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Apr. 5th, 2005 10:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tarigwaemirLowell House, on the Feast of St. Vincent Ferrier
Well, I'm glad to see that I am not alone in my hate for cockroaches. ^_^ Thanks for the advice and condolences; the roommate and I plan to invest in roach traps (as soon as I get a chance to stop by CVS).
Spent most of today harvesting plant tissue for DNA preps at the lab. We finished four flats out of fourteen in four hours. I will probably have to stay there late on Thursday night to get it done, since we have that extra afternoon practice. Oh shoot, I need to sand and oil my shinai. >_<
I don't know if it's the norm or not, but most of my favorite characters are people that I really, really want to be. That does not always equal people I am attracted to, although I have to admit that I'm a narcissist and tend to like people who either resemble me or resemble an ideal image of myself. On the other hand, there are the occasional purely shallow choices that break the rule and complicate matters.
Books
1. Ender's Game and sequels: Ender - Several people guessed Bean, which surprised me because I don't particularly like Bean all that much after reading the latest set of sequels. I don't have much sympathy for Bean's particular set of neuroses although that may change after reading the newest book, which![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kaydeefalls says is amazing. I suppose I share Bean's tendency to arrogance and isolation, but these are not characteristics that I am particularly proud of. Ender, however, is a character that I empathize with completely (not only in Battle School, but all throughout his Lusitania saga as well). There are, of course, key differences--I'm definitely neither a strategist or a genius--but Ender is a character that I can understand completely in the way he thinks, feels and reacts. Reading books require the reader to inhabit the mind of the character, and there are often books where the ride is uncomfortable and rocky, but I can fit myself into Ender's mind seamlessly. Perhaps that says more for Card's ability than anything else, but I don't have that kind of resonance with any of the other characters.
2. The Lord of the Rings: Elrond - Hugo Weaving is not exactly the way I picture Elrond, but in any case, Elrond is the type of character that I want to be, if I were in a fantasy epic. In other words, powerful, wise and not actually part of the action. Okay, flippancy aside, Elrond is a reluctant bridge between two worlds and two species, and although we only see glimpses of him in Lord of the Rings, I think we do get a glimpse of his melancholy demeanor. I also think that Elrond in the book is much more silent and restrained than Elrond in the movies--he has a sort of gravity and calmness that Hugo Weaving sacrifices for a more emotional portrayal--and that sort of serenity is also a part of the type of person that I tend to admire. Gandalf would have been a good guess: he's my second favorite. (The bonus, which no one guessed, is Feanor, who is another character I want to be, although for a totally different sort of archetype.)
3. Harry Potter series: Ron - All right, so when I first read the first three Harry Potter books, it never occurred to me that Slytherins were at all interesting (Draco in the books is boring and uncreative, a far cry from his fandom incarnation). Sirius Black was a Edmond Dantes type of madman (before Dantes cleaned up and became the Count of Monte Cristo), and Remus Lupin was a faceless librarian who had the defining characteristic of being a werewolf. In other words, until I encountered Harry Potter fandom, I thought most of the usual fandom favorites were uninteresting to say the least. For a long time, I liked Harry and Ron--their sort of typical schoolboy friendship was something I'd longed for when I was ten--but the fifth book struck Harry out of the running. (His constant anger made my head ache. An uncomfortable "fit", so to speak.) Ron on the other hand matured, I think, in Order of the Phoenix, and although fandom often makes him dull and pedestrian, I actually think he's much more interesting for his ambition and his loyalty (both characteristics I admire). Also, it helps that he's brilliant at wizarding chess. (Why do fanfiction writers think he's dumb? All of the Weasleys did well in school, why should Ron be the exception?)
4. Discworld series: Lao-tze the sweeper - Obscure character I know, but he gets quite a large role in Thief of Time, my favorite Discworld book. Okay, the idea of being the invisible time traveler who sets world-changing events into motion appeals to me in every possible way. Furthermore, Lao-tze gets to play the irascible teacher in Thief of Time, which is yet another type of character that I want to be, if I were in a fantasy novel. I mean, weak-looking old Asian man who in the moment of crisis turns out to be scarily powerful...change that to weak-looking Asian girl, and you'll just have defined the not-so-secret ambition of my life.
