[ SECRET POST #5862 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #5862 ⌋

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


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 24 secrets from Secret Submission Post #839.
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]

04. https://i.imgur.com/xbsFRtJ.png

[(Anonymous)]

It’s 2023 and we’re all a bunch of sad, tired adults who have realized that dictating what should make us happy never made any of us happy. Cringe is out. Squee is in.

[(Anonymous)]

I like this. I like this a lot.

THIS!

[(Anonymous)]

Yes 💯🔥

[(Anonymous)]

I mean, I don't care if people are reading and writing it, but the reader insert character is almost always deliberately incredibly bland and I just can't get into it. Also never been a fan of second person, but I can read it if the fic is otherwise good.

[(Anonymous)]

I like them too, there's some creative ones out there and it's always interesting to see how authors tackle Character/Reader stories.

And 'Yana' is super cute!

[(Anonymous)]

nah, there is no right way, I also like to do self-inserty OCs than myself. I prefer writing my own self-inserts thought, I don't like the Y/N much and I'm a bit picky lol.

If you want to skip the Y/N through, even if you're not bothered by it, and read on your computer, there are add-ons that let you replace words and phrases. I think for Firefox it's "Text Rewriter".

[(Anonymous)]

Self/reader-insert fics are antithetical to basically everything I'm in fandom for, but do you and have a great time, OP!

[(Anonymous)]

Sadly, I can't get into it at all. I also haven't been able to enjoy OCs with a main role in my fics for many years. Even when they're well written it's always make me want to skip to know what the other, not OC, characters are doing. The specific characters from a work of fiction I enjoy are my main draw to read fanfiction, with the universe they "live" in being a close second. Nothing against people that write and read Y/N and other reader-insert fics, just not my cup of tea.

However I wish, like a poster said before, that the Y/N writters, in addition to using specific specific character/reader or specific character/y/N, would also use a general "reader-insert" tag in order to let myself and other fans not into Y/N fics filter those type of fics once and for all.

Again, it's just a matter of taste, not a judgement on quality. I'm happy it's fun for you OP and I don't think you're "doing it wrong".

[(Anonymous)]

You're doing it the way I've always done, and I've always had a great time! Welcome to the club, OP! Best ship is always Y/N x MC lol

SA

[(Anonymous)]

(Also, I always read it as Yuna, lol)

[erinptah]

...I'm pretty sure what you're "supposed" to do is have a browser extension, like Text Rewriter or Ponify, and set it to replace all instances of "y/n" with your actual name. (Or the OC name of your choice, I guess!)

But if "Yana" works for you, cool, might as well go with it.

[(Anonymous)]

Question, as someone who really should have figured this out EONS ago, but my are these extensions for computers only? I only read my fic on my mobile, so it's either download the PDF from AO3, or ficsave.xyz (here, there's a bit more flexibility in the find and replace tool, depending on the word processor used). If you have any experience with mobile, what would you suggest? Thanks (if you happen to know!)

[erinptah]

The ones I use are for desktop only, and on a quick search I couldn't find any Firefox+Chrome mobile extensions that do it...there are less-mainstream mobile browsers that have more options, but I haven't tried them! Might be worth looking up your specific OS and seeing what's available for it.

[(Anonymous)]

You can do it with a bookmarklet, which should work in any browser that lets you bookmark things (and runs javascript.)

This is just the first one I found on a quick google but it shouldn't be able to break anything. Make a new bookmark, copy the text below and use it as the URL for the new bookmark, and then go to the very end where it says yourname and replace it with the name you want:

javascript:function htmlreplace(a,b,element){if(!element)element=document.body;var nodes=element.childNodes;for(var n=0;n<nodes.length;n++){if(nodes[n].nodeType==Node.TEXT_NODE){nodes[n].textContent=nodes[n].textContent.replace(new RegExp(a,'gi'),b);}else{htmlreplace(a,b,nodes[n]);}}}htmlreplace('y/n','yourname');

Then, if you go to a page and click on the bookmark, it will replace all instances of y/n with yourname.

