This week is another tricky one. I don't know if I'm just in a mood or if I'm always having issues with thinking up coherent responses to, well, anything, but! Truth is, I'm definitely one of those readers (or watchers) who seek out characters that are on all ends of the spectrum; characters that I see myself in or am very, very far from.

I could easily list about seventy characters from my years of reading that I've felt connected to in one way or another. And, sure, some of those aren't ones I relate to anymore (I'm looking at you, Captain Underpants) but... there are so many who seriously left a mark on me.

Here are the top eight characters that I've felt connected to in the past. Yes, I'm only doing eight this week. It doesn't have the same ring as Top Ten Tuesday but it's fine, we're fine, let's just roll with it.



(1) Magnus Bane from The Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare: We all saw this one coming. Magnus Bane was the first time I saw a part of myself portrayed in fiction. Until I first read this series, I never saw a bisexual character portrayed particularly well in fiction. His bisexuality is one of the biggest parts of my having come out way back when and, obviously, come to terms with my sexuality. Honestly, though, his sexuality is only a small (but very important) basis on what makes me feel connected to him as a character.

(2) Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar: Let's just say that I really saw myself in Blair a lot as a teenager. This is neither good nor bad. In the books, Blair is much less of a schemer (although, still pretty much one at her core) and a lot more of a teenager. She is flawed, she is determined, she is fierce and very vulnerable. I related to a lot of her personality traits, good and bad--I was petty, I feared living in the shadow of someone else, I had body image issues that really messed with me and had fits of shallowness that weren't altogether controllable.The fact that, by the end of the series, she chose herself and her best friend over boys, kicked ass in working her way to becoming a lawyer, and so much more really helped me learn to love myself. And to put myself first. 

(3-8) Connor Cobalt, Rose Calloway, Lily Calloway, Loren Hale, Ryke Meadows and Daisy Calloway from the Addicted, Calloway Sisters and Like Us series by Krista & Becca Ritchie: Honestly, all of the characters in this series are so very special to me. They're the adult version of what books like Harry Potter, Gossip Girl, The Shadowhunter Chronicles and The Hunger Games meant to me as a teenager. Meaning, they consumed me and really left their mark on me in ways I can't explain. In terms of characters from this series, I have always felt the most attached to Connor Cobalt and find he is the most like me. However, there are bits of all the main characters in my personality and I really do appreciate this.