fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2440 ]

[ SECRET POST #2440 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2440 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 065 secrets from Secret Submission Post #349.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

How many of you know someone who identifies so strongly with one or more fictional characters that they interpret an attack on that character as an attack on them?

Has anyone ever found themselves adjusting their own perspective on a character to better get along with a close friend with strong opinions?

That never makes sense to me, because when I overly identify with a character, it's usually because I identify with their flaws at least as much with their good qualities. Who has such a high opinion of themselves that they can't own up to their own flaws, at least somewhat? Am I the weird one here?

Pointing out character flaws is different from an attack though -- if a character you identify with gets called "useless" or something that actually just plain isn't true, that's an attack, and that has nothing to do with acknowledging their flaws and owning up to your own.

Ah fair enough then

I will say I'm guilty of this, but only when it's a complaint friends have. For instance, I've had a friend or two tell me how much they hate Ron Weasley, and as someone who identifies with Ron a LOT (most especially with his flaws), it strikes me as odd that these people are then friends with me.

I mean, that's just my take.

There's also a difference between admitting your flaws to yourself, and hearing someone else picking at the flaws [even if it's indirect like here.]

Or, to put it another way, "I call myself a bitch because it hurts less when I do it."

Isn't this every single really really really devoted homestuck?

Is it? I mean, I like to say I'm John, but I'm mostly joking. Are there people who aren't joking?

You're not really really really devoted.

I'm talking about the fanatics.

I identify very strongly with a particular character, and yet I loathe said character (partially for being so much like me but way more awesome), so...nope. But I can see where those people are coming from.

A girl I know online is so emotionally invested in Peeta Mellark, and by extension Josh Hutcherson, that she'll go nuts if you say even the most mildly negative thing about him. She got into a huge fight with someone who called Josh Hutcherson short and she brought up way too many pictures of him standing next to other celebrities and comparing their heights and arguing how tall he must be down to the freaking millimetre. She also tends to start insulting people and making judgements about their lives if you disagree with her.

I once dared to say I found Peeta boring. She tried insulting me into finding him interesting.

I have several, and since they're generally morally grey characters, they might indeed get attacked. It's weird.

Not my friends that do it, but i do get unreasonably hurt when people rag on Chuck because i know a lot of ppl like him and they are wonderful and lovable

I did, and I never understood it beyond it being a manifestation of this person's mental illness.

I've been that person. I identify a lot with Rattrap from Transformers: Beast Wars. Snarky, witty/irreverent to the point of rudeness, actually good at his job but lazy, kind of a loner/doesn't work that well with others... I could go on.

I still remember the time I was in a panel for a voice actor on that show, and when asked what he'd always wanted his character to say he verbally tore Rattrap apart. Hit pretty much every aspect I identified with. I was close to tears by the end of it. I'd never felt like more of a loser.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ SECRET POST #2440 ]

Character overidentification

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/slightly off-topic storytime