shslocreview-blog

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Do you have any sort of "baseline" you think an OC should have to be considered "done"? Like, profile-wise- Name, age, gender, likes and dislikes, things like that.

I personally think it depends on what you’re planning to use them for! If you want to apply them to a certain group, I’d say they were done when you filled out their application, wheras if you wanted to use them in a story, I’d say they were done when you’d written out everything that would be relevant to them in said story. I guess if I had to give a totally general answer, I’d usually want Name, gender/pronouns, talent, and a decent grasp on their personality and background before I called them a “character” rather than an “idea in progress.” 

If you’re asking how done a character needs to be to send them in for review or questions, though, you can do that no matter how much you have written for them so far! Just know that the advice I can give you is dependent on the material you give me! 

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How do I write executions? So okay, I want to write a OC killing game and this problem is really bothering me. In the games the execution cutscenes take place in a bunch of random locations disconnected from the rest of the world right? But how do i do this in a 1st person POV text story? It's literally impossible! Should I ditch the idea of having the executions in random places and have all executions take place in the courtroom or something?

I’ve seen this handled a couple different ways, anon! In some of the canon executions, the character is shown being dragged away to another place (dedicated “execution rooms” in the first DR and NDRv3 executions I think, and... a different part of the island for the first SDR2 execution, I think). So in a text-based story, I think you could probably just reference your character being dragged off somewhere out of sight, and then cut to your perspective character watching it on a monitor, for instance. 

After the culprit is found guilty, you could also immediately cut to the execution, briefly switch to third person (or switch perspectives entirely) for the duration of the execution, and then go back to your main character’s perspective for their reaction.

Overall, though, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about it too much! I tend to stress over things like this while writing, too, but I can confidently say that people generally know what they’re going into with the death-trial-execution formula in Dangan Ronpa stories so readers won’t really mind if the setting of the execution is a little shaky. 

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are we allowed to send in applications for a group we didn't get in to?

You can, anon, though I’d recommend having them be private reviews in case you’d like to apply them to another group later! 

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I was wondering if a French Revolution themed execution would be good for a SHSL Historian?

Yeah! Granted I don’t know any of the other details, but this concept alone seems just fine, especially if your Historian focused on the French Revolution, or European history in general. 

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Well uh... This may seem like a dumb question but I'm wondering if it was possible to take a first name and change as a surname? Like for instance, Hisoka is a first name, could we make it a surname?

That’s pretty much a case-by-case basis, anon! Sort of how “Morgan” and “Tyler” are fairly common as first or last names, but a child with the first name “Holtzmann” or someone with the last name “Veronica” would be kind of strange. Granted, I can’t think of any Japanese first names that I’ve heard of as last names at the moment, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. 

You can also do something like taking an element from a first name and incorporating it in a last name. For example, “Akiko,” a first name that uses the kanji for “red” and “child,” can be changed to “Akiyama,” a last name that uses the kanji for “red” and “mountain.” If you a specific idea in mind, though, I recommend sending it off anon so I can help you out that way!

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um in your blog theme i can't scroll down enough to read how to send in our oc's to be reviewed! and i was just wondering how to send one in? c: also are you doing reviews right now?

I’ve been looking, and, gonna be honest anon, I’m not entirely sure if I know hoooow to fix it. But my theme’s due for an upgrade soon, so hopefully that will work out better! In the meantime, you can look at this link here for info on how to submit your character! 

Also, I am taking reviews! Now that I’m getting the inbox done and my life has cleared up a bit, my schedule should even out a bit more! 

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i'm attempting to make a group of students with unique and contrasting personalities like the canon groups, but i'm not sure how to begin... would starting with a list of stock characters be too bland or unoriginal? i do intend on building them up more, but i dont want to accidentally make them too similar u_u

To be fair, the canon students have their stocks and archetypes, as well: the Protagonist, the Competent Woman, the, uh, Third Member Of The Trio That Makes Things More Difficult Than Strictly Necessary Sometimes. 

...Okay, that was a bit of a stretch, but I hope you get what I’m going for! I don’t think it’s a terrible way to build characters, especially if you’re trying to get the group dynamics established early on and you have an especially interesting premise or writing style to go with it! 

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It’s been a while, but this blog is back! Or at least, a much greener and hopefully more organized variant of it. SHSL-Sprites is dedicated to making sprites/icons for people. There’s commissions, freebies, and art trades, so feel free to partake in any of the following. If you have any questions, just send us an ask. We’ll be happy to answer!

Artists | Rules | Commissions | Forms

We’d very much appreciate it if you could help spread the word by reblogging this. Thanks, and have a good day!

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I dunno if you're still active, but if I were to send in a large amount of titles (I'm making a class that's double the size of a typical one For Reasons) would you be able to critique the talents, or would that be too much? I understand if it would be a little much or you'd have to get to it in chunks / it would take a while, I just thought it wouldn't hurt to ask, eheh.

Hey there, anon! 

