1: I like Quad best because I have a deep fondness for characters who have an obviously strong connection with their creators. I think there is a lot you can learn from Quad, and that to me is a very special sort of character.

2: Nekumbra is an awesome idea, there are plenty of sub-texts to a fawn-eating spider-doe; motherly over-fondness in that unsettling sort of way is just one of them, but I think I would like to see her explored more. I think there could be more to her.

3: I don't know all of your characters but of the ones I do know Iugulare is my least favorite because I think she could be a much more interesting villain, there is a really cool design and power there but the character herself could use some more filling out I think.

4: I think it's fine. It's not gory, or even overly distressing. It's a fairly safe way of taking over someone.

5: I think this all depends on the level of description you're using to describe these things. I don't think there is a problem at all, but if it worries you a warning at the top of the story should suffice.

6: The Rock Hound event is interesting and I'm pleased with the number of stories it has inspired. My only criticism is that a lot of the stories are quite similar in design, but that isn't really a criticism of you, it's of the authors.

7: Just keep developing them until you're 100% pleased with them, it takes a long time and a lot of effort to polish a character so always keep an open mind to possible changes, even if they fundamentally change how your character behaves.

8: Your writing is a good start, practice your descriptive writing (a good way of doing this is to take an object you own and write the most descriptive summary you can, once you've done objects you can do places, and even people). As far as plots go you often come up with very idealistic and classic themes (ect: average main character who must discover they have power enough to cover-come some evil that threatens his friends) but this isn't a bad thing, maybe just keep an eye on this and make sure you aren't writing the same themes repetitively.

Is Quad a Mary-Sue character:

Yes in that he has many traits you yourself posses as well as those you aspire to. Most OOC or personally inspired characters (including Teradeer) fall into this category in my opinion, though my description of Mary-Sue is less venomous than the general internet understanding of the word. I would describe a Mary-Sue as a character created to live out a particular fantasy or to insert ones self (or more commonly, an ideal self) into an existing plot/story/setting/ect.

This Mary-Sue-ness is not an issue to me as long as you are honest about these traits. I do have to point out though that being laid-back and silly aren't exactly character flaws, and the term 'character flaws' is a slippery slope at best. Things that are flaws for one character are boons for another, there is no universal list of 'flaws' one can simply grant a character thereby making them better. An example; being silly would be good for a character who is expected to be funny, but poor in a character that is expected to be serious.

If you feel Quad is unbalanced as a character, look first at what is expected of him from his plot as well as what you want him to become. You're on the right track with him being a pacifist considering his plot will place him in direct conflicts, a situation where he will be forced to fight or suffer harm.

prepare for typos, I have an epic cold.


Question 1 - Quad, simply because I don't know much about the others, I would really love to see more of them.

Question 2 - I love the rock hounds, but I'm biased, I love anything I can interact heavily with

Question 3 - that's a really hard choice. I like them all a whole lot ;;

Question 4 - I think it's just fine, you're not harassing anyone, and it's perfect because it's a community thing.

Question 5 - I personally love that about your stories.

Question 6 - I love it too much for words, seriously, so much fun ;w;

Question 7 - Play some of your good characters more. D:<

Question 8 - It's hard to say, your writing is much different than mine

Question 9 - I think if some people played quad, they'd take advantage of all his strengths, and he would be, but I love how you handle him in such a way to avoid making him a sue. you don't run around in forest starting neverending fights, you don't shove his abilities onto others, and he has many large flaws. I like him~

well I feel like I know a bit about most of them, except Hex, I don't think I even knew about Hex until just now honestly XD

1. I always found Pent to be my favourite for a variety of reasons. On a purely shallow basis, I love that he's named after the number five, as it is 'my' number, in that I always wore it for sports and have had a fondness for it. As a character, I like that he is a bit of an enigma. He is an oddball but no one is really sure why he does what he does, and that stands out for me. I enjoy his one-sided conversations and I find him amusing with a hidden depth. I would love to hear more about him.

2. In design, I think Anirapio is probably my favourite villain of yours. Again, she is a bit of a mystery. We know where she comes from, and why she does what she does, but again I sense that there is a hidden depth there, that maybe her hunting is more personal than it seems on the surface. I enjoy that she is more instinct driven than some of your other villains, and her species as a whole would be interesting to explore more. Biologically, I would love to consider her feeding mechanisms, I've always been fascinated by the biophysics of mythological creatures.

3. I think of all your characters, of the ones I know, Iugulare may be my least favourite. I think she has great potential to be a very intriguing villain, but your writings seem to have only scratched the surface. When I read about her it almost seems as though you're holding back from exploring further into her depths, and maintaining this sort of distance from her. I don't get a sense of a deep running theme with her, but her intentions seem to jump around. This may simply be because I haven't read some of your earlier stories about her, but I think it would be interesting for you to write a piece exploring her nature and perhaps her history, to give readers a sense of context for her. I love her physical design however, and I find her infection a fascinating thing.

