Things that I hate about OC's

[Diamond* 531]

I can agree to this.

People making Alicorn OC's is really annoying, it gets on my nerves because "they are the most powerful" and silly stuff with that.

 

And also, the dark OC's are pointless and overused. Come on people -.-

[Durandal 623]

I'd be sitting here all day coming up with just how many character qualities make alarms go off in my head, so I think it'd be much more effective to get to the heart of the matter.

 

Like it has been said before, most qualities are like tropes - they are tools to be used, if the user does not use them effectively, or know how to use them, they fail. The problem is, qualities like black color schemes, (lets be honest with ourselves. Luna has a dark color scheme. Most OC's color schemes are black.) alicorns, and dead parents are tropes that are so often misused that they are considered impossible to use correctly (though I have to wonder if a black color scheme is all that preferable, seems like poor design, honestly).

 

So really, the issue is intent. If the author tried to give some thought into character design, I'll treat it favorably. However, what seems to be the case with most OCs is that they're either fulfilling personal fantasies of grandeur or becoming an emotional outlet. Either way, the author is emotionally attached to them, severely reducing what can be done with them. This is a terrible practice that should always be weeded out of players.

 

Getting past the badasses and wangst, another thing that bothers me is missed potential: static characters. Oftentimes, good characters will become boring because of a lack of change. Nothing is learned by the characters, none of what they're doing is sinking in, so they aren't developing. Character development is essential to interesting characters, and it bothers me when it's squandered. And then there are aimless characters - characters who change, but in no conceivable direction.

 

Ultimately, though, the idea is to create verisimilitude. If I don't think your character is realistic, I'm not going to care. On the other hand, if you can pull off a black-color scheme (again, probably not advisable - seems like poor design to me) alicorn that is the sister of Celestia who lost her parents long ago who has flaws, isn't around to defeat every obstacle, and doesn't drift into wangst territory, I will enjoy your character just as much as I would any other successful OC. It'd be fuckin' hard, but it isn't impossible.

Edited August 6, 2013 by Durandal

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

Um, sir?

 

Well, I don't think it's Pony Creator's fault. It's pretty helpful for those who can't draw. The only issue is the idea. You can blame the person for making those blinding OCs, not the software. Blame the man, not the sword.

 

This, this, thisity this. I get a bit annoyed with people who go, "I hate ponymaker OCs" cuz they're assuming that everypony can either draw or has the technology in order to make vectors. I can draw but I don't have a scanner. I also don't have a tablet or any fancy pants vectoring programme, cuz I can't afford them. I do try to beg art from people when I can, cuz I prefer arts to ponymaker pictures for my OCs, but I'm not about to rain hate on those who have no means of getting art.

 

Think ponymaker is bad? Here is something far, far, FAR worse.

 

RECOLOURS.

 

That, by the way, is taking a piece of original art or a screenshot from the show and colouring over it to make your OC. I haven't seen it so much in the MLP fandom (probably cuz of ponymaker) but it pops up all the time in the Sonic and Naruto fandom, and it is dire. Basically, you're stealing art that someone spent ages on just to make your OC. If you can't draw then either commission art or use a dollmaker, for example, tektek to make your character on. Or make a handdrawn doll. I made a doll for one of my characters.

 

Also, as far as bad OCs go, I'd personally far rather see a well written alicorn OC than a terrible earth pony OC who's a Mary Sue. I posted this in the Alicorn OC topic, but it bears repeating:

 

 

The thing is, any pony character can be a Mary Sue. It's got nothing to do with the character's race, more to do with the way they are written. For example: compare these two characters.

 

Moonlight is an alicorn. She was made an alicorn by Princess Celestia cuz of her selfless work saving ponies' lives when an earthquake happened in Manehatten. Moonlight has a royal blue coat with an aqua blue mane and tail. Her cutie mark is a doctor's symbol cuz her talent is for healing magic. Moonlight often has attacks of self doubt, and feels very self conscious about her wings. She's not the best flyer; in fact, she describes herself as the worst flyer in the world. Every time she tries, she crashlands. She's paranoid that other ponies are laughing at her, so whenever possible, she walks or takes the train instead. Moonlight would love to have a special somepony, but she never can keep a relationship; she's far too clingy and possessive and drives stallions away. She doesn't know this, and wonders why she can never keep a coltfriend.  She often has attacks of paranoia, when she imagines her alicorn honour being taken away from her cuz she believes that she doesn't deserve it.

