Hullo, friends!
Yes, I have decided to start my own blog tag. Ashamedly, I will admit that I have been meaning to start one for a long while now, but college life has gotten the better of me. However, now is the time for action!
I have created this tag, this “Fantastical and Felicitous Fictional Character” tag to celebrate my favorite fictional characters, find out who yours are, and try to get a ball rolling. People really need to appreciate fictional characters more…especially people who are not as obsessive as I am.
So, here are my rules:
- Answer every question honestly. (duh.)
- Use as many gifs and images as possible.
- Incorporate at least one YouTube video with a favorite scene of a character.
- NO VAGUE ANSWERS ALLOWED. Explain why you chose that favorite character to fit that description. I love details, my friends.
- If you can’t choose just one, that’s okay – give us a few answers and geek out if that’s what it takes.
- Tag at least 3 people.
- Use fictional characters from any fictional story.
- If you get nominated and/or decide to participate in this tag, please put a link back to this post in your post and credit yours truly as the creator.
- Have fun and obsess over fictional characters!
This is already jolly good fun 🙂
I hope you all enjoy this, friends. Let’s dive into the realm of fictional character loves together, then, shall we?
#1. Goody-two-shoes: A character who is just so morally good
This one is not hard for me at all: Captain America. A lot of my friends seem to think I’m too shallow to have Captain America as my favorite MCU hero (as in, of all time), but let me be completely honest. I can never get enough of Captain America because of how good he is.
He’s a soldier, and he’s never in it for himself. Sure, we all know that Iron Man is the true leader of the Avengers, but without Captain America, a lot of it would not be possible. Steve is in it for everyone, and he would rather let himself die than to see someone else die on his watch.
He stands for truth, he never lets justice go un-served, and I honestly think I became a die-hard Captain America fan when he said (referencing the Asgardian “gods” Thor and Loki), “There’s only one God, ma’am, and I’m pretty sure He doesn’t dress like that!”
To twelve-year-old me, Cap was a hero.
And he still is to seventeen-year-old me.
Maybe I’m cliche, but I love Captain America’s classic “good guy” personality. He is just so good for the sake of being good, and that’s why I love him so much.
And he’ll still be my favorite even if he grows a beard and fights without his shield.
#2. Heartbreaker: A character who made you cry
This was hard, because a lot of characters have made me cry. But, I decided to go with Thorin Oakenshield from The Hobbit. When I first read the book as an eleven-year-old, it was the first story that actually brought tears into my eyes.
Thorin’s dying words to Bilbo made me the weepiest eleven-year-old on the planet, especially since I, the reader, had gone from seeing Thorin’s complete and utter animosity towards Bilbo turn to complete shame.
“There is more in you of good courage than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier word. But sad or merry, I must leave it now. Farewell!”
Then Bilbo turned away, and he went by himself, and sat alone wrapped in a blanket, and, whether you believe it or not, he wept until his eyes were red and his voice was hoarse.
—From The Hobbit, Chapter 18, “The Return Journey”
As a reader, going into The Hobbit, you develop a sort of dislike (more like hatred) for Thorin Oakenshield. He’s a big bully to our beloved hero, Bilbo Baggins, so he’s a big bully to us, too. But then, on his deathbed, we see this mighty mountain king humbling himself and fervently apologizing to the halfling he so misjudged.
And so, as Bilbo’s mind was changed about Thorin, so is ours. And just as Bilbo weeps for him, so do we.
Not only was reading Thorin’s death in the book hard to read, but watching it onscreen is always a tearjerker. Martin Freeman is the greatest Bilbo Baggins, and Richard Armitage’s Thorin was superb. Although the films were farfetched at times, the acting, CGI, score, and cinematography were phenomenal. If you’re going to watch them, though, always watch the Extended Editions. 😎
This scene always makes me shaky.
Please excuse the obnoxious two seconds of Tauriel. I cannot tolerate Tauriel, I’m sorry.
#3. Parrot: An character who won’t stop talking
I’m going to have to go with Much, from BBC Robin Hood. Much is actually one of my favorite characters on the show, but he needs to stop running his mouth. His constant chatter always gets everyone into trouble, and there’s always someone asking (then yelling at) him to be quiet. And…he never learns.
Ever.
Much is so much fun, though (see what I did there?). His never-ending loyalty to Robin is my favorite thing about him. It’s impossible to separate him from “his master,” and he’d jump into a lake of fire if Robin told him to. He’s funny, a tad annoying, overly-protective, and makes a fool of himself constantly (which makes me love him even more). Much is probably my favorite of the merry men besides Allan-A-Dale and Djaq (who is technically a merry woman 😆 ).
#4. Devilish: A character who was so horribly evil (I know it’s hard. Just breathe 🙂 )
This was super hard, but when I had to think about a really awful, devilish character who made me physically angry, it was “honest” Iago, from Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello.
There really is not much to describe Iago but jealousy. Iago is insanely jealous of Othello, and from the beginning of the play, throughout his many soliloquys, where we, the audience, share in his evil plan, we see jealousy written all over him.
