Another thing that comes to mind to me is a certain deliberate irony. After all, who believes in God more than the Devil himself (or herself, as the case may be)? Maybe she takes the name to intentionally mock Him.
Or, perhaps she's somewhat delusional and truly believes that she is the actual Devil. Alternately, maybe she thinks that she is as close to the true Devil as is likely to exist. Maybe anyone who's sufficiently evil can qualify as the Devil.
Or like you said, perhaps she just uses the name because she knows it's likely to scare the living hell out of people. You said she's a somewhat devout Christian - is her faith sincere, or just a facade?
(By the way, I quite like the idea. )
edited 26th Nov '14 12:58:28 PM by RBluefish
"We'll take the next chance, and the next, until we win, or the chances are spent."Maybe this character identifies strongly with Lucifer's fate as a Fallen Angel. Maybe she thinks she's fallen from the grace of God and this in turn would justify in her mind all the evil she does (because if you're Satan, you're supposed to be evil, right?).
You could even combine this with R. Bluefish's second point and make her think she actually is the Devil.
edited 26th Nov '14 1:18:43 PM by Paradisesnake
She is sincere about her faith which just make the challenge of character writing more difficult and the end result more satisfying.
EDIT: She ain't insane. Because leaders who go mad quickly meet their demise in my story. My character accepts her ultimate fate with grace (and a smirk).
edited 26th Nov '14 1:24:10 PM by Worlder
She could be going poetic about it and say the Devil has a function in this world, to tempt Man and oppose God, just as criminals have a role to play in society as opposite to cops.
A logic pathway akin to this (warning: spoilers for season 3 of Person of Interest)
edited 26th Nov '14 3:03:24 PM by Gaon
"All you Fascists bound to lose."There's a certain conception of the devil who does evil as a divine duty - so that good people may have the opportunity to resist temptation, and to be a dramatic warning against others who would do evil themselves. (I thought this was associated with Manichaeism, but I misremembered. I don't know which religion or heresy developed it.)
It's relatively mainstream, though, now that I think about it. A Devil who rules hell as a dictatorial warden is in a similar position.
edited 26th Nov '14 8:51:54 PM by Noaqiyeum
The Revolution Will Not Be TropeableI've been thinking about what this character would despise and I was thinking zealots and hypocrites.
People who claim they act in the interest of a greater good, but they are either taking extreme measures to achieve them or are just plain not practicing what they preach.
This character knows that she is not a good person towards a large portion of society and will never try to hide that fact. Those that served under her for many years also acknowledge they are not good people.
1) She could have been raised to believe she was the Devil, and the Bible was written about her.
Warning: This poster is known to the state of California to cause cancer. Cancer may not be available in your country.To be faithful is different from adhering to that faith. Some people manage to acknowledge that difference in themselves; most just go around harassing people they think aren't faithful enough.
Nous restons ici.She can THINK she is whatever she wants, but she can't BE a Christian and also believe she's the Devil. To be a Christian, she would have to believe that Jesus died to save her from the Devil, who is not only God's enemy but hers as well. She would HAVE to be insane to think of herself as the Devil and at the same time think it a good thing that God plans to throw her kingdom into the lake of fire after the final battle. She can't be both, unless you're gonna change the central doctrine of Christianity – and if you're gonna do that, you might as well not call it Christianity at all.
Level 3 Social Justice Necromancer. Chaotic Good."Truly, thou must have been wicked, else I would not have been sent to punish thee."
—Gengis Khan (attributed)
Now everyone pat me on the back and tell me how clever I am!Perhaps she believes in god and hates the guy? She could be a devout Maltheist, who just so happens to have the target of her hate being the christian god.
That could work.
Or she could believe she's the devil as presented in the new testament (but she can't also be a Christian). Maybe she believes she was literally an angel once. What if she even (thought she) had memories of her former life.
Level 3 Social Justice Necromancer. Chaotic Good.
I feel that this character trait has some potential to be fleshed out.
Basically, the Villain Protagonist is a criminal mastermind who occasionally refers to herself as the Devil, because of all the pain and suffering that she would inflict upon the world. Said criminal mastermind is also a somewhat devout Christian, who carries a Bible where ever she goes.
The thing I'm missing here is the "why". Why does this character have choose such a title despite being a person of faith?
So far I have something like Bruce Wayne adopting the bat-motif despite his fear of bats. But I'm not sure how well the audience would accept that explanation.
edited 26th Nov '14 12:44:30 PM by Worlder