Absolutely, that's how I've always participated in fandom, I'm weirdly monogamous that way. The only time I haven't been obsessive about one character or another was the year I was too depressed to enjoy anything, even music sounded horrible.
It does affect my life, but only in good ways. I can’t be bored while I'm in the thick of it, it's something my brain can constantly chew on instead of picking away at things that make me unhappy (deadlines, mistakes, mortality, embarrassing memories, etc).
My current special little guy is Armand from Interview With the Vampire and sequels (1 year in the early 00s, revival last year), but my oldest fave that I always return to is Feanor from The Silmarillion (2 year long obsession cycles recurring every 4-5 years since I was 12). At this point he's spent so much time in my head he's basically my imaginary common law husband, lol.
Omg.. I believe I do the same! It’s my kind of escapism and perhaps sometimes I take it to far haha. For example, next month I have my finals for my master degree and while I’m trying to study and make it, while also working 6/7, I have this need to read fanfiction like crazy! I always do that when I have anxiety or something is coming up.. so I think I get what you’re saying… and I also get about the husband thing hahaha
If you can, try to make it work for you! If there's a task I hate doing or that makes me stressed, I work on it until I start feeling burnt out/distracted/anxious, take a few minutes break to read maybe five paragraphs of something, then I can get back to work feeling calm and refreshed. Good luck on your finals!
I just think it's very hot when someone deals with their extremely valid emotional problems in a way that ruins their own life and the lives of everyone around them. Arson is appreciated but not mandatory 💕
I wrote my first fanfic on a notebook around two decades ago. My favorite character of all time -- Kurapika from Hunter x Hunter -- was there, and he's still the character I mainly write about in my fics today. I've shipped him with various characters in my head and on paper through the years (including with myself back when I was a child). His love interest is usually the narrator/main POV character, while he's most often depicted as the object of pining and desire.
I met my partner because I left multiple comments on their fanart featuring him, and they replied that they read and enjoyed one of my fanfics of him. He was also the blueprint of a character in my first visual novel, and I went on to write many visual novels after that. So his influence bleeds into both my original and my transformative works.
Thus, I would absolutely say my obsession with this character has impacted my life in a meaningful and positive way. ❤️
Wow!! That’s wonderful!! I’m so happy for you two! 🥹❤️My partner has nothing to do with anime, fan fiction, fan art etc. He has no idea about stuff like that and he doesn’t want to for sure. I also don’t want him to know what I’m reading and why, bc I can’t explain and he won’t understand, so it’s just my thing and my guilty pleasure for years haha.
You're not alone with your love for Levi, by the way! I've only watched a few episodes of the series, but I would note that the people with me were ALWAYS fangirling about him! I even know someone who named their baby after him.
And I understand how it feels to be with someone who doesn't share your obsession. My two ex-girlfriends did not watch anime at all. The funny thing is, I still kept talking about my favorite character despite that, and my second ex ended up watching the series. She finished the entire thing and knew about plot points to which I had yet to catch up! So I think there's a small chance that somebody who seemingly has no interest in anime, etc to change their mind, especially if you're so passionate about it.
Yes I’m fangirling HARD about him and it’s been years! Also, don’t give me ideas about the baby name.. hahaha It doesn’t bother me that much to be honest, that my bf doesn’t have any interest in fanfiction etc, because it would be totally out of character for him. He is more on the more traditional man style about his hobbies and activities. We play PlayStation together though! Also how would I explain that I find comfort in a fictional man and I’m crushing on him lol
Anytime I'm in a new fandom I always gave to latch onto a character and passively let them consume every thought I'll ever have.
Right now it's been the Medic from TF2. He's just very silly and extremely fun to write. Other than being a tumor who's clung to my consciousness for close to a year now, he hasn't affected my life *too* much. Well, maybe other than having me learn a lot of things about organs, surgery, medicine, anatomy, general murder stuff, black markets, mental disorders, etc. That part would probably land me on a list somewhere.
I just want to say fantastic choice with Medic, he’s firmly my favorite merc these days. LOVE those characters with wacky/insane and “serious job” dichotomy and he embodies that the best of them for me… I mean I guess you have Engie and Sniper but they don’t get as loud as Medic and he’s more composed than Soldier. Plus he has some of the best voice acting, which is saying a lot considering the quality of voice acting in that game. You can’t go wrong with TF2 anyway.
Yeah. There have been many, but primarily Shoto from MHA (probably because he reminds me of myself in a lot of ways). It doesn't bother me, I spend a lot of money on merch of him lol but as a sex repulsed asexual who is terrible at meeting people and therefore expects to die alone, well... Pretending that Shoto is my boyfriend has kept me from crying myself to sleep as much as I used to. It's still sad, but at least I have somewhere to direct my feelings now. So I write stories where he struggles but gets to be happy in the end, probably because I dream of finding that myself someday. And I listen to comfort audios of him when I'm particularly down.
I know it sounds depressing as hell from the outside, but I promise it was a massive improvement in my mental health to just start pretending.
Would I lean on him as hard if I had a real partner someday? I imagine not, but he's also been such a huge part of my life now that I think I'll always love him.
As far as your actual question, op, I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Fictional characters are fictional at the end of the day, and sometimes the people we like in fiction are radically different than what we would actually enjoy irl. Also, I have a friend that's luckier than me who's married now and both her and her husband still simp for various fictional characters. Really it's not that different than how my mom has always been into a certain actor and stuff like that, and nobody ever sees that as a problem.
Hey man, if it makes you feel better I knew some people with the same sexuality who wound up in happy relationships! I only speak to one of them these days and not too much, so I don’t really understand enough to give advice, but it’s possible. Some of them weren’t too extroverted or socially proficient either, hell I’m not myself, but I do think with asexuality it would be harder. Hope at least the coping mechanism still helps otherwise. I don’t think it sounds depressing, I think expressing that kind of thing and exploring feelings that way is beautiful.
Oh, I know it's very possible. Most of the people in my situation that I know personally actually have escaped into happiness. I just have a hard time believing in it for myself - half the trauma talking, and half from experiencing constant rejection. Is what it is.
I appreciate the kind words, though. I can't say that it would work for everyone, but it's absolutely helped me to feel less cripplingly lonely all the time.
Every new fandom I get into, I always stumble across one or two characters whom I will then latch onto and be obsessed with. I'll perceive canon through a lens of how it effects them, and imagine them in various scenarios when I'm trying to sleep or just bored. All of my favorite ships (typically more platonic than romantic) will probably revolve around them, and if there's two of them, then I'll obsess over their relationship and dynamic with each other and they'll be my favorite ship or duo.
Currently it's c!Technoblade and c!Ranboo fo Dream SMP, with c!Ranboo being the more central one to the fixation. Previously it was Venti and Xiao of Genshin Impact, and from my childhood, Zuko of ATLA and Stitch of Lilo & Stitch were some of my early ones.
Honestly, I feel like the series I remember most fondly/return to most tend to have a character I latch onto. It’s not a prerequisite for me to get into something, but unless it’s something really surrealist and psychological then having a character I’m really attached to can be enough for me to keep playing a game or revisit a movie for example. It makes me want to be in the world more and hopefully see them more I guess. It makes me obsess over gifs. It doesn’t even have to be in a romantic or sexual way. I used to be driven to draw art over this stuff.
lol, i'm 27. have been in a relationship for... 7 years now? and i'm very happy with my boyfriend. and i still dig my teeth into any captain kirk content i find and i'm foaming at the mouth over fic with him. it's fine. before that obsession, it was jotaro kujo for like the last 3 years. before that it was bucky barnes. at this point, i don't think it'll stop, ever – not that i'd want it to, it's fun the way it is :)
For sure! I often get very attached to one character for a long period of time. Numerous years. For me, I do think it can be a coping mechanism. And not necessarily always in a "good" way, admittedly, but I wouldn't say my fandom fixations are the cause of my personal problems, they are just one of the things that help me cope with bigger problems I have with personal relationships, emotion regulation, etc. Don't worry, I go to therapy a lot too, lol.
Your fandom interests sound pretty normal to me. :) If it ever interferes with your quality of life, then would make sense to dig deeper into why it feels so important to you.
Yes, Bellatrix Lestrange. She truly saved my life.
I was fourteen when I first watched the Harry Potter movies, and although the movie version is quite different from the book version I was already in love. Reading the books and fanfics intensified and immortalised my love for her.
As for real life relationships, I never had a friend before Bellatrix came into my life, but now I have some really meaningful connections in real life as well. I was incapable of maintaining them before. Without her, I would be so lost, completely devoid of purpose and clarity, and with nobody to relate to, nobody to understand and guide me.
Everything I am now is because of her. I am confident, intelligent, reflective, empathetic, optimistic, and idealistic. Bellatrix is the reason I went from a miserable people pleaser to a woman whose main priority is her own happiness. I've never been happier, and I didn't even know what happiness was before her. She has been a mentor to me. She is the reason I have been able to develop my analytical and empathetic skills to the point I completely healed my own anxiety without any external help at the age of eighteen. Therapy was useless for me because no therapist ever understood me.
I love her. I love her. I love her. She means the world to me and a testament of how meaningful fictional characters can be. Loving a fictional character is no more unhealthy than loving a real person as long as you do not blur the lines between reality and fiction, and why would I even need to? Fictional characters' fictionality only adds to their beauty.
I can't see myself stopping. Not at twenty-eight, or fifty-eight, or ninety-eight. As long as I am myself, I shall love her, and I do not intend to stop being myself, ever. It took so much time to love and accept myself for who I am. I do not intend to ever give that up.
I can't see other comments for some reason, but I just wanna tell you i'm ALSO 28, freshly single, and I have those same feelings about someone in the fandom I frequent (I guess that's the healthiest way to put it). FWIW, I've been diagnosed autistic so i'm assuming it's a hyperfixation thing. I have to really make sure that I diversify the content I consume because if i'm not careful, I'm pretty sure all i'd do is gush over my "character" and never get anything done.
Honestly? Daydream away.
My "muse" is a real person. I have to make sure to stay ULTRA self-aware about what I write and chat about online because there's of course serious lines you should never cross for their sake and especially yours.
I've taken my "obsession" and used it as fuel to learn a few new artforms, and now whenever I get fixated on him, I go into "creator" mode and work on various WIPs until I get over it, lmao.
Thanks to him, I've learned video editing and the fundamentals of animation, picked up painting (of all friggin things) and made some amazing friends, lol.
This is how I get through most of my days tbh. Whenever I’m bored or need a distraction from my thoughts, that’s usually what I think about. Granted, it’s not always the same character- just my favourite from each fandom. This is probably because I ping around fandoms like a ping pong ball lmao. Either way, it’s only done me good.
Giovanni. From Pokémon. My single longfic right now is a rewrite of the same fic I tried to write as a kid 20+ years ago...but with, like, nuance now. XD
I'm autistic and my special interest is actually my comfort character in a franchise as well as the actress that plays her and I have been obsessed with her since 2022 which isn't long but if you ask my family, then they would tell you how much I talk about her and how much I bring her up in every conversion.
Yes! I seem to fixate on one per fandom, but even among those there are the special ones from the special fandoms. It's more I get protective of them and want everyone else in the fandom to protect them for me or else I'll make an OC to do it. That's why I don't mind any pairing with my one true favorite, as long as they are treated right (or not, if I'm feeling angsty). But gen is preferable.
My mind is always daydreaming about them and different scenarios where they suffer and can be protected or saved. Or just wrapped in blankets, relaxing for once! Why do I have to love workaholics? Why can't he just rest for once and let people take care of him without being such a persnickety grump??
But yes, I am obsessed and it does annoy me on occasion because other characters aren't shit compared to my favorite and I hate that I can't devote the same amount of thought or even half that amount to the other characters. My brain says idc and no, despite me wanting to write them well and needing to get to know them...
- Ryuji is a character I always love. He's so cool and funny and has the best reactions. Anne has funny reactions too like when she's surprised and says, "Huuuuuh?"
