Just a Character
As we near Avengers: Endgame, I’ve been ranting to someone about how distraught I’m going to be (both in general and over certain characters). I’ve told him/her specifically that if Tony Stark dies I’m going to be grieving for a long time.
The response I got was, “Why?”
Now, I understand that not everyone understands the bonds I form with characters. As a writer, I tend to form them a little deeper because a lot of thought happens, a lot of fan-fiction is written, and eventually they become my family. They’re still characters, yes, but still family. These are still characters I have formed emotional bonds with over the amount of time I have been exposed to them, reading about them, writing fan-fiction, watching the movies over and over and over. . .
And upon explaining this to said person, the response I received was, “He’s still just a character.”
He’s still just a character.
I would like to say that just because any character, be it from a movie, book, podcast, musical, artwork, anything across the spectrum, just because they are a character does not mean that you cannot be emotionally moved by them. Because guess what? It fills any writer/producer/director/artist with joy to know that a character they created has affected you in the same way it affected them. That you understand why they created that character in the first place.
Maybe I’m crazy. Maybe this is something only I experience, but I think it’s worth mentioning. You don’t have to feel weird or like something’s wrong just because you’re invested in something. Just smile, say “Okay,” and move along realizing that it’s okay to be passionate about your favorite movies/books/music, and just because someone doesn’t understand and thinks that it’s weird doesn’t mean it is.
It just means that you’re different. And that’s okay.