Iago is sworn to destroy Othello and everything he loves. (It’s also pretty ironic that jealousy is what destroys Othello, and jealousy is his tragic flaw).
He cozies up to Othello throughout the play, appealing to Othello’s jealousy and making himself look like an ally. He destroys Othello’s friendship with Cassio and coaxes Othello into believing that Cassio is having an affair with his wife—all of which is false. Othello, in the end, kills his wife with a vengeance, then kills himself with grief after realizing Iago’s evil plan too late. Iago is tortured and killed, but the sting of his evil plans still lives on even after the story is over.
And then there was Bellatrix Lestrange. She was quite evil, too. Can’t forget her.
#5. Love interest: A character who, if alive in reality, you would want to marry
Mr. Darcy.
That’s it. That’s all I have to say.
Is there anything more to say?? If there is, comment below.
All I need to say is “Mr. Darcy” and everybody shuts up.
And yes, I saw the Colin Firth version. And yes again, I saw the Matthew Macfadyen version.
And I’m sorry.
Macfadyen is a killer Darcy. He kills it.
Kills it.
Period, exclamation mark!
#6. Sidekick: A character who was always loyal no matter what
Samwise Gamgee! Without doubt, one hundred percent, he is the most (or at least one of the most) loyal sidekicks in English literature.
Sam is quite different in the books than he is in the films, but still, his character shines true in both.
In the books, Sam is always there for Frodo. He loves Frodo with a brotherly love that never dies. He is ever faithful to his “master Frodo,” and never leaves Frodo, even though their adventure is not even one he wanted to go on. I think it is often forgotten that Sam never asked to go with Frodo to destroy the Ring. He was recruited by Gandalf. Nevertheless, his true love for his friend always kept him true.
In the movie, Sam is forsaken by Frodo at the steps of Cirith Ungol when Gollum tricks Frodo into believing that Sam ate all of the lembas bread. Even when Sam is told to leave, he continues on behind, with tears in his eyes. Nothing will keep him between himself and Frodo.
And the potatoes crack is unforgettable 😆
But I love it when Sam and Frodo are on the sides of Mount Doom, fire falling all around them, and Frodo holds Sam in his arms…reminding each other of the Shire and of all the good things they are about to die for. If it weren’t for Sam, Frodo could never have destroyed the Ring. As Frodo says, he is glad to be with Sam at the end of all things. Sam was literally there with Frodo until the end…just like Cap and Bucky “till the end of the line.”
I digress…
But then the eagles come and everything is okay again, but still. That moment was golden.
#7. Complicated: A character you love and hate
Two characters come to mind: Irene Adler from BBC Sherlock and Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter.
Ladies first: Miss Adler
What makes me hate Irene is her promiscuous, indelicate, degenerative, “kinky” lifestyle. I won’t discuss it because that’s how disgusting it is to me. It’s always hard explaining my reasons for liking the BBC’s take on Adler when she has so much sexual baggage.
But, what makes me love her character is the fact that she is challenged by Sherlock to use her mind instead of her body to get what she wants, which I absolutely loved. And as she marvels at his own intellectual capacities, she ends up falling head over heels for him. They are both intrigued by the other’s mind, and that’s what attracts them to each other. Their attraction is far more than just a physical attraction: it’s a mental attraction. Irene sees her mind when she examines Sherlock’s, and Sherlock sees his mind when he examines her intellect.
Irene is something of a nemesis to Sherlock, but he beats her in their little game because she becomes vulnerable. Irene’s secrets are divulged because of her love for Sherlock. She fell in love with him, and that made her vulnerable to defeat…and she was defeated. I go into detail about why I love this so much in my post “…Let Me be Vulnerable.” It is one of my favorite posts of the ones I’ve written.
Side note: I do pair Sherlock and Irene (despite the protestations of my Sherlockian friends…sorry, guys), because I loved the way things ended between her and Sherlock at the end of her title episode, “A Scandal in Belgravia.” I do need closure though…so please, Moftiss…an Adlock wedding and baby Hamish for season 5.
I need that.
*coughs*
Now, for Mr. Malfoy.
I loathed Draco in the books and films, but when I read The Half-Blood Prince, I started sympathizing with him. I started feeling sorry for Draco, and those emotions were definitely intended by Rowling. Draco, tasked with killing Dumbledore before the school year’s end, is tormented and afraid. The fate of his family rests with him, and he has to kill one of the most powerful wizards in the world. If he doesn’t, who knows what Voldemort will do to his family.
It was especially emotional when Harry walked in on Draco crying in the bathroom.
It was then that I realized just how much he was feeling.
Nevertheless, Draco still remained on my do-not-call list for a while…
…until he kept Harry’s identity secret from Bellatrix and the Malfoys in The Deathly Hallows.
I was shocked. I really thought that Draco was going to do in Harry, Ron, and Hermoine, but far from it. I would go so far as to say that Draco was a hero at that point, and he saved Harry’s life. I started liking Draco as a character at this point.
