Favorite Characters

[thalia_seawood]

While watching Buffy and Angel I've been thinking about favorite characters.

I basically distinguish between two types of favorite characters:
Category 1 = Characters I find totally intriguing, but wouldn't necessarily want to meet.
Category 2 = Characters I really like and would probably be friends with.


In the Jossverse, Spike and Drusilla fall in category 1 for me. Definitely intriguing and I can just feel myself itching to write Spike meta at one point. But meeting them would be whole different matter. Drusilla would eat me for lunch. And while I would have fun playing snarky word games with Spike - I'm really good with them in real life - I would totally hate his tendency to analyse everyone for their weaknesses and use these weak spots to cause damage.

Category 2 characters for me are Wesley and Tara. (Two of my closest friends are the female version of Wesley and the male version of Tara. :-)) I'd definitely get along with Riley as well. I like guys who have a quiet self-confidence and are essentially honest.

What's interesting is: Why do we feel drawn to certain characters/people?
Are we drawn to them because they are different from us? Or because they are similar to us?
This is, of course, super-complex. Usually, people we get along with share some of our interests or a certain way of looking at the world, but are very different in other regards.

Questions to people on my f-list, because I'm curious:
Who are your favorite characters in the Jossverse? Why do you like them?

Comments

[selenak.livejournal.com]

I've got a post about my fannish archetypes somewhere (multifandom, not just Jossverse), but I can't find it right now, so, Jossverse-only:

Firefly: really like the entire bunch equally. Huh. This is a rare thing - I mean, with most shows I get fannish with, I do like the ensemble, not just one or two characters, but I also like it in varying degrees.

BTVS: Cordelia while she was there (she was a great foil who kept evolving and gaining dimensions, plus she got great lines), Dawn (more about her once you've seen season 5), but my firm favourite is Buffy. She fits my Frodo and John Crichton (Farscape character, the quote in the icon is from him) archetype - the hero who starts out as an cheerful innocent but becomes totally messed up by life, doesn't just have "cute" flaws but really can behave in a manner that can make me furious with him/her, but keeps on trying anyway. Not coincidentally, these types start out emoting all over the place and increasingly shut themselves off later on. Not necessarily healthy but understandable.

AtS: Cordelia in the first two seasons I adored for her wit and bravery and material-girl-down-to-earthness. I love Wesley throughout, but he's not my favourite. Nor is Angel, though oddly enough I went from loving Wesley somewhat better than Angel to loving Angel somewhat better than Wesley (in season 4 and 5, which is the reverse of what happened to most fans). No, my all time favourites on AtS are Darla and someone you won't meet for a good long while named Connor. Why Darla? Precisely because she never makes it easy. Darla as a human isn't an innocent victim like Drusilla or an adorable geek like William. She's a tough non-sentimental whore who even in the face of (apparant) death from syphilis refuses to repent: "You should have called me before today. Your life might have been the better for it." "You should have visited before today, Father. Your life might have been more interesting because of it."

As a vampire (and for that matter as a reborn human, though she is more vulnerable as the later), she is very manipulative, intelligent, cruel, and yet has this passion she consistently refuses to call love. When she tells Angel "God doesn't want you, but I still do", it somehow touches me more than Spike's declarations of love to either Drusilla or Buffy (or Angel's declarations to Buffy and (spoiler)) put together.

And finally? While the boys indulge in theatrics, Darla gets the job done. This rather cryptic remark refers to season 3 events I don't want to spoil you for.

(Characters I'd want to be friends with are another category entirely: Tara, absolutely. Wesley, yes and no. I'd certainly find him incredibly endearing, but what happens with him would put me through the emotional wringer, plus I couldn't be sure that he wouldn't sacrifice me for the greater good or (spoiler).)

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

I just pulled up my post on the subject, which conveniently links to Selena's post. Mine references a lot of fandoms, including some you don't know, but there's a lot of Joss stuff throughout.

In short -- canon characters who never fail to intrigue me: Wesley, Buffy, Spike, Faith, and Riley, with Cordelia at her best on here as well. And I shouldn't forget Harmony and Anya, who I love for their Very Special Perspective on every situation.

An extra note that in Buffyverse, particularly, this question is complicated b/c I can't always sort out canon vs. fic/fanon versions of characters. For example, 2 AtS characters you haven't met yet, Fred & Gunn, aren't consistently well-served by the writing in canon; but they also happen to be characters who are important to the seasons I -- and a lot of the fic-writers I read -- like to write about. So if canon lacks Consistent Character Development that Makes Sense for these characters, it absolutely exists in my head. [Could say the same for some things that happen with Cordelia over time]. So, in other words, I love them, but I can't evaluate how well what I love about them comes across on the screen. I have moments of Angel love, but I also spend a lot of time being baffled by how much all of the characters that *I* love seem to be in love with, or otherwise hung up on, him. Perhaps I'm jealous :).

Characters I'd be friends with = Xander, Willow, Tara, Fred, Gunn, Riley. [notice that these are not my very very favorites] Wesley would, as Selena said, be tricky (I'd probably be more than slightly in love with him, but, as Spike points out in "Lover's Walk," that's hardly the same thing). And somehow it's hard to imagine hanging out with Buffy, at least after the first couple seasons. I can't imagine having a 5 minute conversation with Cordelia or Harmony.

Re Firefly -- Mal, Inara, and Saffron are definitely my pets, though I love them all and appreciate all of them more after Serenity (great tides of new love for Zoe, River, Jayne, and Kaylee). The one character in this crew I wouldn't particularly care to meet is Simon, though, oddly, if I ever write FF fic, he has the character I'm most interested in exploring. (Well, him and the Op. Who should totally meet rogue demon hunter Wesley in some cracked out AU. . .)

