Well HELLO.
Let me just put this all in a giant bulk quote post:
As I move into the random appearance everywhere spectrum of Mav & Swann... one thing that I don't see touched on in every FAQ, that just seems like it should be more readily apparent...
STRATS.
Maybe I'm just a dinosaur with antiquated views on our hobby of choice, but are strats still a thing? And if so-
Do your feds want 'em?
When do you want 'em (i.e. 24 hours after card is posted, as soon as possible isn't a real answer; deadline that stuff)?
What information do you want touched on for STRATS to your specific fed - a few spots or actual gameplan?
Who should people send them too?
Not looking for advice on making the best strat, though that is definitely worth touching on in the university section. I also recognize that those wanting more input in their match or trying to pull off elaborate angles should be writing the action themselves - but some of your feds may frown at handlers taking on their own characters. Like any hub of 12+ feds, having answers to the above collected & pinned somewhere on the site to make each fed seem more approachable & accessible seems like a positive move.
For the point of conversation, let me run with two working definitons:
STRATS -- overall strategies and mindsets for the character, what the character might be like in the ring on any given week
SPOTS -- special bits/moments that make a character different that occur during a pre-match, match itself, or post match.
So I think for FIRESIDE, I'm usually more looking for SPOTS, but something like STRATS would be kind of like an early-game conversation. The closest thing that I have to a "strat" in my personal Caffrey bio is that Caffrey doesn't lift anyone during his matches. There's multiple implied reasons for it, and I absolutely love it when people pay attention to that because I think it creates more realistic wrestlers. In the world where everyone wants to be the coolest (that's not something said with blame, I 100% get it and do my own thing some times), I think setting realistic limitations or paying attention to things makes much more enjoyable matches. Like Subject is 325 pounds -- I kinda doubt even an aggressive cruiserweight is gonna be suplexing that monster around, y'know.
Getting distracted --
STRATS would be a conversation for me done through PMs or Discord. "Hey, I've got this guy, can he do this, this, and never do that", and that's something I can put in what is eventually going to be my match-writing files where I throw everyone's bios (these files do not exist yet, don't give me credit yet). One of the things I think you're asking is specific strategies vs. different opponents -- i.e. you look at the card and see you're booked against a high-flier, can you focus on taking his legs out? And I appreciate these conversations and encourage them, but they aren't an expectation for me (SPOTS are). My running rule with all submissions is that as long as it doesn't bury someone or the match result, most submissions are fair game (though I may tweak here and there).
What is an expectation in FIRESIDE and I'll be going around bothering people for it soon enough is
SPOTS. Spots are for pre-match, the match itself, or post-match. These are things that distinguish your character as different than the other 11 members of the roster or help form new/build on stories. A couple examples:
○ Mr. Kennedy making it his whole shtick that he announces himself and (sometimes) cuts a promo before the match
♦ A wrestler taunting the opposition's partner during the match
• One time while writing a global match I got a request "can I kick the other wrestler really hard in the balls?" That's doable.
♥ Hey my opponent has said some shit about my wrestler's personal life, can my gal run down to the ring and immediately just start lighting him up with punches?
♠ Trying to get a pre-match/post-match handshake in
☻ (Ignore this, this is me just fascinated that Alt + 014X types in a these kind of dots.)
Do your feds want 'em?
Not expected, SPOTS is the expectation, but FIRESIDE will be happy to do so and work with you.When do you want 'em (i.e. 24 hours after card is posted, as soon as possible isn't a real answer; deadline that stuff)?
Sometime before the RP deadline.What information do you want touched on for STRATS to your specific fed - a few spots or actual gameplan?
Spots is what I'm looking for for all wrestlers (moments and bits in the pre-match, mid-match, or post-match to help you establish yourself or establish a story), but gameplans are acceptable.Who should people send them too?
anthonycaffrey.
Yeah, spots.. or a mindset heading into the contest.
Are you giving up size or speed? How would your wrestler combat that? Would they work a mat based attack? But some people could send in a direct PBP piece for Hawke and King if it was something they really wanted to have happen.
I don't know what a PBP is but I'm a fan of realistic matches like this at times. If you have a cruiserweight high-flyer who for some reason has a suplex in your moveset, I have doubts you're gonna be suplexing a 325 pound behmoth. You will find other ways to get the job done though. It kind of goes to a mindset that on a ten-person card the natches shouldn't look 100% similar. I don't think exact strategies for each match is the responsibility of the wrestlers, I do kinda think that's on the match-writers themselves. Again, I'll take 'em, but not an expectation.
.........follow-up question: Is it possible to inflate Caff's ego?
I wasnt really suggesting a universal form - as it's very specific to match writing style, just wondering how each fed handled it. My background is closed flash email feds, where it was a deciding factor in victory - and helped to create storylines without handlers mapping it all out together. With board feds I don't really do it much... the question is always, has the match been written a week ago, and if I send it to the fedhead's account do four guys have access including the one I'm starting against? Know what I mean?
I could always use the validation that my ego is well-placed
Submitting spots/strategies in FIRESIDE doesn't win or lose you a match.
A big goal of submitting spots and what not in FIRESIDE is to create these stories and storylines. I think a lot of the time e-fedding can feel like "okay, here's my cog against this cog this week" and then next week you're fighting another guy and there's no real reason to it. That's not me sub-tweeting anyone, I just find it as a feeling. I'd like to be able to create reasons to the point if someone is reading a show they can already kinda tell who they're going to be fighting before the next week's card already goes up.
The only match I've ever pre-written is the Rumble (and that was only like 30% of it). Vastrix is by far and away the only person I know on the Network who consistently prewrites.
I don't think the "one you're starting against" really matters? Like I've seen my bookings during a card going up and it doesn't like, affect the booking.
While I think strats is a good concept- I'm not really in favor of pushing it on members just because some folks like the back-and-forth with the writers. But for some matches it helps.
I will be pushing SPOTS on my wrestlers just because I think it's going to make things a lot more rewarding and fun. Let's say you don't win, but you come up with a cool idea that you can use to build your character or a story going forward, I think that shit can be pretty fun.
That said I always welcome people asking for spots cuz it can give me a direction for my matches but then I write mine once the RPs are done so I can see the emotion and I also have a knack for writing intros to matches as you'd see on a long TV match so lots of jockeying and simple moves and holds and strikes before getting to the meat of stuff so gives me plenty of time to react if I get them sent to me. That said I don't go out of my way to ASK for them
I just think this is funny because I'm so the opposite. Cut the fat if we can, let's get to the stuff people came to see. Granted, I will sometimes draw out the meat and describe it like it's the end of the world, but to each their own.
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Here's more information on what we're doing over at FIRESIDE if you're interested.