 

Serenity Jewel is an earth pony. She has a pale pink coat which sparkles in sunlight, and a mane and tail which is five different shades of pink. She lives in Ponyville and is best friends with the Mane Six. In fact, cuz of her special talent to do magic, which no other earth pony can do but her, she sometimes teaches Twilight how to do magic. Serenity Jewel is better at magic than Twilight, stronger than Applejack, has a sixth sense which warns her of danger which is better than Pinkie's Pinkie sense, can actually speak to animals far better than Fluttershy and can make a spell that gives her wings and makes her fly better than Rainbow. All of the Mane Six admire Serenity Jewel so much that Twilight created a new Element of Harmony just for her. It is the Element of Specialness and only Serenity Jewel can wield it. Everypony loves her cept for Trixie, who's her rival and is jealous of Serenity Jewel. Serenity Jewel would never dream of revenge, but can see with her sixth sense that bad things will happen to Trixie cuz of her hate and jealousy. Serenity Jewel is kind, sweet and just a teeny bit clumsy, but that doesn't matter cuz whenever she trips, a stallion will always catch her before she falls. She is best pony ever, and everypony knows it!

 

Ugh. I want to stab myself for typing that second character out. -.- See the difference? An alicorn isn't necessarily a Mary Sue, but you do have to do a lot more work to ensure that they're not. An earth pony can be a far worse Sue in the hands of a writer who only cares about wish fufillment and having her character be the best at everything.

 

Dark OCs don't bother me overmuch; it can work, just as long as they're not unrealistically characterised. For example, one of my OCs has an absent father, and a mother who wasn't really around much cuz she was too busy gambling. Not abusive, just absent and not really good mother material. My OC has a black mane and tail, true, but his fur is red and indigo. Yes, patches are perfectly alright, look at normal horses! There are dozens of different colours in normal horses; palomino, strawberry roan, bright bay, golden chestnut, piebald etc.

[RockinRarity 1,605]

As someone who's been in other fandoms, a Mary Sue Litmus Test is one of the worst ideas a fandom can conceive and don't belong anywhere. MS Litmus Tests force people to tally points in order for people conclude whether the fancharacter is a Mary Sue or not. These tests are extremely simplified because they only evaluate concepts from face value and not the idea in general. (Most of the well-done characters actually tend to fail the litmus test, while many of the worst tend to pass.) Their only purposes are to attack OC creation in general and bully people into making none at all, and abstaining people from creativity (whether the characters are well-developed or not) is a terrible thing to do in fandom.

 

I am inclined to agree with you in regards to characters that are made by people who actually know how to add depth to their characters.

 

The problem with a lot of characters that people create, especially for new writers, is that they use these face-value concepts and assume that those face-value concepts add depth to their character. It's why these characters become cliched. They go, "Ooooooo dead parents and awesome powers" and think those concepts alone will make their character deep.

 

I find that the more thorough the litmus test, and the more exceptions to certain rules that are made, the better they are. I did find an MLP litmus test on deviantart and it wasn't very good. It scratched the bare surface of the problems with Mary Sue OCs and didn't touch on concepts that are more universal. There also were, like, no exceptions to certain rules.

 

A lot of tests, I find, will emphasize the fact that some of the stuff that adds points up are good, as long as you don't have TOO much of that stuff. A lot of tests will tell you that if your score is too low, then your character is boring as hell and that you are being too safe.

 

The Litmus Test also is not a Bible. It is, however, a place for newbies to start so that they understand that a unique OC does not equal Alicorn grandson of Celestia with dead parents who is more powerful than Twilight and is in love with her. A character like that COULD be made well, but for new writers who assume that those things will automatically add depth to the character, it typically doesn't bode well.

 

New writers also need to understand how to create character not using those concepts alone, but rather adding personality, emotion, the things that make the character tick, etc.

 

So I do understand why you feel the way you do. I just believe that as long as it's not the only tool for new writers to use when creating a character, it can be used as a tool, correctly.

[Icicle the Ice Pony 14]

I completely agree. For alicorns, it's almost as if the people making it don't even want to come up with at least a simple back story or something. It's just automatically "Oh, yeah, they're royalty. Whatevs." Same with dark. If it's an actual long, depressed back story, though, I don't mind, because at least they're creative. But just them being a demon pony or emo, that P.O's me. 

[. eris . 1,661]

I see a lot of hatred for Alicorns here...

 

This is entirely unacceptable. You wenches must be put in your place!

 

In all seriousness, I really don't like Alicorn OCs. It was such a big deal when Twilight became an Alicorn, and the only one we've seen actually...well, young was Cadence. And it was quite obvious that Cadence was no usual foal. So no, I pretty much think Alicorns hit several snags on their way tearing through canon. 

