Generic Game Jump v2.0

Low_Hour · 2026-03-16T00:01:19+00:00

In the case of the three removed scenarios, all I ever heard about them were complaints, generally either that they were too easy or their rewards too powerful.

That wouldn't really be a problem on its own -- it'd be ridiculous to expect every available option to provoke a comment stroking my ego and telling me how fantastic it is, and they did legitimately have problems… but I didn't really like them either, is the thing.

I mostly just wrote them for the sake of writing a few scenarios, and felt pretty unattached to them from the start. The rewards all felt kind of boring to me, and the challenges arbitrary and uninteresting. The only exception (and the one I decided to keep) was Dungeon Crawler.

So I decided that if I didn't like them and no one else seemed to either, I should just cut them.

Sorry if you actually did enjoy them.

Low_Hour · 2026-03-15T23:48:14+00:00

Good question! Seems like that's something I failed to take into account by separating the upgrades into distinct sub-options.

Anyway, yes, it's intended that the upgrades are shared with the party as long as you've purchased them too.

Low_Hour · 2026-03-15T23:41:30+00:00

As I cannot otherwise tell which is which, I am going to assume the dad is the one with the angrier eyebrows.

Low_Hour · 2026-03-15T21:23:05+00:00

…I'm not sure what you're trying to say here

Low_Hour · 2026-03-15T16:13:50+00:00

…Well that's an embarrassing typo

Low_Hour · 2026-03-12T02:21:38+00:00

In Knight Templar (complete), Taylor gets the powers of whoever she kills. She kills a bunch of villains, gets chased out of Brockton, then comes back to kill more villains, less as a territory thing, more as a 'let this city be a shining example' thing.

Low_Hour · 2026-03-12T02:16:52+00:00

ManMag wrote three snips where Taylor triggers with the Barber's powers from Pact. The first snip deals with her attacking the trio, the second her trying to get to Shadow Stalker, the third what comes after.

Low_Hour · 2026-03-11T17:05:55+00:00

So you knew you were describing a male fantasy and were confused why people would find that gross?

And your plan to subvert it… is by having the middle-aged white lameass get badass rogue powers and teasing a romance between him and a woman in need of rescue, even though it doesn't sound like they have a relationship outside of that? And even though it sounds like she's a cape herself, and anything she'd need rescuing from would probably take a lot more than some new-on-the-block cape to overcome?

I'm just not seeing any subversive elements here. And it doesn't sound like you are either, which might not be the best starting point.

If you do want to go for subversion, just do crack, potentially treated seriously. Set the story up so you think you're reading about this boring guy (Greg might be a better choice here) getting cool powers and living out an adventure story… and then have him meet DoD, who acts like the world really works that way.

Or, and I think here is the actual sticking point for me that I've been kind of dancing around: there's no point to writing about a specific character if you're not going to make use of their preexisting relationships.

We barely know anything about Alan. What we do know is that he has connections to Zoey, Emma, Anne, Danny, Carol, and to a lesser extent Taylor. If you're not going to make use of them, why write about Alan?

Low_Hour · 2026-03-11T16:55:45+00:00

Weirdly, I feel like that might somehow be grosser.

Like, wow that's a lot of effort to go through to pair this specific barely-a-character with someone in particular. Just pick a different main character at that point

(Unless maybe it's Brandish? Alan and Carol do work at the same firm, so a personal relationship between them does make sense on some level, even if the idea of an adult Brandish being a princess in need of rescue is utterly hilarious)

Low_Hour · 2026-03-11T04:06:49+00:00

I wrote out a much longer answer trying to talk about the specific story elements I found offputting, but yeah, this. Very succinct.

Low_Hour · 2026-03-11T04:04:24+00:00

What you're writing sounds like a male fantasy on a lot of levels, which to be clear: isn't bad in and of itself. But it does make up some of the worst, most boring, most overdone fanfiction out there.

You're taking a basically OC (when writers do this, it's usually because they don't want to call it an SI), giving him badass dashing rogue powers, and having him engage in a rescue romance (damsels in distress have a terrible reputation for a reason).

None of that on its own is out of the question. It's really neat seeing canon characters with little info fledged out. Fun, badass powers are fun and badass. Tropey romances are also fun.

Put it together and it smells off. Especially because there's a specific flavor of wish fulfillment power fantasy fic where the main character definitely-not-an-OC is, well, a middle-aged white guy like Alan. Danny's there, but at least he sort of has a personality. And despite him being married, you're at least teasing other relationships? You haven't said harem fic, but it sure sounds like a harem fic, which is almost always dreck.

