Name: Damon Black (alias of course)

Current fics: Dead or Alive 4: The Devil Factor (DOA). Kunoichis Like Us (DOA). Mass Effect 2: A Single Moment (ME2).

Status of current fics: Still in development!

Dead or Alive 4: The Devil Factor-Chapter 41 in progress.

Kunoichis Like Us-Chapter 25 completed

Mass Effect 2: A Single Moment-Samara completed.

Devil May Cry: Genesis-Rebooting in progress.

Anime/Manga and Video Game Cliches I Hate (my pet peeves)

Anime/Manga

Bullet dodging martial artists-I usually like martial arts themed animes/mangas like Tenjo Tenge and the like, but when they start having the ability to dodge bullets and take on tanks with their bare hands is when I roll my eyes and go 'yeah right'. If the guy's a demon or alien I'll buy it, but if it's a human who has undergone 'extreme secret training', then it just ruins it for me. I know that animes like this don't go for being 'real' but it just urks me.

Girls' breasts that come in three sizes: improbable, impossible, and ludacris-Yeah, I know that Japan has a different culture and Western cartoons can be accused of portraying women in a similar fashion, but that doesn't make me like it. It's hard for me to feel a character connection or anything with a woman who looks like she's smuggling watermelons in her blouse or kimono or whatever, because then she becomes an empty sex object in my eyes. (I am also aware of the hypocrisy of me hating this since I'm a male).

Average guys who are swarmed with hot chicks that want him and he is utterly clueless about it-I hate this mostly because it doesn't happen in real life and it makes me depressed. I prefer the guy to have a personality than an interchangeable push over, goody two shoes, somewhat perverted, bland character that you see in many animes/mangas before. Before people accuse me of doing a similar tactic, could you describe Dante as an average clueless guy? As for Alex, he's so pessimistic that he'll probably suspect foul play than believe something like that would happen to him. As Doctor Kelso said in Scrubs: "Only in the movies do the hot chicks get with the ugos." (I probably botched that quote). And since I'm on the subject...

The 'Average guy' in main character in manga/anime-These characters are so bland and overused that I no longer consider them characters, but plot devices. In their defense, I've seen Average guy characters evolve through the story and become fascinating, but not often. Gimme character, gimme conflict. I like brooding, dark, sarcastic characters. Not like Sasuke, guy crosses the goth/emo territory big time. Gimme House, now there's a character!

Overpowered robots-this ties in with my bullet dodging cliche. I can usually swallow gundams firing ship destroying lasers and all, but when they withstand nuclear attacks and wipe out fleets by themselves is when they lose me. G Gundam is a good example of this, even though I kinda liked it. I also hate the Neo-American Gundam. The thing is gawdy as hell.

Video Games

Fighting games with barebones story-I have a love hate relationship with fighting games. I love the characters and the action, but I hate how these games underplay their story. I usually took this as just a thing about fighting games, but I was proven wrong with Def Jam: Fight for New York. A superb game with an equal use of fighting, customization, slight story control, and replayability. True, the game was more wrestling/fighting, but I liked it. If DOA ever gave us an option to create a character as indepth as DJFFNY, I would willingly sell off a kidney to get it!

Weapon upgrades that have negative status effects (for example a gem that grants 25 damage but -25 speed)-I mean really, what's the point of using it?

The 'choose your response' selections in RPG's only having selfless nice guy to supreme dickhole-Yahtzee from ZeroPunctuation has been calling attention to this in terms of character endings and I whole heartedly agree. I hate having to choose extremes, I want the ability to give smartass comments but not be evil about it. I want to be able to be evil, but not the bloodthirsty aggressive way, I want to be subtle and cool headed. I want to be the anti-hero or the villian that has noble intentions.

Throw away pistols-What's the point of having a pistol in a game if it's piss weak and worthless? But on the other end of the spectrum, Halo: CE's pistol was way too overpowered.

