#learning through exposure

[hisuian-history-makers]

What I try to think about when making SI or Reincarnated OCs.

Those two types tend to cross quite often from what I’ve seen. Self-insertion is when someone writes themselves into a fictional series as a character or makes a character based on themself. I think most people know the concept of reincarnation as having a past life. Several self-indulgent fanfictions come from stories with this in them. Finding the right balance between self-indulgence and quality writing is hard. Especially when most won’t read them.

If you want to write OCs like this, go ahead. But I thought up some points to go over whenever I write my own. I am not bashing people for using cliches yet I want to avoid common ones.

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(Non-Reincarnated) Self Inserts;

—How much of the series material do they know? Have they watched the shows/movies, read the manga/books, or played the games? Did they learn what they know from it simply being shown in media? For example, Pokémon is everywhere so most can recognize Pikachu.

—How good is their memory? I don’t know why a majority of people write SIs (or reincarnated OCs) possessing laser-focused memory. Even if you were a major fan, there has to be a limit to how much you can remember. Especially when you consider the character will be unable to watch/read/play the series for quite some time. And that’s just if they went over something recently. I can only imagine the trouble I would find myself in early Dragon Ball or Black Butler.

—Do they just not have a legal identity? The whole going to a universe based on a series you love does have its problems. You know besides leaving behind your family and friends. It is going to throw up some major red flags if you don’t exist there legally. Better yet when your native language is different from the one there. What about series with their written languages like Star Wars? Being illiterate will not be fun.

—Again. Leaving behind your friends and family to move to a potentially more dangerous world. One popular plot-moving device is for someone to be contacted in their dreams or a suspicious email. You don’t know if you are going to be able to return. If you are going to even survive. Characters who find themselves falling into an obvious portal—how did they not see/hear it? That being said I can understand some of these SIs feeling like everything is falling apart around them when they have just lost someone close.

—How do they deal with magic/unique powers? I love it when writers try to explain why they gave a character powers. You have the “barely used any magic in our world so you stored up a lot of energy” type of boost. Spirits/mystical powers give them a boon so for a higher survival chance. Okay, that one is forgivable. Most self-inserted characters find themselves without special abilities due to not being from that world. Case and point, Naruto’s chakra system is a physical extra nerve system. I can only imagine their sense of pain is greater...

(Then you have what makes or breaks certain fanfic works) Self-Inserts as Canon Characters!

—Them being reincarnated into this role. Now, there is no shortage of writers creating stories like this. Yet they have to ask themselves: do I follow canon or not? Being the main character in some universes is the absolute worse. Maybe saving the world all comes down to this person and the SI is stuck in an ultimatum. Their canon knowledge will become less reliable the more they change events trying to stop future issues. An easier burden to bear when they are the side characters, but not protagonists. Good luck if they barely know anything about certain series.

—Them possessing or replacing a character. You’d be surprised how many people who write self-insert waking up in this situation. Few of them are lucky enough to have vague memories of who they are possessing. A big issue is if the original character’s soul is still inside their body. Even more so trying to explain what you are to their friends and family. Adjusting to a non-human body is going to be a nightmare for most people. Just imagine being the opposite gender or not ever organic. I don’t want to be a robot/ai/android without the ability to sleep.

—Becoming a character from one series and getting transported to another. Rare in some fandoms and quite common in the MLP: FiM. Somewhat easier for SIs since they don’t have any canon characters that rely on them. The slight downside is they stand out more than if they were transported to the matching world.

Reincarnated SI/OCs;

—When do they remember their past life? Many people write reincarnated SI/OCs remembering things as babies. How would a baby’s mind process adult memories? Some write that they are conscious before even being born. We begin forming memories at around two—but can only really start recalling things at ages six to seven. An infant's mind would not be able to process those memories. It is called childhood amnesia.

—How much do they remember? Many, many stories use reincarnation as a second chance with the character remembering everything. Real-world cases of reincarnation can usually remember little things from their previous life. Stories tend to have OCs revert to how they once acted without paying any mind to their second selves. I find fanfics where those first-life memories subtly affect someone much more interesting.

