Your thoughts on OCs

[Captain Marvelous 544]

so I have a quiestion, what are your thoughts on OCs for fanfics...

 

How can you make a good OC, how can you make a bad OC

 

Whats some differences between hero OCs and villian OCs

[Finesthour 7,287]

I am completly find with OC'S, as long as you create them correctly.

 

Give them a back story.

 

Give them a true life.

[Crispy 5,563]

Perfect example of a fleshed out OC?

 

[jdb1984 14]

I use OC's only when necessary, if I think that a canon character won't be able to do the job. Otherwise, I stick with canon characters.

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

I'm okay with OCs unless you try to mix them with canons. Then I am not okay with that because it usually doesn't go well. Although honestly, most OCs aren't very well made. But I am quite fond of looking at other people's OCs and love OC artwork and seeing the many types of ponies they can create. I'm much more interested in stories (although I don't usually read fanfiction) about OCs than canons because honestly? Most people don't write fan fiction that strictly adheres to canon and I would not like to see the canon ponies depicted differently.

 

There's also an overabundance of pegasi and that annoys me. Seriously, not everypony has to have wings! Why is it even necessary for some OCs to have wings when they'd be perfectly fine as earth ponies? Because wings are cool, that's why, and I don't want my OC to be a lame powerless earth pony! It's that thought process that annoys me.

 

And don't even get me started on alicorns. I don't accept alicorns at all. Just no.

[Finesthour 7,287]

I'm okay with OCs unless you try to mix them with canons. Then I am not okay with that because it usually doesn't go well. Although honestly, most OCs aren't very well made. But I am quite fond of looking at other people's OCs and love OC artwork and seeing the many types of ponies they can create. I'm much more interested in stories (although I don't usually read fanfiction) about OCs than canons because honestly? Most people don't write fan fiction that strictly adheres to canon and I would not like to see the canon ponies depicted differently.

 

There's also an overabundance of pegasi and that annoys me. Seriously, not everypony has to have wings! Why is it even necessary for some OCs to have wings when they'd be perfectly fine as earth ponies? Because wings are cool, that's why, and I don't want my OC to be a lame powerless earth pony! It's that thought process that annoys me.

 

And don't even get me started on alicorns. I don't accept alicorns at all. Just no.

 

....All my OC's are Earth ponies, given one being a unicorn and the other a griffin.

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

....All my OC's are Earth ponies, given one being a unicorn and the other a griffin.

 

Ah, at least somepony does this! I'm in a few OC groups on DA, and my inbox is usually filled with pegasi. Which is why I say this. Also, most of my friends invent pegasi characters... Edited January 10, 2012 by Arylett Dawnsborough

[Mister Jack 566]

I have no problems with OCs as long as they are done well. There are generally some rules of thumb to follow when making pony OCs. You don't necessarily HAVE to follow them, but it is really, REALLY hard to break them and still have a good character.

 

1. NO ALICORNS. Making an alicorn besides Luna or Celestia just screams "Mary Sue". Can it be done successfully? Maybe, but it's a real uphill battle to win people over to an alicorn character. Except for Lauren Faust's ponysona, I haven't seen a single one that has been generally accepted.

 

2. No crazy color patterns. Trying too hard to make a pony that stands out from the rest often makes it look like a complete mess. The same applies to things like demon horns or lizard tails and the like. They just don't belong on a pony.

 

3. No long lost relatives of canons. You could maybe get away with having a distant relative of a background character, but having some stallion show up and declare himself to be Rainbow Dash's brother tends to instantly get people to turn against that character. This can be pulled off, but it's not easy.

 

4. No shipping with canons. Again, this one actually can be done well, but it is really, really difficult and requires a lot of care and forethought. Shoving an OC with a canon pony can too easily seem like nothing but wish fulfillment, so unless you really know what you're doing you should probably just avoid it. You could probably manage having an OC be a FRIEND of the mane 6 as long as they aren't constantly singing his or her praises. Keep things in perspective.