I am still active--everything I’ve been working on recently has been private, so there haven’t been posts on the blog. It’s totally fine, of course, but that’s just why it looks like I haven’t been around much! 

Anyways, you’re free to send in as many talents (and characters in general) as you’d like! You’re right that it might take me a while, so it might be easier to send them in chunks so you can get faster feedback--but I’m alright no matter how you’d like to do it. 

And don’t worry--it never hurts to ask! 

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How could an SHSL Counsellor get publicity? Figuring out what to do for public bios and how they got noticed by HPA is always the hardest part, because I don't pick especially high profile talents >_>

Well, the closest canon example we have is Gekkogahara, the SHSL Therapist who… we basically know nothing about.

When it comes to interpersonal talents like this, my first thought is to look out who your OC is working with. Have they counseled famous, wealthy, or otherwise well-known people? This particular talent comes with some more challenges, though: if you’re a therapist, psychologist, or counselor, part of your job is keeping your client’s confidentiality, up to and including the fact you’re treating them in the first place–thus cutting off a huge avenue of publicity.

Of course, we do still have famous therapists and psychologists and counselors today, so there are ways of achieving fame–usually through research or theorizing that didn’t require any individual’s confidentiality be kept. 

For example, did your OC come up with any revolutionary treatments for stress, or pioneer new ways to motivate oneself and others? Even if they first did so by seeing a particular person, were they able to write a book or go on shows to discuss the treatment itself, afterwards? Did they advertise means of self-care that turned out so popular there was a slight but marked shift in the mental health of certain demographics? 

For a more psychological bend, if that’s what you’re going for, many of the world’s most famous and influential counseling psychologists today focus on a certain aspect of the human psyche–the psychology of a certain subject, for example, or the development of certain personality traits and how counseling intervention can shape that. 

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whoops!

I accidentally deleted a submission with a few questions someone asked, so I’m going to answer them here--sorry about that! 

SHSL Pole Dancer: I think this talent is just fine! While I tend to be wary of sexual talents for any highschool-aged OCs (see my last post for information about that), and pole dancing can certainly have those connotations, it doesn’t have to. I’ve seen enough people do it in non-risque performances or just for exercise or fun that I think it’d be a totally fine talent, just as legitimate as any other performing art! 

Names: I’m more than happy to help come up with some names! I’ll need some more information about your characters--their nationalities and genders, definitely, though tidbits about their talents, personality, and backstory would help too. 

And, of course, feel free to send in any more details or questions you may have! I’m always up for them! 

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I went ahead and posted this as an image so I could blur out some NDRv3 spoilers--while I’m spoiled and fine with folks sending them in, especially if it helps to describe your character like what happened here, I know lots of people are avoiding plot details until the game comes out overseas, so I won’t post any publicly! 

Now, to actually answer your question: Eeeeeeeeehhhhhhh... 

My thoughts are under the cut, but the short version is: I wouldn’t recommend it! 

We... actually do sort of have canon examples of this. In one of his freetime conversations, Hanamura mentions his brother and sister are candidates for the titles of SHSL Male Escort and SHSL Female Escort. The conversation is largely (and imo uncomfortably) played as a joke, especially since Hinata’s first response is literally “Wait, aren’t they underaged?!” So, canonically speaking (and assuming Hanamura isn’t totally just making that up), HPA would be accepting SHSL Escorts.

But I still don’t think it would be a great idea. Like having Fujisaki’s gender reveal as a plot point or using offensive (not to mention entirely incorrect) language in the DR chapter 2 trial, there are a few canon-sanctioned things I think wouldn’t be appropriate for OCs. 

For one thing, your OC would be underage, especially since they would have to start working before high school to get scouted by HPA. (This is a good time to debunk the widely spread myth that the age of consent in Japan is 13--it’s actually 16/18/20 depending on the circumstances!) Understand that a minor engaging in sex work, especially with someone who isn’t underage, is a victim of sexual abuse--even if they’re “consenting.” This holds doubly true since Japan is a large source and destination for young victims of human trafficking.  

Now, I’ve seen successful characters with elements of CSA in their backstory (I’m talking OCs mainly, but Kotoko Utsugi from DR:AE is a canon example), but if/when those elements come up, the ensuing writing and rping is focused on that character’s experience and coping with the resulting trauma, not the assault itself. Your character’s talent (and potentially a big reveal) would be focused a lot around their underage sex work/potential trafficking, especially since HPA accepted them for that reason. And I really don’t think a DR OC is a great place to explore something like that, especially since it’ll hit too close to home for a lot of people in the fandom. 

[I know this is a touchy and potentially traumatic subject for a lot of people so I definitely don’t want to invite a huge amount of discourse, but if anyone thinks I’m totally off base with this, I would like to hear your opinions!]

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What are your thoughts on robot characters and would you be willing to review one?

I think they’re fine in general, but you really have to tailor them to their setting, and realize they just won’t work in some cases (especially if you’re trying to apply them to a group). 

I’m happy to review them, though!

