A lot of posts here have a lot of wisdom. That being said I've always been hesitant to say you should -never- develop feelings for someone because of bleed. The reason for this being is that meeting someone you click with enough to share these kinds of intimately nerdy things with is pretty rare and I'd never advise something that could result in someone passing that up.
I've also known people who somehow end up romantically OOCly entangled with just about anyone and everyone they have an IC relationship with. This is the other side of the spectrum and is just....unstable.
As far as having a crush on a -character- this is totally normal I think. In my mind, I equate it to having an attraction to a character from a movie or TV show. They aren't real. Like I'm in LOVE with Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock. I think the character of Sherlock is hot as hell. Does that mean I'm in love with Benedict as a person? Noooooope. And he would think people that think that way are creepy.
This is also why I tend to shy away a bit from people who openly roleplay as themselves. That's just....way too blurry. That being said, all of our characters have a bit of ourselves in them, just like I'm sure there is a bit of Benedict Cumberbatch in his portrayal of Sherlock, but in the end it's not him by any stretch of the imagination.
I hope my incredibly dorky example was helpful.
I've also known people who somehow end up romantically OOCly entangled with just about anyone and everyone they have an IC relationship with. This is the other side of the spectrum and is just....unstable.
As far as having a crush on a -character- this is totally normal I think. In my mind, I equate it to having an attraction to a character from a movie or TV show. They aren't real. Like I'm in LOVE with Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock. I think the character of Sherlock is hot as hell. Does that mean I'm in love with Benedict as a person? Noooooope. And he would think people that think that way are creepy.
This is also why I tend to shy away a bit from people who openly roleplay as themselves. That's just....way too blurry. That being said, all of our characters have a bit of ourselves in them, just like I'm sure there is a bit of Benedict Cumberbatch in his portrayal of Sherlock, but in the end it's not him by any stretch of the imagination.
I hope my incredibly dorky example was helpful.