 

Something else I really don't like is the sad/grimdark backstory. Yes, some people have bad experiences and terrible upbringings, but it gets laughable when people just heap every horrible thing known to mankind onto this poor character. It gets to the point where you go, "What is the point of playing a depressing/suicidal/abused character if that's all they're ever going to be? If they don't develop past that point?" 

 

Personally, I like my OCs to be fun to play. I like being able to have little conversations with them, just for fun. ^^ And if they're going to inhabit my head, I might as well have fun with them.

 

So if you enjoy playing Alicorns and grimdark backstory ponies as much as I enjoy roleplaying with my unicorn snobs and pegasus playboys, then I suppose I'm not one to judge. ^^

 

((Although something I despise is neon coloring. Stoppit, whoever invented that trend!))

[Icicle the Ice Pony 14]

I am inclined to agree with you in regards to characters that are made by people who actually know how to add depth to their characters.

 

The problem with a lot of characters that people create, especially for new writers, is that they use these face-value concepts and assume that those face-value concepts add depth to their character. It's why these characters become cliched. They go, "Ooooooo dead parents and awesome powers" and think those concepts alone will make their character deep.

 

I find that the more thorough the litmus test, and the more exceptions to certain rules that are made, the better they are. I did find an MLP litmus test on deviantart and it wasn't very good. It scratched the bare surface of the problems with Mary Sue OCs and didn't touch on concepts that are more universal. There also were, like, no exceptions to certain rules.

 

A lot of tests, I find, will emphasize the fact that some of the stuff that adds points up are good, as long as you don't have TOO much of that stuff. A lot of tests will tell you that if your score is too low, then your character is boring as hell and that you are being too safe.

 

The Litmus Test also is not a Bible. It is, however, a place for newbies to start so that they understand that a unique OC does not equal Alicorn grandson of Celestia with dead parents who is more powerful than Twilight and is in love with her. A character like that COULD be made well, but for new writers who assume that those things will automatically add depth to the character, it typically doesn't bode well.

 

New writers also need to understand how to create character not using those concepts alone, but rather adding personality, emotion, the things that make the character tick, etc.

 

So I do understand why you feel the way you do. I just believe that as long as it's not the only tool for new writers to use when creating a character, it can be used as a tool, correctly.

Funny, I just said a big long thing agreeing with you and you said "Dead parents, awesome powers." and I was like "Whoah my OC has both." However, I think as long as it's a normal character who, y'know, has more info about them, it's ok. Right?

[RockinRarity 1,605]

Funny, I just said a big long thing agreeing with you and you said "Dead parents, awesome powers." and I was like "Whoah my OC has both." However, I think as long as it's a normal character who, y'know, has more info about them, it's ok. Right?

 

An OC with dead parents and awesome powers is not automatically considered a Mary Sue. If you took a Litmus Test and those were the only two things on there that you needed to tally points over, then you would technically pass, maybe even be told that it needs more added to him to make him interesting.

 

As I said, as long as you remember to give actual personality traits, give them real emotions and realistic non-cliched reactions to certain things, then there isn't usually a problem. The character also needs to have real imperfections and flaws that people (and ponies) have (and not just being clumsy... that is a flaw, but it shouldn't be your only flaw).

 

It is a combination of face-value concepts, personality, emotions, temperament, and realistic non-cliched reactions to particular situations that make the character.

 

The real problem with Mary Sues is that they are lazy.

[Icicle the Ice Pony 14]

An OC with dead parents and awesome powers is not automatically considered a Mary Sue. If you took a Litmus Test and those were the only two things on there that you needed to tally points over, then you would technically pass, maybe even be told that it needs more added to him to make him interesting.

 

As I said, as long as you remember to give actual personality traits, give them real emotions and realistic non-cliched reactions to certain things, then there isn't usually a problem. The character also needs to have real imperfections and flaws that people (and ponies) have (and not just being clumsy... that is a flaw, but it shouldn't be your only flaw).

 

It is a combination of face-value concepts, personality, emotions, temperament, and realistic non-cliched reactions to particular situations that make the character.

 

The real problem with Mary Sues is that they are lazy.

Gotcha. Yeah, my character, though he has dead parents, has forgotten his past since an explosion in an ice cave during the cold age of Equestria gave him amnesia. (It also killed his parents and gave him powers.) This results in him being happy go lucky, and not giving a flying feather about the world because of his forgetfulness of it. The reason I told you this is an example of a one-personality OC. I HATE it when people give an OC a bipolar attitude with like 4-5 traits. It's a sign of "Hmm, I don't know which trait to choose so I'll use all!"

