Isekai as Self-Insert

[soc_puppet]

Finally put my finger on one of the things I really like about Isekai stories: A lot of them are basically overt self-insert fanfic, except both the character you're inserting and the world you're inserting them into are (hypothetically) original.

I never really wrote any Mary-Sues back in the day (despite reading and enjoying a lot of them), but I did write at least one fic where the characters from a fandom I was into were shunted into my world and I had to help them, and daydreamed frequently about what I would do if I visited the worlds of fandoms I was into (with my fandom knowledge intact). From what I've seen, the practice has gone pretty well out of style, but it is something I miss from time to time, and a lot of more standard power-fantasy-ish Isekai stories tend to scratch that itch.

I still kinda miss those fanfics, though. Maybe someday I'll actually do something about that...

Comments

[mommy]

The Devil is a Part-Timer! is more or less what you're describing. Satan loses a fight, ends up in the real world, and gets a job at McDonald's.

I've noticed that scriptfic is back in the form of chatfic. I'm still waiting for songfics to be reinvented, though.

[soc_puppet]

(WTF, how did I not reply to these comments yet...)

Oh yeah, I think I remember a friend recommending that to me once. I may have to give it a try!

Not quite sure how that one's gonna work. Still, the results are bound to be interesting.