The reasons why alicorn OCs are bad and hated

[Nightfall Veilwing 1,124]

Ever since the beginning of the borny fandom 7 years ago, the majority of the brony community have hated alicorn OCs, calling them OP and Mary Sues without thinking. But why? In this post, I'll explain why the concept of an alicorn OCs are generally hated among the fandom and what caused it. And these reasons why are pretty much our own fault.
 

1. We lack canon info

Quick! Tell me something about alicorns that's been confirmed!
-cricket noises-
Yeah, I thought so. We've never gotten anything canon about the nature of alicorns, and where this does gives us a lot of room to come up with interesting headcanons and theories about alicorns, but it also gives us little to work with, thus, this makes it easy to makes things too simple, too complex, or even too powerful for the creator to handle.
 

2. Guilty by association

If you were to ask a random brony, "What are alicorns?" you may get, "They're royalty goddesses," but is this ACTUALLY true? Most would say that it is, but the thing is, this is logically not the case. Why do we think that alicorns are royalty and whatnot? Well, this due to something called the "availability heuristic," meaning that we judge something based on how many examples of it we have. Since we've only seen alicorns that are royalty and none that aren't, we've assumed that all alicorns are royalty. We have this assumption because our brains are lazy machines that wants everything organized and simplified as much as possible. And this is not an insult, it's a biological fact of the human brain.
 

3. Why Alicorn OCs are generally bad

Now, for main topic of this entry. Alicorn OCs are generally bad because it's own our lazy faults. Again, not an insult! When take reason #2 into consideration, you clearly see why alicorn OCs are bad: since we believe that they're royalty, all-powerful, immortal, etc., we feel like that half of the work is done for us and we don't think we need to put much work and effort into making the character, thus, our alicorn OCs are often are to weak as a character and/or too powerful in ability and half-assed in personality structure.
 

4. Why Alicorn OCs are generally hated

On a related note, we often hate alicorn OCs on a creative level due to the laziness of their character structure (if any at all), and we have high expectations for the fandom we dedicated ourselves to. Plus, when it comes to other characters, we may associate and see ourselves as our OCs (aka ponysonas) and we don't want to feel like others can overpower us. This is because we feel we're powerful and in control when we see ourselves AS our OC(s), and we feel like we're in danger when hear about an alicorn OC because we're biased to the "community canon" that alicorns are gods and can do just about anything and we're unable to do anything to go against it, let a lot stop it.
Put simply, we hate alicorn OCs on a concept level because we don't want to feel like others can overpower us and take away our control. This hated is actually based on fear. Namely, the fear of losing control. It's a psychological defense mechanism that applies to all of us.

In the end, alicorns are no different from the other pony species. We just have to learn how to make good characters and not judge the'r race on its stereotypes alone.
 

---

Bonus content!

I've made some explanations for some of the attributes of alicorns that we never gotten any info about (see reason #1 above), and I made sure that they're reasonable and makes logical sense. I hope you enjoy. And let me know what you think.
 

1. Where did alicorns come from?

In my story, the alicorn species first started 8,000 years before the Equestrian era.
Now, back in those days, you were only allowed to have foal with another from your own species group. But, one day, a pegasus stallion and a unicorn mare developed a Romeo-and-Juliet-like relationship and had a foal that had his father's wings and his mother's horn. While some thought that this was an abomination, others thought it was a miracle. Even though this foal had wings and a horn, he was technically a hybrid because the dominate genes for the wings and horn were separate. But as the generations past, these the genetic codes for the wings and horn eventually fused together, and the first alicorn was burn and, thus, the alicorn species came to be. The alicorn species is only about 9,000 years old and it evolved quickly due to the extensive family tree containing 60% unicorns, which is where the magical attributes of the alicorn came from.
That's just my take on it. ^^
 

2. Are alicorns more powerful than unicorns?

It's not that they're more power, but more like they're able to access and use magic easier. It's all due 1 simple observation: The alicorn horn is larger than the unicorn's. This larger size enables the alicorn to store and channel more magical energies, thus, it's able to cast more complex and/or powerful spells easier than a unicorn can. And believe it or not, there's something in the canon show that supports this. If you watch unicorn Twilight trying to cast a new spell in the earlier seasons, she seems to struggle with the spell. This is because she's trying to store and channel more magical energies than her horn is used to, and this can cause some minor headaches. And if you watch alicorn Twilight cast a new spell, she barely struggles because her horn is larger and able to store and channel more magical energies.
"But Starlight Glimmer's horn is a standard size for a unicorn and she casts complex and powerful spells without struggles," you may point out. This is true, but she probably have taught herself an alternate way of managing magical energies differently, not just storing it all in her horn like most unicorns/alicorns are taught to do.