[Starshine 16,334]

This thread brought tears to my eyes ;-;

 

I used to make fun of weird OCs, but now I finally realize that pretty much all of my OCs have the Mary Sue traits one way or another. Some of my characters have their parents killed gruesomely, on even angsted hard enough to run away and abandon his sister to pursue his dreams. Some other have dark past in a sense. And pretty much all of them have awesome special powers, be it being able to melt steel on a whim or simply have a truckload of money. Not to mention I suck at picking colors and a bit too hesitant to search for an artist to draw any of them for me.

 

I guess I need to work on my priorities ._.

[The Blades Shadow 444]

I pretty much agree with everything that's been said here (Literally everything I would say has already been said)

 

Physical or mental disabilities: Not only is this overused, but it is often misused that it is literally an insult to the people that do have such a disability. Most OCs I see with this are usually "helpless, insecure, and rejected". Usually blindness and/or dementia are the disabilities that are most often *mis*used, from my point of view.

 

Having an OC centered at their disability does not make your OC "better"; instead, it'll be seen as a way for your OC to gain sympathy and cause drama. (unless you're intending for your OC to intentionally act that way) 

 

A disabled OC can STILL be a decent OC, just as long as you try not to center it on his or her disability. In my opinion, it would be much more plausible if the OC simply coped with the problem, allowing his or her disability to be a small issue in life.

 

Outcast: If one fact is correct for this show, it is that ponies do NOT act like complete bullies and reject your OC. Yes, I know that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon do act mean to the CMC, but it does not justify your OC being unaccepted by society.

Personally, I'm fine with these two as long as they have a good reason for it. (For example, my OC has a disability and he's an outcast, but that's only because he's supposed to be based off of me)

But if they have them to make their OC "better", then I agree that it's pretty bad...

[Blue Moon 6,341]

This thread brought tears to my eyes ;-;

 

I used to make fun of weird OCs, but now I finally realize that pretty much all of my OCs have the Mary Sue traits one way or another. Some of my characters have their parents killed gruesomely, on even angsted hard enough to run away and abandon his sister to pursue his dreams. Some other have dark past in a sense. And pretty much all of them have awesome special powers, be it being able to melt steel on a whim or simply have a truckload of money. Not to mention I suck at picking colors and a bit too hesitant to search for an artist to draw any of them for me.

 

I guess I need to work on my priorities ._.

Actually, tragic backstories aren't traits of Mary Sues; they're just used a lot and most of the time unnecessary. However, they can be done well.

[Shrineheart 32]

As a long-term roleplayer, I'll say some of them. I don't actually hate them, but I recommend they shouldn't be used, unless you are experienced and have the capability to pull it off.

 

Physical or mental disabilities: Not only is this overused, but it is often misused that it is literally an insult to the people that do have such a disability. Most OCs I see with this are usually "helpless, insecure, and rejected". Usually blindness and/or dementia are the disabilities that are most often *mis*used, from my point of view.

 

Having an OC centered at their disability does not make your OC "better"; instead, it'll be seen as a way for your OC to gain sympathy and cause drama. (unless you're intending for your OC to intentionally act that way) 

 

A disabled OC can STILL be a decent OC, just as long as you try not to center it on his or her disability. In my opinion, it would be much more plausible if the OC simply coped with the problem, allowing his or her disability to be a small issue in life.

 

Dead parents: Also overused, and generally seen as lazy in an application. It is, however, perfectly fine if a parent passed away, but chances are, the OC had already carried on with his or her life rather than mourning for his or her dead parent. 

 

Outcast: If one fact is correct for this show, it is that ponies do NOT act like complete bullies and reject your OC. Yes, I know that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon do act mean to the CMC, but it does not justify your OC being unaccepted by society. 

 

Extreme Introvert: If your OC won't interact with anyone, then you should really stop roleplaying. Roleplaying means collaboration, not hiding yourself in solitude. 

 

Relations with Main or Supporting Ponies in the Show: This makes you act like a fanboy/girl, along with restricting the people who either want to apply or already applied for that character, stagnating the cast pony's development. 

 

Same color: Not very appealing; I advise people who are creating OC appearances to use different colors for mane/tail, coat, and eyes. Saturated colors should be avoided at all times, including red and black.

 

Same mane/tail as the Mane 6: Again, very uncreative and lazy. Don't do this. 

 

Okay so, I love your points here! Physical mental disabilities etc is the BIGGEST thing for me. My fiance has a blind pegasus (he's an interpretation of a human character we have in another project) and he's not helpless, he might need an assist while flying but he's just your average pony. I also tend to dislike "They're just crazy/homocidal/etc". I have no problems if a pony oc has a mental issue be that mental disorder, disability, etc. But do your research on the topic if you're going to take it seriously. 

