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Thoughts on Book Four’s various relationships and some fans’ reactions, favorite characters and an update the trolling hate.

2/4/2019

24 Comments

 
​Finally I got Book Four out. What a great feeling to finally have it available for everyone to read. This was the first time I’d ever made a deadline for my writing and then completely blew it on making the date. Eric, who was beta reading and helping me with corrections, just laughed every time I told him I was nearly finished, since he knew where my story was ending at and didn’t see how I’d possibly make it in just a few weeks and then days. Every few days I’d send him thirty document-sized pages for him to correct and give me feedback on the story. Seriously, it was the first time I’d ever gotten regular feedback like that while writing. Steven, another fan, gave me a lot of help too on the beta reading and kept me cheered up whenever the jealous writers would decide to knock my book down whenever the ratings reached 4.3.
 
It’s almost like clockwork. This time it took a day and a half before it showed up, but whenever my book one reaches 4.3 stars, I get a few writers and/or editors that smack me with two or three one or two star reviews with some outlandish blah of hate. One of the last ones made a comment that was “If Mr. Cheek could stop jerking himself off long enough to learn how to write an interesting character” or my other favorite “Doesn't understand mmorpg's.” You’d think blatant nasty comments would go against Amazon’s guidelines (which it does) but unfortunately they’re not usually enforced? It’s also one of the reasons I usually ask people to leave some love for book one. I think they choose 4.3 as the magic number because that’s when the star’s pictures goes from looking like 4 stars to 4 ½ stars.
 
!!!POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT FOR BOOK 4!!!
 
Some of the feedback I’ve received in reviews from book four have been somewhat different than what I expected for a few of the scenes. It’s almost like people think that Tavon and Star’s companions slept together or that Star and Fylreh slept together in the story but that never happened. The joke with Tavon getting drunk and horny and the women being shocked but in a funny way goes back to some of the old LAN party stuff that has happened to my friends and me. Where someone would pull up some porn and people would be like wtf or we’d be in the country at a farm of one of our friends when one of the farm animals start to go to town on their mate or at a party where someone’s dog start to get horny or hump each and the jokes and slight embarrassment sometimes that come up from such raw nature. I wanted to capture that reaction where people laugh it off as being just normal. I think some people’s imagination took a few of the scenes to the next level and one that wasn’t there by some of the comments.
 
The situation with Startum and Fylreh is another story altogether. Their drunken make-out session goes back to any party where you and the girl you were interested in were making out hot and heavy and then shocked the next morning when you’re faced with the reality of what you did. Or, in Star’s case, where he was trying to help Fylreh and she was blitzed out of her mind and getting all handsy with Startum. There was no one ‘taken advantage of’, although sometimes it seems like two people can’t make innocent mistakes in today’s day and age without one of them now getting in trouble. If your both young, your both innocent and you both get a little tipsy. Who’s at fault the next morning when you realize you were sucking face with someone you didn’t expect to? Now don’t make this innocent comment into a bigger issue than it was. We’re not discussing some of the bad stuff that can and do happen. This is really about that simple mistake that can sometimes occur between two people that respect and like each other. That was Fylreh’s and Startum’s first kiss.
 
Interesting enough, they both end up deciding to explore a relationship together from mutual respect. At the end of the book, a stupid fight pops up and they’re both left heartbroken. Another common thing that we’ve all been through. Some people think it’s because he’s naked with Helgath, but that is not the case. In the story, everyone was naked for the majority of the end part of the story that the nudity at that point is inconsequential due to the general horror of the situation. Besides, Fylreh doesn’t have an issue with nudity in general, specifically with Helgath or that they’re bathing together. Her issue with Helgath is that she has some Orc blood in her veins. This is because, in my story, the Centaur’s ‘Racial Enemies’ are Orcs. In Dungeons and Dragons, races sometimes simply hate other race that is their designated ‘racial enemy’ to the point where they blindly hate them and will even attack whether the person themselves are good or bad.   
 
For Fylreh and Startum to continue having a relationship, Fylreh is going to have to learn to look at Helgath as an individual and not as an Orc. I brought this up to reflect some of what I see happening in our society today. It seems like more and more people are choosing to hate other people just because of their color, culture, age or race. Instead of using their own mind to judge the individual actions as just or unjust, they are simply hated due to no fault of a person’s birth. For me, this is something that is an atrocious concept and one I wanted to address in the story.
 
