Silly fiction meme

[altivo]

Haven't done one of these in quite a while. Stolen from drgnkiyo.


List 10 fictional characters you wouldn't kick out of bed (in no particular order) and tag five people to do the same. (I don't tag. But I'm curious to see any responses, just the same.) This one requires some thought.

• Streak, from Kyell Gold's Pendant of Fortune
• Lord Greystoke (Tarzan), from Edgar Rice Burroughs' many stories and books
• Taye Dooley, from Circles
• Marcus, from Associated Student Bodies
• Peter, from Gordon Merrick's The Lord Won't Mind
• Tully, from C. J. Cherryh's Chanur books
• Balto, from the Dreamworks film
• Danilo, from Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Heritage of Hastur
• Lancelot du Lac from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Mort d'Arthur and the film Camelot
• F'lar from Anne McCaffrey's Pern books
• Eunostos, from Thomas Burnett Swann's The Forest of Forever and Day of the Minotaur
• Saetto (and Arthur Husky too) from Leo Magna's comic strip Fur-Piled

Yes, I know, that's eleven, not ten. [Edit again: Up to 13 now, but once I thought of Saetto I just couldn't possibly leave him out.]

There are others, of course. Probably most readers won't recognize more than half of these, but that's only fair, since Kiyo's list all came from animé or manga and I don't recognize any of them. ;p

Comments

[vimsig.livejournal.com]

who'd get to lancelot first

*wiggles eyebrows*

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, he's quite an archetype isn't he? Malory left hints of bisexuality in his character, though most everyone else ignored that. Probably most people wouldn't really know who he was except for the musical and the film version of Camelot which rather tilted (pun intended) the image a bit to one side. On the other hand, Franco Nero was almost as remarkable in that role as he was as Gypsy Joe in the film version of D. H. Lawrence's The Virgin and the Gypsy.

[saythename.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Ten? Alright, I'll give it a shot...

1) Gwendolyn Ingolfsson from Draka!
2) Ripley, from Aliens.
3) Tiffany Case (Jill St. John) from Diamonds Are Forever
4) Zhukora, from A Whisper of Wings
5) Bree, from A Horse And His Boy
6) Candy Floss OR Wicked Wanda from the Penthouse comic
7) Contessa from Animalypics.
8) Sugar from Batman Forever (Drew Barrymore)
9) Catharine The Great from the 1986 Peter The Great
mini-series (Hanna Schygulla) Does this one count?
10) Artemis, from numerous Greek stories, goddess of
the hunt and wild things.

This was hard actually. Some obsessions die hard though.

XD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_qDftr0VVA

[altivo.livejournal.com]

ROTFL! Pyanfar seemed sure at one point that there was some kind of sexual chemistry between Hilfy and Tully, and I can understand why. I suspect she was more than right to suspect. I almost put down Kim Mahn (Pyanfar's mate) instead of Tully, because I really like his character as far as we can see it, but it isn't enough truly.

OMG, Bree. How could I have left out Bree?
*smacks self with a riding crop* Ow!

The very fact that a mostly straight arrow like you thought of him shows how remiss I was. Actually, there's very little in Narnia that ever felt the least bit sexual to me, but this was phrased as "wouldn't kick him out of bed" and that's far too weak for some of these characters. I should also mention Jewel, the unicorn (Prince Caspian,) and Puzzle, the donkey (The Last Battle.)

[hrrunka]

Yeah... I can think of way too many characters who seem quite cuddly enough that I wouldn't kick them out of bed. Now, how significant is that "him", I wonder. Some folks seem to treat it as gender-neutral. Ah, the ambiguity... ;)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Just the generic for "him or her," of course. Or "it" if you really feel that way about something. ;p

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Hmm, took a while for the name to come to me, but another Narnian: Fledge, the father of all flying horses (The Magician's Nephew.)

[saythename.livejournal.com]

Magicians Nephew is, arguably, the best of the series,
and I'd go so far to say that Lewis, in that one book,
summed up the entire 19th century feeling of mystery and
fun and danger and shivery otherness that all the other
authors before him were striving for.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. I have a hard time deciding whether I'd choose The Magician's Nephew or The Last Battle as the best work in the series. Sorry, Bree, much as I adore your character, The Horse and his Boy comes third for me. Last Battle, of course, was the one that got the Carnegie Medal.

There are different reasons for favoring each, but it's not insignificant that those were the last three books Lewis wrote for the series. His view of the whole had matured a great deal by then, and so had his writing style as addressed to a young readership. I find it terribly unfortunate that the publishers have renumbered the books now and call Magician's Nephew "book 1" because it doesn't work that way. Sure, chronologically it comes first, but even young readers can deal with stories told out of chronological order. In complexity, and in the background needed to understand the setting, putting that book first is a terrible and confusing error. The pivotal events on which the entire series hangs took place in the first book written, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Much of The Magician's Nephew loses its significance and importance without the background that lies in the books Lewis wrote before it. I always advise first time readers, regardless of age group, to take Narnia in the order in which the author wrote it. On a second reading, they can do it the other way if they like, because they will have the essential facts down.

