I've finally lost it · 2:48pm Jun 11th, 2014
Dear FIMFic followers,
You are following a psychopath. Literally.
So listen, I was reading this blog our glorious mod Obselesence made (Here ya go) and I had a brainstorm.
You see, I focus on making characters believable and fun. My plots and story arcs are drab, but hey, I'm trying to improve on that. I know I have several stories behind on updates and I nearly have them all finished, but for right now, I need help. If you read that blog, then you obviously know it's about taking a HORRID story prompt and making the best out of it. If you didn't read it, well now you know. The prompt puts a writer's dignity on the line to take these notoriously bad story settings and breathe some new life into them, making them fun and interesting.
Now we come to the part about me being a psychopath. I'm doing an alicorn OC. Now restrain your dry heaving for this.
It's a red and black alicorn OC.
Yes, you read that right. Red and black.
I don't know if I should be locked up for this, but I want to do it. A regular alicorn OC is a tried concept with many distasteful results, but some good ones in it. But give it a paint job done by an emo teenager with a superiority complex and you travel into fanfic hell. I know the red and black series has had some good stories, but they've all been parodies or satire as far as I've seen.
So, since I know I'm going to lose some followers for this, I wanted to let you know beforehand. I am writing a red and black alicorn OC story and NOT making it a parody or satire. I'm going to write an honest to Celestia good red and black OC alicorn story.
Regards from the insane asylum,
C.B.
Somebody stop him before it's too late!
It can't happen again, never again!
Also, good luck.
You mad, mad man.
Oh Lord almighty, this is gonna get crazy.
Clinically
This... Is going to be fun!
Honesty... I really do not understand the hatred for alicorn OCs. Seriously, what is with it? Why can't there be more than the now 4 of them? We've seen ONE map. Saddle Arabia, the griffon lands, nor the minotaur lands appear on it. Just because two control the sun and moon doesn't mean there aren't any more.
So you go, you write the alicorn OC story, and know you have my full support... even if I probably won't read it.
Also, I don't get the hate on the red and black ones in particular. I understand it's supposed to be 'dark and edgy', but the ones that complain 'because that colour palate doesn't appear in the show' can, in my honest opinion, shut the fuck up. So what? Does your OC's colour palate appear in the show? Most likely not.
STFU and read the story to decide whether it is good or bad, and not because it has a red and black alicorn OC in it.
...yes, one of my stories has an alicorn OC in it. No, he is not read and black.
Nah, you're not gonna loose anyone. If the story is written good regardless of what character you write in the story, It would be a good story regardless.
Writing a bad alicorn OC story is like writing a bad story under any genre really. Okay, so if you're writing it with canon characters they're many stories with them written in good character, but their are also stories were they are written out of character and are horrible reading at times. Same with any story you write that you write with terrible characterization or anything that is lacking what makes a story good in general.
With your writings skills alone, I doubt it would be a bad story because one you'll just write it good. Two, you understand that your stories must be partly written to the pleasure of many readers to enjoy.
So I say go right for it man. :) We won't leave, let's cheer you on all the way. Like we did for your other stories before or like for The Golden Armor.
That was an OC Story mainly, but if you written it bad then it could've just turned out to be a regular OC story like the thousands that are on here, but it isn't because you understand how to make a character feel alive and believe within your story so it just won't be terrible.
Write on, man. :)
2198318 Agreed.
You Mad bro?
Best of luck though! I'm working on my own alicorn OC story :D
Red and black go hand in hand same with Black and gold/neon green
As somebody who did something similar (admittedly, my red-and-black OC alicorn-grade powerhouse is both a quasi-parody of the stereotype and a victim of her own powers in a sense), it's not impossible to take the general stereotype's core features and make a good character out of them.
It's the mary-sue, everybody-loves-this-character-immediately-who-has-no-flaws-whatsoever aspects that they all damn near universally have (because more often then not they're self-inserts as well). That's the problem.
you sir are not a psychopath you're a masochist, a psychopath would want to do said story for the detriment of any who read itfor their own sick enjoyment. your remorse and sorrow for the pain you are about to inflict upon yourselfcoupled with your inability tostop yourself indicate masochism. that being said I would least give your story a chance,I personally don't have a problem with alicorn OCsI'm their color as well as talent would be indicative of their character, so shoot for the moon.
