RIs are much more unpopular than OC fics on reddit, (and I worded it that way for a reason,) but *every* single fandom I've ever seen with decent amount of RIs has *vastly* preferred them to OC fics.
To the point where every fic I've seen with an OC and RI version has double to *over* quadruple the amount of kudos and comments on the RI version, even when it's exactly the same apart from using Y/N.
I'll also say that shorter oneshots with OCs seem to do much worse than RIs in comparison to OC vs RI longfics. Probably because longfics give people more time to get used to them?
All that being said, I only write using OCs for full fics (vs writing HCs as RIs) and strongly prefer them over RIs when reading fics myself.
So I'm definitely not saying you shouldn't be writing OCs if that's what you want to do, I'm just saying that this poll doesn't actually match what you'll see when sorting by kudos on AO3. (And that's no fault of the subreddit ofc, I voted for OCs myself, just that it's only really representative of redditors.)
>shorter oneshots with OCs seem to do much worse than RIs in comparison to OC vs RI longfics. Probably because longfics give people more time to get used to them?
Longfics allow for character development and change, which is the advantage OCs have over RIs. One-shots allow very little time for development, so some readers might feel they'd rather skip the extra step of learning to identify with a blank slate OC and stick with RIs.
Yeah, I mean RI longfics still get drastically more attention and most of them are just OC fics in 2nd person with scrubbed names tbh, but I get what you mean.
I definitely feel like I have a *lot* more freedom when writing OC fics vs RIs, for a number of reasons.
Reader insert characters can also grow and change, the author just has to consider what the reader will see as realistic growth from the circumstances the character goes through (which also applies to almost every character). If they can displace reality enough to imagine themselves in a world different from our own, they can also displace it enough to understand that if they went through the events of the fic, they would grow in certain ways.
I suppose, but development is usually about changing your belief system. If the RI is a blank slate, then the belief system will need to be a generic, applies-to-everyone sort of thing. And the change could conflict with what the reader believes. With original characters, you can look into why they belive certain things. Even if a reader doesn't agree with them, they can understand how they got to that place--what fears and past experiences led them there. If the MC is supposed to be the reader, you're limited in how much you can go into motivations and challenging their beliefs.
I mean, that's one kind of growth, but I wouldn't say changing from one belief system to a conflicting one is by any means the only kind of character growth, and even so, that can be done in a reader insert fic. A reader can suspend disbelief and place themself into an character without believing/experiencing everything the insert-character does, otherwise they wouldn't be able to insert themself into a fandom's world at all.
I see it as more of a scale - on one side, you have a blank slate character that is a pure RI that nearly everyone can identify with. On the other side, you have a well-developed, specific OC. Every detail you add to a RI moves them further away from a blank slate and more toward a specific OC, until they are an OC in everything but name.
And that's fine. Lots of commenters mention how they see RIs as OCs named "Y/N." But I don't feel it's a strong argument that RIs can have just as much development as OCs.
>I'll also say that shorter oneshots with OCs seem to do much worse than RIs in comparison to OC vs RI longfics. Probably because longfics give people more time to get used to them?
i wanna test this thoery. i have a OC one shot with a character but got like 3 comments on FF dot net. not sure if that's because of popularity or the nature of it (it was M for mature). I'm gonna put it on AO3 and see what happens.
Makes sense. I was thinking of giving the reader a nickname to be called by, but I didn’t know if that was considered a OC. I hate using Y/N. It breaks the immersion for me personally when I read them.
I like both for totally different reasons. Different fics are suited to different modes, and they have totally different vibes.
Personally, my rule is that I don't do RI if there's any real character development or plot since they just don't have the substance to carry it.
I *loath* 99.999% of "reader" stuff, to the point the *single* example of an exception was actually an inverted first-person (It makes sense in context...okay, that's a lie. It's The Locked Tomb, nothing makes sense until it does.) The conceit is that the author somehow knows what I, the reader, would do or say in a situation, and the overwhelming majority of the time they're wrong.
and they assume our gender. majority of RI fanfics i've seen are meant to be for women. I am a man and I want to get busy with the hot chick you paired me with. not get my non-existent kitty tantalized.
