Living Vicariously the Otaku Way

Ever wonder why we nerds are as die hard about our hobbies as we are? Why we dress up in effigy of our favorite characters at cons and have the potential for violence in debates such as the immortal "Kirk vs. Picard" or "Naruto vs. Ichigo" for my Otaku brethren?
Because those characters have the lives we want. Otaku fandom and general geekdom operates under the same principals of Reality Television- these people lead vastly more interesting lives thus we grow attatched to them and begin to live vicariously through them.

However, we want their lives...but the fantasy and the reality differ. Do you really want the dangers and drama that accompany the average Anime hero? The broken bones, trials and tribulations?No, of course not. But we grow so attatched to these characters and we become so emotionally invested in them, we get the feeling of experiencing their lives and times right with them. Through the good times and the bad. We want to believe we are a part of the struggle just by beating witness to it.
Well, as a Touhou fanbook once said, a persons "reason for being" can be anything that helps you see through the day. If you like to go about your day feeling as though your favorite characters are with you like guardian spirits, I see no error in that. It is thinking and feeling like that which helps us escape the haze of regular existance.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to call upon my inner Spock and brave a visit to the DMV.