So, after the kind of months I've been having and the omnipresent questions that have been hanging around as I've done more work interfacing with other people's stories rather than mine, I've decided it would behoove me to go ahead and open a peer review of my contributions. Hopefully, it will consolidate some thoughts, maybe help me work out where to apply my efforts and in general, let me see a few things refracted through other viewpoints.

Okay, so it's pretty simple. These are my characters:

15 characters. It's... a daunting personal roster at this point.
Add to that, the characters lurking entirely in the depths of the forum that AREN'T official (I won't even bother listing them), and you can see where I might be feeling mildly overwhelmed by the pressures I've managed to construct for myself.

Now, I could do the same with my worlds, but honestly, I feel more Zen about those that have made it into the archives.

Anyways, for those interested in providing me feedback (and giving me some oblique amount of an ego boost), I would like you to fill out the following form.

1. The Shifter. He just seems like the kind of guy who just wants to watch the world burn, and that has made him the most entertaining.
2. Raef. I really think he both deserves and needs a continuation of his arc beyond Legacies//To Choose Freedom.
3. Alessa. As a character I have the most difficulty getting inside the headspace of, she represents a bit of an exciting challenge.
4. Aamir. I neither have any recollections of reading a story with him nor have any interest at current of doing so.

1. Huinn. That guy was good in that one thing he was in... I've also really enjoyed the Zhiran stories, actually.
2. Aerik. Seriously, I think that guy's got a ton of untapped potential, and I think he's seen comparatively little of the light of day. I'd be interesting in seeing a Kashius story, too, mostly just because I know little about that character.
3. I...don't think I'll answer that? It's complicated.
4. Not to pile on, but Aamir doesn't interest me all that much. That's not to say he's not "interesting," just that I, personally, don't have any interest in him. Partly it's the angel thing, partly it's his personality, and partly, well, I just don't have any ideas for him. Sri Hara is an interesting little contradiction, because I'm not interested in working with the character at all, but I would be pretty interested in seeing someone else make a Sri Hara story, because I like the character.

Comments
Make fewer characters...

Just kidding. Seriously, I think you do an excellent job, probably better than any of us, really, of making really in-depth and well-thought out characters. Your characters are unique, highly specialized, and fully realized. I think that, because of how highly specialized they are, they also tend to be "hit-or-miss" for people. What I mean by that is if one of your characters hits notes that resonate with a given reader, they will resonate a lot, because you really take great pains to get characters right, which is awesome. The drawback there is when you hit notes a reader doesn't care for. It's not a fault of you or your character, but rather the nature of preference.

That's my take, anyway.

Aamir is the half-elf prince. Raef is the half-angel. I feel you may have your wires crossed and I'm not actually sure who you mean now.

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Also, I feel I should apologize for being purposefully evil with my previous post.

Aamir has the ability to create angels.

Aamir is also a luminarch. He creates angels.

(I'll also respond in greater depth later. Editing something right now so...)

I just completely forgot about that. Like I said, I don't find him all that interesting.

Re: Aamir:
I'll go ahead and get this out of the way. I think it's fine that neither of you are really interested in Aamir.
He's a very different character than most of my roster (most of whom I would describe as having roots in pulp fiction). That's why I like him, but writing him is, in itself, difficult because he has a completely different suite of mannerisms, tics, and motivations. He represents something of a challenge for myself, and admittedly, part of what appeals to me is his exotic lineage. (in several layers)
But by no means does that mean that you have to find him interesting.
He's actually kind of stuffy and formal, so I understand the sentiment.

Which among the above characters have you found most interesting in past stories?
For me this is between Alessa and Raef. I like a number of your characters but these are the two that I think have the strongest stories to their names. (Well, "Loss" is a really great story but it's not quite as, I suppose, intriguing on some level as Alessa's issues or Raef's uh... other issues, basically)
Which among the above characters would you be most interested in seeing new stories produced for?
Raef and I. Both of those characters have great future potential I think and I'd like to see their storylines expanded.
Which among the above characters would you most be interested in working with?
Kashius, whose whole dynamic feels very interesting to me, and I, who seems like he would be a fascinating challenge to write for.
Which among the above characters are you least interested in?
Aerik, mainly because, well, I couldn't actually remember who he was without looking it up. Similarly Ilyta. I dunno why but for some reason neither of them seem to have stuck in my head.
Other comments:
I think the difficulty I always have with your characters is that you have a very solid understanding of who they are and how they should behave, and you like to plot things out very carefully beforehand, whereas I tend to produce stories by just flailing around and changing things dramatically until things finally start working correctly. I'd be most comfortable working with characters that you cared less about, I think, and wouldn't mind stepping back and relinquishing some measure of control over the project, because I feel like our working styles don't actually mesh so well (like, I think the thing we're currently working on might actually be much closer to how I normally work which should make it easier... I just have one crucial question I need the answer to which I'll ask you via PM right now)

Loss is strong pathos, but it's, in some ways, very contained. It deeply effects Zhiran, but it doesn't cascade past him like Alessa and Raef's issues might topple into others.
Raef clearly needs to be expanded upon more it would seem. Which I am interested in doing, but I have to find some venue to do that with. I have an impression of his overarching story, but like I said, I need a strong background to work with him in.

