[ SECRET POST #5629 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #5629 ⌋

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


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 42 secrets from Secret Submission Post #806.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

07. https://i.imgur.com/BrkKuNY.png

[(Anonymous)]

I think it's because a lot of people like to insert themselves into the story.

[(Anonymous)]

Especially kids and teens.

[(Anonymous)]

I agree, but I also think there's a distinct difference between a self insert and an OC. They often overlap but I find that usually when someone is writing canon divergence or AU type fic they'll invent new characters (when canon characters wouldn't fix or make sense due to the changes) and develop them to suit the course their plot is taking rather than based solely on themselves.

[(Anonymous)]

It is why hidden world and portal fantasies are generally the most successful genre works too, followed shortly by either past centric or future centric works with a time travel element. You gotta leave a space for the Sailor Suns and displaced moderns.

[(Anonymous)]

I can't tell if this is a tongue in cheek answer, or ernest, but either way, A+ comment. (Self insert OC is a thing that has probably been around as long there has been transformative/fan fiction, and we fandom dinosaurs call those characters Mary Sue or Gary Stu.)

[(Anonymous)]

I mean people write fanfiction for a lot of different reasons as well. Does Harry Potter have a huge cast? Yeah
Am I still going to write fic about different wizarding countries and cultures and different eras in the wizarding world that necessitate OCs? You bet your ass I will

(Especially when in HP's case there's so much to work on or remake with other countries since JKR only knows how to write England and doesn't know shit about cultures that aren't European and white )

[(Anonymous)]

Almost like she's British or something. Crazy.

[philstar22]

Everyone usually writes about their own country. Supernatural mostly happens only in the US. Stargate, when it is on earth, is almost always in the US. Doctor Who is mostly in Britain. That's just how it works. People write what they know.

[pantswarrior]

Yep. Both of the above answers sum up my thoughts on it.

Some people like the very rich setting that offers so many intriguing opportunities and want to imagine themselves in that setting.

Other people like the very rich setting that offers so many intriguing opportunities and want to explore some of the opportunities that didn't get explored in canon which would necessitate some characters with different backstories or from other places or whatnot.

Probably other reasons too, but those are the big ones.

[philstar22]

Because that's what they like. People write what they want to. They aren't writing for you. They don't care what you are here for. I don't read OC-centric fics either, but it doesn't bother me that other people write them. And there is an audience for them.

[(Anonymous)]

lol I never understood this mindset. If people aren't writing for me then why do they post and share it under the fandom tags? If it's just for you, keep it private. When you enter the community tags it's open to criticism. Most people aren't going to care about your self-insert OC when they want canon characters.

I swear so many times I make a post about a canon character and then get people talking about how their OC would react to shit and I just... do not care.

[(Anonymous)]

Not entirely related to the secret, but reading the secret DID remind me of a time when I was in the HP fandom (late 2000s - early 2010 was when I was most active) and I kept running into personality quizzes that told you which Hogwarts OC character you were. It'd make me so mad because I just wanted to compare which HP personality tests were the best! I didn't know anything about the OCs most of the quiz creators were featuring in their quizzes because I didn't read the fics they wrote/read. Got so frustrated trying to find quizzes that didn't include OCs that one time it turned me off to fan created personality quizzes for a while. LOL

In terms of fics, I felt the HP fandom was well represented in subgenres and I generally was able to find fics that weren't so OC focused, though there were plenty of those! I was able to avoid them rather easily in the HP fandom as compared to most other fandoms similar to HP I read fics for.

[(Anonymous)]

I can totally imagine people making their own quizzes about their OC's just to try to boost their fic and it's both hilarious and deeply unfortunate at the same time.

[dani_phantasma]

Lol

I outgrew writing for others ages ago.

I write fic for me nowadays. With working 5 days a week 7 hours a day, it's just the unwinding I need.

[(Anonymous)]

Honestly, kudos for that. I find the best fics are ones written for enjoyment, since there's often little to no pandering or censorship(? idk, can't think of the right word) because the writer isn't trying to cater to what's popular or other peoples needs.

[(Anonymous)]

I strive to have this attitude about my own writing one day.

[(Anonymous)]

Bullshit. If you really write fic for you, you'd keep in the drafts.

You write fic because you crave validation and want someone to pat you on the back and say your cringe and mediocre writing is actually amazing.

[(Anonymous)]

not that the other commenters are wrong but I'mma full stop agree wtih you, OP. I don't read fanfic for self-inserts no matter whether it's a canon character turned OOC or an actual OC, so some canons can end up positively cursed. but would you rather a huge ensemble cast (30+ characters) have some of them turned OOC so that the fic comes off as "X/Y on paper, but in reality Y is Me" or just going straight for the "X/Me" or "X/Reader" ship? I've run into both and I can't decide which bothers me more, as someone who wants to be an outsider voyeur to the ship, not part of the ship.

[philstar22]

But there isn't anything wrong with writing them. And OP's wording seems to be saying that because they don't like them, no writer should write them. Their tone is extremely off-putting and rude.

[(Anonymous)]

I personally find it so much more annoying when they make the characters OOC since you never know until you start to read and are just left with supreme disappointment over something that could have been good but just isn't because the writer wanted more views or likes or whatever.

[(Anonymous)]

Hell- I'd seriously rather people just wrote straight up OC's and/or self inserts again over people using an established canon character as a mask for their perfectly imperfect self/characters. I genuinely don't see many legit OC's anymore (aside from a handful of minor characters here and there to fill in gaps) since most all of my fandoms just have people who overproject onto their faves and call it a night.

I noticed a huge swing from OC's, to minor characters without a distinct personality now becoming front and center, to well established favourites who suddenly align to general personality 1, 2, or 3. A lot of it I figured was because OC's were commonly unpopular so people tried to find work arounds to get their precious babies into the script, but I'm becoming more and more uncomfortable with how commonly I find people trauma dumping into a character and calling it characterization.


Mary/Gary Sues/Stews have always been their own deal, self-insterts somewhat to the left, but I recall some of the actual effort some authors put in creating their OC's and how they fit into the universe, and ended up liking quite a few of them so long as they didn't end up eclipsing the rest of the cast. (and like them or not you could at the very least filter them in or out when writers didn't try to hide them or were somewhat more self aware when writing them.)

[(Anonymous)]

I hate that my mind first went to Homestuck.

[(Anonymous)]

I am not bent out of shape about OC-heavy stories but if I am reading fic I will probably skip those. I don't read fic for the OCs as main characters.

(I did once write a crossover fic and someone commented they usually didn't enjoy prominent OCs but they liked a couple of specific characters in my story. I was like... Did you not see where this is a crossover? They are not OCs!)

(Also I am afraid I giggle at author's notes stating they don't give permission for anyone to use their OC in a story. I always find that kind of thing ironic.)

[(Anonymous)]

In all the time I've read fanfic there was only ONE where I liked the OC someone created as a canon characters love interest. And that was only because it was obviously not a self-insert and the character felt like he could exist within the canon story.

Most people can't pull it off without feeling like it's just their trying to twist canon into their own story but still want the attention of popular fandom tag because people wouldn't give a shit otherwise. So most OC shit just feels extremely self-indulgent and like I'm reading about someones personal fantasy. At least I can still filter out canon character x reader fics easily.