Kai: For me, I break down what I look for in yandere fic in hierarchy; starting from “superficial” points all the way down to “deal breakers”. Starting with “superficial”, since it doesn’t weigh much, I’ll be talking about design. Yes, there are times that I just start reading a yandere fic simply because the male yandere has white hair (my fetish) but of course looks do not define if the fic is good or not. It is the story that is the most important thing but design plays a factor in hooking in your audience initially. The audience doesn’t want to read about some butt ugly yandere chasing after an MC but an attractive one; unfortunately people are shallow like that (just like Julie and I). But you should be fine as long your yandere sounds reasonably attractive, authors tend to nail that. The design issue that most authors have isn’t appearance but name and personality of the yandere. I’ve seen some yanderes with AWFUL names like Bob or Dick (true story). I’m sorry, even though this is a superficial point, if the yandere has an awful name that’s an automatic deal breaker for me. I can’t take the story seriously anymore if our yandere’s name is fucking Bob. “Ahhhh, he’s holding a knife! Who are you?!” “My name… is Bob.” Like, come on. I almost threw up from laughing so hard from reading that fic. Seriously, be mindful of the name if you want to create something serious. My rule of thumb as a writer is this: If you can’t imagine yourself moaning that name in bed without laughing/cringing then that name ain’t it chief. Another design issue is personality.

Unlike appearance or name, the yandere’s personality is a pillar for your story. It’s also a make it or break it point on if your male yandere is truly a yandere or not. The most common sort of personality I see in fics (much to my bitter annoyance) is the cool/stoic type or the sadistic type. As Julie and I say time and time again, we don’t consider the sadistic type to be a yandere. We acknowledge some people do but truthfully, the traits that the sadistic type shows make the male appear more psychopathic than a yandere. The moment the yandere start hurting (physically or emotionally) the MC I start losing my mind; it means the author doesn’t know what a yandere is (in my opinion). Another personality trait I detest is the cool/stoic type. It comes to a point that these “cool” types become so cold to the point that they’re a block of ice. Hardly any affection or meaningful interactions with the MC besides the yandere moments. Imagine this: “Cold shoulder, Cold shoulder, Cold Shoulder, SUDDEN YANDERE SNAP, Cold Shoulder.” Like damn, that’s one hell of a 360 for the yandere. The issue with the stoic type is because they keep all the emotions and thoughts inside, not sharing it with the MC or the reader. We only actually see that yandere thought process during yandere snap moments or in a “In the mind of the yandere” special chapter. Yanderes are “lovesick”… just showing us the “sick” parts doesn’t make the character automatically a yandere. We need to see the “love” part… the affections. That being said, the most uncommon personality trait I don’t see as common but I wish to see more of is an affectionate yandere. We only see the crazy that it makes me wonder if the male yandere likes the MC in the first place. I want to see a yandere who’s up front with his love for the MC by doing things like physical affection or emotional ones (like supporting the MC’s goals).The affection varies depending on the type of yandere of course. For example an affectionate, mature yandere (Julie’s type) won’t show the same affection as an affectionate, childish yandere (my type). Oh! I should mention that both my and Julie’s type aren’t common either (since the most common personality is sadistic… yuck). And before I forget, another personality type I’m tired of seeing is the possessive yandere. That usually go hand in hand with sadistic types. I’m just… tired of seeing the phrase “SHE’S MINE.” all the time in a fic. A certain degree of possessiveness is fine for a yandere; it’s to be expected. But when the yandere is seeing the MC as property and that “he can do whatever he wants to her”, that makes him look awful and he’s not a yandere anymore.

When it comes to plot, my main gripe is that it the plots are boring, fast paced (in a bad way), and it doesn’t impact the characters. Let me explain: For the first point that some of these plots are boring, the common story we see is always a “high school/college slice of life with horror (the yandere) mixed in”. God… I’m fucking tired of always being sent back to school and what more, I hate slice of life. I need an actual plot not “Day 75, Bob stalked me. Things are heating up.” Another common plot is “The yandere is a CEO/Prince and he locked me up in his penthouse/castle!” This is the classic “escape the basement” story type just disguised with a fancy wrapper. I’m tired that the MC’s main goal is just “escape”. Another annoying this is how fast paced the story is. It’s obvious that the author is rushing events just so we can see the yandere snap moments. This fast pace issue also plays into everything we talked about so far. Since the author is rushing, they make the yandere look as a possessive, unaffectionate sadist and the plot becomes insignificant since the “most important thing is the yandere snap”. Just… take your time in building the story and the relationship between the MC and the yandere. You don’t need to show the snap right away, you can just show the “yandere” aspect through creeper actions and affection. Finally, a big issue about the plot is how it doesn’t impact the characters. Yes, the plot is a vehicle driven by the characters but you don’t want to drive a shit car, do you? So why would you make a shit plot? I argue with those who say plot isn’t important as long as the character’s are meaningful. That’s bullshit. Plot is just as important. The issue is that the plot is more of a snowglobe where the characters are trapped in instead of it being the vehicle to move the story forward. It’s like the world is just frozen for just these two characters and it bends just for the sake of “story”. I recall a story where the MC called the cops because she was getting stalked and the cops went “Lmao, don’t prank call us.” Um, excuse me? The cops won’t act like that. Any point to reach out to the world is just blocked and the world doesn’t impact the character. That’s just… oof.