5. Vlad Taltos series: Morrolan - A bit of a shallow choice, in this case. Morrolan drips coolness, in the way that only a Dragonlord can. He has everything: status, wealth, power, magic, connections. Not to mention the idiosyncrasy and disregard for convention that only a true aristocrat can pull off so well. Sethra Lavode comes a really close second though.
6. Valdemar series: Vanyel - Another shallow choice, since he's a bit of a Gary Stu. But oh-so-obvious: what thirteen-year-old girl can read the Last Herald-Mage trilogy and not fall in love with Vanyel? And of course, the great tragic romance makes him all the more appealing.
7. The Riddle-Master of Hed trilogy: Deth - Raederle was a good guess, since she's easily my second-favorite, along with Morgon himself. But Deth again typifies the type of character I want to be--an observer of events, a wise advisor and mentor, a man of learning and culture--although not so typically we discover that he is at the end to all the riddles and holds the key to the entire story.
8. Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy: Jiriki - Probably another shallow choice, but Jiriki is simply wonderful. I think he falls in line with the Feanor/Morrolan trend: a little hot-headed, very talented, immortal...and of course, his loyalty to Simon is noteworthy. Let's just say I have a weakness for elves, particularly (relatively) young ones, who have that paradoxical mix of being both ancient and immature at the same time.
9. A Song of Fire and Ice series: Jon Snow - The Starks were the only characters I could stand in this series. Their brand of unbending integrity is very much something that I value, and of all the characters, Jon Snow, I think, exemplifies the clean, cold honesty of this family, who alone remembers winter. Also, Jon is in the uncomfortable position of being a noble's bastard; the fact that he belongs nowhere makes him unusually perceptive and best suited for survival. Jon is a leader and a main character, unlike my other favorites, but leadership is not so much an innate talent as something he struggles to master.
10. The Belgariad series: Silk - Everyone guessed Polgara. Odd. I suppose I could see why but there's much in Polgara's personality that doesn't quite mesh with mine. Not that I particularly identify with Silk either, but Silk is just hilarious. Spy, thief and entrepreneur--he exudes coolness, albeit in a slippery fashion. How can you not like the man who plays with the bean stocks in Mallorea?
11. The Dark is Rising sequence: Will - I think it should be clear by now why I like Will best. He very much typifies the type of character I like.
12. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell: John Segundus - Obviously because I'm a born academic. Jonathan Strange is charming when he's ironic but he's a tad too dramatic for me. I have to confess that I also have a tremendous soft spot for Mr. Norrell, despite his misogyny. But John Segundus' refusal to sign the agreement was indeed a mark of integrity, in my book, and a sign of a true scholar.
Anime/Manga
1. Hikaru no Go: Touya - Sai comes a close second, but Touya all the way. I planned my life when I was seven, and there has been few major changes to the path so far. So I sympathize with the way Touya thinks, down to his frustration and confusion when Shindou forces him to completely rethink things. He is exhilarated by the thrill of stepping off the road for the first time in his life but also infuriated. I admire Touya's intensity and total commitment--I know people say that it's narrow-minded to focus so much on one thing, but I consider that to be the real meaning of passion.
2. Death Note: Light - L kind of frightens me, which I tried to explain in my fic Hypothetical, although I don't know if I conveyed the idea appropriately or not. The way I see it, Light believes in the strength of his own humanity--he proclaims himself God and judge, no?--which is hubristic but still comprehensible. L, however, seems to want to represent an even more inhuman sort of justice. Light attempts to rise above the limits set by the social conventions of ordinary mortals, but L seems to have always existed outside them--he treats them as abstractions not actual obstacles. Also, I like Light because the whole model student going psychotic appeals to my, um, more violent side.
3. Ravages of Time: Zhuge Liang - All right, so I suppose Zhuge Liang hasn't had much of a role in the scanslated chapters out so far. But he is still the one character that I adore wholeheartedly. I think the reasons are obvious, but if not, ask, and I shall subject you to my fangirl ravings. My second favorite is currently Liaoyuan Huo, although it may switch back to Sima Yi, at some point. Huo's devil-may-care attitude and occasional psychotic face makes my day. ^_^
4. Bleach: Ichigo - I feel that although Bleach has a wide and varied cast, the other characters tend to pop in and out of the spotlight as side attractions, while the real story is all about Ichigo and Rukia. If it weren't for the fandom, I wouldn't even remember the Division captains' names. I tend to automatically go for the main characters in anime because according to the shounen mantra, the person with the strongest will and drive to win will win the day. The whole continual cycle of "surpassing one's limits" appeals to me very much, and Ichigo, clearly, is the one that is pushed to his extremes the most often.
