[@Shoryu Magami] ...Are you pulling a Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri?  With a sentient planet?  *amused*  Wouldn't be the first time I've seen that.  There's...hm.  Think it's by Anne McCaffery, The Powers That Be, that planet has a consciousness as well.  And I vaguely recall other instances too.  <3  It's a fun idea to play with.

In terms of importance, I mean that, while it might be possible to have a story without a certain character, it is /never/ possible to have a story without a setting and a background for where a character come from.  Thus, the character of their world is part of a fully-developed character, and if A exists on its own and is /part/ of B too, I'd say A is more important.  ...This even goes for if you have the setting of a black void, because you'd better believe that's gonna freak some people out.  And did they grow up there?  Is it all they've ever known?  Or did they suddenly find themselves there?  And so on.

Also I keep getting double-notifications from you, thinking someone's pinged me with a post, and invariably being disappointed.  =/  Why?!  *flailing*