But, again, he’s always still Malfoy, and there’s always a little animosity toward him that you feel as the reader…because he’s in Slytherin and because he’s just…Malfoy…the annoying spoiled rat who was always crowing:
It killed me every time 😆
#8. Oddity: A character who was strange, but you loved them that way
Two more characters: The Doctor and Luna Lovegood
Again, ladies first: Miss Lovegood
Luna Lovegood is my favorite quirky character. She is an oddball in every way, but she does not care to think what others think of her. She knows everyone thinks she is weird, but that doesn’t stop her from being who she is.
Luna’s singularity makes her a good friend to Harry, who is known as something of an oddity himself. Luna offers advice, gives help, and is always there for Harry whenever he needs her…even if her advice has everything to do with made up creatures called Nargles.
My second character of oddness is The Doctor.
From Doctor Who.
It is so easy to love the Doctor through his weirdness. It is an aspect of his character that’s just impossible to not love. The Doctor’s weirdness makes me love him even more.
#9. Queen: A female character who you admire and aspire to emulate
There are many great female characters in literature, and I will not be able to list them all here, but the one who really holds my heart and who grabs my attention is Jane Eyre.
I never will get enough of Jane Eyre.
Ever.
She is the ultimate female heroine to me. I aspire, in every way, to emulate Jane Eyre. She is strong, gentle, passionate, and kind. She knows the difference between right and wrong, and she never compromises, even when she desperately wants what she cannot have: Mr. Rochester.
But, *SPOILER ALERT* she marries him in the end. It’s my favorite Victorian novel of all time! And I think it always will be!
Jane is also fearless. She is never afraid to help anyone, be made fun of, face danger, or risk her safety to benefit another. One of my favorite moments in the 2011 Fassbender/Wasikowska film was the scene from the book where Jane first meets Rochester. Rochester’s horse rears, he falls from his horse, and Jane, unafraid, rushes to his rescue. So good.
Not only is she everything that a lady should be, but she is always free-spirited and independent. She is bent, but never broken. Some of the statements she makes are so stirring and complex that I would actually put the book down and ponder on them.
“Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs.”
“I would always rather be happy than dignified.”
“If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends.”
“Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilised by education: they grow there, firm as weeds among stones.”
😎
So, yes, Jane Eyre is the fictional woman who, above all others, I aspire to be.
And as far as cinematic/telly adaptations go, just read the book.
I’m serious.
#10. Savior: A character who oddly reminds you of Christ
There are actually a lot, but I’m going to name my top two!
The eponymous protagonist Billy Budd from Herman Melville’s novel of the same name.
I cried. I really did.
Billy’s innocence, the accusation, the pleas from the crew…all of it was so surreal. And Billy’s death was what really got the tears flowing. Billy faced his fate so nobly, and he was honored by the crew, even when he was hung. His innocent death made him such a Christ figure.
The other Christ figure I found in literature was Sydney Carton, the main character of Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities.
I also cried for this one.
(IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS, DON’T READ THE NEXT BIT IN ITALICS)
Sydney is an alcoholic. He’s a nobody. But he deeply loves this woman named Lucy Manette. But Sydney’s love is unrequited, and she falls in love with Sydney’s lookalike, Charles Darnay. Sydney hates Darnay, because he is what he wishes he could have been if he was a good man. If he had made different choices, he would have been just like Darnay…and he could have married Lucy.
But when Darnay is sentenced to death in France during the French Revolution (through a series of very unfortunate events), Sydney travels to France and takes Darnay’s place at the guillotine. No one notices the exchange, because the two men look identical. His love for Lucy compels him to do this for her and for her child.
And Sydney goes to the guillotine in Darnay’s place. Lucy returns to England with her husband and child, and she remembers Sydney ever after.
*wipes eyes*
And his sacrifice was made out of unrequited love, just like Christ loved us and died for us…even when we still did not love Him or know Him.
Dickens is so awesome like that. He wrote Christian allegories too, guys. He did. 😀
And maybe I should mention Aslan and Gandalf and Aragorn and Frodo and Harry Potter. Christ figures really are in abundance in literature and film, and they really are an actual literary character trope.
Well, there is the end of it, my friends! That was a looooooong port, wasn’t it? I had so much fun writing it. I hope you all have fun participating! Feel free to steal this tag!
Here are the prompts again:
- Goody-two-shoes: A character who was just so morally good
- Heartbreaker: A character who made you cry
- Parrot: A character who won’t stop talking
- Devilish: Your favorite villain
- Love interest: A character who, if alive in reality, you would want to marry
- Sidekick: A character who was always loyal no matter what
- Complicated: A character you love and hate
- Oddity: A character who was strange, but you loved them that way
- Queen/King: A female/male character who you admire and aspire to emulate
- Savior: A character who oddly reminds you of Christ
So, I want to nominate:
- Eva at Coffee, Classics, and Craziness
- Maribeth at Trekking Through Hobbit Holes
- Jessica at The Bookworm Chronicles
- Kate at Litmospheria
- Shiv at Shiv Lives in Books
- YOU! (anyone reading the tag who wants to participate – go ahead and steal)
Thanks to you all! Let’s get a trend going!
Emily 🐻
P.S. Be sure to head up your post with the below photo I designed:
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