't a uniquely Japanese trope, after all, "bunny boiler" has been in the Western lexicon since the late 80s. So its just a little odd and perhaps a little disheartening to see an almost default to a Japanese character, especially since, as I said, it isn't uniquely Japanese.
Oh. Okay. That... makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the heads up/in-depth explanation.

Brb, changing her name/appearance to something less stereotypical. Any suggestions?
 
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sumgai

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Jul 17, 2017
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Oh. Okay. That... makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the heads up/in-depth explanation.

Brb, changing her name/appearance to something less stereotypical. Any suggestions?

Something non-threatening, perhaps a slightly Hollywood homely type that sort of blends into the background. Take inspiration from your life. Think of the most innocent types you know... and then give them just a little bit of an edge. All the better to cut with.

Edit: I would suggest Mary as a name, but that might be a little too much of an archetype...
 
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Jelly Bean

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It seems more racist to say she can't be a certain race because of her personality. It's not like there is a stigma against Yanderes in Japanese media. Let the man have his animu waifu!
No, no, Evil's right. I don't want to play into an overused trope.

Also, not a guy. I identify as an attack helicopter, shame on you for presuming my gender:p
Think of the most innocent types you know... and then give them just a little bit of an edge. All the better to cut with.
So like... Jessika with a 'k'.
 
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null_blank

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Oct 29, 2015
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I mean, the yandere trope isn't a uniquely Japanese trope, after all, "bunny boiler" has been in the Western lexicon since the late 80s. So its just a little odd and perhaps a little disheartening to see an almost default to a Japanese character, especially since, as I said, it isn't uniquely Japanese. Films like Fatal Attraction, Gone Girl and Misery have proven that you can have a seemingly shy, quiet person turn into a deranged stalker.

This is a good point, but those sources are old. Not my fault there are more modern sources pushing the trope at the moment. Picture related.

20171208_204402.jpg