Alicorns?

[HeXaLiNk 1]

Why do people hate alicorns? Is it because they are overpowered? mabe. Is it because they are related to one of the royalities? duh. is it bec-

No. It is not because of any of that. They don't have a proper BACKSTORY. yes, you heard me, it's not because of the amount of power that I or anyone else hate alicorns, it is how they came to BE one. You just need an... interesting and accurate backstory. You can't just draw some random, good looking pony and say- "his name is blah blah blah! And he is an alicorn and he, he is like, a MILLION times stronger than celestia and-" all that.

It's just not creative people. A wing and a horn together shows that you have gained experience and gone through various difficult tasks to get those.(Flurryheart is an exeption...I can't believe it...) Now, write those adventures and just show every pony what you have gone through, to get those damn wings and that shiny magical horn, and be a rolemodel to those young fillies admiring those hard earned rewards of yours!

 

I guess...that'all I've gotta say..

PS: english is not my native language... bear with me.... 

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,151]

@HeXaLiNk

Moving this to Show Discussion.

[Steve Piranha 28,765]

On 5/19/2017 at 10:00 PM, HeXaLiNk said:

Why do people hate alicorns? Is it because they are overpowered? mabe. Is it because they are related to one of the royalities? duh. is it bec-

No. It is not because of any of that. They don't have a proper BACKSTORY. yes, you heard me, it's not because of the amount of power that I or anyone else hate alicorns, it is how they came to BE one. You just need an... interesting and accurate backstory. You can't just draw some random, good looking pony and say- "his name is blah blah blah! And he is an alicorn and he, he is like, a MILLION times stronger than celestia and-" all that.

It's just not creative people. A wing and a horn together shows that you have gained experience and gone through various difficult tasks to get those.(Flurryheart is an exeption...I can't believe it...) Now, write those adventures and just show every pony what you have gone through, to get those damn wings and that shiny magical horn, and be a rolemodel to those young fillies admiring those hard earned rewards of yours!

 

I guess...that'all I've gotta say..

PS: english is not my native language... bear with me.... 

A sad collateral damage to any potential alicorn OCs nowadays. seriously, bad alicorn OCs who are better than anyone in everything just because were a plague, and thus, alicorn OCs have been associated with bad mary sue OCs. Alicorn ponysonas are also seen in a bad light. 

GOOD alicorn OCs can be made, but the above tainted most chances 

[Jeric 46,834]

On 5/19/2017 at 10:00 PM, HeXaLiNk said:

No. It is not because of any of that. They don't have a proper BACKSTORY. yes, you heard me, it's not because of the amount of power that I or anyone else hate alicorns, it is how they came to BE one. You just need an... interesting and accurate backstory. You can't just draw some random, good looking pony and say- "his name is blah blah blah! And he is an alicorn and he, he is like, a MILLION times stronger than celestia and-" all that.

I posit that this is the wrong way to approach a OC Alicorn that you introduce to others within a story, and I'll explain why.

You are correct that one reason that people dislike OC Alicorns is that they feel it is a narrative shortcut. Being an Alicorn hints that a pony went through their own Hero's Journey. The lack of knowing what that journey entailed can leave a reader to become frustrated and dismissive of the character. Part of this is because, as we read a fictional narrative, we place ourselves into the character psychologically without realizing it. Reading about a specific character archetype can actually influence our actions. This is also why First Person can be such a powerful POV if you have any skill at doing that correctly but I digressHowever, this impact is muted when you create elements of a character that are several degrees removed. Backstory is a technique that should only be used in very specific situations, and is more effective when the reader has already formed a connection with a character. .

It's also known that readers prefer to undergo the journey with the character instead of being told about a journey that already happened. It is harder to find a character relatable if they start off with major milestones already met. Yes, you can still create a compelling main character who has great accomplishments already under his belt, but it also increases the degree of difficulty for the author when crafting the story centered around the character. Putting it bluntly, most fanfiction writers are simply not up to the task. 

If someone is dead set on having their main character or protagonist become an Alicorn, do it within the narrative as the story unfolds. Having this already accomplished just furthers a disconnect between the reader and the character. I would read Elements of Style and On Writing for a detailed explanation on how to use backstory vs. allowing a scenario to unfold through the reader experiencing it.

[K.Rool Addict 718]

People hate Alicorns because there were supposed to be only 2 Alicorns in MLP:FiM; Celestia and Luna. Cadence was the first big atrocity. Twilicorn was the second. Flurry Heart is the scourge of ponykind.

Basically, Alicorns are supposed to be divine creatures. Making multiple divine creatures come out of nowhere, when they had been non-existent for the past several thousand years just reeks of contrived writing and general pandering to little girls who love the "everyone can be a princess" message. 

Personally, I loved Twilight ascending to "God-hood" as it was an awesome pay-off to all of her hard work serving under Celestia's metaphorical wing. It was like Goku going SSJ for the first time; just incredibly badass. I like seeing Twilight being rewarded for enduring all her neurotic stress sessions xD But Cadence and Flurry Heart outta nowhere left a hella bad taste in my mouth >.<

[HeXaLiNk 1]

Oh damn... Thanks for the replies people!  This shed a new light on how people think... and I have a lot to improve on...