[sub][@Pachamac][@Byrd Man][@AndyC][@Eddie Brock]
[/sub]

[color=aba000][b]Byrd Man[/b] (Tone, Mood)[/color] [sub][b]2013-2015[/b][/sub]
Probably the last in a long line of influences, not so much a mentor but a peer who utterly trumps me in detail and tone. I can’t write introspection or detective serials like Byrd can and I always find myself dissecting his posts new and old to try to learn something as I did with Master Bruce and others from the Hype games. He’s a multi-genre talent that can convey comedy, suspense, and action all on equally sufficient levels; to the point where I wonder who he learned from and what tips he can give me, which ironically I have actually asked him in private on occasion. I’m glad this is someone I can still write with and hopefully I won’t have to look on in fond remembrance for a very long time.

[color=aba000][b]Eddie Brock / Andy C[/b] (Perspective, Characterization)[/color] [sub][b]2013-2015[/b][/sub]
This one is a tie since both of these individuals inspired me around the same time to give first-person perspective a try which completely changed how I looked at certain characters as well as how to  characterize emotion as well as introspection rather well due to how they handled characters like Peter Park and Clark Kent. Much like Byrd these are people I’m glad I can continue to write with and I’m sure there’s much we can learn off one another as time continues onward.

[color=aba000][b]Pachamac[/b] (Critical Thinking, Game Direction)[/color] [sub][b]2007-2015[/b][/sub]
An individual who has a deep vision for tone and a talent for bringing his characters to life. I haven’t had the chance to write with them for years due to my own complacency or ill-fated coincidence. We have very different views and influences, but I’d think of few people I’d just like to write with for a decent period again. But what I like the most about Pach is his talent for critical thinking and leading a game, he’s a gifted GM and has really helped me analyze my own writing issues and problems on more than one occasion. We started writing together around 2007 and our last joint venture was around 2011 or 2012. 

[color=aba000][b]Rico Underwood [/b](World-Building, Character Development)[/color] [sub][b]2001-2011[/b][/sub]
Though I know him beyond his pen-name at this point, Rico is and was the original source of inspiration for my collaborative writing. As a youth in 2001, I idolized and utterly respect him not for his detail prose but his distinct world-building, no nonsense attitude, and his stances against purple prose. I also consistently annoyed him since well, he was well into his adulthood and I was twelve – so it pretty much went how you expected it to. However, I was never shunned or isolated, being fully allowed to breathe in settings with acceptance despite by missteps in plot and prose alike. When my peers later on would criticize him I stood there in the shadow of this mentor and simply wouldn’t let that attitude be spoken in front of me. I just wish I could write with him one more time, but I imagine he’s moved on to greater responsibilities and focusing on his deeply enriched setting.

[color=aba000][b]Tergonaut[/b] (Narrative, Detail)[/color] [sub][b]2004-2012[/b][/sub]
Whereas I was taught there was quality in a mere sentence by my first ‘mentor’, from around 2004 onward Tergonaut showed me the full power of detailed narrative at the hands of a talented writer. A dynamic force on my first role-playing forum and probably the second most important to indirectly teach me what collaborative writing was about. Where Rico taught me about characters, Tergonaut taught me about narrative and pacing. I was still young by this point, but he was just as encouraging and supportive as any other person – which is something I wish I had myself as I can be admittedly selfish and too much of a perfectionist when it comes to my collaborative writing. Much like many people from the forum, life and interests shift.