Characters you (over)identify or connect with

Garnet is my birthstone! And a character who means a lot to me! Though I have very little in common with her. I don't identify with her as much as I'm inspired by her.

Remus Lupin, though. Remus Lupin.

(he and i have virtually nothing in common if you were to describe, like, our life histories and our actions and so on, but somehow i feel like his actions express an underlying personality that is just me)

 

Seven-year-old me was so incredibly excited when she discovered Hermione Granger. She wasn't the first female character who was The Smart One that I'd encountered, but she was the first one who was The Smart One who was also loud and bossy and opinionated and assertive. And had frizzy brown hair. I didn't recognize it at the time because my special interest fizzled out around OotP and 7-11 year-olds are not good at character- and self-analysis, but most of Hermione's biggest flaws are also ones I shared- both of us could be self-righteous, inflexible know-it-alls who got mad at people who didn't do things exactly according to what we thought the rules should be.

The only other character I can think of who I've had that sort of "this is me" reaction to is Shallan Davar from the Stormlight Archive (blah blah Sanderson plug blah). Much moreso in the first book than the second, but I really got slapped in the face by the combination of automatic snark when it's not necessarily a good idea/social anxiety/feeling way out of your depth trying to function outside of a highly structured and abusive environment/smart and excited about science/complicated issues with lying to yourself and hiding things from others/not being 100% sure how normal interpersonal relationships should work. The differences in what Shallan does and feels in The Way of Kings versus what I would do in the same situation are basically all from the fact that she appears to be straight and I'm firmly aro-ace.

 

AH! I really enjoyed the first two SA books (and haven't come across many people who have read them). Definitely felt a strong connection to Shallan as well while reading.

 

*Stormlight fan high-five* ...Actually, speaking of Stormlight, I could probably also point to Kaladin's issues with depression. I haven't seen a lot of characters who have the specific feeling I get sometimes of knowing I'm back standing right on the edge of the Mental Illness Hole that I spent all that time climbing out of a while ago, and I could fall in if I take a wrong step.

 

• latula pyrope

k this is obvious to pretty much everyone (since i never shut up about it and my friggin username is furrylatula for crying out loud) but i relate to her sooooo much. the way she casually self-deprecates, the way she has to be reminded to drop the radgrl act, the fierce (bordering on violent) protection of loved ones, just...All

it's so bad that at times i have to physically remind myself which aspects of her character are canon and which are parts of me that just felt so natural as part of her that i blurred the line between me and her.

• violet bloodswap latula

this probably doesn't count because i literally created her specifically to give me something to project on, but basically it's latula with even more of a temper. she's painfully aware of that temper and hates herself whenever she snaps at someone.

is there a word for character you like, reverse-connect with. like i could logically see the steps for me turning out like cronus ampora and if at any point i ever stop being intensely self-critical, i could start slipping closer to that. so what do i do with that reverse-connected character?

fuckin' fuse him with the positively connected character and watch what happens when they inevitably spritesplode and are forced to deal with the aftermath of having literally shared a headspace. i hate myself and now fictional characters can too.

 

Soooo I apparently haven't posted on this thread yet...

Ben Wyatt (Parks&Rec), Abed Nadir (Community), Pearl (SU), Geoffrey Tennant (Slings&Arrows)

 

Increasingly, I am relating to (Lin-Manuel Miranda's fictional portrayal of, not the actual historical figure) Alexander Hamilton. He talks too much; he's eloquent and intelligent but other intelligent people can communicate the same amount of information in a quarter of the time; he knows he's abrasive and excessively wordy but he can't be anything else; people who like him still tell him not to talk so much; basically, like me, his thoughts work in such a way that being concise is rarely an option, and he finds it almost impossible to filter them into simple sentences. He can't edit himself down to an acceptable level. That's just not how his brain works. He tries to stop, or somebody stops him, but there's always "one more thing - !" His reaction to all kinds of diverse problems is "explain in great detail what you think is wrong and how you think you could fix it, even if nobody cares or wants to listen".

Also, he's really into women.

 

how could I forget Bojack Horseman??