I know I said, just yesterday, that my characters are kind of like my children. And really, they are: little, ethereal children with their own personalities and wants and needs and weird obsessions. I'm not an actual parent - unless you count being a cat mom - but I've heard from most parents that, yes, while you love all of your children, you definitely have your favorites, which implies that you also have your least favorites. And hoo boy, do I have a least favorite.
I will have to keep this somewhat short because a huge chunk of the reason I dislike Dahl Calder is based on a lot of the story, and even his background isn't fully revealed until the second arc, so ... I can't be as specific as I was with Larai. I really wish I could because, dammit, I have thoughts on this shit, but oh well.
Calder was originally supposed to be the long-term love interest for Ren, with Larai coming in to provide conflict - WRITING - and well, we know exactly how long the Ren-Larai ship lasted, in that it didn't even get past the second draft. I did keep toying with the concept of Calder and Ren eventually getting together; it was plainly obvious that he loved her, but Ren was either too focused on fighting demons or simply trying to catch some time to herself. Still, I held on to this hope that at some point, Ren would realize that they should start something. But it just always felt off. Not necessarily forced, because I never wrote a situation where a romance could start, but something about their relationship was abnormal. And then it hit me. I can't get too spoilery here, but I can say this: Calder was just too manipulative and possessive of Ren for a relationship between them to ever work.
As the story has progressed, I've actually started to despise Calder. Neither his tragic history (and no, I'm not going to elaborate on that; you'll have to wait) nor his sweet friendship with Larai* can save him in my eyes, but he's staying put as a major character. I've thought about killing him off, sure, but I feel like that would be the cheap and easy way out, to punish a "bad" guy with death. He's on the side of good, at least in name, and he does keep things interesting. I just don't like him. He serves a purpose, even if I spend most of the time seething as I write him, and I'm not trying to redeem him by the end of the story. He just is who he is: an imperfect guy that I basically hate.
I guess you can't win 'em all, right?
* This is one of the reasons I adore Larai like I do. She refuses to let Calder act the way he does and will brutally eviscerate him with her words. Any of his positive development is directly attributed to her.
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