i get what theyre saying but i feel like the posts about how people have unhealthy attachments to charatcers or see the characters as extensions of themselves which makes them unable to handle different interpretations of them or critical analysis of their characters (ie. posts like this) are very hostile to fictionkins (and others under that spectrum) as well as fictives in systems.
i will start by saying that the posts are RIGHT and I UNDERSTAND WHAT IS BENG SAID and I AGREE and it is TRUE. I am just saying that the portrayal of HOW theyre saying it can be harmful, dismissive of, or confusing to some people, as they really do see themselves as an extension of that character, or as a person from that world.
The problem is that people can’t handle critical analysis of characters that they relate to or see themselves in. - So.
You have to remember that your source is, indeed, a different, fictional universe. Maybe you are that person (or creature), but you have to have a healthy mindset towards that and remember that you came from a story. You, at some point, served a narrative. It can be confusing to understand and come to terms with for some, but its what helps.
-And so, when people engage with your character, and do analysis, it is not an attack on you; if anything, it’s a compliment. They found you interesting. Yes, you could have been a bad person, but it was for the narrative. You arent under that anymore, your branches can grow out. They aren’t attacking you; theyre studying your sprout in the lab, and youre a tree now. they thought you were an interesting and cool plant!!
Even when people point out flaws in the writing it is still not an attack on you. theyre pointing out the growing conditions for the sprout, saying what might have stunted growth, what might have caused deficiencies or other problems. this is not an attack; it is an investigation. youre in new soil now, and you have everything you need to grow. And so you did. Theyre simply looking back on your old conditions.
When you see someone interpret your character in a different way, that is not an attack, nor are they wrong. (Well, maybe they are, but it doesnt really affect you if so.) That is scientists making predictions about what the sprout might have grown into. you were put into new soil, which allowed you to be who you are now; the scientists (the fans) are making predictions (character interpretations) about what you might have been like depending on the soil (writing, story events, etc.) . maybe in another world, you would have had differently shaped leaves, or a genetic mutation that made you grow different fruits, or maybe you would have had a different amount of sunlight, or whatever. these are just people having fun, and thinking, and using their brain. It doesnt affect you!!!
So. Remember to engage with media well.
A system full of fictives who love seeing different interpretations of their characters