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Note about asks!

So, tumblr’s been pretty bad about eating asks lately--bad enough that I tried sending myself an ask from my other blog and it didn’t end up going through. 

I know there are issues with ellipses in asks, so try not to use those if you can, but I have a feeling internet connectivity issues and tumblr’s sketchy programming play a part in it too. If you’ve sent me an ask, and I haven’t addressed it within a week or so, you can try resending it to make sure I got it! 

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A while ago, a bunch of my friends and I put together a big ol’ list of potential talents! I saw you linking to some similar lists and thought that this might be similarly useful to some of your followers! 

----

This is great! I just went over the list myself, and there are a lot of great ideas on here, some of which I’ve never seen used before.

Thank you so much for sending this in! 

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...i'm sorry if this is rude, but @the cult anon, i'd like to mention that cults are often very closed off from the world, so it may be a little difficult for them to become an shsl because... y'know... you can't know about someone if they "don't really exist," right?? however, if the cult leader said "do x" or "do y," they would undoubtably do it because cult leaders are unquestionable to their followers, so that could be why they decided to attend a hope's peak-like school!!!

Oooh, good point, anon! In that ask, I was using cult for a synonym of “new religion,” since that’s how they’re classified in Japan specifically. But I think most people define cults by their focus on brainwashing and controlling their adherents to cut them off from the outside world--which, as this anon said, would make it difficult for them to make themselves well-known or act outside the cult’s boundaries. Even if your OC didn’t ‘stop existing’ in a legal sense, it would make sense that the leader(ship) of said cult would try to prevent them from taking the steps to make them eligible for HPA (like enrolling in high school in the first place). 

If your OC is in a cult with a totalitarian, isolating belief system, you would need to address how they managed to enter Hope’s Peak. Anon offered a helpful solution here, though it does raise the question of why the leadership would be okay with the risk of having one of their adherents slip out from under their control--maybe they wanted the publicity, for whatever reason? Otherwise, maybe your OC was looking for ways to escape the cult, and thought an invitation to HPA would be the best way out--though this raises lots of questions, too, like how did they develop their talent in the first place under the cult’s influence, and why were they banking on something ridiculously unlikely like an HPA invitation to help them? 

Whichever way you go, anon’s question definitely brought up some new points to consider! Thanks so much for sending in the ask!

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i want to make a dr oc who's a part of a cult, but i'm not really sure how to worldbuild a faux cult. they're talent isn't shsl cult leader either, they just follow it. any tips or advice?

Hm... this isn’t really something I’ve seen before, but I’ll try my best! Mostly, I can offer infodumping and more questions...

...Under the cut, of course. 

I can tell you that scholars in Japan categorize every vaguely religious organization founded after 1860 or so as a “New Religion,” regardless of their actual purpose or legitimacy, and that most of these New Religions are sects based off of Buddhism or Shinto (or Christianity, occasionally) that focus on specific things like social harmony or spiritual healing--and that a bunch of them believe the world’s going to end fairly soon. Also, since Shinto and Buddhism stopped being state-sponsored religions, New Religious movements have recently been able to influence public policy more by supporting certain candidates or forming political parties. 

That’s the current state of major cults (which would be considered New Religions by Japanese standards). Of course, the above information only applies to large, fairly well-known cults in Japan--so if the cult your OC is part of is small, or they’re not Japanese, that information is far less applicable. 

The first specific thing I would consider is why your OC joined the cult in the first place (unless they were born into it)--was there an especially charismatic leader, or did the group espouse values your OC really, really believed in? This is a crucial step to building the cult itself, since it can determine why it gained traction/followers/the ability to survive in the first place! 

That reasoning will also help to figure out the goals of the cult, the size of the cult, and the current social influence the cult has. Is it a movement that’s big and inclusive enough to have a bit of government influence, or is it small and generally closed off to all but a small, extremely dedicated army of teenagers...

And speaking of that, think about why a character in high school (they’d likely have joined even younger) is in a cult! This isn’t as much of an issue if they were born into it, of course, but is the cult targeting teenagers for recruitment? Why? Is it because they’re easier to control, being young and not as rooted in the world, and more likely to join a counterculture movement? Is that charismatic leader I mentioned above just that good at connecting with the young people? 

I think otherwise, I’d need to know the specifics of your character. You said they weren’t an SHSL Cult leader, but does their talent have anything else to do with the cult? Are they some kind of SHSL Public Speaker or something that could help with recruitment? Something like an SHSL Philosopher that really hammered out the finer points of their beliefs? A SHSL Chef that cooks all the meals for the adherents? 

I think the cult could also help them with their rise to fame, regardless of talent--and vice versa! For example, your OC could have used the cult as an initial platform or introduction to their talent, then, when they became well-known enough that HPA invited them to attend, the cult could advertise itself as the “Group That Created Such Fine Talent,” or something like that! 

Sorry I don’t have much help for you here, anon--if anyone else has any other ideas to help them out, you’re more than welcome to send them in!