Those are my theories and views on those. What are yours?

[Will Guide 21,325]

Wow! A topic that gently explains why something can be bad without treating the people who love said something like they're idiots! Thanks for being mature about your points.

I like Alicorn OCs as long as they're friendly and use their powers for good, like @Stickman, The Legend.

Edited June 7, 2017 by WiiGuy2014

[Black Sabbath 2,484]

11 minutes ago, Millennium Shadow said:

If you watch unicorn Twilight trying to cast a new spell in the earlier seasons, she seems to struggle with the spell. This is because she's trying to store and channel more magical energies than her horn is used to, and this can cause some minor headaches. And if you watch alicorn Twilight cast a new spell, she barely struggles because her horn is larger and able to store and channel more magical energies.

Or she just got better at casting spells in the same way one gets better at anything, she just practiced at it.  

[Stickman, The Legend 303]

43 minutes ago, WiiGuy2014 said:

Wow! A topic that gently explains why something can be bad without treating the people who love said something like they're idiots! Thanks for being mature about your points.

I like Alicorn OCs as long as they're friendly and use their powers for good, like @Stickman, The Legend.

Gee thanks

[Jeric 46,834]

And the number one reason Alicorn OC's are hated is .... 

Bad writing. 

Seriously, I've come across far too many bad Alicorn OC personality/backstory breakdowns when compared to other races. 

[Nightfall Veilwing 1,124]

Nice to see another alicorn around here.  /)

[Stickman, The Legend 303]

13 minutes ago, Millennium Shadow said:

Nice to see another alicorn around here.  /)

/) I be an alicorn, my friend.

[Will Guide 21,325]

25 minutes ago, Stickman, The Legend said:

Gee thanks

@Stickman, The Legend

You know some of the points the Original Poster said about Alicorn OCs being generally bad are the reasons why I got a little jealous of you about a week ago. 

But know that I still love you because of your kindness, responsible use of your powers, and willingness to forgive me for said jealousy. 

Edited June 7, 2017 by WiiGuy2014

[Stickman, The Legend 303]

10 minutes ago, WiiGuy2014 said:

@Stickman, The Legend

You know some of the points the Original Poster said about Alicorn OCs being generally bad are the reasons why I got a little jealous of you about a week ago. 

But know that I still love you because of your kindness, responsible use of your powers, and willingness to forgive me for said jealousy. 

I'd always forgive anyone, my friend

[Stickman, The Legend 303]

1 hour ago, Blue Diamond said:

And the number one reason Alicorn OC's are hated is .... 

Bad writing. 

Seriously, I've come across far too many bad Alicorn OC personality/backstory breakdowns when compared to other races. 

Blue Diamond, have you seen my backstory? I don't think you have.

[BastementSparkle 20,310]

I've always wanted to make an Alicorn OC who's not particularly amazing. Like they were born out of some freak genetic mutation, they have wings and a horn but they aren't super great at magic or flying, just kinda decent at both. They hate it when ponies have huge expectations for them and act like they're some kind of God.

Dunno, just an idea I had. Probably never going to get around to doing it. I don't hate Alicorn OC's though, I just think most of the ones I've seen were kinda boring.

[Foxy Socks 2,596]

I am fine if they are made well. After all it's not like they are canon or anything, so why be so bothered? It would be nice to see an Earth pony become one, as none have been shown. 

[FoxyCryptid 4,327]

We have four in the show already and confirmation with Twilight that powerful enough unicorns with the right guidance can ascend, so I don't see the issue with well written and used Alicorns that make sense.

 

 

Edited June 7, 2017 by Shoboni

[simba86 1,541]

3 hours ago, Blue Diamond said:

And the number one reason Alicorn OC's are hated is .... 

Bad writing. 

Seriously, I've come across far too many bad Alicorn OC personality/backstory breakdowns when compared to other races. 

pretty much every one of them has been abused and has a terrible past/secret and they always seem to be black and red and they are always celestia's or luna's sister or long lost sibling

[Misty Shimmer 908]

Just now, Stickman, The Legend said:

Blue Diamond, have you seen my backstory? I don't think you have.

