What is self-test and where does it occur?

Choosing to read from new fan fiction, you can stumble upon the term "self-test", which has become widely used relatively recently.

What is self-test? Where can I meet him? Why did he become so popular? Read this article and find out.

What is self-test?

Self-test is a term used by freewriters. Free writers are those who write stories on already existing stories, for example, about Harry Potter.

So, the Fandom term "self-test" will make Harry Potter love himself. How is this possible? Magic.

But, seriously, the self-test has several manifestations:

1. Narcissism and self-admiration. There will be no magic, exceptionally great love of a person or some other creature for himself. Usually such heroes are satisfied with masturbation in front of the mirror and do not pay attention to others. Even if the ideal princesses and princes are surrounded by daffodils, he will remain indifferent to their charms. For such a character, only he exists.
2. Time travel. Usually a wiser and more experienced hero goes to the past and, for some reason, cannot (or does not want to) return to his time. He helps himself from the past, and becomes attached. Or vice versa: the previous version of the hero begins to fall in love with his wise self.
3. The division of the hero into "dark" and "light". Two opposing units begin to fight for supremacy not only with their fists, but also in bed.
4. The concept of multiverse excites the imagination of fans. Just imagine: in one reality the hero is a man, and in another a woman! If you combine them, it will also be self-test.

But seriously, self-test is not only a sexual relationship with oneself. Some works that have this mark in warnings to the reader deserve attention and the time spent on them.

Where did he come from?

So, having figured out what a self-test is, it’s worth knowing where it comes from. One cannot judge such a direction without knowing its origins!

Unfortunately, there is no exact date. The exact moment of the appearance of such an idea as self-test cannot be called. What is love for oneself and how it is expressed, was conceived long before our era.

One of the first manifestations of self-test can be considered the story of Narcissus, in love with his reflection. He finished badly, as you recall. So do not get involved in narcissism.

Self-test received a second wind with the development of creativity of fans of anime, manga, series and books. The Fikraiteers lacked one beloved hero, so they created a copy of it that the hero fell in love with or which he began to long for.

Where does he meet?

You can find echoes of selfies in fans of popular fandoms. “Harry Potter”, “Naruto”, “Game of Thrones” and “Doctor Who” - perhaps, “suffered” the most. Potter and Naruto especially got it: in the first case, fanfiction on the theme of time travel is extremely popular, in the second - the protagonist can clone himself an unlimited number of times.

Probably, the creators of these works did not think about such an interpretation of their stories. But the fans are such fans.

Why is self-test popular?

There are several reasons why self-test has gained its popularity:

1. Confrontation features of the hero. Stupid versus smart, strong versus weak, wise versus inexperienced, dark versus bright. Only this struggle is not fought with swords, but in a more peaceful way: "No war, make love!".
2. Multiverse. Fans like to push two identical heroes who have gone through different lives or have different sexes. Just because it's fun.
3. In any person there are shoots of narcissism. And what is self-test? This is love for yourself! Albeit somewhat perverse, but it is still present.

Selfcest Examples

If you still do not quite understand what self-test is, then let's make some simple stories. No vulgarity, all within the bounds of decency:

• There once was a boy over whom there was a prophecy. He had to save the world. Due to some events, he appears next to him, only from the future. The boy is struck by the charisma of a time traveler, and begins to feel affection for him. He does not relate the traveler to himself.

Good story for yaoi manga, right? There, everything must end well, because the boy and his adult version live in the multiverse.

• Once upon a time there was Narcissus. He was so beautiful and so reveled in his beauty that he did not need anyone. Love for himself and self-satisfaction was enough for him. As a result, he died alone by the mirror when he saw that his beauty had begun to fade.

A sad tale would not work for a yaoi manga, but it is a good example of a selfie without magic.

• Once upon a time there was a hero B. Because of the machinations of enemies, a portal to another world opened, from where the heroine F. fell out. Between them flashes mutual sympathy and interest, which can even develop into something more. Trying to return her to her world, hero B finds out that she is his female reflection. Shock, misunderstanding, sadness. Practically: “Luke, I'm your sister!”, Right?