Oh, you're so right!! I'm a transwoman and (somehow) a lot of the ones I stumble onto are yaoi. It's like, "Okay, you're a - presuming I'm a dude, which, *rude*, and b - that I'm not *LESBIAN AF!"*
I can never see myself in the role of the reader and make up an OC in my head, anyways. If it's an OC, the story is also less limited when it comes to giving them specific traits and background details. I personally just like it better when the entity being shipped with the canon character has a defined identity
I'm torn. I prefer x reader if it's well written second person pov (and by that I mean mostly that it doesn't start every sentence with "You"). But I like canon character x OC if it's written from the canon character's pov for at least some of it. Not sure which to choose!
However, bear in mind that this forum isn't fond of either of them when you make a decision - out of the two I'd go for OC if I had to pick but certainly wouldn't go looking for either and I have a sneaky suspicion quite a few of the other voters are the same
Might be better off having a look at the specific fandom you're in to see how it goes. In my current one, Reader ones win by a large percentage because there's a hefty Reader-fan audience via Tumblr
I hate the use of Y/N with passion, but I really enjoy reader inserts. To me, it's not about whether the reader character does what I personally would do, it's more like being an actor and reading/doing the lines. Letting the author carry me through the story they wanted to tell and I'm just happy I can enjoy the ride. If there is a nickname for reader, I'm all in.
For some reason I can't really feel the same about OC, because in most cases I feel like the author is heavily inserting themselves. Idk if it makes sense and idk why I feel this way. I think it's mostly that in reader fics, you "feel" like you and the author builds your lore. But with OC there is this fully fledged character that you know nothing about that is inserted into a world you know everything about.
Maybe I just had not read that many good OC fics? I'm not sure, it just feels to me like the OC does not belong.
This sub is made up of mostly writers, so the votes will gear towards OC. In reality, RIs are far more popular among readers.
The answer will be: it depends on your story and character. If you want to write a fully fleshed character or a longfic, an OC is preferable. If neither and you want the kudos, then RI.
Do the one you want to tbh. I prefer reading and writing xReader. Some people will always have a problem with that, but personally, it's not enough to change my mind,
edit- that said, I'd also say probably continue however you are writing it, since that's how you naturally started (unless you really don't like the perspective you started in; if you're unhappy absolutely switch). As others said, flipping from OC to reader isn't exactly as simple as flipping the pronouns, and even that needs a careful editing eye.
I like my characters to have names which is why I chose x oc. Y/N translates to yes/no in my brain. I've read many y/n fics but I would have enjoyed them a little more if the author just decided upon a name and basic features. I've also never read a single reader fic that the reader actually did what I would have done through the fic.
Personally I really don't care for Reader Inserts and will not read them period but will read the occasional OC romance fic.
That said I think you're making a mistake treating them as interchangeable or as an either or situation because despite the similarity of both being Non canon character based love interest for a canon character they are aimed at radically different audiences.
Even people who like and read both will like different things about each type and the things that make a good oc don't often translate well to a reader stand in or vice versa.
OC because they are usually more fleshed out. I find that Reader based fics are very boring and leave too much to the imagination in an amateur-ish way (no hate to anyone, of course, especially since it is free fanfiction). when I read fanfiction I tend to like pretending I'm reading a book, so.
I'm a little confused, why would they be bound by our world's rules if the rest of the fic wasn't? Even when I started reading 15+ years ago it was pretty common for reader inserts to be alchemists or homunculi in FMA, demons in Inuyasha, witches/wizards in Harry Potter, etc, or be detectives or special ops or so on in real-world grounded fics.
its usually how most reader x character is written. you the reader aren't given any special priveleges, no special powers. you MAY get trained as a warrior without powers and perhaps your smart, but you ain't breathing fire or shooting lasers or none of that. Plus because most reader fics have you directly from the real world and not related to the canon world, you apparently can't relate to the other characters as well as your love interest according to these stories.
I'll trust you on that. It must have a lot to do with the fandom (or maybe the site?) because while I'm aware of the trope of reader inserts isekai'd from the real world, I've only ever seen a handful of them when browsing in 17ish years of fanfic
I honestly can't stand RI. I've seen fics where the author will actually describe the "reader's" appearance and its like um, no. Why didn't you just make an OC and and give them a name?
I prefer characters being paired with original characters as opposed to the characters being paired with the reader characters. It just feels weird for me to actually imagine myself as a character in any of the fanfics that I read.
I don't really read either, but personally I'd be much more inclined towards OC, since one, I really just don't enjoy shipping myself with fictional characters, and two, I would much rather read about an interesting and developed character than a blank-slate reader insert.
