#I wouldn't have got all the way through my list of KH characters even

[hexaethylene]

I got tagged by @for-lack-of-a-better-world so... Hello there!

Rules: tell me your favorite characters from fictional works (movies, books, tv, video games, etc.) and tag 10 people!

Personally, I’ve tried to keep this to one character from each thing or I’ll fill this list before I get past FFXV and KH, so...

1. Ignis - FFXV - Hands down my favourite character in it, and since it’s flavour of the month with me (and BOY do I go for the long haul on a fandom sometimes, so this could be a very long month), he gets top billing. I just... The voice, the looks, the fact he says ‘petrol’ instead of ‘gas’, the fact that he’s an adorable little nerd that looks like a catwalk model and clearly has bags of style and so very little taste in clothing... I love this character. He’s heavily, heavily flawed, and he makes stupid selfish decisions based on feelings and not practicality, and you agree with him because damn it, feelings. Yes, I’m going to take this newly blind person into a horrible soggy mine that’s treacherous underfoot, and a maze to navigate, filled with monsters; it’d be cruel not to. (Other contenders: Gladio, Iris, Aranea, Cor, Prompto, Noctis, Ardyn.)

2. Saix/Isa - Kingdom Hearts - It took me a decade to fall out with this series hard enough to bump this guy to a number two slot. I liked Saix anyway, because his introduction, where he shows up and golf claps at Sora before asking if he’s seen a man named Axel just got me. I could listen to Kirk Thornton read the phone book, and then he’s a blue haired prettyboy with yellow eyes underneath that hood? And then he clearly has a flair for the dramatic, since he decides to exit by holding his arms out and stepping backwards into the corridor of darkness. Then we find out he was a silly little kid named Isa, full of mischief and teenage arrogance, with his best friend Lea and the way that friendship broke down, and I just want to hug the little shit. I wanna hug both the little shits. (Other contenders: Axel/Lea, Marluxia, Larxene, Xigbar and he nearly got his own slot despite my rule, Even/Vexen, Ienzo/Zexion)

3. Havelock Vetinari - Discworld - One of my literary crushes when I was younger, still a favoured character today. I’m not a fan of the last few Discworld books, but the Patrician in Jingo is just an absolute star. Jingo, Feet of Clay, Going Postal, Making Money, and all inbetween are the glory days of the series for me, and they’re where Vetinari is at his peak. Seeing him as a youngster in Night Watch was excellent. (Other contenders: Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, Sam Vimes, Angua von Uberwald, Cheery Littlebottom, Nobby Nobbs, Dorfl, Adora Belle Dearheart.)

4. Ulquiorra - Bleach - This arrogant, miserable little no-nonsense buttmunch. He’s utterly loyal, for some reason, despite the fact that he gets Demyx’d (used as a verb because, like Demyx in KHII, Ulquiorra also gets put in the way of the hero in order to slow him down with no expectations that he will survive the encounter, and in point of fact, surviving the encounter would thoroughly scupper the bad guy’s, that being his boss’s, plan) and he seems to know he’s being Demyx’d. He doesn’t half witter on with himself, mostly about how everything is pointless because he’s so much stronger than the hero, but he also successfully killed the hero twice. Unfortunately for Ulquiorra, Ichigo had plot armour, so he got better, both times. (Other contenders: Grimmjow, Nnoitra, Nel Tu, Apacci, Szayel)

5. Maleficent - Sleeping Beauty - Don’t come near me with the Angelina Jolie version. Original flavour Maleficent or GTFO please. She’s a black fairy who decided the best revenge she could get when she was snubbed for a party was to let everybody fret for sixteen years, and then capture the prince and keep him until he was so old it didn’t work any more. She was evil, and she enjoyed it. Also she turns into a dragon, always a bonus.

6. Kadaj - FFVII Compilation - Some good contenders for this one, but I have a soft spot for the poor unfortunate swine that got to be the physical manifestation of Sephiroth’s batshit insanity. He knows he’s not mommy’s favourite, so he’s riddled with inadequacy issues. He’s another character in desperate need of a hug. Also his motorbike is ridiculous and far too big for him. (Other contenders: Aerith, Hojo)

7. Freya - FFIX - She has her own story within the game, but it never takes over, and even though it’s a love story, it never once stops her being an absolute badass.

8. Donna Noble - Doctor Who - Best companion of the modern series by far. She starts out as the sort of annoying, attention seeking, absolutely tedious person to be around, who I’m sure we all know at least one of, and ends up growing so much over the course of her journey, and she doesn’t change because of the Doctor, she changes because of the things she sees and learns along the way. Shame about the way they ended it for her.

9. Professor McGonagall - Harry Potter - Favourite Harry Potter character by far. She’s so no-nonsense in her job, and yet she’s also super competitive, and an absolute ass kicker. I wish there’d been more of her.

10. Arya Stark - Game of Thrones - I need to catch up on reading these books, because I seem to read at the pace GRR Martin damn well writes, but she’s just such a broken character. Life is cheap to her, she is terrifying, life has been cheap to her since she was very little. The events of the story just stripped her compassion away, for the sake of her own survival. People seem to think she’s amazing, and strong, and a badass, and she is, but she’s also very, very broken by all that she’s lost.

I tag... anyone that wants to do this. I know the people I’d be tempted to tag are unlikely to participate.