About Apocalypse
After long stories I've started the habit of including a little wrap-up notes section like this. And by little I mean probably an eight page ramble. We'll see.
I was toying with the idea of starting a Heroes story but didn't really know where to begin. I had a few rough thoughts about what could possible happen if things had gone wrong on the big day, but nothing concrete. I could see Peter either exploding, as the trailers hint at, or otherwise having an all out fight with Sylar. I pictured Isaac being held sometime in the future by Primatech who continued to force him to paint for him, but him having enough sense and strength to censor his own visions. I imagined that Matt might not ever get a good enough grasp on his powers and it ends up driving him a bit crazy. But really, I wanted to write a story around Claire.
So, as most of my stories start, I had a clear picture in my head of Claire in a prison courtyard, her and Matt together and trying to blend in, just before all hell kind of breaks loose around them, just as she spots Peter whom they think is dead. That was how the whole story began for me. After that it all kind of fell into place.
Kind of.
I had two major problems with this story. One being that I always wanted Nathan to rejoin them. I cast him as the bad guy but it was really the circumstances that made him do some of the things he did. All in all, he was a lot more bitter than bad. It was a revenge kind of thing that he couldn't see past and I knew I'd never get the chance to redeem him if I didn't have an even worse villian -- so enter Jenny.
Jenny was originally going to help Matt, Audrey and Mohinder escape. She was, in a lot of ways, meant to be like Matt's student. Their powers are just similiar enough that he really could help her learn how to use them and she knew that. However, it was about the time that I had them sit down for the second interview that I realized she was a bit off of her nut. All of her decisions were thought out except one, and it was that rash impulse she had to try and free Matt and company and go with them. Of course, that wouldn't happen because there was no way Matt would ever trust her.
And trust, this whole thing is about it. I've made Matt kind of uber-paranoid with reason. I could only imagine that if you heard everything everyone ever thought about you, it might make you a bit paranoid about people in general.
I didn't really know what was going to happen with Nathan until the end. I had to unfortunately kill Heidi, which I didn't want to do but it was kind of necessary. Nathan needed an extreme wake-up call and for a few moments in my head, he was going to die. But I couldn't do that. I still wanted redemption for him. We'll see how that works out.
My second major problem with this involved Matt and Claire. I started this story with an idea of what I thought their relationship was. I could easily see her and him gravitating towards one another simply because they were the two outsiders of the group. I could also see Matt being the protective older brother type that Claire would need in this situation. Their relationship was never on a complete equal footing simply because of the age difference, which I guess is about eighteen years. That's huge -- unless you've read Emma four hundred times like me and then you start to think that, maybe it isn't. Or it doesn't have to be.
Now, here is where I sound stupid.
Basically, as I wrote the two of them, I realized I had no idea what their real relationship was. None. And I was writing it. I knew Matt had feelings for Audrey and that Claire was kind of mourning Peter. Mourning may be too strong, she'd accepted it and was moving on, but in this future there was basically nothing to move on to. However, Matt and Audrey were far from on equal footing. They really only saw one another briefly and not very often. So while Matt trusted Audrey, he relied on Claire.
So I started the 'what if' game in my head that ended up with me writing out 'One Year Lost' just so I'd know. I pictured that, if anything, Claire might have developed a small crush on Matt simply due to circumstance and (I hate to say it) convience. In my mind I knew that even if Matt had started down the same path himself, he'd never recipricate those feelings. Partially because he'd know her thoughts and kind of what was driving those feelings, and partially because I do think he has a lot of scrupples and it would be a lot like taking advantage of her.
This was a major problem, just because I had to keep it all in mind, the level of intimacy between the two of them and what the boundries were. And the more I wrote Matt and Claire together, the harder it was to keep all of that in mind and in check.
And it really still is, but I'm fighting it.
Somethings that got left out:
Jenny's mistake. It's was said several times that Jenny had failed just recently in an interview. Until she met Matt she really didn't know how to use her power very well and it resulted in a death of a man she'd been interviewing before the start of the story. Basically, she'd pushed so hard the man end up running head first into a wall until he'd died. She'd basically pushed too hard. This man never had a name in my mind, but he was Beatrice's source inside the Order. Beatrice was using Peter to keep track of Nathan, but she did have other spies like this poor un-named man and Jon Franco.