—Were they a fan of the world they are currently in? Usually, the reincarnated person was a massive or somewhat fan. I have already gone over the cliche of how these people are portrayed as having a perfect memory... It’d make much more sense if the years away from any info had muddled what they can remember.

—Do they want to affect canon if they aren’t born as an established character? Most fiction has clear roles that the main characters are a part of. Trainers, demon slayers, tamers, ninjas, etcetera. SI fanfics based on Naruto have the ninjas as the defacto force since they play major roles in the canon. Pokemon training makes up a big bulk of jobs in its universe. Not an easy thing to decide when you know you were born before canon begins.

—Are they the parent of canon characters? I cannot imagine what being in this position would feel like. Do you have to get with a specific person to have a kid who will save the world? There might be legitimate fear of being killed off to fuel your child’s destiny.

—Is the world you know from a franchise as dark or light as the selection you saw? Can only imagine the amount of real-world lore a place like Sonic would have. Circumstances might be more serious than what you learned it. A war unmentioned might have had more lasting effects. There is so much you could explore in the unseen places not mentioned.

—Were they born in the same town as any main characters? I get the reason why people do this so the OC interacts with established ones. But I would love to see people from places besides the starting towns in Pokémon on a journey. You have to think the available encounters are much stronger than early-game routes. Why do some trainers decide to specialize in a single type? Do certain ace’s become more popular when someone attains Champion status?

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That’s all I can think of right now. Might update this at a later date with more questions/ideas.

[oneluckydragon]

Thinking about how these two met. Get adopted, idiot.

More human!Echo.

[firestorm09890]

hey that's. hey. that's. not at all the same line

Ienzo-

[theletterwsartflap]

... Barf barf barf! I'm a can opener, a lamp, and a shaver! Oh god, I'm a mish-mash!

(Still a WIP but at least I'm past the halfway mark now!)

[oltenia]

wish there was a way to be social without feeling like you have a gun pointed at your head at all times.

[nexus-nebulae]

love watching weather science videos but like. why am i 1000x more interested in tornadoes over hurricanes. they're both spinning air

[stellomiacis]

J’apprends le français! Si vous parlez français, vous pouvez me parler en la langue s’il vous plaît… Je vais essayer de comprendre. ^_^

D’accord, Je suis reviens l’apprends après quelques années. Je désolé si je ne pas bon à ça 😭 j’essaye mon meilleur!

[filletedfennysnake]

they all love me for the way i get a little prosey on the canvas discussion board

[t-u-i-t-c]

real

[sableprince]

i really want to sit down and make a proper Real lore doc for these goobers and not just the paragraphs of shtuff from whatever-ago, but like....... (buries myself underneath the dirt) lazy!!!!!!!

[b4kuch1n]

review of every type of meat that’s ever been subjected to me

disclaimers: this will include offals when I have personal experiences with that. score is subjected to personal taste and accessibility price- and prep-wise. YMMV, etc., etc. "meat" here includes non-mammal non-avian animals, as long as it comes directly from the body (which means eggs and such are not included). I tried to find the closest english word for some of these that I only know as local ingredients, but the taxonomical orders at least should be correct.

pork: 9/10. classic. a bit finicky to prep and cook, which is why it doesn't get full mark, but re-heats nicely. very versatile, though on the heavy side as is the case with most bigger animals. the amount of fat and gelatin that comes with a belly cut makes it ideal for new year aspic, which very few other types of meat can be used for. pig offals are of acceptable textures most of the times, though they've overall softened as time goes on, which may lead to one point docked as I don't like that texture.

chicken: 8/10. also very versatile and takes on spices very well, but experiences may vary much more due to the large difference in texture and taste between dark and light meat on a chicken. the big reason why I mark chicken one point lower than pork is that I find reheated chicken much less pleasant than reheated pork. phantom extra point for show of skill with eating bone-in chicken with chopsticks. remove phantom extra point for overrepresentation in every offering meal. offals are inoffensive, but overly soft for my taste. blood however is more tolerable than pig blood.

