-1 What is your preferred chapter length and story length?
I’d say 12-20 chapters with chapters lasting about 10-15 minutes. I think it’s a skill to make a short story feel fulfilling and worthwhile. And, if a story is too long, I simply won’t start it.
-2 How important are choices? Do you prefer it if the choices matter?
Not particularly important. Choices are fine, but they often break immersion for me. Especially if the choices break the character itself; for instance, choices where the options go entirely against what the character has been built up to be.
-3 What is your favorite kind of MC? (looking at personality and maybe even looks)
I don’t know. It depends on the story. I suppose I’d want an MC with a pretty obvious personality, that changes according to the experiences of the story.
-4 What kind of MC do you absolutely hate?
Obvious Self-Insert-Bait. Characters deliberately made vague so that it’s easier to put yourself in.
-5 What is your favorite kind of LI? (looking at personality and maybe even looks)
Well, I personally am very attracted to brave, strong-willed people. I do also find the tomboyish aesthetic appealing. Opposites attract, after all! But, I don’t particularly care if thats the LI in question. I think you should design your LI according to what your MC wants/needs in the story, rather than appeal to the reader’s own wants.
-6 What kind of LI do you absolutely hate?
An LI that worships the ground the MC walks on. And obvious genderbent LIs, that is typical for M/F optional stories. If you make something like that, atleast have the courtesy to adjust the LI.
-7 What kind of side characters are your favorite and do you want to see more often?
Side characters that don’t worship the ground the MC walks on. They’re supposed to be people, and people live their own lives as well. Unless they’re in some kind of 60’s cult.
-8 What kind of side characters do you hate?
Pretty much what I said in the previous question.
-9 Do you like to have the choice to play as a male or female, and the choice to date a male or female?
I do, as long as the characters aren’t carbon copies of eachothers. It’s more work, but yknow. It definitely improves the story.
-10 Favorite kind of stories? (Genre, anything special you saw in a story you wanna see more, highschool, college, mafia, business, etc.)
Bittersweet dramas. Where things end well, but in a way you didn’t expect. I don’t know how to explain it better though.
-11 How important is CC for you? Do you rather have limited, or none?
Ehh, not very. A little maybe, since there’s some physiques that look weird to me. Though it depends on context.
-12 Do you like playing more like yourself, or as the character the author makes? (Like changing the name of the MC, CC, etc.)
Absolutely the character the author makes. I’m boring. Meek and boring. Why would I want to read a story about that?
-13 Preferred amount of LI’s? And why?
One. I don’t like the idea of going into a proverbial love supermarket to pick the one I like the most, when I don’t even play myself.
-14 What makes you read(/click on) a story?
An interesting idea backed by acceptable grammar. Super vague, but that’s really the crux of it.
-15 Biggest pet-peeves?
Overly stereotyped characters. The Gay BFF, the Mean Blonde, the I’m So Evil bad guy etcetcetc. I don’t mind the stereotypes in and of themselves, but atleast give the characters some depth beyond that.
-16 Do you like art scenes?
Not really. They have their moments of cuteness and impressive art, but it really doesn’t make the experience any better to me. If anything, the transitions tend to be super awkward and weird.
-17 When you look at a story cover, does it matter to you whether it is edited, drawn, or maybe even a self-made picture? What kind of cover makes you click the fasted?
I do like a good, drawn art piece. Especially if it fits the title in some way.
-18 When looking at the description of a story, what is the best thing an author could put in there? (Like questions, the amount they tell you about a story…)
Metaphors! I love metaphors! Like, ahh, instead of “Will she find love in the apocalypse”, maybe something like “Will she find light in the darkness?” or something. Give some information about the overarching plot as well, please.
-19 Do you like to see self-made background characters or people’s characters that the author asked for on the forums (or other social media)?
Sure. #Represent!
-20 Do you more often read stories that came from contests (whether they won or not) or just stories that aren’t made for contests?
I don’t think I’ve actually read a story from a contest while being aware of it. So, I don’t know.
-21 What do you think of the author’s notes?
I like them. Not much else to say about it.
-22 What do you think about authors putting themselves in stories? When does it get annoying? (For example, if they give themselves a big role, they just randomly show up, they use themselves as background characters, etc.)
As long as their self-insert fits with the universe, I don’t mind.
-23 When you look at outfits, on a scale from 1 to 10, how much does it annoy you when the outfits of background characters don’t fit the setting? (Like casual clothes in a club where the MC, LI, etc. go to with exclusive clothes)
More than I’m willing to admit >:(
-24 How important is advanced directing for you?
If someone could tell me the difference between advanced and basic directing, I’d give an opinion. But, as with most of my other answers, focus on the story.
-25 What gem choices do you really dislike in community stories?
“Heyyy, look at this awesome dress I got for you! You’ll totes rock the party in it!” 30 Gems
“No”
“Oh… Guess you hate it then… Sorry”
Drives me nuts.
-26 What gem choices do you “like” in community stories?
Gem choices that give additional info/scenes rather than impacting the actual scenes.
-27 Do you prefer stories with or without sound? Or do you rather have a made playlist by the author? (Music, sound effects, etc.)
Without. I’ve read a single story with sound and I didn’t like it.
-28 Since most people’s pet-peeve is grammar/spelling/punctuation, how many mistakes can you tolerate before clicking off?
Quite a few, really. Professional authors make those mistakes a ton as well; that’s why they have editors. Just don’t have them in every dialogue box.
-29 Are there certain scenes you absolutely despise? (For example, a shower scene of just the MC singing to fill in some time)
Scenes that’s obvious filler. Scenes that are dragged out unnecessarily long with casual chatter. Your example is a great one.
-30 Are there certain scenes you absolutely love?
Romantic ones e_e
-31 How fast do you prefer character development to go?
Slow. No one changes overnight.
-32 When the author also writes a bit in another language, do you think it is annoying, nice, cool, or something else? And how much of the other language is too much since reading the reader’s messages can be very annoying sometimes?
I like it. In tidbits.
-33 When reading a story, how annoying is it to you when there isn’t a lot of diversity?
Honestly, I couldn’t care less. I like diversity, but I don’t like diversity in places it makes no sense. Like that new Netflix show set in the viking age revolving around an earl, but the MC is a black woman. That’s honestly insulting to me. Sorry guys, don’t kill me!
-34 When reading a story with diversity, but the more diverse characters are purely stereotypes and inaccurate, what do you do with the story you were reading?
I don’t read it anymore. Good diversity is diversity that makes sense, with characters that actually feel human. Token characters are the worst.
Later added question-35 Do you mind if the LI isn’t introduced right away? Does it matter to you if the story now really focuses on the LI?
I prefer the LI to be added later, actually. Like, halfway through the story is perfectly fine. Though, it depends. If it’s a romance about that stuff, obviously add them early. But if it’s like a fantasy story about the MC defeating the Bad Guy, then focus on that. The LI is a nice sideplot.