Tuesday, February 8, 2011

My Heart Belongs to the Boy with the Bread

Bad boys.

We're all attracted to, at a minimum, the idea of 'the bad boy.' Come on. Admit it.

Angelus over Angel. (bad) Damon over (good) Stefan. Draco over Harry. Vegeta over Goku. Pacey over Dawson.

Okay, that last one was pretty weak, but you get the idea. And I may have once again cemented my nerdiness by referencing Dragonball Z. :) Anyway...

We love the imaginary bad boys in books, movies, and television. Is it because we picked the good guy in real life? Maybe. Or is it the idea of changing them? Redeeming them in some way? I don't know. But we (at least I) love them.

Then I read The Hunger Games trilogy, and I fell in love with the boy with the bread. Peeta Mellark. I won't spoil anything, but he is kind, wise, lovable, understanding, encouraging. You name a good quality, and it probably describes him. He's why I gobbled up the three books in about four days (hey, I have to work and sleep at some point). I apologize for neglecting all blogging responsibilities. My manuscript got the cold shoulder as well, so you all aren't alone.

Do I think I'm done with bad boys for good? No. I'll still drool over Draco and curse all that is Goku, but there's a special place in my heart for Peeta. The boy with the bread.

Who are your preferred bad boys? Did you read The Hunger Games? Peeta or Gale?

-Marie

13 comments:

Christa Desir said...

Peeta. Peeta. Peeta. The only good boy that I have ever loved. And the bread. So so sweet.
I am so hopeful that they don't ruin him with the movie.

Christa

Carrie said...

Peeta, though I don't think bad/good come into it. For me it's all about the food! Peeta bakes. Gale catches and skins furry woodland creatures. Delicious baked treats or bloody Bambis? No choice!

M.J. Fifield said...

Peeta!

But I also agree with Angelus over Angel and Damon over Stefan.

Misha Gerrick said...

^_^ I just won the entire trilogy, so hopefully I can make the call in 20 days...

As for my male characters, I like them complicated. Twisted, dark, angry... With a bit of good thrown in for good measure. I love when a tough guy shows his nice side.

BTW Hi. I clicked over from Lee's blog.
:-)

Marie Rearden said...

It's fantastic to see all these new faces!

Misha, good luck getting a wink of sleep once you start that trilogy. Let us know what you think of Peeta.

Whoever the casting department gets to play Peeta in the movies better hit the nail on the head.

Thanks for the posts. Anyone else? Peeta or Gale? Bread or meat (nice post, Carrie!)?

ali cross said...

Aw yes. The boy with the bread. I loved him too. My favorite boy at the moment is Damon. Man I love him.

Alexis Bass said...

Me too! Team Peeta all the way. Suzanne Collins is a genius for creating a desirable good boy.

I could hug you right now for referencing both Damon Salvatore and Pacey Witter. Love them both – great examples. :)

Anonymous said...

Okay totally lost on most of those examples except the Hunger Games. I was on Team Gale. I loved that Peeta gave her bread that was sweet but I liked Gale more.

My favorite male characters are strong, mysterious with twisted souls that show vulnerabilty.

Marie Rearden said...

Shelley, I liked Gale. Don't get me wrong on that, but he was Sam Merlotte (from the Sookie Stackhouse books). He didn't want Katniss until someone else showed interest. Then with the Hunger Games and all Peeta did for her, Gale just couldn't touch that. He couldn't see and understand like Katniss was seeing and understanding, and that wasn't his fault. It just was.

Obviously, this is all my opinion. :)

I like the strong, villain-like man with just a touch of (possible) redemption.

Marie

Elizabeth Briggs said...

I like bad boys too but I definitely liked Peeta more in the Hunger Games.

Marie Rearden said...

Holy hot dog! I forgot Eric over Bill/Sam/you name it. Eric Northman...drool. :)

Amparo Ortiz said...

I am nothing without Peeta :) But yeah, bad boys have their appeal to me. i prefer my boys right in the middle, though--no extremes.

Except for the fact that I am TEAM ERIC, too. *blushes*

Marie Rearden said...

Amparo, even Eric left the extreme eventually. :) But he's still so bad!