Thinking About Characters

[zukkokya]

A while back I made a list of my favorite characters for autobiographical purposes (and because my Facebook profile was looking a little barren). I expected a lot of variety, but it seems as if I tend to gravitate to the same breed of character over and over.

Behold!

The Characters I Like Best

Leonard McCoy (of Star Trek 2009 - TOS is currently unwatched)
Paris Geller (Gilmore Girls)
Sophia Petrillo (Golden Girls)
Owen Harper (Torchwood)
Georgia Lass (Dead Like Me)
Ray Kowalski (due South)
Arthur, King (Merlin)
Sirius Black (Harry Potter)
Gregory House (House M.D.)
Stuart Dakin (The History Boys)
Rodney McKay (Stargate Atlantis)
Sanzo (Saiyuki)
Brian Kinney (Queer as Folk US)
Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist)
CJ Cregg (The West Wing)
Dean Winchester (Supernatural)
Dr. Cox (Scrubs)
Stuart Allen Jones (Queer as Folk UK)

So, yeah.

Basically, the most common traits of my favorite characters usually include: smart, freakishly smart, obnoxiously smart, sarcastic, obnoxiously sarcastic, very few trusted friends, stubborn, loyal, committed to their point of view

And lo, I discovered that my favorite characters are essentially ruthlessly blunt, kind-hearted smartasses. Ah, my role models.

But then, before I could feel like too much of a badass myself, I realized that I do have other favorite characters. I call them the Anomalies (I imagine that's also the name they use when they go bowling together).

Characters I Like Best and Who Generally Have Better People Skills

Zoe (Firefly)
Ryuichi (Gravitation)
Pippin (Lord of the Rings)
Mercutio (Romeo & Juliet)
Doyler (At Swim Two Boys)
Howl (Howl's Moving Castle)
Shawn (Psych)

Far fewer of them, but they do exist! Strangely, their traits are far more varied. One is childish while another is cowardly. One is flippant and another is rebellious. One is facetious and another is levelheaded. They're not only different from the glorious smartasses above, they're different from each other. Meaning: if all of them were put into a pie chart, the snarky folks would have a nice, broad wedge and all the rest would have their own individual slices.

I considered digging deep into my soul and making connections between myself and my favorite characters, but I'm content with ruthlessly blunt, kind-hearted smartass.

Comments

[jain]

At Swim, Two Boys! I love that book so much. (Even though it does make me sob my eyes out.)

[pinkpapyrus.livejournal.com]

I actually didn't expect to! I started reading it when I was fourteen and stopped because I got spoiled for the ending and at the time, I refused to read gaylit without a happy ending. But, man. I found a copy at a hotel in Ireland this summer and spent the next four hours in a daze thinking, Denial denial denial happy ending happy ending denial DENIAL! la la la!

Gorgeous, mind-devouring book.

[ilanala]

I don't know about all the characters on your exceptions list, but I'd say Zoe and Pippin are kind of snarky, even if Zoe is snarky in an extremely deadpan way. (And you, I must say, aren't nearly as much of a smartass as I might expect from someone with characters like that as role models. XD)

There was a meme going around at one point where you list your favorite ships and people tell you what commonalities they see in that list. It could be fun to do the same kind of things for characters (and it would be easier for me to do given my fail at shipping).

[pinkpapyrus.livejournal.com]

I used to get in a lot of trouble for being a smartass, so I tried to tone it down. But I didn't really want to tone it down, so I just channeled my caustic urges into writing dialogue for smartasses. I pretend to this day to be fully rehabilitated.

That ship meme would be interesting. Hmm! I am having thinky thoughts...

What are some of your favorite characters?

[ilanala]

That explains a lot. XD And I think being a bit of a smartass is okay, really.

I'm trying to think who I like in the things you mentioned. Arthur is my favorite in Merlin. Wilson, probably, for House. Ed in FMA. Frodo in LotR. Oh, right, here is a list I made before. In general, I like smart, snarky geeks with issues. XD

[pinkpapyrus.livejournal.com]

Animorphs! Have we ever talked about this before? That's the series that got me hooked on reading. And Tobias is also my favorite character. (Poor kid. His issues have issues.)

[ilanala]

A little bit, I think. I was a bit too old for Animorphs to get me into reading, but it's more or less what got me into fandom waaaay back in the day. XD I love the snark in those books. And I love Tobias and his many, many issues. (My sister and I decided that when someone's that messed up, they don't have issues, they have subscriptions. XD)

[pinkpapyrus.livejournal.com]

I didn't realize just how bad he had it until I read TVTropes's take on his life:

What’s that Tobias? Lost your humanity? Stuck in an intergalactic war at age fourteen? Found out Your dad was an alien prince and so you were thiiiis close to being raised in luxury with alien superpowers but instead got dumped on earth with school bullies and a family who don't even notice you're gone? Found this out after you got to watch the big bad eat your real dad alive? Forced to live off of rats? Tortured until you've devolved Stockholm syndrome? Daily risk of your friends being killed by aliens? Mob of crows stole your lunch again? Cheer up, Emohawk. What have you got to whine about?

Ah, Rachel/Tobias. How I miss you.

I'd love to read them again now that I'm older, even though I remember feeling kind of cheated by the series' ending.

[ilanala]

And people said he whined too much. XD

I'd stopped paying close attention to the series by the time it ended, so even though I read the ending, I just kind of ignore it. (Book series I liked as a kid ending badly prepared me well for jdramas.) Though I did find it amusing that Marco moved to Santa Barbara. XD I still have the books sitting in my closet and I reread some a couple of years ago. The style is pretty juvenile, but I still enjoyed some of the stories.

[pinkpapyrus.livejournal.com]

I remember the moment my Animorphs enthusiasm started to taper off. It was when Rachel died, but it wasn't her death that did it. I'd heard someone was going to die, and I didn't hold out much hope for Rachel's survival.

It was that, when she died, she told us she died. In first person. In past tense.

I still cringe.

[ilanala]

Have you ever seen Godspell? The dramatic ending song involves "I'm dying" being said repeatedly, and then finally "I'm dead". It's even worse when it's in song. XD

But yeah, I can see how that would be problematic. First person narration just doesn't work for certain things...

[pinkpapyrus.livejournal.com]

Oh, jeez. See, that wouldn't be out of place in a Monty Python sketch. Then again, most things wouldn't be out of place in a Monty Python sketch.