As we near Avengers: Endgame, Iâve been ranting to someone about how distraught Iâm going to be (both in general and over certain characters). Iâve told him/her specifically that if Tony Stark dies Iâm going to be grieving for a long time.
The response I got was, âWhy?â
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. Theyâre 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, âHeâs still just a character.â
Heâs 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 Iâm crazy. Maybe this is something only I experience, but I think itâs worth mentioning. You donât have to feel weird or like somethingâs wrong just because youâre invested in something. Just smile, say âOkay,â and move along realizing that itâs okay to be passionate about your favorite movies/books/music, and just because someone doesnât understand and thinks that itâs weird doesnât mean it is.
It just means that youâre different. And thatâs okay.