5. Shaman King: Yoh - I wrote an LJ entry before on why I liked Yoh: his Buddhist compassion, his Taoist passiveness. Yes, he's stoned, and yes, he's awesome. Although he's another example of my preference for main characters, I have a particular fondness for Yoh because I agree with his philosophy. (Too bad I don't have the easygoing personality to pull it off.)
6. Prince of Tennis: Shinji - Because I stopped reading the manga in the middle of the St. Rudolph doubles matches, I don't really know any of the other schools other than Fudoumine. And I particularly adore Fudoumine. Shinji happens to be my favorite because I find the mental manipulation involved in Spot so much more interesting than Fuji's triple counters and also because Tryogeru and I spent a whole summer talking about Shinji and why we adored him. Shinji's "genius" is a lot more apparent to me than Fuji's. A part of that is due to the fact that I never read enough of the manga to see Fuji in his original context, so I only know him in a fanon context. I've noticed that Fuji is usually portrayed as an effortless genius, and while I don't seem to mind it so much within the fic, I actually despise these sorts of people in real life and find them frustrating (I suppose in much the same way Tezuka does). Shinji on the other hand visibly works to develop his genius, which on a personal level makes me take him more seriously.
7. Eyeshield 21: Hiruma - Because I know what it means to try to recruit members for a dying club. (Machine guns! Why didn't I think of that in eleventh grade?) Also because Hiruma fics have brainwashed me.
8. Rurouni Kenshin: Yahiko - Yahiko carries a shinai, and he comes the closest to practicing kendo as we recognize it today. (Kenshin's battoujutsu is much closer to iaido, I think.) I read the manga after I joined the kendobu here last year, so naturally, I liked him best. A bit of a trivial reason, but that's the truth.
9. Card Captor Sakura: Eriol - Manipulative smirking magician. What more can I say? Also, his sense of humor is hilarious (giant teddy bears, of all things).
10. X/Tokyo Babylon: Subaru - Totally superficial, but in the X anime series, there's this shot of Subaru smoking cigarettes while sitting on his bed, and he looks absolutely gorgeous. I don't quite like the Tokyo Babylon incarnation of Subaru all that much, but in X, he with his white trenchcoat makes me swoon. He angsts too much, but then so does everyone else in X except for the villains, and despite everything, I don't usually like villains all that much.
11. Gundam Wing: Heero - I keep mentioning integrity, and I'll say it again: Heero has integrity. More specifically, he accepts the consequences of his principles, and he bears complete responsibility for his actions. Note the scene with Sylvia Noventa. In doing so, he has, I think, true freedom of action, while the other pilots remain puppets of their circumstances or past. Heero has no name, no past, no ties, only purpose...and while fanfiction writers assume Heero to be the obedient robot, I don't agree; I think he believes in his cause even more fervently than Relena believes in pacifism, and unlike Relena, he fully understands all the implications of acting by his beliefs. Heero was the first anime character I obsessed over, and again, he's the character that I would want to be.
12. Weiß Kreuz: Aya - I think I can sum this one up quickly: (1) revenge fetish and (2) eye candy. Normally, I find dark-haired, pale-faced, clean-faced young men like Subaru or Sano from HanaKimi attractive, but Aya is an bizarre exception. He's gorgeous, and he's obsessed with revenging his family. Enough said.
Scores:
tryogeru 4/12 (6/12 if you allow for re-guessing)
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
worldserpent 7/14
jaebi_lit 4/5
aetherangelette 7/12 (9/12 if you allow for re-guessing)
ladydaera 3/8
klio911 3/6
Yours &c.
Well, I'm glad to see that I am not alone in my hate for cockroaches. ^_^ Thanks for the advice and condolences; the roommate and I plan to invest in roach traps (as soon as I get a chance to stop by CVS).
