McCrea

Though starting out with small intentions, McCrea has managed to work his way up to becoming quite a well known and normally favorable character of B. Roberts's. He is normally credited by B. Roberts herself as being one of her darkest characters as well. This may be the reasons he is often so appealing. Whether the appeal comes from love or hate for the character, it has to be said that he gets a lot of attention.

Origins and Inspirations
McCrea surprisingly started out as a character of little worth and did not come from straight forward inspiration. In fact, the idea that brought on McCrea's existence did not even come from B. Roberts at all. The idea that started the thought of McCrea in the first place was a project titled Sweetsville and was the creation of Beth Baines (commonly known as queen-dedede from devaintART). While it can't really be summed up without going off into a lot of unrelated details, Beth was working on a mass RP idea for her Sweetsville concept and wanted people to join in. In short, she needed anthropomorphic food characters to be either members of The Resistance (the protagonists), The Empire (the antagonist), and those who were neutral. Finding the idea appealing, B. Roberts promptly decided to make a character.



Even then, however, McCrea was not her first idea. The first character B. Roberts made for the project was an anthropomorphic pineapple simply named Screw who was for the Resistance side. As he wasn't for her own personal project, B. Roberts didn't take him very seriously and the future was already looking bleak for Screw's development. The chances of making a second character wasn't even a possibility at this time. Of course, as Sweetsville rapidly progressed over the next few days, things began to change. For one, there were many participants making characters for the Resistance side while the Empire side was severely lacking. Seeing as how a good protagonist could not be complete without a challenging antagonist, B. Roberts decided to try her hand at making someone for the other side. It was then that McCrea's development began to take place.

You would imagine the first idea in creating McCrea would be his species, an onion. This, however, was not so. The first element for McCrea to come into play was making him a religious figure, as would soon become a trend for B. Roberts in late 2008 through 2009. It can't really be placed how the trend would be triggered, but McCrea would be the leader of it. If it had to really be pinpointed, though, it could probably stem from McCrea's main inspiration as a whole; the Cake song Comfort Eagle which starts with the lyrics, "We are building a religion, we're building it bigger".

B. Roberts would use the song for other inspirations for McCrea as well, even leading to him being named after Cake's lead singer, John McCrea. Due to a mispronunciation on her part, however, McCrea's name ended up being pronounced "Mah-cree-uh" as opposed to the correction pronunciation "Mah-cree". The entire inspiration comparison can be listed as such:

-


 * We are building a religion - McCrea is a priest.
 * We are building it bigger - He is also an inquisitor, bent on bringing people to his religion no matter what.


 * We are widening the corridors
 * And adding more lanes


 * We are building a religion
 * A limited edition
 * We are now accepting callers
 * For these pendant key chains - Pyramid pendants.


 * To resist it is useless - Inquisition once again.
 * It is useless to resist it
 * His cigarette is burning
 * But he never seems to ash


 * He is grooming his poodle
 * He is living comfort eagle
 * You can meet at his location
 * But you'd better come with cash


 * Now his hat is on backwards
 * He can show you his tattoos - His scars.
 * He is in the music business
 * He is calling you "DUDE!"


 * Now today is tomorrow
 * And tomorrow today
 * And yesterday is weaving in and out


 * And the fluffy white lines
 * That the airplane leaves behind
 * Are drifting right in front
 * Of the waning of the moon


 * He is handling the money
 * He's serving the food - Literally servicing to food people...


 * He knows about your party
 * He is calling you "DUDE!"


 * Now do you believe
 * In the one big sign - Asking about beliefs...
 * The doublewide shine
 * On the bootheels of your prime


 * Doesn't matter if you're skinny - Him
 * Doesn't matter if you're fat - His fetish
 * You can dress up like a sultan
 * In your onion head hat - KEYWORD


 * We are building a religion
 * We are making a brand
 * We're the only ones to turn to
 * When your castles turn to sand


 * Take a bite of this apple
 * Mr. Corporate events
 * Take a walk through the jungle
 * Of cardboard shanties and tents


 * Some people drink Pepsi
 * Some people drink Coke
 * The wacky morning DJ - He has a radio show and is wacky meaning INSANE...
 * Says democracy's a joke - He's for dictatorship.


 * He says now do you believe
 * In the one big song
 * He's now accepting callers
 * Who would like to sing along


 * He says, do you believe
 * In the one true edge
 * By fastening your safety belts
 * And stepping towards the ledge


 * He is handling the money
 * He is serving the food
 * He is now accepting callers
 * He is calling me "DUDE!"


