My Emotional Attachment to Fictional Characters

Hi. My name is Danielle, and I have an emotional attachment to fictional characters. That could be television or books I have read but it is definitely there.

I don’t know when this began, but I finally feel safe to admit this. When Derek Shepherd on Grey’s Anatomy died, I remember sitting in the middle of the floor surrounded by all the laundry I was folding and crying. Ugly crying because who cries pretty? This is us? Every. Single. Episode. And when Jack Pearson died? It took me a couple hours to process the whole thing.

I love binge watching series and honestly, when you have devoted that much time to a show, how can you not get attached?

I want to be a Braverman. Am I right? Who’s with me? And I definitely, without a doubt, want to be a Gilmore Girl. When a show ends, I find myself imaging what the characters are up to, where they live, what they have done with the rest of their lives. Sometimes you may even find me yelling at them to make better life decisions (I’m talking to you Rory).

And if it’s a favorite show, then I can re-watch it multiple times without getting bored of it. My husband really, really loves that part. Watching Gilmore Girls, Parenthood, One Tree Hill, or any of my shows feels like home to me. It is that mindless interaction that I need. I can connect to these people and their ‘lives.’

To me, these people are my friends. And seeing everything they’re experiencing in their lives makes me feel all the feels with and for them. I want to celebrate the highs with them and cry with them in their lows. I am really weird about it too. No one is allowed to watch the shows with me unless they are really watching the show as well. No talking. No distractions.

There. I said it. I am weirdly attached to fictional characters.

So tell me, do you have an emotional attachment to fictional characters that you are feeling safe enough to admit now?