Thread: Fan Characters

Has anyone thought of making characters of their own in the OLS universe, whether their role is major or minor? I noticed that this wasn't mentioned yet, and it could prove interesting. We're crazy for Outlaw Star, but how crazy to make some of these?

I have a few of them made up for a fanfic I'm plotting out, I'll mash out pics/fanart soon.

Ah, fan works. I won't lie; I'm somewhat wary of fan characters these days, mainly because of so many ****ty Sonic fan characters that seem to be everywhere (although DBZ has also had an awful lot of fanjunk over the years, such as the incredibly crap 'Super Saiyan 5' shenanigans [ffffffff], which didn't help matters either).

Y'know what I mean, the ones which are simply colour edits of Sonic or Tails, which if translated to OLS would be something utterly stupid like a bunch of Gene/Jim clones but with each other's head and/or blue/green hair.

Of course, there are also some very good fanworks out there too(as far as DBZ is concerned, 'Dragon Ball Multiverse' is pretty damned good, and looks very much like the original DB manga for style - some 'guest' contributions aside), so it's not all doom 'n gloom for fanfic.

Saying all that, I've absolutely no idea what your stuff is like (especially as it sounds to have a bit more than "CHARACTER LOL"), but I should probably at least give it a chance anyway. I can be optimistic at times, after all. For a start:

Originally Posted by Somasol

fanfic I'm plotting out

VERY important word here.

I know exactly what you mean- Like how many people think, it's laughable. I mean, if they're dedicated to a fandom, why couldn't they just commission an artist with the description of said fan character if they're just going to not put a lot of effort into it? And yes, I read a little bit of Dragon Ball Multiverse before. I agree, it's quite legit.

Yeah, it started as a silly thing I did back in high school to curb the boredom, but over the years the fanfic developed into something a little more cohesive, sensible, and imo adds to the OLS universe. In other words, I'm trying.

It's a nice idea, and something I may find myself doing if I get round to a future project of mine. I look forward to the pics.

My few first fan characters were in the OLS verse actually. Of course, I was 12 or 13 so I'm quite happy that all of that is handwritten in notebooks and never made it to the internet. I basically had two flavors, one being Gene's sister who ended up tagging along but was way too good at everything ever and the other was a runaway with purple hair who also was too good at everything ever... It has been tempting to use the stuff I drew for that as my 10 year drawing benchmark.

The one positive effect of OLS on my characters has been that I end up using Starwind more often than I should as a surname, especially as a poorly translated Latin version: Stellaventus or Stellaventi.

Originally Posted by velocity

My few first fan characters were in the OLS verse actually. Of course, I was 12 or 13 so I'm quite happy that all of that is handwritten in notebooks and never made it to the internet. I basically had two flavors, one being Gene's sister who ended up tagging along but was way too good at everything ever and the other was a runaway with purple hair who also was too good at everything ever... It has been tempting to use the stuff I drew for that as my 10 year drawing benchmark.

The one positive effect of OLS on my characters has been that I end up using Starwind more often than I should as a surname, especially as a poorly translated Latin version: Stellaventus or Stellaventi.

Pretty much what Velocity has stated is why I do not like fan characters (I say OCs). The ones I've typically come across are Mary Sues who every male falls in love with but the author's favourite character (sometimes characters) has to save Miss Sue from the author's least favourite/s. The only time this is forgivable is when the author pairs Miss Sue with a character that otherwise gets no love.

It does annoy me to see these poorly developed typically female characters who are absolutely annoying fantastic and perfect at everything, and they're clearly just the author themselves. Oh wait, they have someone that's wrong with them, like they're clumsy or a bit ditzy, but that just to make them cute. ¬___¬

Then again... it's typically the spawn of 10-14 year old girls who haven't really considered any of it lol

However, I do not mind fan characters who have a good development, and are realistic. And aren't a spin off of another character in it.

As for me, I don't typically add OCs. When i do, they're cannon fodder, or myself and my friends (then it's clearly us being excessively annoying, pairing guys with guys and generally making a nuisance of ourself, with our guyfriend being taking the piss out of for looking girlie and failing to stop the yaoiness - it's funz)

So ya. Don't really like OCs and if I have them they're generally there to die. Or they're like Space Pirate number 52 or something

I have to agree with Vixie here- If you make your character just to make them a gimmick ("ZOMG I LOVE JIM HAHAHAH") and not serve much purpose to a story, it's just not going to work. If your character is going to have some sort of relationship with a character, it's gotta be more convincing and realistic. And forgive me if this sounds a little bitter, but what I mean is, If Mary sue was just fantastic and perfect at anything, why the heck would she need him? Not to mention, wouldn't it creep out the love interest in question?

It's also harder to pull off because you're working with someone else's original character, so you don't have the creator's point of view on what that character would do in such a situation. So if you don't have at least a controlled grasp on the characters, it's just going to put you in a hole of disappointment. This is why I roleplay sometimes...though if it comes down to creative writing, it's with myself: to get in touch with the characters' thoughts and actions to get a better understanding of them.

Originally Posted by Somasol

If Mary sue was just fantastic and perfect at anything, why the heck would she need him?

I'm remembering this, that may be quote of the year material right here.

Also, on the topic of OCs, I quite enjoy stories with them sometimes. It depends on how they are written, if they're just there to be someone's girlfriend then I'm not interested. But every so often an OC walks in, is part of a great story and the whole thing wraps up and noone fell in love with anyone.

I was writing a story where I had myself as the main cahracter. No love interest, or anything. She was mah narrator!

And Somasol, blatently they have one negitive attribute and have a harrowing existance that makes that love interest character falls instantly in love and want to protect her!!

Originally Posted by Nixie-the-Pixie

And Somasol, blatantly they have one negative attribute and have a harrowing existence that makes that love interest character falls instantly in love and want to protect her!!

Hahah, *one* negative attribute...that's amazing.