 * Do you believe
 * In the one big sign
 * The doublewide shine
 * On the bootheels of your prime


 * There's no need to ask directions
 * If you ever lose your mind
 * We're behind you
 * We're behind you
 * And let us please remind you
 * We can send a car to find you
 * If you ever lose your way - This sounds friendly, until you REALLY think about it. Just the way he appears...


 * We are building a religion


 * We are building it bigger


 * We are building


 * A religion


 * A limited


 * Edition


 * We are now accepting callers...
 * For these beautiful...
 * Pendant keychains

Lyrics featured here are from the song Comfort Eagle by Cake and is the property of its respective owners. -



Aside from Comfort Eagle, the other main inspiration for McCrea was the Spanish Inquisition, which is why his first name ended up being Cebolla (Spanish for "onion"). Another notable inspiration for McCrea would be the character Claude Frollo from Victor Hugo's novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame, namely Disney's portrayal of him. It could also be noted that he is very similar in looks to the Veggie Tales character simply referred to as Scallion #1, though no inspiration actually came from the character. Further inspirations for McCrea would come from characters portrayed by the actor Steve Buscemi, namely the character Carl Showalter from the Coen Brothers' film Fargo. This would lead to McCrea's canon "voice" being that of Buscemi's.

Development
McCrea has changed quite a bit in his few short years of existence. McCrea was originally made to be far darker and more unstable. It was even a major plot point that McCrea was a serial rapist and murder. Things began to change rapidly, however, as more characters were added to the story. Each one seemed to effect McCrea's behavior, ultimately mellowing him out for the better. After the additions of the characters Sarina and Nehemiah, McCrea actually began to become somewhat of a good guy. While McCrea still indulges in sadistic behavior and sexual deviousness, he's at least more balanced out now.

Backstory
Cebolla J. McCrea was born a bastard child, his father refusing to claim him since there was no real proof nor marriage between he and Marie, McCrea’s mother. Since Jeremiah was about the only chance of sanity in McCrea’s life, the kid never really had a chance. His mother was absolutely insane, more so than he himself is today. Most of her anger she took out on McCrea during his childhood, convincing him that he deserved it. They lived a life of poverty throughout his entire time with her.

Once he was old enough to realize her ways, he only stuck around for the sake of survival being greater in groups. He often tried to find ways to move out on his own and depend on himself for survival, trying to put his mom’s ways behind him, but had no real luck. He got mixed in with the “wrong crowd”, as they say, and found himself depending on a thug known only as Fletcher. Fletcher often used McCrea’s lack of survival resources against him, promising rewards in return for committing various crimes for him.

One such crime ended up getting McCrea arrested. Since he had failed his task, Fletcher took it upon himself to punish McCrea for it, cutting a scar over his right eye. Without the necessary means to tend to his wound, it soon became infected causing McCrea to become deathly ill. Just when all hope seemed lost, McCrea found himself at the stoop of a nearby cathedral where he met the good priest, Waldron Beverly.

Waldron took McCrea in and nursed him back to health. McCrea realized that if he left the church, he would just be going back to his old ways on the streets again alongside filth like Fletcher and his own mother. Noticing Waldron’s happiness that he had found in religion, McCrea decided that from there out, he would train to become a priest too. With this decision, he caught the attention of another nearby priest as well. This was Nehemiah Forester…

Nehemiah persuaded McCrea to train under him, convincing him that he had a more promising future under his teachings. While this was true to some extent, McCrea found Nehemiah’s work to be filled with corruption and sadism. He had now not only become a priest, but part of an inquisition to stop those against the religion he now stood for. While his heart told him to be against these ways, his brain knew that he would have to turn back to the streets otherwise. Deciding that this way was the lesser of two evils, he let corruption consume him.

At one point, his faith was tested when a prostitute named Joliet propositioned him. Ultimately trying to get back at Nehemiah for another dispute involving a woman, McCrea agreed. As this was McCrea's first experience in sexual intercourse, he developed a deep emotional attachment to Joliet. Unfortunately for him, Joliet just saw him as another John. After Joliet recognized him as a well known religious figure and realized he had some power, she blackmailed him into giving her money. She feared no retaliation from McCrea since he was so attached to her.

Desperate to keep Nehemiah from finding out about his promiscuity and to save his reputation, he sought the help of an underground businessman named Sickert. While he felt much grief in causing harm to the only person he ever felt "love" for, he knew Joliet needed to be silenced. Sickert agreed that he would not give any details on how he would get Joliet to be silent, but that he would do it. Needless to say, she was never heard from again. Little did McCrea know how largely Joliet being in his life would effect him.

NOTE: This part is still a work in progress, refer here for current time line.

