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Loving non-real characters.

Last posted Oct 12, 2012 at 12:22AM EDT. Added Oct 08, 2012 at 08:36PM EDT
43 posts from 30 users

Preliminary strike on ponies!!!

The ani/mlp/huckers over on 4chan use this a lot, personally I don't believe in it, but take from it what you will, it covers both Anime girls and Ponies.

I'm not attracted to ponies, nor am I attracted to Sailor Moon, she was annoying.
Sailor Mars however is a different story…

Anyway I'm either ninja'd by Verbose with a wall of text, or he is in the process of writing one.
He'll get you your answers.

@Sir-ful turtle:
I just want to point out that if you love your waifu for her hentai, then you are doing it wrong, or she doesn't fit the agreed upon diffinition of waifu.

Last edited Oct 08, 2012 at 09:00PM EDT

I think it's fine to be attracted to non real characters. I mean look at all the comic book and video game characters. It would be weird to not be attracted to them!

But loving them? I do think that is strange.

Back in my otaku days (weeaboo is different gais) I would have major crushes on certain anime characters. In other words I don't think there is a problem with being attracted to or "loving" a fictional character (yes, even if it's a pony). I only find it weird or creepy when a person crushing on a character doesn't seem to realize that the character is not real. I think people crushing on a character also shows how good of a job the writer did in creating said character. People tend to crush on characters that are relatable and/or have characteristics that are very much similar to actual people

ITT: Waifu Jokes

I really hope I don't surprise anyone by saying this, but I don't see how people have a "relation" with a fictional character.

I can look up to fictional characters, and respect them for or aspire to what they represent (like Reimu), but I don't feel sexual attractions towards them.

Last edited Oct 09, 2012 at 12:12AM EDT

Emi wrote:

You can love anyone you want as long as it's not Emi.

I will cut you if you get anywhere near her.

We shall duel at high noon for her love.

Ann Hiro wrote:

I usually like characters I can relate to. I usually view them as an extension of myself on screen.
That is why I like Naoi Ayato so much, it's because he reminded me of me.

Basically the same thing with me liking/loving (whatever you would want to call it) RD.
I am a hard-head.
I procrastinate til the very end, and I still get it done.
I have my fears I don't want to show because they make me feel weak.
And just cause I may act a tad feminine, as people would tell me since I don't do "manly" things, at times.

And all that is true.
(Holy crap, that took long to tell.)

Dac the non-bender wrote:

I think it’s fine to be attracted to non real characters. I mean look at all the comic book and video game characters. It would be weird to not be attracted to them!
But loving them? I do think that is strange.

Well said.

If you touch Lilly I will carve you like a Thanksgiving turkey.
You can love anyone you want as long as it’s not Emi.
I will cut you if you get anywhere near her.

Get a life losers.

We impose upon all fictional characters certain traits and qualities. We like them because they exemplify attributes we admire (or disdain, etc.). That is what makes their narrative compelling, It should not be surprising that our bonds with the characters in the narratives fails to leave us when the book is put down, so to speak.

(First off… The love felt for a 2D girl is different from the love you feel for a 3D girl. That doesn't mean one is necessarily stronger than the other, but IRL is true love to me.)

Through the time I've been a husbando, I've noticed three main types:

I have been a husbando for around a year and a half now, and I can attest that a great many of us are creepers who are only interested in their waifu for sexual reasons. These people like their waifu because they fall into their tastes, fetishes, and expectations of beauty. They see a flawless "girl", and feel a sexual attraction for the way she looks and/or acts. They are usually the type to "change waifus" once a month, have massive amounts of saved doujin devoted to their waifu, and often completely forget about their waifu once the thrill of their sexual attraction is gone. I try my hardest to stay away from this camp, but this is the type of crowd you will see most often. 4Channers come to mind first, but this is a little unfair to them, as not every one of them is like this, believe it or not. I've seen equally messed up things about "waifus" on tumblr or even facebook. If you're in this camp, don't be ashamed of it, but, don't be proud of it, please :/

The camp I fall into, for the most part. This is the camp of people who need a cathartic facet to get rid of the excess love they have. This is where you'll find the people who cover their rooms with pictures, pillows, figures, posters, toys, and anything else relating to their waifu, or the people who do valentine's day with their computer screens (not that any KYMer would do that… cough cough), and will be overly defensive and therefore very easy to troll. This group normally is attracted to the concept of the character, not the character itself, but physical attraction can and does occur. The waifu just isn't as sexualized, or objectified to such a great extent.

As an aside, I think that this is the section that most of bronies actually fall into.