Lastly, Startum only actually has sexual relations once in the story and that is with Keela. It doesn’t quite work for either one of them and they part as friends and companions. Companions being a term used for NPCs that have attached themselves to a player in the game. That doesn’t mean Fylreh and he doesn’t get hot and heavy here and there but there is no other sex going on with our intrepid adventures in book four. From some people’s comments, they think the bathing scene where Fylreh and Startum fight over Helgath is about him messing around for easy sex. That was not the scene and is something that he even says that’s not even an option for him at this time. He’d never disrespect Fylreh like that even if Helgath would be more than willing. Even the end of the book where they all fall asleep together isn’t about sex or nudity. It is about commiserating the emotional pain that they’re sharing from Startum due to their soulbound connection and his heartbreak over Fylreh.
 
Another two characters that came out better than I’d initially thought they would were Hollysharp and Helgath. Both immediately took on a life of their own. Hollysharp, I got the motivation for her character when I saw this picture http://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1512248027780.jpg , just is so powerful of a personality that she literally took over parts of the story. Being in the Information Technology field and being a tech’s tech, I fit her character around many people I work with and a touch of my own personality. I’m usually the guy that focuses on getting the mission done and speaks directly about the issue without putting fault on people. Albeit, Hollysharp has no issues laughing at people who don’t know what she knows. Another thing that is common in the tech field and something that I’ve suffered through with my coworkers. Sometimes in the story, I wanted to punch her for being such a hard ass when I put myself into Startum’s shoes as I told the story but after a while you can’t help but love the feisty engineer.
 
Helgath was another surprising character. She really took on a life of her own and I loved the mating rune that I came up with for connecting her with Startum. It made so many parts of the story just work on so many levels. Also, there is this sweet innocence and cold blooded killer about her that is so endearing. Yeah, I know. It's a strange combination but one that really seems to work. I got some motivation for her character from here https://www.pinterest.de/pin/449093394088082015/ There is no sexual relations between them at this time but they have a solid connection after everything they went through together so far. Her painful life and what she finds with Startum also speaks to me from the things I have suffered through, so altogether she really speaks to me. More so then I thought she would when I created her.
24 Comments
Justin
2/4/2019 07:03:45 pm

Jason, like I said in my review, it’s a decent overall addition to the series, I like the world building and expansion aspect. My biggest concern is that you don’t turn the series into a massive harem and every other page is sex and emotional validation (alpha World Series).

Looking forward to where the story goes!

Keep me updated if you need more beta readers.

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Jason A Cheek link
2/5/2019 12:12:52 am

Hey Justin, hahaha yea there is some freaky sex i the Alpha world series. I'm doing my best to keep on that line. He's a single guy and there is that. If anything the building relationship he had with Fylreh is on a nice story. He likes her a lot and now they're having that dumb fight that happens between lovers sometimes.

It just that some people thought the scenes all lead to sex or that the fight itself was about him bathing with Helgath and that they were going to get down and dirty. It wasn't a fade to black for sex at the end of chapter 7 it was just a fade to sleep due to being emotionally drained. There was someone that thought the girls took Tavon for a spin and how that was neigh impossible with a stallion, again not the case. For Tavon, he was drunk and got handsy and then was embarrassed the next morning, besides the fact everyone was hung over.

None of his other companions look at him in a sexual way. Even Keela is off the list of possibilities. Mainly due to being a little bitchy that makes Startum step back. Ulia and him are friends and sometimes possibly more but Ulia keeps busy and has her own relationship going with Theric right now, meaning that might not ever happen again even though they like and care for each other. Really he now has Helgath, who is an abused half starved slave he saved. She likes him as something more but he only has eyes for Fylreh who he's currently fighting with.

I was just trying to bring in that come and go way relationships can occur. Sometimes they're a one night stand, sometimes they more and sometimes they're a full relationship. Then there are the other people in your life that have feelings for you that can conflict with your current relationship. I also tried to bring in the complexities of dating someone from another culture, since I'm American and my wife is Polish. Things sometimes come up as cultural differences.