You see, the problem with these plots is the fact that the core point of the plot is “MC vs. the yandere”. I’m tired of that. I’m tired of the two in this age long war of one side versus the other when the two should be working together. How? By the plot. The plot brings the MC and the yandere together. There should be an overarching issue or villain that brings the MC and the yandere together; forcing them to set aside their difference and give the MC a chance to see a different side of the yandere. Of course that won’t work if the plot is simply a cardboard cut out of the real thing lol.

But despite all that planning with the yandere and the plot, the biggest issue to tackle is the MC. Oh my god… it’s always the MC that makes me eventually drop the story since they’re so bland or stupid. Let me tell you, once you read one MC in these yandere fics, you read all of them. Regardless if the MC is a push over or a “bad bitch”, they all have the same thing in mind: that they absolutely hate the yandere and they need to escape. Never have I seen the MC properly end up with the yandere (willingly). They always fight against the yandere and antagonize him. I guess the MC is suppose to be “realistic” but their logic is just fucked. For example, even if the yandere haven’t done anything yet, the MC will get a “bad feeling” about the yandere and treat him badly for no reason. Example: “Hi.” “Ugh, he just started talking to me. He’s so creepy. Fuck off.” The default for these MCs with the yandere is always so hostile or terrified of the yandere. And on the off chance that the MC starts of with liking the yandere, it always goes down the drain with the MC finding the yandere terrifying/irredeemable for his action and end up following the path of running away from the yandere. The moment I see this classic phrase in a story: “I thought that he was The One. But who would have thought that it was my biggest mistake.” I know right away that it’s going to be one of Those stories where the MC makes a horrifying realization about the yandere and ends up naruto running out of that relationship. For example, in the webtoon recommendation we got, My Deepest Secret; that webtoon used that exact same line and immediately I knew that the MC will end up with the second male lead, not the yandere.

What sort of MC I want to see? Well, one who is more receptive of the yandere and more willing to get along with him. Instead of getting creeped out by the yandere, she’s actually flattered by his actions instead. I want an MC who isn’t scared or hate the yandere. In fact I want her to trust him and rely on him. I want her to see through the yandere’s point of view and understand his intentions/affections. More than anything, I want the MC to be EQUAL to the yandere. We always see that the MC is in the weaker position to the yandere. The yandere is “powerful, commanding, and always in control” while the MC is “below the yandere, weak, and fragile”. Even for the “bad bitches” MC, they’re always weaker to the yandere in the end. I want an MC who is significant and makes the yandere second guess if he’s even capable in keeping her down. And I don’t just mean physically strong (I mean, I always like a girl who can crush me), the MC could be intellectually strong or emotionally as long as it gives her an edge against the yandere (I mean, I still don’t want them to fight each other. But that they can work together). I always wanted to see a scene where the MC discover the yandere killing a person but instead of freaking out, the MC doubles down and goes, “Here. Let me help you hide the body.” I want to see a couple, not mortal enemies.

One more point I want to mention is the yandere’s action throughout the story. I want to see more unique “yandere snaps” besides the yandere just killing a rival. That’s so cliche. Julie and I always stated that a yandere doesn’t need to kill someone to be a yandere. A unique yandere snap could be a heartfelt confession to the MC. With a ting of craze and insanity, the yandere could pour out all his affections to the MC and beg for her not to leave. That could be a great yandere snap instead of just plain murder. Can I just mention why is it that the “logical conclusion” in getting rid of a pest or a rival is always murder? Like serious. Coercion is a thing. So is bribing, blackmail, and killing the person’s social life. The yandere can be way more creative and smart in getting rid of these people. The yandere can also be nice (Yes, nice!) in getting rid of a rival. The yandere could always play cupid and hook the rival up with someone else or help the rival get a promotion in an out of country branch. While I’m not saying don’t include murder to the yandere’s action, but it should be his last resort if he has all these other options he could chose. Also! I have to ask why the yandere acts like a hostile shut in all the time. First of all, the yandere is always so hostile to the people MC holds close to her. Why can’t the yandere act friendly to her friends and family? Like serious, we can do a “manipulative” angle where the yandere is gaining MC’s trust through her friends and family, who trust the yandere. Plus it’ll make the MC more likely to like the yandere instead of hate him. Second, why is it impossible for the yandere to have close friends or have hobbies outside of the MC? It would help the yandere look more like a relatable person if he has a close friend and that he cares about other issue. For example, Joe from the TV show You. Joe was worried about his neighbor’s kid Paco and helped the kid despite being a yandere. Basically, make the yandere a person, not a gremlin.

Final point (I promise), I want to see a good or a redeemed yandere. I want to see a yandere who’s a good guy, you know? I’m tired of all these villains. I want to see the yandere’s goal be “The MC’s happiness” not the usual selfish goal of “I want MC to belong to me.” No more villains! More hero yanderes!!!

