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On the Topic of OC Characters


vanillapudding

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Soooooo 

 

I'm doing something I haven't done in a long time: Writing a FanFic. I've never actually written one for MLP before (so I'm writing a short Luna and Pinkie Pie story first to get a feel and boy oh boy I hope it becomes hilarious because that's a duo you don't see a lot of) but in other fandoms I've noticed varying opinions on the OC character.

 

Obviously there's quite a few well loved OCs in the MLP fandom (some of which I don't understand but hey I don't judge). But typically the attitude I hear is 'Ew, don't use an OC, if you use an OC I will not read your fic. You need to use Canon Characters at all costs and try to eliminate OC characters (this does not apply to one-line OCs that are not a main part of the plot.' I want to gather your opinions on how well an OC might go over if they were integrated into a story that primarily revolved around the mane 6 (+ the other princesses), and what it would take for that OC to be an acceptable part of the plot.

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The issue about an OC tagging along with the mane 6 in a fanfic is that people worry that the OC becomes the hero and has to save the mane 6, instead of them all working together as a team. The best OC that can tag along with the mane 6 is one that has a very neutral standpoint. Don't be too Mary-Sue or too opposite of Mary-Sue. That's the reason why OC/Canon combo fanfics are frowned upon in the fandom.

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People have this preconceived notion that all OCs are overpowered Mary Sue self-inserts with color palettes ranging from eye-gouging neon to black and red.  Of course, most of us here can say that, as with most blanket statements, that's not true for all OCs, but some people remain set in their ideas that OCs are cancerous and exist solely as some sort of personal wish fulfillment rather than as a way to explore the canon from a new angle.

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The issue about an OC tagging along with the mane 6 in a fanfic is that people worry that the OC becomes the hero and has to save the mane 6, instead of them all working together as a team. The best OC that can tag along with the mane 6 is one that has a very neutral standpoint. Don't be too Mary-Sue or too opposite of Mary-Sue. That's the reason why OC/Canon combo fanfics are frowned upon in the fandom.

 

People have this preconceived notion that all OCs are overpowered Mary Sue self-inserts with color palettes ranging from eye-gouging neon to black and red.  Of course, most of us here can say that, as with most blanket statements, that's not true for all OCs, but some people remain set in their ideas that OCs are cancerous and exist solely as some sort of personal wish fulfillment rather than as a way to explore the canon from a new angle.

 

I'm really curious if you guys would read fics where an OC was a main player in the story (without being the villain since, well, canon villains are dropping like flies). (Well Hazard Time I see you have an OC list XD but I am interested in your personal interests - what you accept and where you'd draw the line. Besides the obvious Suelicorn.)

Edited by vanillapudding
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I'm really curious if you guys would read fics where an OC was a main player in the story (without being the villain since, well, canon villains are dropping like flies). (Well Hazard Time I see you have an OC list XD but I am interested in your personal interests - what you accept and where you'd draw the line. Besides the obvious Suelicorn.)

 

I've actually read at least two fan fics where OCs were the protagonists, namely Jericho by Crushric (Can't provide a link as the story is tagged for gore)and Starlight Over Detrot by Chessie.  I've also read another fan fic, This Platinum Crown by Capn_Chryssalid, where both canon characters and OCs are present and interact with each other.  Especially in that last story, you have incredibly powerful OCs such as Lady Bismuth and Baroness Antimony, but the fact that they are as or even more powerful than the Mane 6, or even that one of the OCs eventually courts Twilight doesn't entirely turn me off from the story.

 

Simply having an OC interact with a canon character isn't inherently a terrible thing.  So long as the OC has an interesting story to tell, that's all I need to keep me interested.  Hell, I'd be perfectly alright with an immensely powerful character who happens to be married to Fluttershy if they can explain in great detail how they gained this power and also make it easy enough to swallow.  That's the biggest thing right there; it doesn't matter who your OC is, what they can do, or what they can endure so long as you can show me how they got there.  Neither I nor any other intelligent reader will read your story if you expect us to just accept your OC and not question their origins.

 

If the question of how your character became so powerful is more interesting than the story you've put them in, then that begs the question of why you even wrote this story to begin with.

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I can understand your concern. There are certain OCs that have the same problems, being either too overpowered, immidiatly being loved by the mane characters, being good in everything he does, etc.

