fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2773 ]

[ SECRET POST #2773 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2773 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

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02.

[Maplestory]

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03.

(Ted and Ralph, The Fast Show)

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04.

[Big Hero 6]

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05.

[Law & Order: Criminal Intent]

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06.

[Arashi no Yoru ni]

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07. http://i.imgur.com/QnC2dWq.jpg
[Hannibal, linked for nudity and gore]

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08.

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10.

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 021 secrets from Secret Submission Post #396.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 2 - posted twice ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

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Canon character + OC.

Because there is no clearer way of telling people you've written a fucking writer-insert fic. And very probably a poor one.

Hm just curious what if it's a background canon character given a bf/gf? Cause One of my all time favorite fics had that happen and it worked for the story excellently. The character was plausible and decent. It never once crossed my mind that the character was an self insert (because the writer was female and the character was a dude)

(the fic for reference- http://archiveofourown.org/works/102205/chapters/140454)

Just saying. I can understand being wary if like the OC gets with the MAIN character and it's the focal point of the story, but...I don't see why ANY canon character can never paired with an OC EVER EVER EVER.

I'm not saying that everyone should HAVE to enjoy it. But I don't think ALL canon character x OC automatically means Self insert.

Edited 2014-08-06 23:56 (UTC)

Yeah, for me, background mentions/passing cameos are okay, but putting a Canon+OC front and center in a story or an RP blog ... nope nope nope. Absolutely DNW.

Oh I understand that you're not into it.

I was just replying to the other person who said it automatically meant self insert. It's one thing to say "I don't like to read that" it's another to say "the author must be basing the character off themselves."

Edited 2014-08-07 00:01 (UTC)

I'd also say that, at least in the few fandoms I've been in, doing OCs well is the exception and not the rule. (But then I read very little fanfiction anyhow.)

Ah.

*shrug* I suppose. In my experience I've managed to find quite a few gems. Different opinions and all.

Also I find "it must be a self insert" accusations to be tiring. Like "GUYS, you can make a crappy character without basing it off yourself".

Edited 2014-08-07 00:06 (UTC)

Yeah, completely. I don't toss that accusation, mostly because in one sense I believe that almost every character winds up being fueled off something in the author anyhow.

(I love original characters iun original fiction: I just personally don't care for them in my fanfiction unless they are bit parts moving the plot along — which is how I generally use OCs myself.)

Edited 2014-08-07 00:21 (UTC)

Ah.

Well I can understand that, totally.

and yeah I agree with you, about characters. I know that if I get deep enough into any character of mine, there's something in there that's mine. Something that I can get close to and understand when I write them.

I always think of it like Method Acting: you need to find something in yourself, some emotion that connects you to the character, (in quality if not degree) in order to really bring them to life in your mind. But then I think that many characters who snag our attention do so because we're making that association anyhow, even if it is subliminally.

Edited 2014-08-07 00:31 (UTC)

That makes sense. It sounds like how I write emotional scenes. I try to think of a time when I'm feeling that emotion and the write from that memory. I feel like writing that way make scenes a lot more genuine.

Yeah but most fanfic writers don't even have the creativity to make something original in its awfulness.

Eh.. I suppose. I mean there are a lot of beginners that start with fanfic.

Yep. And pairing an OC with a main canon character is usually a huge no-no.

Yeah, while that does happen, it's not a given. And what if it's a minor character who you don't have anyone TO ship with in canon anyway? I think that's an unfair generalization, even if it isn't entirely unfounded.

I see "self insert" bandied around so much when it comes to OCs and I feel like it's kinda ridiculous to be honest. Part of what bothers me is that it assumes that all Mary Sue characters are self inserts. And it's like "guys, you do realize you CAN make a crappy character that isn't based off you. It is possible"

Like I can see how someone assuming that a lot of self inserts will be Mary Sues (although I don't believe Mary Sue=/=Self Insert ,just that self inserts can be hard to pull off) and being wary. But I don't get the idea that a character with Mary Sue tendencies is ALWAYS based off the creator automatically.

I figure it's just something that some people say to be insulting and scathing. "Ohh you have an OC, they're probably a self insert who's hooked up with your favorite guy" I guess they think it's a good insult or something but IMO it's really dumb.

Yeah, this.

There is one place that it's more or less unavoidable: Player Character/Love Interest fics for video games.

No matter how much backstory the PC is given in-game, a fic that is about the author's own version of the PC is probably going to be just a little bit Self-Insert. How much self-insert and how much canon background mesh is what makes or breaks the fic.

Very true.

(Unfortunately, because of PC/OC type fics, a videogame fandom can become "too large" for some fic exchanges (such as Yuletide) simply because such a high percentage of the fics are of the type you describe.)

Edited 2014-08-07 16:28 (UTC)

It's something that comes to mind for me right now because of my interest in Dragon Age. Even Hawke (PC for DA2), who I get a strong impression has pretty strong characterisation due to being fully voiced, is still fairly variable in how one might interpret the major characterisation tracks.

Yeah, that I get, although to me PCs like Hawke and Shep from ME are are still "canon" characters to some extent -- the variation in Hawke's personality is built in (sorry I've only played 2/3 of DA2, but I assume the sort of choices you have in DA2 are similar to what you get in the other games.)

The stuff that I think of as OC that rankles me is the sort of "This is my Rp character Mary Sue Paladin, who saved Kael'thas from the Legion and became his wife and they have adorable little elf babies and hawt elf sex..." etc etc.

Yeah, that sort of OC rankles me, not in the least because I know I can veer very close to it.

I acept that many people enjoy doing that sort of thing (and I am happy that it brings them joy), but I do my best to avoid blogs that have such stuff because I dislike it so intensely. (Of course if I'm being completely honest I mostly get pissy when I see it for canon characters I'm writing: I think this is the closest I get to the emotion some people feel over a "rival ship". *g* )

Edited 2014-08-07 17:02 (UTC)

Yeah, most of my RP characters tend to be OC Stand Ins, and I have a tendency to pick characters with a lot of potential power, but then am constantly trying to avoid them being overly powerful as a result.

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[ SECRET POST #2773 ]

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