Anyways, that’s the end of my piece. Sorry for puking all this on you anon, but there’s just so much wiggle room yandere fics can improve and what annoys me about them. For some good writing references in making your yandere, I recommend reading our Male and Female yandere criteria (together makes the complete list), Selfish vs. Selfless yandere, Canon Fodder yanderes, and Yandere Actions (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3).

Hey anon it’s Julie here: Since we had different schedules, Kai and I are responding at different times. Just reading Kai’s response and..she’s basically got everything covered when it comes to the MC and her relationship with the Yandere. I’m going to address your questions as an expansion with Kai’s suggestions since I agree with 100% with what Kai said; although I would probably word it differently lol. A little warning before I begin, what I think is interesting might not be what other people enjoy…but I’ll try to make my advice as universal as I can.

What I like:

1. As far as plot development goes I like when everything gets revealed as the story goes on. As as a reader, you can only see and know a limited amount of information…Maybe the Yandere is withholding a secret from the MC in the form of his identity, past, or abilities. This technique is only really effective when the secret has a major impact on the story. If executed well, you would be able to capture a lot of readers.

2. Maybe this just falls under a kink of mine but I enjoy having a bilingual Yandere. There’s just a romantic aspect to the Yandere’s character that makes him interesting and attractive that wasn’t bluntly stated. I don’t really see a lot of these types of stories. If I did I usually always will like them a lot. Just be wary when your using google sensei; you might not get what you want lol.

3. Making the characters relateable is also important. A connection with the MC and ML in the story is key to making a story great. I would say an easy way to make the audience connect with the character is through showing their personality (sarcasm, empathy, indifference, humor, wit). There are all sort of ways you can make your characters likable. You can even make the Villains likable if you give the audience something to relate to and connect with.

4. A smart Yandere and MC. Now they don’t need to be rocket scientists or biochemist but a character’s action need to make sense to you as a reader. Before you write your characters action, you might need to check if it makes sense or if there’s any loopholes in your plot.

5. Humor portion. This is very important that you have a good control of humor. Too much and the readers won’t be able to take the story seriously even when you transition to a major event. I would say the ideal portion of humor is ⅓ humor and ⅔ being serious.

What I hate:

1. Another plot idea that gets thrown around in Yandere fanfic is how the Yandere is a serial killer or something. Personally that just drives me away from reading the story because almost all serial killer Yanderes are sadists. It’s kind of unfortunate because sometimes I prefer reading the darker more mature type genres rather then cute and fluffy Yandere fics (Also a good idea to know what type of vibe you want the story to be, cute and fluffy or dark and mature). Instead of the Yandere being a killer, I wouldn’t mind having the MC being the person that’s evil (surely that’s allowed right?). If you want a dark Yandere story, it’s fairly easy to add in different elements that other Yandere fics haven’t gotten; this was just an example. (Post-edit from Kai: 100% agree with Julie. I would love to see a serial killer MC getting wooed by a yandere.)

2. Multiple Yanderes (more then 2)…hmm it’s not like I hate this idea but then again I’m not the biggest fan when it comes to the reverse harem genre. Maybe this might be an unpopular opinion but by having that many characters around the MC and ML, you would risk overshadowing your main characters as well as having a stagnant plot. In general, It’s a bad sign if your starting to realize that the side characters are having more screen time then the main characters. Having a harem risks bringing this problem closer to home…unless it’s like a historical Yandere fic where the plot is actually centered around the harem. Either way, I’m not going to tell you to not do this but if you do decide to have multiple Yanderes make sure it doesn’t affect your main characters.

3. Another thing that annoys me is when the male Yandere doesn’t respect the female lead. I’ve seen this in too many Yandere fics. Again the story would be a lot better if the characters have a fun interaction rather then an oppressive one. It also doesn’t take a lot to figure out that the ending would be an unhappy one due to the fact that the MC and ML just couldn’t get along (more like the ML doesn’t treat the MC like a human being).

4. Basic or no titles. I wouldn’t exactly call Reader x Yandere a real title…Take your time to come up with one and if you can’t think of one right away; it’s ok to write and then come up with a title later. Don’t underestimate a title; it’s usually the make it or break it point for people to decide whether or not they want to read your work.

5. Final point: No legit reason as to why the Yandere might like the female lead. This is what I don’t get in a lot of Yandere fics. Usually in your stereotypical plot, the homie be falling head over heels because the MC is the first person to reject him (thus capturing his interest). Honestly, if a person acts like they don’t like me, It doesn’t make me want to like him. I have no idea why this is a plot device for so many stories. :/ Where is this coming from??? It doesn’t make any sense????  (Post-edit Kai: I want to add on to this cliche. Besides the “insta-love rejection” idea, another commonly seen reason for why the yandere falls in love with the MC is because she was nice to him for this ONE time. And that small bit of kindness wasn’t all that amazing… like passing the yandere a pencil or something. At least make the act of kindness more impactful.)