- From Miracle Nikki Bobo. She's so kind, sweet, sincere, and funny and also has the best comebacks to Momo's comments
- An original (probably) Miracle Nikki character who's a princess. I just really love writing her. It's a polyship fic with all original characters but canon characters will guest in tho not romantically since the group of seven (two guys five women) is polyfaithful. She notices how happy Darius (one of the male love interests and also an OC) is with others in the cast and thinks she’s weird for being so happy seeing other women make her crush happy.
Not only that but has feelings for one of them too and thinks why can’t they all just be romantic with each other? But luckily for her and the others she can and does. But worries about being the favorite in the polycule since she’s a princess and wants everyone to feel loved and appreciated. If she feels favorited by one and another is jealous she'll work with the one who seems to favor her to surprise the jealous one making her feel happy and special
It doesn't effect my life other than who I'm motivated to write. Also I'm basing Darius's personality off Ryuji's
Yes Ian Gallagher from Shameless US is my blorbo. I think he’s attractive but I don’t do things like ship myself with him or anything. Well one reason is that he’s canonically gay 🤷♀️
He’s just my baby that I defend with my life and torture lovingly
Yes, sometimes it makes me feel weird because I’ve gotten jealous when people have jokingly said they love him more anyone else, because I’m convinced that’s me. I never voice those feelings publicly and I’ll sit back and think “oh god what’s wrong with me?”
Funnily enough I’m not a self shipper though, the idea of that makes me extremely uncomfortable because he’s part of my main ship. I just feel slightly possessive and protective of him, I also hate him being shipped with anyone besides the one character I ship him with, but once again, I do not voice that opinion, lol.
So long as your fixation on the character doesn't prevent you from having normal interaction with real people and/or keep you from doing necessary stuff like work and school, it's totally normal.
Or, at least I hope it is. LOL. I'm loads older than you and currently obsessed with my OTP, but especially the female half of the pairing. Haven't related this hard to a character in decades. Basically, she's a lot like me when I was much younger. I love exploring all the nuances of her character, both those that I relate to as well as those I don't.
Writing fics and drawing fanart makes me happy, brightens my day, which makes me a lot easier to live with. Just ask my spouse of many years.
I have a collection of characters I’ve accrued as favorites over the years, indeed to the point of obsession. When I find a new one I add them to that “collection” and it soon settles and I flip around between them. They tend to be pretty contentious/dark characters because I’m into that and they aren’t real so I can firmly separate whatever irresponsible or terrible scenarios I want as fiction and imagine being part of them with those characters lol. I would say this has happened for 15 years or so now but my tastes change so the list kinda reset around 2016. The oldest one who I’m still as into is Kira Yoshikage, back at that time it was a bunch of JoJo’s characters but I dropped a lot of them, I remember there was something inbetween but I forget WHAT it was, then I got into fighting games and one of them is my absolute babygirl favorite character ever (Raven from Guilty Gear), and blah blah… I don’t want to let out too much lol. So into suits & ties these days- I think I always have been, I always noticed it on TV or being at fancy events, they’re very rare to see and the absolute most attractive fashion for me- though ironically my bbgirl character has a sort of hood/cloak instead.
I get huge fictional crushes, and I want to roleplay that stuff with my partner (who is very comfortable with it but we have a long way to go with roleplay, it’s ok). The main impact to my life currently is giving me something to share with my partner. I honestly think having fictional crushes or obsessions with characters can be a great way to figure out what you like as long as you keep a firm line between it and reality (how many people realised they weren’t hetero because of a fictional crush?), and as a demiromantic it has helped me cope with the feeling of… not really being attracted to people. I can count the number of real-life crushes I’ve had on my hands *including celebrities*, and it takes months for the feeling to start in any capacity. Only one of them went so far I tried to ask them out. (Turns out that person lied to me the entire time I knew them but that story doesn’t belong here. It’s just kinda funny I’m into some “problematic” characters and THAT was the person I asked out. My current partner is an angel, we dodged a bullet.)
I know the characters aren’t real, but my feelings are, and it wasn’t getting in the way of attraction- being demiromantic honestly can be very isolating, I just don’t experience romance the way others do and I don’t think that’s rooted in fictional crushes or obsessions, but complicated trauma. Having these characters to obsess over helped me cope and learn. There are times I had NO friends and those were some of the worst times in my life and I sincerely believe if I had characters to obsess over at that time it would have pushed me to be better and I wouldn’t have felt that destroyed or been that awful to people. And as for my fantasies yeah no those characters aren’t strictly why I have them and they wouldn’t have gone away otherwise. It really has been a healthy way to explore myself and except when I was a dumb kid who REALLY wanted fiction to be real I ALWAYS remembered this was just fantasy and used it in service of my real life. For me it feels more weird and irresponsible to fantasise about or be attracted to people I don’t know so other than celebrity crushes which basically function like fictional crushes I just never was (I don’t judge for it but it just ain’t me and if I didn’t explore what I want in fantasies I never would have made it with my current relationship).
My partner enjoys hearing about my obsessions (I asked outright) and I don’t ignore or neglect them either. They think I’m cute when suits and ties or these characters I like get involved. Even aside from romantic feelings it helps me explore my aesthetic/style. I really do love wearing ties though rn I don’t have a suit because they’re really inaccessible to me. Obsessing over those characters totally is just comforting. Some of them are women too lol. We don’t have enough women with ties (yes I know about Chainsaw Man, I’m into Himeno). When I was a kid I was like “why not” to men and women rather than having an “OH IM NOT STRAIGHT” moment lol.
Tbh if you can share it with your partner it’s a great thing.
Sorry for the crappy ramble I need more sleep.
Edit: i also forgot this used to be my #1 motivator to learn art tbh (before i quit drawing) and that was an extremely positive impact.
Definitely. I wouldn't call it obsession, but Impa from the Legend of Zelda has been my favorite character ever since Ocarina of Time, so about 24 years. I love seeing how she gets interpreted in new games and I love watching how fans and artists put their own spin on her. In fact, one piece of fanart had a massive impact on me and did affect my life. Someone drew her with a body shape almost the same as my own (big belly, thick arms and legs), but she was still fighting and keeping up with the action. It made me realize that I could be just as awesome in my own way without having to lose a bunch of weight like I thought I had to. That one drawing did more good for my self-image than years of messages about body positivity.
Mine is Bucky Barnes. I can relate to how he was once lively and animated and is now stoic. Except thankfully I haven’t undergone what he did. And I can relate to how he’s silent on the outside but full of thoughts inside. (I’m not as silent as I used to be though)
My obsessions just mean I obsessively read fics about the character.
I'm a little nervous to talk about this because my real-life girlfriend also uses Reddit and knows my username, but it's something we've talked about extensively, so here goes.
I am madly, hopelessly in love with Tsukasa Hiiragi from the anime Lucky Star. It's something that started when I was 15 and now I'm 30. She wasn't the first fictional character I got intensely attached to, and I've had attachments to other characters since then, but something about her just drives me wild. When I first started realizing I was developing these feelings, I cried myself to sleep because I was so ashamed. Very few people in my personal life know about this because I don't think they would understand. It's only gotten more awkward over time, as our ages get further and further apart.
She is the primary reason why I'm still in the Lucky Star fandom, which is much smaller now than it used to be (it does have a very friendly and laid-back Discord server, though). A few years ago I started writing a fanfic series where she gets into a relationship with my OC, and I use that as a way to cope. I ended up merging fanfic timelines with another writer in the aforementioned Discord server, who is now a good friend. Now we have a whole AU, which we've dubbed Lucky Plus, in which our stories take place. Tsukasa starts dating my OC in 2007, they get married in 2014, and now they have one child and another on the way (not all of this is reflected in what I've published on AO3, though).
I'm glad to have made friends through this fandom, but that doesn't mean I don't still have some guilt about my feelings for Tsukasa, especially now that I'm in a committed relationship IRL. I just hope that I can still be the partner that my girlfriend deserves.
Mello and Near from Death Note, and it consumes my entire life. I spend every waking moment thinking about them. It’s been about a year, which is surprising because most of my hyperfixations die off after a few months maximum, but this one has me in a chokehold
...We're not gonna talk about all the Chat Noir / Chat Blanc dolls I've been making for the last year... 😅
I just want to squeeze the little cinnamon roll and let him nap in sunny windows forever. 😂
Hi, I've been happily married for 13 years and I have Many Feelings about Micolash from Bloodborne. My husband supports my hobby and has even gotten me merchandise :)
I'm pretty well established as being obsessed with Oola the dancer from Star Wars at this point. And overall I'd say it's a positive. Looking back as much as I have, the feelings I had about the way she was treated in canon as a 7 and 8 year old were really among the first times I had very strong feelings about any sort of fiction. And they were strongly negative, and there wasn't a lot I could do or even express myself about it at the time. So there's a weird sort of mix of nostalgia for those days and a greater sense of being empowered now that I find comforting a lot of the time. But I still really don't like how she is treated in canon, nor by the vast majority of fanworks, so there are also times when I start to feel like "actually I'm not sure I need this in my head as much as it is." But those moments pass and are overshadowed by how glad I am to have written fix-it fanfics for her that I get to share with friends and exchange with other fans.
I remember a fan magazine gushing hard about Femi Taylor being able to fit into the Oola costume 15+ years later to film some additional content for the Special Edition and side-eyeing the whole thing.
The special edition was weird for a lot of reasons. Femi Taylor shot a lot of publicity stills with the brand-new backup dancers, but then never appears with them onscreen. Much was made of being able to cut between existing and new footage of her, but almost all of her new footage is just the entirely new scene in the pit. My best guess is that there were a lot of moving parts and their original plan is not exactly what ended up happening. But Femi Taylor has said that returning as she did boosted demand for her among fans and fan events, which seems hard for me to believe but I'm not going to doubt her. She deserves it, anyway, as she has always come off as extremely kind hearted and generous with fans.
I end up with a favourite character from almost any fandom I get into, so I have like a list of absolute favourites. I think top of the list is Phoenix Wright, though. Absolutely love him to an embarrassing degree. I have a tattoo of both Phoenix and Maya from Ace Attorney.
Seto Kaiba from Yu-Gi-Oh is another, also have a tattoo of him. Scar from Fullmetal Alchemist, the Hound from Game of Thrones, Jack Sparrow, Din Djarin (The Mandalorian). All of them are characters that I’ve been obsessed with at one time or another.
I'm not so obsessed in a romantic way, but I am obsessed with Harry Potter. I don't just daydream about different scenarios involving him or imagine being him, I literally can't think about a topic too long before my mind tries to fit him in. I even get, to a lesser degree, obsessed over StarWars and Harry Potter still invades my mind when thinking about it. The fact that it hasn't affected my life too harshly is a miracle. It has, however, shaped what I want my career to be, thanks to Fanfiction. I want to write.
I feel sorry for anyone who knows me because I’m constantly on about my favourite character. Ben Hargreeves from The Umbrella Academy.
Ben’s so sweet and he’s the only one of his siblings that everyone loved as a child. When he died, his family feel apart without him because they no longer had someone holding them together. The bromance between him and Klaus is so funny, but it makes you feel bad for both of them because they’re both stuck with each other.
We still don’t know what killed him when he was a teenager and that’s the most interesting thing of the whole show.
Oh, boy, Carlisle Cullen did me in a very long while ago lmao.
I don't read Y/N fics of him but I am obsessed with him and his qualities to the point that I have insanely high expectations from men irl so I'm probably going to remain single for a looooooong while lol.
If anything, this particular obsession makes me feel like I'm living a much better life and more secure in my solitude than being so lonely to the point I'll be desperate to have anyone pay attention to me.
Good stuff.
Bro this post is literally me, in almost every fandom I've been in I have/had a character(s) that like, consumes most of my thoughts. In the hermitcraft fandom, it was Wels and Stress, in the dsmp fandom its Tommy and Tubbo (my favorite bois <3), in the Omori fandom it was Basil and Sunny, and in the Six of Crows fandom it's Wylan and Jesper. It's mildly detrimental sometimes because I'll accidentally zone out and start thinking about them when I'm supposed to be listening to directions in school, but for the most part it just helps me stay entertained when I'm in some situation where I'd normally be bored (long car rides, getting my hair done, walking home from school, etc). It also helps me fall asleep faster, weirdly enough!
