Why are you conceptualizing your characters under VSBW terms? Nothing from this site should even touch how you create characters.
Regardless, I think you should ask yourself "for what narrative purpose is a character as intelligent as they are?" The answer to that question will inform how you need to write that character to fulfill the narrative requirement. For example, one of Breaking Bad's core themes is the exploration of the male ego, and one of Walter White's most important character traits is that he feels he has squandered both his brilliance and opportunities, in the life he has at the start of the show. Thus, Walter's ingenuity in chemistry, his extensive education, and his evident effectiveness as a research chemist (insofar as he contributed towards Nobel Peace Prize-winning research and co-founded an eventual multi-billion dollar company) serves as the basis for his hubris throughout the entire series and his feelings of a wasted life, which serves as a primary motivation. This is all to say you should be less focused on trying to convincingly write "genius" or "supergenius" characters and instead focus on communicating their intelligence in a way which is directly pertinent to the characters you are trying to write and the story you are trying to tell.
I think that’s a fair response. Though I wouldn’t say I use VSBW terms to conceptualize my characters or story much, and especially not in the area of intelligence. The point of my first post of the day was just intended to try and revive the thread with some questions, since I saw it hadn’t been used in months. But to get at the heart of this, VSBW concepts aren’t really something I like to use in my writing outside of for fun (like in this thread or FCOC sometimes). The only reason I used VSBW classifications on intelligence in this thread was to provide a frame of reference of sorts. Basically I wanted to use the terms as a lens for some members to see some of my writing. How I frame certain aspects of my writing is very dependent on which writing-space I’m in tbh. In places like VSBW or FCOC I like to emphasize some of the similarities with the system to make it a bit more familiar for members. But I don’t think I’ve just really used VSBW as an inspiration for any of the writing, especially not since I started making stories more consistently.
But anyways (in non-VSBW speak), there’s a few main reasons I decided to make Alexander and his siblings hyper-intelligent (since I love talking about my characters and writing in general). They both sorta tie back into the thematics of my novel. Since I began reading about the fair folk, Faeries, and other manners of humanoid supernatural beings, I’ve really wanted to create characters who push the uncanny valley in a way. So when I designed him and his sisters, that was one of my early design thoughts. As I got further into my character concepts, I thought what if I came up with characters, who don’t just appear somewhat inhuman (he’s a gigantic behemoth slightly taller than Robert Wadlow {{8’11.5}}, with none of the debilitating effects of being so large. He also has golden eyes that can change color, which tend to be associated with supernatural horrors/terrors in superstition in the setting.), but also think in a slightly inhuman way as well. But as some of the main characters, I didn’t want them to come off as immoral or anything like that.
Thus, I decided to lean into the idea of intelligence and isolation. Alexander and his sisters are hyper intelligent. In a nutshell, they were experiments from birth until two of them escaped. Part of this isolation aspect was their development. They were precocious, which only really added to their misery in a way. From before he could walk or talk they were aware their lives didn’t belong to them, and that they existed in a sort of gilded cage at best. They could speak and read from a very young age, which also contributed to others being unnerved by the siblings. By the time he was in the pre-K to Kindergarten age (IRL), he was extremely intelligent, but it widened the divide between himself and most people. The mixture of childlike thought and extreme intelligence, made it nearly impossible to relate to anyone but each other. None of the other test subjects were anywhere near as smart, which created a barrier between them. The only people who could really understand them were the top researchers led by their mother.
Alexander was born very healthy/strong, and his sister was born frail. Although born with immense strength as well, which he used to defend his sickly sister, that also didn’t make him happy. From a young age he was the most dangerous of all of the lab subjects. He had knowledge of his strength, and couldn't realize what he could do, until he crippled his teacher by accident. For an over a decade he actually became mute and began to think of himself of a monster, because he was so unnaturally different from those around him.
The other major idea/concept I thought of when drafting my story/characters was potential, or more specifically failure to reach potential. There’s a lot of stories of gifted children who burned out young, like William Siddis under pressure. So I think the siblings' intelligence creates a sense of tragedy as well. In the modern day of the story, Alexander could be seen as a failure. His creature definitely sees him as such. He had the potential to be one of the strongest, smartest people. And yet he fell short in both aspects. He starts off as a semi amnesiac mercenary who is just kind of drifting through life.
Every time he gets too close he flees. He‘s still very smart in an almost alien way, and ends up being pulled by conflicting desires. He has very little money, but still builds, in his rickety home. All of this kinda builds up to where he’s decided to tune out the greater universe. But no matter how much he drinks, his mind still runs. He can’t help but think of himself as a monster. He’s one of the smartest humans in the setting, but he has stunted. All in all, he’s a bundle of self loath wrapped in should’ve—would’ve—could’ve. Though he’s not the smartest person in the series by far, he has potential to be one of them.
But he’s hampered by both his inability to feel normal, and his flaws as a person. Essentially I wanted to start the story with how he’s been deconstructed as a person, alongside his siblings, and a large chunk is about his reconstruction/resurrection into becoming who he wants to be. I think his intelligence is interesting to me because on some level he’s aware that he isn’t normal, but is also extremely gifted. The conflicting desires/drives that he’s filled with make it difficult.
On some level he loves the idea of destruction and combat, he was raised as a weapon for a large portion of his life after all. But there’s another part that is actively disgusted by his strength and bloodlust. He desires to use his intelligence to change things, but at the same time is ashamed of being so different from everyone around him. Alexander is trapped in a cycle of unfulfilled dreams. In a way he’s almost like a robot running on autopilot, in this analogy, his programming/what he was taught is a driving force in his life. He hates what he has become, but in a sad way, he also clings to it because it gives him safety and stability. To paraphrase one of my favorite comics, he’s like a puppet, but he’s a puppet who can see his strings.
But I didn’t mean to write a whole essay, so whoops. I ended up yapping lol. But I’m glad I had to reason to discuss character stuff, even if I’m just shouting into the void.