You could consider it a challenge, can you in fact make a Red and Black Alicorn OC with a superiority complex, and make the character likeable? It would be a considerable feat that not many would attempt, and far less would succeed at accomplishing.
You cross that line, mate... You may never go back!
Good luck man.
Great, I think I got pulled into this madness. The contest looks fun and a good way to get the gears turning. I'm going to do the OC alicorn. I'm thinking about blowing off the dust on my OC that I tried writing in the past. Well I wish you luck in your writing.
Let the mad ponies run free.
2198318
The problem is experience; say you decide to eat at a restaurant, and your meal tastes horrible. Well, maybe it was just that one dish, and you decide to give it another go, only to go home with food poisoning. Now, are you really going to risk going there a third time?
People who tend to use Alicorn OCs often end up creating a Mary Sue, a character that's unrealistically perfect and everyone loves unconditionally. By adding another Alicorn, you're essentially reducing the importance of the canon princesses simply to make your character better. Most writers want to create a character that readers will like so that they keep reading. Inexperienced writers, who don't know how to characterize well yet will see how everyone loves the princesses and try to copy that. Being an Alicorn also immediately makes your character powerful so creating solutions to story conflicts becomes much easier.
The issue with red and black OCs is that those colors are symbolic with violence, war, and death, and many writers who write these characters chose those colors for that very reason. They want an edgy character but aren't sure how to write a proper personality, so they opt to rely on image; as long as the character appears cool, they must be.
Red and black Alicorn OCs are a beginner's trap because the color scheme and character design gives the writer potential shortcuts. Taking these shortcuts causes the story to suffer, however. Continuing the restaurant analogy, it's like serving frozen packaged food instead of cooking the dish yourself. The difference in quality is obvious.
No matter how well an Alicorn OC is presented, readers still have these prejudices in mind. Once bitten, twice shy.
I applaud your willingness to go all in. Overkill is better than underkill.
2198318
What 2198459 said, big reason why I haven't done anything with the Alicorn OC I've worked into my 'verse, I know that she would be ripped to shreds by readers since she is powerful, related to canon characters, and has a somewhat depressing backstory even if everypony at the time suffered the same fate.
You Sir are gone crazy, hell give it a shot and maybe you could do good
...
Why red and black?
Simply doing that will have people blindly hate it without reading it! Alicorn OC, meh. Red and black alicorn OC, THEY WANT TO KILL IT WITH FIRE!
Unless...
You do the colors in a badass enough way that they won't care what the colors are!
Including (but not limited too) Making the hair flames, making the coat like post fall of the crystal empire Sombra/Nightmare Moon mist, making the hair anime blades style. (I wouldn't recommend the last one.)
Don't forget that there is one keyword in most of the spinoffs. GENERIC/MARY SUE/AVERAGE.
im fine with it, your stories haven't let us done at all so go for it.
Once you go Red and Black, you never go back.
Since this is for a contest, it probably won't get as much hate as it would normally haha
Don't worry. Celestia has a procedure for all of the red and black alicorns that seem to drop in every week.
Not sure if that is possible but I tip my hat to you for trying.
I will read this story. Red and black, I have no idea why this should matter to anybody. I honestly think that is a great color combo, like purple and gold or blue and white. May the luck be with you.
I hear ya bro, I'm going to be joining the contest as well, with the similar theme, just without a red and black alicorn. I hope to see you on the competition stage for some fun and some epic story.
I've got to beat comet, I'm doing an an oc who's mother is luna, and her father is a bat pony with a....complex backstory(it WILL get jaw dropping) and on top of that, she was, by necessity, turned into a demi-draconequis at birth. Oh, and to top it off, it's an FOE fic. So there's definitely a lot more strangeness where that came from.
My body is ready.
Hey, best of luck to you guy. You ever want any form of help whatsoever (and I am being dead serious, one writer to another) just let me know. My friend and I have our fair share of Alicorn OCs, though none of them have that color scheme. Nonetheless, the offer stands.
GGRRrr
[Don't worry Comet Burst, inside us all is a little bit of insanity.]
GGRRrr
[And even if you lose ALL of your followers, you can rest assure you will still have this one.]
GGRRrr
[Also interested in what you are going to do with a red and black alicorn.]