Self-insertions

As I said before, I have the nagging feeling why self-inserts are so prevalent in some stories is that their authors don’t have any experience or interest in anything else. Not that they’re autistic as much as they have little else to say in their tales, which explains why their stories and motifs take on a repetitive tone. They’re oftentimes variations on a few other characters, the only ways to remedy this is to either interact with different kinds of people, do different kinds of things or read up on different kinds of people. It can be applied to interests, places and the like, but it will lead to the same conclusion. The best and most organic way to do something new is to be interested in something new and different, suspicions can help but it’s better to be interested in something challenging and different.

That’s why I feel self-inserts became such a substantial presence in geek fictions, again it’s not a matter whether if they’re autistic or not. But that they have little else to say about anything that has little to do with what they do, sometimes they unintentionally create self-inserts and stereotypes because they don’t have any other experience or interest. Sometimes they’re flat-out ignorant, even of themselves and others. It’s not that they’re this narrow-minded and biased, but it is important for anybody to be exposed to something new if they’re insisting on avoiding self-inserts so badly. The same can be said of stereotypes, which I think is sometimes based on ignorance. In the sense that they don’t know these people are human, deep down inside that’s why they believe black men have big penises or the reverse for East Asian men,

Regardless of what they actually look like, let alone those who don’t fit the stereotypes at all. It’s pure ignorance all the way. I personally feel this is how stereotypes come to be, they’re not only ignorant but also very much someone’s idea of a demographic ought to be. Likewise with self-inserts and stereotypes existing together, they’re almost always an author’s idea of themselves (or their peer group) and everybody else. Still, one can challenge themselves more if they inform themselves more of those who don’t fit stereotypes in any way. They can even challenge themselves to do and learn something new, to the point where they can organically create a new character this way.

To put it this way, if somebody writes more about dogs than about African countries it’s not that they don’t know about Africa at all but still tellingly less than they do with dogs. If you write more about fashion than you do with say movies, the same principle applies and so on with anything else really. Not that they’re autistic, it’s just a matter of fact based on what somebody knows best. At worst, they’re almost always what they experience. Barely, if ever taking others’ experiences and knowledge into account. Even if this leads to much richer writing, in fiction this leads to more believably different characters without making them into stereotypes.

I guess if this were applied to fanfictions and other geek fictions, it would be way too revealing when it comes to the things they indulge in and how they see the world. What they write about reveals what they know best, or sometimes what they know little of. Whatever they care about. That’s the most damning thing about writing and especially self-inserts, they’re almost always based on what the author knows best about and is into. As I said before, the only way to remedy this is to do and learn other things. Encounter different kinds of people, go somewhere else and so on. But it’s always the hard way when it comes to rooting out self-inserts at all.

Is it sexist?

As much as I disdain some Mary Sue characters, there’s also a whiff of sexism and possibly racism aimed at characters deemed to be authorial surrogates, even though ironically it’s not uncommon for people to base their stories after their own life experiences in one way or another.

Something like calling Carol Danvers a Mary Sue even though she’s been through a rough time that it’s only recent that she got treated kindly (save for episodes where she’s made evil and even then I don’t think she’s a Mary Sue at all), whereas actual Mary Sues tend to be treated more kindly.

Or at the very least more identified vicariously through, whereas I don’t really get that from Carol Danvers at all and sometimes the word Mary Sue’s used to bash characters they don’t like, though I could be guilty of the same thing at some point.

(I’ve known people calling Riri Williams a Mary Sue because she’s so competent, that makes me either they’re racist, sexist or perhaps simply disrespectful.)

I do have moments of being disrespectful, even if some criticisms are from a good intention. I guess when it comes to quantifying a Mary Sue, to be objective about it’s to realise what’s the real intent behind a Mary Sue that’s if it’s a character fans live vicariously through it in the stories then that’s Mary Sue in the original sense of the word.

(Mary Sue itself’s the name of a parody of a character found in some fanfictions where authors come up with characters they identify with in the stories they love, which I know from experience having a Mary Sue at some point.)

So the real Mary Sue character’s an idealised fan surrogate, which makes much more sense than if it were a highly competent character. Multitalented people do exist, not that they’re flawless. But Mary Sue, to me, implies an idealised fan surrogate if not a power fantasy of a character that interacts with established characters.

But it does get sexist or racist whenever it gets bandied around otherwise competent characters, that implies a degree of insecurity around the character or the lack of understanding of the true Mary Sue character.

The real origin of moe?

It’s actually been said in another book that the anime Evangelion did seemingly reference fan fiction in the sense of an alternate universe where are no monsters and one of the characters acts perkier than usual which inspired a spin-off. To wit, this is as if the pairing of certain characters in a certain story has its roots in fanfiction but made canon by official writers.

There might be some stories that do adhere to the canonical tales as much as possible, sometimes imitating the writing style pretty well but there are fanfiction stories that take characters in ways that’s not allowed nor imagined in canon sometimes for better or worse. (I have a feeling that if the slash ship in let’s say Lazytown followed canon then Sportacus would be endlessly suspicious of Robbie Rotten even if he seemingly falls in love with him.)

I guess by disregarding the canonical logic could be transformative but in the sense of taking characters to stories where they do things they wouldn’t canonically do or be, which I suspect might have a common thread with moe whatever that means.

Mary Sue and her lack of experiences/other interests

I still think whilst not always the case, the best way to avoid a Mary Sue self-insert is to have more interests, get into perspectives of other people and have more experiences. I come to realise why some writers, especially young writers, create Mary Sues may be partly because they lack other life experiences and other interests, though that too’s vague.

