Character Poll Wrap Up

First off, you guys are awesome. Have I told you that lately? Because you are. You're super awesome and thank you for participating in my recent poll. It was a really eye opening experience to see how certain characters have really affected you. So instead of what I was originally going to do, talking about my favorite underrated character, I'm going to talk about why I think all of the characters included are underrated in their own right.

Caution: Long Ass Rant Warning

Okay, going by the poll I'm gonna start with the character you guys think is least underrated to most. So, Katie. I understand some people’s hesitation to consider Katie underrated. She's a character that comes off very bland and, well, almost flat. In fact, the first conversation I had with my girlfriend about my work, she accused Katie of being a Mary Sue. Which is something that's hard to swallow when you pride yourself on character work like I do. The thing about Katie is that she's not what she seems at first glance. There's a lot more going on under the surface that we start to see as the story goes on and I believe have been really highlighted in the Scraps I've done lately. While Katie was originally my attempt at writing a character like Lilah that wouldn't die, Katie eventually became her own spunky, free minded girl -- while still retaining that sweet, girl next door, maternal energy that I loved about Lilah. To be really honest in regards of Katie, I don't think she's done growing yet. I still have more stories that I want and need to tell about Lil and a Katie and really, I think we've only seen the tip of the iceberg with her. So, to be fair, in many ways Katie hasn't even reached her potential for ratibility yet.

Now Evie. Oh, Evie, you've sure come a long way since being that snarky little bitch in …But Your Enemies Closer, haven't you? As some or most of you already know, I adore Evie. She's one of my favorite characters of all time. However, that doesn't mean that I don't think some things about her are dramatically overlooked. The biggest thing that always comes to mind is how she's Rebecca's support system, always has and always will be. If you really pay attention during Enemies Closer, you'll realize that Emily has very little to do with Rebecca's initial and most important growth. That's all Evie. What happens when Rebecca's confused and down on her luck? She goes to Evie. What happens when Rebecca is lost without any direction? She goes to Evie. Not Emily, not Celia or Rawly, but Evie -- everytime. You know who else seems to have that connection with her? Trent. Evies become this solid rock within her cast of characters and honestly I think that most people look at her and just think ‘yeah, the sassy little bitch’ and while that will never stop being true, it's only one -- or many -- facets of Evie’s character.

Next up, Jules. I feel as if some people would argue me on this one. That she's not underrated since she's the protagonist and narrator of her own book and such but then you have to remember that Jules appears opposite of Bear in that book -- and if you know anything about my readers, it's that everyone has a hard on for Bear, understandably of course. It's kind of the same problem that Lil and Katie have actually. Lil and Bear are both such big personalities -- for different reasons, Lil’s bombastic, Bear’s the prince type -- that they're significant others sometimes get left in the dust. Which is a shame when it comes to Jules since she's such a strong character. We're talking about a girl who left home at 16 to move across the damn country. She was forced to grow up between her choices and the accidental death of her brother that happened a few years after her move. Not to mention keeping everything together enough to finish school and start her career before she's even 23. Jules is… Kind of amazing. She has a strength of character that doesn't have to be screamed to be heard, she just is. The fact that people don't see that in her enough is the main reason why I think she's underrated.

Quick little bit before I get to the last choice. Okay, so Wren and This New Thing. This is a… Sensitive topic for me. Honestly I thought about making a seperate post about this but, hey, we're already here. So, the thing about TNT is that I hate it -- but not in the same way that I hated Sweet Tooth at one point, so let's just get that out of the way. TNT was a story I wrote to deal with some very real things that happened to and around me. It's not that it's… Bad necessarily but it is, well, painful to talk about. Which is why I've distanced myself from it for some time and I probably will if, and until, I can look at the story without all the bad feelings. As for Wren though, she was probably the only character I really liked from that story. I always enjoyed the sassy attitude and fun little details about how she challenged Aubrey -- I always think about the bit where Wren is mispronouncing things even though she has perfect recollection. It's funny in a subtle way. Anyways, that's my PSA on TNT. I appreciate everyone out there that really loved and connected with the story but I also hope you can respect my want to get a little distance on it. Maybe someday we'll talk about all this more in depth.

Okay, so last but certainly not least is my girl, Alex. Seriously guys, I was excited that you agreed with me here and then you didn't and I was fucking crushed -- except y'know, you guys that did. I've always believed that this girl got the short end of the stick. And I'm gonna talk about it at length. You were warned beforehand.

Alex is… The definition of underrated. I loved hearing about all the different ways that you guys thought she deserved more respect and you're right on so many accounts. She's always been patient. She's always been the rock. She's always been this perfect girl for Marley in so many ways, right? And just so full of grace and love no matter what Marley does because Marley has things so damn hard. Everyone around her dies and everything around her gets destroyed.

But let's pan the camera back a little bit, shall we? Take Tanya first. Marley was in an out of that woman's life for years without any word. Sure they had a bond and everything but when it was all said and done, Marley lost her aunt. Alex lost her mom basically, and lest any of us forget it was Alex taking care of her before, during, and after the Lilah ordeal. And speaking of Lilah, I should bring up the fact that she's been Alex's best friend since they were teenagers. Marley lost her lover but Alex lost her childhood best friend. I mean that shit is just rough.

Now that I have all of that out there for you, think about the ways they react to these tragedies. How Marley is always flailing, relying on her emotions and usually foolishly trusting them to lead her down irrational paths. Alex never strays, never falters, is always steadfast because people need her. The great thing is that it never comes across unrealistically. I guarantee that you've known -- even without knowing it maybe -- the person that's always keeping things light for everyone else and keeping spirits up in the midst of bad situations because they can just handle it better. It doesn't mean they don't feel, they just don't do it in front of you.

Honestly, the reason why I think Alex is more underrated than anything else is because of this goodness. She's just good and she doesn't need to be. It would be so easy for her to be someone else completely what with her upbringing and surroundings but she isn't. She chooses to be Sunny, the rock, the clown, that sweet, cool girl. In a sea of broken and fucked up characters that just mess up at every turn, Alex is trying her hardest to just keep everything together selflessly. She's literally the glue that holds my entire world together and anyone that enjoys this whole Kenna Colrite Collected Universe -- got a nice ring to it, don't it? -- owes her a quick debt of gratitude.

And on that note I want to mention that in my own thoughts this week about my characters that deserve more love, I'm considering writing a story about Alex. I know everyone wants Trifecta from her perspective but I'm not too keen on pulling a Midnight Sun -- Google the book's story if you don't understand. Instead, I'm thinking about going back a little farther and talking about Alex before Marley, like a Trifecta prequel.

Let me know if you guys would be interested in reading a story like that in the comments and thank you for getting to the end of my long ass rant. It was a joy to get to talk about my kids at length like this. I always love getting to share all the tidbits that I don't feel like come across as loudly on the page and I love all you people that care to listen about them too. You make my day, everyday.