fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #626 ]

⌈ Secret Post #626 ⌋

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

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Notes:

OH YEAH CITY STUFF → a href="http://lolbuttsex.myminicity.com!

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 311 secrets from Secret Submission Post #090.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 2 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 2 3 4 5 - doing it wrong ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

127: Well I ship Balthier/Vaan, and most of fandom seems to think he's an idiot (I think they're wrong and haven't paid attention to canon), and it's not exactly a common pairing. You can't always have your preferred pairing being popular in fandom, unfortunately.

130: Most people dont't consider all OC's Mary Sues, actually. Unfortunately Mary Sues are common enough that many fans automatically avoid fic with OC's in the main roles.

Self-inserts are generally considered Mary Sues because they're never honest self-inserts. It's usually a idealised, perfect version of the writer.

Many fans are also not very interested in OC's, but read fic for the canon characters. Mostly, people read fanfic differently, and for slightly different reasons, than they read original fic.

168: Maybe it's just proof that you write really hot sex scenes?

Self-inserts are generally considered Mary Sues because they're never honest self-inserts. It's usually a idealised, perfect version of the writer.

This.

Many fans are also not very interested in OC's, but read fic for the canon characters.

This, also. For me, the entire point of spending time hunting down fanfic is because I enjoy the original work enough that I want more of it. And by that I mean, I want to see more of the characters I fell in love with in the first place, not original characters that a) mean absolutely nothing to me, and b) are ridiculously perfect and completely unrelatable 9 times out of 10.

But what about fandoms as huge as Star Wars? How can you only care for the main characters? There are so many storylines to choose from, some that haven't even tried to be explored yet by canon or expanded universe. Star Wars literally has no boundaries, but everyone's stuck playing Jedi, evil!Jedi, or senator.

Self-inserts are generally considered Mary Sues because they're never honest self-inserts. It's usually a idealised, perfect version of the writer.

Incidentally, the same is true of most "canon character" pairings...

But harder to spot before you've tried reading the fic, unfortunately. Though I've developed a few tricks!

Do share! Nothing bothers me more in fanfic.

Some of these might seem strange, but they work surprisingly well. Some are simply general badfic warnings, though.

Let's call the canon character used as a self insert for "X".

Easy to spot signs:

Author has X as part of her user name, often combined with a celestial body, "lady", or "girl" (in any permutation).

The summary describes how X suddenly displays a new, amazing, non-canon power or affliction. Extra strong warning if this will obviously make X both more attractive to the other canon characters while simultaneously becoming more vulnerable in some way.

The summary pretty much comes down to: X is lusted after by both A and B (and possibly C, D, E, and F as well)! What will happen?

In fact "What will happen?" is a warning in and of itself. Pretty much no fic with this question in the summary will be worth your time (same with excessive use of "what if?").

X receivs a "makeover", or simply changes dramatically (during the summer, or a holiday; some sojourn away from the other canon characters in any case) by themselves.

Now the following things are a little harder to spot; you might have to read a bit of the fic, but it should be evident in the first few sentences:

Author makes a point of X being short/small/graceful/slender or similar. Especially in comparison to a potential romantic partner. Even if it's canon, it's still a warning sign if the author feels she must put emphasis on it. It's actually my most fool-proof way of spotting probable OOC in general, but it's surprisingly often the sort of badfic where X has become a self-insert.

X has soft and elegant hands, while the potential lover has rough, workmanlike and tanned hands (with callouses! Always with the damn callouses!). Extra warning if they are in the same situation/do the same type of work.

In combination with one or both of the above, X is pale (but it doesn't work as a warning by itself).

The following, when used as adjectives for X: "sun-kissed", "raven", "fiery", "marble", "willowy", "baby-blue", "pouting", "petal-like" or "porcelain".

A description of X and/or of what X is wearing within the first few sentences.

Any word for eyes that isn't "eyes".

X loves the same music as the author. Extra warning for modern popular bands who make vaguely depressing rock.

I have more, but that's more for bad writing in general. What I described above is what I use more specifically for spotting self-insets disguised as canon characters.

...Well I have limited time for reading fanfic! I need an elaborate warning system. XD

But what about people who simply like the fandom universe, but would like to see some fresh faces? Because personally that's why I write OCs and sometimes why I read fanfic. I know people like me are highly rare, but... I'm pretty much just curious about your view on that.

As far as I've noticed, most people read fanfic to see more of the canon characters, so I understand how it can be frustrating if you're not overly interested in them.

Personally, I prefer fanfic that are mainly driven by the canon characters, but are also exploring the canon world.

There's been a couple of instances where I've only liked the canon world and felt disinterest for the characters. In those cases I ended up losing interest in pursuing the original story altogether, though.

And then, of course, there's the fact that I have very specific demands when it comes to fanfic (and that can only be met by fanfic!). If I simply want a good story, I tend to look for it in published fic.

[ SECRET POST #626 ]

127, 130, 168

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