 

5. No upstaging the canons. Nobody is going to like a unicorn who is inexplicably better at magic than Twilight or a pegasus who can outrace Rainbow Dash (with the possible exception of a Wonderbolt). You especially don't want to outdo the princesses. Things like that cheapen the characters people have grown to love and it makes them resent the OC.

 

6. No political mouthpieces. Under NO circumstances should an OC be used as an avatar for expressing controversial opinions, be they applicable to the real world or elements of the show/fandom itself. There is perhaps no faster way to get people to hate not only the character, but the CREATOR of the character. No matter the temptation, if you care at all about making a good character you need to avoid this like the PLAGUE.

 

Nobody can force anyone to follow any of these guidelines, of course, but ignoring them is going to make it a lot more difficult to get one's character accepted.

[Captain Marvelous 544]

I guess I do have an Alicorn in one of my upcoming stories... actually five...

 

Of course I have good reasons:

 

A) villans should be stronger then the main characters... you know, give them something to over come

2) Since it seems we could have a "fourth" Alicorn in series who said there aren't others... Honestly I don't see this "Filly" Alicorn in that one scene,,, and I don't know of what will happen with this "bride" Alicorn we've see that one cut out of

Square) I made a good Alicorn story for them, makes sense and possible for the show (unless stated other wise) kind of an chosen evolution if you will, and these characters have relateble backgrounds... relateble characters apparently win fans

Chicken) Main reason, the story is loosely based Kamen Rider W... there are 6 memories in the show, 5 of which these characters are named after... the 6th memory is called "Luna..." makes for a good origin for Nightmare Moon and her darkness

[Finesthour 7,287]

Heh.

 

You guys rant on Alicorns...

 

But the only reason you do because people do it badly.

 

I have had an Alicorn OC, and I worked it good.

 

He had no idea how to work his powers, and was new to flying.

[Captain Marvelous 544]

Heh.

 

You guys rant on Alicorns...

 

But the only reason you do because people do it badly.

 

I have had an Alicorn OC, and I worked it good.

 

He had no idea how to work his powers, and was new to flying.

 

I do mine quite simple, mine are lower class, while Celestia's and Luna's powers powers deals with the Sun and Moon themselves and anything involved, these specializes in one talent and are weaker then the sisters.

 

Such as Heat's magma flames maybe able to melt rock, Celestia's flame from the sun would still engulf her

 

=====

Honestly any character, even one that seems like a Mary Sue/ Gary Stu can become a great character, and able to fit into the in show continuity

 

Take a pony that calls himself a Pony that represents a 7th element of Harmony... that's to easy to make cannon.

Edited January 10, 2012 by Captain Marvelous

[Finesthour 7,287]

Honestly any character, even one that seems like a Mary Sue/ Gary Stu can become a great character, and able to fit into the in show continuity

 

Take a pony that calls himself a Pony that represents a 7th element of Harmony... that's to easy to make cannon.

 

Exactly my point.

 

I say, never judge a type of character you have SEEN done.

 

Because that person can be truly bad, and it makes a bad name for people who actually try to make their characters work.

[Zoop 8,384]

You guys rant on Alicorns...

 

But the only reason you do because people do it badly.

Unless there are extremely exceptional and very well thought out circumstances within the story, they are simply completely and utterly unnecesary; moreso when you consider the circumstances with which they appear within canon.

 

Can I accept them if done properly? Sure.

 

How many have I accepted? One.

 

How many fanfics do I read? A lot.

[Mister Jack 566]

Would that one happen to be Nyx?

[Zoop 8,384]

Would that one happen to be Nyx?

Ehh. I'm kind of half and half on Nyx.

 

I enjoyed Past Sins for the most part, but I kind of feel that the quality of the story took a bit of a dip when she 'grew up' so to speak.

 

Also, I moved this to Sugarcube corner - this isn't actually fanfiction itself, so it didn't really belong in Octavia's Hall.

[Mister Jack 566]

I haven't actually read Past Sins. I haven't read that many fics in general, really. It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I've been too busy working on my own. The last part I submitted was around 70 pages...

