OOC

barebone

THE CHARACTER

Canon history | Character history; the latter was made for the books but the miniseries stuck to the same story. The only changes were that Leto and his sister weren't children when their grandmother came back.

Leto, son of Paul Atreides and his concubine Chani, was something of a surprise. His father had the gift of prescience, which allowed him to see all possible futures, but when his wife became pregnant, he thought it was only with a single child. Leto was one half of a set of twins and was 'pre-born' - this meant that he inherited the memories and knowledge of all of his ancestors prior to his birth. Even though his body was that of an infant, he had a fully developed personality and attitude. These abilities allowed him to aid his father in saving the lives of him and his sister as babies, speaking to him and letting him use Leto's eyes to stop an assassin from killing either of the twins. Leto, through no choice of his own, was an adult and never a child. Something that he dislikes intensely and has always wanted to change.

To know the future is to be trapped by it, Grandmother. My father knew it but he couldn't escape it. I want more freedom than that! A universe of surprises, that is what I pray for.

Growing up as the heir to the throne of Arrakis, Leto developed a keen understanding of politics and the part he'd have to play in the world he was born into. That didn't mean he enjoyed it. His ability to see all possible futures was undesirable. He was used to the extreme volume in his head, all the voices of the past, and he didn't succumb to any of them, learning early on how to manage the perversion of being preborn. He understands that there are two main paths he could take - follow tradition, live and die for his people, or choose a path with great sacrifice to himself, one that would change the course of human destiny forever.

It was a lot to shoulder, such a decision, but the latter would allow humankind to survive and it would make certain that no other person would be preborn like he was. No one would have to know what it was like to never be a child, to never experience anything for the first time because they'd seen it all before in the lives of their ancestors. He knew what love, hate, disgust, contempt, pleasure, everything felt like without ever having known it for himself. A universe of surprises, the unknown, a life that wasn't chosen - that's what Leto craves more than anything else.

So I have chosen! To make a world where human kind can create its own future from moment to moment... Free of one man's vision... Free from the perversions of the prophet's words. And free of future predetermined.

Leto is loyal, kind, compassionate, and respectful. He's polite and responsible, knows when to speak and when to remain silent. He's thoughtful, considerate of his words and actions and what they might result in. Those that he loves - he loves them with every fiber of his being. The choices he makes are all in the hopes of giving his people a chance to survive, a better future that isn't doomed to fail out of greed and over power games. He understands that his path isn't going to be easy but he does it anyway, for himself and everyone else.

In his own way, his decision to slowly stop the use of spice (the main 'crop' of Arrakis, which the Atreides family has a monopoly on), is selfish. Yes, it will eventually insure that no others are preborn and that humankind can learn to live without it, but he does it because he knows what it's like to be preborn. To lack experience and surprise is depressing. He desires a life that is all his own and even though he is frightened by the idea of not having his abilities, the want to be free is stronger. Leto is quite willing to do whatever it takes to see his goals realized. He'll kill those that oppose him and fight back when he has to. He did not allow his father, who was blind, tired, and old, to peacefully die because he needed him alive to make Leto's message poignant. It was selfish, but he believed it needed to be done.

Remember the words of my father and my grandfather, your duke. They spoke to you of desert power. I am desert power and nothing can stop what is going to happen.

Leto can see the future in multiple iterations. He meets people and already knows them - their past, present, and future. Every decision they've made and what choices they might make. There is nothing special in meeting anyone else because he already knows them. This is something he abhors. He longs to get to know people on their own terms, to make mistakes and choices of his own. It's one of his main motivators for everything he had done. He's so convinced that it's the right path, the only path, that he has an almost arrogant approach to how he goes about making his vision a reality. He even goes as far as to let the sandtrout into his body, forever changing him - they make him physically stronger and impentrable, and will continue to alter his physical form until he one day has the appearance of a sandworm (literally, a giant sand traveling worm man).

This is all the good we may ever have.

Leto doesn't regret his decision to take the Golden Path (accepting the sandtrout) as it gave him the strength he needed to take control of Arrakis. Now, he can use his physical and mental abilities to guide humankind down a better path so that they might survive and come out on the other side stronger and better. While he had understood the weight of what he'd decided to do, he struggles with the burden. He runs until he's so exhausted he passes out in his sister's arm and then begs her to give him permanent release from the path he's chosen. He will live for thousands of years, body continuously changing, and it's almost too much to bear. Leto wants to do what is right, to save humankind, spare others that might be preborn like him and his twin, but he could have just as easily decided to be a normal ruler, die and let someone else choose to do what he did not. He took the harder, more difficult route, but he's not happy. It's difficult, what he has to do, but he can't go back and won't.

We're about to go through the crucible, but we'll come out the other side. We always arise from our own ashes. Everything returns later in its... changed form.

Leto's abilities were given to him through a bond with sandtrout. He allowed them into his body, which they altered as listed below.

+ tough skin - blades, extreme temperatures, and the like don't do any damage.
+ speed - fast when fighting (he almost blurs) and the same with running, though he's quicker in the sand.
+ strength - his blows can knock a person across a room.
+ preborn - he inherited the memories and knowledge of all of his ancestors (he was mentally grown prior to birth).
+ prescient - can anticipate possible futures before they happen. With this he can also see a person's past, present, and future.
+ voice modulation - he can change the tone and inflection of his voice, an ability that can exert control over someone else.

Leto wouldn't use any of his abilities in a way that could break the game, but I'm always down for any nerfing that you think is appropriate. There will be a post on his journal for opting in and out of anything that would require a player's permission (prescient, voice modulation, etc).

Only his pants, nothing else.

Leto would be persuaded to cooperate if his people are kept safe in stasis unit. Another incentive would be that the Orbiters planned better for the future of all those that they've saved. Leto believes that humankind will eventually be the cause of its own downfall and wants to do what he can to keep that from happening. Any effort on their part to change that course of events, he'll completely support and appreciate.

SAMPLES

test drive meme post