The Fictional Characters Tag

"Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."

~Abraham Lincoln

John Boy from The Waltons

Buongiorno, everyone! I was tagged by McKayla to take part in a tag that was started by Emily on Monsterlady's Diary. I'm always up for a challenge! So here we go...

#1 Which character was your first love?

Hmm... (after a decade of contemplating) Since I see that this question could be interpreted in different ways, I am going to assume that this means the first character I loved as a favourite character (not crush-wise).

While several different ones came to my mind, I decided to go with John Boy Walton from The Waltons. Goodness, it's been years since I last watched that series! But going by what I remember, we had several similar traits. We're both the oldest siblings, we love writing, and there were several scenes where John Boy's younger siblings would visit him in his room to talk or seek advice, which I can definitely relate to.

 

#2 How would you describe all of the characters you love?

For a long time, I believed that what my favourite characters had in common was that they died, but that's obviously not true. 😅 While I often like the main characters in a story, I'm usually drawn to the ones more in the background. The main characters get so much spotlight, being the POVs and all, but often the secondary or background characters can be just as interesting.

#3 Who's a character you love that most people hate?

Spottedleaf from Warriors (by Erin Hunter). She got murdered early on in the first book, but she was still a recurring character when she visited others in their dreams. The reason many people dislike her is that they consider her a "Mary Sue," (someone who is unrealistically flawless), and all she did after her death was deliver vague prophecies that only confused the characters. There is also a lot of controversy about her feelings for Fireheart. When he first came to the Clan, he had a crush on her, but she showed no feelings of that sort towards him. Then after her death, the writers made it seem like she did share those feelings, which makes no sense whatsoever. That's why Spottedleaf is such a hated character.

Spottedleaf's official art.

Despite all those valid points, I see it this way. Being a Medicine Cat, she knew that it was against the code to take a mate or have kits. Also, what many people didn't realize (unless they've read the previous prequel stories involving her) was how old Spottedleaf already was at the time Fireheart joined the Clan. Sure, she was described as "young" in the first book, but perhaps her genes kept her looking and acting younger than her age?

I also don't agree that she had a crush on Fireheart. Moonkitti on YouTube suggested that perhaps her "love" was more motherly towards Fireheart. I imagine that if she had lived longer, perhaps she would have become a mother-like figure to Fireheart, and his crush would have faded as he grew up.

Also, I am not a fan of StarClan. People can believe what they like about them, but my theory is that all the dead Clan members are simply recreations from the living cats' memories. So it wouldn't be Spottedleaf's true self visiting in dreams. Then it would make sense why she seemed to return Fireheart's feelings after her death. After all, because of his crush, he most likely hoped that she'd feel the same way, so then his mind would play that out in his dream interactions with her. That would also explain why she seemed to be perfect, earning her the reputation of being a Mary Sue. So because of her death so early on, Spottedleaf never had the chance to show her true self, and we the readers only got to know her through the imaginations and memories of the other cats (mainly Fireheart).

So, if that's the case, then why is she one of my favourite characters? Well... I'm actually not certain. 😅 She's a calico, for one thing, and I LOVE calicos. But she's also a fun character to analyze and create theories for. Oh, and let's not forget her "sweet scent." 😉😂

#4 Who's a character you think you could get along with?

Dr. Julia Ogden from Murdoch Mysteries. I've recently started watching random episodes of the show, and she's become my favourite character. I feel like we have a lot in common, so I imagine we'd get along quite nicely.

GIF of Julia with a bunny in Murdoch Mysteries.

#5 Who's a character you think you wouldn't get along with?

Hyacinth Bucket (it's Bouquet...) from the British comedy series Keeping Up Appearances. It's a highly enjoyable show, and Hyacinth is supposed to be an irritating character (that's what makes it a comedy). Basically, she wants to be absolutely perfect and seen as highly important and as part of the "upper classes." She comes from a poor background though, and her family members don't exactly live up to her standards... I still like watching the show and seeing her plans and ideas turn into disasters, but Hyacinth is still excellent at getting on my nerves...

GIF of Hyacinth dusting her books.

#6 Which character would you like to travel the world with?

Buckbeak from Harry Potter. This is self-explanatory.

GIF of Harry flying on Buckbeak the Hippogryph.

#7 Which character would you rely on to help you get over your fears?

I have two characters in mind. The first is Dr. Lance Sweets from Bones. McKayla already gave a great reason since she also chose him to answer this question in her blog post. To add to that, he's my favourite character in the show, and while he's not always taken seriously or people dislike what he says, he has the best intentions at heart: to help people through their emotional troubles.

GIF of Sweets from Bones.

My second choice would be Father Brown from Father Brown. Even though he's a priest, his main goal is to help everyone however he can and be there for people. It's a crime show, so even once he's caught the killer, he'll still be kind and understanding towards them. At least, from what I've seen of the show so far, he seems like the perfect person to go to with any kind of issue.

