How to 'steal' your favorite fantasy story's genre, tropes and mechanics, and make them your own?

As a world builder, i've always been fascinated by other people's 'work', mainly in fantasy. From fantasy video games like dark souls, medieval rpgs like elder scrolls, to books, anime and manga. I've always tried to get that fantasy fix, that made me 'dream' about what i'm watching, reading or playing 'for real'. This happened throughout childhood, and is still happening now. It's like you fantasize yourself 'in' the particular story or world you're watching, reading or playing. I've always been fascinated by world building aspects as much as possible, to 'steal' and personalize them. None of this is malicious, just for my own satisfaction.<br><br>I've tried and have been doing that for some time now on various things from dragon ball to attack on titan, for example. But the problem is, being able to personalize, transform and evolve the genre, story or mechanics you're 'stealing' from someone else's fantasy stories into your own. That is, in a way that makes it your own.<br><br>For example, i've always loved magic shonen, being able to use magic in a fantasy setting really appeals to me. But many of those stories are so 'cliche' that i never really manage tostep away from what makes it so cliche.<br><br>For example, magic, medieval era, elves, dragons, vampires, werewolves, epic 'chosen' one that saves the world, good vs evil, etc... These are the things that attract me, that i've fantasized over, but they are also super cliche, and i have no idea how to make them my 'own', in a way that might actually be really original, or at least 'personal' to me. And i'm really sure many other people have the same 'problem', especially since many people here don't just consume fantasy stories, but also produce them. So what is your take on this? How do you take really cliche fantasy stories, and personalise them? How to personalize 'fantasy' so that it becomes 'your' fantasy? This is a topic i'll be interested to see evolve!<br><br>Edit: Thanks for all the answers, they're really interesting! I didn't expect so many!<br><br>But for the ones that commented about "don't steal", that you "shouldn't" copy other people's work, and that i should be ashamed to want to 'steal' other people's stories...<br><br>No, that is not what i mean, nor is it the purpose of the post. I am not going to 'steal' their work and present it as my own, i am not going to steal parts of their story and sell it. I am not planning on 'stealing' anything, nor are most of the people in the comments.<br><br>What i mean by steal, is borrowing inspiration from other fantasy stories, and transforming them into something personal, something for our eyes only. Something that we might perhaps one day show to other people, but that won't be 'stolen' from them, nor will it try to, and that will at least be 'original' in its own way. That is what i want to achieve, and that is what i want to know about. Enough to clear this up.