Definitions by 37HoppingDeersInBlood
Self-Insert
A character written to reflect its creator
A self-Insert is usably compared to a Mary Sue or Gary Stu and while, yes, there are plenty of Self-Inserts that are a form of wish fulfillment for an author; Self-Insert could also just be a reflection of a creator's own experience, (Especially when it's an original story/IP) helping the character become easily more relatable and fleshed out, or help create a better and more meaningful story from them to share.
A self-Insert is usably compared to a Mary Sue or Gary Stu and while, yes, there are plenty of Self-Inserts that are a form of wish fulfillment for an author; Self-Insert could also just be a reflection of a creator's own experience, (Especially when it's an original story/IP) helping the character become easily more relatable and fleshed out, or help create a better and more meaningful story from them to share.
An example of a Mary Sue/Gary Stu self-insert would be Velma in the show 'Velma'. Mindy Kaling, who both voices Velma and helped write the show, has outwardly said how much she related to Velma as a character when making the show to the extent that they even race-swapped her from white to Indian. Despite this claim Velma acts complete different in the show 'Velma' compared to every other piece of Scooby Doo media, clearly Mindy trying to rewrite the character to be more like her, but it just completely missed the mark and she became incredibly unlikable.
Velma is meant come off as a witty outcast but she's rather just an insufferable, hypocritical narcissist.
A good example of a Self-insert would be Dipper Pines from 'Gravity Falls'. Alex Hirsch had talked openly about how he based the Pines after his own family, Him as Dipper, His sister as Mabel and His Grandpa Stan and Grunkle Stan. Alex, however, wrote of his own experience of visiting his grandpas and hoping for something magical to happen, he still fleshed out the character as their own people, and they were super well written and likable.
(Minus those people who say Mabel is a bad person. She is a fictional twelve-year-old who wears sweaters for every outfit, grow up.)
Velma is meant come off as a witty outcast but she's rather just an insufferable, hypocritical narcissist.
A good example of a Self-insert would be Dipper Pines from 'Gravity Falls'. Alex Hirsch had talked openly about how he based the Pines after his own family, Him as Dipper, His sister as Mabel and His Grandpa Stan and Grunkle Stan. Alex, however, wrote of his own experience of visiting his grandpas and hoping for something magical to happen, he still fleshed out the character as their own people, and they were super well written and likable.
(Minus those people who say Mabel is a bad person. She is a fictional twelve-year-old who wears sweaters for every outfit, grow up.)
Self-Insert by 37HoppingDeersInBlood May 22, 2026