Working papers / Research projects

Research

Structured research projects, working papers, and method notes. Blog posts remain the time-stream; this shelf collects projects that have grown into a stable question, method, and evidence base.

The Heroine as Interface

reader essay — BluebirdPublished Jun 27, 2026Updated Jul 4, 20262,904 words12 min read

What happens when a romance-game heroine must be specific enough to be loved, but empty enough to be inhabited? A critical essay on the heroine as interface, the characters who break containment, and the fan labor that finishes what the text leaves incomplete.

researchinteractive fictionfan studiesgame criticismnarrative theory

Bluebird: Transparent Protagonists and Displaced Subjectivity

active — theory, criticism, and fan repairPublished Jun 26, 2026Updated Jul 4, 2026737 words3 min read

Bluebird asks what happens when romance interaction makes one figure both a character loved by others and an interface inhabited by the player.

game studiesinteractive fictionotome gamesfan studiesnarrative theory