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Continuation of the 5-characters-beginning-with-letter meme here: http://icarus-chained.livejournal.com/41948.html?view=345052#t345052
Because the formatting on that entry has gone screwy on me. Anyway!
1) Harry Dresden, from the Dresden Files (bookverse): This is the magician named Harry I actually liked. Part noir detective, part wiseass, large dose of hero-who-thinks-he-ain't, and a generous sprinkling of humour to top it off. Add in some fabulous cynicism, and a range of wonderfully complex relationships with those around him, and a relatively young mastery of magic that mostly involves shoving a lot of power through simple spells used in inventive ways ... Harry's just generally the kind of magical hero I love to wander around with.
2) Hakkai, from Saiyuki: I adore Hakkai. He's very Alfred in a lot of ways, polite, dignified, takes of the kiddies of all ages ... but underneath that there is such pain and ... well. He's quite tragic. But he works through it. And I love how utterly badass he is. I mean, he took out a thousand youkai before his transformation. He can go toe to toe with Goku, when both are transformed. Plus, you just gotta admire a man who can put up living with *Gojyo* on a full-time basis. That stretchs the limits of anyone's patience! Mother-hen, badass, tragic soul. Lovely.
3) Han Solo, from ... duh. Star Wars: Because he really was the reason you loved the originals. Him and Vader. Because he was smart, wisecracking, and so sweet. He was such a softie at heart, and everyone knew it, no matter how much he tried to deny it. And sorry, but when he was frozen ... I cried. So sue me!
4) Hades, from Greek Myth: Because he was ... grim and lonely and unforgiving and hopelessly in love. Because he got the shitty end of the deal when the realms were handed out, and he damn well did his duty despite it all. Because he was moved by music, and fought to protect his wife. Because, unlike his brother, he wasn't a cheating, lecherous bastard. Okay, the bastard part ... but not the rest. Because he was one of my favourite people in myths.
5) Hannibal, as in John Smith, from A-Team: forget Murdock. Hannibal was the real nutjob of this outfit. Murdock talked to the voices in his head. Hannibal went out and damn well shot them! But he was a good commander, and he held his team together through it all. He looked out for them. His men meant something to him. And he respected a good enemy. A-Team was crappy, and enjoyable, and fun, and Hannibal was a large part of the reason why.
1) Scotty, from ST:TOS : because he lived life. He really did. He loved a good bottle, he loved a good woman, he lived and breathed for his ship. He always gave himself a cushion, and it never made him less of a miracle worker. It just made him a sensible miracle worker. And he was a genius, which I think is often overlooked. He kept a ship under them so they could have all those cool adventures, and he could command her as well as fix her when pushed. He's just a man you gotta respect.
2) Sanzo, from Saiyuki: Chain-smoking, gun-carrying, foul-mouthed Buddhist priest. Which somehow manages not to be a massive contradiction in terms.Sanzo's philosophy on life is screwy, but it works. And I love that he adores Goku, and cares about the other two, but would never dream of showing it. He's sorta the dad to Hakkai's mom. And also not, because any kid with Sanzo as a parent ... um. And his past, his relationship with the sensei he lost ... Deep, complex. A bastard, but you root for him.
3) Sherlock Holmes, from ditto: He's the single most arrogant, egotistical and oblivious human being I've ever met. He hasn't the slightest clue how to deal with people. He regularly treats his best friend like shit without even realising it. If I'd been Watson, I would have clocked him a hundred times over. And like Watson, I love him to pieces. Because there's a certain innocence about Holmes, despite his intelligence, despite the crime he lives with. He's ... kinda cute, in his way.
4) Splinter-sensei, from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: This is me and the rat sage thing again. But come on! Splinter rocked! The patience, the caring, the ability to soundly kick ass if someone so much as looked at his boys funny (Or if one of his boys stepped wrong) ... Plus ... he put family first, above revenge, above his own skill as a warrior, above everything. And you gotta admire a four-foot giant rat who manages to stow away with four excitable baby turtles on a ship all the way from America to Japan, and not be found. I mean, that is some serious ninja skill!
5) Sandokan, from the animated series: The Tiger of Mayalasia. Literally. A pirate tiger prince. What's not to love? Okay, this was a kid's show. Everything was explained 16 times over for the sake of the slow, the plots were ... shaky, the animation wonky ... it was fabulous! I never liked the romance with Marianne, but that was because I was of an age where it was the adventure I loved, not the romance, and now ... it's tawdry. But the honourable pirate prince I still love, even now.
