100 things Mr. OC is no longer allowed to do in Mane RP

[Bramble Rose]

First off, Lord Brony, I will repeat: These are the things we see too much of, and you are *not* being original if you try to do these, and we will roll our eyes and sigh because they happen WAY too often. They are detrimental to RP ... but NOT impossible to a good story. We just see them done wrong all the time.

49) Your character is not anti-social, or shy to the point of being afraid to talk to new people. What is the point of RPing then?

I can invent some reason for him to be in that RP and for him to stay in the RP (social situation).

This is something we see a lot of. Especially where they have no interest in going out, they have no hooks, no interests that would cause them to go out, all they have are reasons why they stay indoors, and nothing that makes other ponies want to be around them. These ponies have no character hooks at all.

And with regularity, that person then makes a thread where their pony is doing something random to try to stay away from ponies, and then posts to chat or to OOC going, "How do I get ponies to join my thread?" They want others to pull them out - which is not good RP. Good RP is adding to other people's RP and fun, and providing ways for your pony to be part of things - not demanding that others try to force you to be part of things.

The loner pony might have fun with that idea ... but it's very unfair to other RPers.

And frankly .. every time I read it, I feel like they're just trying to be Twilight. Twilight is the exception, not the rule.

Your cutie mark story is not a story of magically being good at something without having ever practiced or trained in it.

why not? Its perfectly legit to have a cutie mark story where your blank flank, tries something, then:

he/she picks it up really quickly (aptitude)

OR

finds it easy for some reason (natural innate talent)

OR

has some prior knowledge/interest which allows him/her to do one of the above 2

then cutie mark appears

If one 'picks it up very quickly' - they're not *starting* as good. They just learn fast. Thus does not apply.

When one finds it easy, one is still not 'good' at it. Thus does not apply.

If they have prior knowledge ... then they're practiced or trianed. Thus does not apply.

Look at the sequence of items that's part of instead of taking it out of context. We get application after application of someone picking up something they have no history with whatsoever ... and spontaneously spitting out something impossibly good. A work of art that surprises masters. A sculpted piece of metal which amazes the master smith who owns the shop. Defeating an adult in a contest of skill. Everypony keeps wanting to be child prodigies because 'it's their special talent' and completely misses that a cutie mark is not a magic 'I win' button - especially not over all the other ponies who have the same sort of cutie mark.

NONE of the main six got their cutie mark by winning contests, or by discovering, "Oh, hey, this thing I never tried before - I'm good at it!"

Twilight had an epic Cutie Mark story. But that's because she's TWILIGHT. She's the exception, not the rule, in almost every single way. And even then, it was doing something she'd been practicing for a long time.

Rarity was doing something she'd been practicing for quite a while - she just found what inspired her the most, she realized what she most loved about it.

Rainbow Dash discovered that she loved competing, but it wasn't something she'd never tried before. It was just that moment of realization of 'Oh, THIS is why I love to do this!'

Fluttershy, yes, discovered she could talk to animals, but that wasn't what prompted her cutie mark. Rather, it was her *care* of creatures, her taking care of them, that brought her the cutie mark, her recognizing herself as a nurturer.

Applejack realized what 'home' meant. It certain wasn't something new for her - in fact, it was a realization that she didn't need something 'new', it was what she had all along.

And Pinkie Pie is about the only one who got hers trying something new, but it wasn't exactly rocket science. She realized she loved to make ponies smile. And she made a party. It wasn't an amazing party, or something that would astonish experienced caterers... it was just a little bitty party for ponies she knew very well.

[lordbrony]

First off, Lord Brony, I will repeat: These are the things we see too much of, and you are *not* being original if you try to do these, and we will roll our eyes and sigh because they happen WAY too often. They are detrimental to RP ... but NOT impossible to a good story. We just see them done wrong all the time.

This is something we see a lot of. Especially where they have no interest in going out, they have no hooks, no interests that would cause them to go out, all they have are reasons why they stay indoors, and nothing that makes other ponies want to be around them. These ponies have no character hooks at all.

And with regularity, that person then makes a thread where their pony is doing something random to try to stay away from ponies, and then posts to chat or to OOC going, "How do I get ponies to join my thread?" They want others to pull them out - which is not good RP. Good RP is adding to other people's RP and fun, and providing ways for your pony to be part of things - not demanding that others try to force you to be part of things.

then the problem is the player trying to pull a hide and seek or play coy, not the character. Since I see no harm in having introverted and shy characters

If one 'picks it up very quickly' - they're not *starting* as good. They just learn fast. Thus does not apply.

When one finds it easy, one is still not 'good' at it. Thus does not apply.