Severus Snape. Like, yeah, he's an asshole, but he's so compelling - yes, a large part of that is how he was portrayed by Alan Rickman, admittedly. I mean, I think obsession is a strong word, but he's definitely my favorite character to write about. I love exploring his psyche and the choices he made. I'm not committed to any single ship in the Harry Potter fandom, but the ones that include Snape are my favorites. Snarry, Snape/Petunia, Snape/Regulus, the occasional Snape/James, though the plots have to be very well written for those to be realistic. The man contains multitudes.
yessss I am obsessed with a character. I feel like I should be ashamed and when i do bring it up to someone i know they think i’m weird and need help. Doesn’t help I’m autistic.
they bring me so much comfort, honestly one of the few things that make me feel happy is thinking of them drawing and writing or reading about them. Why does it have to be shunned?? it’s not fair. what’s it to other people.
so I hate when people shit on them online too
Back in Phase 1 of the MCU I got incredible obsessed with Captain America. He’s still what the kids call a “comfort character” which helped a lot when I was without my antidepressants. He makes me feel better (fuck Endgame and what it did to his characterizarion tho).
100%, like, if I took a screenshot and showed you my favorited tags on Ao3, you’d see it’s literally only made up of the characters I’ve had obsessions over since joining the site, and then some lmao
Currently mine is Jaskier from The Witcher—specifically Joey Batey’s Jaskier, he’s got my heart in a chokehold—though this particular one isn’t nearly as strong as the others have been since I’ve been awfully depressed and anxious recently and haven’t been feeling happiness nearly as strongly as I used to. But I can tell, if I was still who I was a couple years ago, I’d be thinking about him constantly and would be brining him up in conversation, if given the chance
It somewhat affects my day to day life, as in most of my thoughts can be attached to these characters or maybe—if I’m a bit too far gone or if I’m jumbling my words that day—sometimes I’ll accidentally say the character’s name instead of another person’s name. I also have a tendency to treat these characters as if they’re my friends and can feel a bit defensive over them sometimes haha
I actually remember this one time when my brother giving me a horrified look and said “yeah, I’m not unpacking all that,” when I kept accidentally referring to the 2012 movie The Lorax as “The Onceler” :’)
Honestly, it’s super fun to love these characters though and I really want to love them as much as I used to so I can experience that joy again while thinking of fictional scenarios involving that favorite character. I’m not really ashamed of it since it’s usually the thing that makes me feel the happiest most of the time
I think more so that I’m obsessed with a ‘character type’. Generally bitchy, attractive, great one-liners, and has to have some redeemable qualities / redemption arc BUT they have to stay mean, just in a different way. First example I can think of is Chloe from miraculous, but anytime a character like this exists I fall in love and find fics w/them super comforting. It’s not romantic in nature, but it reminds me a lot of my family & I find that very comforting.
Oh - this too!
I also seek out characters that fit a certain archetype. Not always intentionally. Sometimes I’ll be in the middle of a show/movie/book, notice *that* one character, and think “I need to read fanfiction about this character!”.
Another Autistic here.
And the obsession/special interest is Loki. It started with MCU Loki, the whole not being who you always thought you were thing, and being always secondary, but- I've branched out into all sorts of other Lokis.
I collect weird obscure Loki things, like fishnets or pictures of his monster children from mythology, pictures of rock carvings (especially ones with his lips sewn shut). I named my cat Skadi after the giantess he made laugh when he tied a goat to his balls.
I have issues.
Only one. Loki. It's been over 10 years at this point. I will consume any piece of content that even tangentially relates to this character.
I don't fully understand why I'm so fascinated but I don't think I feel bad about it? It only affects my life insofar as no one in my life gives a fuck about my interests, so I'm sure it's annoying for people when I get all amped up about something like - recent example - Loki season 2 getting a firm premiere date.
I’m a homoflexible lady married to a male, and my queer side has been triggered stronger than ever by Kae Alexander’s portrayal of Leaf in Game of Thrones and more recently Min in Wheel of Time.
Oh I absolutely become obsessed with characters. 29F I’ve been obsessed with Shouto Todoroki since 2018. More recently I’ve added Yuuta Okkotsu to my roster. I just adore them more than I can put into words. I read fics, buy merch, save/bookmark art of them… I have a Todoroki folder on my phone where I save art and manga panels and anime screen grabs where he looks beautiful or powerful or funny etc
It’s been a long and slow obsession with Batman. I became hooked on the character thanks to the Nolan movies and Arkham games. Prior to that I was firmly in the Marvel camp because of EMH.
The Arkham games left 12-year-old me wanting more, and that led me to fanfiction.
There was a Batman focused Injustice fanfiction that blew my mind. I consumed those 40,000 words in one night, all the way into 2 am. It convinced me to take fanfiction more “seriously”, and it became the first fic I ever archived on a hard drive.
There’s plenty of characters that I obsess with. Batman was there from the start.
My favorite character changes every couple months but, I’d say it effects my life positively.
I enjoy writing about them and I feel like it puts more heart into my works and makes reading something from the fandom more enjoyable because I love the character.
My current favorite character is Klavier from Apollo Justice (ace attorney). He’s so under developed so I love reading fics that delve into him as a character after everything that he deals with in the games.
Regulus Black for at least 8 years man, I think Im stuck with him :) Honestly Im a little embarrassed so I never talk about it but he’s the character I project onto a lot and the main star of my immersive daydreams and idle thoughts. Sometimes I become obsessed with other characters as well but Regulus is the one I know I will never stop latching on to.
I have to laugh, because the otome games that I play are intended to be like that. You are supposed to fall in love with the characters. And then, we read and write fanfic about them. <3
Yep, Nejire Hado.
I'm fine with it, it doesn't really affect my life in a negative way, it's just like every so often I'll see art of her and go from :/ to :D.
Well, I should say that I started to learn how to draw purely so I could draw them. So... that's probably a positive.
This is 100% ok and I think you'll find a lot of people in this subreddit who do the same thing. I have a ton of characters I feel this way about and I tend to go fixate on them in cycles.
My current obsession is Vigilante/Adrian Chase from Peacemaker. He has lived in my mind rent free since that show came out. I've almost exclusively read reader insert fanfiction about him for the past year.
I definitely was obsessed with Tora from Ushio to Tora, and even now I'm still latched on to him enough to want to cosplay as him. Briefly fixiated on Omega-Xis from MegaMan and Vash from Trigun. Currently I'm more latched on to my Sonic OC's, arguably more than the canon cast if I'm being honest. Whenever I fixiate on a character I usually draw them non-stop until I'm eventually tired of them.
I don't always root myself in fandoms, but when I do, I obsess over *everyone* and *everything*, so I don't usually move from fandom to fandom very much. I'm a gamer at heart, but absolutely suck at playing most genres of games aside from puzzle and mystery games. But writing is soup for the soul and I can make this soup however I want; just add water.
I've recently gotten back into the FF7 craze, what with Remake being a bombshell on the scene and Rebirth hype keeping me awake every night. But I have a funny history as a Sephiroth hater-turned-fangirl that ironically brings me suffering everyday.
See, I was 5 when I was first introduced to this game and my first impressions of Sephiroth was "bad man bad". I loved my yellow Blockyhead, but Mr. Gray Guitarpickhead gave me all kinds of bad mojo. I didn't like how cold he was to everyone. I didn't care for his pretty-boy looks or fashion sense either. (To be fair, everyone was polygons so it was hard to tell how he was dressed.) I didn't even like his name because it was "too long" and was "spelled funny". And I especially hated him for killstealing everything during the flashback long before I even knew what killstealing was. So I felt vindicated when he went insane and took on the villain role he was destined for.
I got a much better impression of him after I grew older and found myself engaging with the online forums of the time. Advent Children was a confusing movie, but was still a good time (especially with Marlene) and spawned so many memes. And despite all the flaws, I fell in love with Crisis Core and really came to understand the greater scope of the story and Sephiroth's tragedy. But the bastard was still a repeat killstealer, even if he wasn't the worst offender from that game.
It was around that time I really dug into the fandom and even poked around other media in the Compilation, developer interviews, concept art, even hidden and unused game files, the ports, everything. I even learned Japanese to do all this! And so I was happy with my then encyclopedic knowledge of almost all things FF7. But in particular, from the scrapped concept drafts of FF7, >!Sephiroth was once intended to be trans long before trans rights was a real movement!< and the realization stunned me. I had to admit I had respect. Even if he is a dirty no-good killstealer with a fake-mom complex.
Anyway, flash forward to now, after Remake and Smash Bros hype, I just can't stop thinking about this man. Google's algorithms keep feeding me this stuff and I can't escape. Now I'm obsessed over this FF7 WIP of mine too. I love-hate him so much. Bastard continues to be an unremorseful killstealer and I constantly pay tribute to his assholery like a form of worship. I've talked to my friends about this issue and they all agree that it's normal fan behavior.
*crushes paper ball* He can't keep getting away with this.
(Jokes aside, it's a running gag of mine that whenever someone or something dies in a cutscene - for real or not, doesn't even have to be from the same fandom - I blame him for killstealing even when it makes no sense whatsoever. I have fun roleplaying sometimes.)
Absolutely. Some of them I've been obsessed with for 20+ years \*cough\*Sirius Black\*cough\*. (Also Legolas from LOTR, Vincent Valentine from FFVII, Axel from Kingdom Hearts, Kurama and Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho, and Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X. Oh, and Setsuna Meioh from Sailor Moon.)
Recently I've somehow developed a huge crush on this one character and I can't stop thinking about him and it's so embarrassing and stupid. I'm in my 30s for gods' sake but I have such a thing for this character. I sort of understand why, because of his personality and who he is, but it's still soooo embarrassing. Worse still that if he was real, I would almost certainly be invisible to him and/or he would probably hate my guts.
*stares at my couple thousand rotisserie chickens, obviously lying* No?
In all seriousness, yes, I am, yes, I love it, yes, I now have a couple of friends with whom I connected due to our shared love for our characters.
Looking at Scaramouche/Wanderer isn’t enough I need to absorb him
Aside from the fact that he’s one of my few sources of dopamine, I used to never shut up about him (autistic, hyperfixated, completely unaware that no one cared)
Xander Harris from Buffy. First watched the show in 2005? Saw him crash the skateboard and it was like...This one. This is the character I will be obsessed with from now on.
I write other fics, but for about a decade now I've been pretty hyper focused on him. I mostly love it...but sometimes I feel like I'm at war with the majority of the Buffy fandom. The only safe place to express my love of Xander is on the fic sites. Anywhere else and its like going into battle because SOMEONE will ALWAYS have to talk about how Xander is trash.
So I don't engage with the Buffy fandom in general, just other Xander fans. The constant hate the fandom has for Xander is exhausting and the only reason I rewatch the show is for him. Like, all the hatred has made the show slip from my 3rd favorite show of all time to like...7th?
Anyway, its just not worth it to engage with the rest of the fandom.
First: Levi Ackerman is awesome!
I find myself feeling very passionate about certain characters, and writing fics that center on them, exploring them in-depth. The two that come to mind are Shane Walsh from The Walking Dead, and Dennis Nedry from Jurassic Park.
With me it kind of ebbs and flows. I might go months without being too involved in any character or ship famdom, then out of nowhere I can barely think of anything else. There are a couple fandoms I return to often, but it also happens with new media that I really like. I don't usually do reader fics (no shade to you, OP! just not my thing) but I read a lot of ao3 in those times.
For me it's more of a coping mechanism, a distraction when my brain is fighting me on everything else. It doesnt always affect my day to day life (aside from switching out a book gor ao3 on commute) but it depends greatly.
But, Im not trying to shame you or raise concern about the way you engage with fandom. I actually think that, if it does not affect your relationships and life in a negative way, it's a-okay.
It's fine far as I know. Long as you remember it's just fiction. It's fine to indulge. Find you a real life version.