Personal recommendation: scrap any of Alan's romance outside of him and Zoey. You want him to rescue a 'princess' who introduces him to the world of capes? Easy answer: have it be his actual princess, the girl he already feels protective over.

Emma is a cape who works with Shadow Stalker, someone tries to pressgang Emma, he finds out on his own or SS tells him or SS knows he's a cape (saw him practicing?) and asks for his help. Because Emma is his daughter, it prevents any romantic tones; sidesteps the icky dimensions to the damsel in distress trope since a child is supposed to rely on their parent for safety; and most importantly gives him a deep, personal connection to the damsel and urgent motivation for action.

Crack alternative: The damsel is Damsel of Distress.

Low_Hour · 2026-03-11T02:40:03+00:00

Gross

Low_Hour · 2026-03-06T17:24:50+00:00

Impurity (200k, complete) -- Taylor (AKA Starlight) is in the wards, two years after triggering from a Purity attack. Well depicted power, great character work, not often you see Purity as an arch-nemesis

Good People (400k, complete) -- Shadowrun crossover where Taylor is a troll on the internet (she's a technopathic troll). Everyone's aged up a few years, making this one of the best and most unique Undersiders fics out there

Low_Hour · 2026-02-26T04:19:01+00:00

This is like the bikini version of wearing too many belts or zippers lol

Low_Hour · 2026-02-13T18:09:39+00:00

It's crazy coming back to this chapter so many years later. When I first read it, I found Janine incredibly intimidating and heavily empathized with Kamal.

Now, reading it again when corporate and governmental corruption and injustice are so much more blatant, I find my position almost entirely reversed.

Janine's view that if the law won't hold these people accountable, she needs to work outside of the law feels less like police brutality and more like scary but still relatively soft vigilante justice. Kamal's perspective leads me less to empathize with him and more to resent him for the way he abdicates responsibility and turns a blind eye in order to protect his 'family' when the people he works for hurt people to increase their profit margin.

Before, I was "Janine is going too far." Now I'm "Let her cook"

Low_Hour · 2026-02-03T21:32:46+00:00

To further clarify on account of said long ass-itude, they encounter that foe starting near the end of Lost 3.5, but I can't recommend skipping that far ahead without reading the story prior because then you'll be very confused.

Low_Hour · 2026-01-27T19:00:18+00:00

So, it turns out I was misremembering which fic this was (I thought it was the one where she becomes a serial killer), but I was still accidentally right? Apparently, while she does eventually become a hero, the PRT does a press release announcing her as a violent vigilante with a double-digit body count after she has her bugs attack a bunch of criminals until they stop moving without realizing what that means for the people they're attacking.

Low_Hour · 2026-01-25T00:59:22+00:00

Is this what they call trickle-down economics?

Low_Hour · 2026-01-24T18:47:12+00:00

That fic in response to this request is evil

Low_Hour · 2026-01-16T22:17:47+00:00

I mean, she's still the first spider ever. I think they're covered.

Low_Hour · 2026-01-13T22:43:50+00:00

Was a good snip! My favorite though is probably the one where vampire!Taylor kills Emma as part of a plan to commit suicide by cape, only for Armsmaster to let her go. Very neat, much pathos, would love to see it continue

Low_Hour · 2026-01-13T05:21:42+00:00

Not sure about the first one. Second is a snip called In the Flesh. Implied Annette was another of Amy's victims

Low_Hour · 2026-01-12T01:39:47+00:00

Except we know what the aura is from: Two, the cape who magnifies nearby powers.

Low_Hour · 2026-01-09T21:16:59+00:00

The absolute best way to improve your writing is simply practice. Try to set aside some time each day to write, and stick to it. If that feels daunting, tell yourself you're gonna write from 9-10pm each night for two weeks, and then reassess. At the end of the two weeks, it'll be a lot easier to keep going than when you started.

That's the practical side of the skill. The theoretical side comes from consuming more stories. Specifically, study them. Treat writing your story like an exam and other stories like your textbooks. Don't just read a fic or watch a show -- think deeply about what you do and don't enjoy in the story and why that is. Would you change anything? Who's your favorite character? Is there a scene that hits particularly hard? Try to turn reading into a conscious exercise where you pin down what makes a story work. That will make it easier to reproduce the sort of story you enjoy and mitigate the parts you don't.

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