"I like my men tall, handsome and... dead."
This is my entry for challenge 42 at landofart.
Your Top 5 Characters. Listed and numbered.
Now. I realized fairly quickly that I would never be able to rationally pick my top 5 characters and list those from 5 to 1. Besides, I don't believe in numbers on lists unless there is a 1. in front of my name or a large sum + behind it.
Thus, I picked at random. Don't get me wrong, these characters have all the right to be on this list. But so have roughly a dozen other characters whom I had to leave out.
The subject line... lol, it's something Zev Bellringer once said in the series Lexx.
Admittedly, not all of my favorite characters are men. Not all are tall. But when I look over the entire list, I must say that almost all are dead at some point of their lives.
[Anyway, I liked this challenge so much I'll do more stuff on my other favorite characters once I have some more time. I can hear you all cheer.]
And now... it's almost 4am and I have written more than I should have. If you chose to go beeath the cut, you'll have to bear with some late night rambling, some of it corny, some of it unsensible. Probably.
5. Deunan Knute from the Cyberpunk manga Appleseed by Masamune Shirow.
She was the first woman ever I saw naked. ... No, that was not the best way to start... bear with me, it's late/early.
But it's true nontheless. It hasn't got much to do with why she's on this list though.
A couple of days ago I finally saw Appleseed Ex Machina. It's beautiful. Through and through. Computegenerated. And gorgeous.
A strong experienced fighter, smart and confident, a sweet woman, at times behaving even sort of girly, despite living alone with only her Cyborg partner, in a devastated country, in a war that has long ended. And then they're suddenly thrust in a wonderful new society.
Deunan was the heroine of the first manga I ever bought. I still remember the feeling I had when I saw it on the shelf. God. THAT was what I saw. And I had this impression of calm, of comfort and safety despite being all alone, despite some bigger danger looming somewhere.
4. Arnold Judas Rimmer from the mining ship Red Dwarf.
I consider him terribly terribly comforting. He's a major failure at almost everything, socially, profesionally, whatnot. (You see why I feel like familiarity? Lol.) No matter how bad things are, they CAN get worse. They MUST get worse for him. And they will. And yet, as long as you exist... *shrugs* I have no idea how to finish that sentence. But I think that's exactly the point. To hell with it.
... I mean it's like looking into one of these magic mirrors at a fair, you know? Parts of you are blown out of proportion in an entirely too grotesque way. ... But it's you.
Not to mention I really really fancy him. No, I mean REALLY.
You'll see much more of him yet.
3. Iolaus from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
Hercules' best friend since childhood, his companion.
Iolaus has more virtues and vices than I can list here at this hour.
He's the kind of person you want to know, the kind of person you want to be. As human as it gets, in the best of ways. Mostly. And a hero in his own right.
He died a lot.... I cried every single time. But you get used to him being ressurected, and then suddenly... ;___;
2. Oscar François de Jarjayes from the manga The Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda.
I read the manga only years after watching the anime though, and I prefer the latter.
Oscar is born roughly 30 years before the French Revolution and raised by her father as a boy; the Commander of the Royal Guards has only daughters and needs a heir.
She inherits her father's title and during her first assignment escorts and saves Marie Antoinette and the royal family from an attack.
That's how it starts.
Oscar is an amazing, strong (and headstrong) character, noble and good, witty, a sparkling personality, who will stand for what she believes is right and make the necessary choices no matter the consequences. She's not without fault, coming from a noble family it takes her some time to understand what the situation is like for the people who do not have it as good as her. She's not above falling for the wrong man and is blind to the one who spends his entire life quietly at her side.
The end of her story has me in tears even now while I'm typing this.
1. G'Kar fom the 'space soap opera' Babylon 5. The best TV show ever.
I... don't know how to speak of him. Like the entire series he's had an immense impact on me. He is growth, development, the path from war and hate through suffering, sacrifice, humour, to final enlightenment and wisdom impersonated. Starting off as a bitter, vengeful extremist and growing into a wise leader and a religious icon.
He's an inspiration.
In all that he is he blew me away. I don't know if there has even be better, character, in any meaning of this expression. Anywhere.