 

A very good OC, needs to have certain flaws in his character. Flaws makes characters likeable and also makes your OC relatable. I also have an OC called Mesme Rize, who is a Lamiapony, half snake half pony and he can be very unsure about his look, thinking that ponies might find him frightning.

 

Try it out. Maybe it will be good. :)

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I think the main goal you should be going for is to make your audience care just as much about your characters as you do.  Aside from that, a good idea to developing one is to think of these questions: "Which of their qualities would cause the most drama?  Which of their qualities would seriously debilitate them?  Every well-rounded character has something they hold sacred, so what's your character's sacred cow?"

 

Let's take my favorite OC, Baroness Carnelian Clout; you'll recognize her as the lovely lady in my avatar  :D   At first glance, she would seem to be a Mary Sue: she's stunningly beautiful (even at the ripe old age of 55), adept in social situations, and filthy stinking rich.  She has everything going for her, so what would trouble her?  Well, to start, she's incredibly narcissistic, vain, and obsessed with status symbols.  Not only does she hide her age and act like somepony twenty years her younger, but she does not take kindly to ponies questioning her health.  She's also a control freak, and refuses to compromise.  If you're not willing to play the game by her rules, then she'll go out of her way to make sure you lose.

 

Despite her villainous nature, she's the one OC I've received the most compliments on, with multiple people coming to me expressing interest in knowing more about her.  This is a prime example of my thesis, that people love drama.  Action isn't necessary when you have a character struggling with their internal demons, constantly at war with their own anxieties and neuroses while trying to find their place in the world (Or in Carnelian's case, confirm her preconceived notions of superiority  B) ).

 

Also, as @Mesme Rize said above, flaws aren't always a bad thing.  It's not always what a character can do that makes them interesting.  For example, as a proud member of the Sunset Shimmer fan club, the one thing that stands out to me about her isn't that she's on par with Twilight Sparkle, but that she did a complete 180 and has been working hard to redeem herself to her classmates.  Her character development in "Rainbow Rocks" was so satisfying and I found myself rooting for her the whole time.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'd say that as long as your OC doesn't do the following, you should be alright.

 

* Take over the entire story. I get that if you want to write fanfic about your OC, you want to write about them, but it's a bad idea to make them the sole focus of the fanfic. Have parts of the story focused on canons, or even on background ponies, so that it doesn't feel as tho your OC is the sun and everypony else revolves around them.

 

* Save the day all the time. I've seen badfic where the OC constantly defeats the villains, with the mane six just tagging along for the ride, plus one really bad fic where the mane six were constantly written as being out of character and stupid, just so the author's loathsome Gary Stu could rescue them. As Steel said above, have your OC written as a part of the team, with all the mane six working together with them.

 

* Have no reason to be in Ponyville and/or meet the mane six. Does your OC live there? If not, then why are they in Ponyville? Are they asking the mane six for help? Do they know any of them slightly? How do they know them?m All these help when introducing your OC. Don't just have them pop up out of nowhere. For example, perhaps your OC has bought dresses from the Carousel Boutique, or been served by Pinkie in the bakery. Maybe they were at a party and were introduced. Whatever it is, make sure it's added in so that your OC isn't just dropping in on the mane six for no reason.

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  • 1 month later...

I think the thing is, that gets a horsefan's hocks hassled is the jarring shift.

   When ya think of it, you make a story, toss it up on FIMfiction or whathaveyou, stands to reason that whoever reads it only found the website or page its on because of their familiarity with the show. The characters given via the show feel like set quantities, we know their personalities and they're further pegged into those roles by our emotional investment in it. When some writer takes the focus off them & onto a name we've never heard of it rattles our preconceptions. But in their own world, were they real, they would still have their foibles. They could be stupid, need rescuing out of avoidable situations, or fawn over some buff, macho, flawless Gary Stu.

   When one thinks of it, all those books on the bookshelves in bookstores (Books!) are all based off their own OCs, just a fanfiction tends to clash with others sense of reality. Some may complain & call it bad & they have every right to, but that's how stories go. That's how your story goes!

   My answer? Your story ought to have an OC in it, because either way you'd be playing with the preconceptions of your audience. In my opinion, that's the best kind of story out there, here's the character & how he copes with his surroundings & here's how him & everypony around him bounces off each other. That's how you truly learn about somebeing, by how they reflect off others.