beef: 8/10. I love beef. beef is great to eat and great to cook, especially viet beef, since you're either sautéing it on high or stewing it until it falls apart anyway. but not only is beef expensive, quality also varies greatly with different price points. beef fat is also very hard to deal with and it makes me mad to throw away a whole puck of fat. as a casual source of protein it falls firmly into the "more troubles than it's worth" category. the one thing keeping its score in the high range is phở and beef jerky.

duck: 9/10. far superior to chicken in my sincere opinion, but a chore to eat in the summer. in no way an every day meal, but this only secure its place as a treat, which gets it graded on the treat ladder, and it scores high there. the only thing keeping it from perfection is the heavier musk that limits its versatility compared to its land-bound counterpart.

muscovy duck: 7/10. taste-wise deeper than duck, but texture-wise much chewier, which makes eating it even more of a task. cooking options have been pretty much limited to roast and poach. it being bigger than a duck makes prepping and portioning it just slightly off as well, so most often you go out to eat it, which docks point for convenience.

squab: 6/10. the problem here is maybe lack of dedication to the craft. or maybe it's that it's very little, not very exciting meat for too much effort. putting a tentative question mark here for this score because I believe there is a squab experience out there that doesn't feel gimmicky but will blow the doors wide open to new horizons for me. I see potential in this, and I'm not yet sick of disappointment.

silk worm: 8/10. the reason why it's not getting a higher score is because there's one single dish I like with it as an ingredient, which is roasted dried silk worm with fish sauce, but the reason why the score's still an eight is because that dish slaps mad shit. it tentatively falls on the treat scale because it's not very easy to acquire, but once you get a bag of it you're pretty much set for several months, so I would still consider it casual-meal-worthy. may be an acquired taste, but I fully recommend acquiring that taste.

snail: 5/10. abhorrent texture, mild taste. better as ingredients for more complex dishes than as a standalone protein. my mom likes it though so it gets passing grade.

oyster: 3/10. worse texture than snail, even worse taste. doesn't get better when you season it, only makes the seasoning itself worse. not getting a zero only because it's good for blood and I'm open to a chance of redemption down the road.

shrimp/crab: 6/10. get the same mark because I eat them at the same frequency and the amount of paperwork required to eat them is equally excessive. take on spices fairly well, but it's not enough. if I could hold a crab like a hamburger and take a big bite this score would change. saved from the mid grade by their seasoning quality for delectable summer broths.

eel: 4/10. the only good way I've found to eat eel is to deep fry it until it denatures and turns into basically seaweed chips. this is good for sour soup rice noodle, but for that same palate a number of different fishes do the job better with more personality. it's okay with a heap of sauce japanese style, but the price discourages exploration.

tuna: 7/10, and mostly for canned tuna salad. eaten raw I find it mid and unexciting. a nice tuna salad sandwich is fun and childlike in its appreciation of the simple things though, so I wholely respect it.

salmon: 9/10. about as versatile as a seafood can get, and is fun to experience in any form. only one point docked for price and lack of excitement - I also, like with squab and oyster, await a life-changing salmon experience that makes this protein perfect once and for all.

clam worm: 8/10. like with silk worm, I only find it edible in one single form, which is minced clam worm patty fried up, but it excels at that one single thing. also stays in the high grade for fun factor of being a seasonal treat.

frog: 6/10. I really like frog legs. it has the tenderness of white fish with the ease of access of a chicken wing, and the taste is delicate in a delightful way. but I really dislike most of the rest of the frog to put in my mouth. this makes it kinda wasteful as a meat option. overall just kinda better enjoyed alive than cooked for like a third of its body.

dog/cat: 3/10. grouped up once again because they're equally unpleasant texture-wise and limited in prep options. I find meat from mammals of this size downward soft in a really off, is-it-going-bad-or-is-it-just-like-this way. the musk borders on off-putting, which is why prep options are limited to heavy seasoning and stew or roast. overall just way too little bangs for their bucks.

