NPC crushes

[Nemariel]

I don't understand them. Maybe it's because I'm grown and no longer know what it's like to truly be a fangirl, but honestly it seems pointless to me. You can order art of yourself and your NPC crush forever, but your avatar (and by proxy you) are never actually going to be a pair with said character. It's sort of like self-insertion fanfiction, but a lesser degree of Mary Sue.

That said, maybe some of you guys can explain it to me. How do you feel about them? Do they irritate you or do you just sort of ignore them? And maybe some of you that have them can explain why.

[Lazarus Larkin]

It's just fantasizing about stuff. I don't see how it's so hard to understand... do you have a problem with celebrity crushes too? I'm only VERY slightly more likely to ever make out with Rupert Graves than I am with Edmund rofl

[Nemariel]

It isn't so much that I have a problem with them as I don't really get them. People with celebrity crushes don't go out and buy art of themselves with that person, or if they do, it's considered extremely creepy. I mean, I get thinking an NPC is hot or attractive in the same respect as you would think a celebrity to be attractive. What I don't get is going to the extreme of writing a self-insertion fic or getting romantic art of your avatar with that character. It just seems odd to me.

[Erinnerung]

Who cares? They're just having fun. smile

[Eliante]

I write bad fanfiction pairing Liam up with Mr. Gary Stu. Fun times, fun times. Or perhaps I should say, smutty times.

[Elen_Gilthoniel]

I honestly view it the same as self insertion into any existing fandom. When people self insert into the Naruto universe or the Harry Potter universe, it tends to be escapism, wish fulfillment and general fantasizing. I think that sort of thing is fairly normal.

Though I am not going to lie, when it gets on the extreme end of things, whether it's a Gaia NPC or any other fictitious character, I do start kind of finding it a little weird. I think it's one thing to find a character 'cool' and get art of them and have little fantasies of being in that universe--people do that kind of thing from the moment they first say "I want to be a princess/superhero." So that kind of thing is no big deal. But when I see an adult say, in a completely serious way. that such and such NPC is totally their ideal man, I find that a little awkward.

But in more of an "Alrighty then...~_~" kind of way than "Welp. Break out the straight jackets now..." kind of way. But that's because these are characters. They're great for Gaia stories and joking, and generally fanboying/girling over. Not so much for functioning as an actual, realistic person...LoL

[Pengaana]

Nemariel

People with celebrity crushes don't go out and buy art of themselves with that person

Oh how naive you are smile
Just look at someplace like DA
you'll find that it's pretty commonplace

Some people do it for fun

[Nemariel]

Eliante

I write bad fanfiction pairing Liam up with Mr. Gary Stu. Fun times, fun times. Or perhaps I should say, smutty times.

This is totally an aside but your avatar is adorable.

[Nemariel]

Konan Tatsuhiko

Nemariel

People with celebrity crushes don't go out and buy art of themselves with that person

Oh how naive you are smile
Just look at someplace like DA
you'll find that it's pretty commonplace

Some people do it for fun

I've had an account on DA for longer than I've had an account on Gaia and, to my recollection, I've never seen any art of someone with a real celebrity that wasn't an actual photograph. I have, however, seen people get art of their OCs with a character from their favorite show or what have you.

[Eliante]

Nemariel

Eliante

I write bad fanfiction pairing Liam up with Mr. Gary Stu. Fun times, fun times. Or perhaps I should say, smutty times.

This is totally an aside but your avatar is adorable.

Thank you! It's probably not as adorable with the football helmet, but still. xD

[scullylam]

:O

i admit, i will forever be married to nicolae. sure he's a jerk but i'm a jerk back. and yeah... then there's marshall but guys with facial hair aren't bad looking either. sweatdrop

i think fandoms are hilarious but at the same time, i don't mind liking an imaginary character. sure i might have *some* fanart, but if i find a jerkface that likes me in reality, then he'll replace the fandom stuff.. eh, that's not true. i'll make the guy cosplay nicolae because i'm like that.

emotion_awesome *insert facepalm at her own sarcastic reply which is still pretty much true*


either way, i think it's fun. i mean, being a fan, i don't feel uber creepy like how people fangirl over a real life celebrity. like, there are some attractive people in the spotlight but everyone is attractive. i think being a fan to some npcs here is kinda a trademark of who i am, even if it might extend to real world, but... okay i sound like a creeper but i'm not. sweatdrop i should stop talking now. redface

[Lulu the Mainspring Lady]

I'll earn some haters here, but I find the entire thing (in both celebrity worship and fiction/characters) extremely juvenile. I've just seen enough people actually fighting over characters and had to deal with that many obsessives that the entire practice, along with shipping, is a gigantic turn-off for me.

It's the same reason I refuse to join 'fandoms', and a big part of why I deleted my Tumblr. I find being around irrationally obsessed people to be intensely uncomfortable.

... If nothing else, it makes them boring as hell to me, because it tends to be their only topic of conversation... I had one a few years ago obsess about Samus to me for hours at a time every day. I don't like Metroid, but they seemed to want to be AND bang her at the same time, and it got so extremely old to me I had to block them. An interest is one thing, but it didn't end. sweatdrop

I should qualify that I have far more patience for characters people have actually created themselves, being a writer and all. But there are still limits. Yammering on for days about how 'your life' is Doctor Who/My Little Pony/Benedict Cumerbatch/Harry Potter/whatever else will drive me ******** crazy. emotion_eyebrow

[Lindpen]

I adore some of our NPCs, but not as a real crush. I do joke about some of them (Edmund especially) being hot, and I like to say that Lindpen stalks him. I imagine she'd constantly go into his shop and stare at him and buy starter items as an excuse to talk to him.

Stein is awesome, too. And I like Headmaster Weston.

[EternalAnge]

I have a crush on the NPC Friday XIII, and many of my friends are okay with that. Even I am acceptable of that as well, so it's not a really big deal.

[Voat]

Most people think of their gaia avatars as their gaia characters. so when they pair an NPC with "them"/their avatar, they're really just pairing it with their avatar character not them IRL per se. You know what i mean?

that's why it's so common place on gaia to see people pair "themselves"/their avatars with NPCs - because people like pairing their gaia characters with others. just as much as they like giving their gaia characters back story, special art, personalities, etc.

it's just the same as people pairing their OCs with other well-known characters, because to some people their avatars are their OCs on Gaia.