Inspirational Fictional Characters

endboss · Post by **endboss** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 3:32 pm

Jesus or Drizzt. Both broke the mold and inspired a loyal following of anti-intellectuals, and in doing so achieved everlasting fame. I'm leaning towards Drizzt because he had scimitars.

Dottie · Post by **Dottie** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 3:48 pm

I've always admired [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9FcNuR-TOs"]Lord Flashheart[/url] from Blackadder. Unfortunately I do not really resemble this character.

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 3:52 pm

endboss wrote:Jesus or Drizzt. Both broke the mold and inspired a loyal following of anti-intellectuals, and in doing so achieved everlasting fame. I'm leaning towards Drizzt because he had scimitars.

Jezus was a historical figure. (I'm not saying anything about the regilion or so, just that that person really existed.)

Fljotsdale · Post by **Fljotsdale** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 3:58 pm

LOL! Thanks for posting the link! That one always makes me laugh, Dottie..:laugh::laugh::laugh:

Fljotsdale · Post by **Fljotsdale** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 4:01 pm

GawainBS wrote:Jezus was a historical figure. (I'm not saying anything about the regilion or so, just that that person really existed.)

Yeah, but Drizzt is more ... romantic. :mischief:

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:24 pm

Fljotsdale wrote:Yeah, but Drizzt is more ... romantic. :mischief:

True, but they both had a crush on a redhead.

galraen · Post by **galraen** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:31 pm

GawainBS wrote:Jezus was a historical figure. (I'm not saying anything about the regilion or so, just that that person really existed.)

Which one really existed? Jasus Alou certainly does/did, but the one portrayed in the new testament is a matter of personal belief. There's certainly no empirical proof that he existed at all.

For a male example of an inspirational character I'll opt for Kunta Kinte from Roots. There was an awful lot wrong with the series, but his determination and tenacity to retain is identity and dignity were inspirational.

Bloodstalker · Post by **Bloodstalker** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:48 pm

Jesus is referenced a couple times in Tacitus where he is said to have been a condemned criminal and I think Suetonius as well. Josephus also wrote about him. The name comes up here and there in ancient writings dealing with that particular time period, and he's always treated as having been a real person regardless of whether or not the particular author agreed with the religious ideas about him.

@Bluesky, I never say Roth in Sopranos, but I wish I had now.

jklinders · Post by **jklinders** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 7:02 am

galraen wrote:Daughter of the Empire is actually the first book of a trilogy Quengalad, continued in Servan of the Empire and finished in Mistress of the Empire.

They are a spin-off from Raymond Feist's Riftwar Saga, but IMHO are much better than the books in that saga.

You should be able to get them through Amazon if nowhere else.

Excellent books, and the the only ones that were in that setting I have reread in the past few years. There is an element of my lost childhood right there.

I'll add my own strong fictional female character here. Sister from Swan Song by Robert R McCammon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_Song_(novel).

The very short description given does not d o her justice. A woman so tough a nuclear holocaust made her sane.

endboss · Post by **endboss** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 11:07 am

GawainBS wrote:Jezus was a historical figure. (I'm not saying anything about the regilion or so, just that that person really existed.)

Actually it was Drizzt who was a historical figure until they changed his name to Jesus because the early Christians had a vendetta against the Drow.

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 3:21 am

endboss wrote:actually it was drizzt who was a historical figure until they changed his name to jesus because the early christians had a vendetta against the drow.

:d

BlueSky · Post by **BlueSky** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 8:41 am

Bloodstalker wrote: @Bluesky, I never say Roth in Sopranos, but I wish I had now.

Roth played himself in one of the scene's at Tony's poker games.....
He just looked rough.....:laugh:

endboss · Post by **endboss** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 4:25 pm

GawainBS wrote::d

Why did you remove all my capitalization?

fable · Post by **fable** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 4:39 pm

endboss wrote:Actually it was Drizzt who was a historical figure until they changed his name to Jesus because the early Christians had a vendetta against the Drow.

Well, Drizzt was a Roman centurion and a Mithraic worshipper, after all. Went by the name of Tiberius Drizztus Varro, I believe.

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 4:48 pm

endboss wrote:Why did you remove all my capitalization?

Didn't intend to, just wanted to post "

" on your comment. For some reason, all caps went away.

endboss · Post by **endboss** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 6:30 pm

fable wrote:Well, Drizzt was a Roman centurion and a Mithraic worshipper, after all. Went by the name of Tiberius Drizztus Varro, I believe.

This is why Judas betrayed him. Judas was working to preserve the dignity of both the Jews and the Romans from this hypocrite.

OSCAR PALMER · Post by **OSCAR PALMER** » Wed Oct 27, 2010 5:06 am

whether an article is to be named Dame Edna Everage or Dame Edna or Edna Everage is indifferent to this particular guideline; on the other hand the guideline deals with how the Barry Humphries article is to be named.

Philos · Post by **Philos** » Mon Nov 01, 2010 9:07 pm

I imagine I could think of many if I sat down and mulled it over, but the first two fictional characters that come to mind for me are

Horatio Hornblower of C.S. Forester's series of books.
Horatio Hornblower - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I guess the romantic in me would like living in the "Age of Sail". What I really like about Horatio is that even though his all too human frailties and sometimes just bad luck put him in tight spots, he learns from them and overcomes them. I admire his perserverence and determination.

The other character is Jane Whitefield from the Thomas Perry series of mystery novels. "Mystery" is a bit of misnomer because this series is definitely "not" what you would call traditional detective/sleuth stories. Sorry, there's no Wikipedia page for Jane, but the author has one and it references the series.
Thomas Perry (author) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jane is part Native American. She embraces parts of her heritage and some of her struggles are from the dynamic of trying to reconcile her heritage with the modern she lives in. Unlike most mysteries, Jane isn't so much trying to solve a mystery as she is trying to "create" one. Her clients are people that want (need) to disappear from society. She helps them escape being hunted by the mob, assassins, corporations, etc. She sometimes has to unravel a little of a mystery behind how her client got into this situation. What I like about Jane is how well she thinks on her feet and uses her brains to save her client, outfox the hunters, and in many cases turn the tables on them. The irony of the latter is often quite delicious!

@QuenGalad
Don't know if a "mystery" (that term only loosely applies to this series IMHO) novel would appeal to you, but Jane Whitefield is certain another great example of a strong female character.

simulacrum · Post by **simulacrum** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 5:39 pm

If I had to remain on Discworld territory I would definitely pick Sam Vimes, with DEATH probably as a runner-up for his tranquil but curious approach on the ever-changing, ever-incurable human condition. I have to agree, though, that the charm of the Librarian is also undeniable =)

Lately, I am heavily inspired by Hank Moody (Californication series) because I envy his ability to work around all of his problems by employing his unchallenged wits, charm and cynicism while stil retaining his sensibilities and affection towards the two most important women in his life.

Choosing from the gaming culture, I would go with Tex Murphy as a nod to my childhood fantasies of becoming a hard-boiled, down-on-his-luck private eye with a soft spot for beautiful women. At least I got the middle part right.