1) Picard, Jean-Luc, from ST:TNG: When I first met him, I hated him. I thought he was a boring old stick-in-the-mud, and when a character test told me the character I best matched was him, I was terribly insulted. But ... over time ... he's a real captain. He's a real diplomat. He can hold his own in a crisis. He has severe interpersonal issues, true, but ... he does learn from his mistakes. He can put aside his pride when he has to, something I have yet to manage. I still wouldn't say I like him, but I cannot help but respect him. And he and Q make a lovely couple, of course ;)
2) Piccolo, from Dragonball Z: He's my second facourite, after Vegeta. Piccolo is grim and stand-offish, elitist and sarcastic. He's also loyal and proud, and would give his life a hundred times over for his friends, and especially for Gohan. His relationship with the little squirt, the softening you see in him as he grows to care for the kid he's teaching ... it's a beautiful thing. As are his little spats with everyone else in range, but that's just because I like the calmly snarky ones.
3) Pippin, from Lord of the Rings: Of all the stories after the sundering of the Fellowship, Pippin's was the one I followed most eagerly. If Sam is loyalty and love incarnate, and Frodo will incarnate, then Pippin and Merry are courage incarnate, with an extra edge of deviousness for Pip. The fool of a Took, who managed to run from the Uruk-hai long enough to leave Aragorn a sign, who face Sauron himself in the palantir, who stood by Faramir to the bitter end. And through all that, managed to never lose his sense of humour, his love of life. Pip is, I think, the ultimate hobbit.
4) Perrin, from Wheel of Time: I have three favs in this series, Mat, Nynaeve, and Perrin. Perrin, the wolf blacksmith. I loved his story, the conflict within him between the need to build as a blacksmith, and the need to fight that was so often forced on him. I love the depth of his love for Faile. I love his honour, releasing Gaul simply because he could not stand to see a man caged. Perrin is a simple man forced to make complex choices, and he does his best to stand for those he cares for.
5) Poirot, Hercule, from Agatha Christie's books: I must admit that the first incarnation of the egotistical Belgian detective was David Suchet's version on the screen. And I fell in love with him. We called him the 'roly poly man', the arrogant little detective with an ego so big it was a wonder he didn't sink under its weight, and a strange gentility that showed most when he was confronted with women. And then I read the books, and enjoyed them just as much. But I wasn't so fond of Ustinov's version, because I felt he lost the gentility and retained only the arrogance. No. The roly poly man all the way!
Because the formatting on that entry has gone screwy on me. Anyway!
1) Harry Dresden, from the Dresden Files (bookverse): This is the magician named Harry I actually liked. Part noir detective, part wiseass, large dose of hero-who-thinks-he-ain't, and a generous sprinkling of humour to top it off. Add in some fabulous cynicism, and a range of wonderfully complex relationships with those around him, and a relatively young mastery of magic that mostly involves shoving a lot of power through simple spells used in inventive ways ... Harry's just generally the kind of magical hero I love to wander around with.
2) Hakkai, from Saiyuki: I adore Hakkai. He's very Alfred in a lot of ways, polite, dignified, takes of the kiddies of all ages ... but underneath that there is such pain and ... well. He's quite tragic. But he works through it. And I love how utterly badass he is. I mean, he took out a thousand youkai before his transformation. He can go toe to toe with Goku, when both are transformed. Plus, you just gotta admire a man who can put up living with *Gojyo* on a full-time basis. That stretchs the limits of anyone's patience! Mother-hen, badass, tragic soul. Lovely.
3) Han Solo, from ... duh. Star Wars: Because he really was the reason you loved the originals. Him and Vader. Because he was smart, wisecracking, and so sweet. He was such a softie at heart, and everyone knew it, no matter how much he tried to deny it. And sorry, but when he was frozen ... I cried. So sue me!
4) Hades, from Greek Myth: Because he was ... grim and lonely and unforgiving and hopelessly in love. Because he got the shitty end of the deal when the realms were handed out, and he damn well did his duty despite it all. Because he was moved by music, and fought to protect his wife. Because, unlike his brother, he wasn't a cheating, lecherous bastard. Okay, the bastard part ... but not the rest. Because he was one of my favourite people in myths.
5) Hannibal, as in John Smith, from A-Team: forget Murdock. Hannibal was the real nutjob of this outfit. Murdock talked to the voices in his head. Hannibal went out and damn well shot them! But he was a good commander, and he held his team together through it all. He looked out for them. His men meant something to him. And he respected a good enemy. A-Team was crappy, and enjoyable, and fun, and Hannibal was a large part of the reason why.
