[@Zeroth]

You're welcome, and there's nothing to forgive you for. I understand. 

While I was reading your reply, I was reminded of a story I once heard about Stephen King. Now, it doesn't matter if you don't like the guy, the writer, or enjoy his books. Hell, you don't even have to respect him. But the fact of the matter is that he is one of our worlds most accomplished authors, and since he has become a household name, I figured I'd use him as an example. What you may not know is that King struggled with what you are going through with his first novel "Carrie". I didn't do a lot of research to refresh my memory of what King thought of his first book, so a quote from Wiki will have to do for now: "King believed Carrie would not be successful, thinking it would not be marketable in any genre or to any audience." 

[hider=Here is the full extract]
[i]King believed Carrie would not be successful, thinking it would not be marketable in any genre or to any audience. He also found writing it to be a "waste of time" and found no point in sending out what he perceived as a failed story. King only continued writing it in order to please his wife and because he was unable to think of anything else to write. When King finished the first draft, Carrie was a 98-page-long novella that he detested. In December 1972, King decided to rewrite Carrie and strive for it to become novel-length. He wrote in fabricated documents that were purported to be from periodicals such as Esquire and Reader's Digest, imitating their style accordingly; a process that King found entertaining. After Carrie was accepted by the publisher Doubleday, King revised the novel with editor and friend Bill Thompson. The original ending of Carrie had Carrie growing demon horns and destroying an airplane thousands of miles above her. Thompson convinced King to rewrite the ending to be more subtle.[/i][/hider]

It is easy to understand why King thought maybe people wouldn't care about Carrie, or why she wouldn't be relatable, especially back in the earlier 1970's. A schoolgirl with superpowers? Please.... But now, look at what entertainment around the world has become. 

In my own first book, I antagonized over whether my characters would be acceptable and appreciated. I worried about whether my plot would suffice. At one point, I destroyed an entire first draft out of fear of failure. But no amount of worrying helped. Eventually, I ended up rewriting what I had destroyed almost to the letter. Despite my concerns, it got published. It took the advice of a long-lost friend to get me over it. And I quote her now: "Just write your story. It's YOUR story." She even used a severe, angry tone, which made me pout. I guess she was fed up with my complaining and worrying. Bless her heart. But it did the trick.  

Unfortunately, Zeroth, finding something more concrete to set your concerns at ease may not happen. What I was trying to say in my first reply, is that no one can tell you how to write your characters or devise your plot, or even what language to use. It won't matter how much you antagonize yourself over what others might think or how they might feel about these aspects because, no matter what you do, you can [i]never[/i] please everyone, and you can never be guaranteed to please the most people that you can please, either. Write your story. It is [i]your[/i] story. Remember, [i]we are all made of the same stuff[/i]. So, put your heart into it. Put everything you have into it, and don't hold back. By doing so, your characters - no matter who or what they are - will affect the reader, they [i]will care[/i], and maybe in ways you had never imagined. 

Write your story and mean it.