So.

[Alohilani]

So, in my time, I've seen plenty of cruddy OCs who suddenly get to be on Team Lightyear.

Now, in my opinion, the rangers are supposed to be four to a team, and any more people would just be redundant. Is there any way you could add to the team realistically?

I think maybe if they had an extra person only temporarily, to show them the ropes, or to replace another ranger who's on leave (temporarily), it could work. Your thoughts?

[RedRage]

Don't hate me but... I kinda liked the team lightyear with good ol' Buzz, not sure if more, or less... but I did.

[Alohilani]

Hmm.

Well, maybe the team would actually be better if it was a GOOD OC they added, I've just never seen it done well.

I forgot about old!Buzz. o-o Yeah, that was fun. I don't know if it would have worked if Mira was there the whole time, though.

[NinjaRabbit]

I'm sure there is some talented fanfiction author out there somewhere who can realistically bring his/her OC into Team Lightyear, and make it believable and enjoyable. I have yet to see it, but I believe it's possible.

But I agree with you Kila. OCs shouldn't be on Team Lightyear right away. I actually believe that you should create an OC first as a secondary character and see how much attention or popularity they get by the fanbase, before you even consider adding them to Team Lightyear. But that's just my opinion.

[slwatson]

I wrote a ton of OCs for that universe. I think the biggest thing is remembering that it's ultimately about the main characters, and the OCs are just there to provide 'local color'.

[Alohilani]

Very true.

[RedRage]

This is kind of out of topic. But Road Rovers suffer of that A LOT.

Most fan web sites have fan's own pet dogs dogs, or fursonas (this one mostly) as the starring, there is only sign of the actual characters a third of the times.

And to tell you the truth I'm not a big fan of that sub-culture (just shielding myslef here, the "sub" is not a disminutive or an insult, culture would be nationality, ethnicity, etc.)

[Alohilani]

Yeah, I see plenty of Lilo & Stitch fanfiction centered compeltely around OC experiments. Do not want. >(

In that respect, an OC who's on Team Lightyear might actually turn out better than one who isn't... just because, at least the main characters are still there.

[Alohilani]

saria said:

In any fanbase, I hate fancharacters that immediately win over the hearts of every single character except for one, and then it ends up that the one character that didn't warm up to them immediately falls in love with them.

SEEN IT SO MANY F&#$&N TIMES AAAAAAAAUGH DDDD8

Yeah, a really good writer can pull off anything...

[Alohilani]

Even worse are the characters who make EVERYONE hate them, even the nice people like Booster and it's SO SAD and they must cut their wrists from SAD

[NinjaRabbit]

Especially if they spend the beginning of the story talking about that character. In my opinion, I think that the main characters should first meet the OC, and then the description of the OC should go on from there. It shouldn't be told right off the bat.

That was kinda the mistake I made with an ADJL fanfiction I wrote when I was a n00b.

[Alohilani]

Saaaame.

I never started a story from an OC's POV, even back when I was a n00b... it just never occurred to me, since I was more excited about writing about the canon characters anyway.

[slwatson]

ninjarabbit said:

Especially if they spend the beginning of the story talking about that character. In my opinion, I think that the main characters should first meet the OC, and then the description of the OC should go on from there. It shouldn't be told right off the bat.

It really depends, though. I mean, there's a difference between OCs and Mary Sues, and likewise a place for OCs. There're also times when a good OC fills some space canon left (though I don't see that at all in BLoSC, I think that one fills itself), and provides another dimension.

For instance, I started one of my more liked stories with an OC because I wanted an outside perspective on my main canon character -- by the end of the Prologue, the OC decided to stick around. Buuuuut, he didn't steal the story from my canon main, he actually provided the balance. The other half of the equation. By the time you get into the story for real, the OC isn't even so much an OC anymore; he just is himself. A part of the story.

It's all down to how an author does it. In some universes, you just really can't without disrupting the dynamics. In BLoSC, the characters all balance one another so well that adding any element would screw the chemistry up, unless it was so well done that the person fit (and it rarely is). However, in the above mentioned tale, the canon main was very unbalanced by his nature and having this other character to work off of provided a level of insight you never got in the original canon. Plus, their 'adopted brothers' relationship is comedy gold sometimes. ::grins::

So, it's on the author, more than the actual OC.

[Alohilani]

...yeah.

o-o

You know, I think that's why all the canon one-shot love interests suck, now that you mention it... they screwed with the chemistry.

[elblooderino]

Ah, to be a n00blet again.
I think that, if you are a good enough writer and put enough effort and research into your writing, you can pull off just about anything. It just isn't always such a good idea. And I've never seen a person SO good that they could pull off a pretty, intelligent, everyone-loves-her kind of character that comes from some sort of mysterious background and also happens to be an unwitting spy for the enemy. And being an alien all on top of it.

BLoSC OCs (oy, acronyms) are kind of like bringing a dead body to a party as your date. If not handled with the utmost care and cleverness, they will do nothing but create awkward and otherwise unpleasant situations. This is where you should stop and think: Can I pull this off? Will it be believable? Will I offend or disgust anyone? Perhaps this isn't such a good idea.