 

Personally the extreme introvert is kind of up in the air for me. I have a character who is like that but we found a way to work him into the roleplay and it wasn't an issue. It all comes down to how you play the character and how the character interacts.

 

Death of parents is usually more of a problem for me when it's like "Oh yeah parents are dead" with NO explanation about it. Just they're dead because it's convenient. 

 

I've seen people who pull off characters being related to or knowing the mane cast really well but it tends to be rare. If I were going to do it personally it would be in a rather 3rd party sort of way? Someone buying a dress from Rarity, someone talking about the new Alicorn princess, etc. If I was going to choose someone to be related to one of the cast members it would be part of the Apple Family because good god there are so many it would be believable if they had someone from their extended family show up.

 

Color palettes and designs usually do need work.

 

One thing I try to take into account with ALL OC ponies is that most of them are first timer's attempts at making a character. It's their first time being creative. If people ask for feedback I hand it to them if not them I don't bother. I actually do commissions of various characters for folks and there's a lot that could use some work design wise but might have great backstory and vice versa. 

 

To add to the list of things that bug me about OCs? Overly. Complicated. Cutie Marks. Ohmygod.

 

Personally, my OCs just sort of come about based on ideas I have about the world and personalities I enjoy. Topline, one of my OCs, does dressage which in our headcanon is a form of dancing (since dressage is an actual equestrian sport IRL) his cutie mark is two hoof marks and a top hat. Simmer Down is a food vendor and enjoys cooking. Her mark is a frying pan. Cutie marks don't need to be overly complicated to get the point across, even nebulous concepts can be portrayed well in the show style.

 

People who are just making OCs tend to do everything to the extremes. They want the character to be cool and flashy and well known. But in doing so they often toss out what makes characters seem real, relateable and believable. For me, I'm much more inclined to love a character if that character seems to have a real personality to me. If a character is all flash and no substance I'm not really interested. 

[Nurin Insyirah 12]

Well, it appears that some people just take five minutes to create an OC on the PonyMaker, and then take another ten minutes to flesh out the personality. I take an hour to do mine (not on this site) and they're still not good enough for me. Maybe it's just because of my imagination, but I think people should take an hour at the least. There are solutions to almost any problem people have:

 

1. I needed to get this done quick because I needed to go to work/school/sleep/whatever.

Just put it on Google Drive or a word processing document, save it, and get to it later. Nopony's telling you to finish in a day.

2. Lack of inspiration.

Look up some OCs, browse some pictures. That's what I do. When I wanted to make my first character, I couldn't decide on a lot of things, so I started on the cutie mark - I saw random pics on the internet, and thought about whether it would be considered a good talent.

3. I don't have much time.

Why are you even on the Internet? You can occasionally browse through, but roleplays require you to be on a lot, and even more time if you're playing with an expert player - some tend to have high expectations,and you're gonna spend some extra time thinking of what to post.

 

Now, I understand if whatever the character can do is important (somehow) or if they handle it well/

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

@@Nurin Insyirah, Lol, it sometimes takes me days to get characters made and fleshed out. I take a little while to think up their personality traits long before I get round to making an image of them. XD

 

I always hate those excuses; it's like the excuses people come up with to try and excuse their terrible fanfic writing. "I wrote this at 1am!" "I'm sugar high!" "It's fanfiction, I can do what I like!"

 

Regarding the "dead parents/outcast/etc" tropes... they can be used, but there has to be more to it than simply making a character look cool or for plot convienience. Just like with Mary Sues; the problem with them is that they're either flat, boring characters or they're too special. You can have a beautiful, talented or otherwise special character, all you need to do is balance it. For example, if your character is a beautiful unicorn... make her vain and arrogant. If they're a talented pegasus... make them boastful and brash. The trick is to balance.

[Fluttermena 1,223]

There's one concept that not many people talk about when discussing OC flaws, and it's the intent and purpose behind the OC. Characters that are created as self-inserts or who have no purpose other than being a ponysona are usually crappy, eyeroll-inducing messes. Characters that are part of a cast of OCs and are designed for fanfiction and stories tend to be much better. 

If you create an OC that's meant to represent you, chances are it's not going to be useful or interesting, and having a single OC in a world of canon characters just makes your story look like a self-insert fantasy. Try having a diverse cast of OCs who interact with each other instead of having the canon characters spend most oftheir time with your lone protagonist OC.

 

I probably have over 30 OCs, too many to keep track of without notes. Among those, there are heroes, villains and supporting characters. Remember that what makes FiM so great is that there are six main characters and many different relationships between all the primary, secondary and other characters. It's not just the adventures of Twilight Sparkle and everyone revolving around her.