I have no damned idea what to do with I though. It was definitely a thought experiment, but past proving that I COULD, I've no idea with to do with it. I'm probably going to open I up. It would legitimately be interesting to see I interact with other beings because of the absolute alien perspective.
I think both are very much going to be shifted to Open rather than Public.
Well, Ilyta really does just barely have her foot in the door. I want to tell a story with her, but I'm having difficulty working with her scale. I keep wanting to go bigger than she probably should.
Aerik is a barely there character, but I feel there is a lot of potential if I can pull it off.

Nothing wrong with either of our approaches, and I really would like to work more with you with the characters I'm less clear on. There's a strong clarity with some of my characters, but others were honestly kind of thought experiments with legs.

Yeah to some extent I find myself gravitating towards the thought experiment characters both because you seem to be a little more free and easy with how people work with them and because I gravitate towards weird crap.

Something about Raef's story has always seemed to me like you had a very clear idea of where to go with him. Maybe other people have picked up on that and been therefore reluctant to use him? I sort of put him in the box where I put Jackie or Beryl where I don't wanna screw with their story arcs too much because they seem to be a little more personal to the authors.

Well, a part of this was to shake out my own feelings about characters and gauge activity if I turned loose of some of these.


That's one of the things that's sort of notable about Raef, because so much of his storyarc is what he takes with him. As a consequence, I could tell his story pretty much anywhere, but finding the appropriate external conflicts to parallel those internal struggles is harder.

But yeah, I do have a (sort of) endgame in mind as well as some plot beats.

I'll need to sit down one day and give you some more of my thoughts. I still feel a little bad for being so sparse in my first response.

If you like, but I was satisfied with your previous response as it stands.
But more thoughts are hardly a bad thing.

For the record, if you ever want to do anything with either Jackie or Beryl, you're very much welcome to do so! I can always clarify what their dance cards look like, if anyone is ever worried about working across purposes with something I have in the queue.

* * *

Also, just poking my head in to say that I am going to respond to the prompt, here, when I have the chance to put my thoughts together.

Not that the good Barin doesn't already know many of my thoughts, but, what can I say? I like making an idiot of myself in front of the largest possible audience.

uuuuuuugh... I **** hate you all. (not really)
I began construction on the next plot arc here and it's swelled out of my control and dammit I just wanted to do ONE story, but the entire thing has cascaded out into a larger plot and I can already tell I'm going to be miserable trying to get it out.
I'm feeling exactly as I did when I started building Legacies. Anxiety mounts...

to reiterate, I don't really hate any of you

Since I need to look up nearly all these guys anyway I figured I might as well give some thoughts on each of them.

Aamir: A half-elf prince. Conjures angels, and does some street performance on the side? Interesting, his current status seems to put him a fairly basic do gooder role, with a bit of emphasis having to learn to lead. I think what he needs most right now is a simple story showing him as a novice planeswalker perhaps trying to deal with some "small" problems, defeating bandits or such. A "before" picture, and then we could drop him into a larger conflict where he can grow into a true leadership role.

Aerik?: Took some digging to find out anything about this guy. By using the forums search function I've found that he has something to do with snow, but I can't find whatever piece he's actually in? I guess I gotta leave this one hanging for now. I

Alessa: The seer, adapt at chaos magic, and likes to have a little "fun" from time to time. I like what you've done with this girl, but since she already has 3 stories to her name I feel she doesn't need to be a priority. Otherwise though, that bit about her powers not working on ghosts, that feels like it could be foreshadowing a conflict with Ren-silias. Also, she ascended by watching a vision of herself ascending, which is awesome, but that was caused by the end of her home plane. So that must be close right? Within her mortal lifetime at least, so we got that to look forward to.

Cara Holis: A spirit mage, raised by necromatic cultists. She has a prophecy about her, "When the silver moon sets, you will lose sight of your faith, and despair will lead you to ruin. In the land of the dead, a futile war will rage and surrender will be the only path to your rest.” That's interesting. I wonder if she'll survive.

Huinn: The crazy bird assassin, looking for his mentally connected brother who's probably dead. This guy got to be in the War of the wheel, so he's looking pretty good. Well, besides the burns. After that I think the most likely storyline is either sending him after Denner, the only one who might be able to help him find his brother, while blue mage looks for a cure; or tracking down the duel walkers to collect his "payment"probably in pounds of flesh.

I: I liked this story, it's very neat. Honestly though, I think it works well as a stand-alone. Unless somebody thinks of something cool for it to do, I'm more than content simply know there's this ooze walker out there.

Ilyta: The dead plane researcher. Like I said before, it would be interesting to put her next to Raleris/Jade(To Keeper-finish editing that story so it can get voted into the archives already!). But I think the bigger plot potential lies in her running afoul of someone who breaks worlds in their spare time. Maybe she notices an odd pattern or something and start to track the path of the Shifter, or somebody else, and gets noticed.

