I know he’s evil, but you should see him naked! [fictional crushes]
The casting call spectacle and following IM discussions on various characters has reminded me of the phenomenon of fictional crushes. I think everyone who hangs out in fandom is familiar with the idea; the character in a book or movie or even fanfic that you just love and want to know better (in the case of roleplayers, often want to play). I used to do this a lot when I was younger. It’s quite rare these days, but I must admit, it does happen. I'm sure there are more than these, but these were the ones most prominent in my memory, so I suppose they wanted to be told.
I’m exceedingly amused, reading through this list, at how many of these characters read unashamedly like Fours and/or Scorpios. So I have a type, so what.
Birk (‘birch’) from Astrid Lindgren’s Ronya. I was five years old and thus the crush was an entirely platonic one, fittingly so, since the girl main of the book loves Birk and thinks of him as a brother. Birk is a redhead, quiet, bright, a little sarcastic and with a strong heart and deep devotion, as well as a streak of jealousy. Unlike a lot of my other fictional crushes, an unquestionably Good and moral character. I remember wanting a friend just like him so badly, and telling my mom so with all the empassioned eagerness of a five year old with an occasionally slippery grip on Reality. I can still read this book and sigh.
Atreju from The Neverending Story (the BOOK! Not the movies).
Oh, I loved this character. I was six years old. Atreju is the narrative foil for the main character (who starts the story as something of a loser). He’s brave beyond his years (which is twelve, if I recall correctly), a little wild, something of a loner, and he is put through unreasonable amounts of suffering, occasionally at the hands of the hero (who at one point stabs him through the chest. I take it as evidence of my early fascination with suffering characters that this was the chapter I wanted read to me again and again and again). Green skin (hey, fantasy) and long black hair. This coincided with my RL meeting of my first actual, if platonic, crush, a girl who had, wait for it, long black hair. Thus was a life-long fascination born.
Atreju, as well, stayed in my mind for years and years, and was the hero of many stories I told myself in whispers at night before I fell asleep.
Bran Davies from The Dark Is Rising | The Grey King.
Bran is the lost son of King Arthur stranded in our time. Snarky, loner-ish and albino, he was the first pale character I ever loved, and probably planted the seed for my particular liking of Draco’s colouring (we all have an excuse, I’m sure). Bran was a sidekick character, but always compelled me rather more than Will, the heroic main (though as YA heroes go, Will does a hell of a good job on the occasional Moral Ambiguity™). Bran stayed in my mind many years after I read the books. My Blaise’s father is named after him, though there is little likeness in looks or personality.
Raistlin Majere from DragonLance Chronicles.
I think perhaps this horribly cliché but nevertheless irrsistable character is the reason for my roleplaying stereotype. I was twelve when I read the books, and the bitter, power-hungry, fragile, insightful and Darkly Morally Ambigious™ Mage pwned my heart very hard. Two years later, he was the the first character I ever played in a roleplaying game, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Rayek from ElfQuest.
Proud, talented, jealous, gorgeous, Morally Ambigious™ and let’s not forget, vulnerable on the inside. Rayek plays the villain for parts of the story, but is actually the anti-hero. He gets his angsty redemption, after having suitably unhappily fallen for the real villain, a heartless and cruel woman whose mad soul he ends up torturously carrying within himself so that it will not do harm to others. For those who do not know, ElfQuest is a comic. I was about 13 when I first started reading them, and my grasp of English was rather imperfect, but I recall seeing the first panel that had Rayek in it and going OHMYGOSH, who gives a damn about the hero, cut me a slice of this.
If anyone feels they are seeing similarities to my own rpg characters yet, sftu. I deny everything. If anyone was to point out, say, any physical likenesses between Rayek and my pb for Blaise, I have no idea what you’re talking about.
Sully on Dr. Quinn.
I was twelve. This must necessarily be an excuse. Hides.
Fox Mulder on X-Files.
Mulder is totally out of number, as far as my type goes. He’s probably a 5w4, way too old and not longhaired in the slightest. Plenty angsty, I suppose. I guess it’s the hunted loner aspect that did it. Well, and the rare glimpses of gentleness. I’m a sucker, so what, don’t judge.
Spike on Buffy.