If they have prior knowledge ... then they're practiced or trianed. Thus does not apply.

Look at the sequence of items that's part of instead of taking it out of context. We get application after application of someone picking up something they have no history with whatsoever ... and spontaneously spitting out something impossibly good. A work of art that surprises masters. A sculpted piece of metal which amazes the master smith who owns the shop. Defeating an adult in a contest of skill. Everypony keeps wanting to be child prodigies because 'it's their special talent' and completely misses that a cutie mark is not a magic 'I win' button - especially not over all the other ponies who have the same sort of cutie mark.

I have no idea if you have totally misunderstood me or I misunderstood what your meaning was when you wrote that sentence. But I'll try again.

By using the words "having practiced or trained" you have implied that there has not been any formal or serious practice. If I pick up my uncle's guitar and randomly pluck a few notes. That's not practice. But say if after 30 mins of derping around I manage to make a sweet 5 note sequence, and find out that I kinda like guitar and my cutie mark appears (ok it can't since I'm not a pony). Whats wrong with that? And as for having prior knowledge or training, I assume that if I had read a guitar book prior to trying to play disqualifies me too right? Since I have prior knowledge.

oh btw I did not say that I'm the best guitar player ever, or even good (since good is subjective). But its a great ending for an app, and I can start appearing in RPs as a competent guitarist.

Maybe you're totally jaded because people who use their cutie mark as a "I R BEST <insert profession or skill here> IN EQUESTRIA" but that's where you as a RP helper have to guide them. Because you signed up for it.

If you ask me in a nutshell you're trying to fix problems that are inherent in the player, not the characters.

[ping111]

I might add to this list later; it looks like fun. But for now, I want to reply to the above conversation.

As a personal point of reference, Cutie Marks represent something physical and something intangible. So, let's take Diamond Tiara, and assume she got her Cutie Mark when she realized how good the, err, tiara looked on her, thus making her materialistic/capitalistic. Here we have our physical element, the tiara, and our mental element, her constant desire for something more. That aside, a crown is a sign of leadership, and you can see how well she leads. The Foal Free Press and Silver Spoon thrived under her, but she of course perverted them into snivelling hob-nobs who, made fun of others for personal gain.

But, that's for a realization, such as how much physical wealth means to DT. What if it's an aptitude? Let's say I'm good at math, but my Cutie Mark is in painting. Why isn't it in math, when I showed such an early aptitude for it? Because when your Cutie Mark is an implied item (such as a paintbrush for painting, or a pen for writing), it shows that your special talent has a magical quality to it. For another example, my OC Maple, whose special talent is making maple syrup. Now, why doesn't she teach a blank-flank to make maple syrup, and if they enjoy making it, get their cutie marks? Because her syrup is special, and literally has a slightly magical mood-lifting quality. It's like the old saying that something homemade always tastes better. So, going back to the pony with the paintbrush Cutie Mark, there are probably a lot of artist ponies with different Cutie Marks. Why? Because their art may or may not look pretty, but it doesn't have a magical quality to it. But, if a great pony artist with a painting CM made an identical painting, the observers will probably be able to feel an emotion the painting conveys.

This was probably very difficult to read, so let me give you a whittled-down version of what I said:

If your pony has a Cutie Mark in a skill, they don't have to be the best, but it does have to have a special aspect to it.

[Bramble Rose]

then the problem is the player trying to pull a hide and seek or play coy, not the character. Since I see no harm in having introverted and shy characters

You're right. There's not. Which is why nothing was said negatively about merely introverted and shy characters. The sentence you're complaining about does not describe that situation.

By using the words "having practiced or trained" you have implied that there has not been any formal or serious practice.

No. It does not imply that. It means not having practiced or trained.

If I pick up my uncle's guitar and randomly pluck a few notes. That's not practice. But say if after 30 mins of derping around I manage to make a sweet 5 note sequence, and find out that I kinda like guitar and my cutie mark appears (ok it can't since I'm not a pony). Whats wrong with that?

Nothing at all is wrong with that. Which is why nothing negative was said about that sort of situation. The sentence you're complaining about does not describe that situation.

If you ask me in a nutshell you're trying to fix problems that are inherent in the player, not the characters.

That's about the closest you've gotten to actually getting it, but still not quite.

Lord Brony, I really have to ask - why are you taking this so seriously and personally? You're twisting around some words, more or less stated in jest, and trying to make some big, serious discussion out of your own paranoid twisting of the words, instead of what it actually says.

