The Writers' Group 9,296 members · 56,436 stories
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Now I know what you all are going to say: don't use a red and black Alicorn, but before I get yelled at. here me out because I'm not going to use the Alicorn in a traditional way. let me explain:

I want to write a wrestling scene in one of my stories. when I say wrestling I mean along the lines of WWE/ECW/WCW. In the scene, there's going to be a fake red and black Alicorn. It's going to be a Pegasus with a fake horn and red and black body paint. kind of like what Finn Bálor does when he uses his Damn King persona. My dilemma is when I introduce the character. Will the reader just simply stop reading because of the introduction of the Alicorn before I reveal it's a fake red and black Alicorn?

6176733
Point out immediately that it's a "visibly fake horn, maybe some kind of papier maché" and people probably won't mind. I can tell you that I would think it's hilarious.

Maybe introduce the character in his/her non-wrestling personage first and have him/her ask Twilight about having a wing and a horn. And give him a line or something that would be a tell for Twilight or any of the other characters.

6176733
Put quotations around alicorn and explain him

6176733
I agree with 6176799. Playing it straight is definitely for the best if you're writing from the kayfabe perspective. If you're concerned about it, though, you could split the difference by having a crowd full of smarks chant about how fake he is or something.

6176842
They did this with Mick Foley's personas (Mankind, Cactus Jack, and Dude Love). Finn Balor and Bray Wyatt had a feud where Bray Wyatt introduced "Sister Abigail" to Finn Balor. Finn Balor then used his Demon King persona to set up this PPV match at TLC (which never happened due to Bray Wyatt, Bo Dallas, and several other Superstars coming down with meningitis. Finn Balor fought AJ Styles in the TLC PPV.

6176733

Now I know what you all are going to say: don't use a red and black Alicorn,

Can I just point out that the red/black stigma is really stupid?

The colors have nothing to do with how you write the character or what you use that character for. It just happens to be a color combination that is popular with a certain kind of (typically immature) writer because of the way color psychology works.

6176799

Yeah, what Verbose said.

You've basically found a way to use an overblown and tacky OC stereotype that makes perfect sense. I say run with it, don't apologize for anything, don't do anything that gives the impression of shame. Refuge in audacity!

Additionally, I think the context alone will probably signal that you are not actually serious about it, at least to your smarter readers.

Mucha Luchador meets Equestria! I would imagine red and black is a popular color combo there.

"Ladies and gentlecolts!" bellowed the announcer's voice from the huge speakers all around the ring. "Announcing for one night only! The most feared wrestler in the entire league, banned in seven countries and here only with an exception signed by the Princesses themselves. The one! The only! Crimsoooooonnn Tiiiiiied!"

The spotlights that had been flashing around the arena pivoted up into the rafters of the arena where.... something lurked in the shadows, bathing in the frenzied applause from the audience and the chants that spontaneously started and grew.

"Tied! Tied! Tied!"

Just when it seemed as if the arena was about to erupt into a riot, the hidden pony in the rafters took a step forward into the spotlights and looked down at his masked opponent in the opposite corner of the ring. Applejack's voice caught in her throat and she jabbed an elbow into Rainbow Dash at the cost of getting a face full of feathers. "That red feller up there in the rafters with all the black stripes and such. Don't he look familiar?"

"Are you kidding!" screamed Rainbow Dash back. "That's the Alicorn of Agony, the Prince of Pain, King of Destruction! Every fight he's had, he's won by knockout, even the ones where they put two or three ponies against him!"

Applejack mentally compared the fairly meek pegasus stallion who animal-sat for Fluttershy when she was on Element business against the massive collection of muscles flexing in the light of the spotlights. He did look a little like Bulk Biceps, although he was wearing a massive padded horn protector and heavy covers over his wings, secured by what appeared to be log chains and a dozen padlocks, and topped off with enough red to his coat and mane that he almost looked like he was on fire. She did not get very long to observe the massive alicorn, if he was one, because Crimson Tide jumped from the rafters to the screams of the audience, and landed with a massive crash on his corner, buckling the mat and making his opponent bounce by recoil right out of the ring.

"Did you see that landing?" screamed Rainbow Dash right in Applejack's ear. "That''s murder on the knees."

If your writing is even remotely worth reading up to that point, then the introduction of this red and black alicorn is only going to chase off morons. Doubly so because it's based on the intentionally overblown style of professional wrestling. I wouldn't worry about it.

6176733
Edit: Sorry if you saw my comment. I thought this was a thread about mythos monsters.

6176733
Well, it seems everyone here already gave you an idea. As for me, I agree with what 6176799 said. Run with kayfabe.

6177276 I think you described most of what I write.

A wonderful angle on how to write red and black alicorns was written by Bad Horse. The Saga Of Dark Demon King Ravenblood Nightblade - Interior Design Alicorn. I can't top that.

6176733
I have literally never seen any kind of problem with black-and-red alicorns (I have one for crying out loud), but I would love to see yours in WWE. I would read every freaking chapter of that.

Thank you to everyone for your help. I feel a little at ease using the character now. All your suggestions really have helped me put together a plan of action in how I will write the character. However, I must apologize to anyone who has helped me and thought a full-fledged story was about the red and black Alicorn. In truth, I was going to use him in part of a chapter of another story I'm writing when the characters stumble upon the Wrestling circuit. I truly am sorry if I miss-led any of you.

6179611
I've also only been in the fandom for a year and I don't really delve into it all that much? I don't know the past the fandom has with black and red alicorns. I see no problem with them because darker colors are easier on my eyes, which is why I like looking at Luna most, even though she's my third favorite alicorn...

HapHazred
Group Admin

6180198 The history the fandom has had with red and black alicorns is a very simple one. There have been hella lots of really shit ones.

Why there are lots of hella shit red and black alicorns is, really, a subject that has been much speculated upon that has many factors, exceptions, and theories. Presently, I think R&B alicorns are actually more parodies than used unironically.

I would generally advise people to be very cautious if they want to become a member of the 'had a red and black alicorn OC unironically' club, because it has some real bad examples in there. Bad R&B alicorn OCs are older than I am in terms of fandom lifespan, but I'm familiar with the type. I see them more as a laundry list is bad character design with the colour scheme just being a repeating symptom rather than the colour and race choice being the actual cause of the problem.

Frankly, these days I find the matter to be rather fascinating, how so many people wrote such shoddy characters all with the same colours, each conceptualised without much input from other authors... it's really quite interesting. I'm sure there's a science reason there, but I don't have the time to test it in a lab.

6180233
Okay, that explains it a little. I always wondered why the fandom had such a problem with them. I doubt I'll actually write mine into anything, I just liked the color scheme because it was easier on my eyes.

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