So Close, and still so far

Of Gods and Greek Men

Of Greek gods and men......

Once upon a time, the Gods of Greece were bored

....so they created man

......they were bored again

....so they created a woman

........they were still bored so they created love

.......

...........

..............then that's when things got a bit more interesting.

I know, it's an ad lib from a movie, but being a Greek mythology freak, I couldn't help but try and have a go with the brothers compared to two of our favorite Greek gods.

Iain Hargreave: Dynamic, suave, and just about every mother's dream/nightmare is the devil incarnate himself.  His character was inspired from Tom Sterling, Josh Hartnett's character from the 2008 movie, August where he plays a tech billionaire however, unlike the movie character, Iain Hargreave is very successful and may have had a bit of a good headstart in capital because he comes from a rich family.  At the time, I was also thinking that maybe Iain could use some mix race somewhere there so I thought of English Filipino footballer Phil Younghusband.  They both look similar so I chose to stick with both.

So I start with Iain. Now most of everyone would think that I had Zeus in mind (because after all, he is the most powerful ruler in Olympus so that would really make sense if I molded our hero into his likeness. However, we all know that Zeus wasn't exactly the golden boy as claimed. But semantics aside, I would generally think of Zeus as someone charming, affable, a little bit gullible especially by a beautiful person. Sounds familiar people? Hehe, 

It sounds a lot more like Neil than his dashing, darker, dynamic older brother. Iain reminds me a lot of Poseidon because in technical terms, the god of the seas was also thought to be an aristocratic ruler. 

 Like Poseidon, Iain loves horses (actually it's also expressed in his love for fast cars and motorcycles), is a National Geographic tv addict (remember his comments about dolphins?), and can also be as moody as the god of the sea. 

 However, Iain isn't violent. Well, he used to be when he was younger and brash, but he's mellowed down a lot anyway. Poseidon also is a lot like Iain because many people rely on the young brilliant billionaire tycoon the same way sailors do with the god of the sea. Iain mostly is tolerable, fair, and cooperative, but as we read later he can also be moody and like Poseidon who conjures earthquakes, stormy seas, tsunamis and whatever crazy natural catastrophe that can evoke fear, Iain is just as capable. In another more interesting note, there's also a theory that Poseidon's name is conjured literally as "husband of the wheat" which is funny because Quinn has blonde hair and Iain was well, literally made in the essence of one of the Younghusband brothers. Total coincidence, but I liked how it all played out in the end.

There's also an interesting story about Poseidon and his rivalry with Zeus' daughter, Athena. I knew it was pointless to make any enmities between Iain and Chelsea since Iain is older, independent and more successful, however, I love it when the two siblings clash and it ends where Chelsea is the winner having made a point while stating the obvious to her older brother. (take note: Athena represents wisdom, insight, courage, law & justice, mathematics, arts, crafts and skills and is a virgin, which is represented by Chelsea as a youthful child of thirteen, but wise beyond her years).

Speaking of the younger sister, Chelsea, like the goddess Athena, she's fond of owls (she was first shown to be wearing an owl shirt which Neil points out looks like she's a Hooters girl with lack of erm, assets. Like the Greek goddess, Chelsea also is described to a young girl with coltish exuberance with bright blue-green eyes that sparkle with mischief and wisdom. )

Jesse Metcalfe circa Johnny Tucker Must Die was my inspiration in creating Neil Hargreave, while Iain's character was similar to Josh Hartnett's Tom Sterling in the 2008 movie, August.  I also added a younger version of True Blood actor Joe Manganiello, as the sequel to this story includes an older version of the Hargreave Brothers.  Neil is described to eerily resemble Joe Manganiello by the female protagonist (no spoilers here, sorry)

Neil, like Zeus, would look very regal and imposing. Interestingly enough, Zeus and Poseidon often are mistaken due to having similar appearances like the Hargreave brothers, but I would like to think of it that it all just lies on the physical attributes.

Speaking of the other Hargreave brothers, I assume many of you are asking about who inspired me to write Neil's character. Two guys with the initials JM. I know right? I had so much fun thinking of them while writing this novel. Jesse Metcalfe (John Tucker and that gardener boy from Desperate Housewives) was an automatic favorite fanfic for Neil, but I was thinking other than perfect pretty boy looks, he had to be buff and tall, so I was thinking also of a much, much younger Joe Manganiello (Alcide from True Blood) , same height and built. So drool at your own risk, girls.

Exhibit A.

If you look closely, I've changed Jesse's eyes, giving it a bluish-gray tinge and using the central portion of his natural eye color giving it a central heterochromia feel to it so as to back up my storyline. I'm pretty proud of my photoshopping skills at the moment.

Awww, he really looks so innocent in those baby blues, it's no wonder why Quinn can't help but like him too. This is also the reason why I wanted to experiment with the duality of both brothers, proving that Quinn could have been happy with either of them. I've always been a fan of love triangles, because let's face it life isn't written plainly in black and white. So debate as much as you'd like, I'd love to see Neil as another option for Quinn, however, facts are: number one, she fell in love with Iain first, and number two both she and Neil are in the point of their lives where a huge chunk of their lives are undergoing some major change so in the end, the timing's just off.