[brianblackberry]

I can invent some reason for him to be in that RP and for him to stay in the RP (social situation).

why not? Its perfectly legit to have a cutie mark story where your blank flank, tries something, then:

he/she picks it up really quickly (aptitude)

OR

finds it easy for some reason (natural innate talent)

OR

has some prior knowledge/interest which allows him/her to do one of the above 2

then cutie mark appears

This was all supposed to be a lighthearted post akin to common tropes and cliches you see being talked about on TV Tropes. There is no hard rule saying your character can't be shy or awkward; there is nothing wrong with that. People are talking the extremes where say someone comes up with a character not socially awkward but deliberately anti-social to the point that they attempt, or wish, to disrupt social interaction between others, or absolutely do not want to socialize and live in extreme isolation. Others make characters purposely malevolent.

[Bramble Rose]

it shows that your special talent has a magical quality to it. For another example, my OC Maple, whose special talent is making maple syrup. Now, why doesn't she teach a blank-flank to make maple syrup, and if they enjoy making it, get their cutie marks? Because her syrup is special, and literally has a slightly magical mood-lifting quality.

This is probably a topic for another thread - and if you want to, we can make that thread. However, in short - there is nothing 'magical' about something done that somehow matches one's cutie mark. A cutie mark has nothing to do with a special talent. It has everything to do with understanding yourself. That's *why* the Cutie Mark Crusaders haven't gotten their cutie marks - because they listened to Rainbow Dash, and keep looking for special talents, instead of listening to everyone else and looking within themselves for what makes *them* special.

[flutterscotch]

I think Lord Brony is kind of missing the point/doesn't read quite as many apps as we do.

A better scenario is a pony whose parents kept him from performing magic, said pony discovers a spell book, then said pony exhibits a huge burst of magic that could rival most skilled adult ponies' abilities.

It happens a LOT. We should start taking a tally of how many characters exhibit these hackneyed (at this point) tropes just to point it home that it's actually kind of a problem.

[ping111]

This is probably a topic for another thread - and if you want to, we can make that thread. However, in short - there is nothing 'magical' about something done that somehow matches one's cutie mark. A cutie mark has nothing to do with a special talent. It has everything to do with understanding yourself. That's *why* the Cutie Mark Crusaders haven't gotten their cutie marks - because they listened to Rainbow Dash, and keep looking for special talents, instead of listening to everyone else and looking within themselves for what makes *them* special.

Exactly - which is why the "magical" aspect of the material compels the creator to share it with other ponies. You see, in the metaphysical laws of the show, "sharing is caring" is likely a compulsion the characters feel due to the consistency of their universe. So, when a pony has something extraordinary, they likely feel an urge to share as much of the "good thing" as possible. So, in the example of Maple, when she first tasted her maple syrup, she had all the opportunities in the world to keep this fact silenced, and simply consume the maple syrup on her own. But, deep inside her, she felt what was almost like a compulsion to spread around the joy the syrup brought as much as possible.

But, on your proposition regarding the Cutie Mark Crusaders, that is true, for sometimes people (or ponies) decide to choose quantity over quality when looking for talents. For example, I knew someone who, when young, was jealous of the other children's artistic abilities, both visual-spatial and musical. So, for about two hours, he romped about his house, slamming on a keyboard, plucking mercilessly on a guitar, or simply throwing paint to paper, only to come out more frustrated with the lack of quality of his handiwork. The same goes for the Crusaders. They attempt to find their talent once, and, not finding an extreme aptitude for it, abandon it entirely. So let's say that in the distant future, Apple Bloom has a tennis cutie mark. But, as a Crusader, she only picks up a racquet once, and swings it at a single tennis ball, which flies wildly off course, before saying "mah Cutie Mark ain't in tennis". So, in her urge to complete as many tasks as possible, with the least effort or time consumed, ignored the deep pleasure the sound of the racquet hitting a ball gave her, instead focusing on the general skill she demonstrated. However, I'm sure that if the Crusaders spent at least a week at Cutie Marks that seemed plausible for them (not ziplining, but maybe comedy or music), they would come to a definite decision wether they wanted to pursue that action in hopes of finding the CM's or not.

(Sorry, I was feeling really poetic and sciencey)

[MyLittlePonyTales]

There was an old thread awhile ago called, A really good short anti Mary Sue checklist!.

[RarityDash]

This is a fun thread. Surprised I haven't posted yet.

67. Your pony did not grow up in an environment where prejudice between the three pony races is prevalent. Ponies get along in Equestria.

68. Your character is not secretly from another time period, nor secretly immortal.

69. Your OC does not live in the Everfree forest because they just want to be around nature or be away from the city.

70. Generally speaking, your OC should not live in the Everfree Forest at all. Only Zecora does in canon, and we see how strange ponies think her to be for it. Moreover, it's the most dangerous place there is. Why would anypony choose to live there?

