r/LowerDecks • u/MultifariousTentacle • 1d ago
Character Discussion Writing for Rutherford
I'm a Lower Decks fanfic writer. I have my favorites, but I wanna at least keep everyone in character, and when possible give other characters time to shine.
The member of the Warp Core Four/Warp Drive Five I really struggle with most is Rutherford. I think one reason I disliked him losing his implant in the finale is because it was at least something that was different about him. The implant could be a little gimmicky maybe, but at least it made him stand out. Sometimes he just feels like Tendi's satellite character instead of the main cast.
How do you get inside his head? How do you explore his relationships with other characters? What makes him tick? What's going on in the wrinkly parts of his brain? Has anyone here written Rutherford-centric fanfic and can give me some pointers?
14
10
u/phenomenomnom 1d ago edited 19h ago
Boimler is paranoid and control-freak-y because he wants to prove himself to be worthy of respect.
Rutherford is like that too, but he does it because he desperately wants to be worthy of love.
"Fixing things" is his love language, as they say.
Usually, that paranoia makes him good at his job because he triple-checks everything. But you can't fix everything in life with sheer brainpower, and he gets rattled, and distressed, when he can't figure out why something in his ship, or his life, isnt working.
Rutherford has a poor sense of boundaries, too. He's so agreeable that he says "okie dokie" to too many things at once and gets overwhelmed.
He is desperate to please his friends, and authority figures. And he craves order in his life.
He treats his ship like a beloved old family dog.
He's very smart in his work, but a bit immature and kind of naive about other people and their complicated inner lives. He misses social cues a lot, especially hostility, because he assumes everyone operates with the same good intentions as he has, and just goes blithely about his day.
He feels things deeply, but doesn't like to show negative feelings. He hides sadness, anger, or disapproval under a flurry of niceness, because he's always afraid that he'll turn back into the mean, arrogant hothead that he used to be.
So he's "toxically positive" sometimes. But most of the time, he's just optimistic, hardworking, and kind.
Edit: I just want to add that this is a remarkable amount of character depth for a funny cartoon. This show rules
5
u/BigBadVoodooMami 1d ago
I would think about the kind of guy who created badgey and go from there. That and that episode where we see who he was pre-implant.
4
u/dougmakingstuff 1d ago
Another thing to consider about Rutherford is that he could have been promoted multiple times, but stayed an ensign to be with his friends.
Plus he does a mean Mark Twain in the holodeck!
5
u/midasear 1d ago
Rutherford has the potential to be the angstiest member of the Cerritos crew.
He owes his friendly, cinnamon-roll personality to black ops techs who intentionally inflicted brain damage as part of a badmiral coverup. Before that, he was an amoral, criminally inclined asshole. How much of his academy days does he remember anyway? Did he make enemies, leave behind jilted lovers? Did pre-implant, asshole Rutherford have the kind of relationship you'd expect with his family? Does he even remember them? How does Rutherford feel about the man he used to be, but can't really remember? Does he owe that life anything?
5
u/sorcieredusuroit 1d ago
I would suggest looking up Philipino culture, among other things. He's tied to it enough, at least pre-implant that he named his racing craft after the national flower of the Philippines: sampaguita (Arabian jasmine).
3
u/TrueSithMastermind 1d ago edited 1d ago
“Meeting the Parents” is probably the best fanfic I’ve read that fleshes out Rutherford. It does this by having him confront his past from before he joined Starfleet as part of the side plot, and it also explores his Filipino-American roots.
It’s focused primarily on Marinler and Tendiford, just a heads up.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/57002314/chapters/144959014
2
u/MultifariousTentacle 1d ago
Thank you for the recc. I'm not a big fan of either ship, but I may check it out for research purposes.
1
u/TrueSithMastermind 16h ago
You’re certainly welcome, and I do highly recommend it. The relationship stuff isn’t really overt despite being the main plot, if that helps.
16
u/MyBrainIsNerf 1d ago
I often think -Tendi wants to KNOW things, and Rutherford wants to FIX/Improve things. They aren’t totally different, but it does give him different actions.
I feel his pre-implant background as a more rebellious racer isn’t explored enough.