Jacobs job. Henry Jacobs was onto the fact that something was wrong inside the colony. Like most people, he suspected Daniel. Samuel, the original third member of the council, was a good friend of his and his death/disapearance was suspicious. Jacobs dropped some clues to Claire about it and he really did know a lot about Matt and Claire as he'd done as much research as he could on them. In his previous life he was a high school history teacher. I'm not sure why, I just picture him that way. And, he'd lied. The council did not want Matt or Claire brought back to the colony, only Jacobs did. Beatrice and Albert didn't want Peter knowing who he really was and if he came into contact with someone from his former life, the odds were better he'd remember. They just wanted him to use his powers. But, Jacobs really did believe that if the Order wanted these people badly enough, the colony should be looking for them too.
Peter's other name. I picked Jonah out as an alternate name for Peter specifically because of the story of Jonah and the Whale in the Bible.
David's gift. If you are reading 'Resurrection' you know that David, the new paranoid member of the council, has the gift of super hearing. I love saying that. :P Like Matt's ability to read thoughts, I imagined that hearing conversations, whispered ones even, could make you a good deal on edge.
Niki/Jessica. I never explained a lot of this, and I think I'm going to keep it vague. This, I feel, is my biggest plot hole and it comes about because originally Niki wasn't going to be in this story. Someone had to go, the cast is too big, and Niki was going to be the odd one out. Instead, I wrote Isaac out and I was kind of stuck with the lame explaination early on that Niki had managed to control Jessica and access her own strength, but because of this she hasn't evolved like everyone else. If Niki is every going to continue to gain strength, she'd have to let Jessica out.
Claire's evolution. Claire seemed the least changed, but that was only because she used her powers the least. But, she was sleeping less as a result of her regeneration and her skin is actually thicker. There was a scene that summed it up, when the lab tech had to stab her in the arm to get blood. Basically, if it continued, Claire won't have to heal herself because she won't be possible for anything to hurt her. But, her healing powers have a limit. She can only fix people she really wants to fix and something else as well, which will be coming out later.
Peter's powers. Peter's powers, although dorment, did evolve. His being able to save himself from the gunfire was instinct. He accessed his powers to save himself without knowing how. In 'Resurrection' he's still struggling with it.
Matt's powers. I probably evolved Matt the most. I got the idea that if their powers were changing, Matt could probably be able to put thoughts into others heads. He's also picking up on what people are dreaming and sometimes incorporating it into his own dreams. Matt is probably a few steps away from being able to put ideas into people's heads without them realizing he'd done it.
Hmm... I actually think that's it.
This was a fun story to write. I knew when I started it was going to be about three stories long and I actually have a lot of ideas for short stories that occur before, after and during this time which should be fun to write as well.
I was toying with the idea of starting a Heroes story but didn't really know where to begin. I had a few rough thoughts about what could possible happen if things had gone wrong on the big day, but nothing concrete. I could see Peter either exploding, as the trailers hint at, or otherwise having an all out fight with Sylar. I pictured Isaac being held sometime in the future by Primatech who continued to force him to paint for him, but him having enough sense and strength to censor his own visions. I imagined that Matt might not ever get a good enough grasp on his powers and it ends up driving him a bit crazy. But really, I wanted to write a story around Claire.
So, as most of my stories start, I had a clear picture in my head of Claire in a prison courtyard, her and Matt together and trying to blend in, just before all hell kind of breaks loose around them, just as she spots Peter whom they think is dead. That was how the whole story began for me. After that it all kind of fell into place.
Kind of.
I had two major problems with this story. One being that I always wanted Nathan to rejoin them. I cast him as the bad guy but it was really the circumstances that made him do some of the things he did. All in all, he was a lot more bitter than bad. It was a revenge kind of thing that he couldn't see past and I knew I'd never get the chance to redeem him if I didn't have an even worse villian -- so enter Jenny.
Jenny was originally going to help Matt, Audrey and Mohinder escape. She was, in a lot of ways, meant to be like Matt's student. Their powers are just similiar enough that he really could help her learn how to use them and she knew that. However, it was about the time that I had them sit down for the second interview that I realized she was a bit off of her nut. All of her decisions were thought out except one, and it was that rash impulse she had to try and free Matt and company and go with them. Of course, that wouldn't happen because there was no way Matt would ever trust her.
And trust, this whole thing is about it. I've made Matt kind of uber-paranoid with reason. I could only imagine that if you heard everything everyone ever thought about you, it might make you a bit paranoid about people in general.
I didn't really know what was going to happen with Nathan until the end. I had to unfortunately kill Heidi, which I didn't want to do but it was kind of necessary. Nathan needed an extreme wake-up call and for a few moments in my head, he was going to die. But I couldn't do that. I still wanted redemption for him. We'll see how that works out.
