What Would We Do Without Our Fictional Characters?

[cuddyclothes]

I just said that to a fellow fan. And then I thought, what would we do without our fictional characters?

Which also made me think, what sort of comfort or coping mechanism do you get from your characters/pairings?

For myself I find writing fanfic (lately only in my head) helps me escape from the hellscape that is America these days. And reading fanfic about my favorite pairing is soothing in a way TV and other forms of reading aren't. It's like getting my emotions massaged.

How do other people feel?

Comments

[comet_scout]

I think it's a fun distraction from my problems and responsibilities to put the time in molding or expanding fictional universes and characters, both original and canon ones.

Also very relaxing, when I'm agitated for some reason, theorizing, exploring concepts, or imagining characters in x situations is a nice head brake when I can't get myself to simply not think about things.

Now, without them I probably would just have a different coping material/hobby, just not sure what. I wonder if it would be a more or less important one.