What are your thoughts on Alicorn Oc's?

[Black Sabbath 2,484]

Alicorn OC's is just horrible. They are always either too special or not special enough.  

[twiia 1,842]

I immediately think Mary Sue, because many alicorn OCs are Mary Sues. (including one of mine, what a mistake)

 

It can drive me nuts.

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

As long as they have a legitimate reason for existing and follow all of the standard rules of character development, I don't mind.

^This. I have two alicorn OCs and I put a lot of effort into making them well rounded, researching and writing out a believable backstory for each and making them look easy on the eye. I have more problems with the following (unless of course there is a darn good reason behind it!)

 

* Unicorns that can fly without casting a spell for temporary wings.

* Pegasi who can do magic.

* Earth ponies who can fly and/or do magic.

* Alicorns with broken wings and/or horn.

[Fractured 2,683]

I think alicorn OC's are fine, if you're the type of person who knows how to actually write characters, and write them well. Conversely, I don't think alicorn OC's are okay, if you're not the kind of person who actually knows how to write characters, and write them well. But then, those people shouldn't really be writing about any types of characters; earth ponies, unicorns, pegasi...

 

I think when it comes to alicorn OC's, people tend to stick the blame in the wrong place, and its amazingly tragic how that happens. We see a bright neon colored red and black alicorn, with three cutie marks and five horns, and people somehow manage to go "Hey look, that alicorn is terrible! That means that all alicorns must be terrible!"

 

...See, when I go to a restaurant, and I order a hamburger, and the hamburger they give me is terrible, I tend to just not go to that restaurant again, and I try a different one. I don't immeadietly declare that all hamburgers are trash, and then never go to a single restaurant again. Same with computers, pictures, music...

 

Because, in a statement that should be obvious circa 2016, you can't assign the attributes or workings of an individual to those of the whole. "Some" alicorn OC's are bad? Sure. "Most" alicorn OC's are bad? Fine; go with that, if you want. Even "I haven't seen a good alicorn OC yet" is a perfectly acceptable and valid statement, should you want to use that. But "all alicorn OC's are bad" just makes me wonder how you somehow managed to find the foresight to look at every single alicorn OC that ever existed, judge them all by a similar, fair set of criteria, and then fail each and every one of them on that aforementioned criteria.

 

...And maybe someone can do that. If so, great; post me some charts and evidence, so I can get a good grasp of how deep the problem really is. But until then, hold the generalizations; it's not all alicorns faults that people just judge them all off-hand to be terrible characters.

 

It's theirs, for being so close-minded to begin with.

[Black Sabbath 2,484]

It's theirs, for being so close-minded to begin with.

 By your logic, the fact that I assume all rotten apples taste bad even though I've haven't eaten every one means that I'm close-minded. 

[Fractured 2,683]

 By your logic, the fact that I assume all rotten apples taste bad even though I've haven't eaten every one means that I'm close-minded. 

No; it just makes me question why you'd specifically choose to stack the deck by using a rotten apple, when rotten apples really aren't the default state of apples.   Just like bad alicorn OC's aren't the default state of Alicorn OC's.

[Black Sabbath 2,484]

No; it just makes me question why you'd specifically choose to stack the deck by using a rotten apple, when rotten apples really aren't the default state of apples. 

I fail to see how that's relevant since I've never claimed that rotten apples was the default state of apples.  My point was that I don't have to eat every single rotten apple in the world to know that rotten apples taste bad just like how I don't have to look at every single alicorn OC to know that alicorn OC's are bad. 

Edited July 10, 2016 by Yamet

[Fractured 2,683]

I fail to see how that's relevant since I've never claimed that rotten apples was the default state of apples.  My point was that I don't have to eat every single rotten apple in the world to know that rotten apples taste bad just like how I don't have to look at every single alicorn OC to know that alicorn OC's are bad. 

It's very relevant, because you're stacking the deck; something that you automatically do when you assign a classification to something that's not its natural state. Do you need to eat all the rotten apples in the world to know that rotten apples taste bad? No. But, on the same token, do you need to be bitten by every dog in the world to know that all dogs that randomly bite strangers are "bad"? Or be shot at by every person in the world, to know that people shooting at you are "bad"?

 

Short answer, no. And just like alicorn OC's, choosing to look at a bad side of something doesn't automatically make all shades of that something bad by proxy. Dogs bite; not all dogs are bad because of it. Some people shoot at you; not all people are bad because of it. Some alicorn OC's suck...

[Black Sabbath 2,484]

choosing to look at a bad side of something doesn't automatically make all shades of that something bad by proxy.

Had I'd made the claim that rotten apples taste bad therefor all apples taste bad, I might have seen your point. But I didn't, I made the claim that even though I've not eaten every rotten apple I know that every rotten apple taste bad.  

 

Edit: And just like I know that every rotten apple taste bad, I know that every alicorn OC are bad. 

Edited July 10, 2016 by Yamet

[Gestum 2,493]

And just like I know that every rotten apple taste bad, I know that every alicorn OC are bad.

Isn't that a bit extreme? Surely there is at least a half decent alicorn OC somewhere. Not that I've seen one but still.

 

 

Just like bad alicorn OC's aren't the default state of Alicorn OC's.

Considering that all alicorn OC's I've seen was bad, I would argue that bad alicorn OC's actually are the default state of alicorn OC's.