Anyway, I hope I'm keeping on the other side of that line for harem. I will have some conflict towards book 7 with Helgath & Fylreh and Startum where I'll have to decide some stuff but so far it's just been a single's guy dating adventures to a point that slowly is changing when he find someone he really likes.

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Justin
2/5/2019 06:51:43 am

Great to hear that you are trying to balance it, I’m all for a single guy doing his thing when the opportunity strikes, but when it turns into every other page or everytime they get back from a quest it gets to be too much.

I definitely enjoyed the book and I’m excited to read the rest of the series!

Jason A Cheek link
2/5/2019 11:29:12 am

I get a little sensitive about the harem thing. I've kept away from it but still seemed to get tagged about the line I'm balancing on. Maybe that's the reason I'm getting tagged, but sometimes I wish I didn't get tagged for it until I crossed the line.

Overall, Startum has only slept with two women in the game and only once ... also not together. He was actually building a relationship with another, not piling into bed with a bunch of sexy women in an orgy of sex. I'm going to have a little bit of a mess with Helgath and Fylreh that I need to figure out around book 7 or 8, but as far as Startum is concerned, Helgath is a friend and Fylreh is his love interest. Also, the relationships are not the focus of the story. All of the adventuring is the story's focus.

At the same time, with the prevalence of harem novels out there and my own general dislike for the format, I can understand the concerned about a story turning into a harem sex fest. About the only harem story I like is Elliot Kay's Good Intentions series. Honestly though, I don't see that happening with The World and I really liked how Fylreh and Startum coming together worked out nicely. Their whole story had me distraught when they had their lover's spat and I wrote the damn thing.

Matt
2/5/2019 09:51:21 am

I loved it. Holly is awesome and if it wasnt for phoenix sonata she would have been my favorite character. Looking forward to book 5!!!

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Jason A Cheek link
2/5/2019 11:16:45 am

WOOHOO Matt! Phoenix character really came out good. I loved how that fight scene worked out and it reminds me of a man playing a woman and how that goes at times in a MMORPG. Partly speaking from experience here as you know. Like I said before, Phoenix is one of those people who is an experienced gamer that you sometimes meet up with and gaming styles just click and you become instant buds.

Fylreh also turned out to be really good character. The whole fight even had me choked up. I wanted to have them make up earlier but it didn't fit. I'll have to happen the end of book five after her and Helgath have a talk.

Neristhana is another really fun character for me. I love the Gnomeling traders. All of the ladies look super sweet. Strong women, dressed stylish to the hilt that are captains of their ship and could sell ice to an Eskimo. Ninja trader families for the win.

The last really fun character I like is Kenzie. She's always running her mouth, but she fits that female Marine in a combat unit so good.

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Ryan
2/6/2019 01:35:11 am

Hey Jason,

Really enjoying the series, looking forward to book 5. If you'd like another beta reader, let me know - I chew through books faster than I can find them to read. The first 4 only lasted me 2 days :/

Cheers

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Jason A Cheek link
2/6/2019 02:06:58 am

Hey Ryan. The whole beta reader thing is still new to me. I have one gentleman I really should bring on board because he had so many great ideas and caught some of my logic flow issues. It just that I had a kind of strange issue that recently popped up that made me a little gun shy. I might open that circle a little more but give me some time to figure out how to handle what happened.

I'm typically have the same problems with books. I'll consume a regular novel in less than a day which is why I really liked Helping A Friend because it was 771 pages. I'm not sure if they will all be that long, but I typically decide where I'm going to end the scene for that book and just write everything in-between. Depending on the story that can be long.

If you don't mind, give book 4 a little loving on Amazon. I had a disgruntled fan slam me with a one star for not fixing Startum's zombie issue. As those of us who read the novel realize, it was fixed and why it took so long for the zombie count to read correctly, but I really don't want to type out that spoiler and mess up the surprise for people who haven't got there yet and are wanting to know wtf happened to his five extra pets.

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Ryan
2/6/2019 03:01:45 am

No worries mate. Other authors I've dealt with have used beta readers for a variety of things, but most common is logical flow, character dynamics (does this action/dialogue fit the persona), and pacing evaluation. If you do decide you'd like some extra input I'd be happy to help. Really want to see this series succeed

I really don't understand the animosity I see in your Amazon reviews, it's bizarre. That one star review is screwy - though I will concede that the way stat points correlate to damage is a bit confusing. You use percentages for spell power, but as far as I can tell haven't provided a base stat for that percentage to work off of, unless I missed an explanation in book 1. That's my only real complaint though- the rest of that review is nonsense.