[saythename.livejournal.com]

I have no opine on what publishers do, but I
have to admit that I read Magicians Nephew first.
Back in the day, between third and fourth grades,
there was this summer library thing where you
could help the librarian (Ms. Paul to be exact)
sort books and generally get things ready for the
next year. School itself was never fun for me, but
the library was school enough and I would ride my
bike up to the brick building (now gone and turned
into a small series of offices). One afternoon
I found, literally randomly, The Magicians Nephew,
in the old 50s style gold/yellow hardback. The
library smelled of books and paper the way books
warmed in summer with the windows closed do, and
it was a nice day and from the first page I was
hooked. Lewis first personish narration (really
the author reading a story to you) just worked
for my young mind. Like your crazy online uncle
telling you a story hmmm? ^_^ Anyway, I asked
Ms. Paul if I could take the book out, even though
we (me, her and two other kids) were supposed
to be sorting, not taking out. Ms. Paul, not
one to refuse a request for a kid to read let me.
I remember sitting in Kelly Park (this spit of
land between a suburban neighborhood and a strip
mall) on one of those huge metal swings with
the tops as multicolored heads and looking up
when it was almost dark and running home.

Wow, where did that flashback come from?

I have to go see Prince Caspian now.

XD

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Alas, I was grown (or at least, a junior in college) before I encountered the Narnia books. Somehow I missed them earlier, though I had read many of the other award winning books of the 50s and earlier. I literally devoured all of Hugh Lofting's wonderful Dr. Doolittle stories, for instance, and Mary O'Hara, Marguerite Henry, Walter Farley, as well.

Fortunately, I've never lost the ability to read kids' books and appreciate them (this is useful for a librarian, after all) and though I first saw Narnia through eyes tinted by a "Christian Literature" course, it did no harm. Lewis used to deny that he was writing allegory when he wrote the first book, and perhaps he didn't intend it as such. It can as easily be viewed as a pagan myth, a retelling of the story of Baldur the Beautiful or any of the other old tales of resurrection and redemption.

[saythename.livejournal.com]

I can see the Christian themes in the books,
but its not an unexpected thing really, if
you consider the author. It never bothered
me or altered my views on Christianity one
way or the other to be honest.

I vaugely remember the Dr. Doolittle series,
I was in second or third grade when I read
them so thats going WAY back. @.@

And yes, I tell my kids when they worry about
reading "baby" books; "I'm 42, I read anything
I want, what do you care? If you like it, read
it."

Of course if they bring home a copy of "The Happy
Hooker" or one of Nancy Friday's tomes (ala
"My Secret Garden") thats not what I'm aiming
for. O.O XD

[altivo.livejournal.com]

It's only fair to point out that Lewis started work on Narnia long before his personal conversion to Christianity. He always said that it began with the image of a faun carrying an umbrella in a snowstorm. Eventually that faun became Mr. Tumnus, Lucy's friend. The idea of Aslan's sacrifice and resurrection, and associating it with the return of spring and normal seasons in Narnia, is apparently based on the Scandinavian myth of Baldur.

[saythename.livejournal.com]

That idea of "the vision" in fiction writing
is, I think, true. I'm only a wannabe, but
there are mental images (the small clocktower
in the suburban bedroom community that doesn't
belong there, or the huge pack of dogs that
move in precise "drill and ceremony" ways) that
are so evokative you think, "Now where did that
come from? How would that work?"

[saythename.livejournal.com]

Bree rocks. Sorry but I stand my ground here. ^.~

You really would like Gwen.

Of course you'd have no choice...

[songcoyote.livejournal.com]

Hmm... 10 fictional characters to bed? I'll not edit or ponder, just name the first 10 that come to mind:

1. Han Solo. Oh gods yes!
2. Inara from Firefly. Um... please?
3. Zig Zag. What fun!
4. Faramir from the recent movies. Yum!
5. Ardeth Bay from The Mummy. Tasty!
6. Willow from Buffy TVS.
7. Agatha Heterodyne from Girl Genius
8. Phedre Delaunay from the Kushiel series.
9. Nessus from the Ringworld series (definitely my earliest foray into xenophilia!)
10. Anubis, protector and guide to the dead

I could come up with many more, but those are today's list. Thanks for the thought-provoking meme!

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Hee. Han Solo? Back in the day, I thought Mark Hammell as Luke was cuter. But when Harrison Ford was Indiana Jones, then he caught my attention. ;p

And mostly I tried to avoid live action films because of the question of which is attractive, the character or just the actor? Even so, I can't think of Lancelot without picturing Franco Nero in the role.

Anubis is certainly a striking figure, but I've never been able to picture him in a sexual context. I'm not sure I can do that with any of the Egyptian deities.

[songcoyote.livejournal.com]

Han v. Luke... yeah, I can see it, but I like both Han and Harrison more overall. I find Mr. Ford more attractive physically as Indy, but I like Han more than Indy. Harrison is aging very deliciously as well!

I'm fine with blurring the line between character and actor, though the character drives it at least as much as the actore does for me. For example, I find the guy who plays the mummy in the recent Mummy pictures quite attractive, but the character is quite unpleasant, and Ardeth is a more intruiging person who could seriously use getting some good Coyote lovin' regardless of what Oded would think of the idea ;)

I was much more able to see Egyptian deities (particularly Anpu/Anubis) in a sexual context after seeing Heather Bruton and Dark Natasha's visions of them. Yummy! The comic Anubis - Dark Desires helped a bit, too.

Anyway, thanks again for the thoughts. These little tidbits are fun to exchange with you!

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Oh well, if we're looking for guys who are aging to an irresistible ripeness, then I'll take Richard Gere. ;p

[songcoyote.livejournal.com]

Heh... I can see the appeal, but he's not my style. To go a step further, I'd definitely enjoy Ian McKellen. His personality is just so... magnetic!

And on the ladies' side: definitely Dame Judi Dench.

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Hehe :) Why Tivo you do surprise.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Hmm? Now what's surprising about this? Tell me. XD

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

Well, the fact you even posted something which alluded to fantasies with fiction :) Balto was surprising I must say.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, Balto is sexy. Really. Though I like the shaman wolf in Balto 2 just as much...