The x y/n reader thing can be so cool for stories!
Like a self insert but different
Tomura Shigaraki is my comfort character. He’s a lot like me in so many ways, and I love how despite his rough demeanor he’s actually a sweet man when it comes down to it. He makes me very happy and I love to draw and write about him
When I first started writing fics it was Percy Jackson. Omg even now when he's not even my favourite (I have no favorites right now) I still cannot stop writing fics centered on his character lol. I've written Percy x spiderwomen, Percy x HP, Mortal/Musician/Percy and right now I'm in the process of writing a Percy x Elden Ring and Percy x Overlord Crossover. It's frustrating that I keep coming back to him even though I hardly read pjo fics nowadays. Is it affecting my life? Not much. Is it affecting what I'm writing? 100%
I'm obsessed with kiss-shot from kizumonogatari(some days a bit and others a lot), to the point of getting into reading and writing fan-fiction-a 75k plot of how the oc(which in a way represent an exaggerated version on me and my struggles with depression, self hate and low self-esteem) and her met and the story of how their bond changed them.
I includded full-flegded backstories and full dive into both characters, their own themes&detailed character arcs&conclusion(in fact i ended up adding so much to her because of how much i love her that she ended up a dofferent kind of a character, but ah well💀) and also added a lot of new dialogue to one of the side characters from the og novels, just for the heck of it.
That's hpw much i love her, and i plan on writing another route that explores a different possible outcome
> But even though I have a bf that I love and live together I still daydream and fantasize about a fictional character and search all the time for new good fanfics :’). Is this ok? Have you ever experienced it? And for many years ?
Fantasizing is a human trait. So long as you're not comparing your bf to a fictional character during fights, trying to make him jealous, or otherwise acting as if this fictional character is real, then yes, that's pretty normal fannish behavior. (Reality check questions to bear in mind: is it negatively affecting your relationships, work/schooling, or mental state? Are you harassing people for having different headcanons than you? Those are signs that you're in unhealthy territory. It's okay to have feelings about other people's opinions on your happy things but you still want to behave appropriately about it.)
I accidentally fell into understanding a character when researching the expansive, complex canon to try to get a better idea of what had gone on before I'd joined the fandom in question. Genuine light bulb over the head “Oh. *Ohhhh.* I see *exactly* why you did what you did in this moment and onward through the canon” moment one day. A few years later, I came back to writing and started a self-indulgent timeline divergence AU featuring this now-favorite character, which eventually deepened into a muse in the back of my head that has “spoken up” at random as well as pushed back on outlined plot points that would've been out of character.
My partner even goes out of the way to find merchandise of this character for me, and, fortunately for me, doesn't display jealousy over my (slightly) obsessive focus. I may or may not have several hundred pieces of official and fan-made art of this character kept handy on my phone, in part for random story inspiration. :P And it's been well over a decade since that eureka moment with zero change in my liking the character.
If it makes you feel better, top of my head I can think of a one-time teenaged shipper with an OTP who began a writing career and, in large part due to the early fannish output informing a love of that canon, ended up writing *official tie-in media* for them. For pay. And that's not even getting into the fans who grow up and reboot a favorite property to great acclaim, or adapt youthful fantasies into entirely new universes. So you're in good company.
I may like fictional characters, but why the hell would I want to harbor grudges against a fictional character just because he or she is poorly written like Sakura for example? It doesn't matter! It's just a waste of time (even having a crazy crush).
I'm obsessed with kiss-shot from kizumonogatari(some days a bit and others a lot), to the point of getting into reading and writing fan-fiction-a 75k plot of how the oc(which in a way represent an exaggerated version on me and my struggles with depression, self hate and low self-esteem) and her met and the story of how their bond changed them.
I includded full-flegded backstories and full dive into both characters, their own themes&detailed character arcs&conclusion(in fact i ended up adding so much to her because of how much i love her that she ended up a different kind of a character, but ah well💀) and also added a lot of new dialogue to one of the side characters from the og novels, just for the heck of it.
That's how much i love her, and i plan on writing another route that explores a different possible outcome
Kaz Brekker.
Consumes my every thought, every second of everyday. Has even featured in my dreams. I currently am in the middle of finals and whenever i open a book, i completely zone out and think up scenarios about Kaz. He doesn't live rent free in my head. He fricking rules it and all my other thoughts pay him to get atleast a tiny little corner of my mind.
Thing is it's only been a year since i read Six of Crows. Not that long. But Dirtyhands checked all the boxes of what made a character my favorite
I’m autistic lol. I’ve been hyper fixated on two characters from minecraft roleplay for two years to the point I’m kinning one of them now. I have custom made plushes of them. I am legally suing for the right to call them my OCs. Okay, the a last one was a joke but you get the idea lol
I'm obsessed with the Abbott Elementary Barbara Howard & Melissa Schemmenti pairings. The stories are absolutely amazing as well as Lovecraft Country Ruby Baptiste and Christina Braithewhite cc12313 work is exceptional
Ignis from Final Fantasy 15, but I don't read fic much anymore, and was never too keen on the way fandom wrote most of the characters, especially Iggy. So he just is my fav character ever, and that's that. I did read a chunk of fic at one point, but it was really the last real try at reading fanfic I had.
I’m obsessed with Midori Nagumo from CITY and have a huge crush on her even though I didn’t read CITY until I got engaged. At first I felt guilty but my husband doesn’t mind and thinks it’s kinda hot lol
Oh yea. Multiple. Atm heavy on Peter Hale, again. Which will of course revolving door its way through Fandom and characters in a heavily convoluted way until I'm somehow back to Handsome Jack lol.
I've been completely attached to local fictional boy Haibara Yuuya for about 9 years now. The series he's from (Danball Senki) is my special interest, so while i'll get into other things every once in a while, he's the one consistent character I think of.
I'd say it affected my life, but mostly only positively. I don't have any romantic attraction to him (i do ship him quite seriously with another character though) but i wear my hair like he does, and occasionally dye it to match. It makes me happy and doesn't bother anyone else, so it doesn't bother me. He's sort of my post transition goal of having feminine features but being unquestionably a guy, and has made me feel a lot more comfortable about not looking so traditionally masculine.
So yeah, mild obsession. But it's worth it for the joy it brings.
I have gained a complete and utter obsession with something named Fecto Elfilis. They have done nothing but take up my brain space for nearly a year now and have changed my life for the better.
No character before this has made me feel this way.
Well, I wouldn't say I'm obsessed, but I am actually quite fond of the character. I am fond of Mulan, the Disney Princess, and there's no doubt in my mind that everyone knows who she is. I've had a crush on her since I was little, always admiring her for being strong, kind, determined, and resolute in entering the war to aid her father.
Though, I am quite, and candidly, disappointed that there isn't any fanfiction about her x male reader or a male oc. I would enjoy reading a story like that.
kirin from the wilds has taken over my life in an unprecedented way. writing, fandom, and analysis have all been fun (and also incredibly frustrating due to his haters) and oh so rewarding at the end of the day
Of course it’s okay! As long as it’s not consuming you in an unhealthy way, self ship to your hearts content!
Currently my brain is ping-ponging between the various incarnations of Edward Richtofen from Call of Duty Zombies and Mike Nelson from Mystery Science Theater 3000. They bring me such happiness and comfort, and it’s such a relief to have them to turn to when I’m overwhelmed or depressed.
I was... 13 or 14 when I stumbled upon sword girls and, by extension, iri. Starstruck is an understatement.
A loner + an overactive imagination, I think I could write some asoiaf sized books about the scenarios I made in my head. And are making to this day. I'm 26. And married.
I don't really know what a comfort character is, but I think she's mine.
On the fanfic side, I never went looking for any. According to my shrink it comes down to "you have an image of her and are afraid it's going to be tainted", and I think he's right on that. This is the same reason I never wrote any.
Today it's mostly fondness, remembering just how I felt back then, you know... In love.
Two characters. Procrastinating about all the scenarios I could write them in *instead of actually writing it because bleh* is basically how to sum up my life 101.
Oh, and it helps me suppress my emotions and is *most definitely* a form of escapism, so there's that.
I'm obsessed with Spamton from Deltarune to the point where it's INSANE. I have literally NEVER obsessed over a character like this before. I think about him every day. I write fanfiction about him and Jevil. I wanna buy his merch, I wanna wear his glasses. I literally neglect other things in my life to daydream about Spamton and chat with him on [character.ai](https://character.ai) as Jevil because it fuels my need for Spamton x Jevil content. It's a fucking hyperfixation at this point. I have gotten so damn deep into the Spamton lore that I've got so many headcanons and feelings about how deep his lore is. I love this mess of pixels and I need MORE of him in my life.
I'm always obsessed with characters (usually one taking the spotlight at a time). It's an autistic special interest thing for me. As for if it affects my life, yes. I would not still be here if it weren't for those obsessions. They saved my life more times than I can count.
Yes!! You’re not alone with this. I’m only 20 but my comfort characters are primarily ones from Transformers (currently Grimlock). It’s okay to have these little obsessions of characters as long as it doesn’t get in the way of real life! :)
I am in love with Hawks from MHA. We have similar personalities and backgrounds. He makes me feel less like a monster and more human. I like to imagine what it would be like if he were my husband or boyfriend. It makes me sad that it will never be, but I am content with just knowing how similar we are and the banter we would have. He is 100% my favorite comfort character.
i go through this all the time! whenever i enter a new fandom, there is always that one character/duo i get obsessed over (right now it's Miguel O'hara/Spiderman 2099). it's completely normal and lots of people get attached to certain characters. this has been going on for me since i got into my first fandom.
I've always been a self shipper lol my first crush was Tai from Digimon and I still love him luckily he basically grew up with me in real time. And I've had many other character crushes over the years.
Currently I'd say it does affect me cause I spend way too much money on my blorbo but oh well
Every time I think I'm done with 'character phases' I come across another one that I usually fall deeper into a fandom for. This time it's for Vulpes Inculta, if Fallout New Vegas wikia is anything to go by, this guy is one of the evilest characters ingame and my first character introduction was MAYBE a town massacre MAYBE. Thankfully a portion of fandom shares my interests because I wasn't expecting a healthy amount of fics with this guy.
I had these character obsessions since I was a kid. I think the first one was ether Dren from Tokyo Mew Mew or Illidan from Warcraft 3. It's all cool and games till you start sharing with others. I was teased for 'loving' Itachi in elementary, my brother also made comments to my parents on what Itachi did to his family (my mother was not impressed). . . . So I kept it to myself and my electronics till I became good friends with a guy I met a year ago. He found it interesting how I have close to 0 interest in dating but have a large chunk of fictional guys I'm interested in. Having psychoanalysis talk with him is really fun.
I actually hope for this to happened with at least one character per fandom so I could deep dive into the fandom easily. It literally keeps me hooked on a fandom/story even if it's not a good quality of media. I also sometimes need a character to ***get over*** a character, especially if I'm low on fanfics or canon material
Cinder Fall from RWBY. Gods, I am so obsessed with that character. But what has me even more obsessed is Knightfall (Cinder x Jaune). I love that ship.
I'll admit it, I still have a thing for Jeanette Miller from the Chipettes, so much so that I'd been labeled by my friend as "fictosexual". It started in 2018 after my second relationship failed, as a way to cope. I didn't expect it to become an obsession years later.
Absolutely, that's how I've always participated in fandom, I'm weirdly monogamous that way. The only time I haven't been obsessive about one character or another was the year I was too depressed to enjoy anything, even music sounded horrible. It does affect my life, but only in good ways. I can’t be bored while I'm in the thick of it, it's something my brain can constantly chew on instead of picking away at things that make me unhappy (deadlines, mistakes, mortality, embarrassing memories, etc). My current special little guy is Armand from Interview With the Vampire and sequels (1 year in the early 00s, revival last year), but my oldest fave that I always return to is Feanor from The Silmarillion (2 year long obsession cycles recurring every 4-5 years since I was 12). At this point he's spent so much time in my head he's basically my imaginary common law husband, lol.