...that said, the coterie of people who are really into y/n fic doesn't seem to have much overlap with people who are super comfortable coding bookmarklets, so I always wondered how many people actually do that and how many just stick with yana like the secret writer.

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT

Thanks for this! Also lmao at "the coterie of people who are really into..."

Aside from not knowing about this bookmarklet/knowing this was a thing at all (my coding knowledge begins and ends with CSS/HTML coding for old blog layouts), the reason for lack of overlap (at least from me) is probably 1/3 lack of knowledge, 1/3 laziness, 1/3 "just give me the story already, I'll continue to use my imagination and my brain's autocorrect, thank you!"

But I'll give this a try! Thanks !!

[(Anonymous)]

huh, didn't even know about that.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, I've heard that's what you're supposed to do too, which makes "y/n" make a lot more sense to me as a concept. When I think about the bandom reader-insert fics I used to read, they were posted on angelfire and geocities and the authors would code the page to have these pop-ups with questions you had to answer (eg. "what's your name", "what colour are your eyes", "which band member is your favourite"). It'd spit out a personalised fic where you were the main character and your fave was the love interest. I guess a browser extension that replaces words is the next evolution of that.

[(Anonymous)]

I only found out that Y/N was a thing through the Markiplier fandom earlier last year, since technically Y/N is an actual character in his choose-your-own-adventure series - so I suspect that's why I hadn't seen any Y/N hate within that space.

But yeah, you enjoy your Y/N funtime OP! If it brings you joy without hurting anyone then nuts to the debbie downers.

[(Anonymous)]

I love reader insert fics! Took me a while to get in Y/N because I always just see it as literally "Y-N" (Yana or Yuna are cute names! I'm going to try that tactic from now on! I used to give my self-insert characters in different fics the same name). I've read reader fics where the writer is able to find workarounds on using "Y/N" (IE. "You hear someone call out your name"/"you tell him your name before he hands you a name tag"), and that's nice too.

But TBQH I prefer just picking a name. I'm OK if the reader insert is a name I don't care for.
As a writer, I actually find a lack of a name for one of the leads (if not THE lead) a handicap.
I like thinking about how a character might give them a nickname or maybe there's a connection between two names. Like, IDK I feel like having a name opens up to a more vivid/lived-in world for the fic and characters in a writer's head, but I'm aware that most likely reader insert writers/readers don't care about that as much or they find other ways to get creative (but I know it's more the former).

[(Anonymous)]

I'm the anon above who reads Y/N as Yuna, also love self insert fic (it's the first kind of fic that got me into fandom as a kid so many years ago...oh God, almost 20 years ago lmao). Lately (over the past few years) I've encountered more of the workarounds (especially when the author is using 2nd POV, which is where I personally cut my teeth in fandom, if you will, so it's got a special place in my heart), and I really enjoy those too.

I also kind of do prefer it when the character/self insert has a name -- partly for all the reasons you mentioned, and also, I guess it's just how I process/read self insert fanfiction? Like I'm never out here thinking "oh, this is me!" From the beginning, it's always been more of an avatar type of thing -- here's this character that looks like me, having this adventure with the MC. I make comments while I read, shake my head, criticize and love the character all the way through, but they're essentially OCs with a similar face /possibly experience to mine. Does that make sense? That's kind of how I read them, unless I'm writing the story, and even then, when I write it, "Y/N" is always given a name, always has a set personality, and is written in third or second POV (although maybe one I wrote in first POV?).

There have been fics where I'm like, yes, this is actually how I'd react, yes, this is actually pretty spot on for me, as a person (lol), but for the most part I'm not going astral plane marriage on it, ya know?

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT
I make comments while I read, shake my head, criticize and love the character all the way through, but they're essentially OCs with a similar face /possibly experience to mine.
Yes, I do the commenting and criticizing and loving the characters for the choices they make or reactions they have too! For me, I've thought of it like reading an alternate universe version of me so the reader insert isn't quite me; probably thought of this when I was high and watching Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse