Calculonius
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Joined 03-30-17, id: 9007921, Profile Updated: 11-22-17
Author has written 5 stories for StarTrek: The Original Series, Battlestar Galactica, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, and Dungeons and Dragons.

Because satisfaction comes from having your expectations met, I wanted to let folks know what to expect from me.

It has come to my attention that I'm different - while most folks watch a movie or read a book one way, I do it another.
For most folks, a story is about the characters - they want to feel that they got to know them. They want to relate to them or identify with them. Often they want to like them. And the situation, events, setting, challenges, plot etc of the story are mainly just there as ways to develop the characters more.

I'm the opposite. For me the story is about the situation, events, setting, challenges, plot etc and the characters are purely incidental - they're there to give us a chance to explore the setting & to move the plot along.

So, for illustration of the idea, let's take the example of a story that everyone knows, or knows of: Star Wars episode IV.
For most people, this is about Han, Luke, Leia, R2D2 etc, and is a chance to get to know them, see them develop, respond to challenges etc.
But for me this is about a galaxy-wide civilization is crisis - an oppressive empire versus a struggling rebellion, and how the rebellion will try to survive the latest challenge - a superweapon (the Death Star), all complicated by the Force.
For me, it doesn't matter whether Han Solo is a failing human smuggler driving a run-down but fast ship he loves, or a rich bothan spy driving his latest racing yacht that he doesn't much care about: Either one would serve just fine to show us the setting, respond to the challenges in it, and show us events as they develop. Sure, swapping Han for a bothan spy would change some details & affect how certain situations play out - but the basic story of empire vs rebellion and how the rebellion can survive would remain.

I guess my outlook on characters comes from over 35 years of playing roleplaying games, and being gamemaster for them. When designing a new adventure or campaign in an RPG, you come up with all kinds of details on the situation, events, setting, challenges, plot etc, and absolutely nothing on the characters. That's because the players will provide the characters and may choose to run any kind of characters - you could have a dwarf warrior, and elf wizard and a halfling thief. Or you could have something totally different - say a group of nothing but human monks all from the same monastery. Or a half-orc paladin teamed with a drow cleric, both trying to leave dark things behind them and be good guys. Or just about anything.
And what characters the players come up with and bring to the adventure doesn't matter - the adventure remains the same, other than minor details.

For one great example of this, do a web search for "Darths and Droids" - it's a comic done only with screenshots from the Star Wars movies, but using very different character personalities to tell the story differently. Though it isn't a perfect example of my point, since it also sets out to tell a different story.
It's funny too.

So: most people want to know what the characters look like, their background, likes/dislikes, quirks etc.
I couldn't care less.
I want to know that kind of detail about the setting and challenges, but really don't give a fart in the wind about details like how tall a character is, or his favorite lunch.
I try to provide some details about characters, but it doesn't come naturally, so there isn't a lot.

If you're a True Believer in 'the One True Way of Doing Things', Please don't try to convert me to it - I've heard it all before about why characters are really everything & how we need to be able to identify with them and so on.
That's one valid way of doing things.
Please allow that my way is valid too, though different. Live and let live.

I think I come up with interesting stories, which are rigorously self-consistent. But you're unlikely to learn about anybody's favorite lunch.

Also, I like for the good guys to win - I challenge them but don't beat them up too much.

See my other stories at https://www.fictionpress.info/~calculonius

aka
https://www.fictionpress.info/u/1104213/

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Unauthorized Ending for Harry Potter and the Natural 20 reviews
The continuing adventures up to the completion of the story of Milo, a D&D 3.5 wizard who finds himself in Harry Potter's world, facing Voldemort and other challenges.
Crossover - Harry Potter & Dungeons and Dragons - Rated: T - English - Adventure - Chapters: 26 - Words: 101,175 - Reviews: 20 - Favs: 48 - Follows: 53 - Updated: 9/14/2019 - Published: 5/6/2019 - Complete
BattleStar Galactica 1980 redux reviews
What could have happened if they thought things through?
Battlestar Galactica - Rated: K+ - English - Sci-Fi - Chapters: 1 - Words: 4,665 - Reviews: 8 - Favs: 9 - Follows: 4 - Published: 12/23/2017 - Complete
Jurassic Park - No More Sheep reviews
We saw dinosaurs using their advantages, now lets see humans using theirs. What happens if the humans remember that intelligence and tool-use are bigger advantages than size, strength, speed, big claws and sharp teeth? Here I add a detail about Dr Grant's past & see what could happen.
Jurassic Park - Rated: T - English - Sci-Fi/Adventure - Chapters: 6 - Words: 31,043 - Reviews: 4 - Favs: 23 - Follows: 15 - Updated: 11/28/2017 - Published: 11/22/2017 - A. Grant - Complete
BattleStar Galactica Unchained reviews
From the TV series, we know what Apollo and Starbuck were up to. But what was the human fleet up to, other than fleeing towards Earth and what they hoped it would be (with no backup plan)? Here I explore what could have happened - what the ragtag fleet could have done with the resources it had, in order to try to survive and find a more permanent solution than just fleeing forever
Battlestar Galactica - Rated: K+ - English - Sci-Fi - Chapters: 28 - Words: 154,516 - Reviews: 46 - Favs: 29 - Follows: 22 - Updated: 9/27/2017 - Published: 8/23/2017 - Complete
Trader Joe of the Neutral Zone reviews
Trader Joe goes Boldly where no merchant has gone before - the Romulan Neutral Zone. He sets up shop and tries to prosper in dangerous circumstances and despite every sort of opposition.
StarTrek: The Original Series - Rated: K+ - English - Sci-Fi - Chapters: 21 - Words: 110,549 - Reviews: 7 - Favs: 40 - Follows: 34 - Updated: 5/22/2017 - Published: 3/31/2017 - Complete