[Senpaija]

Long story short: I have fallen in love with a fictional character, is this for real, should I be worried and is it normal?

It happened about 1½ or 2 months ago. I had a weird dream, so weird when I woke up, I couldn't understand it in any way. The only thing I knew was that the dream left me with a sstrong feeling. 3½ month ago I started playing my favourite game Left 4 Dead 2, a zombie game where 4 people work together to survive. There is this guy in the game called Nick, who I had NO interest in before the strange dream. I actually saw him as ugly as **** when I first got interested in the game (long before I began playing it).

But ever since the dream, I have had feelings towards this fictional guy, who by the way is 35 years old and used to be an criminal. But there happened something in the dream that just made me like him. As I played the game, I began to develope bonds with all the characters, mostly Nick. I played the game every day, called him Nickieboy, even randomly say it in a naughty way sometimes and did weird things with him in the game.

I have read about others going through something similar and people say that you haven't fallen in love with this character, but a part of yourself. I just don't think it is the same for me, since he "existed" before the dream and no matter how rotten his attitude is and how bad his past was, I just keep having that love feeling.

Not long ago my computer broke, so I can't play the game, and it is beginning to mess with my mind, I miss the characters, the game itself and most Nick. Every time I get reminded of that I can't play the game, I want to cry. The throught of leaving those feelings and Nick also makes me want to cry. I'm not a cry baby and I have never felt this way about anybody, real or not, so it is all very scary and confusing, but forgetting it is like forgetting a part of myself.

Maybe I have fallen in love with the fact that I love the game? Or something else that relates to me and not the actual game. And if this is real feelings, should I be worried for my own health? He isn't real, and I know, but like my feelings care.

If you have tried the same thing, feel free to tell me, I would love to know about it!

[Thunder Bow]

..." but forgetting it is like forgetting a part of myself."... this shows the game character is a part of yourself. Look at what you have in common with him in real life.

[Senpaija]

I'm not criminal, but I do like guns, and think his life style is pretty cool, even if it is highly unhealty... but that is about it, guns is the only thing I can think of.
I don't have a bad attitude either, which he has and I love it. But maybe it is because I kind of play the game with him, even if he is just a bot... we do the same thing, kill zombies and work together, can that have an effect?

[Thunder Bow]

Yes, you have Control in the Game, and guns are all about Control.

[Nikki O.]

I've fallen in love a lot in my dreams but with just random guys, at first, until they reoccur. They even have names but I don't take it seriously because often the dreams are so emotional and sometimes I get back stabbed by the one I thought I loved, which are the guys I don't remember the names of.
I think if you spend a lot of time playing that one game everyday with him, it can have an impact on your dreams! OH I had a dream with the second Doctor in Doctor Who and he fell in love with me! I loved him too but it was one of those, "we can't do this, secret secret" dreams xD but it wasn't serious because if you have seen Doctor Who you know that he doesn't do that with humans xD Except for the first Doctor which I have only seen the last season of the first Doctor :P I think it will pass and that it's okay to play make believe and have a little fun with a dream :P

ahhh the Doctor <3 I think I had a dream with him because I hated the new Doctor and missed the old, super cute and quirky one... like really really really badly Oh and I had been binge watching Doctor Who daily to clear up my DVR for more Doctor Who...

[treevoice]

When you are in REM sleep, the way your brain experiences your dreams is almost indistinguishable from waking experience. If it weren't for your brain paralyzing your body during sleep, you would even act them out. So the experiences you have in your dreams, even something as intense as falling in love, can be very emotionally intense for you even in your waking life. It sounds like this dream really imprinted on you and it may take some time for the feeling to dissipate. I don't see anything wrong with indulging a crush, obviously no one is going to get seriously hurt by you entertaining a fantasy about a fictional character, but if it is intense to the point of painful for you it may be worth it to spend some time consciously letting go of the imagined relationship (have a mental "breakup" if you will). Maybe?