Thanks, everyone! My apologies for my delay in accepting, and thanks Yogi for passing on this award. Character development is one of the things I try to work on the most. With the AAR format, the character usually evolves as I write, due in no small part to reader feedback. So in many ways, Remus Macrinus is a result of my ideas, how the EU2 game buffets him, and also the thoughts of the gang who kindly takes time to add their comments.
My biggest thought when I first wrote Remus was to avoid the obvious Gladiator-Maximus stereotype. He's a hero, for sure, but he lives in a different time. Though both value Rome and have their own nobility of character, Remus lives three centuries after Maximus, when Rome is on the verge of myth. I've enjoyed bringing him into fruition, tempering his obvious military brilliance with enough setbacks to make the story plausible. He's a hard man, but I try to put enough compassion just beneath his surface. To pull off an almost impossible alternate history, I certainly needed an almost impossible character. Thank you, Remus.
And as Yogi instructs, I will wait until next Sunday (7/16) to pass on the award, which will give me time to appreciate other author's fine character work.