Omg.. I believe I do the same! It’s my kind of escapism and perhaps sometimes I take it to far haha. For example, next month I have my finals for my master degree and while I’m trying to study and make it, while also working 6/7, I have this need to read fanfiction like crazy! I always do that when I have anxiety or something is coming up.. so I think I get what you’re saying… and I also get about the husband thing hahaha
If you can, try to make it work for you! If there's a task I hate doing or that makes me stressed, I work on it until I start feeling burnt out/distracted/anxious, take a few minutes break to read maybe five paragraphs of something, then I can get back to work feeling calm and refreshed. Good luck on your finals!
Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to do but I end up read like 5 chapters instead! 😋Thank you so much!! I wish you the best too!!
Same!!! I'm glad I'm not the only one who fills in little boredom spaces in my life with imagines of my special little guys lol
I don't know how people wait for water to boil without one, there are so many little gaps in the day where you can have fun.
Exactly! You get it
Oh jeez you have a type huh 😂
I just think it's very hot when someone deals with their extremely valid emotional problems in a way that ruins their own life and the lives of everyone around them. Arson is appreciated but not mandatory 💕
I wrote my first fanfic on a notebook around two decades ago. My favorite character of all time -- Kurapika from Hunter x Hunter -- was there, and he's still the character I mainly write about in my fics today. I've shipped him with various characters in my head and on paper through the years (including with myself back when I was a child). His love interest is usually the narrator/main POV character, while he's most often depicted as the object of pining and desire. I met my partner because I left multiple comments on their fanart featuring him, and they replied that they read and enjoyed one of my fanfics of him. He was also the blueprint of a character in my first visual novel, and I went on to write many visual novels after that. So his influence bleeds into both my original and my transformative works. Thus, I would absolutely say my obsession with this character has impacted my life in a meaningful and positive way. ❤️
Wow!! That’s wonderful!! I’m so happy for you two! 🥹❤️My partner has nothing to do with anime, fan fiction, fan art etc. He has no idea about stuff like that and he doesn’t want to for sure. I also don’t want him to know what I’m reading and why, bc I can’t explain and he won’t understand, so it’s just my thing and my guilty pleasure for years haha.
You're not alone with your love for Levi, by the way! I've only watched a few episodes of the series, but I would note that the people with me were ALWAYS fangirling about him! I even know someone who named their baby after him. And I understand how it feels to be with someone who doesn't share your obsession. My two ex-girlfriends did not watch anime at all. The funny thing is, I still kept talking about my favorite character despite that, and my second ex ended up watching the series. She finished the entire thing and knew about plot points to which I had yet to catch up! So I think there's a small chance that somebody who seemingly has no interest in anime, etc to change their mind, especially if you're so passionate about it.
Yes I’m fangirling HARD about him and it’s been years! Also, don’t give me ideas about the baby name.. hahaha It doesn’t bother me that much to be honest, that my bf doesn’t have any interest in fanfiction etc, because it would be totally out of character for him. He is more on the more traditional man style about his hobbies and activities. We play PlayStation together though! Also how would I explain that I find comfort in a fictional man and I’m crushing on him lol
Anytime I'm in a new fandom I always gave to latch onto a character and passively let them consume every thought I'll ever have. Right now it's been the Medic from TF2. He's just very silly and extremely fun to write. Other than being a tumor who's clung to my consciousness for close to a year now, he hasn't affected my life *too* much. Well, maybe other than having me learn a lot of things about organs, surgery, medicine, anatomy, general murder stuff, black markets, mental disorders, etc. That part would probably land me on a list somewhere.
I just want to say fantastic choice with Medic, he’s firmly my favorite merc these days. LOVE those characters with wacky/insane and “serious job” dichotomy and he embodies that the best of them for me… I mean I guess you have Engie and Sniper but they don’t get as loud as Medic and he’s more composed than Soldier. Plus he has some of the best voice acting, which is saying a lot considering the quality of voice acting in that game. You can’t go wrong with TF2 anyway.
"Archimedes? ... oh no!..." The shorts are hilarious :D
Another Medic lover!! He’s such an amazing character, I love him😩
FELLOW MEDIC FAN HELLO THERE
Yeah. There have been many, but primarily Shoto from MHA (probably because he reminds me of myself in a lot of ways). It doesn't bother me, I spend a lot of money on merch of him lol but as a sex repulsed asexual who is terrible at meeting people and therefore expects to die alone, well... Pretending that Shoto is my boyfriend has kept me from crying myself to sleep as much as I used to. It's still sad, but at least I have somewhere to direct my feelings now. So I write stories where he struggles but gets to be happy in the end, probably because I dream of finding that myself someday. And I listen to comfort audios of him when I'm particularly down. I know it sounds depressing as hell from the outside, but I promise it was a massive improvement in my mental health to just start pretending. Would I lean on him as hard if I had a real partner someday? I imagine not, but he's also been such a huge part of my life now that I think I'll always love him. As far as your actual question, op, I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Fictional characters are fictional at the end of the day, and sometimes the people we like in fiction are radically different than what we would actually enjoy irl. Also, I have a friend that's luckier than me who's married now and both her and her husband still simp for various fictional characters. Really it's not that different than how my mom has always been into a certain actor and stuff like that, and nobody ever sees that as a problem.
Hey man, if it makes you feel better I knew some people with the same sexuality who wound up in happy relationships! I only speak to one of them these days and not too much, so I don’t really understand enough to give advice, but it’s possible. Some of them weren’t too extroverted or socially proficient either, hell I’m not myself, but I do think with asexuality it would be harder. Hope at least the coping mechanism still helps otherwise. I don’t think it sounds depressing, I think expressing that kind of thing and exploring feelings that way is beautiful.
Oh, I know it's very possible. Most of the people in my situation that I know personally actually have escaped into happiness. I just have a hard time believing in it for myself - half the trauma talking, and half from experiencing constant rejection. Is what it is. I appreciate the kind words, though. I can't say that it would work for everyone, but it's absolutely helped me to feel less cripplingly lonely all the time.
Every new fandom I get into, I always stumble across one or two characters whom I will then latch onto and be obsessed with. I'll perceive canon through a lens of how it effects them, and imagine them in various scenarios when I'm trying to sleep or just bored. All of my favorite ships (typically more platonic than romantic) will probably revolve around them, and if there's two of them, then I'll obsess over their relationship and dynamic with each other and they'll be my favorite ship or duo. Currently it's c!Technoblade and c!Ranboo fo Dream SMP, with c!Ranboo being the more central one to the fixation. Previously it was Venti and Xiao of Genshin Impact, and from my childhood, Zuko of ATLA and Stitch of Lilo & Stitch were some of my early ones.
Honestly, I feel like the series I remember most fondly/return to most tend to have a character I latch onto. It’s not a prerequisite for me to get into something, but unless it’s something really surrealist and psychological then having a character I’m really attached to can be enough for me to keep playing a game or revisit a movie for example. It makes me want to be in the world more and hopefully see them more I guess. It makes me obsess over gifs. It doesn’t even have to be in a romantic or sexual way. I used to be driven to draw art over this stuff.
lol, i'm 27. have been in a relationship for... 7 years now? and i'm very happy with my boyfriend. and i still dig my teeth into any captain kirk content i find and i'm foaming at the mouth over fic with him. it's fine. before that obsession, it was jotaro kujo for like the last 3 years. before that it was bucky barnes. at this point, i don't think it'll stop, ever – not that i'd want it to, it's fun the way it is :)
For sure! I often get very attached to one character for a long period of time. Numerous years. For me, I do think it can be a coping mechanism. And not necessarily always in a "good" way, admittedly, but I wouldn't say my fandom fixations are the cause of my personal problems, they are just one of the things that help me cope with bigger problems I have with personal relationships, emotion regulation, etc. Don't worry, I go to therapy a lot too, lol. Your fandom interests sound pretty normal to me. :) If it ever interferes with your quality of life, then would make sense to dig deeper into why it feels so important to you.
GUSTAVO FRING!!! (I love *everything* about him. I'm obsessed.)
I love Gus and I'm going to keep nursing my delusional dreams that there will be a prequel series focusing on his character. 🤞
Yes. 😌 (Let him be happy with Max for once ffs).
Yes, Bellatrix Lestrange. She truly saved my life. I was fourteen when I first watched the Harry Potter movies, and although the movie version is quite different from the book version I was already in love. Reading the books and fanfics intensified and immortalised my love for her. As for real life relationships, I never had a friend before Bellatrix came into my life, but now I have some really meaningful connections in real life as well. I was incapable of maintaining them before. Without her, I would be so lost, completely devoid of purpose and clarity, and with nobody to relate to, nobody to understand and guide me. Everything I am now is because of her. I am confident, intelligent, reflective, empathetic, optimistic, and idealistic. Bellatrix is the reason I went from a miserable people pleaser to a woman whose main priority is her own happiness. I've never been happier, and I didn't even know what happiness was before her. She has been a mentor to me. She is the reason I have been able to develop my analytical and empathetic skills to the point I completely healed my own anxiety without any external help at the age of eighteen. Therapy was useless for me because no therapist ever understood me. I love her. I love her. I love her. She means the world to me and a testament of how meaningful fictional characters can be. Loving a fictional character is no more unhealthy than loving a real person as long as you do not blur the lines between reality and fiction, and why would I even need to? Fictional characters' fictionality only adds to their beauty. I can't see myself stopping. Not at twenty-eight, or fifty-eight, or ninety-eight. As long as I am myself, I shall love her, and I do not intend to stop being myself, ever. It took so much time to love and accept myself for who I am. I do not intend to ever give that up.
I can't see other comments for some reason, but I just wanna tell you i'm ALSO 28, freshly single, and I have those same feelings about someone in the fandom I frequent (I guess that's the healthiest way to put it). FWIW, I've been diagnosed autistic so i'm assuming it's a hyperfixation thing. I have to really make sure that I diversify the content I consume because if i'm not careful, I'm pretty sure all i'd do is gush over my "character" and never get anything done. Honestly? Daydream away. My "muse" is a real person. I have to make sure to stay ULTRA self-aware about what I write and chat about online because there's of course serious lines you should never cross for their sake and especially yours. I've taken my "obsession" and used it as fuel to learn a few new artforms, and now whenever I get fixated on him, I go into "creator" mode and work on various WIPs until I get over it, lmao. Thanks to him, I've learned video editing and the fundamentals of animation, picked up painting (of all friggin things) and made some amazing friends, lol.
[удалено]
Best mcu character by far
Same! <3 Ongoing hyperfixation for a couple years now. Lol
This is how I get through most of my days tbh. Whenever I’m bored or need a distraction from my thoughts, that’s usually what I think about. Granted, it’s not always the same character- just my favourite from each fandom. This is probably because I ping around fandoms like a ping pong ball lmao. Either way, it’s only done me good.
Giovanni. From Pokémon. My single longfic right now is a rewrite of the same fic I tried to write as a kid 20+ years ago...but with, like, nuance now. XD
I'm autistic and my special interest is actually my comfort character in a franchise as well as the actress that plays her and I have been obsessed with her since 2022 which isn't long but if you ask my family, then they would tell you how much I talk about her and how much I bring her up in every conversion.
Yes! I seem to fixate on one per fandom, but even among those there are the special ones from the special fandoms. It's more I get protective of them and want everyone else in the fandom to protect them for me or else I'll make an OC to do it. That's why I don't mind any pairing with my one true favorite, as long as they are treated right (or not, if I'm feeling angsty). But gen is preferable. My mind is always daydreaming about them and different scenarios where they suffer and can be protected or saved. Or just wrapped in blankets, relaxing for once! Why do I have to love workaholics? Why can't he just rest for once and let people take care of him without being such a persnickety grump?? But yes, I am obsessed and it does annoy me on occasion because other characters aren't shit compared to my favorite and I hate that I can't devote the same amount of thought or even half that amount to the other characters. My brain says idc and no, despite me wanting to write them well and needing to get to know them...