An image of Father Brown (because GIFs are very hard to find from that show).

#8 Where do most of the characters you love come from?

I'd say... mainly books. After all, a good amount of movies and TV shows were made after or inspired by books! 😉 Overall, it's a good mix of books, movies, and TV shows, specifically Star Trek, Harry Potter, Wings of Fire, Warriors, and different crime/mystery shows.

#9 A character you'd like to be best friends with?

Probably Abeke from Spirit Animals. It's been a while since I last read the books, but I remember her being my favourite character. I don't have a specific reason why I'd like to be friends with her though. Also, I just found out that I'd been pronouncing her name wrong all along. I said "uh-beek," but it's actually "uh-beh-kuh." 🤦 What a great start to a friendship, am I right?

Abeke on the cover of Spirit Animals Book 1.

#10 A character who you'd like to have by your side in battle?

Neytiri from Avatar. She is a highly skilled fighter who is not afraid to kill if necessary. Neytiri is definitely one to be feared in battle, as she usually never misses.

But in general, I'd rather avoid having to fight in a battle in the first place.

GIF of Neytiri protecting Jake in the first Avatar movie.

#11 Is there a character you're most likely to have dreams about?

Believe it or not, I almost never dream about fictional characters, unless they're ones I created myself. But even that doesn't happen often. But... I did once dream about the main characters from The Big Bang Theory. That was many years ago though, at a time when I was really into the show and I didn't have any friends. My theory is that since I loved their friendship dynamic, I just wished to be a part of something like that, too.

A random scene with the main characters from the show.

#12 Who is a minor character you love?

Garak from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He was in "less than one-fourth of episodes," but he's such an enjoyable character! I am not sure how to describe him though, so here are a few lines from the Wikipedia Page about him. "...he is indeed a harmless tailor...a complex character whose portrayal often hints at hidden secrets and back-story...in general he plays a rather positive, though sometimes sinister or multilayered, role during the series."

GIF of Garak from Star Trek: DS9.

#13 Which character would you want as a mentor?

GIF of Newt Scamander from Fantastic Beasts.

I'm assuming we're not talking Warrior Cats here. 😅 If I lived in the Wizarding World, I'd like Newt Scamander from Fantastic Beasts to be my mentor. But since I'm a muggle and lack any magical abilities (oh, how useful Accio would be at times!) I'd pick Sherlock Holmes as a mentor. I always admired his skill at reading people and being able to spot little, seemingly insignificant clues, find connections, and draw conclusions based on them.

GIF of Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes (1984)

#14 Which character do you relate to the most?

Once more, I have two characters to answer this question.

The first is a character from the Wings of Fire series: Clay the MudWing. He is a big brother (or BigWings) not only to his biological siblings but to his adoptive siblings as well. He is loyal, very protective of those he cares about, and he always tries to find a peaceful solution before getting into any fights.

Clay from the cover of the 1st Wings of Fire book.

The second character I relate to the most is Hermione Granger from Harry Potter. We both enjoy doing our homework and schoolwork, and we both love learning and reading. 😉 Also, remember the scene in the 4th movie when the Weasley twins, Fred and George, got into a fight and Hermione opened a book to read while everyone around her was cheering them on? Yes, I would definitely go to read a book instead of cheering on a pair of arguing idiots...

GIF of Hermione from the 7th Harry Potter movie.

#15 Who is a character that inspires you?

This was probably the trickiest question to answer for me. I finally came to the conclusion that I don't have one specific character at this time that inspires me. Instead, I feel like there are several characters (some of which I already mentioned in this post) that are inspiring to me in different ways.

#16 Which fictional character represents your mentality?

Qibli on the cover of Wings of Fire Book 10

Qibli the SandWing from Wings of Fire.

I actually find that a lot of the protagonists from the series are easy to connect with. But for me, I find that Qibli is the most relatable, mainly because he and I think in a similar way. Here are a few examples to show what I mean.

    

Note: I took pictures of these scenes with my smartphone (pages 43, 74, & 76) from the Wings of Fire: Moon Rising Graphic Novel.

Other than that, I'm not certain how similar Qibli and I are personality-wise. I tend to have a hard time telling how I come across or seem to other people... After all, I spend most of my time inside my head instead of in front of a mirror. 😏😉 So I hope that my choices are true to how I appear to you all!

Well, those are my answers as of May 2023. I shall work on coming out with another post soon!

GIF of Ziva David from NCIS (Season 3).

[In the usual place of a quote, I decided to put a little scenario that happened after dinner one day...]

"I'm gonna stare at you!" ~Yokoshi (to me)

"Me too!" ~Louise

"Then it's a starecase." ~Our Dad

Did you get the "dad joke"? 😉