You're down. You just lost your girlfriend of 2 years, and it ended so poorly that you don't think you'll ever get into a relationship again. To make up for this newfound hole in your heart, you turn your attention to anime girls. They won't hurt your feelings, break your heart, cheat, lie, stab your family members, etc. They come with a sort of distance that you find appealing- you can't get too close to them, and they can't either. They also come with a safety net. There's no real responsibility in the relationship, ending things is as easy as 1 2 3, and you can always come back without complications. You still don't really fall in love on accident in this type of relationship, you actively seek a rebound.

Alternatively, you feel as though you're not attractive, smart, or sociable to have a "real relationship", so you substitute this 2D girl for the real deal. This is very common.

"Waifu" has a stigma surrounding it that's heavily negative. People think it's some form of sexual deviancy, a pathetic thing that only losers without any hope of a 3D relationship would resort to, or a sad byproduct of lack of mental health. Really, I think we husbandos are to blame for that. I mean, we naturally are inclined to be defensive of our love for 2D people, so seldom do we explain what it actually entails.

(I'm going to say "she" and "her" a lot, but it can refer to anyone, male female, or otherwise.)

First off- your waifu doesn’t have to be able to love you back, nor do you have to truly ‘love’ her- she just has to be your favorite.

it's really that simple.

Your favorite character… Ever. The one that you love to see getting their own episode. The one you scour through other anime for, looking for cameos. The one you have no qualms posting funny pictures of. In fact, it’s the one you have an entire image folder dedicated to. It’s the character you have an inexplicable relatablity to. The one you’d follow a tumblr for. The one you wish was real.

THAT is your waifu. Doesn't have to be an anime character, doesn't have to be 2D, even.

I'm not asking for a complete defenestration of your preconceived notions here, but really… It's not what you think it is, and it's not something so strange it deserves mocking (except for when someone is a little too attached)… It's just a strong feeling felt for a concept of a person, even if that person may not actually exist.

/didacticism

Those are some of my (jumbled) thoughts on the matter. I actually love the concept (ha) of waifus. It fascinates me that I can have such strong emotions for something that doesn't exist, and that it's such a natural phenomenon.

Last edited Oct 09, 2012 at 02:50AM EDT

Wsxdas, The Last Kramabender wrote:

We shall duel at high noon for her love.

She's mine. Back off, buddy.

To add clarification, I don't feel a sexual attraction to Emi, but if she was real, I'd go after her in an instant. Emi has been the only 2D character I've related to, and they way her puppy dog eyes are drawn does tug at my heartstrings.

Dac wrote:

I think it's fine to be attracted to non real characters. I mean look at all the comic book and video game characters. It would be weird to not be attracted to them!

But loving them? I do think that is strange.

ya i see so much people love mlp characters and anime characters i just can't get behind it

I guess you can be attracted to someone on TV, or a character from a game, or a cartoon, or whatever. At least, as much as you can be attracted to someone who you've watched hour upon hour, wasting all your time watching them do the same things over and over… Which would be uber creepy if they were real.

But can you really be in love if your lover has never spoken to you? A relationship is a two-way thing, in my book.

Serious Business wrote:

I guess you can be attracted to someone on TV, or a character from a game, or a cartoon, or whatever. At least, as much as you can be attracted to someone who you've watched hour upon hour, wasting all your time watching them do the same things over and over… Which would be uber creepy if they were real.

But can you really be in love if your lover has never spoken to you? A relationship is a two-way thing, in my book.

I think that may cause an issue in the context of video games. Allow me to elaborate with a pair of examples:

  1. Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War. If you pay attention to the dialogue between the characters over the course of the game, especially during the later stages, you may notice how Kei Nagase seems to be getting a bit romantic with her flight lead… Who just happens to be played by you. Then there's the epilogue cutscene, showing a woman and young child, the implication being that it's Kei and her offspring. Now, who would you guess the father would have been in that case? Yeah, you can see where this is headed.
  2. The Mass Effect trilogy. This is arguably even worse, since you can personally choose who you'd like your player character, Commander Shepard, to hook up with. Granted, you only get a handful of choices in any of the games, most of which are dependent on what gender your PC is; but I'm sure you can find someone to your tastes.

And even though I've never played a "dating sim" or "visual novel", I get the feeling it only goes downhill from here.

I don't know what the male version of waifu is (huzbandu?) but I still have a crush on Allen Walker from D.Gray-Man that started like 3 years ago (don't tell my boyfriend)

What a hunk

Last edited Oct 12, 2012 at 12:24AM EDT
Skeletor-sm

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