ScatheAriiasqDrayceon
Just cause I read worse don't mean it ain't cursed
Coming from a chronic OC recycler whose first OC was a self-insert, honestly, I think there's a... spectrum of self-inserts.
Anyone who knows me knows I base my main rping character off myself in some ways. When I was younger and stupider, I was a pain to RP with I'll admit that myself. Fullforce wish fulfillment, absolute menace. I tend to think of that type of character, where they're just there to be a voice for the writer, as "The Cardboard Box." I no longer have Cardboard Box OCs. Somewhat because my wish-fulfillment is no longer what it was (and is now significantly more pathetic), and I started adjusting the characters for the setting. Now, they're pretty much just an OC with certain traits from myself that fall on a sliding scale depending on what their setting looks like, backstory, etc
And quite honestly, I get better feedback from my players when I'm using my Main. I think it's mostly because I understand them at a level that's difficult to achieve with a throwaway OC. I try to give my players the best experience possible when RPing because I think it's important that everyone has fun, and I just like writing, and that usually means using my Main.
I think the difference between a Cardboard Box and a good rp self insert is understanding that once you put that character onto the forum, they're no longer exactly you. They're an echo or a reflection, but what that character does only comes back onto you as the barest amounts. More than that, though to write a good self-insert, you have to be comfortable with your own character flaws and... people just not liking the you that you put into that character. I don't think it's for everyone, nor do I think it's a bad practice even if they are just mouthpieces for the player, because that's just the way some people have fun, and if both parties are good with it, then I don't care.
Now, romance, I can see how that gets... dicey. I don't rp romance with my Main, in part because I don't particularly care for it, and in part because that's... too much, even for me. It's too close to home, and I'm not comfortable with it, and I'm sure a lot of other people wouldn't be either.
Anyway, back to the original post, B's insert is what I like to call the "Yearning" insert. The "this is how I want to be and what I want to do" insert which is all well and good—to a certain extent some parts of my Main come from a place of yearning—it's just that you probably wouldn't like B's character as an actual character anyway, and the self-insert status just isn't relevant anymore. Just an uncomfortable character to play against, and (I'm assuming) annoying.
First and foremost self-inserts have to be good characters, otherwise the whole thing just falls apart. Frankly, I don't even think these two inserts are even in the same category. One of them is a character who happens to reflect the person writing them, and the other is... hm... clashing with the world so to speak. If B's character just isn't fun to play against, then I'd say tell them. If they can't separate themself from the character that is most definitely a them problem and they're making it a you problem.
Really, there's a place for characters of all sorts, even the ones most people would cringe at, it's just that finding that place when you're playing against other people is really hard, and would probably fit better in a personal written work or sorted out between good friends.
Anyone who knows me knows I base my main rping character off myself in some ways. When I was younger and stupider, I was a pain to RP with I'll admit that myself. Fullforce wish fulfillment, absolute menace. I tend to think of that type of character, where they're just there to be a voice for the writer, as "The Cardboard Box." I no longer have Cardboard Box OCs. Somewhat because my wish-fulfillment is no longer what it was (and is now significantly more pathetic), and I started adjusting the characters for the setting. Now, they're pretty much just an OC with certain traits from myself that fall on a sliding scale depending on what their setting looks like, backstory, etc
And quite honestly, I get better feedback from my players when I'm using my Main. I think it's mostly because I understand them at a level that's difficult to achieve with a throwaway OC. I try to give my players the best experience possible when RPing because I think it's important that everyone has fun, and I just like writing, and that usually means using my Main.
I think the difference between a Cardboard Box and a good rp self insert is understanding that once you put that character onto the forum, they're no longer exactly you. They're an echo or a reflection, but what that character does only comes back onto you as the barest amounts. More than that, though to write a good self-insert, you have to be comfortable with your own character flaws and... people just not liking the you that you put into that character. I don't think it's for everyone, nor do I think it's a bad practice even if they are just mouthpieces for the player, because that's just the way some people have fun, and if both parties are good with it, then I don't care.
Now, romance, I can see how that gets... dicey. I don't rp romance with my Main, in part because I don't particularly care for it, and in part because that's... too much, even for me. It's too close to home, and I'm not comfortable with it, and I'm sure a lot of other people wouldn't be either.
Anyway, back to the original post, B's insert is what I like to call the "Yearning" insert. The "this is how I want to be and what I want to do" insert which is all well and good—to a certain extent some parts of my Main come from a place of yearning—it's just that you probably wouldn't like B's character as an actual character anyway, and the self-insert status just isn't relevant anymore. Just an uncomfortable character to play against, and (I'm assuming) annoying.
First and foremost self-inserts have to be good characters, otherwise the whole thing just falls apart. Frankly, I don't even think these two inserts are even in the same category. One of them is a character who happens to reflect the person writing them, and the other is... hm... clashing with the world so to speak. If B's character just isn't fun to play against, then I'd say tell them. If they can't separate themself from the character that is most definitely a them problem and they're making it a you problem.
Really, there's a place for characters of all sorts, even the ones most people would cringe at, it's just that finding that place when you're playing against other people is really hard, and would probably fit better in a personal written work or sorted out between good friends.