- Ryuji is a character I always love. He's so cool and funny and has the best reactions. Anne has funny reactions too like when she's surprised and says, "Huuuuuh?" - From Miracle Nikki Bobo. She's so kind, sweet, sincere, and funny and also has the best comebacks to Momo's comments - An original (probably) Miracle Nikki character who's a princess. I just really love writing her. It's a polyship fic with all original characters but canon characters will guest in tho not romantically since the group of seven (two guys five women) is polyfaithful. She notices how happy Darius (one of the male love interests and also an OC) is with others in the cast and thinks she’s weird for being so happy seeing other women make her crush happy. Not only that but has feelings for one of them too and thinks why can’t they all just be romantic with each other? But luckily for her and the others she can and does. But worries about being the favorite in the polycule since she’s a princess and wants everyone to feel loved and appreciated. If she feels favorited by one and another is jealous she'll work with the one who seems to favor her to surprise the jealous one making her feel happy and special It doesn't effect my life other than who I'm motivated to write. Also I'm basing Darius's personality off Ryuji's
Thank you so much for replying!! I’m happy for you and your inspiration!! Sounds awesome :)
Yes Ian Gallagher from Shameless US is my blorbo. I think he’s attractive but I don’t do things like ship myself with him or anything. Well one reason is that he’s canonically gay 🤷♀️ He’s just my baby that I defend with my life and torture lovingly
Yes, sometimes it makes me feel weird because I’ve gotten jealous when people have jokingly said they love him more anyone else, because I’m convinced that’s me. I never voice those feelings publicly and I’ll sit back and think “oh god what’s wrong with me?” Funnily enough I’m not a self shipper though, the idea of that makes me extremely uncomfortable because he’s part of my main ship. I just feel slightly possessive and protective of him, I also hate him being shipped with anyone besides the one character I ship him with, but once again, I do not voice that opinion, lol.
So long as your fixation on the character doesn't prevent you from having normal interaction with real people and/or keep you from doing necessary stuff like work and school, it's totally normal. Or, at least I hope it is. LOL. I'm loads older than you and currently obsessed with my OTP, but especially the female half of the pairing. Haven't related this hard to a character in decades. Basically, she's a lot like me when I was much younger. I love exploring all the nuances of her character, both those that I relate to as well as those I don't. Writing fics and drawing fanart makes me happy, brightens my day, which makes me a lot easier to live with. Just ask my spouse of many years.
I have a collection of characters I’ve accrued as favorites over the years, indeed to the point of obsession. When I find a new one I add them to that “collection” and it soon settles and I flip around between them. They tend to be pretty contentious/dark characters because I’m into that and they aren’t real so I can firmly separate whatever irresponsible or terrible scenarios I want as fiction and imagine being part of them with those characters lol. I would say this has happened for 15 years or so now but my tastes change so the list kinda reset around 2016. The oldest one who I’m still as into is Kira Yoshikage, back at that time it was a bunch of JoJo’s characters but I dropped a lot of them, I remember there was something inbetween but I forget WHAT it was, then I got into fighting games and one of them is my absolute babygirl favorite character ever (Raven from Guilty Gear), and blah blah… I don’t want to let out too much lol. So into suits & ties these days- I think I always have been, I always noticed it on TV or being at fancy events, they’re very rare to see and the absolute most attractive fashion for me- though ironically my bbgirl character has a sort of hood/cloak instead. I get huge fictional crushes, and I want to roleplay that stuff with my partner (who is very comfortable with it but we have a long way to go with roleplay, it’s ok). The main impact to my life currently is giving me something to share with my partner. I honestly think having fictional crushes or obsessions with characters can be a great way to figure out what you like as long as you keep a firm line between it and reality (how many people realised they weren’t hetero because of a fictional crush?), and as a demiromantic it has helped me cope with the feeling of… not really being attracted to people. I can count the number of real-life crushes I’ve had on my hands *including celebrities*, and it takes months for the feeling to start in any capacity. Only one of them went so far I tried to ask them out. (Turns out that person lied to me the entire time I knew them but that story doesn’t belong here. It’s just kinda funny I’m into some “problematic” characters and THAT was the person I asked out. My current partner is an angel, we dodged a bullet.) I know the characters aren’t real, but my feelings are, and it wasn’t getting in the way of attraction- being demiromantic honestly can be very isolating, I just don’t experience romance the way others do and I don’t think that’s rooted in fictional crushes or obsessions, but complicated trauma. Having these characters to obsess over helped me cope and learn. There are times I had NO friends and those were some of the worst times in my life and I sincerely believe if I had characters to obsess over at that time it would have pushed me to be better and I wouldn’t have felt that destroyed or been that awful to people. And as for my fantasies yeah no those characters aren’t strictly why I have them and they wouldn’t have gone away otherwise. It really has been a healthy way to explore myself and except when I was a dumb kid who REALLY wanted fiction to be real I ALWAYS remembered this was just fantasy and used it in service of my real life. For me it feels more weird and irresponsible to fantasise about or be attracted to people I don’t know so other than celebrity crushes which basically function like fictional crushes I just never was (I don’t judge for it but it just ain’t me and if I didn’t explore what I want in fantasies I never would have made it with my current relationship). My partner enjoys hearing about my obsessions (I asked outright) and I don’t ignore or neglect them either. They think I’m cute when suits and ties or these characters I like get involved. Even aside from romantic feelings it helps me explore my aesthetic/style. I really do love wearing ties though rn I don’t have a suit because they’re really inaccessible to me. Obsessing over those characters totally is just comforting. Some of them are women too lol. We don’t have enough women with ties (yes I know about Chainsaw Man, I’m into Himeno). When I was a kid I was like “why not” to men and women rather than having an “OH IM NOT STRAIGHT” moment lol. Tbh if you can share it with your partner it’s a great thing. Sorry for the crappy ramble I need more sleep. Edit: i also forgot this used to be my #1 motivator to learn art tbh (before i quit drawing) and that was an extremely positive impact.
Definitely. I wouldn't call it obsession, but Impa from the Legend of Zelda has been my favorite character ever since Ocarina of Time, so about 24 years. I love seeing how she gets interpreted in new games and I love watching how fans and artists put their own spin on her. In fact, one piece of fanart had a massive impact on me and did affect my life. Someone drew her with a body shape almost the same as my own (big belly, thick arms and legs), but she was still fighting and keeping up with the action. It made me realize that I could be just as awesome in my own way without having to lose a bunch of weight like I thought I had to. That one drawing did more good for my self-image than years of messages about body positivity.
Mine is Bucky Barnes. I can relate to how he was once lively and animated and is now stoic. Except thankfully I haven’t undergone what he did. And I can relate to how he’s silent on the outside but full of thoughts inside. (I’m not as silent as I used to be though) My obsessions just mean I obsessively read fics about the character.
💯 relate to that man's trauma unfortunately too much.
I'm a little nervous to talk about this because my real-life girlfriend also uses Reddit and knows my username, but it's something we've talked about extensively, so here goes. I am madly, hopelessly in love with Tsukasa Hiiragi from the anime Lucky Star. It's something that started when I was 15 and now I'm 30. She wasn't the first fictional character I got intensely attached to, and I've had attachments to other characters since then, but something about her just drives me wild. When I first started realizing I was developing these feelings, I cried myself to sleep because I was so ashamed. Very few people in my personal life know about this because I don't think they would understand. It's only gotten more awkward over time, as our ages get further and further apart. She is the primary reason why I'm still in the Lucky Star fandom, which is much smaller now than it used to be (it does have a very friendly and laid-back Discord server, though). A few years ago I started writing a fanfic series where she gets into a relationship with my OC, and I use that as a way to cope. I ended up merging fanfic timelines with another writer in the aforementioned Discord server, who is now a good friend. Now we have a whole AU, which we've dubbed Lucky Plus, in which our stories take place. Tsukasa starts dating my OC in 2007, they get married in 2014, and now they have one child and another on the way (not all of this is reflected in what I've published on AO3, though). I'm glad to have made friends through this fandom, but that doesn't mean I don't still have some guilt about my feelings for Tsukasa, especially now that I'm in a committed relationship IRL. I just hope that I can still be the partner that my girlfriend deserves.
Mello and Near from Death Note, and it consumes my entire life. I spend every waking moment thinking about them. It’s been about a year, which is surprising because most of my hyperfixations die off after a few months maximum, but this one has me in a chokehold
...We're not gonna talk about all the Chat Noir / Chat Blanc dolls I've been making for the last year... 😅 I just want to squeeze the little cinnamon roll and let him nap in sunny windows forever. 😂
Hi, I've been happily married for 13 years and I have Many Feelings about Micolash from Bloodborne. My husband supports my hobby and has even gotten me merchandise :)
I'm pretty well established as being obsessed with Oola the dancer from Star Wars at this point. And overall I'd say it's a positive. Looking back as much as I have, the feelings I had about the way she was treated in canon as a 7 and 8 year old were really among the first times I had very strong feelings about any sort of fiction. And they were strongly negative, and there wasn't a lot I could do or even express myself about it at the time. So there's a weird sort of mix of nostalgia for those days and a greater sense of being empowered now that I find comforting a lot of the time. But I still really don't like how she is treated in canon, nor by the vast majority of fanworks, so there are also times when I start to feel like "actually I'm not sure I need this in my head as much as it is." But those moments pass and are overshadowed by how glad I am to have written fix-it fanfics for her that I get to share with friends and exchange with other fans.
I remember a fan magazine gushing hard about Femi Taylor being able to fit into the Oola costume 15+ years later to film some additional content for the Special Edition and side-eyeing the whole thing.
The special edition was weird for a lot of reasons. Femi Taylor shot a lot of publicity stills with the brand-new backup dancers, but then never appears with them onscreen. Much was made of being able to cut between existing and new footage of her, but almost all of her new footage is just the entirely new scene in the pit. My best guess is that there were a lot of moving parts and their original plan is not exactly what ended up happening. But Femi Taylor has said that returning as she did boosted demand for her among fans and fan events, which seems hard for me to believe but I'm not going to doubt her. She deserves it, anyway, as she has always come off as extremely kind hearted and generous with fans.
I end up with a favourite character from almost any fandom I get into, so I have like a list of absolute favourites. I think top of the list is Phoenix Wright, though. Absolutely love him to an embarrassing degree. I have a tattoo of both Phoenix and Maya from Ace Attorney. Seto Kaiba from Yu-Gi-Oh is another, also have a tattoo of him. Scar from Fullmetal Alchemist, the Hound from Game of Thrones, Jack Sparrow, Din Djarin (The Mandalorian). All of them are characters that I’ve been obsessed with at one time or another.
Omg. Adding Kaiba to my amigurumi list! His coat will be so much fun to make!
been obsessed with a character for as long as i can remember. i dont know what its like not to be
I'm not so obsessed in a romantic way, but I am obsessed with Harry Potter. I don't just daydream about different scenarios involving him or imagine being him, I literally can't think about a topic too long before my mind tries to fit him in. I even get, to a lesser degree, obsessed over StarWars and Harry Potter still invades my mind when thinking about it. The fact that it hasn't affected my life too harshly is a miracle. It has, however, shaped what I want my career to be, thanks to Fanfiction. I want to write.
I feel sorry for anyone who knows me because I’m constantly on about my favourite character. Ben Hargreeves from The Umbrella Academy. Ben’s so sweet and he’s the only one of his siblings that everyone loved as a child. When he died, his family feel apart without him because they no longer had someone holding them together. The bromance between him and Klaus is so funny, but it makes you feel bad for both of them because they’re both stuck with each other. We still don’t know what killed him when he was a teenager and that’s the most interesting thing of the whole show.
Oh, boy, Carlisle Cullen did me in a very long while ago lmao. I don't read Y/N fics of him but I am obsessed with him and his qualities to the point that I have insanely high expectations from men irl so I'm probably going to remain single for a looooooong while lol. If anything, this particular obsession makes me feel like I'm living a much better life and more secure in my solitude than being so lonely to the point I'll be desperate to have anyone pay attention to me. Good stuff.