Here is an amazing video made in his the late Andreas Katsulas' honour.
Your Top 5 Characters. Listed and numbered.
Now. I realized fairly quickly that I would never be able to rationally pick my top 5 characters and list those from 5 to 1. Besides, I don't believe in numbers on lists unless there is a 1. in front of my name or a large sum + behind it.
Thus, I picked at random. Don't get me wrong, these characters have all the right to be on this list. But so have roughly a dozen other characters whom I had to leave out.
The subject line... lol, it's something Zev Bellringer once said in the series Lexx.
Admittedly, not all of my favorite characters are men. Not all are tall. But when I look over the entire list, I must say that almost all are dead at some point of their lives.
[Anyway, I liked this challenge so much I'll do more stuff on my other favorite characters once I have some more time. I can hear you all cheer.]
And now... it's almost 4am and I have written more than I should have. If you chose to go beeath the cut, you'll have to bear with some late night rambling, some of it corny, some of it unsensible. Probably.
5. Deunan Knute from the Cyberpunk manga Appleseed by Masamune Shirow.
She was the first woman ever I saw naked. ... No, that was not the best way to start... bear with me, it's late/early.
But it's true nontheless. It hasn't got much to do with why she's on this list though.
A couple of days ago I finally saw Appleseed Ex Machina. It's beautiful. Through and through. Computegenerated. And gorgeous.
A strong experienced fighter, smart and confident, a sweet woman, at times behaving even sort of girly, despite living alone with only her Cyborg partner, in a devastated country, in a war that has long ended. And then they're suddenly thrust in a wonderful new society.
Deunan was the heroine of the first manga I ever bought. I still remember the feeling I had when I saw it on the shelf. God. THAT was what I saw. And I had this impression of calm, of comfort and safety despite being all alone, despite some bigger danger looming somewhere.
4. Arnold Judas Rimmer from the mining ship Red Dwarf.
I consider him terribly terribly comforting. He's a major failure at almost everything, socially, profesionally, whatnot. (You see why I feel like familiarity? Lol.) No matter how bad things are, they CAN get worse. They MUST get worse for him. And they will. And yet, as long as you exist... *shrugs* I have no idea how to finish that sentence. But I think that's exactly the point. To hell with it.
... I mean it's like looking into one of these magic mirrors at a fair, you know? Parts of you are blown out of proportion in an entirely too grotesque way. ... But it's you.
Not to mention I really really fancy him. No, I mean REALLY.
You'll see much more of him yet.
3. Iolaus from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
Hercules' best friend since childhood, his companion.
Iolaus has more virtues and vices than I can list here at this hour.
He's the kind of person you want to know, the kind of person you want to be. As human as it gets, in the best of ways. Mostly. And a hero in his own right.
He died a lot.... I cried every single time. But you get used to him being ressurected, and then suddenly... ;___;
2. Oscar François de Jarjayes from the manga The Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda.
I read the manga only years after watching the anime though, and I prefer the latter.
Oscar is born roughly 30 years before the French Revolution and raised by her father as a boy; the Commander of the Royal Guards has only daughters and needs a heir.
She inherits her father's title and during her first assignment escorts and saves Marie Antoinette and the royal family from an attack.
That's how it starts.
Oscar is an amazing, strong (and headstrong) character, noble and good, witty, a sparkling personality, who will stand for what she believes is right and make the necessary choices no matter the consequences. She's not without fault, coming from a noble family it takes her some time to understand what the situation is like for the people who do not have it as good as her. She's not above falling for the wrong man and is blind to the one who spends his entire life quietly at her side.
The end of her story has me in tears even now while I'm typing this.
1. G'Kar fom the 'space soap opera' Babylon 5. The best TV show ever.
I... don't know how to speak of him. Like the entire series he's had an immense impact on me. He is growth, development, the path from war and hate through suffering, sacrifice, humour, to final enlightenment and wisdom impersonated. Starting off as a bitter, vengeful extremist and growing into a wise leader and a religious icon.
He's an inspiration.
In all that he is he blew me away. I don't know if there has even be better, character, in any meaning of this expression. Anywhere.
Here is an amazing video made in his the late Andreas Katsulas' honour.