But I think it does matter. Again not always the case but it does make flesh out characters that don’t resemble the author as well as making the author surrogate a much more natural human being. But that also involves doing things the hard way around though it’s something I eventually realised in life.

But it still matters in not making Mary Sue self inserts forever.

On another note

I actually did have a Mary Sue and attempted several others before. I admit these might be too embarrassing to admit. But I did try at some point or another. I actually think when it comes to what constitutes as a Mary Sue, they’re often intended to be fan proxies. Especially if that author’s a fan of something that they’d do anything to insert themselves in that story.

It makes a lot of sense that most fanfiction Mary Sues are fans’ wishes to either be part of that world or be that character. It’s even more blatant with canonical characters intended as audience surrogates where I think they have a better chance of being considered Mary Sue really. I think these are the easiest to live vicariously through although any character would do.

I think when it comes to Mary Sues, the more an author likes the character or identifies with them the more they idealise them a lot. Same if they like franchises as a whole that in order to not make a Mary Sue authors can like the character but still either allow them to do whatever they need to do or to base them after somebody else. Albeit in a non-idealised manner (this goes if said character’s based on themselves).

That’s on top of having an actual personality, which I think most Mary Sues don’t.

Killer Frost

Based on ‘The Witch’:

Barry Allen came to work as usual. Studying corpses that were injured and killed, figuring out fingerprints and writing them down whilst trying to track down criminals.

Frosts descend in his garden. Then a strange white dog came up to him and soon got followed by a succession of dogs. Scared, he called up Tim Drake. Being swarmed by dogs who’re about to bite him, Tim struck them all but especially the white dog.

Then the following morning, as the frost melts he saw Caitlin Snow again in the laboratory visibly beaten and bleeding. She howled in pain.

It’s known that Caitlin’s really a dog and that got the entire town horrified.

Barry Allen and Caitlin Snow

Based on the folktale ‘The Miller Boy and the Cat’

Barry Allen came over to work. He started analysing whoever caused those injures on that corpse. As he stayed up, a dog ran up to him. Scared, he ran away and threw a shoe at it. Then as dawn came, Barry saw that Caitlin got visibly hit and screamed whilst yelping.

‘I’m sorry Caitlin.’

Angry, she bit him in the face and limped her way back home.

‘Wow she’s angry.’

Further proof

Here’s another fanfiction of sorts to prove that by turning Caitlin into a werewolf, it lets out the inevitable Red Riding Hood undertones in the Flash.

Barry Allen goes out to visit his family. But he also encounters Caitlin Snow along the way.

‘Hi, how are you doing Caitlin?’

‘Fine Barry.’

She goes there ahead of him. Whilst Barry’s out to assist Superman, Caitlin transforms into a wolf and attacks his family. When coming home, Barry noticed something odd. A familiar looking woman reaches out to him.

‘Why, hi there Barry.’

‘Iris…why are your hands so cold?’

‘The better to freeze meat with.’

‘Why is this place so bloody and frozen.’

‘The better to store bodies with.’

She offers him something but upon realising that’s actually a human ear, Barry grows wary of her. She tend leads him to the living room.

‘Barry, do you want to be with me?’

‘Excuse me, I’m going to go out.’

‘Where?’

‘To the lab for work.’

As expected, he runs away from her never to see her again.

Pardon the plagiarising fanfiction

I still have a feeling that if Caitlin Snow were to turn into a werewolf, then Barry Allen’s going to be her Red Riding Hood and it’s that predictably blatant.

The False Wife

Barry Allen was walking down the streets with food when he meet Caitlin Snow.

‘Good morning, Barry. Why are you going there so early?’

Barry Allen had no idea about her.

‘Well Cait, I’m going to meet Iris back home.’

Barry Allen continued whilst Caitlin entered the house first. Iris screams in agony as Caitlin becomes a wolf, then eating her. She eventually took on her appearance as soon as Barry arrived.

As Caitlin offered Barry a drink, he had no idea what he’s drinking.

‘Is that blood, Iris?!’

‘Nothing Barry. You’re just thirsty.’

Barry grew wary of her even though he gets told to be with her and did it anyways.

‘Excuse me Iris, I’ve got to go out.’

‘Out where?’

‘Going to work.’

‘Why?’

‘It’s getting too cold here so I’ve got to go out.’

Barry Allen ran away from her in a hurry and went to the Justice League tower.

Galatea Sue

Whilst Mary Sues are often understood to be idealised, often female fan surrogates occurring in fan fictions as made by female writers, I suspect there’s another kind of Mary Sue that (straight) male writers and readers unwittingly enjoy indulging in. She might as well be a Galatea Sue as conjured by a Pygmalion. The main difference between a Mary Sue and a Galatea Sue’s that the former’s a power fantasy.

The latter’s a fantasy of what her authors wish women were and may even share traits that overlap with the former. The only real difference’s that the traditional fanfiction Mary Sue’s disruptive, Galatea Sue’s completely submissive. She might even be more commonly referred to as Manic Pixie Dream Girl. I even consider Galatea Sues to be worse than traditional Mary Sues.

But in the sense of being very much in line with what (straight) men wish women were whilst the traditional fanfiction Sue’s in line with what women wish and will themselves to be. (Which isn’t always a bad thing moreso if they’re just amateurs or starters.) Though both Sues are flawless, the latter’s flawless in a way that reassures sexist straight men.

As I said, the line between MPDG and MS can be really blurry with Arrow’s Felicity Smoak having traits of both though it should be noted that MPDG’s a type of Mary Sue that men often condone which might be the real problem.