Personality
Many words can be used to describe McCrea. “Insane”, “sadistic”, and “cunning” are just a few of those. However, only one word can sum him up altogether, and that’s “bitter”. He hates pretty much everything to some extent, and that’s because he’s bitter at the world due to the cruelty life has seemed to constantly deal him. He does have a good side deep in there somewhere, setting up obsessive emotional attachment to those who have actually shown him sincere kindness, but overall hides it. He considers his past life “dead” and doesn’t like showing any reminders of it, happiness included.

Marie McCrea
McCrea is the only child of Marie. Marie was accidentally impregnated with McCrea after she and Jeremiah had a brief affair. McCrea doesn't like to talk about his mother much due to severe mental and physical abuse she put him through. When he was younger and didn't know any better, he may have had some love for his mother, but started hating her as he entered his teen years. He apparently had a small sliver of love still left for her when he last saw her. She was surviving on the streets as a beggar at this time, and he tried to show her pity by attempting to give her money which she refused to take from him. A year later he read about her death by overdose in the paper, but had lost all love for her by then. He was not particularly upset by her death.

Jeremiah Freeborn
Jeremiah is McCrea's illegitimate father. He accidentally impregnated Marie, McCrea's mother, after the two had a brief affair. With no proof of DNA and no marriage between the two of them to keep things together, Jeremiah denied being McCrea's father and left Marie. Because of this, McCrea never got to know his father personally. All he had to go on was what Marie taught him, all of which was negative. Based on this and the feeling of abandonment, McCrea came to hate his father. Sometime in McCrea's teen years, Jeremiah ran into him and noticed how much of resemblance the two of them had. Considering that maybe Marie had been right, he took pity on McCrea and offered him some help, but McCrea refused it. Currently Jeremiah can be found lurking around the town normally residing in local bars.

Fletcher
Fletcher was only in McCrea's life briefly, but made a huge impact on it. As McCrea reached his teen years living on the street, he tried to find ways to become independent from his mother. One such way was working with Fletcher. Fletcher would often offer McCrea money and rewards for doing criminal work for him. One such job offered by Fletcher lead to McCrea's arrest, which upset Fletcher greatly in fear of being caught as well. To teach McCrea a lesson for nearly dragging him down with him, Fletcher made a huge cut over McCrea's right eye. The cut not only lead to McCrea's near death, but it has been an embarrassing reminder of his past ever since. McCrea has not seen Fletcher since that last encounter. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Waldron Beverly
Waldron was probably the only good influence in McCrea's life for a long time. After suffering the cut to his eye from Fletcher, McCrea's wound became horribly infected and caused McCrea to become ill. With his consciousness slipping and nowhere left to turn, he dragged himself to the steps of the closest church he could find as a last resort. That's where Waldron found him and tended to his wounds. Once McCrea regained consciousness and saw how happily Waldron lived, he too wanted to become a priest. Waldron agreed to help him reach his goal and trained McCrea under him for nearly a year before Nehemiah got wind of him and intervened. In the long run, McCrea should have stayed training under Waldron. Embarrassed on how his life had become so corrupt, McCrea cut off contact with Waldron to preserve the positive side Waldron saw in him.

Nehemiah Forester
Nehemiah and McCrea's relationship was very complicated. Originally, McCrea sought Nehemiah out to be the father figure he never had, trying his best to live up to Nehemiah's expectations. Nehemiah, however, was developing much different feelings. His feelings began to show themselves when he took great pleasure in harming McCrea. So much pleasure, in fact, that it was on the verge of fetishism. McCrea was blissfully unaware of this, however. Instead, he fought back with subtle one-upmanship, afraid to show any real hatred toward his superior. As the years went by, this only made the relationship between them very tense and aggressive. When Nehemiah finally did admit his feelings to McCrea (in a rather violent and traumatizing way), things only became more tense between the two. The fact that McCrea was obviously becoming attached to Sarina didn't help things either. Nehemiah started taking out his jealousy on McCrea, and eventually began targeting Sarina herself. Eventually Nehemiah pushed McCrea too far, causing McCrea to finally fight back. Nehemiah found a strange pleasure in McCrea's final stand, and refused to fight back. It ended with McCrea killing Nehemiah. He was arrested shortly after. It has been said by B. Roberts that if they were under different circumstances, they probably could have actually been best friends.

Sister Sara Johnson
Originally Sara was often left out of the loop by McCrea and Nehemiah. While McCrea had no hate toward Sara, he didn't tend to have any interest in her whatsoever. Ever-so-often he would seek friendship from her, but often as a last resort when he couldn't handle emotions himself. More or less the two tended to coexist peacefully and stick to their own business. After one of Nehemiah's abusive tactics in training McCrea left him horribly hurt, Sara was more than happy to help him despite being utterly confused and appalled by the occurrence. McCrea then explained some of the atrocities that he and Nehemiah had been up to, but didn't reveal it all to her. He then made her promise to keep the information to herself, which she reluctantly agreed to do. She and McCrea then returned to their normal routine of ignoring each other. As of yet, it has been undecided if Sara revealed any of her secrets in court against McCrea or not.

