Comfort Character

A comfort character is a character that a person finds relatable or aspirational, often seeking or creating fan content based on that character for emotional support or comfort. 
The term does not refer to a specific character or kind of character but is a descriptive term fans will use for a character or characters that bring them this feeling. The term is associated with, not exclusive, to neurodivergent fans.
==Descriptions==
The term was defined in a reddit thread:
A comfort character is a character someone find comfort in, and some may even project themselves onto the character, or someone self inserts themselves into the character when writing.
Or people self ship where they're friends/partners/family with the character, and they handwave and make everything bad go away.
I like to point at comfort characters when the angry people of the world say escapism has no place in fandom (yes, there are people that really think that), and everyone should be as miserable as them.
It's different in terms of relatability. I don't relate to my favorite characters personally much at all, so I guess that's how its different.
An alternative definition from another reddit thread.
Comfort characters are characters that people latch onto, think of it like an obsession, rather than a usual just "like". These characters usually bring comfort to said person, think of it almost like a safety blanket. They could find comfort in a character because [a person] can relate to what they've been through, or there is nostalgia with the character.
There is an association, mentioned in this thread multiple times, between comfort characters and neurodivergence:
Since I scrolled through the other comments and didn't see any addressing it--while "comfort character" is used across fandom by many different people with slightly different implications, I think it's worth mentioning that many neurodivergent folks -- autistic people, people with ADHD, etc. -- use the term to describe specific characters that become a hyperfixation or special interest. (For folks who are unfamiliar with these terms, the gist is that many neurodivergent people develop a particular enthusiasm for certain topics and find a lot of comfort in thinking and learning about said topic.) I'm pretty sure it actually originated within the neurodivergent community, but it's spread to be used more widely for a character that a fan might have a particular emotional attachment to even if they are not neurodivergent.
A user in the latter reddit thread, located in r/Fanfiction, mentioned South Park:
For me, my comfort character is Stan Marsh from South Park. And I would say he goes beyond the simple ‘favorite character’ trope one might have. Almost anything about and related to this character brings me joy. Yes I relate to him. But I also feel a sense of calm when it comes to him. Just seeing an image of Stan or hearing his voice makes me feel warm and well, comforted. I feel the need to defend him and stand by him above any other character in other fandoms of mine. It’s hard to explain but at the same time.. he just makes me happy. In a way my other favorite characters don’t. :)
==External Links==
*Detailed Reddit Thread
Category:Terminology