Hello there,
I'm the author of a book called "Love in the Second Dimension: How Love for Fictional Characters can re-enchant the World" and it is simply about that: Love for fictional characters.
Here's an abstract to get a glimpse of what to expect from it:
With English-speaking Internet forums to express love for fictional characters and ceremonies to marry them in Japan, there has been an increase in activities to show affection for fictional characters in recent decades. While some people refer to it as “waifuism”, others identify as “fictosexuals”.
What makes people develop deep emotional and romantic attachments to these characters? Which cognitive processes are involved when falling in love with them? What underlying mechanisms favor the belief in a parallel universe in which fictional characters live rather than taking introspection into account to arrive at the conclusion that a fictional character is the result of physical and psychological processes? By answering these questions, the author points out how people are creating their partners within their mind-space, as most of them are struggling with the effects of radical capitalism on society, seeking an alternative in media worlds to find self-fulfillment. The metaphors and values associated with the fictional character lead to sacred, collective, and binding conditions and thus to a re-enchantment of the world for these people. However, if a relation to a fictional character is used as a coping mechanism, the ideal one feels attracted to would be imperfect.
The author also explains why the belief that a fictional character to be “out there” leads to a search for authority. Hence, he argues that the best way to have a healthy relationship with a fictional character is to see them as a product of culture, returning the love in multiple ways, such as inspiration, happiness, and joy. Moreover, falling in love with a fictional character leads to a cognitive reorganization, in which one expands consciousness and sets oneself in a new relation to the world. With that being said, love for these people needs to come from outside the individual — from the source of all things, the perfection of creation.
Last but not least, the author raises the final question: Is love in the second dimension, also known as “2D Love”, a love revolution?
You can read the introduction here:
https://rptjacksreality.medium.com/love-in-the-second-dimension-a5eab7744a4c
You can buy the book with its 402 pages on Amazon, as well as everywhere where to get books if you don't like Amazon for political reasons. Here's a link to it on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/3989230301
If you like what you read, it would be great if you'd leave a review anywhere you'd like (Amazon, Goodreads, etc.) and spread the word about it with sharing the medium article above, for example.
Message too long. Click
here
to view full text.