Brief character thoughts...

[butterfly]

So, I have completely filled up 197 icon spaces. Wow. That's a lot of tiny pictures, yo.

I've been caught up in school recently, so I haven't been able to do as much as I'd like online.

I've spent some time thinking about characters and the ways that I fall for characters -- case in point, I was never all that fond of Faith (Buffy). In fact, there were times when I actively and strongly disliked her. I love Caroline/Echo (Dollhouse). A lot. Just about from the very beginning.

I'm mostly fond of heroes... except then there's always Draco Malfoy, who remains my favorite Harry Potter character. I feel intense sympathy for characters that the universe kicks around (like Boomer, my favorite on BSG) and if they survive their trials, I feel a great attachment to them.

I like it when characters are affected by the events that take place around them. Character growth is possibly what I'm most drawn to (Rose Tyler grows up an extraordinary amount -- when we meet her, she's a curious and bright girl, but mostly just a normal girl. When we see her in "Journey's End" she's fought a hero's quest back to her lost love, which included walking across universes, being both a source of inspiration and one of instruction, and generally being kick-ass and awesome. And we got to see the vast majority of that character growth happen onscreen -- the woman who takes control in "The Satan Pit" is the woman who helps create and use the dimensional cannon.)

I'm not sure if I can find any one common thread to connect all my favorite characters together -- it would end up more like one of those spider web diagrams, with all sorts of things connecting all over the place (though, now that I bring that up, it sounds like fun).

A lot of my favorite characters are very passionate, whether openly (like Draco) or more quietly (like Benton Fraser... until he, you know, snaps). In fact, passion is an essential quality in anything that I truly enjoy -- that passion doesn't always need to be about a person (one of the things that Fraser is passionate about is justice), but I enjoy intensity.

I want characters and relationships and stories that have the ability to make me cry. I want to care that much. This is why I enjoy Joss and will keep enjoying him even if he continues his killing streak -- I always care when he kills someone. It always hurts. This is why I respond so well to Russell's writing and why Being Human is my favorite new show. The people feel real because they have passions and desires and I respond to those.

I'm going to take this moment in my ramble to rec a John/Rodney fic: Straight as a Circle. This fic always, without exception, makes me cry. It starts with an established John/Rodney relationship and John gets turned straight because of a trip to a particular planet. This causes a lot of stress in his relationship with Rodney and a lot of internal questioning of his own mind. I really love the story because it feels so painfully real -- there's a part of John that is glad that he's been turned straight, because now he's normal, but he finds that, even as he feels no physical desire for Rodney, his intense love and emotional attraction remain.

So, they end up going back to the planet and this is the part that, without fail, make me cry myself to pieces:

“John,” says Rodney, finally lifting his chin up, looking at John. “I’ve been pretty good-natured about this, but I have to admit -- it’s not actually that much fun being in love with a man who finds you physically repugnant, who only touches you out of some misplaced sense of guilt. I’d rather it just -- went away.”

You may be wondering exactly what that has to do with the subject at hand -- the story is an exploration of different kinds of desires, as well as being a really good look at internalized homophobia. It's relevant enough.

Anyway, those are my mostly random, somewhat insomnia-based thoughts of the day. I'm very much looking forward to tonight's television and was thrilled to learn that Being Human and Smallville were renewed.

Comments

[dreaamer.livejournal.com]

YES, amen to that! Passion = good.

Oh, and also, Rose Tyler and Echo ftw! (:

[shardsofblu.livejournal.com]

ITA, and especially with those:

I like it when characters are affected by the events that take place around them.

This is definitely a fundamental aspect for me as well, to see characters responding to their upbringing, their environment and just how much they let it shape their lives and decisions, to be able to own it as well.

I want characters and relationships and stories that have the ability to make me cry. I want to care that much.

Heart is definitely #1 -- no matter how incredibly corny, plotholey and frustrating the plot itself could be sometimes, but as long as the story stay true to the charactes and the dynamics genuine, it's more than enough for me.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Echo is awesome. I've already gotten very attached to her.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Definitely. Those are possibly the most essential parts to me, because while I feel like good characters can carry an iffy story, not even the best story is still good if it has boring and inconsistent characters in it.

[dreaamer.livejournal.com]

Isn't she just? I love Echo already and it's only been 3 episodes. Seriously, she's like a younger hipper version of Donna Noble. (Except Donna will always be awesomer.)