LOL This is what I mean about raising expectations too high! I don't want to Phantom Menace this thing! XD
Some things to be aware of about Diane's scenes: First, four of them are pretty short. Second, one of them is her describing in vivid detail being tickle tortured for someone who will appreciate that story, so I felt that counted. Third, don't count out the fact that sometimes... Diane might actually like it.
But yeah, the intention is definitely not to reduce her, but rather to see her in other contexts where she doesn't
have to be the badass Sigma. Where she's allowed to be human. She has all these people she can lean on, that's part of what gives her the strength to rise to any challenge is having people in her corner encouraging and being there for her. She'll shed a lot of tears. At the same time, we'll see her freshman year first time going out with a boy, and the mousey little girl who pops up in the third Hell Week novel has already developed enough to completely take the wheel with that boy. So it's all definitely not bringing her down, more like expanding her sideways. There are people she cares deeply for, and it's hard to do. For instance, in book 2 someone makes the mistake of presuming she's soft; she responds by telling a personal tale of a close, dear friend, to show how strong their bond is, and essentially finishes it with, "And do you know what I did today? I considered their misery to be acceptable losses. Because that's the level I play at." And the other person realizes Diane is ruthless. But then Diane goes finds that person to comfort them, one-on-one, heartbroken that she had to do it. I feel that just shows how strong she is, that she can hurt so deeply but do the cold calculation and keep her feelings to herself until she can be with those where she can shed her defenses.
Diane is definitely one of the most ticklish girls in that house. But she is good at taking it (hence why in Hell Week 2 she almost took Tricia's place in the challenge). Which is good for her because she will take a lot! She's basically the climactic tickling of book 1 and book 2!
As for Roxi, I'm really interested in the reaction to her, since she was responsible for this. Terry Pratchett said writing is just winding up the characters and writing down what they say and do, and that's my approach, if you let the characters live, they teach you about themselves. The reason Roxi derailed the original plan was because I said, "Okay, Roxi, what if Diane had made you a Sigma like you keep insisting she should have despite being a spoiled brat, show me what would happen!" So she showed me, and I wished she was real so I could give her a hug when she was done.
I had a pretty similar idea for a competition! But at this point I'm not sure I can fit it in either of the first two story arcs planned. I don't want to half-ass it when it happens!
😀
And knowing Bandito is looking forward to it is really rewarding, I hope to hear his point of view on it! What I have in mind is a pretty seismic shift for long form tickling fiction, I'd love to hear what a hard-working Renaissance Man like him thinks of it!