After the Dream is Done
Not hide nor shadow.
That's what I saw of Neil Gaiman. Well, alright, to be more accurate, I did see a flash of moppy hair and the shockly pasty white face (it can be due to the poor lighting in Fully Booked) of the Genius-who-is. And I bet a gazillion to one, I was able to breathe in at least a couple of molecules of recycled air he breathed in. That's fine for me. I mean, I know how Neil Gaiman looks like. There are such things as pic-tures. I just wanted to be able to assure myself that he's real. And that it is possible for just one man to create magnificent characters such as Dream. So now I know.
He's real. I just wish Dream was too. *sigh* Now people are going to say I have absolutely gone bonkers. Instead of real people, Liv chooses to emulate un-real ones. I hear choruses of Freud, Jung and whatshissface being screamed from aloft. Sue me, I say. SOmetimes we need illusional characters to remind us of how humans should be . Or what possibe existence we can achieve. B'sides, it isn't something new. I grew up in love with Walter Blythe of Rainbow Valley (for those who have absolutely no idea who he is -- read the Anne of Green Gables series).
Haha. The simplicity of youth. I wonder, if I make my list now, at this age.... who would my list of top five hunks in literature (taken across genres) be? To make it a bit faster, at least for today, maybe I should concentrate on the top 5 guys in fantasy lit first. Lemme see...
Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson
Aside from being a huge Neil Gaiman fan, I'm also a gigantic Terry Pratchett fan. He's irreverent, he's satirical, he's positively witty. And he created from the depths of his creative prowess the character of Carrot Ironfoundersson.
Carrot, as the name implies, is a redhead, of course. He's not categorically handsome, but he's got an honest face, and authority and charisma to boot. He's also a broad-shouldered 6-foot 6-inch dwarf. Rather, he was adopted by dwarves when he was found near the murdered remains of his human father and mother along with a ring that bears a mark that looks suspiciously alike the royal jewels of Ankhmorpork (I don't know where Pratchett gets the name of his cities, but I like it). So clue for the clueless: He's the rightful heir to a throne. But upon reaching manhood, he chose to be a Watchman (local police) and refuses to be acknowledged as king. It's one huge open secret. Anyway, to borrow words from Pratchett: Carrot *likes* being a policeman and has been the driving force behind the renaissance of the City Watch. He is honest, decent, truthful, and simple. A number of surprised criminals in Ankh-Morpork have learned that simple doesn't mean stupid and, indeed, people who spend a lot of time in Carrot's company suspect that there is quite a formidable intelligence in there, playing a game of its own. Carrot has an ancient sword. It is astonishingly unmagical, but amazingly sharp.
In fewer words, this is how I describe him: Too good to be true, but almost. Just fascinatingly almost.
Rath Roiben Rye
(from the book Tithe by Holly Black)
Yet another name unrecognized? Great, I hate being predictable when I write. There wouldn't be any Legolas listed in here (for those who are hoping).
My man here's a faerie. I don't mean the gender-related kind. He's a former knight of the Seelie Court, or what those who like to keep it simple call, the Good Court. But even then, they are not all the twinkly kind. Roiben for example is of the fey court -- the Gentry-- his long pewter hair and angled face and all. He looks much like how Tolkien describes elves, except that they are not always emanating happiness and goodwill.
Roiben was swapped by the Queen of the Seelie Court to the Usseelie Court, who are cruel and vicious. He plays bodyguard to the Queen of the UNseelie Court. That is until he met Kaye, who was a swapped fairy in place of a yearling (y'know, stolen babies. there's a more accurate word for this, but i forgot). She tries to defy the Queens of the Courts and Roiben ends up aiding her and becoing King of the Unseelie Court himself. Read the book and you would not blame Kaye for falling in love with this guy. He's not all goody-goody, but decent, which to me is far better.
Touchstone
(from the book Sabriel by Garth Nix)
Okay, this guy is not really the heroic type at first, but you can hardly blame him since he was enchanted to be as still as stone for a number of centuries and he ended up as prow decor for a ruined ship. ANd he was naked all that time. So come on.
I raised my eyebrows when he was finally awakened by our heroine Sabriel, because he started moving about without a stitch on him. I mean, for Sabriel, called to Abhorsen/necromancer-duty and there she was barely out of an all-girls school, that is something. How can she not marry this guy in the end when he just about sets the standard for everything ? Hehe. Love this guy. Can't marry him, but he's, what's that word, again? DECENT.
Aragorn
I said there'll be no Legolas in this list, but there most definitely is an Aragorn. I wouldn't be tru to the list if he's not here. Him, so kingly above all kings in fantstic lit. He's strong, he's wise, he's ever so capable. Everyone knows a lot about who Aragorn is and there is always something they like about this character. Even without the Jackson movie, he's still beyond any lists.
Lucky Arwen.
That's what I saw of Neil Gaiman. Well, alright, to be more accurate, I did see a flash of moppy hair and the shockly pasty white face (it can be due to the poor lighting in Fully Booked) of the Genius-who-is. And I bet a gazillion to one, I was able to breathe in at least a couple of molecules of recycled air he breathed in. That's fine for me. I mean, I know how Neil Gaiman looks like. There are such things as pic-tures. I just wanted to be able to assure myself that he's real. And that it is possible for just one man to create magnificent characters such as Dream. So now I know.