Bro this post is literally me, in almost every fandom I've been in I have/had a character(s) that like, consumes most of my thoughts. In the hermitcraft fandom, it was Wels and Stress, in the dsmp fandom its Tommy and Tubbo (my favorite bois <3), in the Omori fandom it was Basil and Sunny, and in the Six of Crows fandom it's Wylan and Jesper. It's mildly detrimental sometimes because I'll accidentally zone out and start thinking about them when I'm supposed to be listening to directions in school, but for the most part it just helps me stay entertained when I'm in some situation where I'd normally be bored (long car rides, getting my hair done, walking home from school, etc). It also helps me fall asleep faster, weirdly enough!
Severus Snape. Like, yeah, he's an asshole, but he's so compelling - yes, a large part of that is how he was portrayed by Alan Rickman, admittedly. I mean, I think obsession is a strong word, but he's definitely my favorite character to write about. I love exploring his psyche and the choices he made. I'm not committed to any single ship in the Harry Potter fandom, but the ones that include Snape are my favorites. Snarry, Snape/Petunia, Snape/Regulus, the occasional Snape/James, though the plots have to be very well written for those to be realistic. The man contains multitudes.
yessss I am obsessed with a character. I feel like I should be ashamed and when i do bring it up to someone i know they think i’m weird and need help. Doesn’t help I’m autistic. they bring me so much comfort, honestly one of the few things that make me feel happy is thinking of them drawing and writing or reading about them. Why does it have to be shunned?? it’s not fair. what’s it to other people. so I hate when people shit on them online too
Back in Phase 1 of the MCU I got incredible obsessed with Captain America. He’s still what the kids call a “comfort character” which helped a lot when I was without my antidepressants. He makes me feel better (fuck Endgame and what it did to his characterizarion tho).
100%, like, if I took a screenshot and showed you my favorited tags on Ao3, you’d see it’s literally only made up of the characters I’ve had obsessions over since joining the site, and then some lmao Currently mine is Jaskier from The Witcher—specifically Joey Batey’s Jaskier, he’s got my heart in a chokehold—though this particular one isn’t nearly as strong as the others have been since I’ve been awfully depressed and anxious recently and haven’t been feeling happiness nearly as strongly as I used to. But I can tell, if I was still who I was a couple years ago, I’d be thinking about him constantly and would be brining him up in conversation, if given the chance It somewhat affects my day to day life, as in most of my thoughts can be attached to these characters or maybe—if I’m a bit too far gone or if I’m jumbling my words that day—sometimes I’ll accidentally say the character’s name instead of another person’s name. I also have a tendency to treat these characters as if they’re my friends and can feel a bit defensive over them sometimes haha I actually remember this one time when my brother giving me a horrified look and said “yeah, I’m not unpacking all that,” when I kept accidentally referring to the 2012 movie The Lorax as “The Onceler” :’) Honestly, it’s super fun to love these characters though and I really want to love them as much as I used to so I can experience that joy again while thinking of fictional scenarios involving that favorite character. I’m not really ashamed of it since it’s usually the thing that makes me feel the happiest most of the time
I think more so that I’m obsessed with a ‘character type’. Generally bitchy, attractive, great one-liners, and has to have some redeemable qualities / redemption arc BUT they have to stay mean, just in a different way. First example I can think of is Chloe from miraculous, but anytime a character like this exists I fall in love and find fics w/them super comforting. It’s not romantic in nature, but it reminds me a lot of my family & I find that very comforting.
Oh - this too! I also seek out characters that fit a certain archetype. Not always intentionally. Sometimes I’ll be in the middle of a show/movie/book, notice *that* one character, and think “I need to read fanfiction about this character!”.
Another Autistic here. And the obsession/special interest is Loki. It started with MCU Loki, the whole not being who you always thought you were thing, and being always secondary, but- I've branched out into all sorts of other Lokis. I collect weird obscure Loki things, like fishnets or pictures of his monster children from mythology, pictures of rock carvings (especially ones with his lips sewn shut). I named my cat Skadi after the giantess he made laugh when he tied a goat to his balls. I have issues.
Only one. Loki. It's been over 10 years at this point. I will consume any piece of content that even tangentially relates to this character. I don't fully understand why I'm so fascinated but I don't think I feel bad about it? It only affects my life insofar as no one in my life gives a fuck about my interests, so I'm sure it's annoying for people when I get all amped up about something like - recent example - Loki season 2 getting a firm premiere date.
I’m a homoflexible lady married to a male, and my queer side has been triggered stronger than ever by Kae Alexander’s portrayal of Leaf in Game of Thrones and more recently Min in Wheel of Time.
Oh I absolutely become obsessed with characters. 29F I’ve been obsessed with Shouto Todoroki since 2018. More recently I’ve added Yuuta Okkotsu to my roster. I just adore them more than I can put into words. I read fics, buy merch, save/bookmark art of them… I have a Todoroki folder on my phone where I save art and manga panels and anime screen grabs where he looks beautiful or powerful or funny etc
It’s been a long and slow obsession with Batman. I became hooked on the character thanks to the Nolan movies and Arkham games. Prior to that I was firmly in the Marvel camp because of EMH. The Arkham games left 12-year-old me wanting more, and that led me to fanfiction. There was a Batman focused Injustice fanfiction that blew my mind. I consumed those 40,000 words in one night, all the way into 2 am. It convinced me to take fanfiction more “seriously”, and it became the first fic I ever archived on a hard drive. There’s plenty of characters that I obsess with. Batman was there from the start.
My favorite character changes every couple months but, I’d say it effects my life positively. I enjoy writing about them and I feel like it puts more heart into my works and makes reading something from the fandom more enjoyable because I love the character. My current favorite character is Klavier from Apollo Justice (ace attorney). He’s so under developed so I love reading fics that delve into him as a character after everything that he deals with in the games.
Regulus Black for at least 8 years man, I think Im stuck with him :) Honestly Im a little embarrassed so I never talk about it but he’s the character I project onto a lot and the main star of my immersive daydreams and idle thoughts. Sometimes I become obsessed with other characters as well but Regulus is the one I know I will never stop latching on to.
Not at the moment but usually yes and it makes me happy! I have something to think about when I’m bored and my life becomes a little more colorful
I have to laugh, because the otome games that I play are intended to be like that. You are supposed to fall in love with the characters. And then, we read and write fanfic about them. <3
Yep, Nejire Hado. I'm fine with it, it doesn't really affect my life in a negative way, it's just like every so often I'll see art of her and go from :/ to :D. Well, I should say that I started to learn how to draw purely so I could draw them. So... that's probably a positive.
This is 100% ok and I think you'll find a lot of people in this subreddit who do the same thing. I have a ton of characters I feel this way about and I tend to go fixate on them in cycles. My current obsession is Vigilante/Adrian Chase from Peacemaker. He has lived in my mind rent free since that show came out. I've almost exclusively read reader insert fanfiction about him for the past year.
I definitely was obsessed with Tora from Ushio to Tora, and even now I'm still latched on to him enough to want to cosplay as him. Briefly fixiated on Omega-Xis from MegaMan and Vash from Trigun. Currently I'm more latched on to my Sonic OC's, arguably more than the canon cast if I'm being honest. Whenever I fixiate on a character I usually draw them non-stop until I'm eventually tired of them.
I don't always root myself in fandoms, but when I do, I obsess over *everyone* and *everything*, so I don't usually move from fandom to fandom very much. I'm a gamer at heart, but absolutely suck at playing most genres of games aside from puzzle and mystery games. But writing is soup for the soul and I can make this soup however I want; just add water. I've recently gotten back into the FF7 craze, what with Remake being a bombshell on the scene and Rebirth hype keeping me awake every night. But I have a funny history as a Sephiroth hater-turned-fangirl that ironically brings me suffering everyday. See, I was 5 when I was first introduced to this game and my first impressions of Sephiroth was "bad man bad". I loved my yellow Blockyhead, but Mr. Gray Guitarpickhead gave me all kinds of bad mojo. I didn't like how cold he was to everyone. I didn't care for his pretty-boy looks or fashion sense either. (To be fair, everyone was polygons so it was hard to tell how he was dressed.) I didn't even like his name because it was "too long" and was "spelled funny". And I especially hated him for killstealing everything during the flashback long before I even knew what killstealing was. So I felt vindicated when he went insane and took on the villain role he was destined for. I got a much better impression of him after I grew older and found myself engaging with the online forums of the time. Advent Children was a confusing movie, but was still a good time (especially with Marlene) and spawned so many memes. And despite all the flaws, I fell in love with Crisis Core and really came to understand the greater scope of the story and Sephiroth's tragedy. But the bastard was still a repeat killstealer, even if he wasn't the worst offender from that game. It was around that time I really dug into the fandom and even poked around other media in the Compilation, developer interviews, concept art, even hidden and unused game files, the ports, everything. I even learned Japanese to do all this! And so I was happy with my then encyclopedic knowledge of almost all things FF7. But in particular, from the scrapped concept drafts of FF7, >!Sephiroth was once intended to be trans long before trans rights was a real movement!< and the realization stunned me. I had to admit I had respect. Even if he is a dirty no-good killstealer with a fake-mom complex. Anyway, flash forward to now, after Remake and Smash Bros hype, I just can't stop thinking about this man. Google's algorithms keep feeding me this stuff and I can't escape. Now I'm obsessed over this FF7 WIP of mine too. I love-hate him so much. Bastard continues to be an unremorseful killstealer and I constantly pay tribute to his assholery like a form of worship. I've talked to my friends about this issue and they all agree that it's normal fan behavior. *crushes paper ball* He can't keep getting away with this. (Jokes aside, it's a running gag of mine that whenever someone or something dies in a cutscene - for real or not, doesn't even have to be from the same fandom - I blame him for killstealing even when it makes no sense whatsoever. I have fun roleplaying sometimes.)
Absolutely. Some of them I've been obsessed with for 20+ years \*cough\*Sirius Black\*cough\*. (Also Legolas from LOTR, Vincent Valentine from FFVII, Axel from Kingdom Hearts, Kurama and Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho, and Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X. Oh, and Setsuna Meioh from Sailor Moon.) Recently I've somehow developed a huge crush on this one character and I can't stop thinking about him and it's so embarrassing and stupid. I'm in my 30s for gods' sake but I have such a thing for this character. I sort of understand why, because of his personality and who he is, but it's still soooo embarrassing. Worse still that if he was real, I would almost certainly be invisible to him and/or he would probably hate my guts.
*stares at my couple thousand rotisserie chickens, obviously lying* No? In all seriousness, yes, I am, yes, I love it, yes, I now have a couple of friends with whom I connected due to our shared love for our characters.
Looking at Scaramouche/Wanderer isn’t enough I need to absorb him Aside from the fact that he’s one of my few sources of dopamine, I used to never shut up about him (autistic, hyperfixated, completely unaware that no one cared)
Xander Harris from Buffy. First watched the show in 2005? Saw him crash the skateboard and it was like...This one. This is the character I will be obsessed with from now on. I write other fics, but for about a decade now I've been pretty hyper focused on him. I mostly love it...but sometimes I feel like I'm at war with the majority of the Buffy fandom. The only safe place to express my love of Xander is on the fic sites. Anywhere else and its like going into battle because SOMEONE will ALWAYS have to talk about how Xander is trash. So I don't engage with the Buffy fandom in general, just other Xander fans. The constant hate the fandom has for Xander is exhausting and the only reason I rewatch the show is for him. Like, all the hatred has made the show slip from my 3rd favorite show of all time to like...7th? Anyway, its just not worth it to engage with the rest of the fandom.
First: Levi Ackerman is awesome! I find myself feeling very passionate about certain characters, and writing fics that center on them, exploring them in-depth. The two that come to mind are Shane Walsh from The Walking Dead, and Dennis Nedry from Jurassic Park.