Spent most of today harvesting plant tissue for DNA preps at the lab. We finished four flats out of fourteen in four hours. I will probably have to stay there late on Thursday night to get it done, since we have that extra afternoon practice. Oh shoot, I need to sand and oil my shinai. >_<
I don't know if it's the norm or not, but most of my favorite characters are people that I really, really want to be. That does not always equal people I am attracted to, although I have to admit that I'm a narcissist and tend to like people who either resemble me or resemble an ideal image of myself. On the other hand, there are the occasional purely shallow choices that break the rule and complicate matters.
Books
1. Ender's Game and sequels: Ender - Several people guessed Bean, which surprised me because I don't particularly like Bean all that much after reading the latest set of sequels. I don't have much sympathy for Bean's particular set of neuroses although that may change after reading the newest book, which
kaydeefalls says is amazing. I suppose I share Bean's tendency to arrogance and isolation, but these are not characteristics that I am particularly proud of. Ender, however, is a character that I empathize with completely (not only in Battle School, but all throughout his Lusitania saga as well). There are, of course, key differences--I'm definitely neither a strategist or a genius--but Ender is a character that I can understand completely in the way he thinks, feels and reacts. Reading books require the reader to inhabit the mind of the character, and there are often books where the ride is uncomfortable and rocky, but I can fit myself into Ender's mind seamlessly. Perhaps that says more for Card's ability than anything else, but I don't have that kind of resonance with any of the other characters.2. The Lord of the Rings: Elrond - Hugo Weaving is not exactly the way I picture Elrond, but in any case, Elrond is the type of character that I want to be, if I were in a fantasy epic. In other words, powerful, wise and not actually part of the action. Okay, flippancy aside, Elrond is a reluctant bridge between two worlds and two species, and although we only see glimpses of him in Lord of the Rings, I think we do get a glimpse of his melancholy demeanor. I also think that Elrond in the book is much more silent and restrained than Elrond in the movies--he has a sort of gravity and calmness that Hugo Weaving sacrifices for a more emotional portrayal--and that sort of serenity is also a part of the type of person that I tend to admire. Gandalf would have been a good guess: he's my second favorite. (The bonus, which no one guessed, is Feanor, who is another character I want to be, although for a totally different sort of archetype.)
3. Harry Potter series: Ron - All right, so when I first read the first three Harry Potter books, it never occurred to me that Slytherins were at all interesting (Draco in the books is boring and uncreative, a far cry from his fandom incarnation). Sirius Black was a Edmond Dantes type of madman (before Dantes cleaned up and became the Count of Monte Cristo), and Remus Lupin was a faceless librarian who had the defining characteristic of being a werewolf. In other words, until I encountered Harry Potter fandom, I thought most of the usual fandom favorites were uninteresting to say the least. For a long time, I liked Harry and Ron--their sort of typical schoolboy friendship was something I'd longed for when I was ten--but the fifth book struck Harry out of the running. (His constant anger made my head ache. An uncomfortable "fit", so to speak.) Ron on the other hand matured, I think, in Order of the Phoenix, and although fandom often makes him dull and pedestrian, I actually think he's much more interesting for his ambition and his loyalty (both characteristics I admire). Also, it helps that he's brilliant at wizarding chess. (Why do fanfiction writers think he's dumb? All of the Weasleys did well in school, why should Ron be the exception?)
4. Discworld series: Lao-tze the sweeper - Obscure character I know, but he gets quite a large role in Thief of Time, my favorite Discworld book. Okay, the idea of being the invisible time traveler who sets world-changing events into motion appeals to me in every possible way. Furthermore, Lao-tze gets to play the irascible teacher in Thief of Time, which is yet another type of character that I want to be, if I were in a fantasy novel. I mean, weak-looking old Asian man who in the moment of crisis turns out to be scarily powerful...change that to weak-looking Asian girl, and you'll just have defined the not-so-secret ambition of my life.
5. Vlad Taltos series: Morrolan - A bit of a shallow choice, in this case. Morrolan drips coolness, in the way that only a Dragonlord can. He has everything: status, wealth, power, magic, connections. Not to mention the idiosyncrasy and disregard for convention that only a true aristocrat can pull off so well. Sethra Lavode comes a really close second though.
6. Valdemar series: Vanyel - Another shallow choice, since he's a bit of a Gary Stu. But oh-so-obvious: what thirteen-year-old girl can read the Last Herald-Mage trilogy and not fall in love with Vanyel? And of course, the great tragic romance makes him all the more appealing.
