Why I likes...
Princess Artemis' favorite characters...and why. As if you really wanted to know! ; ) Good overview of my fandom hopping ways, though.
It has a lot to do with his being pretty
much a normal type guy. He's not a still-adolescent
angsting twit...sorta like Cloud *ahem*...he's not
riddled with so much guilt that he let himself get run
outta town...his middle name isn't guilt, either. Sure,
he's got a bad attitude, sure his head's quite firmly
planted you-know-where, but at least when it was time to
see the light of day, he didn't refuse. But all this
makes him a very normal, human character. He lives with
Shera, for the Planet only knows what reason, and while
he's obviously a real prize (read:
jerk-and-a-half) that way when Cloud et al first meet
him, he's got the guts to answer for it when Fate decides
to slap him in the face with it.
He's complex as no other FFVII character is. Vincent's
dark and moody, got the serious guilt-trip thing going,
but Cid's one ups him by dealing with his closet
skeletons in a fashion that any Joe Blow might. It makes
him interesting and human!
And the fact that he's smart and a deep thinker (though
you'd never know it by looking at him) doesn't hurt
either. For all his faults, he does have a
strong will and a good heart.
And, all that about him being normal aside, he's also the
most exotic character in the game! Name me one
other crusty, foul-mothed, heavy smoking, ex-military
rocket scientist that goes around with a homemade pole-arm
and jumping thirty-feet in the air while summoning
dragons! He's a Dragoon, no doubt about it. And I like
Dragoons. They carry sharp pointy things. They jump
really high. And then there's that whole dragon thing : )
Cid's got a pet dragon, dontcha know?
He's also pretty good-looking. Only character aside from
Barret that has a man's nose.
Citan has mystery written all
over him. He gives the impression of knowing all and
seeing all...which is very nearly an entirely warranted
impression. Pretty much a Rennaissance man in all
respects. He's a polite man, and an excelent fighter.
He's fast! And when the story really begins to unfold, it
is discovered that he is far from a nice doctor living on
a mountain...he's got power. It's fascinating.
And he flicks the enemy with the Index Finger of Doom!
Then he tosses his long black hair...this seems a little,
er, feminine to me, but then, as I saw more of him and
especially as I saw the way he fights with a sword, I
realized it's not feminine, it's elegant. He's
graceful and poised, which gives him an exotic air.
I hear his sword technique is called Iajutsu, a Japanese
sword fighting school that essentially teaches how to
sweep out a sword from its sheath, kill in one blow, and
return the sword, all in one motion and from any
position. That explains why Citan always has his sword
sheathed, but apparently the monsters in Xenogears don't
fall prey to one hit kills very easily, since generally
Citan's Iajutsu doesn't work quite the way it should.
Outside of Sam Gamgee, Allen is one of
the most admirable fictional characters I've come across.
Certainly, Allen has faults and lots of them--he can be
mercurial and a bit bigoted, hard-headed and slow to
accept or trust new people, he is the poster boy for
ulcer medication and might very well use other medicines
more than he needs to, and he apparently has some kind of
mental issue with eating (possibly from his childhood--he
doesn't talk about it much, but it was at best neglectful
and abusive at worst). Oh, and did I mention he worries?
He worries himself into a frazzle. He also has a bad
habit of letting people steam-roll him. However, he
balances that out with good characteristics; he's
brilliant, protective, confident (when he's in familiar
surroundings), and extremely observant. He's not good
with words but his actions say almost all that needs to
be said. Plus, there is one characteristic that just
isn't seen often in fiction: he loves. Not just any kind
of love, though. It is selfless love and it is endless.
He would die for anyone he loved, even if there was no
particular quality about someone he loves that makes them
all that loveable. This shows in his protective streak
that was there since the first game began, a very short
time in--he risks his life to save his ditzy boss from
her own foolishness. Apparently it wasn't the first time
he'd done that either. Perhaps it seems odd: he won't
stand up for himself, but he will put himself in danger
and risk his life for others. His ultimate act of
self-sacrifice was doing precisely that--risking his life
for the people he cares about and loves. He is head over
heels for another character, but when push comes to
shove, it doesn't matter to him if that person would ever
love him back--he will still love her with
everything he is and everything he has. That's just the
kind of love Allen is capable of. It is classic agape
in a human: "Love is...all forgiving, all believing,
all hoping, all enduring. Love never falters." 1
Corinthians 13. Allen would have died if it were not for
the intervention of a friend, which didn't happen to be
the character he was trying to rescue. It says a lot, and
I have nothing but admiration for characters like that.
Doesn't hurt that I think he's kinda cute, too. Or that I
pretend because he has a union suit swimsuit, he would
wear Victorian/Edwardian clothes... Also, hey, ya gotta
give the guy some credit for somehow managing to convince
Jin that he's Good Enough For His Sister.