Multi-imput control grenade throwing-Halo grenade throwing: Hit button to throw grenade. Perfect. Call of Duty grenade throwing: Hold down the button to throw it farther or so it'll explode sooner? Alright. Army of Two/any Army simulator grenade throwing: Having to switch from a gun to a grenade and move the thumbsticks to line up the arch to where I want to throw it. Useless. I might as well just keep shooting at them.

The Resident Evil franchise-Before any of you decide to lynch me, what I'm referring to isn't the game itself but how the franchise has stagnated/regressed. I never played to original Playstation 1-era RE games but I did come in when RE4 came out. A superb re-engineering of the game mechanics that gave this dying beast a much needed shot to the arm. RE5 I loved because while it moved away from the survival horror, the co-op made it something my friends and I enjoyed to no end. And then came RE6 and RE:Operation Racoon City. I feel as if the RE series is like that drunken uncle that we stage a intervention for, get him cleaned up, put our hopes on him only for the poor bastard to fall off the wagon.

More when I think of them

I am currently looking for a fanfic made by a 'Rorouni Star' (I think that's how you spell it) Anyway, It's called 'And all the world's a play' or close to it. It's an Inu-yasha fic. If anyone can tell me where I can find it, that's be awesome. Just message me or something.

Farewell Newtype USA magazine. I knew ye well.

Itagaki, may your future endeavours be fruitful.

Original Character Overview

Alex Kane (KLU): I originally made Alex Kane for a sci-fi story for my sci-fi class. I recycled the name for Kunoichi's Like Us, because I kinda liked the simplicity of it. My first draft had him as an American journalist in his late twenties that works in Japan. However, he was too much like the lead female character from the manga Tramps Like Us, which I based my fic from. Instead, I rehashed him as a teenager around Kasumi's age with a mix of French and American heritage and born in Japan. Why French-American? Well, Alex has some identity issues regarding whether he really is Japanese even though he's not Asian. His mixed heritage makes his ethnic identity in a quagmire. I thought about an American-British ethnic background, but there are more mixed feelings between the French and America that I've come to notice, which only adds to the conflict of his identity. I modeled him after some rather angry people I know of as well as some instances in my life where I suffered a bout of manic depression. Alex is a depressed, bitter/angry loner type but with a story of his own that breaks the stereotype. I try to stay away from stereotypes, stereotypes are death to literacy.

Rika Kane (KLU): My first draft of Rika was a bubbly, hyper-active, pre-teen that cared deeply for her brother. Than I realized that I hated those arch-types in anime. Plus such a personality really wouldn't fit well with the fic's atmosphere. So I redid her as someone with two parts to her personality, the overprotective friend and sister and the haughty 'proud to be me' girl, but not as arrogant. Some Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion is in her, I admit.

Seiji Shimono (KLU): Seiji was modeled after two of my friends. We're very close and been together for almost ten years. We each get worried about each other when something bad happens. So Seiji is sort of the 'big brother' of the group of friends. He's also a complete horn dog, just like my friends...sort of. Well not a complete one. He can also be a family man/teen sometimes.

Nanako Izumi (KLU): Nanako's first incarnation was a level-headed, mature, but somewhat naïve woman who was Alex's social better and the two shared a romantic history. But like the first KLU Alex, she was too much like one of the characters in the manga. So I did a completely opposite turn on the character and redid her as a punk/goth/rebel type teen girl that was open and comfortable with her sexuality. She's a strong and independent young woman who's not afraid of anyone. However, we all have faults, so I made her a tease and a bit of a bully. Over half a dozen girls I knew of in high school were the basis of her character.

Daisuke (KLU): Daisuke is the embodiment of the guy who succeeds in high school. Popular, charming, manipulative, and cruel. Daisuke doesn't care what people think of him but he knows that sometimes making people like him gets him what he wants. Daisuke is a drug peddler, but he's not the guy who slinks in alleyways. People come to him, that's how it usually works. I, sadly, knew someone who sold some illegal substances, and he told me how easy and soul draining the experience is. Thankfully my friend is back on the right path, but he says it's so easy to fall into that lifestyle.

Will have more later

Game Wish List

Halo Infinite

Bayonetta 3

Cyberpunk 2077