 

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

If you create an OC that's meant to represent you, chances are it's not going to be useful or interesting, and having a single OC in a world of canon characters just makes your story look like a self-insert fantasy. Try having a diverse cast of OCs who interact with each other instead of having the canon characters spend most oftheir time with your lone protagonist OC.

That's weird cuz that's exactly how my fanfic is. XD Basically, it's pretty much just OCs at the start; the mane six only appear later on to deal with the Big Bad. Who kicks the flank of my alicorn OC earlier on. Anyway, I really must finish the fic; that's a bad habit of mine, starting but not finishing.

[crazitaco 596]

There's one concept that not many people talk about when discussing OC flaws, and it's the intent and purpose behind the OC. Characters that are created as self-inserts or who have no purpose other than being a ponysona are usually crappy, eyeroll-inducing messes. Characters that are part of a cast of OCs and are designed for fanfiction and stories tend to be much better. 

If you create an OC that's meant to represent you, chances are it's not going to be useful or interesting, and having a single OC in a world of canon characters just makes your story look like a self-insert fantasy. Try having a diverse cast of OCs who interact with each other instead of having the canon characters spend most oftheir time with your lone protagonist OC.

 

I probably have over 30 OCs, too many to keep track of without notes. Among those, there are heroes, villains and supporting characters. Remember that what makes FiM so great is that there are six main characters and many different relationships between all the primary, secondary and other characters. It's not just the adventures of Twilight Sparkle and everyone revolving around her.

I have to disagree with you here. Its not that hard to make an OC that represents you interesting, you just have to greatly exaggerate both its good and bad qualities and think outside the chimney. For instance, my avatar is of OC is named Krazie Taco. I just took the username i use for everything and turned it into a representative character. Not everything about the character is100% accurate to me (obviously i don't have red and yellow hair and i don't work in a taco shop irl), but personality wise the character is me. I took my own brand of weirdness and off-traits and just decided to greatly exaggerate it into a cartoon character. Basically i consider my OC to be a caricature of myself in a way.

Edited August 8, 2013 by crazitaco

[Ice Storm 1,020]

Outcast: If one fact is correct for this show, it is that ponies do NOT act like complete bullies and reject your OC. Yes, I know that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon do act mean to the CMC, but it does not justify your OC being unaccepted by society.

 

Actually, a Vast majority of Ponies from Canterlot Rejected and Looked down at Rarity and scoffed at most of the mane 6 when they were in Canterlot on multiple occasions from the show. This can be shown in "The Best Night Ever", "Sweet and Elite", As you stated, every episode that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are in, "Luna Eclipsed" (Everypony Except Twilight Feared and Ran From Luna), "Hearths Warming Eve" (in the story they portrayed the very point of it was the fact that they three races treated each other as outcasts.) "One Bad Apple" (Applejack states that Babs Seed was constantly bullied and treated as an outcast in where she was from, which was why she in-turn started Bullying the CMC.

 

So yeah, ponies do treat others differently, and negatively based on where they are from, how they look, and what they are.

 

Also for those who are stating that Dark isn't canon, I can disprove this as well. All of the Princesses have been in wars, that have been documented in the show. Celestia herself recounts Defeating Discord and Sombra while a "prophecy" tells of the Banishment of Nightmare Moon, (Which might I add was Celestia being forced to banish her own sister, which is about as dark as it gets.) You don't just defeat things. Never in any setting has someone waltzed up to someone in power and just defeated them without having to go through lines of combatants without infiltration, and Celestia and Luna are not the Infiltrating type.

 

They entire Crystal Empire as well was overtaken by an evil coupe, and was places under enslavement for a thousand years before Celestia and Luna overthrew Sombra, which then left caused the Crystal Empire to Disappear and get left in a state of permanent stasis until it was brought back. Even Lauren Faust in a panel, Dated November of 2012 when she was questioned about the creation of Equestria stated that Equestria is "not a Paradise" and that "Things will happen, things will go wrong, and people will find out that Equestria isn't as happy-go-lucky they think it is.".

 

That being said, the issue I have with OCs are Non-canon. We are making our characters to put in a pre-designed world. You can't go into an MMO and create a character with things that don't naturally occur or exist in that game, so why should your OC have things that wouldn't naturally be found in this environment? They shouldn't. The Canon world, in my opinion, should be the basis for all characters. There's honestly no real reason for there to be anything else, unless you are creating something for one specific roleplay.