Hmmm I think I´ll actually like to see it. Can I??

[Stickman, The Legend 303]

Just now, Misty Shimmer said:

Hmmm I think I´ll actually like to see it. Can I??

The link to it is in my signature. Let me know what you think!

I even told all the VAs about my alicorn OC, and they actually liked it! Especially Rebecca!

So you like my OC? (xtra characters)

[heavens-champion 1,893]

1 hour ago, simba86 said:

pretty much every one of them has been abused and has a terrible past/secret and they always seem to be black and red and they are always celestia's or luna's sister or long lost sibling

What would you prefer?

[Jeric 46,834]

1 hour ago, Stickman, The Legend said:

The link to it is in my signature. Let me know what you think!

99% of my time on MLPF is on my phone. You can't see signatures on mobile ... so ... link me?

35 minutes ago, heavens-champion said:

What would you prefer?

None of those. Seriously. Just because an OC is an Alicorn doesn't mean it has to have any dramatic backstory that tries to set them apart. For once I would love to see an Alicorn that works as a clock maker or something. 

If you are making an Alicorn OC you are already playing fast and loose with canon so you might as well just create a fully realized character. Shit, ignore how they came to be an Alicorn and make it a mystery or even a running gag.

[Will Guide 21,325]

18 minutes ago, Blue Diamond said:

99% of my time on MLPF is on my phone. You can't see signatures on mobile ... so ... link me?

@Blue Diamond

Here you go...Stickman's OC

Edited June 7, 2017 by WiiGuy2014

[Nightfall Veilwing 1,124]

Not to mention, unbiased. 

I really love alicorns, but what I don't like is that the majority of the brony community is biased about the stereotypes about alicorns (being royalty, immortal, all-powerful, being gods, etc.) being fact, even though there's literally been nothing in the canon show or other media confirming or disproving these claims. These stereotypes were made by the brony community itself and none of the canon sources.

[SBaby 660]

2 hours ago, Foxy Socks said:

After all it's not like they are canon or anything, so why be so bothered?

Pretty much this.  Why should anyone care?  Everything that has a fandom of any significance is going to have OCs.  And there are going to be OCs that are Legendary, Alicorn, Super Saiyan, or whatnot.  I look at it as a badge of honor for the series.  The show is popular enough that people want to make fan characters for it.

6 hours ago, Millennium Shadow said:

Now, for main topic of this entry. Alicorn OCs are generally bad because it's own our lazy faults. Again, not an insult! When take reason #2 into consideration, you clearly see why alicorn OCs are bad: since we believe that they're royalty, all-powerful, immortal, etc., we feel like that half of the work is done for us and we don't think we need to put much work and effort into making the character, thus, our alicorn OCs are often are to weak as a character and/or too powerful in ability and half-assed in personality structure.

This sounds more like a reason they're hated, and not so much a reason they're bad.  The only bad Alicorns are ones that are badly written.  And part of the problem is what you outlined in the first point, we know relatively nothing about them (though many MANY people on this site will insist that they know things about them that aren't canon).

[StormBlaze 991]

superiority complex within the fandom.

Originally I think the fandom saw itself as equal when it came to creating OCs. There were only 3 (now 5) Alicorns in existance and therefore everyone had a basic OC. Maybe a few dragon pony hybrids here and there too. 

But then people started making Alicorn OCs. The fandom generally hates them because they are considered OP or Superior to basic ponies, making it unfair in the representation in artwork, videos or RPs, and because it breaks the canon lore. Initially your OC should have to grow and earn the right to become an Alicorn like Twilight did, but creating one off the bat is just seen as a form of cheating and I guess making yourself look better than others (attention seeking). The internet is very good at inflating egos and envy.    

[simba86 1,541]

9 hours ago, heavens-champion said:

What would you prefer?

how about something original?

[Stickman, The Legend 303]

1 hour ago, simba86 said:

how about something original?

I'm none of the Bad alicorn. I'm the good one

[Nightfall Veilwing 1,124]

34 minutes ago, Stickman, The Legend said:

I'm none of the Bad alicorn. I'm the good one

I'm a good one, too.  However, I do have some of the alicorn stereotypes, but they're done right.