a few of moi favorite "heroes"

What is a hero? To me (and no, this isn't the actual definition, :P ) a good story consists of a charmingly dashing, undeniably handsome fellow - preferably DARK haired, :swoon: who is either immensely brave or devastatingly romantic. (This does NOT include Mr. Darcy. :runs to avoid pelted tomatoes: ) Yup. I don't call myself fluffy...but I CAN be a hopeless romantic. In a tough sense. Not mushy-romantic. I like the gorgeously-tragic, dramatic tales that leave me sobbing or swelled with passion. This is one of the reasons I'm not a Jane Austen fan. :ducks renewed onslaught of tomatoes: Long, complicated reasons. :P
  
Anyhow...been wanting to compile a list like this for a while - and voila! Here you have it. A couple of weeks ago I thought I'd discovered my all-time-very-most-favorite hero - and was going to write a massive post explaining just WHY he's so incredible . . .Then I reached the end of The Count of Monte Cristo. . . and well, Edmond isn't so heroic anymore. Ah, the disappointments of life.  

flynn rider

Its devastating, I know. . . I haven't seen Tangled yet! o.O But never fear, dear followers - I plan on watching it next month in OR with a friend. You can all breath freely now. ;)

I've always been infatuated by cartoon men. . .but then again, I've always liked cartoon villains. . . When I was little I carried around a tiny figurine of Gaston (from Beauty and the Beast,) and would cry and throw fits if I lost him some place. My poor parents would run around the house searching top to bottom for Gaston. He was my deepest love - next to Captain Hook. :P Hey, so at least Flynn isn't a "bad guy". Hm. Though I guess thieves don't typically have the most commendable character. :nervous laugh: 

Why is it that all the "bad guys" are the dashing-est and most romantic? I mean, check out Flynn's all around heroic-ness. He's handsome, wears awesome BOOTS, and you've gotta love those expressive eyebrows! (have I ever mentioned that I adore Willoughby from Sense and Sensibility? Um . . . maybe that should wait for a future post. :P ) 

enjolras 

Alrighty - time for some seriousness. I just have to mention very quickly that I am supposed to be doing my weekly Friday cleaning right now. But blogging is much more important, right? Of course!

Some people have argued that Enjolras (from the book, Les Miserables - I prefer the stage play,) is NOT a hero. We already know Flynn most-likely isn't. Since in detail it would take too long to post my defensive reasons (poor guy,) I'll only say that Enjo's innocent, boyish passion is inspiring. He clearly possessed a deep compassion for the poor, so much in fact that he did what no other 19th century French Gentlemen would do - he fought and died for the "wretched of the earth."

But recently something terrible has happened to Enjo's hair. . . he's gone BLONDE. What is the world coming to? Anyway - all that said, despite the fact that yes, he died, he failed to accomplish his goal, and is even (in the minds of certain friends  - you know who you are, :P ) a communist joining ranks with Obama, his red-and-gold waistcoat is enough to warrant him the ultimate hero to me. ;)

Did you see them

Lying where they died?

Someone used to cradle them

And kiss them when they cried.

They were schoolboys 

Never held a gun...

Fighting for a new world

That would rise up like the sun.

{"Turning", Les Miserables}

jean valjean

I just have to mention that I LOVE the way the layout for this post is coming along. Mhm. Its the perfectionist in me. . .oh, and btw, this is my 2nd Friday cleaning day-turned blogging day. haha

Jean Valjean is the emblem of a TRUE hero. He isn't handsome, he isn't even charming - and goes to prove that I'm not as fluffy as I appear. . .I *do* understand real heroism. ;) A good friend and I are currently discussing "imagined" heroism vs. reality. . .which of course makes this post extremely amusing. Perhaps I should post my really-real views on the topic sometime. For now, I'll continue my dreamy-hero banter. Hey, fictional "heroes" are almost NEVER truly heroic. . .Mr. Darcy, for example. 

:valiantly defies tomato throwing mob: 

But this is about Valjean. :P 

From the moment I first saw the 10th Anniversary Concert DVD of Les Miserables (yes, I'm a fan of the musical, NOT the book. Shock, shock!) I was deeply moved by the story of  a man, who, being a sinner like anyone else, committed a crime that sent him to prison for 19 years. The following tale of redemption - making up the main plot of Les Miz, is breathtaking. Valjean, though his entire life was haunted by the past and constantly brought to his attention by the villainous (albeit misunderstood) Javert, - did nothing but selfless good. The beauty of  triumph over sin  was made even clearer after I recently saw the 25th Ann. touring production of Les Miz.  :goosebumps: 

Oh, I have to mention. Colm Wilkinson is the ONLY Valjean. Period. That guy's voice brings on the tears every time. . .

laurie lawrence 

I know your thinking, honestly, Laurie? Book-wise he has terrible character (though he DOES change,) movie-wise he's even worse. . .and in my mind no one, not any actor - will ever portray him properly. I'm using a picture of Christian Bale here simply for illustration. :P :P Ok, ok, so his portrayal is better then most. I mean, anyone compared to the guy in the 70's mini series is amazing. *ahem*

:sigh: Laurie is dreamy-ful. The book Laurie ONLY, that is. I don't think I'll ever, ever forgive Jo for turning the poor boy down. Not that they *needed* to get married. It would have been sooo romantic if perphas Laurie had died a tragic, heartbroken death, Jo sobbing at his side - or at least he might have lived to be a lonely, stern old hermit who, true to his pledge to Jo, would never love another. 

