As you may or may not know I am writing a SS OC ship fic and am almost done with my very first chapter.. Since this is a pre EG fic my OC is a kind of dark individual...Not gothic angsty whiner mind you but rather a sort of Machiavellian mindset. Would you guys consider him unlikable since he's dark and isn't disgusted by Sunset being a bully?

As long as is a believable character, it shouldn't be a problem.

3959823
Villans can be enjoyable as long as they are believable and charismatic. Take Queen Chrysalis for exemple. Your OC can be nice as long as you do a good job fleshing out his personality and giving him a few traits for the readers to attach to him.

Also, Tales Of The Abyss was the best Tales.

And yeah he is rather nice to his friends actually.
3959845
YES!!!!!!!!!!! ANOTHER TALES FAN!!!!!!!!!!!

But by dark I mean my OC sort of doesn't care about people. Wont explain why but he doesn't really care about the opinions of others. I'm trying to keep it as uncliche as possible by having him put up an act of being peoples friends. His only real friend being Sunset and even then they don't automatically hit it off

3959867
I think you should explain somewhere to your audience as to why he doesn't like interaction. It's a big trace of someone's personality and not telling why could cause the reverse effect and make your character look like an angsty teenager. Also, since he pretends to be a friend, it makes him looks like a complete douche, so explaining becomes even more important, or it will make him impossible to get attached to.

3959896
Yeah I will it may take a bit of time for the readers to find out why he doesn't like people though as its part of a major relationship development scene I have for my OC and Sunset. The second one I'll try to make clear early on though don't worry

3959943
No he isn't a bully. He just doesn't get all preachy every time Sunset bullies and lets her do what she wants...Except push him around

As long as he isn't a Mary Sue/ Gary Stu, it should be fine. It's a prominent pitfall for any fanfic which wants to ship an OC with a canon character.

3961392
Oh believe me if theres one thing I hate it's sues as characters. I made my OC highly intelligent but his physical skills are....Pathetic. Also another flaw im trying to give him is that he see's no problem with being friends of a school bully despite the pain she causes

3959823

I think what matters in a ship fic, ultimately, is conflict and tension. My guess is that the character being unpleasant is less of a problem than the two of them being too similar. Also, I'm not sure a love story between two unlikable people would be very attractive to me.

3962380 \
well they do have their likable moments but I mean to other people their both kind of harsh but when the two are friends with eachother their actually rather nice I feel...But it's how you guys and girls interpret it and if you feel I'm making a character to stuish or unlikable please comment or pm me so I can know to fix it please and thank you!

3962387
In the end it'd be an interesting experiment that we can all learn from, as long as you look at it that way yourself.
After reading your story, ppl may start saying "Well, that sure didn't work," and start dissecting why the character chemistry fell apart. Don't take it personally, but just see it as a writing exercise that was meant to be analyzed.
Or hey, it may work out great. We can learn from that too.

3962445
Thanks...I just REALLY REALLY want this to work out...I really love this story and I have a lot of ideas for directions to take it if people like it

3962466

Eh, you'll have more great ideas. Lot's more, trust me.

It's good to be enthusiastic about your story, but don't let that stop you from taking chances once in a while. Always try your best, but don't be afraid of failure - failing is a great way to learn how to do things right.

3962618
Thank you and don't worry I'm not...The only failure im afraid of is creating the "My Immortal" of the MLP fandom

3962624

I like to think My Immortal turned out the way it did entirely on purpose, so I wouldn't worry about that.

(Half-life: Full Life Consequences, on the other hand, might have been an earnest attempt by a genuinely inexperienced amateur. I really can't tell.)

3962673
Eh true enough but I just don't want my OC being a sue or stu

3962676

Look, Mary Sue is usually a problem with the author, not the character. You can talk about "common Mary Sue traits" or whatever, but the truth is that it's more of an attitude towards writing than anything else.

The typical Mary Sue is the literary expression of a superiority complex - Mary Sue writers are usually insecure types who primarily use their characters as proxies of themselves for the sake of wish-fulfillment and escapism, not to entertain other people. They tend to be very defensive about their characters and normally don't acknowledge the possibility that they might be unlikable or poorly designed, because their egos are too fragile. So, the fact that you seem mostly concerned about what other people will think is a good sign.

Basically, as long as you view your character as a tool for telling a good story, rather than viewing your story as a tool for your own personal fantasies, you probably don't need to worry about it. Maybe it's not a great OC, because character design and characterization doesn't come easy for everyone, but that's a matter of skill and experience. People really shouldn't throw around the Mary Sue term as much as they do.

Just don't focus too much on the character itself - focus on what the story demands of the character, and you should be fine.

3962750 I have literally never seen anyone explain this better.

3962750
Thanks man mostly I'm working around trying to give him and Sunset a convincing friendship/romance but I do have an idea for how he would take part during the week of the FF.

3962751

Well, I guess I've done it so many times I've gotten good at it. This issue has always been a bit of a pet peeve for me.

3959823
3962750

Another important key for me ...Is you got to make you character talk like regular people. For the most part...Unless you world is a "heightened reality" then talking a normal person all time isn't as important. But you gotta make the dialogue convincing. That is important.