 

I do intend to read some of these more popular ones someday. Anyway, which alicorn was it?

[Zoop 8,384]

I do intend to read some of these more popular ones someday. Anyway, which alicorn was it?

Nihila, from Crisis: Equestria.

 

While I would classify it as an amazing fic (though it is enjoyable), it gets a pass for one reason: the story takes place in a quasi-parallel universe that has its own pair of alicorns; however instead of ruling over and representing day and night, they represent - quite literally, I might add - the forces of harmony and chaos, kept in check and forcibly balanced by each other. Nihila's character, rather than being omnipresent being, plastered all over the entire story, has been a background operator of sorts thus far, and has thus managed to avoid hogging the spotlight.

[WinterBolt 56]

I agree with everyone above on their opinions on OCs xD Not many fanfics have I read where the author was able to blend OCs and canon characters together well without messing up the mannerisms of the canon chars themselves. I'm never opposed to OCs however, as long as they are developed.

 

I'm okay with OCs unless you try to mix them with canons. Then I am not okay with that because it usually doesn't go well. Although honestly, most OCs aren't very well made. But I am quite fond of looking at other people's OCs and love OC artwork and seeing the many types of ponies they can create. I'm much more interested in stories (although I don't usually read fanfiction) about OCs than canons because honestly? Most people don't write fan fiction that strictly adheres to canon and I would not like to see the canon ponies depicted differently.

 

There's also an overabundance of pegasi and that annoys me. Seriously, not everypony has to have wings! Why is it even necessary for some OCs to have wings when they'd be perfectly fine as earth ponies? Because wings are cool, that's why, and I don't want my OC to be a lame powerless earth pony! It's that thought process that annoys me.

 

And don't even get me started on alicorns. I don't accept alicorns at all. Just no.

 

Lol, out of all the ponies I've created so far... I have 1 Pegasus, 1 Unicorn, and 2 Earth Ponies x3

[jdb1984 14]

I have an OC that's a villain, but he interacts with Canon characters, both before and after his reveal. Since I didn't make him related to the Canon characters, I think I followed the "no mixing with Canon characters". But he still needed to interact with the Canon characters.

[SXCJ40 125]

my OC is just a pony version of my manga character who is learing to jump dimention portals.....

although my OC pony is tecnicaly my manga character, he is not canon to my stories (The pic above was just for fun)

I don't write fanfiction, but i do some mlp comics, my OC is usualy either just in the background as a cameo, or arguing with doctor whooves about time and space travel.

Edited January 10, 2012 by SXCJ40

[---------------------- 1,645]

I have an OC pony, unnamed ill post it in the art section.

 

I like OC ponies because they have allot of creativity, and as I alwys say YOU CANT HAVE ENOUGH PONIES

Edited January 10, 2012 by marco23p

[Captain Marvelous 544]

So here is my question to you guys...

 

What makes a pony Mary Sue to you?

 

another question

 

what is the worst OC you have ever seen

 

I hear this Griff the Griffon is a top contender

[Mister Jack 566]

Griffy wouldn't be nearly as reviled if his creator wasn't also a homophobe.

 

Still a bad character either way, but just saying.

[Espionage 113]

Griff the Griffon? Never heard of it.

 

In any case: The Golden Rule of OC Character is: Perfection is BAD

[Colon Leftbracket 971]

I have an OC... (well censored at the moment in protest)

 

He has a backstory, he has a special talent, a personality, even a look. (Though I'd definitely love to finally draw him by hand to get him just right... alas I cannot draw). I love people having OCs!

 

As for in OCs in fan fics... depends. Now when I (attempt to) write about MLP I find it hard for me to use the show's Ponies. I just can't seem to write their personalities right! But if I make the character and personality then it is MUCH easier for me to write!

 

As for other peoples OCs in fan fics... not sure... haven't read too many fan fics to know. I suppose as long as they feel natural to live in Equestria then fine with me!