Particularly when it comes to Reader, Reader's relationship with Makima, and Reader's development. I just wrote a good bit of text in response to AO3 comments, and I feel the contents could make for a nice Tumblr post in case the readers who don't check out other people's comments on CiC care.
More under the cut! (No spoilers if you're caught up & have read the tags of the fic)
Note: This isn't meant as "calling out" anyone or anything! Just take it as nice little bonus info that I think might be interesting to read as additional material.
Should I copy some contents from AO3 comment responses into such posts more often? Feels like Tumblr-only followers miss out otherwise...
On Reader being complex but still not an OC & Reader's development:
Who says a reader-insert can't be complex, right? Well, okay; I know that you can't really flesh out a reader-insert too much without creating friction with the readers who're supposed to see themselves in the reader-insert. That's just how this genre works (admittedly, I've never written a reader-insert before, though).
But it's not that uncommon to give a reader-insert one (or a few) defining traits and tag them as such. Like female reader, submissive reader, etc. etc. etc. - which made me figure, I'd go for a female reader with decision fatigue. Seemed like something that's prevalent enough in people these days that it still works as being very relatable. The tricky thing (and somewhat of an experiment) is to work in the development. I mean, the readers who do self-insert (I know not all do) don't develop alongside Reader, and they don't have to. So, Reader moves away a little from the readers... though, I'm thinking that maybe this still works in a sense of placing oneself into Reader's head and "feeling" her development. Maybe that helps to be a bit inspiring or motivating, making it easier to deal with life even when there's no convenient Control Devil to put one on a leash?
Reader is a pretty peculiar character, which makes her fun and interesting to delve into and explore. Even Makima gets stumped. A big part of the appeal of this fic for me as writer is to confront Makima with someone who theoretically should be easy to deal with, but who's actually giving her trouble because of that.
[...]
Reader's decision fatigue is her core trait and driving motivation (for the initial attachment to Makima, the start of the pet relationship, etc.), so that's one of the most important things to portray.
On Makima fostering & trying to force Reader's "want":
That's an interesting point that isn't as obvious (which is honestly my bad as a writer) - want isn't actually "unnecessary" even though it seems that way. The fact that want is unnecessary because Reader follows Makima regardless is the real issue that bothers Makima.
It works "right now" because Reader goes along with Makima, no strings attached. But that's not something that can be counted on. Humans aren't static; Reader could for one reason or another stop her obedience at any point. Maybe even because someone else provides her with more comfort/security than Makima does, and that person tells Reader to cut off Makima. Reader wouldn't question that, and Makima would have no way to make Reader stay.
No way besides her powers, to be specific. But using them on such a "useless" (in terms of what Reader provides for Makima's goals) basic human like Reader only to keep her subservient would be like admitting defeat, like Makima admitting to herself that she has 0 control over Reader, and that Reader has her own full autonomy (although Reader doesn't ruly realize this). Through this, it's as though Reader is above Makima rather than below her, and that's not an acceptable state.
The core problem isn't that Reader doesn't want anything from Makima (that's something Makima could easily instrument), it's that Reader doesn't want. There's nothing for Makima to instrument when the base component isn't there. That's why Makima initially probes for whether wants do exist in some shape or form, just way subdued, and gets increasingly more irritated when all those attempts fail.
Makima needs Reader to consciously want something (literally anything) to build from that, and gain the proper upper hand in the relationship.
Effectively Makima is fighting a power struggle that Reader isn't even aware of, which is another (more hidden) facet of the "power imbalance" in this relationship.
Again, my bad as a writer if I can't properly get that across… although I've more or less figured that would likely be the case. I'm not a professional author in the first place, and I lack experience, too; I can't really expect myself to nail the execution. That said, that's not a big problem in this fic (I think) because it works without that more subtle/hidden angle as well.
This is a fic of power imbalance, where Makima is the one in the stronger position overall by nature, and where she is the dominant part of the relationship - that much is open enough that it's enjoyable for any reader. The other side of the power imbalance, hidden beneath that, is extra flavor that makes the relationship richer and is a shame if it doesn't come across well enough, but doesn't ruin the story either, I feel.
Those are just my thoughts on this matter, though!
On Reader's current self feeling like a dismissal of her earlier self:
I think this is a natural view of the change/development from a point of view that sees Reader's initial state as nothing but untypical - though that wasn't my intention as the writer. What I had in mind from the start was a reader-insert who's struggling with decision fatigue and who's been whittled down by that because it's something she'd been dealing with for most of her life. In that sense, it parallels various problems that adults face as a consequence of troubles in their childhood; though I didn't go into specifics intentionally to keep it more generally relatable.
In that way, I think various types of people can relate to Reader's initial self and struggles - for example, depression can come close enough to feel familiar to what Reader is experiencing, although I didn't consciously write her as depressed. That's just one example, too; various people can probably find a part of themselves in how Reader expresses herself.
That said, while this was my intention for the starting point - and the characterization - the other part of the concept was that Makima's influence - though generally considered manipulative, toxic, unhealthy etc. - is exactly what provides Reader with the stability and lack of burdens she craved, and that plus Makima's prodding pushing her to an "improvement" of her mental state. It's not like she'd change character entirely; her flat affect and numbness weren't entirely just related to her decision fatigue. But still, she does move away from her old self.
So, the idea was to write a story in which someone functional but struggling finds their improvement in an unhealthy relationship because that's what I personally found really compelling. (And because, as someone who struggled with depression among other things myself, I thought it might also be a nice story to read for someone struggling with one thing or another - a message that things can get better, and that not everything has to feel like a chore forever.)
Though, once more, that's just me explaining my intent. I don't think different interpretations of the story or character(s) are bad or wrong; a story exists to be interpreted. It's a shame that her change feels like dismissal of her original state to you - because I don't mean to imply that the original state is bad generally, or that someone who feels like that needs "fixing". For Reader it simply wasn't her true normal, but a messed up normal.