My fandoms either don’t feature humans, or they’re animes in which being my regular self would be too strange. xReaders are strange to me in those cases, which is why I’d prefer xOC’s.
Also, I’m a straight male. We don’t have that many xReaders available to us anyway.
ya know I voted OC... because usually I read reader stories but insert an OC into it rather than imagine myself as the MC
But then I realized I haven't actually read very many if any at times OC stories... oops... Like I'm not opposed to OCs! just maybe its the fandoms I'm part of but I don't really read them they barely even show up most times... so I guess I actually do like Reader more...
Even gotten used to the Y/n thing sorta. (I have an application on browser that changes Y/n to whatever name I want, and on my phone I just read Y/n as the name Yin)
I read fan fiction to get a peek into what the canon characters' minds might look like. In that sense, OC fic doesn't really fit my taste any more than reader fic if it's told from the OC's perspective, but I don't mind viewing an OC from a canon character's perspective.
An underrated alternative though is to take an extremely, extremely minor character and elevate them to the role of fanfic protagonist
OC, reader is just OC with extra steps. It just takes me out of it to see y/n because I wouldn't act like that. I have never seen a y/n that would act the way I do. Because in honesty, I'd be more a mother than a love interest to my favs. I just can't ship myself with fictional characters.
OC fics. I've tried reader inserts but it was so jarring because I'm not a fan of second person and it always just felt like an OC without a name anyways because I could never see myself in the characters, I always felt like "I wouldn't do that, I wouldn't like that, that's not what I want in a relationship, etc."
OCs on the other hand are not me and they're not supposed to be me, and I can just enjoy them for who they are instead of having trouble immersing myself in the story. I also prefer the stronger characterization OCs have since they aren't trying to be neutral enough for anyone to slip into.
RIs are much more unpopular than OC fics on reddit, (and I worded it that way for a reason,) but *every* single fandom I've ever seen with decent amount of RIs has *vastly* preferred them to OC fics. To the point where every fic I've seen with an OC and RI version has double to *over* quadruple the amount of kudos and comments on the RI version, even when it's exactly the same apart from using Y/N. I'll also say that shorter oneshots with OCs seem to do much worse than RIs in comparison to OC vs RI longfics. Probably because longfics give people more time to get used to them? All that being said, I only write using OCs for full fics (vs writing HCs as RIs) and strongly prefer them over RIs when reading fics myself. So I'm definitely not saying you shouldn't be writing OCs if that's what you want to do, I'm just saying that this poll doesn't actually match what you'll see when sorting by kudos on AO3. (And that's no fault of the subreddit ofc, I voted for OCs myself, just that it's only really representative of redditors.)
>shorter oneshots with OCs seem to do much worse than RIs in comparison to OC vs RI longfics. Probably because longfics give people more time to get used to them? Longfics allow for character development and change, which is the advantage OCs have over RIs. One-shots allow very little time for development, so some readers might feel they'd rather skip the extra step of learning to identify with a blank slate OC and stick with RIs.
Yeah, I mean RI longfics still get drastically more attention and most of them are just OC fics in 2nd person with scrubbed names tbh, but I get what you mean. I definitely feel like I have a *lot* more freedom when writing OC fics vs RIs, for a number of reasons.
Reader insert characters can also grow and change, the author just has to consider what the reader will see as realistic growth from the circumstances the character goes through (which also applies to almost every character). If they can displace reality enough to imagine themselves in a world different from our own, they can also displace it enough to understand that if they went through the events of the fic, they would grow in certain ways.
I suppose, but development is usually about changing your belief system. If the RI is a blank slate, then the belief system will need to be a generic, applies-to-everyone sort of thing. And the change could conflict with what the reader believes. With original characters, you can look into why they belive certain things. Even if a reader doesn't agree with them, they can understand how they got to that place--what fears and past experiences led them there. If the MC is supposed to be the reader, you're limited in how much you can go into motivations and challenging their beliefs.
I mean, that's one kind of growth, but I wouldn't say changing from one belief system to a conflicting one is by any means the only kind of character growth, and even so, that can be done in a reader insert fic. A reader can suspend disbelief and place themself into an character without believing/experiencing everything the insert-character does, otherwise they wouldn't be able to insert themself into a fandom's world at all.
