| abstract | - As the name implies, a Self-Insert Fic is one where the author has made a simulacrum of him- or herself -- commonly called an avatar -- in the story's world as a key character. If the author has any sense of subtlety, the resulting character won't share their name or alias, but it's still easy to tell who that "new character" is. The self-insert is very often a Mary Sue -- in matter of fact, the original Mary Sue (she who gives that trope its name) was born from a parody of the standard Self-Insert Fic. In the most extreme cases -- which are usually but not always quite bad -- the insert character gains some degree of godlike power, or retains considerable (OOC) knowledge of the series in which he's been inserted, or both, and uses them to adjust things to his or her liking. In rare instances, it might work well -- especially if the people in the setting -- heroes and villains -- react accordingly to the new situation and the guy that knows all the stuff he saw in the (anime/game/etc) and the situation changes in ways the character can't anticipate. However, equally common is the subversion, where the main character applies This Loser Is You to themselves and ends up as The Ditz, The Fool, or in extreme cases a Butt Monkey. Care must be taken to not still make themselves more important than anybody else, lest they just end up with an Anti-Sue. The main rule is to never put the character in a high-ranking story position, although they may be the narrator. The Self-Insert has two primary varieties: the Self as New Character, where the author simply opens the top of the story and drops a copy of himself right in (a new body may be necessary to fit in with anthropomorphic worlds, but it's still you), and the Self as Existing Character, where the author finds himself forced to take over the life (and sometimes the body) of an existing Canon character -- without necessarily being restrained to staying "in character" for their new role. See Possession Sue for the latter. Note that self-insertion isn't automatically bad. After all, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be a hero in your favorite show -- provided that you remember to insert your flaws as well as your fantasies. After all, not everybody loves and adores you in real life, so they're not all going to love and adore you in a fanfic, either. Play it this way, and even if somebody does notice that you've just written an Author Avatar, they probably won't mind too much. Self-insertion, complete with flaws and realistic reactions from everyone involved, is just as good a way to make a new OC as any other. What was originally a self-insert can even adapt and evolve into a genuine Original Character. Even hooking up with your dream character can be acceptable provided they do so realistically. For example, Starscream from just about any Transformers universe is a real creep, as are many other Seekers. Maybe your OC will eventually hook up with him but it's hardly likely to be an instant thing when he won't stop perving your chassis or shut up about how much better than you he is, and it probably won't be genuine lovin' for a while either. The trouble is that a new writer doesn't think about that. They think only about ways in which their Author Avatar can be perfect, can within minutes hook up with the sexiest character available, cure their faults, force their beliefs on others, and ninja-kick their way to being the hero, rather than working on a realistic way they can enter the plot. Played for Laughs this can become almost a different story entirely, which usually involves an average loser realising that whatever fictional world may not be the best or safest place for them, and commenting on the implausible things going on. See also Life Embellished, Author Avatar, Write Who You Know, Her Codename Was Mary Sue.
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