 

One of the other things that I dislike are short back stories. I like back stories that do exactly what their name implies, tell a story. I believe all back stories should document all important events in a character's life, what caused those events, how that character reacted to those events when they happened, and how that event changed that character, either for the better or for the worse. The fluff is what makes a character, not just the bare bones, "my character does this and this is his/her cutie mark.

 

I do believe however, anything, for a free RP world Character, should be perfectly fine as long as the back story for the character can clearly explain everything that has occurred with the character to tell why things are the way they are for that character. This includes cast relations. In my non-Equestrian Empire app of Ice Storm for example, Luna plays a large role in her back story, both directly, and sentimentally. That being said, I do believe that Character relations between Main characters should not exist in a true canon environment, which is why there are rules in place against such in the Equestrian Empire section. And you'll find that the two applications that I have for my Non-EqE Ice and my Canon Ice are vastly different in their presentation.

 

That being said, I agree with most of everything else on here. Just those few points that I disagreed on.

Edited August 9, 2013 by Ice Storm

[Xievie 498]

When it comes to making an OC, there are a few things that bug me. Take note that I am not giving the rules of the church. Don't be offended if any of these apply to you, but don't not fix the problem if you find a problem.

 

1) You MUST make them naked if making them with a pony creator. The pony creator's clothing are HORRIBLE. If you are giving them clothing, try not to make it casual. The only successful clothing I have ever seen has got to be formal dresses and whatnot. Bootie shorts especially make me rage.

When casually walking in town, ponies are naked. They do NOT wear clothing in public. The only time clothing is worn is at something like the formal Gala.

 

2) Make sure to use decent colors. A pony with a damn flat, black coat just looks terrible. I'm fine with gray, but it's hard to make a good OC with a flat black coat. 

Black hair is fine if you make the coat a decent color. I noticed that a coat similar to Fluttershy's works well with black hair. 
I don't know what to say about this, but a color like black hair does not go with a flat apple-red coat. The coat can't be too strong.

Brown hair is EXTREMELY difficult to use. Do not attempt it unless you are completely sure you can pull it off. Brown hair is much more difficult to pull off than a black coat. It's even worse if it's a flat brown color.

 

3) Eyes. When making a pony, you have to use normal eyes unless you can give a good story/backstory. Lizard eyes usually don't make sense, and it's also REALLY hard to make a convincing OC that is half-lizard and half-pony. 

Also, try not to give them red eyes unless it really does fit.

 

4) Do your best to make them in the present. If you make an OC for the future or the past, I hope it's not your main OC. 

 

5) It REALLY bugs me when people make their OC and have them associated with drugs, alcohol, and violence. Unless you use them in roleplaying or a fanfic, it's totally inappropiate. Even if it defines you as a person, do your best not to do this.

 

6) Be creative. We need LESS Alicorns and MORE fillies and old ponies. Not saying it's wrong to make a pony around the age of the mane 6, but it would be really cool to see more fillies for sure.

 

7) PLEASE. Do NOT use the hairstyle of well known characters. Fluttershy's, Rainbow Dash's, and Vinyl's are hairstyles I ALWAYS SEE. I WROTE THIS IN ALL BOLD. THIS INFURIATES ME. It is not preference. It's 99.5% of the time laziness.

 

8) When you finish making an OC, if possible, show it to others, usually on MLPforums, and get their critique. Tell them to be honest. If they think it is crap, have them tell you it. For some things, you just have to be hard on yourself. For an OC, put as much effort as you can.

 

9) Be creative. Wait, wasn't this #6? Well, I'll say it again. Not only do you have to be creative with stuff like age and whatnot, but making an interesting backstory is important. Some people feel obligated to giving them a cutie mark. While you probably should have a cutie mark as an older pony, my OC (Which I still need to work on) loses his memory yearly to a spell (I used a spell rather than sickness/disorder because magic would be much more believable in this case) and because of this, loses his cutie mark.

While my OC still needs a bit of work, I made up a good, and believable reason that he didn't have one.

Fillies are easier to pull off without cutie marks.

My point is, when making a backstory for something you consider creative, be creative and try to make it so that it is believable to ponies in the show. (also a reason why sex, drugs, and alcohol just don't mix with OC making)

 

10) Give them personality. Everybody has been making OCs that make them too shy, hate themselves, believe they are ugly, feel negative... It is just so rare to see an optimistic pony. I personally put mine in the middle to fit how I am, but without being the downer I am in real life.

 

11) To conclude, here are some big things to keep in mind:

-Be creative and don't feel obligated to make your OC exactly like others' OCs. Feel free to make one a filly if you want. That being said, still don't make an OC that isn't believable.