7. The Riddle-Master of Hed trilogy: Deth - Raederle was a good guess, since she's easily my second-favorite, along with Morgon himself. But Deth again typifies the type of character I want to be--an observer of events, a wise advisor and mentor, a man of learning and culture--although not so typically we discover that he is at the end to all the riddles and holds the key to the entire story.
8. Memory, Sorrow and Thorn trilogy: Jiriki - Probably another shallow choice, but Jiriki is simply wonderful. I think he falls in line with the Feanor/Morrolan trend: a little hot-headed, very talented, immortal...and of course, his loyalty to Simon is noteworthy. Let's just say I have a weakness for elves, particularly (relatively) young ones, who have that paradoxical mix of being both ancient and immature at the same time.
9. A Song of Fire and Ice series: Jon Snow - The Starks were the only characters I could stand in this series. Their brand of unbending integrity is very much something that I value, and of all the characters, Jon Snow, I think, exemplifies the clean, cold honesty of this family, who alone remembers winter. Also, Jon is in the uncomfortable position of being a noble's bastard; the fact that he belongs nowhere makes him unusually perceptive and best suited for survival. Jon is a leader and a main character, unlike my other favorites, but leadership is not so much an innate talent as something he struggles to master.
10. The Belgariad series: Silk - Everyone guessed Polgara. Odd. I suppose I could see why but there's much in Polgara's personality that doesn't quite mesh with mine. Not that I particularly identify with Silk either, but Silk is just hilarious. Spy, thief and entrepreneur--he exudes coolness, albeit in a slippery fashion. How can you not like the man who plays with the bean stocks in Mallorea?
11. The Dark is Rising sequence: Will - I think it should be clear by now why I like Will best. He very much typifies the type of character I like.
12. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell: John Segundus - Obviously because I'm a born academic. Jonathan Strange is charming when he's ironic but he's a tad too dramatic for me. I have to confess that I also have a tremendous soft spot for Mr. Norrell, despite his misogyny. But John Segundus' refusal to sign the agreement was indeed a mark of integrity, in my book, and a sign of a true scholar.
Anime/Manga
1. Hikaru no Go: Touya - Sai comes a close second, but Touya all the way. I planned my life when I was seven, and there has been few major changes to the path so far. So I sympathize with the way Touya thinks, down to his frustration and confusion when Shindou forces him to completely rethink things. He is exhilarated by the thrill of stepping off the road for the first time in his life but also infuriated. I admire Touya's intensity and total commitment--I know people say that it's narrow-minded to focus so much on one thing, but I consider that to be the real meaning of passion.
2. Death Note: Light - L kind of frightens me, which I tried to explain in my fic Hypothetical, although I don't know if I conveyed the idea appropriately or not. The way I see it, Light believes in the strength of his own humanity--he proclaims himself God and judge, no?--which is hubristic but still comprehensible. L, however, seems to want to represent an even more inhuman sort of justice. Light attempts to rise above the limits set by the social conventions of ordinary mortals, but L seems to have always existed outside them--he treats them as abstractions not actual obstacles. Also, I like Light because the whole model student going psychotic appeals to my, um, more violent side.
3. Ravages of Time: Zhuge Liang - All right, so I suppose Zhuge Liang hasn't had much of a role in the scanslated chapters out so far. But he is still the one character that I adore wholeheartedly. I think the reasons are obvious, but if not, ask, and I shall subject you to my fangirl ravings. My second favorite is currently Liaoyuan Huo, although it may switch back to Sima Yi, at some point. Huo's devil-may-care attitude and occasional psychotic face makes my day. ^_^
4. Bleach: Ichigo - I feel that although Bleach has a wide and varied cast, the other characters tend to pop in and out of the spotlight as side attractions, while the real story is all about Ichigo and Rukia. If it weren't for the fandom, I wouldn't even remember the Division captains' names. I tend to automatically go for the main characters in anime because according to the shounen mantra, the person with the strongest will and drive to win will win the day. The whole continual cycle of "surpassing one's limits" appeals to me very much, and Ichigo, clearly, is the one that is pushed to his extremes the most often.