4. I like the way that you've allowed the infection to have various manifestations, and I find it interesting to read about. I don't think you have to worry about it being inappropriate here, as you've given people lee-way to choose how their character responds to it. I enjoy the visuals of a semi-sentient infection, there is something subtly frightening about that.

5. As long as you post a warning for any writing that you feel may be too graphic, I don't think that it is inappropriate at all. You do not dwell on the events but merely include them as an aspect of your story that cannot be avoided. I find that it does more disrespect to a character to whitewash aspects of death than to portray them as accurately as your words permit.

6. I've enjoyed reading about the rock hound event, and seeing all of the community involvement. It seems to have grown with each contribution. I wish I had more time to have been a part of it, but alas, school sometimes gets in the way of such things.

7/8. I can't seem to think of any character in particular beyond those that I've said, but I encourage you to really explore descriptive writing, not just of the physical, but of motives and psychology and emotions behind events. I find that the writers that I enjoy the most are those that can draw me into a story to the point where I forget the world around me. I think you have the potential to do that.

9. I think Quad is a balanced character. Like yourself, he has his strengths that make everyone love him, and he has his weaknesses that can get inside his head and bring him down. I think by continuing to allow him to confront and deal with conflict however, he can be a great character, and well enjoyed by everyone around him.

I hope this help you. You may have inspired something in me once I get the time to do it!

Perhaps it isn't something that can be asked, but must instead be told. If you can't think of a plausible reason why Iugulare would offer that sort of situation, maybe it means that she wouldn't, that's just not in her character.

There are more ways of developing a character than through conversation. I know you want to try and make it in the context of the forest, but perhaps try for a change taking the character out of a situation, and simply looking at her as she is.

I know you like to develop your characters through interactions, and that's a good way to determine their reactions to others, but I don't think that's the approach that every character needs.

One of my favourite books (for many reasons) was Wicked, The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Gregory Maguire, the author, took a well known character and gave readers a whole new perspective on her as a person, not just a villain. Perhaps you could take a step back and look at Iugulare from an outside but in-depth perspective, looking at her not just as a bad guy for Quad to deal with, but as a character in her own entity with her own story and motives. It's just a suggestion, but it sometimes helps to just take that little step back and let the character tell her own story.

When I think of Iugulare, I imagine her as a very subtle sort of villain. She lurks in the shadows, preferring not to reveal her true nature before she needs to. Her infection does her work for her, and she watches quietly, waiting for her chance to finish the poor creature. She is strong, she is powerful, but she is quiet, wielding her strengths only when she knows she has the advantage. She is not one to jump hastily into a situation, instead watching her opponent for weakness and then exploiting those weaknesses.

She is very smart, able to turn a situation to her advantage despite odds being against her. I imagine that she would speak softly, drawing her victims into her with her words and then striking when they are fully enraptured. She is deceptive, seeming as if she isn't a threat, and then betraying that false safety. She enjoys this deception, taking pleasure in the slow manipulation of her prey much as she takes pleasure in watching her infection sap their strength.

I'm not sure if this is how you think of her, but this is the sense I get from her. I couldn't tell you why she does these actions or what drives her, but I sense that she likes to keep a lot of things hidden from public view, preferring to hold her thoughts and emotions inside.

Thank you both, that's exactly what I need to know. I do have a little explaining to do - I really haven't developed her background until recently. So that's part of the problem there, and I now see why she seems like she has such a fuzzy personality. I'll certainly write her origin story real soon, which I probably should have written a long time ago to clear up some of this confusion.

The thought I have now is that her home planet is covered with the infection, and that there are many of her kind who dwell on the planet. Their objective is to find other planets to infect, with the ultimate goal of total universal domination. They mostly seek out planets that sustain life (since as a virus they must have a host to survive). So they land on the planet and dominate all of the life on it. In the cases that the planet is difficult to capture, they will beckon the world to come and send reinforcements. In Earth's case, that will happen as Iugulare keeps getting foiled by Quad.

The idea was that there is an ongoing struggle between light and dark - the light represented by the deer of the Endless Forest and the Twin Gods, and the dark obviously being that of the infectious world. There are many creatures spread across the galaxy who fight against the spread of the darkness, and the Twin Gods are among those who refuse to let the infection take over Earth. They have entrusted 'the Firefly Deer' (Caw, Blixt, Trunks, Quad, Pent, and Hex) with their light to fight against the darkness.

I'm still working out the kinks of this as Hex was somehow transported through the darkness to Iugulare's world, where she found the coordinates to Earth. While it was unintentional, you can parallel Iugulare to the Silver Surfer and her world to Galactus in the Marvel universe.

So as far as motives, she simply does not want to fail her home world, as many of the other infectious creatures who have sought out worlds to capture have been more successful than her. She has a lot of pride in what her species does.

I really need to work on this then, I did not realize I made her motives unclear, but then again I've only recently started to develop this. Thank you again for all the help