1. First Fictional Crush
From f_m_r_l:
I've never had a crush, per se on a character, but the first fictional character I was ever drawn to was Dodger, from Oliver and Company. I liked him because he was tough on the outside but had a heart of gold on the inside. And then, when he got hurt (protecting someone else, mind you), he was still tough.
That seems to be a theme with all my favorite characters. I like them older with a bit of history--the tougher, the better. People who've gone through hard times and come out more solidly in the end. As someone once said, the only purpose of pain is to give you empathy, and the characters who gain that are the most appealing to me. I'm a firm believer that cynics are just disappointed idealists, and well-timed sarcasm/dry wit are ambrosia. I'm looking at you, Rodney McKay; learn a sense of timing.
I also really like characters with a sense of duty. Doctors, policemen, firemen, basically public servants of any shape and size. I like them tired, beleaguered and well-worn, but also steadfast, dependable, and resolute. I don't understand flouncy types, or self-aggrandizing types, or clueless gormless types. I'll take Bones McCoy over Captain Kirk, Inspector Lestrade or Dr. Watson over Sherlock Holmes, Jethro Gibbs over Tony DiNozzo, and Sergeant Lewis over Inspector Morse any day of the week and twice on Sundays.
Basically, if you write me an older character with a complex past whose heart is as big as their intellect in a position to help people, I'm hooked. If you then add a huge dollop of h/c, I'm yours forever.
I've never had a crush, per se on a character, but the first fictional character I was ever drawn to was Dodger, from Oliver and Company. I liked him because he was tough on the outside but had a heart of gold on the inside. And then, when he got hurt (protecting someone else, mind you), he was still tough.
That seems to be a theme with all my favorite characters. I like them older with a bit of history--the tougher, the better. People who've gone through hard times and come out more solidly in the end. As someone once said, the only purpose of pain is to give you empathy, and the characters who gain that are the most appealing to me. I'm a firm believer that cynics are just disappointed idealists, and well-timed sarcasm/dry wit are ambrosia. I'm looking at you, Rodney McKay; learn a sense of timing.
I also really like characters with a sense of duty. Doctors, policemen, firemen, basically public servants of any shape and size. I like them tired, beleaguered and well-worn, but also steadfast, dependable, and resolute. I don't understand flouncy types, or self-aggrandizing types, or clueless gormless types. I'll take Bones McCoy over Captain Kirk, Inspector Lestrade or Dr. Watson over Sherlock Holmes, Jethro Gibbs over Tony DiNozzo, and Sergeant Lewis over Inspector Morse any day of the week and twice on Sundays.
Basically, if you write me an older character with a complex past whose heart is as big as their intellect in a position to help people, I'm hooked. If you then add a huge dollop of h/c, I'm yours forever.