He's real. I just wish Dream was too. *sigh* Now people are going to say I have absolutely gone bonkers. Instead of real people, Liv chooses to emulate un-real ones. I hear choruses of Freud, Jung and whatshissface being screamed from aloft. Sue me, I say. SOmetimes we need illusional characters to remind us of how humans should be . Or what possibe existence we can achieve. B'sides, it isn't something new. I grew up in love with Walter Blythe of Rainbow Valley (for those who have absolutely no idea who he is -- read the Anne of Green Gables series).
Haha. The simplicity of youth. I wonder, if I make my list now, at this age.... who would my list of top five hunks in literature (taken across genres) be? To make it a bit faster, at least for today, maybe I should concentrate on the top 5 guys in fantasy lit first. Lemme see...
Morpheus / Dream
Dream is Dream. He is one of the Endless -- who are more accurately described as the states of human consciousness. Neil Gaiman is a genius for personifying them, making them more real and more tangible in the physical world. They are "of humans" but not humans, they cannot die for in fact they were never born. Dream is brother to Destiny, Death, Destruction, Desire, Despair and Delirium. In books, they keep saying he's a tad to neurotic, a bit too pretentious, always somber, always dark. He's got stars for his eyes and he talks as if constantly confused. The questions he asks though are of no ordinary nature. I like him for being the nearest thing to being human in his whole kin. And his Realm is my most favorite place of all. That place where nothing of this world can reach you and harm you. There's just you. And your Dreams.
Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson
Aside from being a huge Neil Gaiman fan, I'm also a gigantic Terry Pratchett fan. He's irreverent, he's satirical, he's positively witty. And he created from the depths of his creative prowess the character of Carrot Ironfoundersson.
Carrot, as the name implies, is a redhead, of course. He's not categorically handsome, but he's got an honest face, and authority and charisma to boot. He's also a broad-shouldered 6-foot 6-inch dwarf. Rather, he was adopted by dwarves when he was found near the murdered remains of his human father and mother along with a ring that bears a mark that looks suspiciously alike the royal jewels of Ankhmorpork (I don't know where Pratchett gets the name of his cities, but I like it). So clue for the clueless: He's the rightful heir to a throne. But upon reaching manhood, he chose to be a Watchman (local police) and refuses to be acknowledged as king. It's one huge open secret. Anyway, to borrow words from Pratchett: Carrot *likes* being a policeman and has been the driving force behind the renaissance of the City Watch. He is honest, decent, truthful, and simple. A number of surprised criminals in Ankh-Morpork have learned that simple doesn't mean stupid and, indeed, people who spend a lot of time in Carrot's company suspect that there is quite a formidable intelligence in there, playing a game of its own. Carrot has an ancient sword. It is astonishingly unmagical, but amazingly sharp.
In fewer words, this is how I describe him: Too good to be true, but almost. Just fascinatingly almost.
Rath Roiben Rye
(from the book Tithe by Holly Black)
Yet another name unrecognized? Great, I hate being predictable when I write. There wouldn't be any Legolas listed in here (for those who are hoping).
My man here's a faerie. I don't mean the gender-related kind. He's a former knight of the Seelie Court, or what those who like to keep it simple call, the Good Court. But even then, they are not all the twinkly kind. Roiben for example is of the fey court -- the Gentry-- his long pewter hair and angled face and all. He looks much like how Tolkien describes elves, except that they are not always emanating happiness and goodwill.
Roiben was swapped by the Queen of the Seelie Court to the Usseelie Court, who are cruel and vicious. He plays bodyguard to the Queen of the UNseelie Court. That is until he met Kaye, who was a swapped fairy in place of a yearling (y'know, stolen babies. there's a more accurate word for this, but i forgot). She tries to defy the Queens of the Courts and Roiben ends up aiding her and becoing King of the Unseelie Court himself. Read the book and you would not blame Kaye for falling in love with this guy. He's not all goody-goody, but decent, which to me is far better.
Touchstone
(from the book Sabriel by Garth Nix)
Okay, this guy is not really the heroic type at first, but you can hardly blame him since he was enchanted to be as still as stone for a number of centuries and he ended up as prow decor for a ruined ship. ANd he was naked all that time. So come on.
I raised my eyebrows when he was finally awakened by our heroine Sabriel, because he started moving about without a stitch on him. I mean, for Sabriel, called to Abhorsen/necromancer-duty and there she was barely out of an all-girls school, that is something. How can she not marry this guy in the end when he just about sets the standard for everything ? Hehe. Love this guy. Can't marry him, but he's, what's that word, again? DECENT.
Aragorn
I said there'll be no Legolas in this list, but there most definitely is an Aragorn. I wouldn't be tru to the list if he's not here. Him, so kingly above all kings in fantstic lit. He's strong, he's wise, he's ever so capable. Everyone knows a lot about who Aragorn is and there is always something they like about this character. Even without the Jackson movie, he's still beyond any lists.
Lucky Arwen.
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