5. Shaman King: Yoh - I wrote an LJ entry before on why I liked Yoh: his Buddhist compassion, his Taoist passiveness. Yes, he's stoned, and yes, he's awesome. Although he's another example of my preference for main characters, I have a particular fondness for Yoh because I agree with his philosophy. (Too bad I don't have the easygoing personality to pull it off.)
6. Prince of Tennis: Shinji - Because I stopped reading the manga in the middle of the St. Rudolph doubles matches, I don't really know any of the other schools other than Fudoumine. And I particularly adore Fudoumine. Shinji happens to be my favorite because I find the mental manipulation involved in Spot so much more interesting than Fuji's triple counters and also because Tryogeru and I spent a whole summer talking about Shinji and why we adored him. Shinji's "genius" is a lot more apparent to me than Fuji's. A part of that is due to the fact that I never read enough of the manga to see Fuji in his original context, so I only know him in a fanon context. I've noticed that Fuji is usually portrayed as an effortless genius, and while I don't seem to mind it so much within the fic, I actually despise these sorts of people in real life and find them frustrating (I suppose in much the same way Tezuka does). Shinji on the other hand visibly works to develop his genius, which on a personal level makes me take him more seriously.
7. Eyeshield 21: Hiruma - Because I know what it means to try to recruit members for a dying club. (Machine guns! Why didn't I think of that in eleventh grade?) Also because Hiruma fics have brainwashed me.
8. Rurouni Kenshin: Yahiko - Yahiko carries a shinai, and he comes the closest to practicing kendo as we recognize it today. (Kenshin's battoujutsu is much closer to iaido, I think.) I read the manga after I joined the kendobu here last year, so naturally, I liked him best. A bit of a trivial reason, but that's the truth.
9. Card Captor Sakura: Eriol - Manipulative smirking magician. What more can I say? Also, his sense of humor is hilarious (giant teddy bears, of all things).
10. X/Tokyo Babylon: Subaru - Totally superficial, but in the X anime series, there's this shot of Subaru smoking cigarettes while sitting on his bed, and he looks absolutely gorgeous. I don't quite like the Tokyo Babylon incarnation of Subaru all that much, but in X, he with his white trenchcoat makes me swoon. He angsts too much, but then so does everyone else in X except for the villains, and despite everything, I don't usually like villains all that much.
11. Gundam Wing: Heero - I keep mentioning integrity, and I'll say it again: Heero has integrity. More specifically, he accepts the consequences of his principles, and he bears complete responsibility for his actions. Note the scene with Sylvia Noventa. In doing so, he has, I think, true freedom of action, while the other pilots remain puppets of their circumstances or past. Heero has no name, no past, no ties, only purpose...and while fanfiction writers assume Heero to be the obedient robot, I don't agree; I think he believes in his cause even more fervently than Relena believes in pacifism, and unlike Relena, he fully understands all the implications of acting by his beliefs. Heero was the first anime character I obsessed over, and again, he's the character that I would want to be.
12. Weiß Kreuz: Aya - I think I can sum this one up quickly: (1) revenge fetish and (2) eye candy. Normally, I find dark-haired, pale-faced, clean-faced young men like Subaru or Sano from HanaKimi attractive, but Aya is an bizarre exception. He's gorgeous, and he's obsessed with revenging his family. Enough said.
Scores:
tryogeru 4/12 (6/12 if you allow for re-guessing)worldserpent 7/14jaebi_lit 4/5aetherangelette 7/12 (9/12 if you allow for re-guessing)ladydaera 3/8klio911 3/6Yours &c.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-06 03:37 am (UTC)i was also gonna guess elrond next. yahiko is somewhat of a surprise, hehe. although the kendo conneciton did cross my mind, i woulda guessed kaoru by that logic.
yaaaay.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-06 04:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-06 04:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-06 06:14 am (UTC)Also Will, Yoh, and... Heero! I love Heero so much. Hate fics that bastardize him.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-06 04:33 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 12:45 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 01:40 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 07:11 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-06 08:53 am (UTC)2. Interesting interpretation of L... So you're one of those people who thinks that he's also a sociopath, just a different sort?
3. Afraid that you're going to have to wait 'til volume thirteen to see more of Zhuge Liang... He also appears for a chapter in volume sixteen.