Jason A Cheek link
2/6/2019 03:18:39 am

Base spell stat is 200% spell power equals approximately 60 points of damage. Spells can crit depending upon the monsters or races vulnerability to that element or the location that was hit, like the head.

The rest in just to get things in the ballpark as we say in the states. I don't really want to focus on the math unless I spam out a shit load of magic and then I try to make sure everything adds up. Well, that and special Sneak Attack, Backstab:& Execute:

Other things I track:
Sneak Attack I – (Passive) Surprise attacks from behind deals 10x weapon damage.

Backstab I – (Passive – Humanoid only) Attacks dealt from behind deal 4x weapon damage.

Execute I – (Passive – Melee Weapon) Powerful attack against dazed opponents that does 200% weapon damage. Can only be used on enemies that have less than 10% health.

Execute I use in a few different ways. I had Fylreh use something similar to almost one shot pirates that were helpless and four levels below her own. I didn't make a name for it but felt like it fit the situation.

Otherwise, I keep the actual damage kind of loose so it doesn't clog down the action. Also, in my mind the story itself is important. The nuts and details of every little hit doesn't make the story and so you never know how many times exactly someone was hit, just that they're getting beat down.

Anyway, I hope that helps. The animosity of it all really confused me too and I actually answered his review with a comment. Usually I don't do this because the jealous writers and angry editors who are hitting me with these things are usually on book one and they're just trying to come up with something that sounds reasonably nasty to get people to not pick up the series.

Jason

Jason

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Jason A Cheek link
2/6/2019 03:21:41 am

Oh, I forgot to ask. How was the Aussie dialect for Dangas? Dangas is actually an Australian fan from Goodreads. I liked his name so much I kind of sort of borrowed it for the story ;) I wonder what he'll think when he reads book 4.

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J Florence
2/6/2019 04:31:22 am

Well I would think Dangas will be totally flattered to find he is in book 4! How cool is that?

I have to add to that discussion on the negative reviews..... I read these books to enjoy them. Who the hell is sitting down with a notebook doing the math to check your facts and figures? Besides in my experience most games out there don't add up that well anyway. Then there is the whole "hot dog down a hallway" review....really, in real life maybe, but this isn't real life, this is a fantasy novel where frost spells and leaching blades exist and the reviewer didn't complain about those being outside the realm of possible. Ya gotta just *face palm* over these people. Not sure how much joy they get out of life if they can't sit down with a good book and read it just for fun and adventure! Don't let them bother you!

Jason A Cheek link
2/6/2019 04:50:48 am

Hey J Florence, I'll be trying to borrow names more in the future as they come up. Tbh, this book had SOOOO many people. I didn't even list them all. All of the new, under level 30, NPCs just got left out. For me coming up with names is like the worst. Yeah, I hope he's stoked with the use. He'll be in book 5 with his group. I'll have to through Richard in since he's my oldest fan from Australia. He just doesn't have that name that makes you think of the country, heh.

Mostly the people I see who sit down to try to come up with something negative to say is the group of trolls that have been hounding me from day one. Albeit there are some people who really get into the math side of the game ... cough cough which isn't my strongest point ever. I've used some of the editors who were pounding on me to fix issues which I'm sure they never intended for me to do. Just one more thing they can't bang me on. The newest twist is the best, I don't understand gaming or MMORGs. I really didn't know if I should laugh or cry at that.

The 'hot dog down a hallway' I didn't understand either and made me write this post. I'm like, there was no centaur sex as of yet ... officially. There is something that might have happened while Startum was logged out. It's a part of the story I keep brushing and foreshadowing. Not sure 100% how I'm going to bring it all out, but he might still be active even when he's not inside the game. Tavon didn't do anything that would warrant the 'hot dog down a hallway' comment. I kept on thinking it was someone's imagination taking off for that review. Honestly, it's nice to know I wasn't the only one going 'WTF?' on that one.