I think this one’s mandatory. Who doesn’t love a bad-ass with a soft heart and a leather coat?
Alec/X5-494 on Dark Angel.
Ooooh, gosh.This was a bad one. What can I say, Jensen Ackles has eyes to die for, and all his characters have a bleeding heart, even when the rest of them is hardcore to the point of pain. And there is something a little bit irresistable in unrequited lovestories, especially as subtle as this show did Alec/Max. That, and I’m an absolute sucker for such pretty.
Even that aside, Alec was a fascinating character who didn’t tell his secrets and made me want to play him very badly, though I never managed to pull it off to my own satisfaction.
Dean Winchester on Supernatural.
Me and the other 437563874 fangirls. I know, I know. At this point I think it’s mostly just a fan-crush on Jensen Ackles, really. But oh, Dean. SPN’s scripts may not always be the best, but the particular emotional truth that shines through in Dean never fails to make my heart ache a little.
Brian Kinney on Queer as Folk.
Alright, this is the only current one, and I blame Cami and Michie a whole damn lot and I am TOO OLD to have fictional crushes. But. This character is so much fucking love that I do not have words. Not incidentally, he is dead on for Blaise in so many aspects that I’ve given up counting. He’s Blaise as a muggle. And he’s gorgeous and goddamn Four and he moves like a predator on a dance floor, not to mention in bed. Michie was sitting next to me when I watched the introduction to his character in the first episode and I think she had a fine time watching me go OO wideyed and making small incoherent sounds to the effect of omgomgomg and kindly reassured me that I wasn’t the only one seeing the resemblance, not to mention the hot.
Heart of an angel, mind of a devil. Brian fucking Kinney.
I never crushed on anyone from Lord of the Rings, book or movies, though I was terribly fond of Faramir in both. I also never crushed on anyone from Canon HP.
I considered adding in Peter Petrelli from Heroes, but he doesn’t really count. He’s not a fictional crush, just an amazingly well written and played character whose storyline I sympathise deeply with. It’s a fine line. I suppose the bottom line is, I don’t think he’s all that sexy (though, with the scar… <<)
Oh, and I guess I ought to name Leonardo and Raphael from TMNT. For the sake of honesty and turtle power, and all that jazz.
And, even though I tend not to include roleplaying characters in these considerations, silverfringe, Oblivi8’s Draco, deserves special mention. ♥
I’m exceedingly amused, reading through this list, at how many of these characters read unashamedly like Fours and/or Scorpios. So I have a type, so what.
Birk (‘birch’) from Astrid Lindgren’s Ronya. I was five years old and thus the crush was an entirely platonic one, fittingly so, since the girl main of the book loves Birk and thinks of him as a brother. Birk is a redhead, quiet, bright, a little sarcastic and with a strong heart and deep devotion, as well as a streak of jealousy. Unlike a lot of my other fictional crushes, an unquestionably Good and moral character. I remember wanting a friend just like him so badly, and telling my mom so with all the empassioned eagerness of a five year old with an occasionally slippery grip on Reality. I can still read this book and sigh.
Atreju from The Neverending Story (the BOOK! Not the movies).
Oh, I loved this character. I was six years old. Atreju is the narrative foil for the main character (who starts the story as something of a loser). He’s brave beyond his years (which is twelve, if I recall correctly), a little wild, something of a loner, and he is put through unreasonable amounts of suffering, occasionally at the hands of the hero (who at one point stabs him through the chest. I take it as evidence of my early fascination with suffering characters that this was the chapter I wanted read to me again and again and again). Green skin (hey, fantasy) and long black hair. This coincided with my RL meeting of my first actual, if platonic, crush, a girl who had, wait for it, long black hair. Thus was a life-long fascination born.
Atreju, as well, stayed in my mind for years and years, and was the hero of many stories I told myself in whispers at night before I fell asleep.
Bran Davies from The Dark Is Rising | The Grey King.
Bran is the lost son of King Arthur stranded in our time. Snarky, loner-ish and albino, he was the first pale character I ever loved, and probably planted the seed for my particular liking of Draco’s colouring (we all have an excuse, I’m sure). Bran was a sidekick character, but always compelled me rather more than Will, the heroic main (though as YA heroes go, Will does a hell of a good job on the occasional Moral Ambiguity™). Bran stayed in my mind many years after I read the books. My Blaise’s father is named after him, though there is little likeness in looks or personality.