71. Your OC is not a special snowflake, but they did not get a cutie mark for being remarkably unremarkable either. A deeply cynical world view is at odds with Equestria.

72. Your OC is not an aloof badflank warrior pony, roaming the land intent upon swinging a sword at everything that looks at them funny.

73. Your OC possesses no special items or equipment that augment their magic or abilities in any way.

74. Your OC does not know the griffon king, nor are they the queen of Unyasi. Please read board lore and know how the different species and locations actually work before you put it in your app

75. Your OC did not beat Cerberus (or Ursa, or an adult dragon or any other of the more fearsome monsters) in a fight. If your OC has had any contact with such a beast at all, it should probably have gone the monster's way.

76. Your OC did not get their cutie mark for doing something violent or mean spirited, even if they were doing it on behalf of someone or in response to something like bullying.

[Davroth]

http://www.springhole.net/writing/marysue.htm

Might as well link this one again.

On a related note, does anyone know how to make an own litmus test? So we can make one based on this new list?

[brianblackberry]

http://www.springhol...ing/marysue.htm

Might as well link this one again.

On a related note, does anyone know how to make an own litmus test? So we can make one based on this new list?

Well the list really shouldn't be used as one, as it was meant to vent frustration in a humorous way and is a bit tongue in cheek.

[Davroth]

Well the list really shouldn't be used as one, as it was meant to vent frustration in a humorous way and is a bit tongue in cheek.

So you are saying a Litmus test can't be all that?

[brianblackberry]

So you are saying a Litmus test can't be all that?

Sorry I mean the list here on this topic, not your link.

[Davroth]

Sorry I mean the list here on this topic, not your link.

I know what you mean. But I don't see the harm of turning this list into a tongue in cheek Litmus test. It would be fun to test some of the older OCs we all have, from the dark ages, when you could still get away with certain things....

[brianblackberry]

I know what you mean. But I don't see the harm of turning this list into a tongue in cheek Litmus test. It would be fun to test some of the older OCs we all have, from the dark ages, when you could still get away with certain things....

I guess I worry people may interpret this list as a true "what we will or will not allow" list.

[Davroth]

I guess I worry people may interpret this list as a true "what we will or will not allow" list.

I think that danger is already inherent in this thread.

[PIJIN]

These are the things we see too much of, and you are *not* being original if you try to do these, and we will roll our eyes and sigh because they happen WAY too often.

I can imagine the Helpstaff getting an app with one of these overdone tropes >.>

Helpstaff: "Alright, time to check the stack of final apps!" (Notices blind and deaf app courtesy of Lovin' Moonlight)

"Oh great! Time to go through ANOTHER of LM's overdone ponies.

Oblivious me: Oh boy! Can't wait for my app to get accepted!

[RarityDash]

I can imagine the Helpstaff getting an app with one of these overdone tropes >.>

Helpstaff: "Alright, time to check the stack of final apps!" (Notices blind and deaf app courtesy of Lovin' Moonlight)

"Oh great! Time to go through ANOTHER of LM's overdone ponies.

Oblivious me: Oh boy! Can't wait for my app to get accepted!

Yeah, this happens more often than you probably think...

Though not necessarily with your ponies, of course.

[synkyd]

next one.

YOUR PONY DOES NOT LIVE IN PONYVILE.

(Unless you have a Supernatural Magizine owner for a charater. seriously, have you seen the wierd stuff in ponyvile?)

[Bellosh]

78. If your OC ever enrolled in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, they cannot have been given the dragon egg hatching examination. Only Twilight has ever taken that test. I learned this fact the hard way, haha.

[lordbrony]

78. If your OC ever enrolled in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, they cannot have been given the dragon egg hatching examination. Only Twilight has ever taken that test. I learned this fact the hard way, haha.

I read quite a few OCs who used that plot device so what is this hard way you're referring to?

[RarityDash]

I read quite a few OCs who used that plot device so what is this hard way you're referring to?

79. Just because you can find something in a previously approved app does not guarantee it will be approved again for your character. Applications are handled case by case, with a careful eye on presentation and intent.

[MidnightBlackhorn]

80. Your OC cannot be the long lost decedent to some royal. As a matter of fact, your OC cannot be "royal" in any way, shape, or form.

81. Your OC has no real combat training. Fighting doesn't happen in Equestia.

82. Your OC isn't famous. You may want to be famous but it hasn't happened yet.

[TemplarFrost]

1. You are not a unique and special snowflake.
   

But my mama always told me...