Kashius: The devil adviser. I thiiink I remember reading something about this guy a long time ago. Was he the one who was like "What do you think my name is?" "____" "Yep!"? If so I liked that, but it seems you guys have been debating cutting him loose? Well, you do have plenty of characters already, if you don't want him anymore that's fine with me.

Maral: The giant blacksmith, collects dangerous artifacts. I think this one really needs a story, as she is, she seems to be mostly just a place to dump people's cool artifact ideas. Which is fine, I suppose, but personally I'd rather see people do stuff with the artifacts instead of locking them all up with a character that has no screen time. I have no idea what to do with her though, the artifacts are more interesting than she is. Which is why she needs a story for herself so badly.

Raef: This is the soldier who "died" and was gonna be reincarnated as an angel right? Has he even been voted on at all yet? His existence is kinda iffy at best as it is. I know you had a pretty extensive story planned for him, but perhaps its best just to get a simple dossier out there for now? His story can come later.

I'm out of time for now so I'll do the rest, and add some closing thoughts after work

Rishima: The sphinx ruler of dark rabiah. Honestly I think she's one of my favorites, I'm excited to see how her hinted at conflict with Zhiran will go. I do wonder how old she is compared to him though.

Sri Hara: The ancient elephant walker looking for his homeplane so he can rest with his ancestors. It a shame that this guys main plot thread is his death. I think that probably makes people hesitant to use him, but I think his journey has a lot of potential considering the amount of planes he must be traveling through. It would be nice to have a good intro story to so we can better understand him from his own viewpoint.

The Duchess: A lovecraftian horror squeezed into a human body.... maybe? I don't know, I've read what I could find of her and her mystery seems to be part of her character. Last seen on Jakkard, so that plane is doomed, if not by her actions then by

The Shifter: The Duchess's rival. A chaos causing shape shifter who loves nothing more than to ruin the Duchess's plans. I think Fisco might be biting off more than even he can chew by getting in between these two powerful oldwalkers.

Zhiran: The ancient moonfolk Archmage. I believe he's our oldest character, has set up schools across the multiverse, and has his private crystal library. He's started to feel emotions again after the mending. Is slated to go up against Rishima, and I can't wait to see what they'll be fighting about.

ok, and now for your questions:

1. Alessa, though she kinda has an unfair advantage of having more stories, Rishima is also cool
2. Well I think Maral needs them the most, but personally I'd like to see Some Sri Hara or Aamir stories.
3. Well i don't really think I could your characters much justice, but if I had to choose, maybe Sri Hara
4. Well I wouldn't say I'm not interested in anyone, but I guessss I? As I said before, he's kinda already perfect, everyone else has interesting plot threads and potential that I want to see.

1) If you like Alessa, you should check out the Beryl stories since she shows up there.
2) As above, I've got something for Maral, but it's more a character piece than anything, to get some insight into her. Otherwise... well! Go check out the links!
3) Sri Hara would be happy to have you for tea if you're interested.
4) Perfectly understandable. I kind of sit in the same place in regards to it.

Alright, let me take a spin at this...


Well, I doubt anyone will be shocked at my answer here, but I've always found Alessa fascinating. She brings out such contradictory impulses in me. On the one hand, there are so many things about her which I like, and which I really want to like. I love her devil-may-care attitude, I love her zest for living, and I love that she isn't afraid of looking for pleasure in a multiverse which can often be very gray and very grim. But, at the same time, she drives me nuts with her cynicism, and her utilitarian outlook on life and death, and her determination to see the worst in herself as well as in others. And the result is that I find myself really caring about what happens to Alessa, because I'm interested in her as she is now, but also because I can close my eyes and I can picture a different version of her -- a version of her which is still care-free and fun-loving, but which pairs that with a real empathy for others and for herself. I can also picture a much darker version of her, where the cynicism overwhelms everything else, and she descends into a dark spiral in which she uses up the people around her, which makes her feel bad, which confirms her cynicism. In that vision, she does bad things to people, and she lets people do bad things to her. Despair feeds on despair, pain feeds on pain, and it is not fun to think about.

Anyway, just like she sees different futures, I can see different futures for her, and I can imagine then with varying degrees of happiness or dread. And that's what keeps pulling me back to her.



I'm looking forward to more Maral appearances, in whatever form they might take. We've had glimpses of her, and I've really enjoyed them to this point.



For this question, I think that the Alessa/Beryl stories demonstrate what economists refer to as a revealed preference.



I kind of don't agree with the premise of the question, because I'm interested in any character, in the right context. For example, I have a hard time thinking about "I," just because of "I's" level of differentness. But I very much enjoyed the story you wrote for "I."

Some characters speak to me more readily than others, just because they're speaking in a language which is easier for me to understand. And that predisposes me to feeling "interested" in them, because it's easier for my brain to cast them in stories. But that says as much -- or more -- about me as it does the characters themselves. For example, I have a harder time relating to Zhiran, just because he already knows so much, and I tend to be attracted more to characters based on what they haven't yet learned than what they already have. But I'm sure we could discover that Zhiran has a blind spot -- something which none of those academies full of ancient knowledge could ever have prepared him for -- and I'd be on the edge of my seat to see how he responded.