[Fractured 2,683]

Had I'd made the claim that rotten apples taste bad therefor all apples taste bad, I might have seen your point. But I didn't, I made the claim that even though I've not eaten every rotten apple I know that every rotten apple taste bad.  

 

Edit: And just like I know that every rotten apple taste bad, I know that every alicorn OC are bad. 

Well, perhaps subjectively; that is your opinion after all, and no one's going to take it from you. Objectively, however, no, due to the fact that it's a faulty comparison.

 

Because of labeling, the two take on a completely different aspect from each other. By taking the claim of "rotten apple," you're inherently wrapping it in a negative light; rotten apples are inherently "bad," from a biological/culinary standpoint. No one's really arguing that.

 

Your argument falls apart, however, when you attempt to connect it to alicorns, who are inherently neutral in a natural, non-skewed state. Every rotten apple is an apple that's rotten, from the conception, and thus pre-supposed to be "bad"; every alicorn OC is created by a different person, under different conditions, and thus has the potential to be either good or bad, just depending on the direction it's being taken in, and who's writing it.

 

Meaning, it's not something you can judge one way or the other, without slapping a negative or positive modifier on it to skew its nature in a particular direction. As you seem to be wanting to do in your argument, via the comparison you're attempting to make; apples in a prime state have the potential to taste either good or bad, unless you skew them with a negative modifier, i.e. "rotten."

 

A better comparison, without the modifiers attached, would be: "I have absolutely no idea whether a singular apple is going to be good or bad before I eat it, though I can judge on the classification of particular traits that do/don't agree with me after i've experienced it, just like I have no idea whether a singular alicorn OC is going to be good or bad before I see it, though I can judge on the classification of particular traits that do and don't agree with me, after i've experienced it."

 

And, with the modifiers attached:

"I don't need to eat every rotten apple to know that every rotten apple taste bad, just like I don't need to see every flashy, brightly neon colored, three horned, five cutie mark gifted alicorn OC, to know that those types of alicorn OC's are bad." A statement which is both quite accurate, and, to the high majority of the fandom, more than a true statement.

.

[Burke22 11]

I honestly am a little on my the "hate them" and "it's okay" side. I don't care if you make one, but it's a bit obnoxious that people would make them in my opinion. If you like those type of OCs, than good for you, I wouldn't really care.

[Frozen Glow 69]

If someone had a good reason to have an alicorn oc I would be ok with it but  honestly I can't think of any... 

[Black Sabbath 2,484]

"I don't need to eat every rotten apple to know that every rotten apple taste bad, just like I don't need to see every flashy, brightly neon colored, three horned, five cutie mark gifted alicorn OC, to know that those types of alicorn OC's are bad." 

I fail to see the difference between this and what I said. I mean, it's equally "close-minded" to judge a certain type of alicorn OC's before seeing them and judging every alicorn OC before seeing them.

 

Sure, one could argue that a flashy, brightly neon colored, three horned, five cutie mark gifted alicorn OC looks worse than a "normal" one but is how an OC looks really enough to decide if it's bad or not? Surely, their personality, backstory, abilities and such things should matter just as much if not more.

 

And if it's how they look that decides if the OC is bad or not, then I could argue that having both an horn and wings looks silly and therefor there would be no problem with me judging every alicorn OC before seeing it.

Edited July 11, 2016 by Yamet

[Corgis 574]

Alicorns are OP simply put.  I don't mind them much but it just feels like godmodding in a way giving a character all that power.

[Widdershins 9,955]

Personally, I'm all for it. In any method.

 

See, what I think people have an issue with, is separating alicorns from...ugh, "princesshood." That...that whole princess thing is a whole nother can of worms...

   You can be a princess of something, but not be an alicorn. We're used to seeing them as members of royalty, but it stands to reason that with as much land as Equestria covers and only two, maybe three, alicorns being about for the longest time that not every place is going to be ruled by an actual alicorn. Blueblood makes a fine example, he clearly views himself just as royal as his great, great (yadda) aunt & with the airheaded and easily swayed ways the upper crust of Canterlot seems like you could claim a relation to either of the royal sisters & get a barony or title of your own.

 

   You can be an alicorn, but not a princess. Sure, you may have the capability of both magic & flight, but that doesn't grant immediate godhood, does it? That makes you a pony that can do three things instead of just one. A dog, with enough will & training, can run just as well on two legs as it can on four. That, and our newest alicorn (and this may sound like a bit of a mean jab, but...) doesn't exactly have a kingdom & subjects, does she? "Friendship" isn't something that can change the fate of worlds is it? (Granted, neither is love in my opinion, but I just can't work up enough hatred against a pink horse.) I fully expect to hear Twilight haggling with a vendor & the vendor coming back with "Well, you can come back when your the Princess of Fair Trade n' Puttin' Bread on ma Table!"

 

   When it comes down to it, Alicorns are at best a species of their own and at worst, mutants. It's when the creator gives them a sense of entitlement & superiority over other options is when you get the sense they're doing it to spite you.

 

   Any character needs enough flaws to be believable and...well, mortal. Their moments where they just give up & walk away. Heh, but maybe I'm just a fan of a certain brush-tailed rainbow alicorn.

 

   ...That having been said, the few times I have seen an overblown Godicorn, its always been so blatant and "Lookitme!" it has always struck me that the creator was intentionally playing up to a audience. And I just can't fault theatrics!