5. Haha, agreed on Morrolan. Exact same reasoning.
10. Hmm, another person who prefers X Subaru to TB Subaru.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-06 04:31 pm (UTC)I don't think L is sociopathic, just...hm...I feel that L is not subject to the same sort of human vulnerabilities as Raito. Raito, in claiming godlike status, still acts in response to human society--he is disgusted and bored by people's weaknesses, but he still reacts to them on a personal level and thus is still somehow subject to them. L on the other hand seems to study human behavior as if he was examining bugs--he has no particular emotional response other than a remote sort of curiosity. This is not necessarily sociopathic, I don't think, just creepy and hard to relate to.
Well, I did encounter X Subaru first. ^_^;; Tokyo Babylon Subaru is just a little too shy and naive for me.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-06 05:53 pm (UTC)Mmm, but why would L be doing it all if he didn't feel some investment in opposing crime? That's why I feel that L was not that well developed, because we had no idea why he did what he did.
L on the other hand seems to study human behavior as if he was examining bugs--he has no particular emotional response other than a remote sort of curiosity.
I don't know, this to me is sort of the textbook root of sociopathy, lack of empathy to other human beings.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-06 08:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-06 08:41 pm (UTC)procrastination
Date: 2005-05-07 08:26 pm (UTC)I have the same conception of L (which is the only thing that redeems "I am Yours, Mine" in my head, the line where he talks about solving puzzles). I'm ambivalent about him - while I like his detachment and his ability to play with humans as puzzle pieces, because that's something that I wish I could do (my not very suppressed, though fortunately never acted upon, immoral and sadistic side is all about seeing how people tick and what it takes to manipulate them), if he were a RL character I'd stay as far away as I could from him for fear of coming under his microscope.
Re: Shinji and effortless geniuses v. effortful geniuses. While the concept of pure brilliance and inborn talent is intriguing, those people tend to bring out my green-eyed monster. Some of it is laziness, I'll admit ("Why do I have to work so hard when they just sail through the Phaedo? Not fair!"), but part of it is wishing I could be that brilliant. I haven't met very many effortless geniuses, but most of the ones that I have are alright because they're so passionately interested in something that it's hard to dislike them. There was one, though, who was the most terribly lazy person I've ever met and didn't use his intelligence at all, which infuriated me.
Re: procrastination
Date: 2005-05-08 11:27 pm (UTC)Well, for me, the effortless genius is precisely the type of person who fails to be passionate about their area of talent, who simply excels with indifference. I think by the very act of being interested, the genius in question is putting in effort, although it may not be the same kind of struggling for comprehension/mastery that the rest of us poor mortals have to deal with. I find this kind of person infuriating, having encountered many of them in high school. Especially when they pull out the excuses and imply, "I could have done better than you, but I just couldn't be bothered to show my true genius." Fuji isn't quite that bad, of course, but he does have the tendency to not really invest anything in tennis because he doesn't need to, and fanfiction often glamourizes this aspect of his personality, which has started to annoy me because I don't think it should be glamourized at all.
I like L as a collection of quirks, but from the broader perspective of the series, he's very, hm, incomprehensible to me. I agree that I would hate to be dissected by him if I ever encountered him in real life. I don't think I dislike him so much as find him difficult to parse, while the darker side of me can very much sympathize with Raito's desire to remake the world his way (I'm afraid I have a bit of a megalomaniac streak in me).
effortless genius
Date: 2005-05-08 11:51 pm (UTC)during break, 15 min before math class:
Cat: *falling over dead, having stayed up late studying for multivariate exam*
Brian: You look tired.
Cat: I was up late studying.
Brian: Studying?
Cat: We have that test next period.
Brian: Oh, yeah, I should probably study for that. Totally forgot. *pulls out multi book to skim for 5 minutes*
Cat: *restrains self from throwing book at his head*
Hmm. Most of the time when I find Fuji characterized that way, it's in the context of Tezuka being frustrated and saying, "Why don't you push yourself, Fuji? What does it take to make you give yourself to the game?!"