 

 

 

That's the biggest thing right there; it doesn't matter who your OC is, what they can do, or what they can endure so long as you can show me how they got there.  Neither I nor any other intelligent reader will read your story if you expect us to just accept your OC and not question their origins.

 

If the question of how your character became so powerful is more interesting than the story you've put them in, then that begs the question of why you even wrote this story to begin with.

   Aye, The road there is half the fun! That's the balance a writer has to keep what with the questions. Just enough to keep the reader interested but not enough to where the reader has to keep putting the story down every paragraph to ask themselves "Wait, who was that character again?", "How did he manage that?" , "Well, if he won that earlier fight so darn easily, why's this one such a dramatic showdown?" Its why I have trouble with action movies or Anne Mcaffery. Lady spends like, two pages talking about the names of horses & walking across a river and i'm all like "WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!!?" 

 

   Heh, course my OC doesn't even have an origin. As you can't really with Draconequui. His story is more about how his long life turned him into the incomprehensible dork he is now. His is a story based more around consequences. Heh, think you might have just inspired me to make my first story, HT.

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           The core of the story are the characters. And the core of the characters are their cares. The best way to make a character is to understand what a character is, how they function, and what makes people attached to them through their cares. And a “care” is anything that they are passionate about and that would cause a reaction from said character.

 

           Character development is adding depth and compounding cares. Characters can have cares about objects, another character, a personal trait, ideology (like a belief or idea), goal, need, or life (either staying alive or way of life). The audience relates because what makes us characters in the real world defined by our cares.

 

 

           The plot is how the cares are threatened throughout a story and how characters must react. Some writers might talk about "conflict", but conflict is only a reflection of a conflict between cares. For example, two characters that really want a table set in a department store, but there is only one left; how they react to this outcome determines the conflict. You can also determine who the antagonist and protagonist is from this loop. The antagonist is the character (not necessarily a villain) that actively partakes in threatening the care. The protagonist is the one whose care is threatened as the story is told from their perspective. A crossover example of character care conflict:

28OYzdi.jpg

 

 

Cares are how an audience identifies with the characters, understands them (because we as humans have all been there), and also these are the traits that are memorable. Some examples from the show FiM:

           Spike - Rarity (character care), sleep (need), jewels (object)

           Twilight - Friendship (ideology), magic (trait), reading (life, as a hobby)

           Fluttershy - Animals (character), life, upsetting herself / others (ideology)

 

           Even "Show, Don't Tell" is ruled by the concept of character cares. Cares paint a very vivid image of a character for the audience as they derive from objects and actions/reactions. When we describe good characters to others, we usually start by describing their barest form of existence followed by their cares (and actions-reactions) where we show the characters rather than tell them in a lengthy, forgettable list of physical attributes (adjectives/adverbs) unless they are specific and overbearing.

 

 

           Instead, we start with their cares and relationships (which represents character action/reaction with other characters). This is why cares like "revenge" (absence/loss of a care), "just because" (lack of reason to a care), "just curious" (trying to fill the lack of a care with interest), "it's fun / evil" (forcing it upon the character as an excuse to generate story content). When cares are overused, heavily borrowed, or forced into the character, we start running into Mary Sue territory.

 

           But while you can have a deeply complex and well-developed character with multiple conflicting cares, some of the most basic ones can take off. Sonata Dusk... we think of tacos! Such a small, insignificant care from a single line exploded into an entire rich emblem for a character.

322lulc.jpg

 

 

           Genre and audience reaction can be influenced by cares. Action-Adventure usually includes self-discovery (care for a personal trait) on a quest (a care for a goal) and/or some important object (a care for an object). A tragedy takes place when the care is destroyed or lost and the audience cries. A comedy takes place when the destroyed care is given a lighthearted tone and the audience laughs. We cheer when the hero's cares are preserved and the antagonist threatening it is defeated. We have been there and know the feeling of such accomplishment, or humor, or loss. 

USV2ZC4.png

 

           Flaws certainly help a great deal because they exhibit either an unhealthy amount of obsession to a certain care, or they can emphasize a care towards a particular weakness which is something an audience can readily understand and accept. (And again, you step into Mary Sue territory if it's artificially forced in telling the audience how to react rather than allowing the audience to emote freely.)

Edited by Chopsticks
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