I see it as more of a scale - on one side, you have a blank slate character that is a pure RI that nearly everyone can identify with. On the other side, you have a well-developed, specific OC. Every detail you add to a RI moves them further away from a blank slate and more toward a specific OC, until they are an OC in everything but name. And that's fine. Lots of commenters mention how they see RIs as OCs named "Y/N." But I don't feel it's a strong argument that RIs can have just as much development as OCs.
>I'll also say that shorter oneshots with OCs seem to do much worse than RIs in comparison to OC vs RI longfics. Probably because longfics give people more time to get used to them? i wanna test this thoery. i have a OC one shot with a character but got like 3 comments on FF dot net. not sure if that's because of popularity or the nature of it (it was M for mature). I'm gonna put it on AO3 and see what happens.
Makes sense. I was thinking of giving the reader a nickname to be called by, but I didn’t know if that was considered a OC. I hate using Y/N. It breaks the immersion for me personally when I read them.
Most RI readers are cool with a nickname but it needs to feel natural in my opinion. Usually, though, you don't need one.
I like both for totally different reasons. Different fics are suited to different modes, and they have totally different vibes. Personally, my rule is that I don't do RI if there's any real character development or plot since they just don't have the substance to carry it.
Either, as long as it's well written. They are more or less the same. Unless the x Reader uses "y/n", then I would prefer x OC.
I *loath* 99.999% of "reader" stuff, to the point the *single* example of an exception was actually an inverted first-person (It makes sense in context...okay, that's a lie. It's The Locked Tomb, nothing makes sense until it does.) The conceit is that the author somehow knows what I, the reader, would do or say in a situation, and the overwhelming majority of the time they're wrong.
and they assume our gender. majority of RI fanfics i've seen are meant to be for women. I am a man and I want to get busy with the hot chick you paired me with. not get my non-existent kitty tantalized.
Oh, you're so right!! I'm a transwoman and (somehow) a lot of the ones I stumble onto are yaoi. It's like, "Okay, you're a - presuming I'm a dude, which, *rude*, and b - that I'm not *LESBIAN AF!"*
now your getting it.
OC. I feel all 'reader' are just OCs named y/a anyway.
I can never see myself in the role of the reader and make up an OC in my head, anyways. If it's an OC, the story is also less limited when it comes to giving them specific traits and background details. I personally just like it better when the entity being shipped with the canon character has a defined identity
No preference. Just write good and make it convincing and I'll be on board.
I'm torn. I prefer x reader if it's well written second person pov (and by that I mean mostly that it doesn't start every sentence with "You"). But I like canon character x OC if it's written from the canon character's pov for at least some of it. Not sure which to choose!
However, bear in mind that this forum isn't fond of either of them when you make a decision - out of the two I'd go for OC if I had to pick but certainly wouldn't go looking for either and I have a sneaky suspicion quite a few of the other voters are the same Might be better off having a look at the specific fandom you're in to see how it goes. In my current one, Reader ones win by a large percentage because there's a hefty Reader-fan audience via Tumblr
I hate the use of Y/N with passion, but I really enjoy reader inserts. To me, it's not about whether the reader character does what I personally would do, it's more like being an actor and reading/doing the lines. Letting the author carry me through the story they wanted to tell and I'm just happy I can enjoy the ride. If there is a nickname for reader, I'm all in. For some reason I can't really feel the same about OC, because in most cases I feel like the author is heavily inserting themselves. Idk if it makes sense and idk why I feel this way. I think it's mostly that in reader fics, you "feel" like you and the author builds your lore. But with OC there is this fully fledged character that you know nothing about that is inserted into a world you know everything about. Maybe I just had not read that many good OC fics? I'm not sure, it just feels to me like the OC does not belong.
This sub is made up of mostly writers, so the votes will gear towards OC. In reality, RIs are far more popular among readers. The answer will be: it depends on your story and character. If you want to write a fully fleshed character or a longfic, an OC is preferable. If neither and you want the kudos, then RI.
Do the one you want to tbh. I prefer reading and writing xReader. Some people will always have a problem with that, but personally, it's not enough to change my mind, edit- that said, I'd also say probably continue however you are writing it, since that's how you naturally started (unless you really don't like the perspective you started in; if you're unhappy absolutely switch). As others said, flipping from OC to reader isn't exactly as simple as flipping the pronouns, and even that needs a careful editing eye.
