Do you have a fictional character you really relate to?

[Holmbo]

If so who, and why?

The reason I'm asking is because I kinda feel like I've never actually seen a fictional character with similar personality like me. It made me wonder if it's because so few characters are aromantic and therefore other aros might have similar problems. But if not I'm also interested about hearing who you relate to.

[AroAcedragon13]

yeah i have a few. Isaac from Heartstopper, his experiences were very relatable and I love how they portrayed things he was feeling throughout the new season. Wille from young royals, I saw a lot of myself in the way his anxiety was portrayed and it was really authentic. I definitely feel its harder to relate to a character who is in a relationship or isn't queer.

[nonmerci]

Not really but I don't think it is linked to my aromanticism. I don't know if there is a cause, but I just... don't experience that I guess ? For a long time I thought it was just a way of presenting things, to say "I recognize I have things in common with these characters", but then I realized it is something more powerful than that. Sometimes I think it is due to my emotional empathy being low but I don't know (emotional empathy = the ability to feel what the other person is feeling, for instance when seeing someone crying makes you cry too).

[Holmbo]

5 minutes ago, nonmerci said:

Not really but I don't think it is linked to my aromanticism. I don't know if there is a cause, but I just... don't experience that I guess ? For a long time I thought it was just a way of presenting things, to say "I recognize I have things in common with these characters", but then I realized it is something more powerful than that.

I see what you mean. I do wonder also if I lack the ability and that's why I don't experience it. But I also think from just a objective standpoint of having things in common I don't see that either. Now that I think of it I've find way more similar people in real life than I ever have in fiction. Do you ever meet people irl that you feel have similar personality to you?

[nonmerci]

Hum... I never reamly think about it honestly. But I think I do. Like, I did tell a coworker she may have adhd as I recognize in her the things that adhd makes me do, so...

[Balfrog]

I feel like I can relate to aspects of a person or events they have experienced, but I wouldn't ever say I relate to them as a person.  For example I don't relate to Captain America from the mcu but I do relate to not knowing cultural references\knowledge "everyone knows".

[alto]

I relate a lot to my best friend.  It's part of why he's my best friend.

[NVLL]

i relate to the chara in my pfp a lot. thats kind of it.

[Acearospec]

Elsa in Frozen - not interested in romance & misunderstood. 😉

[Keith]

Hmm, I think I (might) have a couple, but I'm never sure if it's like "oh, I'm just like them!" or "oh, I want to be like them!". But if I had to chose, then I guess the safest (the ones I'm actually pretty sure about) options would be Shigeo Kageyama (because we're both really socially awkward and we generally act kind of similar), Yuu Koito (mostly due to her perception of love, which is also the main reason why I headcanon her as arospec), Asa Mitaka (I just think we share some personality traits) and Gwen Stacy - The "Spiderman: Into The Spider-Verse" & "Spiderman: Across The Spider-Verse" one (mainly because her relationship with her father reminded me of my own).

Edited 14 hours ago by Keith

[dewy]

Oh man I have a lot. I'll try to limit myself to a few otherwise we'd be here all day.

Firstly Felix from Fire Emblem because he seems to be into romance and such but is so bad at expressing himself and desires. I haven't really thought much about him being aspec but now that I think about it I could totally see it. For some more Fire Emblem characters, definitely Claude and Hilda - I headcanon them both as aspec because they have a very intimate relationship that may or may not be romantic - who knows? I like that ambiguity with them. Also Sylvain with how he uses sex and romance as escapism from his problems.

In general I really like characters who are flirty but use it as a trick to bend people to their will. Looking at the entire Ashen Wolves house but especially Yuri here. I just like ambiguity in characters and their relationships keeping me guessing. Like is he actually interested, or is he just putting on a show to get his way?

Moving on from FE3H I also find a lot of Splatoon characters relatable - there's a huge found family theme going on there. It's hard to just pick one I relate to because them and their dynamics really resonate with me, but if I had to choose, it'd be Agent 8. Hell, the octolings in general are really relatable, trying to figure out love and relationships in a society that's completely different from them.

Finally there's... basically everyone from Disco Elysium. I really like that whole game and how it shows love and I have a soft spot for Kim. I like the homosexual underground side plot where Harry is overthinking sexuality, asks Kim about his, and he just casually goes yup, I'm gay, if that'll help you stop worrying about it. Also, classic partners dynamic where it's like, ok they're partners at work but what if they were partners in other ways too?

I love stories where the characters navigate love in such a way that always keeps you guessing, unsure of their intentions or feelings.