rabbit: 5/10. texturally worse than dog and cat, but the musk is much lighter and takes on seasoning much better. not really something you can find casually in the wet market, so exploration of the possibilities here isn't of convenience. this score may be subjected to change in the future.

deer: 6/10. interesting taste, but tough texture and a bit hard to figure out how to season. very hard to get one's hand on in the city, and honestly from my exposure to it I wouldn't go out of my way to acquire a cut. firmly in the "sure, if I come across it" category.

water buffalo: 6/10. beef but chewier. makes for good drinking food, but I barely drink, so mostly not my thing. also limited in ways to prep - most commonly sautéd with garlic or made into jerky. I feel like there's a depth to this protein I cannot access, which makes me mad, but also earns it respect.

field mouse: 4/10. texturally even worse than rabbit, taste-wise extremely inoffensive. verges on the low end because it just raises the question of why. why is this a local specialty. it's mouse, dude. you can not be gentrifying that. they failed to make it a big deal btw so I'm correct on this one.

lobster: 6/10. gets this score for lobster freaks who spent decades studying how to make this big shrimp taste better and furiously honed their craft with cheese and butter and garlic. 80% of lobster experiences happen at the hands of those people, so the median score averages out at pretty ok. I am, however, lactose intolerant, and thus unwelcomed by these lobster zealots. this, combined with lobster being a luxury food, lowers the score to slightly above passing grade.

snake: 5/10. literally the only impression it left me with was that it was snake meat ooh how rare and cool. texturally more pleasant than eel and more versatile, but that ends up landing it squarely in the “utterly unremarkable” zone. at least now I’m pretty confident I would bite a chunk off a snake if I’m ever lost in a jungle with no way out. passing grade for the worth of information.

horse: 7/10. has the taste depth of deer, but with the texture of beef when simmered for a long time. literally had this first time today so my experience with it is extremely limited, but I can't really imagine it being easy to chew if roasted. two outstanding features are that the fat is really nice to eat even in larger pieces, and the blood cooks into a texturally acceptable jelly, which is not the case with any other animal blood for me. score may be up to change in the future as well.

mantis shrimp: 8/10. lobster wishes it has the playful zeal and easy-going nature of mantis shrimp. the amount of paperwork required to enjoy mantis shrimp is half of shrimp's or crab's, and texture-wise it's just better. literally crack this one in half like a flip phone and put some salt and lime on it, that's a treat. so far the gold standard for shelled seafood. only gets an eight because I don't really think about eating it every day, but I have hope this can be turned around in a shocking and life-changing event as well.

anchovy: this one doesn't get a score due to its ritualistic importance. really is included here because I ritually cleaned and cooked way too many of these so a job I was gunning for could go through successfully. it worked btw. still don't know if I recommend it

[hopelesshawks]

OK BUT WHILE WE’RE ON THE SUBJECT:

FIC SERIES WHERE HAWKS IS FORCED TO HAVE THE HANAHAKI REMOVAL SURGERY AND WHEN READER FINDS OUT THEY COUGH UP A FLOWER

[assblastergaster]

the finale was absolutely fantastic :') was an excellent and intelligent way to end the series in a way that honored what they could do and gave respect to what they couldn't.

personally, i think they did the absolute best work they could do.

i will mourn for the loss of some obvious content—clawthorne/belos connection, collector development, backstory on titans/archivists, more information on magic—but the team did such an amazing job that it feels satisfying enough without all of that.

[thestarfilledsea]

Can I project for a minute and say that it’d be cool if MK had ARFID or is that too personal

[emosyzoth]

Uhhhhhhhhhgg thinks about msm oc what the flip

[bulletbilltime]

Now that the initial frustration has faded a bit, I'm left with the same indifference I felt towards DE that I felt before any of the controversy reared up tbh. Like the moment I thought about it for 2 seconds, I just knew bringing back Max was going to be a terrible move, so I never really got all that hyped up for it.

I'll just be here planning my stupid crossover AUs and playing Paper Mario Tower of Trials waiting to see if it goes on a solid sale in December.