It's kind of funny, I never thought about that being an issue. I did wonder if someone would give me some shit about the girls laughing at the sudden appearance of his tool, but with my friends, they'd have done that whole scene in a heartbeat. Jill, Wendy and Krystal wouldn't have hesitated in a second.

I thought the drunken kissing scene or the bathing scene might get me smacked around on the reviews. Honestly though, Fylreh turned into a character that I never thought she'd be. She took over parts of the story as much as Hollysharp and Helgath. From when I was a kid first going through the D&D (don't laugh, this was pre AD&D), I always wanted centaurs in my D&D story and to maybe have one as a mount for my MC.

Hollysharp was so much fun and such a raging tech prick that I loved and hated her. She could have stepped out of an IT shop in any company. I knew she was pretty much safe though.

Helgath was another one I wasn't sure if I'd get slammed about. But her character turned into something so much more than I'd initially envisioned. I wondered if people would smack me around for how I designed her but she is great. I can't wait to do some interesting stories for her in book 6.

The harem complaints are a mixed boat for me. I hate and understand them all at the same time. Maybe I do walk a line but honestly, I look at the relationships Startum has had as normal hook ups that happens in people's lives ... well up until Fylreh to a point, since there's the whole horse half to consider and a completely foreign culture. But, otherwise, there coming together and mutual interest I thought fit the story.

Jason A Cheek link
2/6/2019 11:14:12 am

Okay, I just looked up what it meant 'hot dog going down a hallway.' Freaking funny as hell tbh. So the comment was to discuss the possible sex between Fylreh and Startum and that no human is 'that big.' Let's just say the story hasn't gotten to that point yet. Maybe it will be just like that maybe not. Let's just say that centaur filly's are different due to their whole you know 'centaur thing' and that she's a virgin .. if that ever comes about.

God though, still laughing at the video I just watched. I still call shenanigans for taking a star away for that ;)

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Jason A Cheek link
2/7/2019 04:55:32 am

Oh, here is the commercial if anyone is interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBsYO0ZAfKE&feature=youtu.be

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Tim Vowels
2/9/2019 11:04:57 am

I love the series. Maybe less boob fetish? I have no problems with boobs believe me. But maybe less of a description on every single female :).. I think his ex girlfriend is the head of the PKs.. I was always Zstat (Z- STAT) in all my MMOs and other games like FPS. You are welcome to use it in the books.. It would be cool.. I was always a PVE guy but did enjoy PVP at times.. just not hardcore. When can we expect book 5.. Not trying to rush you but damn I need to know what happens.. Tim V

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Jason A Cheek link
2/9/2019 12:58:49 pm

OMG Tim, you're the first to officially bring this up and maybe the second to figure it out ;) I can neither confirm or deny that my ex will show up as one of the big Chaos Storm villainous Guild Leader ... but it's a good guess. I just laugh at the people who wondered why Startum goes off on rants at times about his Ex. Why do you think?!?

Okay, I needed another hateful PKer guild, Z-STAT works too. Although you have to admit the Pwnguins and Global Brutality were good ;)

It's a funny thing. I want to introduce the people so you know man or woman who you're looking at. Startum was and is always a boob man. He loves strong women, he doesn't look down on them, but he does notice everything. You have that back-row seat to his every thought. I'll work at it some. I actually didn't even discuss the Human Princess much, since I took her looks from the EverQuest heroine. Neristhana I didn't say much about either, but that she was mostly naked and wasn't to concern about it. Hollysharp neither. Miya and Fylreh, well yeah, they are quite spectacular ;) The Gnomeling female captains too are just extraordinary master traders with style.

I'll see what I can do but I just try to describe what Startum is seeing and if you're a 24 year old guy. Trust me, you notice that ... or whatever it is that you're preference is and it goes through your mind. Sometimes I think Startum is harshly judged because everyone hears ... er reads his every thought. But, I'll work at it.

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Jason A Cheek link
2/9/2019 01:14:23 pm

Oh, about book five. I'm working on the outline now which I'm really liking the idea of the story. This is going to be the busiest hardest story yet. Book 6 will be the guys traveling through the world to get Startum's class quest. New guys except for Phoenix. Book 5 is the downfall of part of the beginning area and the start of the PVP wars. I know where the book is going to end. It's everything else that tends to really take on a life of it's own because I don't want to pass any part of the cool story over. Once I get writing on it, I'll make a post. Now a days it seems like I push out a good 30 to 40 thousand words in just a week. I want to get it out and book six as much as you want to read the stories!