But no. NO. He had to go and marry Amy. Amy, my least favorite character in the whole of the novel. :sniffle: Its truly disheartening. Like Mr. Darcy, I could go in depth as to my reasons of *extreme* dislike. . .but I shall not. ;) It would be nice to keep at least SOME of my followers. heh

Ok, admit it. Laurie is awesome. He has the most adorable personality - just the right amount of passion, mischief, and bad-boyishness to warrant him one of my all-time-favorite literary "heroes". (Notice the "quotes". ;) )  Plus he's Italian. C'mon, how heroic can one possibly get? :P I adore Laurie so much that I modeled a dear character (Damien!) after him. Oh yes. You've heard of him before, and I'll probably be mentioning him again in a little bit. . . 

sir percy blakeney

Alrighty. I'll admit that I still don't know much about The Scarlet Pimpernel, though I've been told that he is the most incredible hero of them all (which I believe is debatable.) What? Where did those tomatoes come from? o.O

After hearing so much about Percy and already knowing so much about the story, I decided to purchase the first book in TSP series. Right away I'm thinking, "whoa is this fellow unattractive!" - but I had to remind myself that things change. . .and well, I became so tempted to find out HOW Percy, the lazy, good-for-nothing Percy, became the Elusive Scarlet Pimpernel. . .I did a terrible thing . . .  I skipped to the end of the book.  o.O

I think I have to read more to decide whether or not he's the *ultimate* hero - or maybe watch the movie. However, for now, if you look deeper at the plot summary of TSP, you'll see a beautiful picture: Marguerite, (Percy's wife,) in her typically girly mind, thought of the valiant Scarlet Pimpernel as the perfect hero- the type of man that would sweep her off her feet, love her, protect her - something she didn't feel her husband could ever do. Then low and behold, in the end she finds out that the most unlikely source - her HUSBAND, was indeed the Scarlet Pimpernel! Very thought provoking if applied to real-life situations. :)

renè boudreaux and damien foster

You know you have serious problems when you feel that your characters are real, breathing, living people. Hm. Then my sister Anna and I are in very deep waters. We talk about our characters daily - so much in fact that we feel sorry for them in their trials, laugh with them when there happy. . . and through it all admit that we just aren't normal. :P But hey, being normal isn't fun. So. All that said, Renè and Damien are the most EPIC guys ever to leave the pen of amateur writers. 

Renè Boudreaux  is a 21 year old young man struggling through life as the father of an illegitimate child, his precious little Patria. Throughout the story (set in the 1830's,) we see him transform into a honorable man of God who would - and nearly does - give his very life for his daughter. :sob: His character is so complex, so deep, innocent, full of inward struggling - oy, he has to be the best character Anna and I have EVER created. Some time I'll have to write up a whole post just about him.  Oooh. . .plus Anna and I modeled him after Justin Scott Brown, the actor who played Marius when we saw Les Miz. You'll be meeting him soonishly - once I get my HUGE overview of the play up. ;)   

Damien Foster Then there's Damien. He's sort of our "pet" - his personality and even role has changed drastically since we first contrived the idea for our novel (which is currently in the making of a first draft. ;) ) "Wild", extremely boyish, somewhat spoiled, cheerful, happy-go-lucky, quick-temped, soft hearted, brave. . .Damien is a blend of several "heroes" in one. Rich and handsome, loved by everyone he meets, he tends to run away with his emotions. Yep. Remind you of Laurie at all? ;)  With a major twist, of course.

Wellllll . . . 

I doubt anyone will actually sit and read all these random ramblings. This post is NOT for the faint of heart! (or the Mr. Darcy addict. :P ) Mind you, this is not a complete list of moi favorite "heroes". . .  but for the sake of NOT boring you all to death with an ridiculously long post, I'll stop right here. 

 - Augustine St. Clare,  Sydney Carton, Raoul, Edmond Dantes (ok, the young Edmond is STILL epic,) and even Marius Pontmercy (can't believe I'm saying it, but seeing Les Miz has made me into a major Marius fan - Nick Jonas totally mis-portrays him,) are all in the "hero" category. Oh yes. 

Now. I will return to acting like an anti-fluff-head :P 

(just don't ask me to post on moi favorite literary heroins. I'm afraid there aren't many. ^_^ )