Joliet
Joilet was another brief character in McCrea's life that made quite an impact. While she only meant to enter McCrea's life for business purposes, she ended up making a severely emotional impression on him. She was unaware of McCrea's mental instability, and after taking his virginity she caused him to be obsessively attached to her. The situation became worse once she found out that he had some power over the city and was a well known religious figure. She used the information of her providing him sexual services as blackmail for money and power, knowing that McCrea was too attracted to her to retaliate in any way. This was ultimately her downfall, as McCrea became desperate to keep this secret from the overbearing Nehemiah. She met her fate after McCrea hired an underground businessman named Sickert to keep her quiet. To this day McCrea still feels an emotional attachment to her and laments on how the situation went down.

Sickert
As McCrea lead quite the underground life in torturing and killing victims daily in the name of his religion, he needed an underground businessman to cover up anything that might have upset his public. That where Sickert came in. McCrea first hired Sickert to quiet the rumors of his relationship with Joliet, and kept returning to him when some of his religious escapades went awry. He even ended up going to Sickert to have Screw assassinated for continuously interfering with his life. Between the two, their relationship was strictly business. McCrea might have seen Sickert as somewhat of a friend at times, but remained very careful as he knew how underhanded Sickert was. This was probably the best idea in the long run, as Sickert could have provided quite the evidence against him in court. Alas, given the activity Sickert participated in, he was probably nowhere near the trial when it happened.

Sarina Tisdale


It must be noted that Sarina was not a character created by B. Roberts. Originally made for the Sweetsville plot by Starr Myers (commonly know as iSpazzyKitty on deviantART), B. Roberts and Starr agreed to have Sarina become a positive influence in McCrea's life as a close friend and borderline love interest. McCrea first noticed Sarina when she was singing at a bar. After he and Screw got into a fight at said bar, Sarina stepped in and broke them up. This lead McCrea and Sarina to engage in conversation and get to know each other better. Upon doing so, it also turned out that they knew each other briefly in their childhood. They soon began to rekindle their friendship, and after some time it even turned into somewhat of a soft romance. The ultimate thing keeping them from being together was McCrea's vow of celibacy and the jealous Nehemiah. Tension from it all finally lead to Nehemiah pushing McCrea too far, and McCrea killed Nehemiah in a mainly one-sided fight. It was soon after that that he was arrested. Their relationship ended in tragedy as Sarina got to see McCrea a final time before he was executed.

Silas Green
Since Silas was more or less looked after by Sister Sara, McCrea never bothered to build much of a relationship with him. If anything, McCrea often viewed Silas as a distraction to keep Sara busy and out of his and Nehemiah's business. When he actually had to socialize with Silas in any way, McCrea thought of him as a burden and never took sympathies on his disabilities. It wasn't so much that McCrea was a cruel person (which he was anyway), but because McCrea may have felt bitterness or jealousy toward Silas. No one cared for him, so he cared for no one else back regardless of handicaps or not. Between the two, though, things are mostly indifferent.

Screw
Screw was essentially a thorn in McCrea's side. Their hatred for each other started when McCrea put Screw through a torture session and made him false repent. Once Screw caught McCrea out in public after the event, he sought vengeance and beat McCrea pretty good in a fight until Sarina broke them up. Later on, McCrea had Sickert send out an assassin after Screw to get him out of McCrea's life for good, but it failed. Deciding he wasn't worth the trouble and too stupid to oppose as a threat, the assassination was called off. The two of them often had petty arguments upon running into each other from there on out, though Screw was no longer very important to McCrea's storyline and more or less went off into a storyline of his own.

Other
Other random facts about McCrea include:


 * He is 5'6" in height.
 * He weighs 117lbs.
 * His favorite colors has been noted several times as being black.
 * His name meanings include:
 * Cebolla: Spanish word for "onion".
 * Jeremiah: The Lord exalts.
 * McCrea: Son of grace.


 * He has a secret love for the band No Doubt.
 * The original voice B. Roberts had in mind for McCrea was that of Geddy Lee, inspired mostly by the Rush song The Temples Of Syrinx from the album 2112. After seeing it was an obvious mismatch, however, she dropped the idea.
 * Music that inspires B. Roberts to draw McCrea includes songs by My Chemical Romance, Alice Cooper, music from the Watchmen soundtrack, the Moral Orel soundtrack, and soundtracks from Tarantino films.