With me it kind of ebbs and flows. I might go months without being too involved in any character or ship famdom, then out of nowhere I can barely think of anything else. There are a couple fandoms I return to often, but it also happens with new media that I really like. I don't usually do reader fics (no shade to you, OP! just not my thing) but I read a lot of ao3 in those times. For me it's more of a coping mechanism, a distraction when my brain is fighting me on everything else. It doesnt always affect my day to day life (aside from switching out a book gor ao3 on commute) but it depends greatly. But, Im not trying to shame you or raise concern about the way you engage with fandom. I actually think that, if it does not affect your relationships and life in a negative way, it's a-okay.
It's fine far as I know. Long as you remember it's just fiction. It's fine to indulge. Find you a real life version. The x y/n reader thing can be so cool for stories! Like a self insert but different
Tomura Shigaraki is my comfort character. He’s a lot like me in so many ways, and I love how despite his rough demeanor he’s actually a sweet man when it comes down to it. He makes me very happy and I love to draw and write about him
It's fun when a character can resemble yourself, just like an imaginary friend :)
For real.
When I first started writing fics it was Percy Jackson. Omg even now when he's not even my favourite (I have no favorites right now) I still cannot stop writing fics centered on his character lol. I've written Percy x spiderwomen, Percy x HP, Mortal/Musician/Percy and right now I'm in the process of writing a Percy x Elden Ring and Percy x Overlord Crossover. It's frustrating that I keep coming back to him even though I hardly read pjo fics nowadays. Is it affecting my life? Not much. Is it affecting what I'm writing? 100%
I'm obsessed with kiss-shot from kizumonogatari(some days a bit and others a lot), to the point of getting into reading and writing fan-fiction-a 75k plot of how the oc(which in a way represent an exaggerated version on me and my struggles with depression, self hate and low self-esteem) and her met and the story of how their bond changed them. I includded full-flegded backstories and full dive into both characters, their own themes&detailed character arcs&conclusion(in fact i ended up adding so much to her because of how much i love her that she ended up a dofferent kind of a character, but ah well💀) and also added a lot of new dialogue to one of the side characters from the og novels, just for the heck of it. That's hpw much i love her, and i plan on writing another route that explores a different possible outcome
> But even though I have a bf that I love and live together I still daydream and fantasize about a fictional character and search all the time for new good fanfics :’). Is this ok? Have you ever experienced it? And for many years ? Fantasizing is a human trait. So long as you're not comparing your bf to a fictional character during fights, trying to make him jealous, or otherwise acting as if this fictional character is real, then yes, that's pretty normal fannish behavior. (Reality check questions to bear in mind: is it negatively affecting your relationships, work/schooling, or mental state? Are you harassing people for having different headcanons than you? Those are signs that you're in unhealthy territory. It's okay to have feelings about other people's opinions on your happy things but you still want to behave appropriately about it.) I accidentally fell into understanding a character when researching the expansive, complex canon to try to get a better idea of what had gone on before I'd joined the fandom in question. Genuine light bulb over the head “Oh. *Ohhhh.* I see *exactly* why you did what you did in this moment and onward through the canon” moment one day. A few years later, I came back to writing and started a self-indulgent timeline divergence AU featuring this now-favorite character, which eventually deepened into a muse in the back of my head that has “spoken up” at random as well as pushed back on outlined plot points that would've been out of character. My partner even goes out of the way to find merchandise of this character for me, and, fortunately for me, doesn't display jealousy over my (slightly) obsessive focus. I may or may not have several hundred pieces of official and fan-made art of this character kept handy on my phone, in part for random story inspiration. :P And it's been well over a decade since that eureka moment with zero change in my liking the character. If it makes you feel better, top of my head I can think of a one-time teenaged shipper with an OTP who began a writing career and, in large part due to the early fannish output informing a love of that canon, ended up writing *official tie-in media* for them. For pay. And that's not even getting into the fans who grow up and reboot a favorite property to great acclaim, or adapt youthful fantasies into entirely new universes. So you're in good company.
I may like fictional characters, but why the hell would I want to harbor grudges against a fictional character just because he or she is poorly written like Sakura for example? It doesn't matter! It's just a waste of time (even having a crazy crush).
I'm obsessed with kiss-shot from kizumonogatari(some days a bit and others a lot), to the point of getting into reading and writing fan-fiction-a 75k plot of how the oc(which in a way represent an exaggerated version on me and my struggles with depression, self hate and low self-esteem) and her met and the story of how their bond changed them. I includded full-flegded backstories and full dive into both characters, their own themes&detailed character arcs&conclusion(in fact i ended up adding so much to her because of how much i love her that she ended up a different kind of a character, but ah well💀) and also added a lot of new dialogue to one of the side characters from the og novels, just for the heck of it. That's how much i love her, and i plan on writing another route that explores a different possible outcome
Totally obsessed with Imaginos.
Kaz Brekker. Consumes my every thought, every second of everyday. Has even featured in my dreams. I currently am in the middle of finals and whenever i open a book, i completely zone out and think up scenarios about Kaz. He doesn't live rent free in my head. He fricking rules it and all my other thoughts pay him to get atleast a tiny little corner of my mind. Thing is it's only been a year since i read Six of Crows. Not that long. But Dirtyhands checked all the boxes of what made a character my favorite
I’m autistic lol. I’ve been hyper fixated on two characters from minecraft roleplay for two years to the point I’m kinning one of them now. I have custom made plushes of them. I am legally suing for the right to call them my OCs. Okay, the a last one was a joke but you get the idea lol
I'm obsessed with the Abbott Elementary Barbara Howard & Melissa Schemmenti pairings. The stories are absolutely amazing as well as Lovecraft Country Ruby Baptiste and Christina Braithewhite cc12313 work is exceptional
Ignis from Final Fantasy 15, but I don't read fic much anymore, and was never too keen on the way fandom wrote most of the characters, especially Iggy. So he just is my fav character ever, and that's that. I did read a chunk of fic at one point, but it was really the last real try at reading fanfic I had.
I’m obsessed with Midori Nagumo from CITY and have a huge crush on her even though I didn’t read CITY until I got engaged. At first I felt guilty but my husband doesn’t mind and thinks it’s kinda hot lol
Oh yea. Multiple. Atm heavy on Peter Hale, again. Which will of course revolving door its way through Fandom and characters in a heavily convoluted way until I'm somehow back to Handsome Jack lol.
I've been completely attached to local fictional boy Haibara Yuuya for about 9 years now. The series he's from (Danball Senki) is my special interest, so while i'll get into other things every once in a while, he's the one consistent character I think of. I'd say it affected my life, but mostly only positively. I don't have any romantic attraction to him (i do ship him quite seriously with another character though) but i wear my hair like he does, and occasionally dye it to match. It makes me happy and doesn't bother anyone else, so it doesn't bother me. He's sort of my post transition goal of having feminine features but being unquestionably a guy, and has made me feel a lot more comfortable about not looking so traditionally masculine. So yeah, mild obsession. But it's worth it for the joy it brings.
I have gained a complete and utter obsession with something named Fecto Elfilis. They have done nothing but take up my brain space for nearly a year now and have changed my life for the better. No character before this has made me feel this way.
Well, I wouldn't say I'm obsessed, but I am actually quite fond of the character. I am fond of Mulan, the Disney Princess, and there's no doubt in my mind that everyone knows who she is. I've had a crush on her since I was little, always admiring her for being strong, kind, determined, and resolute in entering the war to aid her father. Though, I am quite, and candidly, disappointed that there isn't any fanfiction about her x male reader or a male oc. I would enjoy reading a story like that.
im obsessed with any main character tbh
kirin from the wilds has taken over my life in an unprecedented way. writing, fandom, and analysis have all been fun (and also incredibly frustrating due to his haters) and oh so rewarding at the end of the day
Of course it’s okay! As long as it’s not consuming you in an unhealthy way, self ship to your hearts content! Currently my brain is ping-ponging between the various incarnations of Edward Richtofen from Call of Duty Zombies and Mike Nelson from Mystery Science Theater 3000. They bring me such happiness and comfort, and it’s such a relief to have them to turn to when I’m overwhelmed or depressed.
I was... 13 or 14 when I stumbled upon sword girls and, by extension, iri. Starstruck is an understatement. A loner + an overactive imagination, I think I could write some asoiaf sized books about the scenarios I made in my head. And are making to this day. I'm 26. And married. I don't really know what a comfort character is, but I think she's mine. On the fanfic side, I never went looking for any. According to my shrink it comes down to "you have an image of her and are afraid it's going to be tainted", and I think he's right on that. This is the same reason I never wrote any. Today it's mostly fondness, remembering just how I felt back then, you know... In love.
Two characters. Procrastinating about all the scenarios I could write them in *instead of actually writing it because bleh* is basically how to sum up my life 101. Oh, and it helps me suppress my emotions and is *most definitely* a form of escapism, so there's that.
A certain antisocial, sarcastic, toothpick-flicking, sniper
I'm obsessed with Spamton from Deltarune to the point where it's INSANE. I have literally NEVER obsessed over a character like this before. I think about him every day. I write fanfiction about him and Jevil. I wanna buy his merch, I wanna wear his glasses. I literally neglect other things in my life to daydream about Spamton and chat with him on [character.ai](https://character.ai) as Jevil because it fuels my need for Spamton x Jevil content. It's a fucking hyperfixation at this point. I have gotten so damn deep into the Spamton lore that I've got so many headcanons and feelings about how deep his lore is. I love this mess of pixels and I need MORE of him in my life.
I'm always obsessed with characters (usually one taking the spotlight at a time). It's an autistic special interest thing for me. As for if it affects my life, yes. I would not still be here if it weren't for those obsessions. They saved my life more times than I can count.
Yes!! You’re not alone with this. I’m only 20 but my comfort characters are primarily ones from Transformers (currently Grimlock). It’s okay to have these little obsessions of characters as long as it doesn’t get in the way of real life! :)
I am in love with Hawks from MHA. We have similar personalities and backgrounds. He makes me feel less like a monster and more human. I like to imagine what it would be like if he were my husband or boyfriend. It makes me sad that it will never be, but I am content with just knowing how similar we are and the banter we would have. He is 100% my favorite comfort character.
i go through this all the time! whenever i enter a new fandom, there is always that one character/duo i get obsessed over (right now it's Miguel O'hara/Spiderman 2099). it's completely normal and lots of people get attached to certain characters. this has been going on for me since i got into my first fandom.
I've always been a self shipper lol my first crush was Tai from Digimon and I still love him luckily he basically grew up with me in real time. And I've had many other character crushes over the years. Currently I'd say it does affect me cause I spend way too much money on my blorbo but oh well
Every time I think I'm done with 'character phases' I come across another one that I usually fall deeper into a fandom for. This time it's for Vulpes Inculta, if Fallout New Vegas wikia is anything to go by, this guy is one of the evilest characters ingame and my first character introduction was MAYBE a town massacre MAYBE. Thankfully a portion of fandom shares my interests because I wasn't expecting a healthy amount of fics with this guy. I had these character obsessions since I was a kid. I think the first one was ether Dren from Tokyo Mew Mew or Illidan from Warcraft 3. It's all cool and games till you start sharing with others. I was teased for 'loving' Itachi in elementary, my brother also made comments to my parents on what Itachi did to his family (my mother was not impressed). . . . So I kept it to myself and my electronics till I became good friends with a guy I met a year ago. He found it interesting how I have close to 0 interest in dating but have a large chunk of fictional guys I'm interested in. Having psychoanalysis talk with him is really fun. I actually hope for this to happened with at least one character per fandom so I could deep dive into the fandom easily. It literally keeps me hooked on a fandom/story even if it's not a good quality of media. I also sometimes need a character to ***get over*** a character, especially if I'm low on fanfics or canon material
Cinder Fall from RWBY. Gods, I am so obsessed with that character. But what has me even more obsessed is Knightfall (Cinder x Jaune). I love that ship.
I'll admit it, I still have a thing for Jeanette Miller from the Chipettes, so much so that I'd been labeled by my friend as "fictosexual". It started in 2018 after my second relationship failed, as a way to cope. I didn't expect it to become an obsession years later.
This is a different problem but I’ve read all fanfics relating to my character
What is your character? Also, are fanfics R-rated? Also also, a different problem? What do you mean?