Re: effortless genius
Date: 2005-05-09 02:42 am (UTC)Re: Fuji, well, I suppose I share Tezuka's frustration. Also, a lot of Fuji fans seem to take pride in the fact that Fuji can, I don't know, breeze through all his classes and be not serious about tennis. There was this one fic I was reading--it was excellently written--and it kept talking about how Fuji never fully invested himself because nothing challenged him enough, and halfway through the fic, I realized that even though the writer made Fuji seem amazing and wonderful, I would probably hate this version of Fuji if I met him in real life. (It's a credit to the author's writing that I didn't actually bring myself to hate the Fuji in the fic.) And then I noticed that a lot of fics seemed to think that Fuji's holding back was somehow admirable in and of itself regardless of Tezuka's reaction to it...and I don't really think it is at all. Maybe I'm just sort of a Tezuka person in the end. ^_^;;
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-06 09:37 pm (UTC)I had a bit of a squee!conversation this girl in my Japanese class. We're gonna be in the same hall. Between her and JH, we so~ should turn it into Yaoi hall. ^_^;;
She like InuiXKaido though. Meh. I must admit though, they are pretty damned canon. Really. Really really really. Really.
Ibukami + Torishishi all the way though!!
I want a HyoteiMyu~~!!!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 01:37 am (UTC)Aw, that's cool. Have fun corrupting the rest of the hall. ^_~
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 01:41 am (UTC)Oh, and you know I will...^_~
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 01:45 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 01:52 am (UTC)I remember reading a summary somewhere, in this list that rated books by pairing genre, and Last Herald Mage was listed as: Male/Male, Male/Horse, and I was like, "NOOOOOOOOOOO~! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!!" O_O
O.o
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 01:42 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-06 11:19 pm (UTC)I <3 SILK! ^__^ Seeee, projecting does work xD
I completely forgot about Lao-tze. ~_~;; Oy.
I don't remember any of those people from PoT...
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 01:39 am (UTC)And how could you forget Shinji? Actually probably very easily for you. But Fudoumine is my favorite. XD
I'll go favorite your wall then...if I actually manage to log in.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-10 01:12 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 04:22 am (UTC)and silk: the only other person i know who's read the belgariod liked him best too. *grin* but i didn't like the writing style, so i never got far enough to meet him.
on, and ender: i agree.
and lastly... zhuge liang is in ravages of time?! what anime/manga is this? you must tell me about it!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 08:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 09:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-07 08:56 pm (UTC)Thank you for articulating Heero, because I could never quite figure out exactly what I liked about him. Somehow his intensity didn't seem like enough to balance his flaws. But Heero is completely selfless in his devotion, isn't he? He works for his goals with the intention of getting them done, and it doesn't particularly matter if he's the one who does them. (Although of course this would be better as it spares other people of an onerous burden. Heero's got a sort of one-sided moral code where if things go right it isn't because of him, but if things go wrong it definitely is. It's something I wish I could do, in a way. (Also something more often associated with shoujo heroines? Although desiveness isn't. Sorry, thinking in type.))
I second Ender, Ron, and , although I hate to admit it, Vanyel as well.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-08 12:02 am (UTC)Yes, exactly, and that's a really good point you bring up about his moral code. I always feel that there's a certain sort of stability about Heero because he's honest to himself about the mistakes he makes. I think that's part of what makes him stronger than the other pilots--superhuman strength and endurance aside.
As for Vanyel, well, we're all allowed to be thirteen once in our lives. ^_^
(no subject)
Date: 2005-04-08 12:31 am (UTC)XD I realized I was dropping by your journal for academically-oriented writing with, umm, increasing regularity. Fanwork fanwork fanwork gets sort of boring after a while and anyway I always like yours when you do do it. And a book log! You say you're reading less but you still read more than I do nowadays, so I'll just continue to live vicariously through you if you don't mind.
Heero is...it's implied that he actually take his code too far, to the point were he is too willing to give up on himself for other people. It becomes less a sense of accountability and more a willingness to take the blame even for things that aren't really his fault. He's got a healthy sense of his own abilities but also a really low sense of self.
Actually, this is not so much implied as stated over and over and over, but you are never sure whether it is a good thing or not. Everyone admires Heero's willingness to suicide, but everyone also tries to stop him from actually doing it. But Heero's last line gives it away. "I will survive," he says, and I remember how incredibly cheesy that was the first time I heard it (I was 13? maybe). But now it's clearly Heero acknowledging that he has worth as a person and not just as a pilot/revolutionary.
At the same time I really want to be like the old Heero sometimes, completely ego-less. Must be nice.