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the links. I put your and selenak's entries in my memory section. Great food for thought. I think I'll try to do a post on this subject in a month or so when I've seen more Angel and Buffy episodes.

By the way:
McCoy was my favorite character from the first ST series as well. Kirk, on the other hand, I didn't like all that much.

Simon on Firefly: He's definitely intriguing. Like you I wouldn't want to meet him, though. Thought about this and maybe it's because you can sense he has a darker side. I'm pretty sure he loves his sister above anything in the universe -- there's *nothing* he wouldn't do for her. If he ever should be forced to choose between his sister and the rest of the crew, he would choose his sister.

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

Firefly: I haven't a favorite either. Whenever I think I like someone better than the others, something happens and I change my mind again. :-)

I've noticed that I like characters who try to be honest and /or honorable or are very good with lies and don't shy back from manipulation.

I also have a deep love for characters who are spontaneous and don't do things half-way ever. (Anakin or Spike would fall into this category.) That's definitely a result of the maxime "opposites attract"; I'm usually so organized in my life, that the wild side calls out to me. :-)

[juonetar.livejournal.com]

My favourites? The British. Spike -- I liked him ever since the season two. Dru is delightful. Giles -- can't dislike a man associated with books. I also liked Wesley. The little geek Andrew is also likable, though not British.

The question about why we like certain characters is interesting. I often feel attracted the same type of characters in the different fandoms. Not consistently but enough that I notice the trend. For example I often like the sarcastic, dark character, who is often also the misunderstood and different one: Raistlin Majere, Gerald Tarrant, Severus Snape. And the same type but without darkness: Sherlock Holmes, Stephen Maturin, Spock. There are other types that appeal to me (bad guys with honed survival instincts, rogues and jesters) but I am not sure if I can typologize them.

I can't say I'd dislike or like the same type in real life. One of my favourite teachers was sarcastic and sadistic like Snape, but I think he has more sense of humour.

I think I feel more for actions than characters themselves. I like moral crossings: bad persons doing good deeds, and good persons doing something bad. I think I am often also more attracted to relationships than characters. Due SOuth, for example: I have no favourite character, but I like the interaction between Fraser and his partners (both old and new Ray). My favourite relationships in Buffy/Angel, btw: Buffy & Faith, Angel & Lindsey.

Only in very rare situation I think at all about how I would get on with a charcter in real life. I find it difficult to compare a story world with reality in some aspects, and personal interaction is one of them. I can't imagine "meeting" my favourite characters. Bit sometimes I do like a character because of some random connection to the real life. For example, I like Montgomery Scott in Star Trek because he's the kind of officer I'd be happy to serve with.

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

Hi! I hope you're doing well. Have you already started your job in Russia?

Yes, Giles was my first favorite, followed by Cordelia, Spike and Wesley.
At the moment, I start liking Angel more and more. And, of course, I heart Buffy.

For example I often like the sarcastic, dark character, who is often also the misunderstood and different one: Raistlin Majere, Gerald Tarrant, Severus Snape. And the same type but without darkness: Sherlock Holmes, Stephen Maturin, Spock. There are other types that appeal to me (bad guys with honed survival instincts, rogues and jesters)

I don't know all the characters you listed, but I like the same type in fiction as well. I wouldn't say Holmes is without darkness: After all he is prone to fits of depression and takes drugs...

I have a faible for passionate characters, i.e. characters who don't hold back with their emotions. If this is combined with underlying darkness & fragility all the better: Spike and Anakin would be in this category.

I can fall for the honest & honorable type a la Picard and the liar and morally obscure type a la DS9's Garak.

I've noticed that all the characters I feel a connection to are vulnerable under the facade they present to the world. E.g. Picard can be insecure and lonely, Garak isn't always convinced he's doing the right thing and seems to have a weak spot for Bashir, Spike is really love's bitch, Anakin can't bear to lose people he loves. Also love it when they battle with their conscience.

Fraser and the Rays on Due South: Shiny! Great interaction! I'm also convinced that Ray Kowalski and Fraser are meant for one another. :-)

Only in very rare situation I think at all about how I would get on with a charcter in real life. I find it difficult to compare a story world with reality in some aspects, and personal interaction is one of them.

You're right, of course. Fictional characters are usually larger than life. I also hate cross-over stories where fictional characters visit the real world or Mary Sue's are inserted into the fictional world. I just find it interesting that we can enjoy characters on a fictional level that we might strongly dislike in real life. Maybe it is because they can't hurt us. If Snape is sarcastic, he isn't sarcastic at us.

[spikeylover.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to say that I friended you because of these posts. You have such a wise perspective and I'm enjoying the reading.

My favorite character by far is Spike.

Ranking next would be Buffy, and then Angel/drusilla/Darla/Giles.

I have problems with some of the characters later on, (Including my favorites) but overall, this is (to me) on of the best written shows ever on television..

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

*blushes* Thanks for the compliment!

Looks like we have many favorites in common.

I've noticed that I rarely list the main character of a show as my favorite. Not sure why that is, because I do care a lot for Buffy or e.g. Harry Potter. I guess it's because they are true heroes and are so much larger than life. Quite often they overwhelm me - so I love them best when they make mistakes. :-)

I'll see what I make of later seasons. I mentioned somewhere on my LJ that I have a big advantage: I don't have to wait for the next episode or season. So I can't speculate for very long and then be disappointed when things happen differently. I remember being super nervous before the Halfblood Prince or Star Wars III came out. I had such high expectations and wasn't sure if they would be met.

[spikeylover.livejournal.com]

It's going to be interesting to see what you think of Buffy and Angel as time goes on.