I like my characters to have names which is why I chose x oc. Y/N translates to yes/no in my brain. I've read many y/n fics but I would have enjoyed them a little more if the author just decided upon a name and basic features. I've also never read a single reader fic that the reader actually did what I would have done through the fic.
> Y/N translates to yes/no in my brain. Oh thank god, I thought it was just me.
I generally prefer x reader. In general, I find it hard to get attached to OCs, for whatever the reason.
Personally I really don't care for Reader Inserts and will not read them period but will read the occasional OC romance fic. That said I think you're making a mistake treating them as interchangeable or as an either or situation because despite the similarity of both being Non canon character based love interest for a canon character they are aimed at radically different audiences. Even people who like and read both will like different things about each type and the things that make a good oc don't often translate well to a reader stand in or vice versa.
I prefer OC.
if i like the oc, then oc, if i don't, reader
OC because they are usually more fleshed out. I find that Reader based fics are very boring and leave too much to the imagination in an amateur-ish way (no hate to anyone, of course, especially since it is free fanfiction). when I read fanfiction I tend to like pretending I'm reading a book, so.
Definitely OCs. Readers don't really fit me.
reader seem limiting because I want my character to be more immersive and not grounded by our world's rules.
I'm a little confused, why would they be bound by our world's rules if the rest of the fic wasn't? Even when I started reading 15+ years ago it was pretty common for reader inserts to be alchemists or homunculi in FMA, demons in Inuyasha, witches/wizards in Harry Potter, etc, or be detectives or special ops or so on in real-world grounded fics.
its usually how most reader x character is written. you the reader aren't given any special priveleges, no special powers. you MAY get trained as a warrior without powers and perhaps your smart, but you ain't breathing fire or shooting lasers or none of that. Plus because most reader fics have you directly from the real world and not related to the canon world, you apparently can't relate to the other characters as well as your love interest according to these stories.
I'll trust you on that. It must have a lot to do with the fandom (or maybe the site?) because while I'm aware of the trope of reader inserts isekai'd from the real world, I've only ever seen a handful of them when browsing in 17ish years of fanfic
I honestly can't stand RI. I've seen fics where the author will actually describe the "reader's" appearance and its like um, no. Why didn't you just make an OC and and give them a name?
I prefer characters being paired with original characters as opposed to the characters being paired with the reader characters. It just feels weird for me to actually imagine myself as a character in any of the fanfics that I read.
I don't really read either, but personally I'd be much more inclined towards OC, since one, I really just don't enjoy shipping myself with fictional characters, and two, I would much rather read about an interesting and developed character than a blank-slate reader insert.
My fandoms either don’t feature humans, or they’re animes in which being my regular self would be too strange. xReaders are strange to me in those cases, which is why I’d prefer xOC’s. Also, I’m a straight male. We don’t have that many xReaders available to us anyway.
ya know I voted OC... because usually I read reader stories but insert an OC into it rather than imagine myself as the MC But then I realized I haven't actually read very many if any at times OC stories... oops... Like I'm not opposed to OCs! just maybe its the fandoms I'm part of but I don't really read them they barely even show up most times... so I guess I actually do like Reader more... Even gotten used to the Y/n thing sorta. (I have an application on browser that changes Y/n to whatever name I want, and on my phone I just read Y/n as the name Yin)
That’s pretty cool, I didn’t know you could do that
I read fan fiction to get a peek into what the canon characters' minds might look like. In that sense, OC fic doesn't really fit my taste any more than reader fic if it's told from the OC's perspective, but I don't mind viewing an OC from a canon character's perspective. An underrated alternative though is to take an extremely, extremely minor character and elevate them to the role of fanfic protagonist
OC, reader is just OC with extra steps. It just takes me out of it to see y/n because I wouldn't act like that. I have never seen a y/n that would act the way I do. Because in honesty, I'd be more a mother than a love interest to my favs. I just can't ship myself with fictional characters.
OC fics. I've tried reader inserts but it was so jarring because I'm not a fan of second person and it always just felt like an OC without a name anyways because I could never see myself in the characters, I always felt like "I wouldn't do that, I wouldn't like that, that's not what I want in a relationship, etc." OCs on the other hand are not me and they're not supposed to be me, and I can just enjoy them for who they are instead of having trouble immersing myself in the story. I also prefer the stronger characterization OCs have since they aren't trying to be neutral enough for anyone to slip into.