Oc vs Y/N

[AKnightWithaKnife]

I recently fell down the mha fanfic hole and it got me thinking. Y/n or insert your own character kinda suck ass with fan fiction. Especially in fandoms in which special powers are a thing. Anyone else had similar thoughts or contradictions ?

 

[Lorelliad]

Oh, yes of course. I once plunged into the shit hole of self-insert fanfics myself, wrote one too.

It's still there, and I've pretty much dropped it.

 

[Jemini]

I think it's fine so long as you don't give them the "Mary Sue" treatment.

The term "Mary Sue" has become rather watered down these days, but in it's original context it applied to exactly this kind of situation. A fan-fiction with an OC who steals the spotlight away from the series main characters (or becomes the love interest of the writher's favorite main cast character) and is just portrayed as way too unjustifiably competent and with no flaws and is loved by everyone without even trying.

Those 4 elements are what makes a Mary Sue originally. 1. an OC. 2. Steals the spotlight. 3. Unjustifiably competent and flawless. 4. Loved by everyone.

These days, the term has become watered down to the point where we call them a Mary Sue if they just have 1 or 2 elements of the 4 part formula, or sometimes even if it is half of one element and we just don't like them.

But, yeah, OCs are ALWAYS at severe risk of becoming a Mary Sue case, and that's the main crux of the issue with OCs. They're fine if you manage to avoid making them a Mary Sue, but it tends to be rather difficult to avoid.

 

[HappyVainGlory]

I recently fell down the mha fanfic hole and it got me thinking. Y/n or insert your own character kinda suck ass with fan fiction. Especially in fandoms in which special powers are a thing. Anyone else had similar thoughts or contradictions ?

Mmhm. In terms of story, they're very hard to do right since authors tend to want to favor the inserted character without thinking of the far-reaching consequences or respecting the original setting.

On the other hand, some people enjoy seeing a character run roughshod over preexisting characters and settings while throwing plot and reason out the window. To them, the enjoyment isn't the story or narrative, but just seeing things destroyed or bashed. And sadly, this type of story is the most popular because there aren't many skilled fanfic writers willing to put the time and effort into the story, and also because you get a lot more heated reactions (both support and hate) from a story that disrespects the characters and setting.

 

[The_3rd_Book]

When I read a Y/N story I always just relpace the name with Yin. It makes me less biased for the character, and allows me to see them for how they really are. As a result I find that it's usually just a wish fufillment.

 

[Kenjona]

I personally hate <Y/N> in stories as it pulls me right out of the story. As well as the "Your Name", it just boots me out of the story flow. I do not mind Mary sues or other self insert's as long as it is well written, I am not wedded to any particular fiction. Mind you if it is not engaging enough I will just go on to other pastures, faster than I may with an original work.

 

[NotaNuffian]

I always avoid fanfics like plagues because most, if not all are just hot garbage that skews so far off-course of the original work that for sometime, I actually wanted to write an email asking the author to just create an original work instead.

I understand it is hard to think of your own characters, hell I have been churning new characters in my never-gonna-published work that is just someone you knew in other works, only with a diff paintjob and some tweaks that might or might not totally break the character in half. It is alot easier to just say "hey, you know this bunch of guys, now I am going to insert myself (please don't lie) into the group".

I do this a lot in my own imaginations (be it Y/N and SI) as a child and up until now, it took me a brief moment to think about the plot and how much it sucks, which is why it is always locked inside of my head like my mentally unstable relative underneath the house's basement.

 

[AKnightWithaKnife]

I personally hate <Y/N> in stories as it pulls me right out of the story. As well as the "Your Name", it just boots me out of the story flow. I do not mind Mary sues or other self insert's as long as it is well written, I am not wedded to any particular fiction. Mind you if it is not engaging enough I will just go on to other pastures, faster than I may with an original work.

I have the same feeling about your name too. In an effort to cater you kinda destroys the narati flow

 

[T.K._Paradox]

Y/N stories are typically power fantasies that are meant to attract readers that are used to the garbage tier writing, they don't want a well-developed plot, three-dimensional characters, and a decent setting. They want a fantasy of theirs to be fulfilled without taking the time or effort to find a decent story that meets the qualifications for their fantasy or even *gasp* attempting to write a story featuring their fantasy themselves.