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Tim Vowels
2/9/2019 05:50:09 pm

Well as I said in one of my reviews, I am ADD and have probably read a dozen books in my life.. I have listened to over 450. That being said 3 (1/4) of the books I have read are yours. Book 1 I listened to. the other 3 I have read. So, thanks to you I am on the road to recovery :) Tim V

Nick
2/23/2019 10:42:04 am

Really liked the previous books, and this one, other than Star’s inability to look at female characters without thinking about sex or their body. All the emotional connections and turmoil is pushing the book from a good action/adventure, towards drama/soap opera with action and adventure.

Even this book pushing into the topic of prejudices and racism has lost a bit of my interest. I really enjoy these books for the fun action. Not for cultural awareness.

This last book made big change in characters dialogue and inner dialogue from the last three. Almost like it is beginning to lean towards Daniel Schinhofen’s type of stories. And I know you say that startum has only had sex twice, but it’s the in-between sexual innuendos, inner thoughts and touchy-feely type topics that I find similar.

Just my personal opinion. But then again, I’m a little cold hearted and have the emotional spectrum of a rock. Just ask my wife and coworkers.

Thanks for the books!

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Jason A Cheek link
2/23/2019 11:24:42 am

Hey Nick,

We do the best we can. Star is a 24 year old guy and your inside his thoughts. I don't know how you were at that age, but everyone I know notices everything about a pretty woman. Most guys do that once over inspection of the opposite sex. I would also say this happens in reverse, since I've always gotten along with women much better then guys and some of the things they say are off the wall. I really do think this reaction is human nature.

One of the things that always makes me a little sad is that I rarely hear about the good sides of my female characters. I don't hear how strong, confident or capable they are. I don't hear how Star looks at them as individuals and has no problems having them in positions of leadership. I only hear about how he ogles women. One thing I will say is that he doesn't leer. He notices and moves on.

Inside the game, Startum is the Lord of the House of Kayden, he has a high reputation, high charisma and he treats NPCs as people. This goes very far for the people of the world. Why wouldn't women notice him. Why wouldn't he notice a smartly dressed woman back?

Not so very long ago, it was normal for men and women to check each other out mutually and it wasn't considered out of place. Star's never creepy about it nor are the women. They do not have the current baggage of SJW crap that has recently hit our society. If you go back to the medieval times, such interactions were a lot more common and earthy. This storyline occurs in a medieval magical world. I really think the actions of the men and women fit the world I've built.

I have had several people get angry at Startum's mental conversations. It's funny in a way because whenever I think of playing D&D, gaming or MMORPGs, sexy outfits, having relations with different species and exploring the world was a huge part of the community. It's one that I wish was addressed more in a in real life way in more LitRPG. Noticing the beauty and dressing up sexy was always part of the game, the artwork and the entire genre. Just look at the cosplays shows and the outfits people choose to wear.

There is prejudices in The World. Another factor that has also always been present in D&D, EverQuest and even World Of Warcraft between the species. Again, this is following true to the genre and issues that come up within the game. Some of my mental thoughts have gone to explaining Star's perspective somewhat because it has been brought up by three or four fans that Startum notices beauty and breasts. Yes, yes he does. It's quite normal. How he chooses to treat the women he interacts with even though he finds them very attractive or not is what is important. Besides, you're seeing people through his eyes.

The relationship with Fylreh, I took some hits on but I ask you this. Have you ever met someone and had things just work and you were in love or infatuation. It seemed like you could marry that person in a week. Usually that crashes and burns during week two as reality hits but it is something most of us have experienced at one time or another as a young person in our twenties as we learn to understand relationships. I tried to bring that anxiety and how it feels when you're riding high and when you're riding low when that happens.

Again, this is NOT the story and in the 779 pages of book four, it was a small part of the actual story. On a high note, book five will have no relationships like that. Fylreh couldn't deal with Helgath being a Half-Orc and Startum can't focus on such trivial matters during a war time situation. Book six will probably be without any relationship stuff either. None of that will probably show back up until the end of book seven or sometime in book eight.

All that I ask is that you remember back to the time you were twenty and infatuated with love or 'noticed' a pretty face or rack or ass or chest (depending on your orientation). As we get older these things are not so important to us but in our early twenties, it's definitely something that is on most men's minds and women's too.

Another thing that might have bothered people was Phoenix's character. This again is another huge part of gaming. I personally have spent decades playing female characters in MMORPGs. I also had male characters, but my main was a female. The fan who asked me to put him in the story is a player like me. He has a female character that he loved to play so I stuck him in. I mean, why not? What is the first rule of MMORPGs upon meeting a female character online? More than likely that is a man playing a female character. This is so ingrained in online gaming over the years how could I NOT include that in? The whole story of my character being hit on by men sometimes way too inappropriately. It's all true. LittleAsianGirl having to change his name because the guys hitting on him got too much for him, it's true. These are mine and my friends online gaming experiences painted onto a FIVR game.

I'm sorry that some aspect of the sto

Jason A Cheek link
2/23/2019 11:35:42 am

(Ugh, who knew there was a word limit here? I'll try to retype this last part)

I'm sorry that some aspect of the story bothered you. I took a lot of chances in book 4 with different topics. The only way I'll know what people like is by experimenting and taking chances. You'll have to decide for yourself if you keep following Startum's adventures or not. His mental conversations will always be around and he will always 'notice' a pretty women. He will always treat women and men with the respect they deserve. Meaning, if they are fucktards that needs to be killed, he'll slaughter them without batting an eye. If they are good people, he'll be friendly with them. He doesn't care if someone is a man or a woman. Yes, he enjoys the view but he isn't a NOOB to bother considering who it is on the other side of the FIVR capsule. It really doesn't matter to him and never has. Who they are in-game is what is important, how they treat people, do they have honor? These are the things are what he cares about. There will be a lot of topics that come from my experiences in games brought into the story. The story will be very dark at times. It is up to you if you want the front row seat in his head experiencing the good and the bad and his 'noticing' of the different peoples he meets during his adventures.

Jason
(Ugh the first write up was better.)

Reply
Nick
2/23/2019 12:10:24 pm

Thanks for the response. And didn't mean to beat a dead horse on the topic.

Also, I think Phoenix and LittleAsiangirl are awesome characters. Phoenix's introduction scene cursing like a sailor was pretty entertaining.

Reply
Jason A Cheek link
2/23/2019 12:35:31 pm

No problem Nick. I'll do my best to keep things new and fresh and we won't have to deal about the relationship stuff for a few books. I'll try to keep them as a small part of the overall adventure so they don't overweight that part of the story. I'm also refusing to go the harem route albeit he does the single guy thing to an extent.

I loved how Phoenix's introduction came off. I pictured the fight like you sometimes get when you run into someone who plays like you. They're experienced and a solid player and you both just sync and save each other's lives in a bad situation and become fast online friends. I was going to wait until book five for Phoenix, but I saw a great place to bring her in and I did. I warned Matt that I'd be putting his character in some precarious situations. His answer was go for it. The swearing like a sailor part I thought fit the scene well :)

Book six will be the guys traipsing around the southern side of the continent with Helgath and Neysa. Guys meaning Phoenix too. There will be some fun bar fights and such. Book five will be dark. I'm trying to balance it out somewhat, but these are PKers who have no trouble slaughtering a town for their own benefit or to block them from being resources to their enemies. You know the people I'm talking about, we've all dealt with them online. So, hopefully I pull it off good.

LittleAsianGirl is a great dude. So is JellyDounutMan. I hope to introduce them into the story with our intrepid hero. I have pictures of them both on my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007596607095 ... along with Hefe and others. To be honest, I can't believe how many characters have been introduced into the series. I'm going to have to add in a complex and large person list at the front of the next book. I want to slowly bring them all to life in the story though.

Remember, The World is the size of the earth. The books will keep expanding and getting bigger and bigger. Hopefully, i'll be able to bring out each in their own adventures. I seriously want the stories to go on and on.

Jason

PS: A serious thank you for bringing everything up and your concerns. I'll do my best to work with them as I can albeit with my own personal limitations.




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