Much like Citan, Auron is a mystery,
trapped in a puzzle, wrapped up in an enigma. He also
gives the impression that he knows everything (unlike
Citan, he doesn't, but he knows quite enough for his
needs), although he is very slow and cryptic about the
way he gives out the information. He only says what he
feels needs to be said. With few exceptions, he'd rather
people experience and learn first hand what he's already
experienced and learned, because he knows that's the best
way to really learn anything.
He is probably the most honorable character in FFX. He is
not afraid to follow his convictions, even if he later
hates himself for doing it...and he will go to lengths
impossible for ordinary men to keep his promises. He is
extremely reliable, and when anything threatens his
duties, he becomes as immovable as a mountain. Because
the game gives glimpses of him at twenty-five when he is
now, technically, thirty-five, it allows for a better
understanding of his character than would be possible if
he was only seen at his present age...it provides vital
clues to his whole character...which in-game, actually
annoys the heck out of him! Underneath his cynical stone
façade is an emotional idealist who wants nothing more
or less than to change the world. He doesn't have a soft,
gooey center, but he does have a lot more strength of
character and deep emotions that often even he is unaware
of. His sense of humor is as sharp as his sword.
After that, anyone who could raise Tidus for ten years as
a 'foster parent' has got to be given some respect! All
told, another interesting character, especially since it
takes some effort to figure him out : )
He's a smart, funny, handsome,
larger-than life goof-ball hero, a sort of Indiana Jones
for FFVIII. He's also a fairly normal sort, one who might
have lived and died in obscurity if it weren't for his
penchant for finding the nearest trouble and jumping in
head-first. He wears his heart on his sleeve; no secrets
here. He's also very caring and compassionate, willing to
brave danger and travel the world to find the ones he
loves.
He's a journalist who can't speak well at all, but as the
Shumi said, he has a presence about him that simply draws
people to him. It's true: he's certainly a fascinating
character, no matter how witless and idiotic he seems.
Ya know, I ain't quite sure what got me
started on Setzer. It may have been the long silver hair,
the black coat, or the fact that if you equip him just
right, he can be a merciless fighter. Probably some of
everything, with the added mystery of his scars and hair
at such a young age and the carefree, emotional attitude
he has. Anyway, anyone who can use dice to cause 9999 HP
worth of damage is cool in my eyes.
I like Cyan Garamonde too.
And Sephiroth, eat yer heart out, ya cheap Setzer
knock-off!
Oh come on! The original Dragoon! (Well, he was in the US when I wrote this; it's come to my attention that Final Fantasy II has the orginal Dragoon, Richard.) What's not to like? OK, so he's weak willed...but he has a lot of character, more than most of the FFIV cast...or more character development I should say. And he's a Dragoon. Did I mention that he's a Dragoon? He wears armor in the shape of a dragon...geez...
Dragoooooooon!!! *Ahem* Not sure if she's my favorite FFIX character, but she's my favorite to use...Dragon Hair looks too much like Venus Gospel and she has a pole-arm called Kain's Lance... I actually liked a lot of the FFIX characters.
Here's one
of the 'ancient' Why I Likes. I admit, it started out
because he's adorable. What can I say? I started watching
Star Trek when I was...geez, two? I honestly don't
remember, except for snatches of episodes like "The
Corbormite Manuever" and later, Star Trek II:
The Wrath of Khan. Long enough ago that I forgot I
liked it and had to rediscover it when I was in
elementary school. Been a die-hard Trekkie for a long
time, but I've only really enjoyed Roddenberry-helmed
Treks.
Oh yes, back to Mr. Pavel Andreievich (or Andreyevich, or
Andrejevich, depending on how one chooses to Romanize his
patronymic) Chekov, the original source of the term
"Dartboard of the Universe", owing to his
exceptional bad luck. I admitted up front because he's
cute as heck (Walter Koenig still is, last I checked).
Thinking about it, and after watching the movies and
reruns over the years, I've realized there was more to it
than that. Dr. McCoy claims that navigation is a tough
job, but Chekov handles it well, well enough that he
rarely needed to be replaced once he arrives, unlike the
parade of navigators in the first season. So he's
extremely capable. He must also be whip-smart to be the
relief Science Officer after Spock (maybe that's what he
was doing during "Space Seed"?) Not just anyone
gets to be Spock's protégé. He also has a good sense of
humor, if a bit dark and completely goofy at times (I
know he's just yanking chains about those Russian
inventions!) He must really like to be alive and serve on
the Enterprise if he's willing to stay on and
not hide in a Moscow closet after everything life has
thrown at him...and end up inviting death as
Security Chief for Star Trek: TMP (the shirts
were no longer red, but the universe knows who's in
security.) He's ambitious, but not in a bad way, and he
has to have a deeply ingrained respect for life if a Ceti
Eel couldn't force him to kill. He shot up in rank pretty
dang quick to go from Ensign to full Commander and XO in
the time it took for Uhura and Sulu to make full
Commander from Lieutenant and not be in the direct chain
of command. Wore Science blue in STII and
beyond, as I recall. Anyway, all around, a very capable,
smart, funny, and adorable man, and probably would have
been/is a Captain at some point if the constraints of the
movies hadn't forced some characters to not be Captains
and stay on the Enterprise, considering how many
Captains she already had (no, I haven't checked Generations
again to see his rank then--maybe he liked being at XO
level.)
