No, but I don't play games much. A few drinks make me more confident though. XD

XD It's just as well; chaos generally ensues.

Mmmm, yes, one of the costumes my sister helped me create for a job at a con that I was *not* looking forward to (so many people! So crowded! Aaargh!) turned out to be super useful.

Between the mask and the hairpiece and the elaborate makeup, I knew that noone I interacted with would have any idea who I was, and it was an insane confidence booster.
It didn't matter that I had to interact with so many people, because even if they remembered the interaction and the character, they wouldn't remember *me*.... so I wasn't setting any traps for my future self.
They wouldn't come seek me out later and use up my precious precious free time (ah, for the days when free time was a real thing instead of a dream).
They wouldn't try to contact me later and continue interacting.
I was free!
This was it!
I could just talk and laugh without worry because there wasn't any fear of follow-up!
It was so fantastic.

And the job paid well enough to fix the water heater even after the cost of the costume so it worked out super well all around.

It wasn't exactly so much a specific character that was empowering as it was "a character not me who protects my future time and self", but it's kind of along the same lines, right?

Hmm... Not really?
If the characters have different styles then I usually prefer one, but it has to do much more with the style than feeling empowered by the character itself.

I remember when I played good old Street Fighter II, I always always chose Chun-Li.
Not because she was a powerful woman but because she was fast and she could jump so damn high, and make awesome flying kicks.
In later games of SF I would either choose her or Vega - the supposedly Spanish one - because he was also very fast and he could almost fly with his jumps.

I dunno. Maybe her character gave me a good vibe in the beginning and that's why I started chosing her, but definetely was not the reason why I kept playing her.

When I cosplay, I'm a LOT more confident. Because it's not *me* that the people see, it's the character. It's not *me* they're analyzing/interacting with, it's the character. I enjoy acting for the same reason.