/reader fics

[u/Icy-Specific986]

Not sure how to start this post, so I guess some context might be the way to go.

I like some really niche, small fandoms. Unfortunately that means that my options, especially when it comes to pairings and just overall romance, are often very limited. Because of that, I usually give everything a try, even fics that usually wouldn’t appeal to me.

But one thing I could never really get into are /reader fics (I’m I writing this right? Is there another name for it?). The whole “you did x” and “you held y’s hand” kind of thing never sort of clicked with me, because it feels like I’m being personally and directly addressed by the author and… that’s just sorta weird?

But like I said, by my own sins (aka liking tiny fandoms) I’m running out of reading material. So I’m just wondering if maybe I’m reading and/or interpreting /reader fics wrong? Like, is there some sort of “mentality” or “view” that you have to have to properly enjoy them?

And just to be clear, I’m not complaining about /reader fics or anything like that. I genuinely want to try to read them, but I never quite manage to because of the reasons above, and want to change that.

Sorry if this post doesn’t make any sense, I could barely make it make sense to myself in my head, much less trying to explain to other people.

[u/atomskeater]

A fair amount of people are not really imagining themselves when they read the fics, which might sound odd. But once you think of a readerfic as basically the very close/intimate pov of an oc blank enough that the reader can project most kinds of traits onto them rather than it being mandatory to feel like the story is about you, the person sitting and reading off a screen, it might click better. I don't usually get it when people say they feel like they're being told what to do or mischaracterized by the story, but the fact I don't consider it to be about me might be the difference.

I also just think second person is neat to begin with. I don't think it's weird that a text might acknowledge the reader, and I kinda wish we got more meta and mindfucky readerfics. There was one I read a while ago where the reader character appeared to be an ever-shifting Eldritch abomination to the characters, which is an intert way to think about how the physical features would be changed by every person who reads the fic and imagines something different.

Anyway you don't have to force yourself to like them. Sometimes things just don't click at the time, or ever. If I had started reading them back in middle/high school I might have found them too cringe to read. In fact falling into the Homestuck pit (multimedia webcomic that used 2nd person for narration and has stylings of a cyoa story at the start) probably got me to consider how 2nd person can be an interesting way to tell a story.