-Sure, in OC making there is personal opinions on how it can be made, but that doesn't mean it's not crap. Take your OC that everybody thinks is crap, and shape it to how others feel acceptable while still staying true to how you like your pony.

-Don't make a Mary Sue. Nopony is perfect. Don't forget to add flaws, but don't be TOO open about flaws.

 

-----------------------------

 

I'm not saying everything I've said are the RULES OF THE CHURCH, but try to make your OC original and believable.

Make him/her look nice, give them weaknesses, make them believable, etc.

 

As I said, there's a bit of a difference between crap and personal preferences. If your personal preference seems to be crap to others, take your pony and shape it how you want it while doing your best to keep it acceptable to the community.

 

I don't want to be a total carebear and say "oh don't listen to them, make your OC how you want" because there ARE some OCs that I would consider CRAPPY. I won't tell them myself, but I hope they see this post, and try to shape the OC a bit better.

 

One last thing: It's hard to make an OC alone. Get some critique and help along the way while you make it rather than blindly jumping in face first.

Besides, it's a bit harsher to jump in yourself, and come out with crap with people telling it is rather than coming out with a decent one after somebody told you the idea was crap along the way. Also remember that for every finished OC, there is still room to fix them, so be ready to if you see a problem.

Edited August 9, 2013 by Kobato

[♞RedLotus♞ 360]

When it comes to making an OC, there are a few things that bug me. Take note that I am not giving the rules of the church. Don't be offended if any of these apply to you, but don't not fix the problem if you find a problem.

 

1) You MUST make them naked if making them with a pony creator. The pony creator's clothing are HORRIBLE. If you are giving them clothing, try not to make it casual. The only successful clothing I have ever seen has got to be formal dresses and whatnot. Bootie shorts especially make me rage.

When casually walking in town, ponies are naked. They do NOT wear clothing in public. The only time clothing is worn is at something like the formal Gala.

 

 

I agree with you on the whole pony creator thing but! As you can see, my OC wears a hoodie! I think the color of the hoodie matches alot with the color of his coat and mane! I think its pretty casual and make him looks like the young stallion he is. I mean... sure some clothing do look dead awful but not every single piece of clothing does!

 

A nice scarf or hat makes your OC look even more unique! However I do hate socks and shorts, and even shoes! So I agree with you on that.

[Anneal 2,197]

So I'll add some more.

 

"Super" Powers: I don't really like this, it gives an OC an unfair advantage. It would be a bit better if it had a weakness or a cost to it, like healing a pony by transferring the damage to yourself.

 

Extreme Speed: Overused, and it just appears lazy if you claimed that your pegasus can do a Sonic Rainboom and is 2nd place, behind Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash isn't confirmed that she is the fastest pony of Equestria (as only Dash herself claimed so), and only she can do the Sonic Rainboom, and no one else. Don't compare yourself to Rainbow Dash. It is fine, however, if you say that your OC can fly fast or is a professional flyer of such.

 

Bat Wings: Only Luna's guards have this. Whoever wasn't part of Luna's guards shouldn't have bat wings. 

 

Sharp Teeth: Ponies are herbivores, they don't have sharp teeth because they're not eating meat. 

 

Bi-color Coat OCs: The only acceptable reason for this is if your OC is like Pipsqueak, who has spots around his coat. Spots and markings are fine, but it is not if used in a patterned matter. 

[Nurin Insyirah 12]

 

 

When casually walking in town, ponies are naked. They do NOT wear clothing in public. The only time clothing is worn is at something like the formal Gala.

Teenage pony disagrees with you. She wears clothing, and so does her friend.

 

Anyway, this post is going to be off topic if that's all I say, so... I understand if someone has a first OC which is horrible. Once, I was too lazy to research good OCs, so I made a complete Mary Sue. She had a human name, was an alicorn, and was the long-lost sister of Luna and Celestia. That one made no sense - she lived in a normal pony society for a long time, nopony questioning her horn and wings. Her talent was rainbows, and she could change the colours of things. She wasn't too colourful despite her talent, and she had no personality - all I did was go to the ponymaker, and create an alicorn.

[Dark Moon 965]

Whew.....I'm okay on this one. Although my OC is grey, it has blue eyes. Nothing dark.

 

I have to agree with you on all points though, all those things grind my gears as well

[The Awesome One 1,315]

I would like anyone's OC if it had a good color scheme. My first one was kinda very bad, he was a thin Pegasus with almost black coat and red mane...yes, I know, that's terrible. My second one, in my opinion was much better but he looked as if he was related to Luna or something with all the blue.

 

So yeah, please, if you're making an OC, at least make sure the colors fit it.