Raistlin Majere from DragonLance Chronicles.
I think perhaps this horribly cliché but nevertheless irrsistable character is the reason for my roleplaying stereotype. I was twelve when I read the books, and the bitter, power-hungry, fragile, insightful and Darkly Morally Ambigious™ Mage pwned my heart very hard. Two years later, he was the the first character I ever played in a roleplaying game, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Rayek from ElfQuest.
Proud, talented, jealous, gorgeous, Morally Ambigious™ and let’s not forget, vulnerable on the inside. Rayek plays the villain for parts of the story, but is actually the anti-hero. He gets his angsty redemption, after having suitably unhappily fallen for the real villain, a heartless and cruel woman whose mad soul he ends up torturously carrying within himself so that it will not do harm to others. For those who do not know, ElfQuest is a comic. I was about 13 when I first started reading them, and my grasp of English was rather imperfect, but I recall seeing the first panel that had Rayek in it and going OHMYGOSH, who gives a damn about the hero, cut me a slice of this.
If anyone feels they are seeing similarities to my own rpg characters yet, sftu. I deny everything. If anyone was to point out, say, any physical likenesses between Rayek and my pb for Blaise, I have no idea what you’re talking about.
Sully on Dr. Quinn.
I was twelve. This must necessarily be an excuse. Hides.
Fox Mulder on X-Files.
Mulder is totally out of number, as far as my type goes. He’s probably a 5w4, way too old and not longhaired in the slightest. Plenty angsty, I suppose. I guess it’s the hunted loner aspect that did it. Well, and the rare glimpses of gentleness. I’m a sucker, so what, don’t judge.
Spike on Buffy.
I think this one’s mandatory. Who doesn’t love a bad-ass with a soft heart and a leather coat?
Alec/X5-494 on Dark Angel.
Ooooh, gosh.This was a bad one. What can I say, Jensen Ackles has eyes to die for, and all his characters have a bleeding heart, even when the rest of them is hardcore to the point of pain. And there is something a little bit irresistable in unrequited lovestories, especially as subtle as this show did Alec/Max. That, and I’m an absolute sucker for such pretty.
Even that aside, Alec was a fascinating character who didn’t tell his secrets and made me want to play him very badly, though I never managed to pull it off to my own satisfaction.
Dean Winchester on Supernatural.
Me and the other 437563874 fangirls. I know, I know. At this point I think it’s mostly just a fan-crush on Jensen Ackles, really. But oh, Dean. SPN’s scripts may not always be the best, but the particular emotional truth that shines through in Dean never fails to make my heart ache a little.
Brian Kinney on Queer as Folk.
Alright, this is the only current one, and I blame Cami and Michie a whole damn lot and I am TOO OLD to have fictional crushes. But. This character is so much fucking love that I do not have words. Not incidentally, he is dead on for Blaise in so many aspects that I’ve given up counting. He’s Blaise as a muggle. And he’s gorgeous and goddamn Four and he moves like a predator on a dance floor, not to mention in bed. Michie was sitting next to me when I watched the introduction to his character in the first episode and I think she had a fine time watching me go OO wideyed and making small incoherent sounds to the effect of omgomgomg and kindly reassured me that I wasn’t the only one seeing the resemblance, not to mention the hot.
Heart of an angel, mind of a devil. Brian fucking Kinney.
I never crushed on anyone from Lord of the Rings, book or movies, though I was terribly fond of Faramir in both. I also never crushed on anyone from Canon HP.
I considered adding in Peter Petrelli from Heroes, but he doesn’t really count. He’s not a fictional crush, just an amazingly well written and played character whose storyline I sympathise deeply with. It’s a fine line. I suppose the bottom line is, I don’t think he’s all that sexy (though, with the scar… <<)
Oh, and I guess I ought to name Leonardo and Raphael from TMNT. For the sake of honesty and turtle power, and all that jazz.
And, even though I tend not to include roleplaying characters in these considerations, silverfringe, Oblivi8’s Draco, deserves special mention. ♥