1) Scotty, from ST:TOS : because he lived life. He really did. He loved a good bottle, he loved a good woman, he lived and breathed for his ship. He always gave himself a cushion, and it never made him less of a miracle worker. It just made him a sensible miracle worker. And he was a genius, which I think is often overlooked. He kept a ship under them so they could have all those cool adventures, and he could command her as well as fix her when pushed. He's just a man you gotta respect.
2) Sanzo, from Saiyuki: Chain-smoking, gun-carrying, foul-mouthed Buddhist priest. Which somehow manages not to be a massive contradiction in terms.Sanzo's philosophy on life is screwy, but it works. And I love that he adores Goku, and cares about the other two, but would never dream of showing it. He's sorta the dad to Hakkai's mom. And also not, because any kid with Sanzo as a parent ... um. And his past, his relationship with the sensei he lost ... Deep, complex. A bastard, but you root for him.
3) Sherlock Holmes, from ditto: He's the single most arrogant, egotistical and oblivious human being I've ever met. He hasn't the slightest clue how to deal with people. He regularly treats his best friend like shit without even realising it. If I'd been Watson, I would have clocked him a hundred times over. And like Watson, I love him to pieces. Because there's a certain innocence about Holmes, despite his intelligence, despite the crime he lives with. He's ... kinda cute, in his way.
4) Splinter-sensei, from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: This is me and the rat sage thing again. But come on! Splinter rocked! The patience, the caring, the ability to soundly kick ass if someone so much as looked at his boys funny (Or if one of his boys stepped wrong) ... Plus ... he put family first, above revenge, above his own skill as a warrior, above everything. And you gotta admire a four-foot giant rat who manages to stow away with four excitable baby turtles on a ship all the way from America to Japan, and not be found. I mean, that is some serious ninja skill!
5) Sandokan, from the animated series: The Tiger of Mayalasia. Literally. A pirate tiger prince. What's not to love? Okay, this was a kid's show. Everything was explained 16 times over for the sake of the slow, the plots were ... shaky, the animation wonky ... it was fabulous! I never liked the romance with Marianne, but that was because I was of an age where it was the adventure I loved, not the romance, and now ... it's tawdry. But the honourable pirate prince I still love, even now.
1) Picard, Jean-Luc, from ST:TNG: When I first met him, I hated him. I thought he was a boring old stick-in-the-mud, and when a character test told me the character I best matched was him, I was terribly insulted. But ... over time ... he's a real captain. He's a real diplomat. He can hold his own in a crisis. He has severe interpersonal issues, true, but ... he does learn from his mistakes. He can put aside his pride when he has to, something I have yet to manage. I still wouldn't say I like him, but I cannot help but respect him. And he and Q make a lovely couple, of course ;)
2) Piccolo, from Dragonball Z: He's my second facourite, after Vegeta. Piccolo is grim and stand-offish, elitist and sarcastic. He's also loyal and proud, and would give his life a hundred times over for his friends, and especially for Gohan. His relationship with the little squirt, the softening you see in him as he grows to care for the kid he's teaching ... it's a beautiful thing. As are his little spats with everyone else in range, but that's just because I like the calmly snarky ones.
3) Pippin, from Lord of the Rings: Of all the stories after the sundering of the Fellowship, Pippin's was the one I followed most eagerly. If Sam is loyalty and love incarnate, and Frodo will incarnate, then Pippin and Merry are courage incarnate, with an extra edge of deviousness for Pip. The fool of a Took, who managed to run from the Uruk-hai long enough to leave Aragorn a sign, who face Sauron himself in the palantir, who stood by Faramir to the bitter end. And through all that, managed to never lose his sense of humour, his love of life. Pip is, I think, the ultimate hobbit.
4) Perrin, from Wheel of Time: I have three favs in this series, Mat, Nynaeve, and Perrin. Perrin, the wolf blacksmith. I loved his story, the conflict within him between the need to build as a blacksmith, and the need to fight that was so often forced on him. I love the depth of his love for Faile. I love his honour, releasing Gaul simply because he could not stand to see a man caged. Perrin is a simple man forced to make complex choices, and he does his best to stand for those he cares for.
5) Poirot, Hercule, from Agatha Christie's books: I must admit that the first incarnation of the egotistical Belgian detective was David Suchet's version on the screen. And I fell in love with him. We called him the 'roly poly man', the arrogant little detective with an ego so big it was a wonder he didn't sink under its weight, and a strange gentility that showed most when he was confronted with women. And then I read the books, and enjoyed them just as much. But I wasn't so fond of Ustinov's version, because I felt he lost the gentility and retained only the arrogance. No. The roly poly man all the way!
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