u/CassidyBlog

If it's as a student, what do your OC think of the teachers, teaching methods, and safety at UA?.

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I don't know how this will turn out, but there are a few things I want to clarify before we begin:

I don't hate any artist or anyone who has done what I'm about to say here. It's okay if you disagree with me, and I hope we can have a civilized debate in the comments And... English isn't my native language, so sorry for any writing errors.

Arrogance towards others:

This is a problem I've noticed a bit while browsing this sub;

it refers to when the creator (who are usually OCs that are grumpy, sarcastic, or similar) starts to think they're better than others, that other OCs are trash and theirs is godlike, and all that.They start to directly or indirectly despise other OCs and even creators, often because they use characters that are "cliché," "boring," "powerful," "uninteresting," and so on.

I don't hate the archetype of the mocking or cruel OC, since I have a few OCs like that myself, but the problem arises when they start to despise other concepts or ideas for not being "original." They usually refer to the cliché of the child of character X, friend/partner/apprentice/sibling of character X.It's fine if you don't like it, but you should still respect other creators, even if you don't like their ideas. Complaining and thinking your OC is special and unique doesn't make you look great... just immature.

Selective Morality

This is mainly directed at villains or anti-heroes by: trying to be morally ambiguous or complex, they can end up ignoring their own character's crimes or justifying the crimes of other villains, ignoring the fact that they committed horrible actions.

And this isn't inherently bad, because in the end, OCs are also human; they can hate, love, be hypocritical… But as a creator, you have to know that your character is a bad person (or a morally ambiguous person), and yes, I know it's fiction and doesn't affect anyone, but as a writer, it's important to have your own judgment when creating characters so they don't feel like you're justifying and overprotecting them. The danger is that many of these attitudes can make people think you're someone who would justify such actions.(And understanding isn't the same as justifying.)

The Self-Insert

In general, I don't have a problem with this type of character, since I've done quite a bit of this myself in the past. But what I will say is that you have to be careful, because when you do a self-insert, we usually overprotect them, making sure everyone in the story loves them, that they win every battle, and that they never suffer. And… this is the problem: you prevent the character from developing properly, and they… It feels boring to the reader, basically a Mary Sue or Gary Stu.

(There's nothing wrong with making these kinds of OCs, because at the end of the day, fiction can also be a means of escape, but you should still understand why the community might not like your OC very much.)

*OCs' Pasts and SufferingIn general:*

it's not wrong to give your OC traumas or problems in their childhood or life. It would be hypocritical of me to say it's bad, since many of my OCs end up with tragic or sad pasts. But you still have to know very well how to explain it so it doesn't seem like an excuse or a curious detail. You can't make an OC with the most tragic past, one that almost seems like a parody, a happy being without any explanation. You have to be consistent with what you write. Also, you can't reduce your entire character to their past, because it will only end up in misery porn and make your OC pretentious (and I say this from experience, because I had an edgelord phase too!).

It's difficult, it is, but it can also be fun. Trust me, you can do it.

Children (or connections) with canon characters:

I'm the first to defend this trope, since many (if not all) of my OCs end up falling into it. But you also have to make your character independent and give them their own goals or personality, besides "being the child/whatever of X character" so they don't feel boring and feel like a real character.

(This is more for more serious OCs who want to become something more. If you're just doing this for fun, do whatever you want!)

I know everyone is free to create whatever they want and that in the end it's just fiction for fun. This is just my opinion, so... what do you think?