My second major problem with this involved Matt and Claire. I started this story with an idea of what I thought their relationship was. I could easily see her and him gravitating towards one another simply because they were the two outsiders of the group. I could also see Matt being the protective older brother type that Claire would need in this situation. Their relationship was never on a complete equal footing simply because of the age difference, which I guess is about eighteen years. That's huge -- unless you've read Emma four hundred times like me and then you start to think that, maybe it isn't. Or it doesn't have to be.
Now, here is where I sound stupid.
Basically, as I wrote the two of them, I realized I had no idea what their real relationship was. None. And I was writing it. I knew Matt had feelings for Audrey and that Claire was kind of mourning Peter. Mourning may be too strong, she'd accepted it and was moving on, but in this future there was basically nothing to move on to. However, Matt and Audrey were far from on equal footing. They really only saw one another briefly and not very often. So while Matt trusted Audrey, he relied on Claire.
So I started the 'what if' game in my head that ended up with me writing out 'One Year Lost' just so I'd know. I pictured that, if anything, Claire might have developed a small crush on Matt simply due to circumstance and (I hate to say it) convience. In my mind I knew that even if Matt had started down the same path himself, he'd never recipricate those feelings. Partially because he'd know her thoughts and kind of what was driving those feelings, and partially because I do think he has a lot of scrupples and it would be a lot like taking advantage of her.
This was a major problem, just because I had to keep it all in mind, the level of intimacy between the two of them and what the boundries were. And the more I wrote Matt and Claire together, the harder it was to keep all of that in mind and in check.
And it really still is, but I'm fighting it.
Somethings that got left out:
Jenny's mistake. It's was said several times that Jenny had failed just recently in an interview. Until she met Matt she really didn't know how to use her power very well and it resulted in a death of a man she'd been interviewing before the start of the story. Basically, she'd pushed so hard the man end up running head first into a wall until he'd died. She'd basically pushed too hard. This man never had a name in my mind, but he was Beatrice's source inside the Order. Beatrice was using Peter to keep track of Nathan, but she did have other spies like this poor un-named man and Jon Franco.
Jacobs job. Henry Jacobs was onto the fact that something was wrong inside the colony. Like most people, he suspected Daniel. Samuel, the original third member of the council, was a good friend of his and his death/disapearance was suspicious. Jacobs dropped some clues to Claire about it and he really did know a lot about Matt and Claire as he'd done as much research as he could on them. In his previous life he was a high school history teacher. I'm not sure why, I just picture him that way. And, he'd lied. The council did not want Matt or Claire brought back to the colony, only Jacobs did. Beatrice and Albert didn't want Peter knowing who he really was and if he came into contact with someone from his former life, the odds were better he'd remember. They just wanted him to use his powers. But, Jacobs really did believe that if the Order wanted these people badly enough, the colony should be looking for them too.
Peter's other name. I picked Jonah out as an alternate name for Peter specifically because of the story of Jonah and the Whale in the Bible.
David's gift. If you are reading 'Resurrection' you know that David, the new paranoid member of the council, has the gift of super hearing. I love saying that. :P Like Matt's ability to read thoughts, I imagined that hearing conversations, whispered ones even, could make you a good deal on edge.
Niki/Jessica. I never explained a lot of this, and I think I'm going to keep it vague. This, I feel, is my biggest plot hole and it comes about because originally Niki wasn't going to be in this story. Someone had to go, the cast is too big, and Niki was going to be the odd one out. Instead, I wrote Isaac out and I was kind of stuck with the lame explaination early on that Niki had managed to control Jessica and access her own strength, but because of this she hasn't evolved like everyone else. If Niki is every going to continue to gain strength, she'd have to let Jessica out.
Claire's evolution. Claire seemed the least changed, but that was only because she used her powers the least. But, she was sleeping less as a result of her regeneration and her skin is actually thicker. There was a scene that summed it up, when the lab tech had to stab her in the arm to get blood. Basically, if it continued, Claire won't have to heal herself because she won't be possible for anything to hurt her. But, her healing powers have a limit. She can only fix people she really wants to fix and something else as well, which will be coming out later.
Peter's powers. Peter's powers, although dorment, did evolve. His being able to save himself from the gunfire was instinct. He accessed his powers to save himself without knowing how. In 'Resurrection' he's still struggling with it.
Matt's powers. I probably evolved Matt the most. I got the idea that if their powers were changing, Matt could probably be able to put thoughts into others heads. He's also picking up on what people are dreaming and sometimes incorporating it into his own dreams. Matt is probably a few steps away from being able to put ideas into people's heads without them realizing he'd done it.
Hmm... I actually think that's it.
This was a fun story to write. I knew when I started it was going to be about three stories long and I actually have a lot of ideas for short stories that occur before, after and during this time which should be fun to write as well.