otome game psl checklist

[sockroute]

work in progress on all of these as i remember more shit and/or stuff comes up.

YES aka things i'm hoping for:
☑ fantasy or sci-fi, supernatural, mystery, etc.
☑ set in a different world / not on earth, or at least in alternate history timeline. heroine is a native of this setting too.
☑ high plot content with conflict and possibly tragedy
☑ serious, darker tone and notes
☑ heroine is a strong character with her own goals and principles
☑ adult cast / the characters are all 20+
☑ using picrew and/or other generators to design the characters
☑ route types that are very my style and i'd probably have the most fun writing:
-- dateable antagonist... my weakness and also my specialty, sighs
-- idk what but something SAD as hell, i like pain
-- cold (on the surface), edgy asshole very very bad at emotions and romance but actually a good person
-- dateable girl (possibly disguised as a guy) as one of the route options? hell yes
☑ me actually coming up with "route" choices your heroine has to make that lead to different outcomes, because that's fun.


NO aka things i'm not that into:
☒ 100% realistic setting and/or historical styled
☒ isekai or the heroine having been pulled from our world and sent to another
☒ sol or fluff only without plot
☒ comedic focus
☒ zero-personality, blank slate type heroine
☒ teenage cast, i'm just tired and burned out on that
☒ finding actual PBs for this many characters, i'd go insane
☒ route types that i probably wouldn't lead due to lack of interest on my part:
-- yandere; the trope bores me i'm sorry, if we want things to get messed up there are many other flavors
-- exaggerated playboy / guy who hits on everything that moves, i prefer other means of achieving effects like emotionally distant and afraid of commitment, or i guess those just aren't my top picks for building characters like that
☒ everything set in stone; not having any alternatives or the possibility of bad choices, bad ends, or things not working out


OPTIONAL aka i'll just match your prefs for these:
○ two of the "dateable" characters being siblings. this is a super frequent trope and i kind of like it so i could dig it, but it's not obligatory. (they'd have separate routes though... no dating both, they'd just feature in each other's "route" a lot.)
○ in that vein, actually, any type of important or significant pre-established relationship between cast members.
○ smut; i'm good with writing it, but i'm equally fine with fading to black over it, or the routes just not leading there at all
○ male protagonist?? it doesn't have to be a heroine i guess, i'm just saying that bc this all started from otome games. but on principle and in general, i actually write m/f, m/m, and f/f with no preference for one over others.
○ building the entire plot together vs deciding a general premise and me... having the freedom... to do whatever the heck i want and only revealing it through the rp, because unfortunately i do actually like directing stories. i wouldn't say quite DM-ing but close.


GENERAL list of things i'm into, from aesthetics to tropes and plot or setting elements:
★ the heroine having a special plot role. examples: a power or an item only she can use, last descendant of a specific bloodline, being the key to something or an intended vessel for something, etc.
★ destiny as a theme. prophecies. curses. clairvoyance or foresight. fighting fate and/or god.
★ amnesia and/or rewritten memories. brainwashing. time-travel, time loops, trying to "undo" an event. reincarnation.
★ stars. space. mecha as a genre. robots.
★ demons. contracts / "pacts" with the so-called devil.
★ school or academy settings. (although i don't like teacher/student)
★ any kind of story that involves a quest or large-scale traveling. "escort mission" type plots.
★ nobility. social/class differences. political conflicts. rebellions. betrayal.
★ forced magical bonds (think... telepathy, memory share, sense or emotion share, etc.)
★ detective work, mystery solving, eerie atmosphere. murder mysteries too.
★ inner demons / people with a "dark side" they can't control.
★ magic users and spellcasters. magic-enriched societies. occult organizations. evil cults.
★ people trained as human weapons.
★ sealed or crystallized entities.
★ gods and other higher beings interfering in the affairs of mortals.
★ trapped in a labyrinth.
***i'll add more to this as i think of things but please remember the stuff in this category is only a guideline. it's by no means an exhaustive list, i'm probably forgetting a ton of things i like and also we're not obligated to use or include any of these themes.