Ah, Data, the
eternal conundrum of Star Trek: The Next Generation and a
character with more facets than a cut diamond. He's been
described as a comic character, and I suppose I can see
that, but I feel he's more a tragic figure--he does,
after all, have a tragic flaw: he wants to be human so
badly he lost sight of who he really was.
I could write essays on Data (and have, if I could find
it...all on his physical characteristcs...you know he can
shift himself in time without help? Funny, neither does
he, but he can.) Anyway, I suppose in a way, it's the
tragedy that I like so much about him. He calls his
creators 'Father' and 'Mother', his creation 'daughter'
and named her Lal, Hindi for 'beloved', and claims he
can't love. He's betrayed by the sister of Tasha Yar (the
only person whom he felt the need to keep a picture of,
he who can count the hairs on a person's head and
remember where every strand falls), but he keeps a little
memento of her and claims he can't feel pain. He has a
best friend and claims he has no affection. He finds out
that he (probably) dies some time in the past in San
Francisco, and he talks to Geordi about looking forward
to mortality because he'll outlive all his friends, make
new ones, then outlive them as well. And he claims he
can't be lonely. Why why why? He's not stupid, why can't
he follow the evidence that just because he can't feel
the way humans feel, that therefor he can't feel at all?
Geordi and Dr. Crusher don't buy it, but everyone else
tells him his incorrect conclusions are right and he
believes them.
He's also extremely dangerous, but normally so guilless
and humble that he'd never think to take advantage of the
situation. That's about as noble as it gets, really. And
he died as nobly as he lived, sacrificing his life for
Picard's. At the time he chose to do so, he had no idea
that Captain Picard had frozen, so he didn't even think
that it was his life or every life on Earth. He thought
it was him or Picard, just that...and so he chose to die
so a man he respected could live. "Greater love has
no man than this, that he lay down his life foir his
friends." John 15:13. I can get behind that.
Err....he's sneaky? This is purely due to him being handsome, nice looking in that sneaking suit, and having a droolworthy voice. Sorry, shallow, I know...it helps that the game is fun...and as long as you don't look too close at the original concept art for MGS and realize he's supposed to look like a weasel...
Now here is a character! He's a
sarcastic, flipant, annoying as all-get-out, skirt
chasing blow hard. But in all that, he is also just about
as genuinely good-hearted as they come. He comes on
looking like a jerk, but he's honest, intellegent, and
doesn't take advantage of people when the chips are down.
All his bluster is just that, bluster. He's a total softy
for little old ladies. If that's not endearing,
I dunno what is.
Of course...that begs the question...why, if I like Peter
the best, do I always seem to write about Egon? Probably
because it's easier. I like Egon well enough; he used
to be my favorite, and probably still would be if I
hadn't seen some things in his character I didn't like
(and hadn't realized Peter really isn't the jerk he
seems). Egon is so easy to get in trouble, mostly because
he asks for it, so it makes it easier to write : )
Back In The Day the main reason was
because he was the science guy, and I loved (and still
love) science. Now I can look back and say a lot of it
was also because he's a lot like me: absent-minded at
times, talking over other's heads (I try not to, but I
still do if ya get me going!), likes to know everything,
doesn't like it when others disbelieve him when he knows
he's right (stubborn a bit perhaps?), talks to inanimate
objects sometimes, and...well...he doesn't have any
'body-consciousness' at all. Couldn't care less
what he looked like, and I mean even in regards to
completely radical changes, like, say, getting stuck in a
tiny (to him) "geisha" styled robot. Doesn't
faze him a bit. I can relate to that...not that I've ever
been trapped in a kimono-wearing robot...
I also like his sense of duty; not necessarily total
loyalty to the Autobots, but loyalty to life. If it meant
his life to save another's, he'd do it in a
heartbeat...and he saved Megatron's life, too. Even beat
nearly senseless, his first concern is not himself but
that people who can still help Save the Universe have the
information they need to do it. I respect that.
I don't think the fact that he can blow stuff up good
hurts either! There's still the science stuff of course.
He seems to have a solution for most everything and has
been responsible for getting many an Autobackside out of
the fire...unless the plot dictates that Grimlock
outsmarts him ; )
Ah...*snicker* It's strong and cute. It
can learn Surf. 'Nuph said.
I actually like all the Eeveelutions for some reason.
Umbreon is huge on Normal type defense...I sorely wish
there was an Eeveelution for every Pokémon type; maybe
I'll draw up my ideas for them someday.
Don't go there : ) If you really want to know, ask me, and I'll try to explain. There are a lot of good, obscure reasons.
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