changehistory: (Personal Jesus)
Adam Monroe ([personal profile] changehistory) wrote2011-03-03 09:17 am
Entry tags:

[Meme] Five Things

List the top five ideas/concepts/etc you keep in mind while writing the character that you believe are essential to accurately depicting them.

1. He was completely willing to release a virus that would kill over 97% of the world's population. He may regret using Peter to do it, but...he doesn't really think he was wrong in wanting to do so. The world could use a nice little push of the reset button.

2. He loves Peter. He loved (loves) Angela, too. He may still do so. There's a distinct possibility that Nathan is his son (exhibit A: Claire--abilities run in the blood, people). This leaves him emotionally frazzled a lot of the time--and considering how much of his emotions he's shut down to survive...

3. He has a God-complex. It's not going away any time soon. He knows how to mask it to appear charming and totally normal and make you think that he's just an awesome leader you want to follow, but really? He thinks he's the fucking second coming of the messiah. There's a reason he picked twelve disciples, yo. And you'd damn well better believe he's taking significance from the idea of building his new world on a rock named Peter.

4. He really does want to save the world. He's not a bad guy. Okay, yes. He wants to kill almost everyone to do it and run things afterward, but...it's for their own good. He doesn't want to make them slaves or anything. Just...look at what people get up to on their own: war, disease, famine, killing each other over religion and borders and oil, arguments over equality and stripping people of fundamental human rights. His world would be so much nicer and shinier. Everyone would have enough to eat. Everyone would be free to love who they wanted to love. There would be no war, no religion (except, sort of, adoring him). "Imagine" is pretty much his theme song, despite the "Hallelujah" obsession.

5. He thinks all of this is his divine right/mission/destiny. You can thank Hiro for that. He's the one who showed up and told him he was supposed to be a mythic hero, then betrayed him and disappeared back into the future without leaving him more guidance than that, leaving him to face eternity alone with all his messed up Puritanical religious beliefs. Y'know--the ones where God didn't let Adam and Eve stay in the Garden solely so they wouldn't eat from the Tree of Life and become immortal, because then they'd be like Him. Boy took that shit seriously, upbringing like his. Mix that with Hiro's hero/save-the-world-spiel and it was a recipe for disaster.

[identity profile] thewatchmaker.livejournal.com 2011-03-03 05:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Ohhhhhhh I never thought about you being Nathan's daddy. I like that. I should do this too. My mind's a little scattered today, and this might do the trick to find my focus.

[identity profile] changehistory.livejournal.com 2011-03-03 06:58 pm (UTC)(link)
We have four verses where we play it that way. It's always seemed an obvious possibility to me, but it seems to take a lot of people by surprise. But, yes, it's a good focusing exercise.

[identity profile] thewatchmaker.livejournal.com 2011-03-03 07:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Of course the last time I contemplated Nathan's daddy was S1 where I thought it was Linderman. I do not think he and Peter have the same father at all. I like your theory.

[identity profile] changehistory.livejournal.com 2011-03-03 08:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Both Angie (bb!Angela) and Angela both just giggled and snorted, respectively, in my head at the idea of it being Linderman. Apparently they're of the opinion he wouldn't know what to do with a woman if given the chance. He far preferred Arthur to her.

[identity profile] thewatchmaker.livejournal.com 2011-03-03 08:36 pm (UTC)(link)
LMAO!

[identity profile] keep-them-safe.livejournal.com 2011-03-03 07:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Beautiful characterization focuses there. Also <3 you're my personal Jesus forever.
Edited 2011-03-03 19:55 (UTC)

[identity profile] powered-otaku.livejournal.com 2011-03-04 04:58 am (UTC)(link)